Me and My Christmas Familiar (An MM Monster Christmas)

Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

K it wiggled on the chair in the living area. A cup of cold, untouched tea sat on the table before him. His borrowed clothes itched. He couldn’t get comfy on the chair. Everyone kept trying to get him to eat and drink, offering him soups, baked goods, and more tea.

Graal, Cas, Briar, and Wulfric sat with him around the fireplace, staring at him as if they didn’t know him. But they’d stroked his fur and cooed over him. They’d patted their laps in invitation for him to come and snuggle with them.

“Did you want more tea?” Cas asked, his words so gentle. “Perhaps some blue mallow, spearmint, and lots of honey.”

Everyone treated Kit so differently now. He hated being treated like a stranger in his home.

When he had become Lachlan’s familiar, Lachlan’s siblings had felt like his family. They didn’t feel like that anymore.

“I’m fine,” Kit said tersely. “Where’s Lachlan? When will he be back?” He stared at the door leading out of the apartment.

“He’s helping Grady and the twins fix the chimney on the stove,” Briar said. “They think there might be a block. Lachlan is the most powerful hearth witch in the family. He connects so strongly with the bakery and is best at diagnosing problems that occur there.”

Kit gritted his teeth. Briar spoke to him like Kit didn’t know Lachlan, his own witch. He knew Lachlan was the strongest hearth and kitchen witch in the family. Of course he did. What sort of familiar would he be if he didn’t?

He wanted to hiss and snarl and knock over the endless cups of tea they brought him. But why didn’t Lachlan bring Kit with him?

Kit was his familiar. He strengthened Lachlan’s powers. Kit should be with Lachlan to help. He was a good familiar. He was the best. Lachlan had said so many times.

But he knew why Lachlan had left to go downstairs without him. He’d been avoiding Kit all day, ducking into his siblings’ rooms, and going down into the bakery. And the few times they’d been in the same room, Lachlan was always on the opposite side.

It was obvious. Lachlan didn’t want Kit. He didn’t want a shifter as a familiar. He wanted a plain cat. And Kit wasn’t one of those anymore.

So Kit spent most of the day in the living area, talking with Lachlan’s siblings and their partners, who asked questions Kit didn’t want to answer.

All Kit wanted was Lachlan. If only Kit could remember how to transform back into a cat, then maybe it would all go back to normal.

“Perhaps we should play a game of cards.” Cas clapped his hands together.

Kit turned to Briar and Wulfric. “How can I turn back to a cat?”

Briar’s lips parted. “You don’t know how?” He looked to Wulfric, whose brows raised.

Kit shook his head. “I can’t turn back now I’m human.” He spoke to Wulfric, “You said sometimes two-formed can stay so long in one form that they can’t turn back to the other. But I turned human, and now I can’t go back to cat form. How do I go back to being a cat?”

“I’m not sure.” Wulfric leaned forward. “I’ve never heard of such a thing. Usually, shifters know on instinct how to shift forms, except in the rare circumstances I mentioned last night. It comes naturally. I’ve never heard anything about a shifter then struggling to shift back.” He lowered his voice. “I’m sorry, Kit.”

Kit’s shoulders dropped. “So am I stuck like this?”

“I didn’t say that,” Wulfric said. “Maybe you just need some time to remember. You only shifted for the first time in years yesterday.”

“I could try and find some books on the subject.” Briar glanced at the window. “Once this snow passes.”

Kit nodded, clinging to the hope like a lifeline. He had to find a way to change back. Everything depended on it.

The door opened. A flurry of snow blew in followed by Grady, the twins, Lachlan, and Uzoth.

Kit sat up straighter, gaze fixed on Lachlan.

“It’s colder than a witch’s fucking tit out there!” Jasper brushed snow from his robe.

“But we managed to unblock the chimney!” Leo hung his coat by the door.

Lachlan removed his hat and robes and hung them without saying a word. Grady closed the door. Uzoth walked and stood beside the wall. Earlier in the day, he’d flown off and checked on all the siblings who were not staying in the apartment.

Lachlan sat down, far away from Kit. He didn’t even look in Kit’s direction. He just knew where Kit was and how to not be near him.

It stung.

He yearned to go to Lachlan, to fall to his knees before him, press his face to Lachlan’s soft lap, and wrap his arms around Lachlan’s legs. He yearned to just be close to him, scent him, and feel his warmth.

Kit’s tail wrapped around himself. He gripped the frayed end. He didn’t think he used to have a tail and ears in his human form before.

“We were just talking about playing cards.” Cas got up and grabbed a pack. “Thought it might be a fun way to pass the evening.”

There were murmurs of agreement. Cas shuffled the cards deftly.

Kit didn’t know how to play cards. He didn’t want to learn. He wanted to cry and beg Lachlan to hold him. But it wouldn’t help. Lachlan didn’t want him anymore.

“I will go to bed.” Kit rose as tears welled up in his eyes.

“Are you sure?” Cas asked. “It’s still pretty early.”

“I’m tired.” Kit walked towards the bedroom. He glanced at Lachlan, whose gaze remained fixed on the cards in Cas’s hands.

Kit entered and closed the door to the bedroom. The tears fell. He could hear the voices on the other side of the door. He heard his name.

He stared at their bed, where he and Lachlan had slept together so many times. Then he stared at Jack’s bed. Lachlan would probably sleep there again. Kit thought of crawling into Jack’s bed so Lachlan would sleep with him. But that wouldn’t work. Lachlan would just sleep in his own bed.

Sighing, he removed his clothes. Then, naked, he slid into Lachlan’s bed. He inhaled the pillow and sheets deeply, drawing in as much of Lachlan’s scent as he could. If only he were a cat, then his sense of smell would be so much stronger. He pulled the blankets around his body, trying to imagine that it was Lachlan holding him tight and that Lachlan was in the bed with him.

But the sheets felt cool against his bare skin, and he could sense Lachlan in the next room, along with all the sadness and confusion Lachlan felt.

Kit squeezed his eyes tight. He was alone, completely and absolutely alone, as if he had never found his witch in the first place.

The distance between them felt insurmountable.

Still, he had not slept the previous night, and exhaustion quickly dragged him under.

At some point, he woke.

Lachlan’s deep, even breaths filled the space. Kit inhaled deeply, bringing as much air as he could into his lungs. The air he breathed might have been in Lachlan’s lungs.

He inched closer across the bed until Kit hung off the edge of the mattress. As quietly as he could, he slipped from the bed and onto the floor. He crawled. He shivered, the air in the room so much cooler than beneath the blankets. But he needed to be nearer to his witch.

He knelt by Jack’s bed, staring down at Lachlan’s face. Even in sleep, Lachlan’s face puckered with worry. The urge to reach out and stroke his furrowed brow was strong. The need to climb into bed with Lachlan was all-consuming.

Kit dropped his head. Lachlan would not want that. His hands clenched open and shut. He whined. He should go back to bed and try to get more sleep. But he couldn’t get himself to budge.

So Kit lay down on the floor and curled in on himself beside the bed.

Listening to Lachlan breathe, Kit fell back asleep.