Free A Tale of the Other Kind: A Therian Novel by Leandi Cameron Page A

the water rose slowly in the bathtub. Closing his eyes, he remembered the reflection that had looked back at him in the lake. 
    ‘Kai, are you almost finished in there? I need to finish up if we’re to make your party on time,' his mother called. 
    Kai opened his eyes sharply. He thought his mother had already left. 
    ‘Just a second!’ Splashing water all over the floor as he climbed out of the bath, he felt awkward and unsteady. He reached for the towel railing to balance himself. Taking a moment to catch his breath. He quickly ran a towel over his damp hair and body before throwing on a pair of jeans, cowboy boots and his coat over a long-sleeved shirt. 
    'All yours mom,' he called as he left the bathroom. Upon entering his room, he walked over to his laptop. He hoped that he could find some kind of answer to what was happening to him. Something that would give him some information on humans changing into animals. He frantically searched the net, and stumbled upon a website that spoke of therianthropes, ailuranthropes and shapeshifting -  specifically werecats. 
    His eyes grew wide at what he read. Was he a shapeshifter? The legend spoke of humans turning into animal forms. Sitting back in his chair, the realisation hit him that what he was reading wasn't merely a legend - he was the legend; he was a shapeshifter. 
    Frustrated, he closed his computer, not wanting to know more. It all seemed so unreal, and he was just not up to reading more about what he was going through. Perplexed, he got up from the chair and headed out towards the car where his mother was waiting for him. 

CHAPTER 10
    'Happy birthday!' came voices from all corners of the bookstore as Kai and his mother entered the door. The entire area was decorated in colourful balloons and streamers. A large cake with blue icing was standing on the counter along with an assortment of party snacks. 
    'Thank you,' Kai replied, smiling. 'You really didn't have to go to so much trouble, mom,' he said, looking fondly at Bethany. 
    'Thank your friends hon; I hardly did anything with so many of your friends willing to help. They had everything ready and set up before I could do anything,' she replied, smiling. 
    He shifted uncomfortably, uneasy with the attention that was on him. He slowly moved forward, greeting everyone, and thanking them for coming. 
    'Happy birthday, bro,' Daniel said, shaking Kai’s hand fiercely. 
    'Thanks man. This is so unexpected.' 
    'Well, you sure as hell have been missing in action lately, so we thought this the only way to get you in the same room as everyone for once,' Daniel laughed. 
    ‘I have some good news from my side,’ Daniel gleamed. 
    Kai looked at him curiously, eager to find out what the big news was. 
    ‘A recording company was at the gig the other night and they said they would like to start off with our band on a short-term contract to test the market,’ he said, his eyes growing with excitement. 
    ‘That is fantastic news!’ Kai said, grabbing Daniel’s hand with a congratulatory shake. ‘I wanted to apologise for not being around these last couple of weeks. Things haven’t been going so well,’ Kai admitted, giving Daniel a hopeful look. ‘But all of that’s about to change, I promise,’ he said, smilingly. 
    'I hope so!' Daniel returned. 'I have written a couple of new songs and was hoping you would take the time to listen to them,' he pleaded. 
    ‘Sure!’ Suddenly, he could smell Sienna’s citrus-flavoured perfume float through the air. He turned around and there she was, more beautiful than he remembered. She was dressed in a pale blue silk dress, which slightly revealed the scars on her back. She stood by herself in the corner of the bookstore, looking unsure. Her hair was taken back into a ponytail, but a few short locks fell loosely around her heart-shaped face. 
    'Kai,' she said nodding, clearing her throat as he moved over towards her. She seemed nervous and a little uneasy