Free Cursed Love by Kelly Lawson Page B

being found by more shifters like the man from last night.
     
    “I’ve been here too long, I need to move on.”
     
    “What is so important that you need to quit and leave so urgently?” Phillip ran his hand through his nearly bald gray head and sighed angrily.
     
    “Personal reasons.” Ramona frowned as she caught the familiar scent of the man from yesterday. Her eyes canvassed the cafe and glared at the small blonde head in the far corner; she hopped off the counter and headed towards him, ignoring the angry words that Phillip was shouting at her.
     
    “What are you doing back here?”
     
    “I just need to know a few things, please?” the man looked up and kept her gaze; she could still smell that horrible scent that was radiating from him.
     
    “I want to know some things from you first.” Ramona sat opposite the man and frowned as she took in his appearance. It seemed like he hadn’t been able to sleep for a couple of weeks at least, and his clothes looked like they could do with a wash. His blonde hair was messy and looked like it hadn’t been washed in a while either.
     
    “I’ll answer anything that you want to know.”
     
    “How did you know that I was...what I am?” Ramona looked around the cafe as she whispered the words, fearful that someone would overhear her.
     
    “I followed your scent from the train station. Each different shifter has a distinctive scent and I could smell what you were and hoped that you would show me asylum or help me somehow. How long have you been a shifter?”
     
    “Three years. What do you mean — there are other shifters? I thought I was the only one.”
     
    “What made you think you’re the only one?”
     
    “I don’t even know your name. What is your name?”
     
    “My name is Tomas. You couldn’t possibly believe that you’re the only one out there. There are over four hundred different types of shifters. Ranging from wolves, to bears, cats, birds and even spiders. Didn’t your parents ever educate you on what you were?” Tomas tilted his head to the side slightly as he stared at her. Obviously he appeared to be getting more comfortable around her if he was able to look her in the eyes.
     
    “My father died a few years back. I never knew my mother.” Ramona frowned again and rubbed her temples. She couldn’t believe that there were other shifters like her; she honestly thought that she was the only one.  A freak of nature.
     
    “How old are you, can I ask?”
     
    “I turned twenty four a few months ago. Why?”
     
    “You say that you shifted when you were twenty one?  That’s strange since most shifters usually have their first shift when they’re sixteen.” Tomas rubbed his hands together and breathed between them to generate heat.
     
    “Do you want a coffee or something?”
     
    “Huh? Oh no, I’m fine thank you.”
     
    “You say that you tracked me to here? How did you do that?” Ramona leaned back in the seat and watched as Tomas sat up straighter in the booth, his head hanging low.
     
    “I used to be the best tracker in my clan. A lot of other shifters wouldn’t have been able to track you because of the stench of the city — it masked most your scent. You chose the perfect place to hide, if you are hiding from something or someone.”
     
    “Used to be the best? Don’t you have a clan anymore?”
     
    “Not now. I was thrown out because I was different from the others.”  Tomas’s voice cracked slightly and Ramona watched as he took and deep breath and murmured something under his breath before returning his gaze to hers.
     
    “How are you different from the others?”
     
    “I don’t feel comfortable sharing that information with someone I barely know.”  Tomas licked his lips and gazed down at the menu before nodding. “I’ve changed my mind. I’m feeling a bit better now. Can I please have the breakfast platter and some coffee?”
     
    “The breakfast platter feeds four people.” Ramona warned