Free Cat on the Fence by Tatiana Caldwell

needed help, worried that this “stray” was a danger, and
each time she’d quickly sedate the beast and convince them that she had a
handle on it.
    But today she needed him to wake without causing a
commotion. Karabi gently nudged the tiger until he lifted his head, stretched
out his front legs and yawned big and wide. Then he stared at his splayed paws
in what seemed to be utter confusion before jerking upright and quickly backing
into a corner of the room. If she didn’t know better she’d say this cat was
terrified of himself. Could it be possible that Alex didn’t know he was a
Werecat and had never shifted before Friday?
    Carefully Karabi approached him. She had a sedative ready
just in case, hidden in her lab coat pocket, and slowly, carefully, kneeled
down before the snarling beast.
    “Please, don’t freak out. Listen to the sound of my voice.
It’s me, Karabi. Do you recognize me?” She spoke softly, sweetly. The tiger
kept his gaze on the floor, refusing to look up at her, growling and swaying
his head from side to side.
    She reached out and rubbed the tiger’s back. He winced but
did not try to stop her or attack. “Alex… Is that you? I really need to know.
If you are Alexander McClellan, please nod your head.”
    The cat finally looked up at her and stared for a moment.
She waited, holding her breath. The tiger moved his head up and down so subtly
that she wasn’t sure whether it was a nod or not.
    “Is that a yes?”
    He moved his head up and down again, a little more
affirmatively this time. However Karabi still wasn’t fully convinced, so she
tried another approach. “If you are Alexander McClellan, wink your left eye at
me.” When he complied she added, “Now your right one.” When he successfully
responded to both commands she dove into his furry body and wrapped her arms
around his thick neck, hugging him tightly.
    “Oh thank goodness—I’ve been so worried that you were out
there somewhere, sick or hurt or killed!” She must have squeezed too tightly
because the tiger growled irritably. But then he rubbed his head against her
chin once she loosened her grip.
    “Is this your first time being in Cat?”
    He nodded.
    “Did you know that you were a Werecat?”
    He shook his head.
    Karabi bit the side of her lip. Most Werecats shape-shifted
into their Cat for the first time after they hit puberty. The hormones that
helped to transform their child’s body into that of a sexually mature adult
also provided the ability to transform their human body into their Cat one and
then back again. In high school she’d heard a little bit about Werecats that
didn’t gain the ability to shape-shift until much later—some not until their
twenties, or thirties, even a few not until early forties. They were called
“Late Bloomers”. Some had no clue they were shifters at all until after their
first surprising transformation, triggered by an encounter with the sexual
hormones of another Werecat. Karabi made a mental note to find out more about
Late Bloomers when she had some time.
    “Listen, Alex, I need to know if you can change back to
human. If so, you need to be very careful about the place and time you do it.
The authorities are already trying to figure out where your tiger came from,
thinking someone illegally smuggled you in or that you escaped from a circus or
some other zoo. And everyone’s wondering where human Alex is.”
    The striped cat shook his head and started to roar.
    “Shh, quiet,” she said. “I don’t want anyone else coming in
here. Do you know how to shape-shift?”
    He shook his head again.
    Karabi sighed. “Maybe it’s a good thing that you can’t
shift. I need you to stay in this form until I can figure out a plan to explain
a missing tiger.” Cat Alex continued to move his head from side to side as if
distraught. That was when the idea came to Karabi. She got up, locked the door
and pushed one of the shelves in front of it, just in case someone tried to come
in