“So, how is it that you didn’t grow up knowing that you were a shifter?” asked Sandy
“My mum. Apparently Da didn’t have the talk with her. So, the moment she found out, she ran. Had me about six months later. Since she didn’t know it was genetic, she figured that I was safe. Right up until the point I got upset one afternoon and shifted,” said Lewis.
“I can’t imagine growing up and not knowing,” said Ysabel. “You’re Canadian, but where did you grow up?”
“Vancouver. I have to admit that there were lots of odd things that really made sense after that first shift,” said Lewis.
“Like what?” asked Ginny.
“Like why I was stronger than most of my friends, or why chocolate made me so sick or better yet, why I couldn’t do a vegetarian diet,” said Lewis.
“Oh shit! Your mom was a vegetarian?” asked Cal as he speared another sausage.
“Yes. The only time she ate meat was when she was pregnant with me. The minute she had me, she lost all cravings for meat,” Lewis said.
“You must have been one sickly kid,” said Peter.
Lewis nodded. “Dietitians, hospitals, blood work and protein shakes. Of course the first one she got me was chocolate,” he said.
Luc about choked. “Oh god. That stuff is bad enough going down. I don’t even want to think of the results,” he said.
“It was nasty. However, I started cheating. I was starving and by that point I was old enough to understand that something was wrong. I walked past a sandwich shop one afternoon and bought a hamburger. First one I’d ever had. I think I ate six before I left,” said Lewis. “Felt better than I ever had and from then on I stopped by at least once a day.”
“Why didn’t you tell your mom you wanted to eat meat?” asked Anna.
“Well, first off she wouldn’t have bought any. By then she had remarried and her new husband agreed with her and I would have been worse off for it if I had made a fuss. So, I walked instead of taking the bus and used the money for burgers,” said Lewis.
“So what happened the first time you shifted?” asked George.
“My mum and I had a fight. I’d found some papers about my real father and asked about him. She didn’t want to talk and when I pressed, we argued. Then I got angry in a way only teens can and the next thing I knew, my clothes were too tight, my face hurt, the room was too loud and too bright. Apparently, I screamed and then dropped to the ground,” said Lewis.
“Then what?” asked Meg.
“Well, I sort of knew that something had happened. It was like watching things in a dream. I tried to get away, but my step-dad locked me in the shed,” said Lewis.
“Good grief!” said Patrick and Ginny almost at the same time.
“Well, think about it. One minute you’re arguing with a teen and the next minute he starts getting bigger and finally shifts into a huge wolf. My stepdad had grabbed his belt and wrapped it around me and put me in the shed. They were scared to death,” said Lewis.
“So what happened after that?” asked Luc.
“Well, they called someone and the next day, the door opened and this old man stood there. He called me by name and told me to come out. Once I was out of the shed and had a drink of water, he told me to shift back. Think about being a two legged beast and not a four legged beast. Five minutes later, I sat shivering on the grass and he threw a towel over me,” said Lewis. “And that is how I first met Buster.”
“Oh my god,” said Sam. “Did he take you home?”
“No, but we went on a long trip that summer and I learned to deal with my dual nature. Buster had been called because he was the closest family member that would come near my mum. My Dad had died in an accident and my grandfather Henry was nowhere to be found. The rest of the family told Buster that if I died, it wasn’t any great loss,” said Lewis.
“That was rotten of them,” said Kevin.
“Agreed, but think how things were back then. My mom was raising a stink and they didn’t even know I existed,” said Lewis.
“Okay, I can see that. We’ve had a few like that in the family. Troubled teens dumped on us. That’s why the prenuptial agreement got written. It doesn’t stop it, but it certainly helps,” said Kevin.
“So how did that long trip go?” asked Patrick.
“I met my half brother Mark and his mom Jane. Both shifters. I met a few other family members and Buster and I spent a lot of time out in the woods. He’d been living pretty wild in some old cabin and when summer was over, he dropped me back at my mum’s house,” said Lewis.
“Did you see much of him or the others over the years?” asked Angie.
“Buster came by at least once a year and Mark came to visit once. That didn’t work out too well as my mum overreacted. Otherwise, I didn’t see any other shifters,” said Lewis.
“How lonely,” said Andrew. He’d been watching Lewis and his interactions with the rest of the family. “So, how do you feel about finding that you have more cousins than you can shake a dog bone at all in one spot?”
“It’s a bit mind boggling. My lumber company has fewer people in it,” Lewis said with a smile. “I like it though.”
“How do you manage?” asked Lisa. It was the first time she’d spoken all evening.
“We work hard. I’m the only shifter, but the men are strong and determined,” said Lewis. “We get the work done and take turns going on vacation. It’s also remote enough that if I need to shift, I can and no one knows.”