I parked my bike outside of Icy’s, and glanced around. I was around five minutes early, so maybe Puck wasn’t there yet. I locked up my bike and pushed Icy’s door open, breathing in the smell of waffle-cones, strawberry ice cream and sour candy.
I headed over to the soda counter and hopped on, and the person behind the counter smiled. “Hey, Hunter. What can I get for you today?”
I didn’t even need to glance at the menu before replying, “A chocolate-strawberry sundae with extra whipped cream, please.”
“Sprinkles?” she asked, before we both said at the same time, “Of course!” She smiled and took the five-dollar bill I was offering her. “It’ll be ready in just a sec, hon.”
I come to Icy’s often. Every single worker knows my name, and I’m sure each one can list off what are my most common buys (Triple-chocolate sundae, vanilla ice cream soda, a two-scoop strawberry-chocolate waffle cone, and vanilla milk-shake with extra whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles, by the way).
Shifting on my chair, and turned to read the little newsletter they post every Monday that was attached to the wall, I heard the bell above the door jingle.
I turned to see Puck and a tall boy with sandy brown hair walk in. Puck hopped up next to me. “Puck, this is my cousin David. David, this is Hunter.”
I gave a tiny wave, and he smiled back. He was cute, with his hair falling into hazel eyes, and a dimple on his chin, but he didn’t cause my heart to melt or anything.
I was handed my sundae and began eating, while Puck ordered chocolate malt and David ordered a banana split.
Puck and David chatted about this and that, laughing at something a girl who had just joined us had said, and talking to the kids trickling in.
I was starting to feel uncomfortable, so I finished my sundae, and headed toward the door. Puck was in the restroom, so I didn’t say goodbye as I pushed the door open.
“Hunter, wait!” Puck shouted, and I spun around, but didn’t see her. She appeared from the hallway that led to the restroom and came up to me.
“Can you meet me tomorrow under the oak tree?” She asked, and I nodded.
“How did you know I was leaving?” I asked, “You can’t see the doorway from the hall.”
Puck waved her hand. “I smelled you. Bye!”
It hadn’t dawn on me how weird that was until I got home.
♐♐♐♐♐♐♐♐♐♐♐♐♐♐♐
I pushed aside the last of my homework and sighed, leaning back in my chair.
“Hunter!” I turned to see my little brother Josh in the doorway, his ever-present stuffed lion, Ryan, dragging on the floor. He trotted into my room and I looked down.
“What’s up, Josh?” I asked, as I got out of my chair and plopped in my beanbag.
Josh hugged Ryan. “Mommy says time for dinner. She says to wash your hands and come down.”
“Tell Mom I’m coming.” I replied, and he took off, thundering down the hallway.
I headed to the bathroom and washed my hands, taking my hair out of the ponytail. That’s….odd. It seems thicker for some reason.
I wandered into the dining room just as Mom was putting two chickens on the table.
“Where are Nick and Jackson?” I asked, sliding into my seat.
Mom pushed her dark auburn hair out of her face. “Nick’s at Frankie’s, our microphone broke down so they went over there, and his home invited the boys to stay. Jackson’s at Conner’s…….he shoved Conner out of the tree-house-accidently, of course- and Conner broke his arm, and Jackson feels really bad. So it’ll be just you, me, Dad, and Josh.”
“And Ryan.” Josh said, from where he’s sitting at the table.
Mom ruffled his hair. “We can’t forget Ryan.”
Dad appeared; an apron on and a bowl of steamed carrots in his hands. “Dinner is served.” He announced, and sat down.
Mom slid in next to him, while Dad started cutting the chicken. “So, guys, what’d you do at school today?”
“Ms. Lily is really nice.” Josh said immediately, waiting while Mom cut his chicken into tiny pieces. “She taught us how to count to twenty, and we learned about the letter A. She said to think of all the a-words we can. I thought of Africa, alley cats, apple, and agent. We also painted pictures of things that start with A. I painted three apples, one green, one yellow, and read. Ricky painted armadillos with top hats. We had apples and caramel for a snack, and read a story about an aardvark. They look like anteaters, but they’re really not.”
He seized his plate and began stuffing chicken into his mouth.
Dad grinned at him, then turned to me. “Well, sweetheart? How’d your first day of high school go?”
I shrugged, picking at my chicken. “Okay. I like most of my teachers, and I met someone. Her name’s Puck. She’s really nice.”
Dad stopped eating mid-chew. Mom froze with a fork halfway to her mouth.
Dad swallowed. “Uh, what’s her last name, sweetheart?”
“O’Brian. Why? Do you know her?”
Mom set her fork down. “I know her parents. What’s she doing going to your school?”
“Uh…..” I looked from Mom’s tense face to Dad’s slightly angry one. “Learning, I guess?”
Dad opened his mouth to say something, but Mom laid a hand on his arm. Dad closed his mouth, but a vein was popped out of his neck.
Neither of them said anything for the rest of the meal.
When we were done, I headed up to my bedroom and flopped on my bed, snatching the book Beyonders off my bedside table. I had recently discovered Brandon Mull, and I loved all his books.
But, as I was reading, I heard Mom and Dad in their room next door.
“But, Martha, they’re clearly on our territory!” Dad was saying, his voice tight.
“I understand that! But what are we supposed to do?”
Dad was quiet, then I heard him whisper, “We could drive them off. The father’s human. It would only be the girl and her mother.”
The father’s only human? As opposed to what? A vampire? An alien? And would they drive Puck and her family away?
“George, be reasonable! The school’s on the edge of our territory, and don’t you think Hunter would notice if Puck vanished on the second day of school?”
Dad sighed loudly. “You’re right, Martha, as always.”
Mom’s voice was quiet. “When Hunter….well, knows, we’ll talk then. Instinct is too strong to ignore. She’ll understand that.”
When I know what? Instinct is too strong to ignore? I don’t even have an idea about what that is! And I’m completely lost on the territory part.
But, as I thought about it, a strange feeling rose in my chest. Suddenly, every sense was overwhelmed. My vision seemed so strong, and I could see every thread on my blanket. I could hear Josh playing ‘War’ with Ryan, Mom brushing her teeth, and Dad flipping through a book. And smell, I could smell everything. The detergent on my newly-washed clothes, traces of chicken wafting up the stairs, and my cherry lip-gloss I had gotten on my sweatshirt.
The room spun around me, and fireworks exploded before my eyes. Pain erupted all over, and then it was over. I sat up, gasping for breath. Then my eyes rolled up in my head, and I collapsed on my pillow.

Sleep is hard to get around here. At least, it’s hard to sleep later than 6:00. There’s always someone crying because they wet their bed, someone banging on their drums, trying to get in last minute practice before a talent show, or someone playing Minecraft at 4:30 and swearing at Creepers (And no, I still haven’t forgiven Jackson for that!).
But this time, it was me that woke everyone up.
When I woke up, there was a throbbing pain in my fingers. I blinked and rubbed them, but something felt wrong. I flexed them, and the pain was gone, but something felt different. I reached over and turned on my lamp. And screamed.
I kept screaming as suddenly, commotion erupted in Mom and Dad’s bedroom, and Mom crashed into my room, her bathrobe on and a her hair all crazy. Two seconds later, Dad appeared, still in his pajamas, his ‘Bacon Makes Everything Better’ apron, and a frying pan held in his hands like it was a weapon.
“What’s wrong, Hunter?” Dad gasped, “Is there a burglar? Is someone in your room? Did Nick put his tarantula in your room again?”
I stopped screaming and began crying, huge gulping sobs. Mom rushed over and put her arm around me.
“Darling, what’s wrong?”
I held out my hands, tears streaking down my face.
Mom turned them over, and gasped at the sharp thorn-like things protruding from the tips of my fingers.
“George!” She gasped, and Dad came over, and lowered his frying pan.
Then Mom was crying, and hugging me, and I was so shocked I stopped crying.
She sat back, and she had a huge smile on her face. “We were so worried that your powers wouldn’t come in. Normally, by the time you’re thirteen they come in, and when yours didn’t….Your claws came in….”
She started crying again.
I pulled back. “Mom, what’s happening?”
She beamed at me. “You’re a Paka Athru . Which translated into English, means Cat Shifter.”
I gaped at her, and Dad stepped forward. “I guess the best way to explain it would be for you to see it.”
He took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. He features started to change and shift.
I gasped. A large, powerful Cougar stood in front of me. I scooted backward on my bed, but Mom placed a hand on my arm.
“Dad?” I asked hesitantly. The cougar padded forward and nosed my hand. Its eyes where still Dad’s, a deep brown. Then it stepped back, its features shifted and changed again, and Dad stood in front of me.
I let out a choked laugh.
Mom looked concerned. “Honey, I hope you’re not freaking out…..”
I laughed again. “Not freaking out? Why would I be freaking out? After all, my Dad just turned in a cougar before my eyes, and I’ve got claws coming out of my fingers. I course I wouldn’t be freaking out! I’m perfectly fine. In fact, I’m so fine, I’m feeling dizzy.”
And, for the second time in as many days, I fainted dead away.
♐♐♐♐♐♐♐♐♐♐♐♐♐♐♐
When I woke up, only Dad was in the room, and the strong smell of smoke had penetrated the house. He was staring at my nose.
“What?” I demanded. “What’s wrong?”
Dad handed me a mirror, and I stared in shock at my refection. Long whiskers had sprouted next to my nose. I touched one, and it quivered.
Mom appeared again, this time holding a bottle filled with a clear liquid. She passed it to me. “Catnip extract. Calms you down. You haven’t completely come into your powers, so it means you can’t control them. Take a little whenever something like claws or whiskers pop up.”
I took the bottle, shaking a bit.
“What’s happening?” I ask, close to tears. “Why didn’t you tell me before?”
Dad sighed. “Paka Athrus never tell their cubs…..er, kids, until their powers come in. It’s perfectly natural.”
Mom nodded. “In fact, we’re all over the world. In this part of the world, we’re cougars. South America, Paka Athrus are Jaguars. Africa, lions. Asia, Tigers. You get the picture.”
“So there are werecats all over the world.” I said flatly.
Dad frowned. “We prefer Paka Athru. Or Shape Shifter, or even Cat Shifter. Not werecats.”
I was already thinking of something else. “But wait, if people can turn into cats, does that mean werewolves are real?”
Dad growled. And I mean growled. A rumbling deep in his throat, his lips lifted to reveal his teeth. “Lycanthropes. You won’t find any around here. Not in our territory.”
Mom patted my leg. “We’ve had a long-standing feud. You’d have to leave Oregon and Washington to find them. You’d have to go into Canada.”
The fire alarm went off, and faintly I could hear Nick yelling, “DAD! The pancakes are burning!”
Dad swore and ran from the room.
Mom stood up too. “You’ll first transform sometime this week. You have to do it naturally, it can’t be taught.”
Something flashed though my blown mind. “Mom! I can’t go to school! The whiskers! The claws! What if a tail pops out during Algebra?”
Mom frowned. “You’re right. The catnip extract should take care of the whiskers and the claws, but if you’re going to transform, the catnip won’t help. You can stay home until you transform. I’ll call the school and tell them that you’ve caught the flu.”
She started to leave, then turned to me. “Take the extract.” And left.
I turned the bottle over in my fingers, then pulled out the stopper and swallowed a mouthful.
After a few seconds, I felt a tingling and the claws slid back into my fingers. I picked up the mirror and studied my face. The whiskers where gone.
I flopped back on the bed and sighed. How in the world would I handle this? What am I going to do?

I headed downstairs to find Mom and Dad whispering, a stack of burned pancakes, and a strong smell of smoke.
Mom and Dad where dressed, Josh was also dressed and shoveling pancakes into his mouth, I heard Jackson in the living room yelling, “DIE Zombies! Eat my bullets!”
I slid into my chair and wrinkled my nose, poking at the black, crusty blob in front of me. Nick came downstairs and slid into his seat, glaring at me.
“Why’d you have to scream? I was dreaming about…” Then he turned pink and hastily shoved a bite of pancake into his mouth.
Dad raised his eyebrows, then scooped Josh out of his chair. “Come on, Jackson! It’s time to go!”
Jackson tore into the kitchen, grabbed his backpack, then raced out the door again. Dad sighed, then kissed the top of my head. “Get well soon, sweetheart.”
Nick stopped chewing. “You’re sick?”
Mom hurried over. “She’s got a fever, nothing else. Could just be a reaction to something, but we don’t want to risk it.”
Nick rolled his eyes and got up, grabbing his backpack from where it was propped against the wall.
Mom leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Ms. Graybe from next door said she’d come over if you need anything. I have to go into the city today, but Dad doesn’t have anything planned, so you can call him if you need too. After school, Nick’s going to Hale’s, and Jackson is going to Conner’s again. Josh is going to Ricky’s. I’ll be home by eight, Dad by seven.”
She checked to make sure Nick was out of earshot, then whispered, “There’s more catnip extract in the medicine cabinet if you need it, and if you take the extract and nothing happens after five minutes, get out of the house and as far away from people as you can.”
I waved as she left, and, abandoning my ‘pancake’, I went upstairs and fished around in my backpack for my phone. I selected Puck’s number and texted,
“Hi. Got a fever, Mom says 2 stay home.”
Puck soon texted me back.
“Fever. Right. Listen, can I meet u around six 2night?”
Huh. Ok….
“Sure. Meet me on the back porch.”
“KK! C U l8r”
I set my phone down and leaned back on my pillow, flipping aimlessly though the book. Then I groaned and tossed it aside.
Getting up, I walked down the hall to the computer room and booted it up, then googled ‘Paka Athru Cat Shifter’
I began clicking through the websites. Most of the stuff that came up was stupid, but then I found a site. www.catshifters.com. I held my breath as the webpage came up. The front page had pictures of every type of big cat you can think off, even a few kinds I didn’t recognize. Along the top were tabs. I clicked on one labeled ‘Your First Transformation’.
I scrolled down, reading slowly.
‘Most cubs’ powers come in around thirteen years old. The most common showing of power is claws coming from the tips of your fingers or whiskers along your nose. If that happens, the best thing to do is take catnip extract, for it calms your cat side. If that doesn’t work, it means you are very, very close to transforming.’
Okay……I scrolled down farther until I saw ‘How to know your first transformation is coming’.
‘One of the most common symptoms is a large craving for meat. Often, this craving is not satisfied by whatever lunch meat or chicken strips you have in your fridge. If this urge goes away after eating what you have in your fridge, be warned. It will come back very quickly, stronger than before.
Another symptom is restlessness. You get the feeling you have to move, and move now. This is your instinct kicking in. Another is wanting your own space. This is the territory instinct. Both are completely normal.’
Now that I thought about it, I was hungry. I headed downstairs and poured myself a bowl of cereal. I carried it into the living room and flipped on the T.V. An old Suite Life of Zack and Cody was playing on Disney Channel, so I watched that.
After watching Disney for a while, I flipped to Food Network. I liked watching Chopped and Iron Chef, but instead, some guy was grilling steak and talking about flavor combinations. I think his name is Bobby Filet or something.
I couldn’t tear my eyes from the steaks, perfectly grilled. As he cut into one, I saw it was medium-rare, just how I like it. My mouth watered. I could almost taste it. Suddenly, my Cheerio’s didn’t seem like enough.
I headed into the kitchen, opening the fridge. A chicken, left over from last night, sat there, covered with plastic wrap. Taking it out of the fridge, I also took out bread, mustard, lettuce, tomato, and cheese. Taking down a cutting board and grabbing a knife, I unwrapped the chicken.
I was intending to make a sandwich. But, instead, I ripped off a leg and tore greedily into it, stripping the bone clean in a matter of seconds. Grasping the other leg, I ate it just as quickly, before moving onto the wings. Then I was tearing into the chicken itself, not using a fork or knife, just my teeth and hands, which I failed to notice sported claws again.
I ate until the chicken was stripped to the bone, growling in frustration. I was still hungry. Then I looked up, and saw a woman walking a dog gaping at me through the window. I blushed crimson red and edged out of her sight. Noticing my claws, I peeked into a mirror. My teeth had turned sharp and pointed, and whiskers sprouted next to my nose.
Opening the medicine cabinet, I pulled out all five bottles of catnip extract and carried them to the living room, taking a gulp from a sixth bottle I had in my pocket. I plopped down on the couch and flipped back to Disney Channel.