Shifted

Chapter 23: Sisters and Lessons

A full week passed quickly with Kit and Margo and I really enjoyed their company. Kit was goofy and kind. Margo was an excellent listener and thoughtful as could be. Margo reminded me a lot of Charlotte, who loved to talk, but also loved to listen and help. She was the type of person you look to when things go wrong. When I struggled with a certain skill that Kit was trying to teach me, Margo would ask critical questions to help me consider what my next steps should be.

It didn't take long for Kit and I to fall into a routine for our training. We were always up by 8:00 for breakfast and a walk with Margo to stretch our legs and have some conversation. At 9:00 we began reading ancient logs of Shifters and Regulators, searching for any information we could find on Hybrids. At 11:00 we would go out and walk to the village or drive to the nearby grocery to practice shifting on several people at once. Noon was lunch and the afternoon was spent back in the books until our eyes went blurry. Once Margo got home from work, we would settle in with wine and music, or dinner and a movie.

Kit taught me an array of skills in both Feeling and Mind Shifting. He would purposefully change his emotions to create certain auras around himself, ranging from upset, to angry, sometimes even rage. I used this to learn exactly which colors related to each emotion and the physical aspects of the different auras.

Since Kit wasn't a Feeling Shifter, he wasn't able to manipulate his auras to wrap around me the way that Finn or Raine could. Though if he was able to amplify his emotions by feeling them strongly, his aura would strengthen which I was able to use to practice on.

Even though we began rigorous training immediately on our first day, I still agonized over Dillon and the silence. It wore on me completely that he was able to just leave without a word and even further just ignore my attempts to talk to him. As the first weekend rolled around, I slowly began to stop checking my phone religiously. I thought more about what I needed to learn and less about whether or not Dillon would call.

On a beautifully sunny morning, nearly two weeks into my time in the Cotswolds, Kit and I were settled in the garden at the back of the cottage when we heard a car coming up the drive. It wasn't time for Margo to be back yet and I had come a long way with my ability to Mind Shift, so I gave it a try from a distance.

I was able to tell that there were two people in the car. By the time they were maybe a mile down the long drive, I was able to pick out Addison and Charlotte's familiar thoughts. Though I'd not had a lot of practice listening to their thoughts before this point, the tone of their thoughts was identical to the tone in their voices.

My heart pounded as I ran around to the front. I had only texted with them infrequently over the last couple of weeks since they left the hospital. Most of their texts were cryptic and they hadn't been answering my calls either. Their auras were a concerning orange, slightly blended with a buzzing yellow as they stepped out of the car.

"Where have you been?" I sighed, throwing my arms around the both of them. I allowed their auras to press around me, despite the uncomfortable feeling that came with them.

"It's a long story," they said in unison. They both seemed a little different, not more resigned, but just maybe a bit distant.

"Well, let's get comfortable and you can tell me all about it so I don't have to go through the exhausting process of mind shifting it out of you," I warned.

Addie rolled her eyes but smiled at me. I showed them around to the back garden, stopping here and there to admire the walk. Margo's flowers were thoughtfully planted in beautiful patterns all around the cottage. Vines wrapped up the side of the house, and rows of little sprouting tomatoes, cabbages, and other veggies lined the actual garden down a small path from the sitting space.