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  Adopted by The Owl

  The Owl Shifter Chronicles Book One

  Qatarina Wanders

  Copyright © 2019 by Qatarina Wanders: Wandering Words Media

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Get the Prequel FREE!

  Also by Qatarina Wanders

  Also by Qatarina Wanders

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  To Ramy Vance, a kickass Urban Fantasy author and my first fiction writing coach. I hope to be as prolific as you someday soon.

  1

  Emily Davies had a secret. A terrible secret. A secret that could get her alienated. A secret that, if it got out, could get her killed. That’s why when she realized what she was, she swore to herself she would never let others find out. She would never walk the path her mother walked. The path that got her mother killed.

  That’s why Emily took the night bus into the city. It’s why she left her small town behind.

  She made this trip once every month. No one knew of this trip, except, of course, Bill Thompson, the bus driver. Every other person thought she was sleeping in bed. It was a good thing, too, that she lived with her father, who was blissfully unaware.

  No one could find out about her trips to the city. It must remain a secret; otherwise, her identity would be compromised.

  Her trip to the city was for only one purpose: to release her true form. If she didn’t release at least once in a month, she would get cranky, and others would find out what she was.

  But others must never know. She must never be revealed before the town. Because they would kill her. That was for sure. Not only kill her, but disembowel her for all to see.

  Her little town of New Haven was known for one thing: their hatred for magical beings. Their distrust for supernaturals. Witches were burned at the stake with impunity. Shifters were hunted down and their entrails strewn around in the back alleys. Vampires were chained down and left to be incinerated by the sun’s relentless glare. Werewolves were flayed alive and then drenched in a puddle of silver.

  The cops turned a blind eye because the government—apparently—didn’t believe in the supernatural at an institutional level.

  The local vigilante task force was skilled in fighting all forms of supernatural threats. From shifters to warlocks to vampires and everything in between. Supernaturals steered clear of this little town for good reason.

  Emily had only found out the previous year what she really was—a supernatural. It was then that her mother’s warning made sense. Emily remembered her mother had warned her to be wary of her nature. Mom had given her that ominous warning the night she had died. The next morning, Emily had woken up to the sad news that her mother was found with her entrails spilled across the town’s center.

  When Emily hit sixteen, she manifested. Then Mother’s death made sense. Shifters were killed in the specific process of disembowelment. Mother had been a shifter. That’s why the cops had found her internal organs scattered about the streets.

  Emily’s life was thrown into chaos and danger. At first, she thought they were going to find her out and kill her instantly. But then she learned that if she kept to herself, suppressed her supernatural side, no one would ever find out. Later on, she learned that Mother had put herself in danger’s way by trying to save a supernatural who had been imprisoned by the local vigilante group.

  Well, Emily swore she would never make the same mistake. She wasn’t ready to lose her life. She wasn’t ready to lose her friends. She wasn’t ready to leave her hometown. She had a lot going for her. She was the leader of the local high school cheerleading squad. Every guy in school wanted to date her. Plus, she had a hot boyfriend—Jamie King, the football team’s quarterback.

  She basically had everything. She couldn’t let some accident of nature ruin her existence. That’s why, on the fifteenth of every month, she hitched a bus ride to the city. Not to hide out or chain herself to a basement like the werewolves did. No, none of that gory stuff, thank God.

  She found the tallest building, rode the elevator to the top, and then found her way to the roof. If someone saw her there, one would think she was about to commit suicide. She stood on the very ledge of the rooftop, donning a black leather jacket over black leather pants. Her platinum blonde hair was tied in a bun, accentuating her high cheekbones and delicate jawline. Her hands spread out at her sides.

  After one year of this, she’d still not gotten used to it.

  She shut her eyes and felt the winds as they buffeted her on all sides. The honks of cars and clipped voices floating around her fell away as she became conscious of the thing inside her.

  All right, you, she said to it with every bit of bitterness she could muster. You’ve got your few minutes to shine. Let’s get this over with so I can get back to my life.

  A powerful force surged from her belly to her throat, forcing her to jerk. She coughed out feathers. She could feel her true nature fill her every bone, right to her extremities. All that remained now was to jump.

  Emily took a deep breath, and then she leaped off the roof of the tallest skyscraper in Dallas.

  Transformation was fast and painless. That didn’t mean it wasn’t weird. Every time she transformed, it was as if something was violently scratching its way out of a trap into the open. It wasn’t painful, but it had that scratchy get-me-out-of-here! feeling.

  In seconds, The Owl had cut right out of her body, shedding only a portion of her skin as The Owl’s gloriously white and magnificently massive figure erupted into the fore. What followed was a predatory whistle, announcing to everyone and everything within a ten-mile radius that The Owl was now in play.

  Emily, now taking a back seat, so to speak, staring through the eyes of this stranger, seethed and forced down her vomit. The Owl spread its wings that spanned twenty feet. The winds caught on, bearing it up with the pride of the ages.

  The Owl soared into the night sky. The air brushed past its plume, filling every feather, every crevice, every recess, with carrying capacity. The Owl’s vision, even in the dark, was impeccable. From a height of a thousand feet, she could see the rats scurry about the alleyways of Dallas. It could see, in clear quality, the faces, the smiles, and frowns of people hustling about the lively city sidewalks.

  The creature was fast. Proud. Dangerous. Its beak was so powerful it could literally snap a human neck in two. Its claws were so sharp they could lift a vehicle into the air and then squee
ze the frame into a ball.

  The Owl reigned supreme over—

  Okay, okay! Emily grunted within The Owl. I get that you’re super and all. Will you get on with it so I can get back to my life?

  Silence.

  Really? Emily thought. You’re ignoring me?

  Well, you ignore me all the time, The Owl replied. It was a sizzling female voice, young but incredibly haughty.

  Don’t I have a reason to? Emily thought back with a snap.

  Okay, so don’t get all butthurt when I ignore you, The Owl replied. If I only get a few minutes every month, I don’t want to spend it talking with you.

  Emily never thought she would ever feel the pang of rejection. After all, she was the cynosure of all eyes. She was literally Miss Popular back at school. The town, even, fawned over her. Rejection was foreign to her.

  That’s why the rejection in The Owl’s tone struck a chord with her.

  The Owl was now soaring over downtown Dallas. It was the usual spot she collected her meal from. Her eyes were already zoning in on possible prey.

  You know why I only give you a few minutes in a day? Emily thought. This was the first time they were having a meaningful conversation. Ever. The Owl was so proud she always ignored Emily during her few minutes to shine, and Emily didn’t want anything to do with the creature, so she ignored The Owl the rest of the time.

  They were both satisfied with that.

  But today was different. Today, The Owl was feeling chatty, and Emily felt a need to justify to The Owl, and to herself, that she was doing what she felt needed to be done to keep herself alive. Both of them!

  The Owl cawed a laughter that was as weird as it was frightening. Is that what you say to yourself to help you sleep at night? No wonder you’re such a messed-up little girl.

  Emily’s hurt flared into anger.

  I am justified in what I’m doing, Emily thought back. We can’t work. This thing between us can’t work. As soon as I find a way to release you permanently from me, I will. I never asked for this. I don’t want this.

  Well, neither did I, The Owl sneered. But like I’ve told you before, this is permanent. Just as you’re a female, and you can’t remove your femininity. You’re stuck with it.

  Not if I get a sex change, Emily retorted.

  Again, The Owl cawed in laughter. Good luck with that. And their vision pitched as The Owl dived. From a distance of one thousand feet above the ground, The Owl swooped to ground level in less than three seconds. Its claws clapped on a stray cat. She was soaring up into the sky again in seconds.

  Before she got to the skies, she had already snapped the cat’s neck and stripped the cat of its furry coat. By the time she was back in the sky, she swung the feline up to her beak, chomped down on its spine, and swallowed it whole.

  Gross! Emily shrilled inside.

  2

  The impact of The Owl’s words remained with Emily even after she had regained control. She thought on it several times over the course of the five minutes it took her to crawl back out of The Owl’s form. Five minutes of enduring the nauseating sound of ligaments snapping and bones breaking—organs popping and resetting.

  Again, it wasn’t painful. But it was weird. Really weird. And gross. To the point it disgusted Emily. She felt like she was clawing her way out of a gooey mixture of bird feathers, putridity, and slime. All she wanted to do was crawl out, but she kept getting sucked back into the mixture because the walls were slimy.

  Human-to-Owl transformation took about five seconds. Why did Owl-to-human transformation have to take five minutes? Before now, Emily had never wondered about it. All she wanted was to get back to human form and get on with her life. But after the hurtful conversation with The Owl, she was pissed off.

  Naturally, spending five minutes trying to get back to her body angered her all the more. When she finally came through, she lay on the rooftop, panting. Livid with anger.

  That was intense. The Owl’s voice was loud and echoed in her mind. It shook her with a start. This was the first time ever The Owl spoke to her when she was in human form.

  “I’m doing this for us!” Emily cried out. She struggled to rise out of the scatter of feathers and cat fur around her. Every time she transformed, she always left pieces of herself—be it either Owl or human—around. Pieces ranged from hair and skin to feathers and prey entrails.

  “I don’t know why you can’t see it,” Emily continued, referencing the conversation they’d started earlier.

  Look, I don’t want to fight.

  “Then take back your words,” Emily commanded. “Say that you understand that the five minutes or so I give you every month is a necessity.”

  The Owl laughed in her brain. It enraged Emily even more.

  If you’re looking for absolution, Young Lady, you ain’t gonna get it from me, The Owl replied in a mocking tone. This time there was great bitterness in her words. You lock me in here like a prisoner, The Owl continued. You ignore me all day like I’m nothing, like I don’t mean anything. You treat me like I’m not a fundamental part of you. You talk about getting rid of me, like I’m a thing you can just use and dump. Shall I go on?

  Emily could feel the anger and bitterness from The Owl’s voice radiating through her mind. In fact, she actually began to experience those emotions, and the target was herself.

  Emily had no response to that, so she said, “I can’t do this right now,” and started walking toward the skylight in the distance.

  Sure, run away. It’s what you’re good at, anyway.

  “What do you want me to do?!” Emily screamed, stopping short at the skylight. “Run around telling people I’m a shifter? You want to get killed; is that what you want?”

  She waited for The Owl’s response, but none came.

  “That’s what I thought,” Emily huffed. “You know, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re a coward.”

  The Owl chuckled. And you’re supposed to be smart? You’re the coward who doesn’t want to stand up and fight for what’s yours. You’re the coward who doesn’t want to avenge her mother. You’re the coward who’s ashamed of who she is. You’re the coward who would rather deny her true self just so she can remain Little Miss Sunshine.

  The Owl hissed so sharply that Emily saw sparks in her mind.

  Don’t talk to me about cowardice because you have no right, The Owl went on. Haven’t you ever wondered why I don’t talk, even when you ignore me, even when I can talk? Haven’t you wondered why I remain docile until you give me my five minutes? It’s because I’d rather be dead than have a real relationship with you.

  Simply put, you’re not worth my time. You’re not worth my effort. It’s just plain, silly luck that I got saddled with you at birth. You think nature ruined you? Well, let me tell you. I’m the victim here. Nature didn’t just ruin me. She devastated me.

  Emily was horror-struck. A powerful urge to cry exploded in her throat, and she frowned, squinted her eyes, and balled her palms in an attempt to fight the tears.

  Unreasonable anger raged in her mind. How could The Owl talk to her like that? How could so much anger and bitterness come from one person—er—owl?

  Even as the thoughts crossed her mind—thoughts she knew The Owl was privy to—Emily realized that The Owl was right on all counts.

  Emily had been selfish. She had been rude. She had been silly to believe The Owl had no emotions. She had been wrong. Now she was paying the price for her misconceptions by listening to hateful words from her second self.

  The Owl’s words cut right down to Emily’s soul. To the point that she was deeply troubled. She didn’t even register exiting the rooftop or making her way down the stairwell inside the building. It was a swanky hotel, and she had even made some acquaintances with the staff. She had to flirt with the maintenance man to get him to give her the access code to the top floor and rooftop entrance. Men.

  She rode the elevator down to the ground floor where she had the bellman stop a taxi for her whil
e she waited in the lounge. A man sat in a chair reading a newspaper. The receptionist was unusually busy with a couple guests asking questions and paying for hotel rooms.

  Emily kept to herself, trying not to think too much. She didn’t want to give The Owl another reason to go on a diatribe. She had yet to recover from the last one, and she didn’t think she would recover in a hurry.

  She surely wasn’t the most perfect person in the world. She neither presumed to be, nor attempted to be. Nevertheless, there were certain things she believed in, and those included being considerate of other people. She wasn’t the kind of person to get off on people’s humiliation. She didn’t hold her head up high at the expense of others.

  She cared a lot about what people thought. She cared a lot about others’ opinions. That was why she strived to be good to everyone. She strived to stay in the middle and never step on any toes.

  Words easily got to her. She was strong, sure. But still, they got to her. She hated the way she felt when someone attacked her integrity. So she did her best to steer clear of potentially controversial issues. Everyone liked her, and she liked it that way.

  That’s why The Owl’s rebuke felt like someone had taken a cold, sharp knife and slowly and deliberately slid it right into her heart. That’s exactly how she felt.

  A taxi came to a stop just outside the main entrance. The bellman signaled her to come on out. She obeyed.