Although veterinary technician Carlton is violently allergic to cats, he loves them with an undying passion, enough to tolerate miserable symptoms to keep working with the felines in the San Maribal Zoo. The cheetahs especially fascinate him. Then he meets a mysterious stranger who is evasive about why he’s in the zoo -- nude and after hours! This man tells Carl there’s a cat inside him wanting to get out. That sounds really crazy, and the suggested way to make it happen even crazier ... but exciting.<br><br>Zyl is a member of the ancient shifter tribe, or Were-Kind. His people are working to enforce humane treatment of animals and save endangered species. Hearing of a planned raid by an extreme animal rights group to free the denizens of zoos, they realize this will a real catastrophe. Joining forces with regular humans to avert the problem will mean “coming out” as the powerful beings they are. Again, a potential disaster.<br><br>Attracted to Carlton against his better judgment, Zyl teams up with the vet tech he meets under awkward circumstances only to discover a valuable ally and a soul mate.

Catastrophe

He looked into the mirror on the closet door and saw himself as he had never seen before. Although he wanted to speak, the sounds of words would not come out. He whined and yowled and screeched. He dashed to the mirror and swiped a paw against the glass. The reflected creature did not back off, just raised a parallel paw to meet his. He whined, frustrated, frightened and yet also exhilarated, admiring the gorgeous creature that incredibly was also him. Human thoughts sat awkwardly in the now cat-brain, until a gradual telepathic exchange began to smooth them. He shook his head, blinking.


Zyl laughed, a soft purring chuckle. “He’s beautiful, isn’t he? It’s okay; you’re okay. Take a few minutes, walk around the room, just stay here, close to me. We’ll bring you back in a short while, just as soon as you can wear this body like a suit that belongs to you.”


Chapter 13