TirzahsAllure (16 page)

“And what would I do for money? I have to earn a living.”

“You don’t need money here. There is plenty in the bank account for all of us.”

“Cain, if Duncan feels he needs to live in America, that’s his choice,” Tirzah added to the conversation.

“Your offer is very tempting. Before we talk more, you need to meet your parents—our parents.”

“Now that you know everything, I’d like to do that as soon as possible. I can’t wait to meet my mother and my father.”

Tirzah’s heart turned to mush when she heard his words. How could she ever tell him what his brother had done that morning? And did she even mind what Duncan had done? Remembering his lips on hers caused her pussy to ache, her clit to throb. For a moment, she visualized both brothers making love to her and it set her on fire. It took all her willpower to douse it.

“Don’t you need to go to the mainland to order equipment and buy farm animals, Cain? Maybe you can make a day of it and go meet your parents. If they really want to retire and escape, I’m sure the elders will welcome them.”

“Are you sure of that, Tirzah?” Duncan asked. “After all, the black cats were not very popular with the white cats on Alishur.”

“That’s ancient history. We’ve all evolved,” Tirzah said. “We live on Earth now. Different laws, different rulers, and we may be the only shifters on the planet. There won’t be any hassle about who has dominion over what. Cain bought the island. That makes him the ruler here. Simple as that.”

“I’m no fucking ruler,” Cain said with a growl. “I merely set everything up. Your elders will do the ruling. I’m merely the financial officer.”

“Cain. We still have so much to sort out.”

“Okay, so we’ll do that. What do you think, Duncan? We’ll go and order the equipment we need and buy farm animals, and from there we’ll go to Portland.”

“How will you get all that to the island?”

“It’ll be delivered. The same way they delivered the vehicles. Via sea.”

“Okay. But I should call—”

“My mother? Father? No, please don’t. Let it be a surprise.”

“And kill them?”

“We don’t die easily. I want to remember the expression on my mother’s face when she first sees me. If she knows I’m coming, then she’ll fret over how to act.”

Duncan hesitated. “Harry, I don’t know if—”

“Cain. And yes, that’s the way I would like to do it. Please allow me that privilege?”

Tirzah interjected. “I understand what he’s saying. If I imagine myself in his mother’s position and knew my long lost child would face me soon, I’d be worrying on how to act, how will he react to me, what should I do and say, all those things. Should I embrace him, or just wait to see what he does.”

“Okay, I’ll go along with that. I guess,” Duncan said, but still seemed unsure.

“We’ll need to leave as soon as we’ve had breakfast,” Cain told him. “And we need to return the cars.”

“Right. So we fly to Los Angeles first?”

“Yes. Then we’ll fly from there to Portland. Do you have a vehicle there?”

“Yes. It’s parked at the airport.”

“Good.”

Tirzah served them their breakfast. They ate fast, conversation minimal while they ate. She kept glancing from man to man, wondering what the future held. Each time her gaze met Duncan’s, she felt the same thrill course through her body that she felt for Cain. How could she ever come to terms with that? And worse, Cain had invited Duncan to live on the island with them. When they returned, she needed to tell him the truth, confide her feelings to him. Could he accept sharing her with another mate? With his brother?

Chapter Eighteen

“Here it is,” Duncan said as he parked in front of a modest house.

Cain felt the same kind of fear as when he’d waited for Duncan, adrenaline and this time, anticipation. How would his parents react? “Will my father be home?”

“It’s Saturday. Yes. I’m not sure how Father will react. He gave up on you a long time ago. He was sure you’d died. Mother never gave up until recently, when she started to tell me she should lay it to rest.”

“I know. I heard.”

“Well, bro, here we go.”

Duncan briefly hugged him before he got out of the car. His heart going a mile a minute, he followed his brother to the front door. Duncan had a key and let himself in.

“They’re probably in the kitchen. Follow me.”

Walking to the far end of the entrance, he opened a door. “Hi, Mom, hi, Dad.”

“Duncan, you’re back! Did you get the job? What—”

The very black woman, tall, but not as tall as Duncan, looked over her son’s shoulder into Cain’s eyes. Cain felt her shock, her disbelief. He watched her step away from Duncan and look beyond him.

“Harry? My Harry? My baby? Oh, my God! Oh, my God!”

Her hands flew to her mouth and her eyes widened. Cain just stood silently, not knowing what to do. Should he embrace her?

“Garrett, it’s Harry! Our Harry is here. Duncan found him. Oh, my God!”

In seconds, her arms were around him and her body molded against his as she embraced him. She sobbed, deep, heart-wrenching sobs that came from her soul.

“My baby! Oh, my God, my baby! Garrett, look! Our boy is home!”

Cain felt awkward, but put his arms around his mother. He saw a man stand up and come slowly toward them, a tall man, as tall as Duncan and himself, an older version of them both. So he looked like his father, he couldn’t help but think when the man approached them. His father stood a foot away from them, watching them. Then slowly, a big tear trickled down his cheek and he held out his arms. His voice was hoarse as he spoke. “Harry? Our Harry? Lord in Heaven, our prayers are answered,” he said softly while enveloping them both in his arms.

Cain, for the first time in his life, felt loved and wanted for simply being. He was part of a family. They stood silently for quite a while until his mother’s sobs finally calmed and she stepped back.

“Let me look at you. Lord, son, you’re the spitting image of your brother. How can I tell you apart?” His father stepped back and returned to the table and sat. “Come and sit down, you need to tell us a few things. Duncan, how did you manage to find your brother?”

“I didn’t. He found me.”

“Get us a beer, son,” his father said. “Carly, come and sit down. We need to hear everything. Would you like a glass of wine, dear?”

“Yes. Something. Anything to calm me down. Lord God Almighty, I’ll never sleep tonight.”

“It’ll take all night to tell you everything,” Cain said, still uncomfortable with calling this woman Mother. But she was his mother, and looking at her, he could be very proud of her. She was beautiful, sleek, graceful, and he could imagine her as a beautiful big black cat.

They talked until the wee hours of the morning. When Cain invited Garrett and Carly to come and live with them on the island, they happily accepted. Cain could have almost bitten off his tongue, because he’d not consulted with the elders on that. But he was sure they’d agree.

After he’d crawled into his bed, his mother came into the room and sat on the bed beside him. She started to sing a song in the Alishur language, and for some strange reason, a memory clicked in. He knew that song. He’d heard it before, many, many years ago. “Mama?”

“Oh, baby. You remember?”

“Yes. The song triggered a memory.”

“We’ve missed so many years with you. It’s so hard to believe you were right here in this city and we couldn’t find you.”

“It’s all behind us now. I’m just happy I came into my telepathic abilities and caught your conversations with Duncan.”

“It’s the blood bond. Blood never forgets, especially between twins.”

“When will you be ready to join us on the island?”

“A few months. Your father has to give notice at work and we have to pack. Our furniture—”

“You won’t need furniture. The cottages on the island all come furnished. So you can sell it.”

“In that case, a few weeks.”

“I can’t wait for you to meet my wife. She’s a white cat.”

“So you told us. Duncan seems to like her very much.”

“What about my other siblings?”

“They’re spread all over, but we can communicate with them. Most of the time we use a phone. You have many brothers and sisters and nephews and nieces. We’ve lost touch with my sister and brother-in-law. I still hope to find them.”

“Miracles. I believe in them now, so I’m sure we’ll find them.”

“When we left Alishur, our ship was struck and we were hurled into a different solar system, as your father explained. We crashed on Earth in the ocean. Our ship sank but we managed to escape and we made it to shore. That was our first miracle. You’re the second miracle in my life.”

Cain looked at the tears soaking her cheeks and felt her pain. She was such a beautiful woman, his mother, majestic, graceful, and filled with soul-searing feelings—kindness and love oozed from her. How could the two tribes, white cats and black cats, ever have come to such odds? To him, the two tribes seemed very much alike. “And there’ll be a third miracle. You wait and see. We’ll find your sister. My aunt, I guess.”

“I believe you. You’re my angel sent from Heaven. If you say we’ll see another miracle, it will happen.”

“Mother,” the word sounded strange. He’d never called anyone mother or mom before. “I’ve truly come to believe in miracles. I don’t know about God. Though nuns mainly raised me and taught me the Bible, God never meant anything to me. But now, I believe in a higher entity. A Creator of all.”

“Baby, I hear you. I’m so thankful to have you here. I don’t want to leave you.”

“I’ll still be here when I wake up, when you wake up,” Cain said, really hoping she’d go to bed. But she didn’t. She sat in a rocking chair in the corner of the room humming a song. It was soothing, melodious and it put him to sleep.

Chapter Nineteen

“Cain, you should have consulted with the elders first,” Opek scolded.

“I’m sorry. It’s been an emotional few days and I hoped you’d approve.”

“I agree we should band together and become one community, but we still need to consult with the council. I’ve called a meeting. They’ll be here soon.”

Cain regretted his impulsive invitation for his parents and brother to join him on the island. What if the council voted against the black cats joining them? Surely, ancient history couldn’t stand in the way. How could he explain it to his parents and Duncan?

The elders filed in. “Our first official council meeting on Alishur Island,” Zinpa commented. “What is the urgency of this meeting?”

Opek waited until they’d all relaxed in a chair, then motioned Cain to stand up. “Cain will tell you about his recent experiences. You can draw your own conclusions.”

When Cain finished speaking, his heart beat a staccato rhythm as he sat on the edge of a chair. He looked at their faces but couldn’t read their expressions or hear their mindspeak. By the movement of their eyes, he could tell they were arguing.

Zinpa stood. “Cain, this does not only involve your parents and your brother. You told us your parents have had many children. What if they all want to come and live on the island? Our tribe has always been pure. There was a certain amount of negativity about your mating with Tirzah. You will produce impure offspring, but we knew if we did not allow the mating, Tirzah would leave with you and we would never see her again. What if other black cats desire our young women or our young men? Our tribe will be tainted. On Alishur it was forbidden.”

“That was Alishur. We are on Earth now and you’re quoting a very ancient law. On Earth, there has been much racism in the past, and there still is. White people were very much against black people. Black people were slaves once upon a time in America. You can read much about it on your computers. We are the same, black or white. We are shifters, and therefore unique on Earth. We should band together. Skin color should not be an issue. I abhor racism and can’t understand the hatred some white people have for black people. The same goes for white and black cat shifters.”

Opek stood. “Cain is right. I agree completely. From what Cain has told me, his parents are kind, gentle people and his brother is just like him. The Creator created us all equal. I believe we can learn from the black cats because they have lived among Earthlings since they crashed here. It was much easier for them to blend with Earth’s population because it happened so many years ago, when passports, driver’s licenses, birth certificates and social insurance numbers were not an issue. If we’d been smarter and explored beyond the jungle, it would have been simpler for us as well. But we were stupid. I vote that we allow the black tribe to join us. If any of their children want to come and live here, we should welcome them, but they have spread their wings and live among humans. They may merely visit. My vote is yes.”

One by one the five elders spoke. Zinpa was the only one who voted no. She was very set in her ways and the eldest of them all. In her mind, she was still much aware of the old Alishur laws.

“It seems I am outvoted. I will abide by your decision,” Zinpa said.

“Good. But you must take the oath that you will not influence your descendants. Your misgivings will stay among us and never be spoken of again.”

“I will take the oath.”

“You will also treat the black cats as you would treat any one of us. If we find otherwise, you will be banned from the council and your privileges taken away.” Zinpa’s face seemed hewn out of ice, but she nodded.

“This meeting is concluded. Cain, you may bring your family to the island.”

Cain heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank you. You will inform the others that my family is joining us?”

“Yes, we will call a general meeting in the next few days of all tribe members. I look forward to meeting your brother and parents. We can use their expertise, your brother’s medical knowledge. And you said your father is a butcher?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I presume the black cats, living among Earthlings for so many years, eat meat, so we will need a butcher. We cannot deny them this privilege. We will need to build some stores. It’s all part of the big plan, but it’ll take time, though we also have to take into account that some of our younger people may want to live in America, and eventually, some may want to get an education there. And not all the black cats will want to leave their homes, their jobs, to settle here, so our population should never expand to the degree where the island becomes too small. Eventually, they may return to the island, when it becomes too difficult to hide their longevity. In the end, it will all equal out.”