Right now, it was starting to get cold, so we didn't have much time to teach Zoey about transforming outside. She had had her first full transformation about a month after she had been born. First, her face had become wolf-like, which was an extremely strange sight, considering she still had human ears. But she quickly got the hang of it, and had turned into an adorable, fluffy wolf pup, all tangled up in her human clothes.
"How's the album coming along?" asked Xander. He knew that I had been up all of last night working on it.
"It's great," I said. "I feel so inspired, now that I have all this new energy in my life. The label wants to hear demos within a week, which should be doable."
"That's awesome," said Xander, smiling.
"The only problem, though, is that I'm worried about how it'll be received. It's so hard to work on something that I feel so inspired by, when I also have to worry about how well it'll sell." I frowned.
"It's the curse of being an artist," said Xander, shaking his head.
"Yeah. I miss the old days, when I could write whatever was most meaningful, and people would gladly listen when I performed it in a coffee shop."
"You say that pretty often," said Xander. "Remember the secret show?"
A burst of joy exploded in my chest when I thought about the secret show in Portland. "That had been awesome. The perfect concert."
"Have you considered, I don't know, doing solo projects?" asked Xander.
"I have, actually," I said. "And I mean, I have enough money to be comfortable. Maybe I'll see how I feel when I'm done with Embers."
"That's what it's going to be called?"
"Yup. Maybe I can end with a trilogy. I don't have to wait for my career to trickle away to nothing." I looked out the window and watched a squirrel frolicking in the grass. "I don't want to become one of those rock stars who tries to keep hanging on, becoming increasingly more pathetic."
"I don't think they're just doing it for money, though," said Xander thoughtfully.
"That's true. I shouldn't be so harsh. Anyway, how's your work coming along?"
"It's good. I picked up another client last week who's paying me to make a web app. I can't charge real moneymaking rates just yet, but I'm sure I'll be able to build it up." He stuffed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth and wiped his hands on a paper towel.
"Good. I know that gig at Brotto's isn't working out for you."
"I don't like being the one to tell people they can't come into the club because they're wearing the wrong shoes," he said, grumbling. "It's stupid. Who cares what kind of shoes they're wearing? Let them dance."
A small smile spread across my face. Xander could be so adorable sometimes.
"Anyway, you ready to head out?"
"Mm-hmm," I said. We were going to the zoo to see one of the new exhibits, which focused on African animals. I knew that Zoey was going to get a kick out of seeing the zebras, lions, and giraffes. Like all shifter kids, she had a natural affinity for animals, and couldn't stop absorbing information about them.
I got her cleaned up while Xander took care of the dishes. Within fifteen minutes, we were ready to head out. It was a brisk day, so we had our jackets on, but the sun was shining brightly, providing some warmth.
Despite the colder weather, there were still plenty of people at the zoo. As always, I hoped someone wouldn't recognize me. But with my luck, it was bound to happen. All kinds of people came to the zoo.
We enjoyed a quiet trip, though. I managed to get into the new exhibit without attracting any attention, which was a blessing, not one I often got to enjoy. The crowds were at their most dense here, because the exhibit had apparently only opened a week ago. I wondered how the African animals were dealing with the colder weather.
Zoey wanted to sit on Xander's shoulders for most of it, which allowed her to look over the throng of people. She squeaked and pointed at the various creatures, commenting on their strange patterns or funny faces. There weren't any other kids who were being carried by their parents, so she had a unique view.
I kept watching carefully, in case she sprouted a tail or pair of wolf ears-this had already happened a couple times, once at the playground and another time at the store-but she seemed so focused on the animals and stimulated by her environment that she didn't transform at all.
Eventually, she tired of riding on her dad's shoulders and instead wanted to press herself against the glass, where some other kids were. I hesitated, because we wouldn't be able to push through and follow her; the crowd was so thick. But she was so eager to get a closer look at the zebras that we relented.
I was able to mostly keep an eye on her through the dense crowd of people. She had squashed herself as close as possible, trying to get an eyeful of what I suspected was quickly becoming her favorite animal.
"I'm sorry," someone said, bumping into me from behind. I whirled around and saw a sheepish young woman, who was leaning down to pick up her purse, which she had dropped.
"Oh, you're fine," I said automatically. But before I could turn back to check on Zoey, the woman recognized me.
"Oh my God, you're Kade, aren't you?" she asked, her eyes growing wider as she made the connection.
This got Xander's attention and he became more alert, in case he had to play the part of my bodyguard again.
"No, I get that all the time," I said, fake laughing. "It's kind of a pain."
She kept staring at me though, like she was trying to see something microscopic on my face. "No, you're definitely Kade. Your eyes are the exact same shade of green. I can't believe you're at the zoo at the same time as me. And you have a boyfriend! Wow."
"Ma'am, you have the wrong person," said Xander, in his polite but firm bouncer voice.
"I'm absolutely positive you're Kade," she said. I looked around nervously; we were attracting attention. She darted her hand out and hiked my sleeve up. "Yup, you have the Saturn tattoo on your forearm."
I jerked my hand away. "Xander, grab our girl and let's get out of here," I said, not bothering to look away from the woman. When he didn't respond, I roughly broke away from her, ignoring her grabbing hands pawing at me. "Xander?"
"I can't find her," he said quietly, his face quickly turning white.
"Zoey!" I yelled. I kept calling her name louder and louder, but I didn't hear a thing. I was starting to feel horrible as the reality of what had happened sunk in. A pit started to form in my stomach, and my pulse raced with anxiety. I couldn't decide whether to keep looking for her in the crowd, or step away from it.
"Zoey!" yelled Xander. "Zoey!" I could sense the tension in his voice, and I could smell and sense his frantic heart beating just like mine.
I tried to scent Zoey, but in this crowd, it was impossible. I'd know her scent anywhere, but my nose was just too overwhelmed by the smells of humans, animals, food, plants. There was too much getting in the way.
We kept calling her name. This meant we were attracting attention, which was good. The people around us started looking, some even calling her name too, but she didn't turn up at all. This space wasn't too big, I thought. Maybe she had wandered off around the bend.
I grabbed Xander's hand and dragged him away, a little bit out of the crowd. We split up and went in different parts of the exhibit. I could hear him yelling, but it was no use. It looked like she wasn't in this exhibit at all.
When we regrouped, we were both extremely jittery, frightened by the sudden loss of the one thing we valued most. "We should go find zoo security," said Xander.
"Yes. Good idea."
We scrambled to find a map and practically ran to the security office. The officer who greeted us took us seriously, noting how upset we were.
"We just looked again, and she wasn't there," I said, trying to keep myself from blubbering. "She's a good kid, she doesn't just go wandering off. She likes to stick close to us."
"And you said you were distracted by a fan?" said the officer calmly, taking notes on a pad of paper.
"Yes, that's right. I mean, I don't want to jump to conclusions, but now I'm scared that she kidnapped Zoey because she's one of my fans." I instantly regretted what I said; it sounded stupid when I said it out loud.
"We'll get the city police on this immediately, until you get a chance to see them yourself," promised the security officer, pursing her lips. "And we'll have our security staff combing the park starting now."
"Thank you so much for your help," I said. I could feel tears forming in the corners of my eyes, threatening to trickle down my cheek.
"I'm really sorry to hear about this, Mr. Jackson," said the officer. "We'll call you if we have any updates. Will you be staying in the park?"