The Shifter from Another World

Chapter 1

The rain was beating against the window as I went into my little sister's room, holding my guitar. I smiled when she looked at me, her brown eyes holding this expectant look in them. "Dad said that you wanted me to sing," I said, and she nodded in such an enthusiastic fashion that I thought she would knock it off.

My little sister, Delilah, clutched her stuffed lion closer to her. "Yes, please," she said, grinning up at me. One of her teeth was missing, and I could tell that it was fresh. She sat up on her bed and patted the spot next to her. "Come on," she complained when I was taking a while. "I want to hear you sing."

I chuckled and shook my head, a smile flickering on my lip. I wasn't that surprised that her favorite stuffed animal was a lion because that had been our name animal for as long as I could remember. "What song?" I asked.

"'Hey There, Delilah,'" she said in a duh tone, and I raised an eyebrow. She gave me a look that she knew that I wouldn't be able to say no to. "Please?"

I gave her a weird look as I was strumming the first notes of the song. "You do realize that this is a love song, right?" I asked, and she shrugged.

"So?" she asked, laying back down. "It has my name in it. I love the song."

I shook my head but didn't reply. I started to sing for her because I knew that I wouldn't be able to say no. I had never been able to say no to her, and I knew that she would be my downfall if something bad had ever happened to her.

Delilah looked at me with such expectant eyes, but they started to close as I kept singing. She clutched her lion closer to her and sighed as she let sleep take her off onto whatever fantasy she wanted. She didn't know that her fantasies were true, and I hoped that if she did find out, then it would be safe for her to go there again.

It was hard living in a world different from my own. I had grown up where I had lived for half of my life, living the life of a prince because, well, I was a prince. However, that all had taken a turn for the worse when my uncle grew jealous and decided to try and kill my family.

It didn't work because my father made us leave, even though it might have labeled us as cowards. However, he did it because he knew that I needed to be safe to learn who I was and what I was. It didn't help that my mother was pregnant with my sister, so that was why we had all left.

However, I knew that we would be going back soon, and I just prayed that it was later rather than sooner. I needed to make sure that my sister stayed safe and was capable of protecting herself, even if she didn't know what she was.

And, I swore that I would protect her too, and I was going to keep my promise. No matter what it took.

I finished the song before kissing the top of my sister's head. "Goodnight," I whispered softly. "Sweet dreams." And with that, I left.

***

Something in the air had changed. I could feel it as I was awoken from my troubling sleep. My whole body ached as if I had been running and fighting, but I knew that that wasn't possible. My heart pounded in my chest, and I couldn't help but feel slightly unnerved.

I could sense that my sister and I were not alone in the house and that my parents weren't here either. However, I wasn't sure who it was and where my parents had gone. I pulled my blankets off of me and started to run towards my sister's room, knowing that the thing would be there.

My sister screamed as loud as she could, and I barged into the room to see someone trying to shush her. Fear filled my sister's eyes, and I growled like a wolf, earning my sister's silence while she stopped screaming and looked at me with wide eyes.

The figure turned to look at me, the hood covering their face. Fear came off of them in waves, and I knew that it was because I looked rather scary because I was trying not to shift and scare my sister more. "Please," the person said, and I could tell that it was a female. "I-I didn't mean to. I-I-"

"Who are you?" I asked, feeling my fingers lengthening into claws. I was feeling protective of my little sister, and I knew that if I was in a better sense, then I could tell that I was scaring her. "Answer me," I snarled, and the female flinched.

"There is no time, Your Highness," she said. "We must leave urgently. If they find you here, our world will cease to exist." She made a signal that she was a friend and bowed her head. "There is a portal that I am to lead you through, but we must hurry. The Dicason had already taken the King and Queen. You two are next."

I felt my body relax a little when I heard that she wasn't any danger to us. However, it grew tense when she said that both of us were in danger and my parents were taken. I took a deep sniff, but I couldn't tell what she was, and that annoyed me to no end. "How do I know that you aren't working for him?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.

"You don't, but you are almost out of time. You have to shift and run to the portal. If they catch you before that, then it is game over. Please, Your Highness. For the sake of Alrion, I beg you to get a move on."

I nodded and looked at my little sister still clutching her toy lion. I opened my arms, and she rushed towards me and clutched me tightly. I placed a kiss on her forehead and soothed her as she tried not to cry. "There are some things that we need to discuss later. However, I need to know if you trust me. We are going to a place that you thought was a fairytale, but it is actually true," I said, placing a kiss on her forehead. "Do you know why we gave you a lion when you were younger?" I asked, and she shook her head, no. "It's because it is our name animal. We are not human, not fully. We are something different than them."

"What are we? Lions?" Delilah asked. Hope filled her voice, and I knew that she was still afraid. However, I knew that she would do what we had taught her and make it seem like she wasn't.

I pulled her back and smiled at her. I was excited to go back, but I was also nervous. I had no idea what had happened while we were gone, and I hoped that there would still be people there to help us. "We are shifters," I said. "We can shift into any animal, including lions, our name animal. And right now, we are needing to go back to where we belong." I paused. "So, I ask you, do you trust me?"

Delilah hesitated and studied me. She still kept her lion close to her, and I was grateful that she did. I would be able to use that if I needed to, but I prayed that I would never have to do it. She wanted to say no; I could tell that she did. She wanted to say no because we had kept this from her for her safety. However, I knew that she couldn't. She loved me too much and that I would protect her no matter what.

"Yes," she said. "I trust you."

I nodded, feeling relief wash over me. "Good," I said, standing. "Then let's get a move on."