Isn''t it funny how I was noticing his hair color and not how many weapons he had on him? I think I''m losing my knack for this stuff. I thought and wasn''t sure if I should be sad about that or not.


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    Sally! Oh, boy. I did not want her to come here to take care of me. That was something she would do just to make sure that Steve and I weren''t doing anything... inappropriate. Even though there was absolutely no chance of that happening with me in a wheelchair, she would want to be here just in case.


    Oh, Thank God. Thank you, God. I thought in prayer. “Amen.” I whispered.


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    I laid there between them, and I felt... safe. At home.


    Usually it takes no time for any of us to generate some kind of emotion, namely unbridled sexual desire. Unfortunately, I had nothing. I realized I had been hiding my emotions like a son of a bitch, so I let them go and tried to concentrate on my bond with Jeanette. Nothing happened. I opened my eyes wide and looked at two of the women in my life.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Are either of you trying to protect yourselves as hard as I am?” I asked them.


    They both turned to me with identical looks of surprise on their faces.


    My darling, I have been shielding some.” Jeanette responded.


    Me, too.” Nina said.


    I gazed at them like they had two heads, because I had thought they wanted to help me as much as they could. I concentrated on my bond with Jeanette and felt slight pangs of guilt and a lot of regret. I couldn''t tell from whom, so I felt along the bond and Nina caught her breath as the tiny bond with her flared up slightly, which meant we did have an independent bond from Jeanette.


    I felt more strongly the regret from Jeanette and the guilt from Nina. That was all. I was this close to them and I should have been rolling in their feelings and vampire powers, because I wasn''t trying to block them at all.


    I said the first thing that came to mind. “Oh, boy. This is bad. Really bad.”


    That, my darling, is a serious understatement.” Jeanette caught my sentiments exactly.


    What are we going to do, my love?” Nina asked, concern in her voice.


    Damned if I know.” I said with a slightly high-pitched tone to my voice. “Apparently, without the feeling in my... ah... private parts, it has technically altered my connection to Jeanette and...” I felt along that tiny bond. “...and to you as well.”


    My darling, this cannot...”


    Quiet, Jeanette. Let me say this.” I said and cut her off. I gave Nina a look and stopped her before she said anything in response, then took a deep breath and continued. “Jeanette is super sexy. It''s her main power to be alluring and to seduce. She even affects those around her and makes others both think and feel sexy. I''ve known this on an intellectual level for a long time; but, it wasn''t until my accident that I realized just how much she affects those around her, especially me. Now it seems that I''m immune to it.”


    My darling...” Jeanette started to whisper.


    I said...” My anger flared up, and that part of me that is my power... actually, there was no ''part'' because it was just me, now... poured out of me and I shoved it into Jeanette. “...shut up!”


    She stopped talking in mid-sentence and looked like she was choking. Absolutely no sound came from her. Nina turned shocked eyes to me and I felt her fear. My power flared at that and I shoved it into Nina and she gasped instead of speaking as my power filled her. There was nothing like swallowing someone else''s power to shut them up, so I continued to speak uninterrupted.


    Jeanette was never worried about not being in control, Nina. She was always in control.” I took my arm away from holding Jeanette. “She didn''t need to worry about me rebelling or me trying to get away from her, because she had my libido.” I let out the sigh I was holding in. “Until now."


    Jeanette writhed on the bed and she clawed at her throat as she desperately tried to speak.


    I looked at her and watched for several moments, then with a touch of my power I said, “Speak.”


    Jeanette coughed for almost a full minute before she said anything. “My darling, I would never...”


    No lies.” I said and pushed a little more power into her over the bond we had.


    Jeanette changed what she said instantly. “You''re right.”


    Nina looked like a stray dog that was just run over by a truck. “You mean...”


    Yes, David is correct. I was always in control. It is one of the uses of my power to manipulate those around me to suit my purposes.”


    Did you make her say that, David?” Nina asked, both fearfully and curiously.


    No. I can only make her follow ''the dead can''t lie'' rule.” I said, a little sadly.


    Nina glared at her family head. “You''ve manipulated us this whole time? All these years, it was just one big Machiavellian plot?”


    No, Nina. Not one plot. Several hundred smaller ones that have all come together. Even I cannot plan to that extent.” Jeanette said.


    Well, that''s good to know.” I said.


    You have become a wrench in the cogs of this bonding, my darling.” Jeanette said with a glare.


    Well I am so sorry! If I had known that I had to get paralyzed to find out the truth, I think I would have preferred to live in ignorant bliss, thank you very much!” I spat at her.


    I''d have preferred not to know, too.” Nina said, almost in a whine.


    I cannot undo that which cannot be undone.” Jeanette said. “We have come too far to back away now. Until my darling is healed however, there is nothing I can do with our bond altered like this.”


    I agreed with her one hundred percent. Without the fully functioning bond to act as a conduit between us, we couldn''t call enough power between us to raise the hair on the back of my neck, let alone try to heal my broken spine.


    I said what I thought out loud. “We have to generate enough power to try to heal me; but until I''m healed, we can''t generate enough power. Great. Just great.” I said, also in a whining tone. “We''ve got ourselves another catch 22."


    Damn it. I thought. This wasn''t the direction I wanted this conversation to go. How could I say it without hurting their feelings? Do I lie or tell the truth? I looked into both of their eyes and decided. Truth. “I love you, but... I''m not in love with you.”


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    Nothing? I thought angrily. She thinks that losing my mother was nothing?


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    “AM A MONSTER!” I yelled at her.


    I wasn''t sure what would have been said next, because the bedroom door burst open and a large cat-woman stood in the doorway. It was really strange to see someone I knew like that in the middle of the month and nowhere near the full moon. She looked both pissed and pleased.


    Hi, Mikki.” I said, my anger fading at seeing her cute and furry face.


    I don''t know what''s going on in here.” Mikki almost spat, then she purred at me. “I felt you call me.”


    What do you mean he called you?” Jeanette asked.


    He called my feline heart and I answered.” Mikki said. “That''s never happened before.”


    Both Jeanette and Nina looked at her with shock on their faces, because I hadn''t shown any kind of ability like that. Ever.


    What of the others?” Jeanette asked.


    Mikki gave a quick cat howl and we heard several answering cat howls respond.


    Nina turned to me. “You called their beast side?”


    No.” I said, then I thought about what happened when I reached out to everyone and I felt their fear. It wasn''t me that they were afraid of, I realized. It was the power calling their beasts that they feared. “Oh, God.” I said and rubbed my face with a hand.


    What is it David?” Nina asked.


    I touched every supernatural creature in town, Nina. I''ve only got connections with the were-cats; but, if I called their beasts, then the whole city could respond and they might all change.”


    Oh, no.” Nina said.


    Yeah.” I sighed.


    Then fix it. Change them back. You know what we need to eat when we first change.” Mikki said as she licked her lips and stared at me. “Meat... or blood.”


    What time is it?” Nina asked.


    One in the morning.” Mikki said, almost in a purr.


    Good.” I said and thought about what I needed to do. “Stand back.”


    Both Jeanette and Nina started to talk at the same time. “What are you...”


    QUIET!” I yelled and a ripple of anger and power went across the room and they fell silent. My power hadn''t turned off before. It seemed like I didn''t have an ''off'' switch anymore. I reached out with my power and essence like I had before by accident and felt everyone that I had touched. I focused my attention on the living this time and I could see them more clearly now.


    I recalled how I had felt when calling them mere moments ago and I reversed it. Instead of giving them power and calling their beast, I drained off their energy and calmed them to try and change them back. That took care of almost all of them, since they were mostly in private situations, like in their homes and in bed. Unfortunately, some of them had night jobs and were going to be a problem.


    It was such a rush to absorb all that living energy when I was only used to deal with the cool energy of the dead. I knew I couldn''t keep it myself though, so I waved Mikki to come over to me and I kissed her furry face. She meowed at me and then the hair on her body stood on end as I funnelled all that living energy into her and into the bonds she had with the were-cats that were her family. I didn''t distribute it evenly, though. I tried to give a lion''s share to Mikki and her parents, that way they could spread it out as they saw fit over everyone in their pack.


    Unfortunately, with the bond I had with Jeanette damaged like it was, I couldn''t share the energy with her or her vampire family... not that they would be compatible with living energy anyway. I drained off the last of that energy from the people I had endangered and I felt everyone change back. Mikki''s now normal lips kissed me deeply and she had to stop herself before things went too far.


    I did not tell her that it was a rush to use her family like living batteries, which meant that I was definitely getting smarter about when to keep my mouth shut.