"Yeah, but…"
"I never talked about it, and I taught all of you to keep your abilities secret too instead of showing them off. That didn’tentirely work with you, because as a child you predicted things a few times and our relatives noticed…" He smiles faintly. "But I never revealed mine to anyone except my brother."
Gabriel stares at him with wide eyes.
"Not even to you, my children, because there was never a need, never a danger serious enough."
"How are you doing this? What… what even is this? I thought our family were shifters?"
"I am a shifter. You could say I’m a ghost shifter. I can turn intangible whenever I want, and whatever I’m touching turns intangible with me, my clothes, and right now Cyan too. Nothing can touch me, hurt me, or kidnap me. Nobody can shoot me or imprison me because I can walk through walls."
He smiles sadly.
"How do you think my brother and I got onto that ship when we escaped Russia? We walked straight through the walls while I held his hand. Then we slipped between the rooms, stealing food, and nobody could ever catch us."
"Dad… that’s incredible," Gabriel whispers. "You kept something like that secret?"
"One hell of a secret," I say with a smile as I walk closer and experimentally reach toward him myself. My hand passes through without resistance.
The older omega smiles gently.
"I’ll take care of Cyan, Blue. Whenever you need to work or handle important matters, I’ll stay with him. You won’t have to stress about your son being hurt."
I blink in amazement because this is literally the perfect solution, one that lifts all the fear and stress off my shoulders. Cyan really will be safe with his granddad.
"That’s wonderful news. Thank you so much for offering, I truly appreciate it. Of course I also want to experience what it means to have a family and spend time with Cyan myself, but mylife will still call me away sometimes. There are responsibilities I won’t be able to ignore, even if I try to minimize them… so I’ll really value your help, Dad."
It’s the first time I’ve ever called him that, and he smiles immediately.
"Of course, Blue. You can always count on my help. It would be an honor and a happiness. I’ve always dreamed of having a bunch of grandkids… And Cyan is a perfect start!"
I bite my lip and tilt my head slightly before speaking again.
"Would you allow me to study your genome? I’m curious whether I’ll find the shifter gene."
A shadow passes through the man’s eyes.
"Only if you won’t use it to create more people like me. There are already enough of us, and most of us suffer because of what we can do."
"Of course. You have my discretion. I also want to understand my son’s genetics better, and yours might be the key to that."
The omega nods before handing Cyan back to me. He’s solid again now and lets out a quiet little squawk.
"Ah, I think he’s hungry again," I say with a broad smile.
It’s impossible to express, impossible to convey how much relief I feel, even if I’m not showing it in an overly enthusiastic way, but inside I’m trembling with happiness. A massive weight has been lifted from my heart.
That lingering fear about my child’s safety can finally begin to disappear.
???
A few days later, inside my small private laboratory, I finally uncover the secret behind their family.
I compare the genes of Gabriel, his dad, and Cyan.
I discover that both my son and Gabriel’s dad possess a very specific gene in its dominant form, while Gabriel carries it recessively, meaning he’s a carrier of the shifter gene without manifesting it himself.
But our son has it. Which means he’ll be a shifter too.
