Nine Tails Collection 1-3: Kitsune and Shaman novel

by J. L. Weil

  Lovely little charm.

  I bit my lip and stared at my reflection in the mirror, half expecting something to be different about my oval face, but it was the same: flawless olive complexion, wide dark blue eyes, and heart-shaped lips. Except for the purplish bruise that had formed on my cheek. I ran my finger over the tender skin and hissed. It would be nasty tomorrow morning, worse than it was now. The bastard had hit me, hard. I wanted proof that what Devyn had told me was true, but even as I studied the mark, I couldn’t believe I was something supernatural. What if the shift had only been a fluke, a one-time thing? I was never going to shift again. Not if I could help it.

  Why should I trust him anyway? I knew nothing about Devyn St. Cyr, besides that he was incredibly drool-worthy. But trustworthy? That was up for debate.

  And I hated debate class.

  I’d probably never see Devyn again.

  Why did that thought fill me with unexplainable sadness and regret?

  Dragging my butt into the shower, I stayed under the scalding water until my skin turned pink, but no matter how many times I washed my hair or scrubbed my body, a faint residue of the fox still lingered. It was as if the fox now claimed a permanent part of me. And I wasn’t happy about it.

  After towel drying my hair, I finished my nighttime routine of brushing my teeth, washing my face, and slipping into my comfiest pajamas. I opened the bathroom door that led to my bedroom. Jesse had spread out on my queen-sized bed, a pile of pillows propping him up. “What are you doing?” I griped. I was cranky, tired, and just wanted to drop into a dead sleep.

  He flashed me his famously sweet, but deadly, smile. “You’re crazy if you think I am going to leave you alone after what happened. I thought we could watch a movie. Help take your mind off what happened.”

  “I’m not in the mood.” I sighed.

  Jesse arched a single brow.

  Damn him for knowing me so well. The truth was I didn’t want to be alone. “Fine. As long as I get to pick the film.” I curled up alongside him.

  He was over six feet tall, and the bed wasn’t quite big enough for him, especially with all the pillows I liked to sleep with. His feet dangled just slightly off the edge. “You make me watch Fifty Shades of Grey again and I’m leaving.”

  My lips quirked at the memory of when Hannah and I had tricked him into watching the super sexy movie. I’d never seen Jesse’s face so red before. “How about a comedy?” I suggested. He didn’t want romance, and I didn’t want action—nothing to jog those memories I was trying so hard to forget. For I knew the moment I closed my eyes, I would see Mike’s and Ike’s faces. The fear would become all too real in my dreams again. Or worse, I’d dream of Devyn. Or of the fox.

  I shivered.

  “You cold?” Jesse asked, pulling the white duvet over us.

  Jesse and I had been inseparable as kids. He was more than just my best friend. We told each other secrets, crushes, and there might have even been a promise of marriage in the fourth grade. He knew me better sometimes than I knew myself. “Did you win your game?”

  He turned to face me. The cocky grin he always flaunted flashing on his lips. “What kind of question is that? Of course we won.”

  “Some day that head of yours is going to pop.”

  “Maybe, but you’ll still love me.”

  I tossed my but first, coffee pillow at him. “That’s because I’m the only one lame enough to put up with you.”

  “What about Hannah?”

  “Hannah is blindsided by your rock hard abs.”

  He gave me an innocent smile. “Is there a girl that isn’t?”

  “I can think of one.” I poked him in the gut.

  “You don’t count.”

  Of course not. In Jesse’s mind, I wasn’t technically a girl.

  My mind traveled to Devyn as I chewed on my lip, finding myself comparing him to Jesse. They both excelled in the looks department and were athletic in their own ways, but there was something about Devyn. He was dangerous and arrogant. Jesse was easygoing and steadfast. Why hadn’t I told Jesse what really happened? I’d left out all the good stuff. Of all the people in my life, he was the one person I knew I could trust with anything, even something as preposterous as being a Kitsune. He would probably think it was awesome.

  Still, something stopped me from confiding in him.

  “Why are you staring at me?” I asked him, scrunching my nose.

  He shifted his head on the pillow. “I don’t know. I can’t figure it out, but there is something different about you.”

  I swallowed. “Like what?”

  “Beats me. Did you cut your hair?”

  I rolled my eyes. “No, but I got my nipples pierced.”

  His eyes flicked down and then back up to my face. “Did you really?”

  “No, you jerk.” I hit him with another pillow. “Now stop thinking about my nipples and put in a movie, or I’m kicking you out the window.”

  He actually looked disappointed. I’d never understand the male mind, but I was surprised that he’d sensed something different about me. If he only knew what it was. Physically, I thought I looked the same, and it only solidified for me that no one else knew me like Jesse did.

  As much as Hannah teased me about my relationship with him, I’d been wondering more and more lately whether there could be something between us other than friendship. I would never hurt Hannah’s feelings and that had always been my excuse.

  Jesse was a great guy, so unlike Devyn.

  And maybe that was the reason I couldn’t get Devyn off my brain. He was unlike anyone I’d ever met before, and in one night, he’d swept the rug out from under my comfortable life. I couldn’t help think it was only the beginning.

  Chapter Four

  The scent of coffee and cinnamon woke me—my favorite Saturday smells.

  A smile crossed my lips as I sat up in bed and shoved the hair out of my face. My gaze roamed to the empty spot beside me. Like most nights, Jesse pulled a Houdini act after I fell asleep. I don’t know how he did it, but he always stayed until I was deep in dreamland, sneaking out without so much as disturbing me … or my parents.

  Not that they didn’t know Jesse snuck in and out of my room at all hours of the night.

  In dire need of coffee and a sweet fix, I slipped on a pair of fuzzy socks and headed downstairs. Dad was just taking out a pan of freshly baked cinnamon rolls. To die for.

  Heat drifted from the oven as he shut the door. I was surprised to see Mom sitting at the kitchen table. She looked frail but had a bit of color in her face this morning. Excitement drummed inside me.

  “Hey, sweetheart,” she said, cupping a mug of hot tea. Mom hated coffee.

  Dad and I couldn’t get enough of the stuff. I pressed a kiss to her cheek and was enveloped in the smell of her shampoo. The scent brought so many memories. Even not at her best, Mom had a classic look. Her jet black hair was swept into a low pony, and her deep brown eyes sparkled. She had a petite but perfect figure for someone who never worked out a day in her life. It was all in the genes she said.

  If that was the case, then why did my ass have a mind of its own and my boobs had stopped growing when I turned fifteen?

  “How was work last night …?” Her voice trailed off as she stared at my face.

  I wanted to tell her everything. It all hung there on the tip of my tongue. According to Devyn, I got my so-called powers from Mom. So if he told the truth, she would be able to corroborate his story. But I couldn’t bring myself to ask and once again found myself lying to the people closest to me. I hated it. “Crazy. Don’t get in between caffeine addicts and their coffee. It’s dangerous.” I plopped into the seat across from her.

  Dad brought me a cup of coffee and winked. “Morning, Kit Kat. Jesse stay late?”

  Part of me loved the childhood nickname, but the other part wasn’t a little girl anymore. “We just hung out and watched a movie.” I took a sip from my mug and inhaled the aroma.

  Mom and D
ad shared a glance.

  I rolled my eyes.

  Did everyone think Jesse and I should date? Couldn’t we just be friends and that was all? Why was it so hard to believe that a guy and girl could have a platonic relationship without complicating it with sex? I didn’t want to take the chance of losing Jesse. He was too important to me. “Do you need help with anything?” I asked.

  “Nope. Cinnamon rolls are ready,” Dad sung, setting the hot baking dish in the center of the table. He veered back into the kitchen for plates.

  “What happened, Karina?” Her tone sounded pinched with worry, as her gentle hand stretched out to trace over the sensitive skin on my cheek.

  I moved my head to the side, out of her reach. Here comes the lies. I let my hair fall forward to curtain the side of my face. “I’m okay. I ran into the corner of one of the cabinets at the café and got this beauty,” I told her, turning my cheek to the side.

  Mom hissed. “Looks painful.”

  “You know how clumsy and careless I can be. It looks worse than it is, I promise.”

  She dropped her hand back to the table, curling it around her tea, and smiled softly. “You get that from me. Why don’t you let your father look at it?”

  “What’s this?” Dad grimaced. “You got yourself a shiner there, Kit Kat.”

  “It’s a doozy, that’s for sure, but I’ll live to see another day.”

  “Make sure you put some ice on it,” he advised me, handing me a plate.

  I nodded. “I will.”

  Mom sighed, wringing her hands on the table. “You know, Karina, if there is ever a time you need someone to talk to, to trust when you are feeling uncertain, I am always here for you.” I could see her wrestling with the need to say more, but she kept quiet.

  Okay, she was acting so weird, and it made me wonder? It wasn’t like I hadn’t ever hurt myself. The clumsy part hadn’t been a lie. I was notorious for hurting myself or tripping over my own feet. “I know.”

  Mom and Dad shared another one of their inside looks, and I’d had enough.

  I stood, grabbing my coffee and cinnamon roll. “Thanks for breakfast, Dad.” I kissed him on the cheek and ran back to the safety of my room where there were no probing questions or weird worried glances.

  I changed into a pair of leggings and a baggy sweatshirt before grabbing my laptop. My curiosity had been piqued. Devyn expected me to go back to him for answers, and he could get his “I told you so” moment, but first, I needed to do some research of my own, using the good old Internet.

  I mean, obviously if it was on the Internet, then it had to be true.

  Settling onto the window seat that faced Jesse’s house on the curve of the cul-de-sac, I opened my MacBook. I quickly checked my email and social media, in case I’d missed something, before I went online and searched “Kitsune.” Most of the information I found I’d already heard through stories from when I was little. Mom had wanted me to grow up knowing some of her Japanese culture, and that included the folklore, but now I had to wonder if there had been a hidden meaning to tales she had told me.

  I spent the next hour making my rounds on different sites, roaming from Kitsune to Shaman, and I even googled “Second Moon.” Nothing concrete turned up, nothing that confirmed or denied Devyn’s story, but what I’d seen with my own eyes, what I had experienced, couldn’t be made up.

  Annoyed with myself and with Devyn, I sighed and shut the computer. I checked the clock. I still had a few hours to kill before I had to be at Sugar and Spice.

  My phone buzzed beside me. It was Hannah texting me about shopping this weekend.

  That girl had an addiction.

  I did feel bad for not being able to go to the game with her yesterday, and maybe if I had called into work as Hannah had pleaded, I wouldn’t be sitting here researching the prospect of another world.

  I might never have shifted.

  My life might still be normal.

  Regrets.

  I sent her a text back telling her to pick a time on Sunday and I’d be there.

  Sugar and Spice was jam-packed with the lunch crowd. The rush hit for an hour or so, turning the café into a madhouse, but I didn’t mind the chaos. It kept my mind off other things. Bustling behind the counter, making lattés, and serving baked goods distracted me from worrying about shifting into a fox or thinking about the Shaman with glowing emerald eyes.

  We wore pretty standard uniforms at the café: a white shirt and black pants. It amazed me what Becka and Corrine could do to sexify their uniforms. They were two of the girls I worked with, plus Tristan, but he wasn’t scheduled today.

  Becka Wick was a freshman at Peninsula College. She graduated from my high school last year. With long, pretty brown hair, Becka was the known flirt at the café. She brought in all the boys and knew how to use her looks to her advantage. The best thing was though, under all the pretty makeup and sexy perfume, she was a genuinely nice person. “I don’t know how you drink this stuff after making it all day,” Becka said, sweeping her hair into a ponytail.

  “It’s called an addiction,” I replied.

  She leaned back against the counter. “I have one of those too, but mine’s boys.”

  I snickered. She was too much.

  Becka took a swig of her water. “So hey, what happened to you yesterday? It’s not like you to blow off work. And can we talk about letting a guy use you as a punching bag?”

  Corrine just finished an order and turned around to chime in. “Yeah, girl. It’s not like you to leave us hanging.” Corrine Hashway had porcelain skin and big sultry hazel eyes. Everything about her was dainty, except for her disposition. What she lacked in size, she made up for in personality.

  Just two more people I had to lie to. Pretty soon, the lies would be just rolling off my tongue without so much as batting an eye or filling me with guilt. “I know. Sorry. I had to run home. Something came up.” I didn’t want to go into details. The simpler I kept the lie, the less tangled of a web it became. “And no one uses me as a punching bag. I tripped and my face paid the consequence.”

  Corrine shrugged. “You didn’t miss much. There were a couple of creeps that hung around for a while, lingering like they were waiting for someone. Then they just got up and left. Never touched their coffee. They stiffed me too. No tip.”

  “Assholes,” Becka mumbled, shaking her head.

  Corrine stared at me, her almond eyes narrowing. “Did you really bring homework to the job?” She thumbed through my Lit book. “What did we say about studying on the clock? You’re going to kill brain cells by cramming too hard.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I have finals in a few weeks,” I justified myself.

  Becka grinned. “You don’t need to cram, Karina. You’re already brilliant.”

  During the lags, I often studied or did homework. Today was no exception. While Corrine and Becka restocked and gushed about the latest college parties, I had about three minutes to myself, but my time got cut short when a shadow edged into my eyesight. Smiling, I shut my book and glanced up.

  “Here, have a scone,” Naomi offered, placing a small white plate in front of me. “You deserve one after today’s rush.” She took the seat across from me at the table. Her long dark hair was highlighted in bold blonde streaks that caught the sunlight. She had flawless mocha skin and cheekbones I’d kill for.

  I wasn’t the type of girl to turn down a sweet. “Thanks. I’m starving.” I picked off a corner of the orange frosted pastry and popped it into my mouth.

  Noami’s cognac eyes softened. “How’s your mom?”

  My gaze returned to the scone, avoiding hers. I hated lying. It made me feel like a shitty person. “Better.” A sense of shame curled low in my belly. I glanced up, forcing myself to look her in the eyes. “I’m really sorry about yesterday. I don’t know how I could have been so careless as to not call you. It won’t happen again. I swear.”

  “You’ve had a lot on your mind.” She placed her hand over mine and gave it a quick
squeeze. “Just don’t make a habit of it.”

  “Deal.”

  “What am I going to do at the end of summer without you?”

  I smiled. “Hire someone with only half my skills.”

  “Ain’t that the truth”, I muttered as Naomi walked into the back room.

  After my shift, I hurried to my car, avoiding the alley. I never wanted to look down there again, but as I hit the unlock button on my key fob, my gaze swung across the street—unable to help myself. The narrow corridor was empty, yet my throat suddenly constricted. Like a movie reel, the events from yesterday unfolded again, rendering me as fearful as I had been then.

  My hand clutched my keys, my nails digging into my skin. Blinking rapidly, I tried to make the images go away. My heart slammed in my chest as a hot flash of tingles spread throughout my veins. My vision sharpened, my bones and muscles transforming in one quick and smooth change.

  No! No! No!

  It didn’t matter how many nos I screamed inside my head. Nothing could stop what was happening to me. Oh, sweet baby Jesus in a manger.

  My worst nightmare happened again.

  I shifted.

  Four snowy white paws touched the blacktop. My paws. Completely blowing my theory of pretending I’d imagined the entire shapeshifting debacle yesterday. My head arched back as I stared at my car. Driving was a bad idea in my current state. I stood there, my eyes darting around, wondering what I should do next.

  I didn’t know how to shift back. Last time Devyn had been there, and I had passed out. I couldn’t exactly make myself faint, and I wasn’t even sure if it would work. But one thing was certain. Standing around in the middle of a parking lot, looking like a lost puppy, was out of the question.

  There was only really one thing to do.

  This was probably the absolutely stupidest thing I’d ever done. That was admitting something pretty epic considering the shit I’d gotten myself into. I’d done a lot of stupid things and made some even stupider choices in my eighteen years of existence.