Shapes of Autumn (Boxed set, books 1 - 5)

by Veronica Blade

  Reluctantly facing Zack, I said, “You ready to go?”

  “Can we take mine as opposed to…” He eyed my car.

  “If we take mine, maybe I can trade it in.”

  “Or sell it privately and get more for it,” Zack countered.

  “Okay. I just need to lock it up.” I headed toward the Taurus.

  “Yeah, because there’s someone out there who’s dying to steal that car.”

  I turned and glared.

  He gave me a sheepish smile. “Sorry. Couldn’t resist.”

  I gave him a look that said I wasn’t amused, then forged on. Inside my car, I rolled up the windows, then got out and closed the driver’s side. Something didn’t sound right. The door hung off kilter, so I bumped it with my hip and it closed fully. I backed up and stared at the indentation my thigh had made. Great. Like my car wasn’t unsightly enough.

  Willing myself to relax, I jumped into the Jeep and strapped on the seatbelt. The vehicle began to move.

  “Want the radio on?” he asked.

  Would Zack bond with me over a favorite song? Not likely. But the music might keep my mind off the awkwardness of being stuck with him. “Sure,” I said.

  He fiddled with the radio until he found a station with The White Stripes and their beats pounded from the speakers.

  The ratty soft-top wasn’t airtight and the windows were down. Tendrils of hair escaped and whipped me in the face. I gathered most of it into a ponytail with one hand while my other hand stayed busy trying to capture the rebels.

  “Would you like the window up?” Zack asked.

  I spared him a quick glance. “Uhm, sure.”

  Without hesitation, he rolled it up. “Want the air on?”

  “Why are you being so accommodating?” My eyes narrowed.

  “We’re not at school, Autumn. This is work. Timothy needs to hear I was courteous and professional.” He sighed. “I need this job. I have to save enough money, so I’m okay when…” His words trailed off.

  My stomach tightened as I remembered what Maya told me about his mom and how she was dying. The thought of him being left parentless made me wonder what were the right words to say.

  “Anyway...” Zack shifted in his seat. “Was that a yes on the A/C?”

  I quickly averted my gaze. “Yes, please.”

  He reached over to adjust the air and my eyes drifted to his well-defined forearms. Who knew arms could be so sexy? And he had confidence—the most powerful aphrodisiac known to womankind. He was decent too, always there when I needed him, even if he was a bit reluctant about it. When he was polite, I actually liked him. How would he act if he didn’t dislike me? That would be interesting.

  Oh, God, no! Contemplating being with Zack in any other way than as my mechanic or classmate would lead to disappointment, since he thought I was a snob and all. I couldn’t allow myself to crush on him. But wasn’t I already doing that? I’d switched from a twisted pervert who loved me too much to an ill-mannered oaf who didn’t like me at all.

  What was wrong with me? The super-powers had given me some sort of dementia or something. Panic swept through me and I panted, almost hyperventilating. In horror at my physical reaction, I ripped my gaze from him, stared out the window and tried to stay calm.

  Zack was so right. I had lousy taste in guys.

  I felt his eyes on me. “Are you okay? Do I need to pull over?” he asked.

  “I’m fine.” My heart pounded and a rush of heat spread through me. “A little nervous about car shopping.”

  He chuckled. “Driving a new car instead of that deathtrap is cause for anxiety?”

  I fanned myself with my hand. “I need to find something that fits my parent’s criteria or they might retract their offer.”

  “What’s the criteria?”

  “It needs to be reliable without lagging when it should be moving. It has to be good on gas with low miles. Most important, it needs a thumbs-up by Timothy for under fifteen grand.”

  “Shouldn’t be too hard.” He turned into a driveway of a super-sized used car lot. “Any idea what I should keep an eye out for? Sedan? SUV? Something sporty maybe?”

  “Uhm.” I blinked. “I don’t know.”

  He looked at me like I’d just set fire to a wad of cash. “You drive an ancient car and you haven’t thought about what you’d rather be driving?”

  “I...” My tongue twisted up. “Yeah, I’ve thought about it, of course. But I wasn’t expecting my parents to chip in, so I was working with a much smaller budget and researched accordingly.”

  Zack jumped out of the car and dove into an ocean of metal and wheels, with me trailing behind.

  “Tell me what you don’t like so we can rule those out.”

  “Station wagons and mini vans.” I had to move faster than usual to keep up with him. “I don’t care for sedans either.”

  Without breaking stride, his eyes swept the lot, then stilled. “Over there.” He led the way to a light blue, convertible Volkswagen Beetle. White top, shiny rims. “You like it?” He went to the side window to read about the car, then got inside and poked around.

  The sticker price was within my budget, with a little leftover, and I liked Beetles. But I wanted to hold out for a car I loved. Opening the other door, I stuck my head inside. “It’s a little too girly for me.”

  His jaw ticked as he exited the bug. “Let’s look around some more.”

  We strolled by car after car, but none of them spoke to me. When we’d almost made it to the other side of the lot, Zack said, “Anything here that catches your eye? Anything at all?”

  I shook my head, scanning the inventory one last time. Everything I’d seen had been either too big, too boring or too expensive. “Not really.”

  “Even a vague idea of your preferences would be helpful.”

  I leaned against a compact SUV. “Do you have any suggestions?”

  He forced a smile. “I did, but you shot it down.”

  As I rolled my eyes at him, my gaze landed on something small and sleek. As if hypnotized, I moved away from the SUV toward a black car. Finally…

  Zack’s hand wrapped around my arm. “We have to go.”

  I blinked. “What?”

  “We have to go. Now.” He tugged and I went along, surprised at how strong he was. Just before we got to the Jeep, a man appeared in front of us, blocking our way.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  I guessed the man around ten years older than us. He wore black boots, faded jeans and a black cowboy hat over a long, brown ponytail. He gave me a friendly smile, but an eerie energy emanated from him, creeping me out.

  Over the past few days, I’d gotten used to my crazy extra-sensory perceptions. Most of the time, I barely noticed the volume around me or weird smells unless something specific stuck out. The energy around this man definitely stuck.

  “Playing hooky from work?” His too-smooth voice traveled over my skin like a slimy film.

  “No.” Zack’s hand slid to my wrist, then he positioned me behind him, making me think he felt the threat too. With his free hand, he pointed to the emblem on his shirt with the auto shop name. “She’s car hunting.”

  Warmth spread through me as I noticed the crisp cotton of Zack’s shirt tickling my arm and the oddly soothing effect of his skin against mine.

  She’s a pretty little human. Girlfriend?

  I jumped back, breaking contact with Zack. It was as if the words were said out loud. Except they weren’t. I was positive the man’s lips hadn’t moved. Was I hearing voices now?

  “No,” Zack said.

  No what? Had there been a question?

  They stared at each other for what seemed like minutes. Then the man tipped his hat and smiled. “Be seein’ ya.” He nodded at me, then strolled toward… a yellow Corvette that looked exactly like the car I’d seen tailing Zack the last few days. The man climbed inside and drove away a minute later. I had a feeling he wouldn’t stray far from Zack though.

  “What just happ
ened?” I demanded.

  Zack busied himself with the car next to him, nudging a tire with his shoe, then reading the fact sheet. “You were there, same as me.”

  “Uhm.” I mulled over his reply, which hadn’t told me a damn thing. “I’ve seen that car before. He’s been following you. Are you in some kind of trouble?”

  “No.” He moved onto the next car, eyeing the fact sheet.

  I sidled up beside him. “A creepy guy is keeping tabs on you and that’s not a problem?”

  Zack whirled on me. “Wasn’t there another car you wanted to check out or are we done for the day?” He nodded in the direction I’d been heading before the man had arrived.

  Resigned to Zack’s reluctance to explain that guy, I forced my mind back to car shopping. “I thought we had to go.”

  “No, we’re fine.”

  “Whatever. I saw something interesting that way.” I hadn’t forgotten about the shiny black vision. I marched off, stopping directly in front of the sleek, black car to absorb its beauty.

  “This?” He looked incredulous, like I’d just asked him to marry me.

  “What’s wrong with it?” I reverently skimmed my fingertips along the sloped hood.

  He laughed. “These things have no guts. And they’re known for breaking down.”

  “But it’s so pretty.” I wondered if the interior was leather.

  “It wouldn’t meet your parents’ criteria.” He sighed. “See anything else you like?”

  I shook my head dejectedly.

  “C’mon. There’s another dealership a couple miles away.”

  I reluctantly turned away from what was now my fantasy car, climbed into the Jeep and strapped myself in. “Zack?”

  He checked over his shoulder, then steered onto the street, blending with the flow of traffic. “Yeah?”

  “Maya said you and Trevor were the same age, but you seem so much older than him. And not many high-schoolers could lift a big guy like Daniel off the floor so easily.”

  He gave a small shrug. “Genetics, I guess.”

  Seemed like a logical explanation, but I sensed something more. My eyes drifted from his wide shoulders to his cut forearms. “So you’re honestly only a few months apart?”

  “Yeah.” A slow smile spread over his face. “Werewolves mature faster than humans.” He winked at me, a lone dimple appearing in his left cheek.

  His comment gave me an eerie chill, but I gave a fake laugh. “It’s all so clear now. I was thinking maybe you were a vampire, but that couldn’t be it, not with how much you’re in the daylight. Werewolf makes much more sense,” I said, rolling my eyes.

  “Of course, it does.” Zack took his eyes off the road long enough to grin at me.

  He acted like he was kidding, but everything he’d just said freaked me out. Especially since my new abilities defied the norm. Still, the idea of werewolves was absurd. A few extra muscles, sure. But changing from human to a completely different life form?

  I stared at him, my irritation escalating. Soon, my thoughts returned to the man in the cowboy hat. “That man at the dealership. It was like you two had an entire conversation that didn’t really take place.”

  “So?” His eyes remained focused straight ahead.

  “What am I missing, Zack?”

  The muscle in his jaw ticked. “Autumn, let it go.”

  The episode was too weird to forget. “If you’re in trouble, maybe I could help.”

  “Even if I was, I wouldn’t tell you,” he said.

  “Fine,” I replied, shifting in my seat to stare out the window, annoyed that he still wouldn’t give me a chance. If we didn’t find a car today, then tomorrow, I’d find someone else to help me. Someone who hadn’t already convicted me.

  At the next dealership, Zack killed the engine and drew in a long breath, his hands tightening on the steering wheel.

  I reached for the door handle.

  “Wait a sec.” He studied me a brief moment. “I’m sorry for snapping. You didn’t deserve that. I’ll be better.”

  That was an improvement and I didn’t want to waste time finding anyone else to help me. “Okay.”

  Leaping out of the Jeep, I scanned the inventory, spotting a car identical to the one I’d just been drooling over. Except this one was red. I nodded toward it. “I don’t suppose there’s a chance that car would be the exception.”

  He followed the path of my eyes and shook his head. “If Timothy found out I let you buy one of those, I’d never work in this town again.”

  I sighed and walked between the rows of cars, stopping at a shiny, dent-free blue car with a sunroof. The price on the window was marked well within my limits.

  “This one gets decent gas mileage.” He began reading the statistics. “No warrantee, probably because it’s got over a hundred thousand miles on it.”

  “That much?” I shook my head and moved on.

  Zack shadowed me, then paused in front of a blue mustang. “What do you think of this?”

  I tilted my head. “I like these, but they’re such boy cars.”

  Zack glanced up at the setting sun. “How about we call it a day, then you go home and search the Internet? Get an idea of what you like. Check some sites that have classified ads of used cars. Find one and we’ll check it out tomorrow.”

  “Brilliant plan.” I brightened and smiled.

  “That’s what you’re paying me the big bucks for. Let’s go.”

  I happily drove off with Zack, thinking about our shopping tomorrow. Wait. That was when we had the get-together with Trevor and Maya. After school, would I have time to car shop and still shower? “We’re all going out tomorrow night.”

  He looked pensive a moment. “Trevor made dinner reservations for seven, so we’re not picking you up until six thirty. If you can get ready in an hour, we can still car shop if I drop you off at five thirty.”

  That didn’t leave much time, but even an hour would be worth it. “I could meet you at your house after school.”

  “It’s a deal.” Zack pulled into the lot of the deserted auto shop where I’d left my car. “Except I’ll pick you up at your house.”

  “Sounds great. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” I smiled, getting out of the Jeep.

  Zack waited until I started my car before driving away. His bad attitude aside, he had great manners. Gentlemanly. Protective. But I couldn’t let his good side get to me. Not only because of his negative feelings for me, but also because I hadn’t forgotten he was seeing Gina on Saturday.

  As soon as I arrived home, out of habit I automatically searched for my backpack to do my homework, then remembered I’d left it in my locker earlier when Gina derailed me. Damn. I’d have to arrive to school extra early tomorrow and get everything done before my first class.

  I was dying to get out and feel the wind against my face. To run. The woods called to me, but it was still light outside and I didn’t want my neighbors to see me leaving. They might tell my parents, who didn’t need to know I was stealing away all by myself into the forest. They’d only worry. Even in the dark, I’d make sure to run fast enough that no one could identify the blur.

  Common sense told me to stay home, away from mysterious wolves and anything else that lurked in the night, but the urge to stretch my legs triumphed. So, shortly after dinner, I changed into sweats and slipped out the back.

  With more strength came better control of my body. I made only the faintest of sounds with each movement, which could be mistaken for a raccoon or some other small animal. I leaped over fences, sprinted through back yards and across the field, slowing when the trees appeared in front of me. The run had invigorated me, like my body hungered for it.

  I scrambled up a tree trunk for a better view of the woods, then stopped, sensing a presence. Wolf? Peering down from a branch up high, I spotted a huge black wolf below and wondered if it was the same one as the night before. How many black wolves of that size could there be?

  The wolf raised his snout and tested
the air, which seemed fitting since my trail ended at the tree. I remained motionless above to not alert him of my presence. He seemed fairly tame last time, but for all I knew, he hadn’t gone after me because he’d just fed. What if he was hungry now?

  After what felt like an eternity, he trotted off. Thankfully, not in the direction of my house. I seized the moment and dropped from my spot in the trees. Tomorrow, I needed to find a place to hang out that wasn’t inhabited by an oversized wolf. In the meantime, some wolf research was in order.

  At home a few minutes later, I lounged on the sofa, my laptop resting on my thighs while the television blared to keep me company. The Internet offered endless information on wolves, so I easily found what I needed.

  Sizes varied widely, depending on the type of wolf, with an average of forty to one hundred and twenty pounds. However, there were occasions, although rare, that wolves had been discovered in Canada, Alaska and Russia weighing up to two hundred pounds. Comparing my size to the wolf’s, I guessed he probably weighed at least that.

  But it’s not like we were far enough north to warrant a two-hundred pounder. So, what was a big wolf his size doing so close to a Los Angeles suburb?

  † † †

  Friday morning, I arrived at school earlier than any sane student. Luckily, the diligent staff of Verdugo Hills Academy got started well before their pupils, opening the doors and giving me access to my locker. Retrieving the neglected backpack, I took it back to my car and powered through my homework.

  I’d wrapped up the last of it when someone tapped on my window and I flinched. Zack pointed at the building, then disappeared. I checked the clock on the dash. Damn. If I didn’t hurry, I’d be late for my first class. Zack to the rescue again.

  During lunch, before Trevor had a chance to monopolize Maya, I cornered her to plan the logistics of the upcoming evening out. Zack and Trevor had already arranged to pick up Maya, then me. I suggested that we all meet at a designated spot, but she insisted that Trevor was adamant about seeing us home safely. Great, so I’d be trapped with Zack and unable to leave anytime I wanted.

  Zack had put the constant scowl on hiatus, but he wasn’t exactly friendly either. Knowing I’d have more than enough of him later, I hung out with John during lunch.