Chapter Eighteen
On a quiet morning, about a week after I’d first learned to build my diamond wall, I dreamed again.
A huge wolf was stalking me. My leg bled from a wound on my calf, the scent bringing him closer and closer. I was running as fast as I could, trying to shift into my cheetah form, but unable to make the change. Now limping, I stumbled through a bed of sword ferns, sensing him almost upon me. I fell to the ground in a small clearing, shifting my body to face my enemy.
But Kyle, in leopard form, was suddenly growling beside me, protecting me. The large wolf who’d pursued me howled and other howls rang out in answer. Sinc’s graceful snow leopard leapt down from the tree branch above me and Ethan’s cougar barreled in through the brush, all three of them circling, facing the wolf pack that surrounded us.
I was injured too badly to change. We were outnumbered and I was useless. Frustration welled up in me. I picked up a large rock and threw it at one of the wolves, then another.
I woke up to Ethan shaking me. “Jackie, you’re having a really bad dream and something crazy is going on here!”
I opened my eyes, grateful to see Ethan’s concerned face, and not the snout of one of those wolves in my dream. Still feeling dizzy, I sat up slowly and looked around. My gaze wandered to the window where a cold breeze blew the curtains in toward the bed. I was startled to see that the window was smashed, glass scattered all over the bedroom floor.
“What happened?” I clenched the covers.
“I woke up when I heard you moan and then mumble. I think it was run away—something like that. The alarm clock went flying through that window and one of my boots smashed through this one. Is there a poltergeist in the house Carly didn’t tell us about or is this about you?”
He was freaked out, but I didn’t know what to tell him. Garrett had said not to talk about what my mind could do.
I could tell by the light that it was still pretty early, probably around six or seven. We’d only slept for a few hours.
I avoided his question. “I’ll clean up the mess.”
After locating the vacuum, Ethan helped me pick up the larger pieces of glass and vacuum up the rest. He was watching me suspiciously the whole time and I couldn’t blame him, but what could I say? I wouldn’t lie, not to Ethan.
When we finished, I made coffee and we sat across from each other at the small table. I looked at his worried face and reached across to hold his hand. He was startled and started to pull away but I held on tightly. Trusting my instincts, I made the decision to be completely honest with him.
“I have to tell you something.”
“Does this have anything to do with your private lessons?” he asked softly.
“I think it might.” I scanned his familiar face once more, but I already knew what I’d find. “I’m going to trust you with a secret.”
“You know you can.”
I released his hand and talked about the currents of ley line power flowing beneath us, something he knew about but had no experience with. I described the extra connection I had to this magic and what Garrett had taught me about focusing myself and building my diamond wall. Describing the dream, I explained that the broken windows were probably the result of me using the lines to protect myself.
I didn’t mention any of Garrett’s secrets.
“Will you swear not to speak about this to Kyle or Sinc or Rob or anyone else? I need to learn to protect and defend myself—how to use this ability to help people and not smash windows.” We smiled at each other. “I’d also appreciate it if you wouldn’t tell Garrett that I told you any of this. I’d rather tell him myself. Hopefully, I won’t be doing any extra assignments for disobeying an order.” I laughed halfheartedly.
“I won’t say anything. You know you can trust me.” He leaned over and gave me a hug, then picked up his cell phone lying on the kitchen counter. “We have to tell Carly about the windows. She’ll have to send someone over to fix it. I’ll just say we were throwing a ball around and the throws went a little wide.” Within an hour, a repair team was there and the window was soon as good as new.
When they left, Ethan and I talked again about my “episode.” “If I understand what you’ve said, you tapped into the power while you were dreaming. How are we going to keep this from happening again? I’d rather not wake up flying through the air and smashing into the window.”
“I’ll have to ask Garrett when I see him alone.” I sighed, nervous about what he might say.
Carly and Samson arrived around three with their usual array of supplies. She cooked us a wonderful steak supper and joined us this time. I made sure to feed Samson a few bites and to scratch him behind the ears. He wagged his stubby tail and curled up on the floor next to my feet.
Carly looked curious. “Samson doesn’t tolerate many people, but he’s very attached and protective toward you.” I scratched his head and rubbed his belly, pleased when he grunted in doggy satisfaction.
Twenty minutes later he was up, growling and barking at the door. At Ethan’s signals, Carly grabbed Samson’s leash and moved out of the way. Ethan went to the left of the door, prepared to defend us and I walked to the right, a frying pan raised and ready to swing.
“I don’t think the frying pan will make a dent in Robert’s hard head.” Garrett laughed from behind Carly. She jumped and immediately moved to the window, dragging Samson with her.
After the initial shock, Ethan and I cracked up and opened the door for Rob. I gave him a huge hug, which surprised him, and motioned him toward the table. “How are you? Are you hungry? There’s more steak.” I deposited the pan back on the stove.
Rob dumped my old backpack on the floor near the couch. He’d brought the last of my stuff from the cabin. “Sure, Jackie, thanks.” He gave Carly a hug then moved to the table to sit. I dished him up some steak and potatoes and Ethan sat across from him jabbering away and catching up on all the news.
I glanced over at Carly who stared straight down at Samson, avoiding Garrett’s eyes. Garrett was sauntering toward her, an amused expression on his face.
“Hello, Carly,” he greeted her. “How have you been?”
“Garrett.” She was curt, obviously uncomfortable. She looked up, her anger giving her courage. “Judging from the hour, I’d guess you’ve been feeding from shifters again.” She frowned and squatted beside Samson, petting him nervously and not looking at Garrett.
“Only the ones who ask me to. I’m quite popular, really. Don’t worry. I’m not hungry at the moment.” He smiled wickedly and squatted down beside her. Samson stopped growling and started wagging his tail the minute Garrett began scratching him behind the ears.
“Good boy, Samson.” Garrett grinned at Carly, arching an eyebrow in a well-look-at-this kind of expression.
Furious, Carly yanked on Samson’s collar, pulling him away from Garrett, grabbing her coat and mumbling as she headed out the door, “I’ll see you tomorrow around noon.” The door shut firmly behind her.
Garrett leaned elegantly against the large double windowsill, staring after her with a sad expression. I hesitated, afraid to intrude on his private moment, then gave in and walked over to ask quietly. “What’s up with you and Carly?”
“We grew up together in Canada. Our parents were close friends, and she was like a sister to Marie and me. Both our families moved to Lafayette, Louisiana when the British kicked the French out of Canada. When I was made vampire and discovered that I could feed from shifters without taking blood, I did, indiscriminately. I never hurt anyone, but it was wrong and I made some enemies. Carly’s never trusted me since. I like to tease her, but I wish we could get past it.”
“How old are you?”
“I’m a child of the revolution,” he chuckled.
“Umm, which revolution?”
“You know, General George Washington, John Adams. That revolution. My dad fought on the side of the Americans.” His expression had grown serious again when he’d mentioned his dad.
I frowned. Those numbers didn’t work. “How is that possible? Carly grew up with you? But she’s not a vampire and she looks so young. That can’t be right.”
“Carly’s a shifter, a leopard.” When I didn’t react, he stared at me strangely, turning to Rob. “I believe Rob has left out a vital piece of information regarding life as a shapeshifter.”
“I can’t do everything. You could have told her.”
“Told me what?” I looked from Rob back to Garrett.
Garrett continued. “Shifters age normally into young adulthood after their first transition, but then they stop. As long as a shifter continues to shift a few times a year, they don’t age. I know several shifters who are around four hundred years old, but look about twenty. And there are two-thousand-year-old shifters in Europe.”
Feeling shaky, I sat down next to him on the wide windowsill, trying to wrap my mind around this newest bit of information. Seeing my reaction, he put his arm around my shoulders in support and I leaned into him, not even thinking about what I was doing. I couldn’t seem to process what he’d just said. It was surreal, but then everything from the past couple of weeks had been out of some weird fantasy novel.
“Werewolves also stop aging as long as they continue to transition every month, which is not even a choice for them, unless they’re ill. My cousin Aaron’s a pack leader and he’s two years older than me. We grew up together.”
“He wasn’t a shifter?”
“No. His mother was a shifter but his father was human. It can go either way. He chose to be bitten when he was around twenty-five. I think his latent shifter genes made him stronger and helped him gain the alpha position.”
“But there are older people living in the town. I saw them.”
“Some shifters decide to stop transitioning when their mates die, but our community is comprised of many human friends or mates of the shifters who live here in Crescent City. They all know about us and are sworn to secrecy. If it was all shifters, practically everyone would look college aged.”
I laughed, imagining a town populated only by eighteen- to twenty-two-year-olds. “What about all the tourists or truck drivers, you know, the people passing through?”
“Would a human who ran into Rob on the street think he was anything other than human? The shifters here are good at hiding what they are. All supes are, and humans don’t usually sense the difference. We gently discourage non-supernaturals from settling here if they aren’t part of the community.”
“Gently discourage, huh? Using magic?”
He only grinned in response. “How’s your wall holding up?” He’d whispered so only I could hear, tightening his grip on my shoulder. Having his arm pressed against my back brought his face closer than ever, speeding up my heart. His breath smelled sweet and clean and his mouth, oh god. It was inches away. What would he taste like?
I whispered back, staring down at my lap. “I haven’t had any pain the whole day. I sense the current, but it doesn’t make me uncomfortable.” His hand moved up and down my bare arm sending warm tingles over my skin. I wondered if he even realized he was doing it. I relaxed just a tiny bit more against him, hyper-aware of every place our bodies touched as we sat together on the windowsill. Rob glanced at us curiously, so I pulled myself away and moved toward Ethan, who was still chatting about our training sessions with Sinc and Kyle.
Garrett interpreted my standing up as a sign of impatience. “We should go, we have lots to do tonight. Rob will be working with the other three.” He stood, offering me his hand. It was obvious he had no clue how his touch affected me, because if he did, he might never touch me again. He’d made it clear he wanted only a student/instructor relationship.
I smiled shyly and gave him mine, determined to enjoy it while I could. He smiled back, his beauty and his warmth breaking down the moment to its simple essence. A guy and a girl holding hands—nothing more. Was there any hope at all? I owed it to myself to find out.
Rebirth - Book 1 Rogues Shifter Series Page 18
