by Tawny Stokes
He nodded. “Good choice. I like that movie, too.”
“What about you?”
“Would have to be Logan. I love any movie with Wolverine in it.”
I laughed again. “Yeah, he’s a cool character. But you know I was always hoping he’d turn into an actual wolverine.”
“Like shape-shift?”
I nodded. “That would be so cool to do.”
“What animal would you shape-shift into if you could?”
“Hmm, I think maybe an eagle. I’d love to fly. How about you?”
“A tiger, no question.”
Something about the quickness of his answer gave me pause. I studied his face and swore he had the same tilt of his head and grin on his face that I witnessed that night at the stream when I came across Ozzy. There was just something so feline and graceful about Cai. I’d noticed it before, but right now it seemed so obvious.
But as soon as it crossed my mind, the thought dissipated. Of course, he chose a tiger. He was so comfortable with Ozzy. Like they were brothers in a way. Hadn’t Cai said that himself before?
For the rest of the drive we talked other favorite movies and TV shows, reveling in our shared love of Game of Thrones. We also talked books, both of us admitting to not getting any of the symbolism in The Great Gatsby that we had to read for English class.
When we arrived at the discount movie theater, I was relieved not to see the usual suspects, like Leander or Nia or Shelby, or thank God, Maggie. Instead Cai introduced me to Shen and his boyfriend Aaron, who was in my English AP class, and their friend April, who was a townie. We all got popcorn, drinks, and licorice, my favorite that Cai insisted he buy, and went in to watch the new Dwayne Johnson movie. I wasn’t a huge action movie fan, but it was really the only decent thing playing, and I didn’t care as long as I got to sit next to Cai and breathe him in.
Nerves zinged through me as we settled into our seats. My palms were sweaty, and I had to wipe them constantly on my jeans. What if he took my hand and it was gross and wet? I’d be mortified. Although we’d touched hands many times before, this was different.
The lights went out, and the movie started, and I swore I was going to hyperventilate. Every once in a while I glanced over at him, and he would glance at me and smile. We shared a bag of popcorn, our fingers touching every once in a while, and I gave him some licorice. Then half way through the movie, with the popcorn done and the licorice tucked away in my purse, Cai reached over and took my hand in his. I bit down on my bottom lip to stop from screaming “Yes !”
My heart pounded so hard I was sure he would be able to hear it. I closed my eyes and hoped like heck that I wouldn’t start sweating. I couldn’t imagine him wanting to hold a hot, sweaty hand. Licking my lips, I took in a deep breath and tried to play it cool. But by the little twitch on his lips, I didn’t think I had succeeded.
After that, the movie went by like a shooting star, and all I could concentrate on was Cai’s warm hand in mine. When the house lights came back on and the credits rolled, Cai turned to me. “Did you like it?”
“Yeah,” I lied. I honestly didn’t even know what happened in it. While Dwayne Johnson was running around doing stunts and shooting people, Cai was thoroughly dancing in my head and in my heart.
We left the theater together, everyone chatting about the movie and how cool it was, or how not impressive, as per April, and walked down the street to the old-timey diner for burgers and fries. Once inside, Cai ordered both of us double cheeseburgers loaded and large fries. When it came, we sat in a booth in the corner on our own. Thankfully the others didn’t mind.
I didn’t realize how hungry I was until the delicious burger sat in a straw basket in front of me. My stomach actually growled. Loudly.
Cai chuckled. “Eat, girl, before that growling gets out of hand.”
I blushed but laughed. I picked up the hamburger and took a big bite. I was not one of those girls who was embarrassed about eating. As I devoured the food, Cai watched me, smiling.
“What?” I asked between bites, careful not to drop food out of my mouth.
“You’re really beautiful.”
I laughed. “Oh yeah, I can imagine with my cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk storing food for the winter.”
He reached over and wiped a bit of mustard from the corner of my mouth, then tilted his head to study me. “Yup, just as I thought, still beautiful.”
His words filled me to the brim. My heart felt like it was swelling in my chest. This was what falling in love must be like. To be overwhelmed with the sound, sight, smell, and thought of the other person. And his touch…his touch sent me to another world altogether.
As we finished our food, chatting about nothing in particular, just our likes and dislikes, I wanted to ask him about my suspicions that he was somehow prompting me to fail in class. I was sure I was imagining it, that it was my own insecurities about not being good enough projected onto Cai. But it still bothered me. I opened my mouth to say something but closed it quickly. I pushed the thought away and just enjoyed the moment with him. We needed to go back to the school soon. We had curfew.
After everyone else got into their respective vehicles, Cai and I made our way to the truck, which was parked about a block down from the theater. As we neared the street, Cai still holding my hand, and me too excited I could hardly contain myself, the streetlamp overhead flickered. I didn’t think anything of it, but Cai seemed to tense up.
He slowed his walking speed and, lifting his head, seemed to smell the air. A shiver went down my back watching him. Everything about him seemed to change, just enough that I noticed. His muscles were tense, his gaze was alert, looking everywhere at once, or so it seemed. He pulled me closer to him, as if wanting to shield me from something. He looked bigger, more imposing.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
The streetlamp flickered again, then blinked off, plunging us into a pool of darkness. A bottle rolled down the side street, as if someone had kicked it. Cai put his arm around me, and turned toward the sound. A low growl started in his throat. I swore, although I’d not be quick to admit it to anyone, his eyes changed. The pupils swelled, and the blue iris rings seemed to almost glow. And call me crazy, but I recognized those eyes, and they didn’t belong to some cute boy I had a crush on.
Another noise sounded from the alleyway next to us. Sounded like shuffling feet, and the flap of wings. Then came a snuffling sound like a pig almost. I recognized that sound from the other night. Out of nowhere, Cai grabbed me and swung me up over his shoulder. It was so quick and effortless, I yelped as he ran toward the truck.
“Cai!” I yelled. “What are you doing?”
When he reached the truck, he quickly unlocked the passenger door, opened it, and slid me inside, careful not to bump my head on the roof. He shut the door once I was in and ran around to get into the driver’s side. Without a word of explanation, he stuck the key in, started it, and we peeled out of the parking spot and shot down the road toward the school. I had to brace myself against the dashboard so I didn’t go careening into him as he turned the corner.
“You’re scaring me.” My teeth started to chatter, and I couldn’t get warm, not even with the heater vents blasting on me. “What’s going on? Who are we running from?” I glanced through the back window wondering if someone was chasing us, because that was how Cai was acting.
“We just need to get back to the school. We’ll be safe.” He never took his eyes off the road, although I could see his gaze flickering now and then to the rearview mirror.
“Safe from what?”
He didn’t answer.
“Cai, safe from what? Please answer me.” I was near tears.
“Can you trust me?” He glanced at me, reaching over with a hand to grab mine. “I need you to trust me right now.”
I stared into his eyes for a moment, saw the boy I really liked and respected, and nodded. “Okay.”
Chapter Twenty
Cai
&nb
sp; I hated that I could smell Dani’s fear and that I had everything to do with creating it. I hadn’t meant to scare her. All I knew was I had to get us out of there. I had to protect her. I had scented something dangerous nearby. The smell of lavender had been strong. I had smelled one of them.
I drove fast down the road, checking the mirrors. Although if we were being chased, it wouldn’t be from the road—it would be from the air. I rolled down the window and adjusted the side mirror upward. I could feel Dani’s questioning gaze on me; I was going to have to tell her something when we got back to the safety of the school grounds. Whether it was the truth or not, I hadn’t decided quite yet. Marvel had warned us to keep our secrets to ourselves, but that was before Dani was in danger.
The left turn to the campus was just up ahead. I didn’t want to take it too fast and land us in the ditch, so I slowed a little, but that was when I heard the heavy thwap of large leathery wings above the truck through the open driver’s side window. I sped up, looking in the side mirror to see if I could spot where it was. The sudden bang on the roof told me all I needed to know.
“Oh my God! What was that?”
“Hang on!”
I cranked the wheel to make the turn and actually felt the right wheels coming off the ground a little, as I had little to no traction around the corner. Thank God there wasn’t ice on the ground yet, or else we would be overturned in the ditch no question. I got us straightened out and raced down the road toward the main gate. I could just make it out in the distance, even in the dark.
There was another rattling bang on the roof, and some screeching on metal from what I assumed was a set of long, sharp talons. Dani screamed, and tears started to rush down her face. I wanted to cradle her and tell her everything was going to be okay, but I had to get us safe first or there wasn’t going to be an okay.
I put the pedal to the floor, the gate rushing up at us like we were going at light speed. I heard another thump and shriek on the roof, and realized that it had attached itself to the truck. As we got closer, I grabbed the remote opener for the huge metal gate. All staff had one, so it was already in Frank’s truck.
“Brace yourself!”
Dani instantly put her feet up on the dashboard and braced her legs, just as I slammed on the brakes. A dark shape rolled down the windshield, over the hood and landed on the ground in front of the truck. I pressed the button for the gate to open, and it started, although it was never fast enough for times like these.
Before I could do anything, Dani had opened the door and jumped out. “What did we hit? Was it a deer?
“Dani!” I was out of the truck and coming around to her side. “Get back inside! It’s not safe!”
But it was too late.
Dani’s eyes were wide with shock as she stared down into the malformed face of a five-foot-tall winged monkey with an attitude. It hissed at her and lunged with its unnatural hooked claws.
Instinct propelled me forward. Faster than I thought possible, I leaped over the hood of the truck and grabbed the creature by one wing. I yanked it backward and flung it to the side, away from Dani. Whipping around, it shrieked at me and raked a talon down my arm. The pain was instant—a sharp burning sensation rushed up from my wrist. But it didn’t stop me, didn’t slow me. Nothing mattered but protecting Dani.
I leaped on top of it before it could make another move toward Dani. Pinning it to the ground with all my body weight, I leaned in and bit into its neck. Careful not to ingest any of its caustic blood, I pulled back before it could flood over me. It shrieked again and tried to buck me off, but I was too strong, working on pure raw instinct to protect my mate and kill my enemy. Finally, its movements stilled. When I got to my feet, the thing literally dissolved into the dirt, leaving only an oily black pool.
“Oh my God, Cai.”
I turned toward Dani. She was staring at me, her hands shaking, her face pale. For a brief second I couldn’t figure out why she was looking at me so strangely. But then I saw my hands…well, paws would’ve been a better word for what I was gawking at. Orange fur had sprouted on the backs, and my nails were curved and about four inches long.
I opened my mouth, trying to say her name, but it came out muffled and guttural. Turning, I glanced at my reflection in the window of the truck. My muzzle hadn’t fully formed, but my teeth had certainly popped out. But it was my eyes that were the most startling. There was no mistaking their feline slant.
“I knew it!” she exclaimed with a nervous laugh.
“You’re not…” I had to open my mouth wide to get around my teeth. “You’re not scared of me?”
“Oh hell no!”
Then she was in my arms. She buried her face in my chest, and I felt her sharp intake of breath and heavy sigh afterward. I stroked her hair and pressed my face against her head.
“Let’s get you warm, and I’ll tell you everything.”
A half hour later, we were sitting in Frank’s living quarters, which was a stone cottage right next to the cat enclosure, drinking hot chocolate. Dani was wrapped in a blanket by the fireplace, with a fire raging inside. I sat next to her and told her what I could, without getting everyone into trouble.
“That was you by the stream, right? And not Ozzy?”
I nodded and sipped my hot chocolate.
“And Leander is a shape-shifting lion? And Frank here raised both of you fully knowing the truth?”
“Yes.”
Frank nodded from his perch in his large easy chair. He was reclining in it and drinking a soda as if we were just two visitors to his happy home, enjoying some quality neighbor time together.
“And the thing that”—she took in a deep breath—“that attacked the truck and me, was a flying monkey?”
“Yeah.”
“What did it want? Why was it after us?”
“Me. It was after me.”
She sat up suddenly as a thought seemed to strike her, and she nearly spilled her drink. “Is it also a shape-shifter? Are you like in some kind of ancient shape-shifter war or something?”
I glanced at Frank on the sly. He gave me a little nod, like yeah, run with that, and then nodded at Dani. “Yeah, that’s about right.”
She set her drink on the table and pulled off the blanket. “Really? That’s what you’re going with? An ancient shape-shifter war?” She got to her feet. “I’d like to go back to my room now. I’m tired of being lied to.”
I stood and grabbed her hands. “Dani, it’s not like that.”
“What’s it like then? Why can’t you tell me the truth? I mean I’ve not only seen you naked, I’ve seen you shape-shift.”
“I am telling you the truth.” She gave me a look. “Well, most of it. There are just some things I can’t tell you. I’m sorry.”
“Why?”
“Because they would put you in danger. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if you got hurt.”
She softened a little at that, and I sighed with relief. Reaching up, she pressed a hand to my face and stroked a thumb over my brow just above my eye.
“My parents, who were also shape-shifters, were killed by—” I glanced at Frank. “By poachers when we were in tiger form. I was left on my own. Until Frank and Ozzy found me naked in a cave about two miles from where my parents were shot.”
She glanced at Frank, who was trying hard not to look at us and mind his own business. It wasn’t working, because he said, “And he’s been trouble for me ever since.”
Dani laughed, and I hugged her close. “I’m sorry our date was ruined by a flying monkey.”
She shrugged. “It was amazing until then.”
I smiled, wishing I could kiss her, but thought better of it. I didn’t want to do it in front of Frank. Again. “I want to tell you everything—”
Before I could finish that sentence, the door to Frank’s cottage opened, and Professor Marvel swept in like a dark storm cloud. Worried, I glanced at Frank.
He shrugged. “I had to call him, Cai. You know that.�
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Marvel glanced at Dani, dismissed her, than glared at me. “I warned you. I told you to do the job you were instructed to do and that’s it.”
Dani’s eyes widened. “What does he mean, Cai?”
He raised one eyebrow. “You poor girl. Ignorance is surely bliss.” He pointed at me, then to the sofa. “Sit. Tell me everything that’s occurred and leave nothing out, including how this all happened.” And by this, he meant Dani and me, because he swirled his finger around in front of our faces.
Obediently I sat down. Dani looked around for a moment. “Okay, I’m not sure what’s going on, but I’m pretty sure you can’t treat Cai, or me for that matter, like this. I’m going to tell Dean Vasilev exactly…” Her words died out in her mouth as Marvel’s hands glowed green and tendrils of unholy fire flickered playfully around his fingertips. She gaped at him, clearly in shock.
“I suggest you join Cai on the sofa, dear girl.”
She did. I grabbed her hand in mine, needing the comfort and security of her touch, then told him everything. From Dani seeing me in the woods, to smelling one of the Wizard’s minions outside the fence, to encountering one while out on a date in town.
Marvel remained stoic and silent throughout the whole thing. His gaze never wavered. He actually looked like a wax statue standing there, unmoving, unblinking. It was unnerving. I could tell it bothered Dani as well, since she couldn’t even look at him. She just stared down at our joined hands while I spoke.
When I was finished, Marvel walked to the sitting room window in the cottage and looked out into the night. White snowflakes fluttered down in front of the glass. It was the first snowfall of the year. I had heard it was going to be a hard, cold winter. I sensed it was a harbinger of things to come.
Marvel looked over at Frank, who had been pretty quiet through all of this. “Frank, some tea is in order, I think. We’ll all have a cup and make a plan.”
Frank got up, licking his lips nervously. “Any flavor you have in mind?”
Marvel just smiled at him but said nothing.
While Frank made the tea, Dani and I just kind of stared at the floor. Every once in a while we’d sneak glances at each other. Marvel continued to peer out the window. Thankfully, after an agonizing few minutes, Frank returned with the tea, handing everyone a cup, Marvel first, me second, and Dani last. He took a cup for himself and sat back down in his easy chair. Except he didn’t look as relaxed as before.
