SHIFTED: The midnight series

by Toni Goode

  “No, he didn’t I swear!” Emma said with fear.

  “I knew that son of a bitch was involved in this. I knew it!” John snapped angrily.

  “Just because Jacob was there doesn’t mean that he was involved ok. He is their elder. He has to check in on them and make sure that everything is cool.” Steele said quickly but even he didn’t believe his own words.

  “Listen I don’t know what the hell is going on but your freaking both of us out!” Briana finally yelled as she looked John. Please John, just go blow off steam in another room. This isn’t helping at all. Briana’s words filled his mind and he quickly stormed off into the kitchen. Steele followed him.

  “What’s happening?” Emma said with worry as she looked at Briana.

  “I’m not entirely sure. It’s a long story but it’s going to be fine.” Briana said quickly though she was just as confused as Emma and also a bit worried. Images kept crossing through Johns mind about the council and Kate’s murder as well as Ana’s condition currently.

  “I didn’t think that they were real vampires. I mean it was a pretty convincing paint job, but I thought it was just a bunch of Emo’s, but all of it is real.” Emma began to panic a bit as Briana sat next to her.

  “Listen it’s fine. Yes, it’s real but everyone lives in harmony and.” Briana began.

  “Harmony? Aren’t they supposed enemies like in the movies?” Emma said in shock.

  “Things are a lot more civilized then in the movies.” Briana said honestly.

  “This is so weird. How has this been going on without anyone knowing?” Emma asked in shock. “And how did you become that wolf?”

  “John saved my life. That’s what I couldn’t tell you. I was dying, and he changed me to save me.” Briana said seriously.

  “Holy Shit Bree. Didn’t you freak out?” Emma said in shock as she shook her and tried to process what she was feeling.

  “Yeah more than once actually.” Briana said quickly. “It still freaks me out and I can’t control it like they can, hence my outburst earlier which I am so sorry about.” She said honestly.

  A knock on the door made both the girls jump as John and Steele came back in the room.

  John quickly went to the door. His brother Michael stood there shaking his head. “Jesus John, I heard what happened. Word is circulating quick, where is the girl?” He said seriously.

  “She’s inside.” John said as Michael walked into the house. “Who told you?”

  “This isn’t good John. First Briana and now Emma.” Michael said as he looked at his brother and began to walk into the Livingroom.

  “How did you know her name?” John asked with confusion as Michael entered the living room and Emma gasped some.

  “Who is that?” Emma said with shocked look.

  “That’s just Johns brother Michael.” Briana began as John came walking into the room quickly.

  “Michael, I asked you a question.” John said quickly but Emma spoke first.

  “He was there, at the club with that old dude.” Emma said in shock as she pointed at Michael.

  “What?” Briana said with confusion.

  “Michael what the hell is going on?” John raised his voice. As Michael walked into the room more. “Michael!’ He yelled now and grabbed his arm.

  Michael spun around and faced his brother. He had a crazy look in his eye. “I warned you that something bad could happen John and you just wouldn’t listen to me. And now the death of this girl is on your hands.” Michael said in an almost crazy tone.

  “What the hell are you talking about!” John yelled at his brother who quickly pulled something out of his pocket and he launched it across the room. It was a large knife and it was flying right at Emma’s head, but Briana jumped up and it stabbed her in the shoulder as she fell against Emma who let out a scream.

  “God damn it now I’m going to have to get my hands dirty!” Michael yelled as John grabbed him hard and swung him into the wall.

  “Are you out of your god damn mind!” John yelled in shock as Michael grinned. “Steele get the girls out of here!” John yelled as Steele was already over by them. Briana was groaning in pain at the knife in her shoulder.

  “You wouldn’t just leave well enough alone! Kate was an accident, you told me that you were heading across town to that hardware store but then it was just Kate. She had seen too much by then and I couldn’t let her live.” Michael began as John’s mind raced with what he was hearing. He couldn’t believe what Michael was saying. “I knew it would only be a matter of time before you found out and then I heard that you were snooping and asking questions. Then you had to stumble into Briana and stir all of this up.” Michael continued.

  “You son of a bitch! What did you do!” John slammed Michael’s back into the wall.

  “It’s called natural selection at it’s best. Weeding out the weak John. I had hoped you would have backed out of your title after Kate but of course you didn’t. Ana was a smart one though, she had caught onto me early and well we see how that turned out.” Michael shook his head.

  “I’m going to kill you.” John said through gritted teeth.

  “I highly doubt that but after the council see’s what you did to my wife, well they will have no choice but to sentence you to death.” Michael smiled. “I mean what kind of sick bastard cuts a baby out of a body and takes off with it.”

  “You’re a sick bastard. Your crazy, you have lost your mind!” John yelled as he put his hand tight around Michael’s throat. “You killed your wife?” John said in complete shock as he body began to burn up dangerously fast.

  “No, you did John. You are so sick with grief over Kate that you went after Maria. She held up a good fight too, god rest her soul.” Michael smiled as John grabbed him and tossed him hard onto the floor. Within second John was changing into his wolf as Briana went in and out of consciousness. Her head began to clear as she witnessed the transformation with the guys. Michael jumped up and shifted too as the wolves collided in midair.

  “We got to get the hell out of here!” Steele said as he helped to get Briana up and Emma.

  “No, we can’t just leave him!” Briana yelled out as she grabbed the end of the knife and with a swift pull it came out of her body as well as an enormous amount of blood.

  “Oh my god! What the hell is happening!” Emma was in complete shock but then Briana heard Johns wolf cry out as Michael bit at his back leg.

  Briana didn’t think as she changed quickly into her wolf, but the transformation hurt terribly because of the wound and she fell to the ground and cried out in her wolf form.

  “Shit! Don’t move!” Steele yelled as he lunged into the air and his wolf slammed into Michael as he skidded across the floor.

  Emma looked at Briana who was in her wolf form on the ground and then she looked at the other wolves and she backed up with her head shaking. This was all just too much for her. The sound of growls filled the air.

  John and Steele both grabbed at Michael but the sound of glass breaking, and Emma’s scream made them both turn as two fangers came through the window. One was familiar, it was the last vampire that John had been after. He immediately lunged for it as the other vampire grabbed Emma and bit into her neck.

  Briana watched in horror as Emma screamed and the vampire bit her. Briana jumped up and threw herself at the Emma. She knocked the vampire off of her as he flew across the room and Emma grabbed her neck as she moved to the corner of the room in horror. Briana jumped for the vampire, but he grabbed her hard and threw her across the room. Her body flew into Steele as she changed in mid-flight. She cried out in pain as Steele looked over at John who was shaking the other vampire like a rag doll. He saw Emma across the room and the vampire that stood a few feet away, smiling at him with huge fangs. He lunged for him as Emma cried out in fear.

  John shook the vampire until his head separated from the body and he tossed the lifeless vampire onto the ground. He looked to Briana and then he saw Michael running at her. Joh
n ran and slammed his body into Michael’s as they crashed into a bedroom. Both of them shook off the debris as they growled at each other. They moved in a circle around the room before lunging at one another, teeth bared as they bit where they could. Blood was quickly splattering across the room with each bite.

  Steele grabbed the vampire by his arm and swung him hard as he crashed into the floor. Emma stared at the vampire who was still alive and looking at her menacingly. She grabbed a long piece of wood that had broken from the window and she jabbed it right into the vampire’s heart like she had seen it done in movies. The vampire screamed out and then he exploded into a million tiny pieces of dust. She looked at Steele who was still in wolf form. He was large and grey with tiny specks of black in his fur. He looked at her for a moment before running towards John who was still fighting his brother Michael.

  Briana looked at Emma who was standing now across the room. She looked absolutely terrified but then she looked at Briana and ran over to her. “Oh my god, your bleeding bad.” Emma quickly took off her jacket and pressed it against the open wound on Briana’s shoulder. The sound of growling loud made both the girls look as John and Steele fought against Michael.

  “We need to do something.” Briana said quickly as she looked around the room as she laid there. Her body hurt tremendously but she knew that something needed to be done. She couldn’t lose John or Steele. Her eyes landed on a gun that was above the fireplace. It was an old school shotgun. “Grab that gun quick.” Briana pointed towards it. She hoped that it was loaded. Emma ran for it and Briana slowly got to her feet but as she did she saw someone standing by the front door. She turned to see an older man there. He was definitely a vampire and then she heard a loud crash as John flew back into the room and landed on his side as his wolf looked at Jacob, the elder vampire. John looked to Briana and his mind shouted at her. RUN but before she could process it Jacob had grabbed her and held her by the neck as she gasped for air.

  Emma’s eyes got wide as she cried out and grabbed the gun. She had never held a gun before, but she knew she had to do something. She aimed and fired at the old man who held Briana against the wall, but the bullet only nicked his shoulder as he looked at her with rage in his eyes.

  John used the opportunity for Jacob to be distracted as he lunged for him and they slammed into the wall. The force of it knocked Briana out cold as her body lay limp on the ground. John bit at Jacob as the elder grabbed his large wolf body and threw him hard onto the floor. The sound of bones being crushed immediately had John look up as Steele tossed the now lifeless body of Michael onto the floor. His wolf form changed almost instantly as his motionless body laid there. Steele then looked at Jacob and then John. Steele lunged for Jacob and bit him across the torso as Jacob yelled out. Steele had gone blood thirsty, a term used when wolves ingest too much blood. The blood lust is nearly unstoppable and when they are in this rage they could hurt those they don’t intend too. It’s a frenzy.

  Steele grabbed Jacobs legs and she shook the body violently, soon John was joining in as he rushed over and grabbed Jacob’s head. Emma watched in shock as both wolves pulled against the body and it came apart in a grotesque scene of blood and then the body erupted into grey dust that filled the air.

  Steele snapped his large jaw at John as they stood facing each other. Steele growled and then howled loud as he shook his head back and forth. John braced himself for Steele to attack him but instead he quickly shifted back to his human form as he ran over to Briana.

  John followed suit as he changed back and rushed over to Briana who was still completely out of it on the ground. So much had occurred in the such a short time. John was still in shock over the current situation. He looked over at his brother’s lifeless body. Crazy emotions ran through him as the reality of the situation began in the fore front of his mind. Michael had done this, all of this and with Jacob’s help. And for what? To be Alpha? John couldn’t understand it. Michael had killed Kate and Maria. Why? He didn’t think he would ever fully understand why he had chosen this path.

  Briana’s soft groan brought him back to reality as Steele held her head up some as he knelt next to her. “We have to get out of here, now John.” Steele said seriously as he looked at Emma who stood there in shock. “Are you ok? Injured?” Steele asked as Emma shook her head quick.

  John moved over to Steele and looked at him. “I got her, get Emma. We can’t stay here anymore.” John said quickly as he picked up Briana and Steele went over to Emma who was completely freaked out, understandably so considering what had just took place.

  “I will grab clothes, come help me quick.” He said towards Emma who followed him upstairs.

  John held Briana in his arms as she fluttered her eyes and looked up at him. “Shh your ok. I got you.” John said softly as he brushed hair from her face. She was covered in blood but thankfully the large wound was already showing signs of healing. John looked around the room and the scene before him. All of their lives were about to change drastically. An elder was dead, his brother was dead and there would be hell to pay for it. John knew what they all needed to do, they were going rogue.

  TO BE CONTINUED…

  Stay tuned for the second book Hunted, which will continue the journey for Briana and John.

  Much Love, Toni