The Baby Shift- Maine

by Becca Fanning

  Timothy said, "He has to pay for this. Every one of the Floyd bastards has to pay."

  Derek had a cold look in his eyes now. It was the kind Diana used to see in their father when he talked about Jonathan Floyd. Derek said, "If the cops don't have the balls to put an end to those feline scums, then we have to take matters into our own hands."

  Clarissa said, "I'm in. I still have the key to where Dad stashed his hunting weapons. Let's go get those bastards."

  Timothy spoke then saying, "We have to be careful. Nothing must trace back to us." They all turned to face Diana. She shook her head.

  "I'm sorry, guys. I fully support your attack, but I feel sick to the stomach right now. I can't join you," she said. And she was right, for her heart was sick.

  Chapter 4

  "Hurry up, Alex! Meet us at the hotel in the next couple of minutes!" Alex heard Junior call out from the parking lot. All four siblings, including him, were on their way to a hotel secretly owned by the family. In a way they were on the run, although Alex did not know from what exactly.

  All he was aware of was that the moment they arrived from prison, Derek suggested they hide out within Rockville until investigations were complete on Henry Reynolds’ murder.

  "I knew the Reynolds brothers when I was a kid. They are just like their father. Impulsive and dangerous," Derek had said.

  Alex would have been on his way to the hotel just like they were, but decided to make a call from the mansion before leaving. Having exposed his own secret in exchange for the release of his siblings from prison, he felt a great urge to explain things to her, maybe even tell he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her these past few days.

  He heard the sounds of heavy footsteps at the doorway just as he picked up the telephone in the living room. Someone was trying to break into the mansion. Alex turned around just in time to see Diana's brothers break through the door shoulder-first.

  "Where are they?" Derek asked, pointing a rifle in his direction.

  Alex could see the others pulling up their weapons. He felt a sense of relief when he saw that Diana was not with them.

  "I'll ask you one last time, bastard. Where are there?"

  At that point, he knew that there was only one way to get out of this without violence: flight. He dashed in the opposite direction, gracefully leaping over chairs and tables as he headed for the back door. He could sense them running after him. Alex decided he would cover more ground in lion form. He let his mind reach for the creature asleep in his soul. It was hardly ever let out so it looked forward to every wake-up call.

  He felt his insides melt as his run turned into a stagger. The hairs were already beginning to grow thick and fast into fur. "He's shifting. Shoot him down!" he heard someone shout behind him.

  The first tranquilizer stuck him in the neck. At first he did not think much of it, but when the dizziness started to set in, he knew the gig was up. Another tranquilizer bullet caught him in the left shoulder. The dizziness was becoming unbearable. He felt himself fall heavily on the floor, knocking over a vase. And then darkness took over.

  "Are you certain he's alive?" Diana asked her brothers as she stared at Alex's motionless body, his arms and legs chained to the wall. They were in a secret basement at the back of the Reynolds mansion.

  "Yes," Clarissa replied. “He's very much alive, only sedated.” Clarissa was as cold-hearted as her brothers and sometimes even more.

  Diana frowned. "When he wakes up, he's going to shift. In lion form, he could break those chains like biscuits."

  It was Timothy who replied to her, saying, "We added chemical inhibitors to the tranqs. It should render him incapable of shifting for some hours."

  Diana nodded. Her gaze fell back on Alex's face. He looked so beautiful while asleep. She realized that his beard were fuller and his hair was a much brighter color of gold now, just like other lion shifters. It reminded her that she really didn't know him, yet she felt so drawn to him.

  Marko yawned. "Hunting for lion meat has made me work up an appetite. What's for dinner, sis?"

  Forcing her attention away from thoughts of Alex, she replied, "I made apple pie and pancakes while you were away. Y'all can go to the dinning room while I dish the food."

  Thirty minutes later, all four siblings were seated at the dining table enjoying a meal of apple pie, pancakes, and wine. They took that time to plan the next step. The Floyds were at large, having abandoned their half-brother. If they were ever going to find them, they needed Alex. Clarissa suggested they torture him till he talked and that seemed to be the best idea.

  Timothy asked, "Are you certain he'll snitch on his family?"

  Marko said, "He hardly knows them. And they left him behind. He should definitely talk. Besides, I'll bring my A game tomorrow during the interrogation. He has no idea the amount of pain that's..." He yawned.

  Clarissa yawned too. "Damn. I must be really tired."

  Timothy said, "You have no idea." His eyes were already beginning to shut involuntarily.

  Diana watched as one by one, her siblings began to fall asleep right there on the dinner table. The tranquilizer serum she had slipped into their wine had finally kicked in. Her heart began to beat rapidly. She had drugged her own family, all for what: a man that could very easily be her worst enemy? No matter what, there was no turning back now. She searched Marko's pockets for the keys to the secret basement.

  Alex was only just stirring back into consciousness when she came into the basement. He stiffened as he heard someone walk in.

  "No need to pretend to be asleep, Alex. It's me," she said.

  He raised his head, but refused to open his eyes. "I'm sorry, Diana. I couldn't smell you come in. They did something to my lion half. I can't access it."

  "I know," she said. "Inhibitors."

  "That's a banned substance," he said. "They could face many years for having that, not to talk of using it on a shifter."

  "My brothers can take care of themselves. Why won’t you open your eyes?"

  "I can't. I don't want you to see me like this."

  A tear rolled down her left cheek. "Well, I want to. I need to see your eyes. Please, Alex. Show me your eyes."

  And then he opened them. Instead of the pitch black iris she was used to, she saw a pair made of gold. The sight took her breath away. She knew them.

  "Those eyes - the lion that saved me that night. He looked at me the way you are now. It was you, wasn't it?" she asked.

  "Yes. I had to come back for you when I sensed you were in trouble."

  The tears were falling freely now. "That's all I needed to know," she said.

  Alex spoke. "Those masked men. I smelled them. They weren't Floyds, I promise you that. I didn't hurt them because I've promised myself never to kill as an animal no matter what."

  She stared at his eyes, wondering whether to believe him or not. After what seemed like seconds, she said, "I believe you, Alex. I think I believed you the moment I saw you lying here helplessly. That’s why I'm risking everything to save you. I stole the keys to the chains. Let's get out of here."

  Chapter 5

  The Gateway Hotel was one of the few hotels that was closed a lot more times than it was open. No one in Rockville could understand why the hotel kept shutting down and refusing to lodge customers. Unknown to the public, the Floyd family owned the hotel and used it whenever one of them wanted to stay under the radar.

  Alex only learned this piece of information that morning, when the family was planning their exit from the mansion. His kidnap had delayed his plan to meet up with his siblings, but as soon as he and Diana ran out of that basement, they got in her car and drove straight to the Gateway Hotel.

  As expected, the sign outside the hotel read "closed" but they drove in anyway. The hotel staff, a middle-aged woman at the reception was expecting Alex, but appeared confused at the sight of Diana. She had no choice but to show them both to the family suite.

  Alex's siblings were more surprised to see
Diana than they were to see Alex. Derek said, "We thought you abandoned us. Maybe went back to Rhode Island. We didn't know you were planning on bringing the people we're running from to our doorsteps." All three shifters had stealthily formed a circle around them, like lions would their prey.

  Alex said, "I didn't run away. I was kidnapped, but Diana saved me."

  "And you want us to trust her after she called the cops on us?" Deborah asked.

  "No. I want you to trust ME. She risked so much to save me. And let's face it, she wouldn't be here if she still believed we were murderers."

  There was silence for minutes. In that space of time, Alex lost count of the number of glances his siblings threw at each other. It was Derek who finally spoke.

  "Okay, she stays. But she's your responsibility and we expect you to keep an eye on her. That means she sleeps in your room."

  "I'm sorry for the inconvenience," Diana said. They were both lying on a king-sized bed with their backs to each other. The suite bedroom was well furnished with expensive upholstery. The lights were dim, but she could see what was happening around her clearly.

  Alex turned over to face her. She did the same. "Don't be silly, Diana. No inconvenience here. I'm just happy to see you safe."

  Diana took another glance at his face and frowned. "Are you okay? You look pale."

  He smiled at her, and Diana was certain it was to hide his frailties from her. He said, "I'm fine. It's just the effects of the inhibitors. I still can't shift. I don't need to try to know that. When the animal in a shifter is asleep, it makes him weak. I'll be fine in a couple of hours."

  With that, he rested his back on the bed and faced the ceiling, exposing his left arm to her line of vision. She caught sight of a red mark on his bicep - a scar.

  She placed a hand on it and felt him stiffen. Was that a reaction from a shot of pain or was it her tender touch? She could not tell.

  Diana asked, "This is the bullet wound you got while saving my life, isn't it?"

  "Yes, it is."

  "I'm sorry." And she meant it with all her heart.

  He smiled, still staring at the ceiling. "This little thing? It was only a flesh wound, and being a pure-born, I heal pretty quickly."

  She had no idea what a "pure-born" meant, but she was suddenly overwhelmed by a flood of conflicting emotions for this man she hardly knew, but who she felt like she had been waiting for all her life. She found herself leaning forward and kissing his scar lightly.

  He turned his head to fix his golden eyes on her face. "Why did you do that?" he asked.

  "I don't know. Impulse, I guess," she said, unable to pull her gaze away from his eyes. Before she could say anything else, he leaned in and their lips brushed ever so slightly. He did not press them against hers but let them linger, giving her an unspoken chance to pull away.

  She didn't want to pull away. She couldn't. She needed him, and that need drove her to part her lips and lean into him. The kiss was unlike any she had ever had. His mouth engulfed hers with a ferocious hunger that she could not comprehend. Diana moaned and opened her mouth, effectively inviting his tongue into her mouth.

  Alex's hands began to trace a path on the thin nightgown she wore. His warm palm slowly slid down from the nape of her neck to her bosom. He squeezed her breasts through the fabric and she moaned while sucking on his hot tongue in appreciation.

  The loud bang ruptured through their passion filled brains with such force that they instantly pulled apart. Diana looked around in a daze

  "What was that?" she asked.

  "I don't know. My lion senses still haven't returned, but I could tell it came from the living room."

  They hurriedly climbed off the bed and ran out of the room into the corridor. As they drew near the living room, Diana could here loud voices coming from within. When they finally reached the spacious living room, she was hit with the shock of her life.

  The Floyd siblings were all standing side by side, and so were the Reynolds. Marko, Timothy, and Clarissa stood in front of the broken front door, aiming tranquilizer rifles at the Floyds. Derek turned to give Alex a deadly look the moment he walked into the scene.

  "Seems like your Reynolds bitch isn't exactly the damsel in distress you made us believe she was," Derek said to him.

  Alex gazed at Diana with heartrending pain in his eyes. At first all Diana could do was stare at him in confusion, but then she found her voice and managed to mutter, "No, Alex. Please don't look at me like that. I had nothing to do with this."

  Alex shook his head. "Then how do you explain this?"

  "They must have placed a tracker on my phone. They know I take after my late mom and can't go anywhere without my phone. I should have known getting you out was too easy. They knew my plans all along."

  The look on Alex's face was conflicted, but that on his siblings' faces was that of pure anger. One by one, Diana watched them metamorphose into large lions with bushy manes except Deborah, the werelioness who shifted without a mane. Diana was sure Alex would have done the same if not for the chemical inhibitors in his bloodstream.

  "Shoot them down!" Clarissa screamed. The three of them opened fire on the lions. Diana watched as the three lions dashed about in different directions. She had never seen anything move so fast. The tranquilizer bullets went completely amiss. Before her siblings could take aim again, all three lions had gathered around Diana, pinning her to a corner.

  Alex raised his voice, gesturing for the Floyds to lower their weapons. "Stop!" he said. "Can't you see? They'll rip her apart if you shoot."

  Her siblings seemed to understand the situation. They slowly and reluctantly lowered their weapons. "Leave her alone," Marko said. "She's innocent."

  The lions did not seem to want to listen. They stayed close to her, snapping their teeth at her legs every time she tried to move forward. Diana was sure the lions were going to kill her as soon as her family dropped their guns. It was only a matter of time.

  What happened next changed her perspective on human willpower. Alex screamed out with pain, causing everyone to glance his way. She watched as he slowly shifted into a lion - one she was already familiar with. He was bigger than all the other lions.

  Before Diana could move, the big creature leaped over the other lions and landed beside her. His eyes said it all. She immediately held his neck and straddled him like she did her horses. The lioness tried to claw at her leg but Alex raised his paws and pinned the creature down.

  Before anyone could decide on the next step, Alex leaped with her still on his back. He ran straight at the Reynolds siblings who all had to jump out of the way for fear of being crushed. Alex ran even faster after passing them. He took Diana and zoomed out through the broken door, living the lions and the hunters to confront each other.

  Alex only stopped carrying her on his back when they were safely away. He let her get off in a dark alley and then shifted back into his human form. At the look on her face upon seeing his naked body, Alex smiled.

  "We shift. Our clothes don't," he said. She still had her cellphone stuck in her nightgown pocket so she hurriedly paid for some new clothes in a nearby store and brought them to him.

  "Where to now?" she asked once he was dressed.

  "The train station. We're leaving this town until things cool off," he said.

  The fastest way to the train station was by bus, so they boarded a large bus with few passengers. They took seats close to the back and sat down beside each other as the bus drove through the streets.

  "I don't have any money on me, but once we pay for the train using your mobile bank, I want you to toss away your phone," he said.

  "So you believe me?"

  "Yes. Don't ask me why, but I just do."

  She smiled. "Thanks for saving my life, again."

  Alex was just about to tell her how he would save her over and over again when something registered in his senses. It had taken intense emotions for him to access his animal side; however, his lion senses were back. He c
ould smell someone behind them. Not just anybody, but someone important.

  It took him a while to finally place the scent but once he did, he felt a cold chill run down his spine. That was the smell of the man who had shot him when he tried to save Diana. He subtly sniffed the air. They were more of them - the other two masked men, and they were all seated amongst other passengers in the bus. This wasn't a coincidence. They were either tailing them to finish the job on Diana or to kill them both.

  "Diana, you still have that detective's number, right?" Alex asked.

  "Yes."

  "Send him a text informing him of where we are headed, and that my siblings are after you." When she looked at him with surprise he added, "I need you to trust me, Diana. I need you to trust me once more." She nodded and began to operate her phone. The bus soon arrived at the train station and all passengers had to exit the bus.

  Alex held Diana's hand firmly as they walked through the crowd in the train station. His nose told him the men were still on their trail. He smiled. He would hang around the train station until the police arrived. But he never got that luxury. A gunshot rang out from the crowd. There was pandemonium as people ran for safety.

  Shielding a terrified Diana with his body, he did not run like the others but searched the crowd for the shooters. The three men were standing side by side with their masks back on. Alex felt the lion in him roar as he shifted into his lion form.

  The men were surprised by such a quick response to what was planned to garner them an element of surprise. Before they could move, Alex sprang at them. The first man drew a gun and shot, but the lion lowered his body and dodged it. He opened his mouth and snapped it shut on the mask man's hand, biting off three of his fingers and causing the gun to fall off.