Storm Shift

by J. L. Weil

  “Why doesn’t it work for me?” When I shifted, anyone could see me. Did I have to acquire the ability? It was probably one of the stupid tails I couldn’t figure out how to get.

  “You’re half-human. Glamour won’t work.”

  Nothing like getting the short end of the stick. “That’s such shit.”

  Devyn’s tensed muscles relaxed as he drove the car. “You’re lucky. If he had been any higher, I might not have been able to hit him, and. Dmitri would have taken you to the Second Moon, to Thornland, where Talin resides.”

  Talin was one of my grandfather’s brothers, the ruler of the region dedicated to raising killers, and now it seemed he wanted me. For what? I shuddered to think. Probably so he could drive a sword through my heart himself, and take the one thing everyone in the otherworld seemed to want from me—my soul star. “Great. Now they want to kidnap me. I don’t know which is worse, trying to kill me or capture me.”

  “I underestimated your great-uncles. It won’t happen again.”

  “That wasn’t your fault.”

  “He never should have gotten his hands on you, but now I know he’s here, I’ll be ready for him next time.”

  Next time? I gulped. Goodie gum drops. There was going to be another meeting with the Karura. I couldn’t say I was looking forward to it. I wrapped my arms around myself and sank into the seat. I didn’t want to be responsible today. “Can you turn the car around?”

  Devyn studied me for a moment. “We’re only a block from school.”

  “I don’t want to go to school. I don’t want to go home. Can we just hang out at your place? Watch a movie?” It was hard to believe I was suggesting skipping school. Karina Lang never ditched a class, but Karina the Kitsune wasn’t opposed to taking a mental health day. I think I earned it, and the idea of sitting in a classroom when my brain was scattered, gave me anxiety. What would be the point?

  “Whatever you want, Kitten.”

  We were sitting on Devyn’s couch, with a bowl of popcorn between us, extra butter, the way I liked it. When Devyn handed me the bag of peanut butter M&Ms, I could have fallen in love with him right then and there. My favorite movie snacks. It wasn’t lost on me he had them on hand. Devyn was like a ridiculously attentive boyfriend, but without all the kissing benefits.

  This was the most normal thing I’d done in weeks. I needed it, and the fact Devyn knew it spoke volumes. We were onto our second vampire movie of the day, Underworld, and seeing Selene kick some werewolf bootang got my girl-power juices flowing.

  “I wouldn’t have pegged you for a vampire junkie.” Devyn grabbed a handful of popcorn.

  “I thought you knew everything about me.”

  “I guess you can still surprise me. So, why the change in movies? What happened to all the romantic comedies? Is it the blood and guts? Or the forbidden love?”

  I laughed. “After hanging around with you, you’d think I’d had enough of blood and guts.”

  His lips twitched. “We haven’t even gotten to the good stuff yet.”

  “My life feels like a movie lately, except I don’t have superior vampire fighting skills or a killer body suit.”

  “We could definitely get you a body suit. I bet you would rock it. Tight leather, over-the-knee boots. Oh, yeah. It could totally work.”

  Shooting him a look, I took a few pieces of popcorn and tossed them at his head. “Get your thick skull out of the gutter. I am not wearing some super-hero costume.”

  “If you ever change your mind…”

  I shook my head. “If you wear a pink tutu, I’ll think about the body suit.”

  He raised a brow, a thoughtful expression crossing his features.

  Oh, no. He couldn’t possibly be contemplating putting on a tutu. Did he even know what a tutu was? “Don’t tease me.”

  With a devilish grin on his lips he relaxed beside me, and it was as if I fed off his energy. My muscles loosened, and my worry dissipated. I wasn’t stressed out that any second something from the otherworld would come knocking on Devyn’s door.

  I kept stealing glances at the Shaman from under my lashes, unable to help wondering what his life had been like before me.

  “Why do you keep pretending you’re not staring at me?”

  I cleared my throat, telling my cheeks not to turn that awful shade of red they were known to do. “I was thinking this is the only place in the entire world I feel safe. I know it’s your duty to guard me but I feel selfish, because I want you to protect me. It isn’t fair. I know in your world it’s probably normal, but it isn’t here, and I can’t help feeling as if I’m keeping you from living a life you choose.”

  “Our worlds are very different, Kitten. You have no reason to feel guilty. This is what I was born to do, just as you were born to be a Kitsune. We can’t change who we are.” He lifted his hand, twisting a strand of my hair around his finger. The T-shirt rode up, revealing his firm abs and the thin line of hair that disappeared under his waistline. I drooled a little.

  We had gotten closer, our thighs touching. A heady mixture of emotions warred inside me. I wanted him to kiss me, and if I could will it so would he be powerless to refuse? I desired his lips on mine that badly. Would his kiss be as intoxicating as it was in the dreams that left me hot and achy? My memory had to have been glamourized.

  I took my bottom lip between my teeth, curious if he was having the same impure thoughts I was. His eyes flew to my mouth and darkened. I expected him to give me one of his cocksure grins and move away. He had made it clear there should be no romantic involvement between us.

  He lowered his head and I held my breath, afraid to ruin the moment. “Screw it,” he whispered.

  Our lips met. Sensations slammed into me, heat shooting through my body, and a low moan of pleasure escaped my lips. Gah. What was it about Devyn that made me want to behave so badly? I didn’t want to be his friend. I wanted to devour him. Right here. Right now.

  He was like a magnet, pulling me to him.

  I bent to his will, the movie disappearing in the background.

  His teeth caught my lower lip as he pulled away, but he didn’t end the kiss, and came back for more. Everything changed in the second kiss; gone was the sweet exploration and in crashed a need that had my world exploding. He moved fast, slipping his tongue between my lips as I gasped in a kiss that drove me wild. My hands fisted into his hair, drawing him closer to savor the taste of him, but I wasn’t the only one with the same idea.

  Devyn’s hands slid under my butt and scooped me up, depositing me onto his lap so I was straddling him.

  Holy hot sauce!

  This was a thousand times spicier than I remembered or even fantasized about. “You smell amazing,” he murmured, kissing a trail down my jaw.

  Every nerve ending under my skin fired with electricity. I was consumed with it—consumed with Devyn. The feelings invading my body were downright frightening. I didn’t know what came over me. No one had ever made me feel like this.

  So much for just being friends.

  There was no way he could kiss me like this and not feel anything, because I felt everything, including how much he wanted this, as that part of him that was male pressed against me.

  I trembled in his arms, under his touch, and arched into his body. All I cared about was Devyn. His lips. And what he could do with his tongue.

  He broke the kiss. I immediately leaned forward, intent on reclaiming his lips. I already missed their warmth. “Karina.”

  It was the sound of my name and not ‘Kitten’ that had me pausing. Sanity was slow to return, regardless that my body was humming. I blinked, the temperature in the air as hot as the sun.

  The smoldering look in his eyes began to cool. “I should probably take you home.”

  “I could always stay here.” Did I really say that? He was going to think I wanted to sleep with him. I mean, the way I was feeling right now, I kind of did want to sleep with him, but wasn’t what I had been implying. Or so I told myself. And I
hadn’t wanted to come across as desperate, and yet I somehow managed to.

  “Sooner or later you have to go home. You can’t hide out here forever. Besides, won’t your parents be looking for you?”

  My arms looped around his neck. “They’ve probably put out an APB by now.”

  Devyn’s hands were at my waist. “I’d rather keep the cops off my tail.”

  “Probably a smart idea.”

  “I’ll drive.”

  “Do you think that’s safe?” I teased, needing to lighten the heavy feeling that had started to settle in my chest.

  Annoyance flashed in his eyes, and his jaw tensed up. “I’m still pissed about my car.”

  Ah. The massive dent. His pretty little baby had an imperfection. “Spoken like a true guy. There are more important things in life, you know.”

  He trailed a finger along my cheek, then down my throat. “I do. I care more about you.”

  Dazed, I stared up at him. Did this mean he was rethinking the we-can-only-be-friends rule? The thought had barely crossed my mind, when I found myself lifted off him and dumped on the other side of the couch.

  I blew the hair out of my face and glared at the Shaman.

  He was grinning like an utter shithead.

  Jerk.

  Chapter Eight

  Devyn’s car rolled into my driveway just after six pm and butterflies flitted in my stomach. I had turned on my phone during the short trip home and, man, what a clusterfuck. My phone was blowing up with notifications from Jesse, Hannah, and my parents. I thought Devyn was going to throw it out the window if the beeping didn’t stop, but I had to face the music.

  Jesse was at the end of his driveway, taking out the trash, and when he caught sight of me in Devyn’s car, he came stalking over with purposeful strides.

  “Shit,” I muttered.

  “Do you want me to take care of him?” Devyn asked.

  I gave him a side eye. “No, I don’t want you to kill my friend.”

  Devyn shrugged. “I don’t have to kill him. There are other ways of dealing with someone like him.”

  I wasn’t sure what he meant, but there was no way I was going to let Jesse and Devyn have a chance to go at each other. That was a recipe for disaster. “I got it, but thanks, I think.” Taking a deep breath, I got out of the car just as Jesse reached me.

  “What the hell, K. Where were you today?” Jesse demanded. He had on his annoyed expression.

  I exhaled, my energy levels dropping. “I took the day off. I needed a break from everything.”

  Jesse watched me with an unreadable expression, his stormy eyes more grey than blue. “And didn’t bother to tell anyone.”

  “You’re not her keeper,” Devyn cut in, doing anything but defusing a situation that was going to quickly escalate. I could feel it. I hadn’t even heard him get out of the car, or move so he was standing beside me, shoulder to shoulder, as if he was protecting me from Jesse. This was insane. I didn’t need protection from Jesse.

  “This doesn’t concern you. Why are you still here?” Jesse spat. “You got her home. I can take it from here.” He took my hand and gave it a tug, trying to pull me to his side.

  Jesse,” I hissed, yanking my hand out of his. No one was going to manhandle me tonight. I’d had my quota for the day. “He’s here because I want him here.”

  He shot Devyn a look that could kill before turning those daggers at me. “You have people who worry about you. Hannah and I tried to reach you all day. Your parents are worried sick. Your dad said you got in a fight last night, and you took off in the middle of the night.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I turned my phone off.”

  “This isn’t like you, K. Ever since you’ve been hanging around him, you’re not you.”

  We’re really doing this now? Heat seared my face. “Jesse, that’s not fair. And you know it has nothing to do with Devyn. Whether you believe me or not, he’s actually helping me.”

  “Did you hear that, tough guy? She likes having me around.” Devyn pinned Jesse with a dark look.

  “She doesn’t need you to speak for her,” Jesse snapped, poking Devyn in the chest.

  I blinked, and they were suddenly chest to chest, glowering like a pair of lions battling to be king. “Guys!” I interjected myself between them. The last thing I needed was an all-out brawl in my driveway. “Knock it off!” I barked, doing my best to shove them away from one another. It was like moving a brick wall one-handed.

  Anger still clung to Jesse’s features but he stepped back, and his gaze cut to mine. “Whatever. I’ll talk to you tomorrow—that is, if you decide to show up to school.”

  “Jess, that’s not fair,” I argued, but he had already started to walk away and kept going.

  “What’s his problem?” Devyn asked, scowling as Jesse marched across the lawn to his house.

  He couldn’t possibly be that dense. You, you meathead. That’s what I wanted to say, yet instead I sighed. “He’s worried about me. It’s what friends do.” Jesse knew me. It had been stupid to think I could keep my Kitsune life separate from my normal life. It was impossible. One trickled over to the other, emotions tangled, lies grew, and I didn’t know how to make it work.

  “He’s acting like a jealous boyfriend,” Devyn said, refusing to let it go for whatever reason.

  I stared at Devyn, wondering why he cared how Jesse acted. Was he jealous? Good. I hoped he was, but I was too tired to deal with this. “I’m going inside. Thanks for the ride and all the other stuff. I should probably go talk to my parents and let them know I haven’t been kidnaped. See you tomorrow, okay?” I twisted toward the white house. The porch light was on, glowing in a soft inviting yellow.

  “Kitten?” he whispered, stopping me right as I reached the door.

  I slowly turned back toward him, finding him closer than he had been before. “Are you okay?”

  There was a gentleness in his eyes that could unravel me. My emotions were close to the surface, my nerves were fried, and I didn’t know how much more I could take before I lost it. “I don’t know that I will ever be okay again.”

  “It might feel like that at the moment, but there will come a time when this will be behind us and nothing but a memory.”

  “Thank you. I hope you’re right.” I turned and walked through the front door, uncertain what I’d find. The moment the door clicked shut behind me Mom softly sighed my name, and then she engulfed me in a hug.

  “You’re okay.” Her voice quivered, and I knew she was close to tears.

  Tears gathered in the corners of my eyes. I had never meant to upset her, and a crap pile of guilt mounted inside me. How could I have been so careless? I should have texted her, let her know I was safe and not being mauled to death by a Silvermyst or kidnaped by a Karura.

  “I’m so sorry,” I apologized, wrapping my arms around her and hanging on tightly. “I shouldn’t have left like that, not without letting you know where I was going.”

  “Your father told me you had a fight, about Devyn I assume.”

  I nodded, sniffling back the overwhelming feelings seeing my mom had caused. “He’s being so unreasonable.”

  “I know this is hard for you.” She kept her voice low. “But it’s for your father’s safety that he doesn’t know.”

  I couldn’t help notice how pale her face was, the dark hair framing her hollow cheeks only emphasizing her washed-out coloring. “Trust me, I get it, but he isn’t making this easy on me when he forbids me to see the one person I need.”

  “I’ll talk to your father, and then you and I will discuss what’s going on later. I don’t want to hear how nothing is wrong, because I can see it in your eyes, Karina.”

  I nodded, tired, and feeling defeated at the moment. Everyone I seemed to care about was upset with me, and I didn’t know how to make it better. “Where’s Dad?” There was no use dragging out the inevitable. I had to see him sooner or later, no matter how angry with me he was.

  “He’s in his study.
”

  His thinking room, the place he retreated to when he had a problem or needed to contemplate. I padded down the hall to the back of the house, and pushed gently at the cracked door. The hinges squeaked, alerting my father someone was approaching. His grayish-white head lifted as his blue eyes met mine.

  I swallowed, standing awkwardly and tongue-tied in the doorway.

  He leaned back in his large mahogany chair, the leather groaning from his weight. “Well, look who the cat dragged in.” His voice was deep, and I remembered how it used to make me feel safe when I was little.

  “I came to apologize. I shouldn’t have left without telling anyone.”

  He waved me inside, motioned for me to sit. I sank into the chair in the corner, the one my mom used to curl up and read in while my father worked, just to be near him. “I might have been a little too harsh. I was taken aback seeing you with a stranger. You’d never talked about this guy before. You used to talk to us.”

  “I was working up to it. Mom asked me to have him over for dinner. I just hadn’t picked a date. Things have been crazy between work and school.”

  “Maybe you should cut your hours at the café,” he suggested.

  I shook my head. “I’ll be fine. Besides, college isn’t going to pay for itself.”

  “We talked about this. Your mother and I will—”

  The urge to cry rolled over me, but I stiffened my lip. “You have more important things that money could go to. Mom needs it more than I do.” I needed her to hold on as long as she could, especially now that I knew she wouldn’t be getting better from any medicine a doctor could prescribe.

  “He’s that important to you?” Dad asked, circling back to Devyn. I was glad. Talking about Mom would for sure bring on the tears I was doing so hard to hold back.

  I wanted to look away as I tensed, but I tipped my chin up. “He is.”

  He leaned forward and placed his elbows on the desk. “Okay, then. We’ll have him over for dinner.”

  I smiled. “Thanks, Dad.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. I’ll be keeping my eye on him.”

  I stood up and walked around the desk, closing the gap between us as I gave him a hug. “I have tons of homework to catch up on and a ridiculous amount of reading material. You’d think since it’s almost the end of the year they would lighten up. Not at Seaside Heights High.”