A Time for Change

by Marquaylla Lorette

  The leader was a paranoid man. He thought everyone was looking at him funny or talking behind his back since he was the only one without a second mate on the entire Isle.

  He was going to make the whole Isle pay, just as he made Zuri and Katarina. Their kids and mates were also going to pay for taking his second mate away.

  ***

  James, Ace, and the others were looking at Chelsea as if she was crazy as she handed out schedules on their walk to the campsite. Chelsea had OCD when it came to organizing and planning something. She already had the trip planned down to who was going to carry what, how many breaks they were able to take on their way to the campsite, and the section were each couple would pitch their tent.

  “Where exactly are we going camping?” Jadelyn asked. She knew Chelsea had already planned everything since she was the one with OCD in the bunch.

  Ace, Jadelyn, and Eli never cared where they camped at when they were younger, but Chelsea did. If it were up to them, they would have walked through the woods until they were tired and camped wherever they had stopped. Chelsea, on the other hand, couldn’t do that. The one time they tried she nearly had an anxiety attack so they let her plan everything she needed to in order to avoid her anxiety.

  James was the same way when it came to control, protecting others, family and friends. The difference between Chelsea and James was that Chelsea had a wild side, like when it came to partying or doing something crazy, but James didn’t. He was usually the person who grounded everyone when needed. James enjoyed himself wherever he went, but it was more of a controlled enjoyment; he never went overboard or got out of hand.

  Ace was a different story. He didn’t really have a stop button for anything like everyone else. He just kept going and going until someone had to stop him. Even with his sometimes out of control personality, Ace was a loyal friend and someone you wanted around when something went wrong. He just liked to have fun and do anything his mind thought was cool—even if it was dangerous.

  “We are going to camp by the site where our school is being built,” Chelsea answered. She then proceeded to walk into the woods behind the Alpha’s house, with everyone following closely behind her after grabbing the packs they were assigned to carry.

  The school was a long way from the Alpha house, deep into the woods. When the school does open, there will be a school bus, which will pick the kids up and transport them to the school. Rose, the Alpha’s mate, had volunteered to drive the bus and three Enforcers would be on the bus with her just in case something happened.

  After ten miles of zigzagging through trees and hiking up and down hills, they finally approached the school and campgrounds.

  Chelsea headed right to the school while the others dropped their bags at the campsite. The school was nearly built, the only thing missing was paint and the roof. When it’s finished, the school would be four stories high and two acres long. There was also a cliff twenty feet away from the right side of the school, leading into a waterfall. They were going to use the cliff and waterfall for P.E. activities in the spring. A hundred yards from the waterfall was a water spring. The water spring was in a circular hole next to the cliff and usually was warm when the sun was out.

  Out of the corner of her eye, Chelsea could see the green and brown paint. She picked those colors so the school could sort of blend into the woods, just in case someone got past their magical barriers.

  “Don’t you even think about it, Chelsea,” James and Ace said at the same time when they saw Chelsea eyeing the paint.

  They knew she was thinking about painting the building just by the way she was looking at the paint.

  “Chelsea, we are supposed to be relaxing before the battle, not working. How about you and the rest of the girls go to the spring water, it should be warm right now, while we set up the tents and sleeping bags,” Ace said when he noticed Chelsea was still eyeing the paint. He knew he had to get her away from there fast or else she would start either painting or finishing the roof.

  “Alright, just let me start dinner and then I promise I will head to the spring,” Chelsea said. She wanted to have fun. This was the first time in eighteen years that Jadelyn came camping again with them. It was also a way for her to get to know her new sister and Treasure better.

  Chelsea grabbed the wood she asked her uncle the other day to gather and leave for them, before making her way to the center of the campground. She piled the wood up, lit it on fire, and hooked the pot. She was going to cook by hanging her pot on a branch that hung above the fire. She added her beans and bottled water to the pot, and then she added the sausage and crumbled-up bacon from breakfast. Jadelyn dumped the herbs Chelsea had her stop and grab on their way through the forest. Jadelyn also handed Chelsea her swimsuit and pushed her toward the spring with Charity and Treasure following behind them.

  ***

  Baron had called a meeting when he woke just after breakfast. He couldn’t believe what happened the night before while he was at a council meeting. Baron, Jake, Cornelius, Gabe, and their mates, along with Jake’s mother, Aishe, were in Baron’s meeting room. They needed to figure out who was bold enough to send someone into the Alpha’s house to kill one of the shifters living there. Baron thought this was over when it turned out Jadelyn wasn’t latent and had won the Alpha Battle. He was pissed off he didn’t do more to find the culprits when it happened to Jadelyn.

  Aishe was the first one to speak up when it was time to start the meeting. “I think we should send someone out there to their campsite just in case. I know the perfect person; he can hide in the shadows and make sure no one sneaks up on them while they are relaxing.”

  “Alright, you can send the shifter to the campsite after the meeting is over. Make sure whoever you send stays in the shadows enough where they won’t be seen,” Baron said. He wanted Jadelyn and the others to have all the help they could get out there.

  Baron and Cornelius already had Trevor’s dad send Enforcers out there to help. The Enforcers were surrounding the forest in a huge circle and at a great distance away from the campsite so Chelsea and the others wouldn’t be able to scent them.

  “I have already sent him and they will not be able to detect him,” Aishe said as she pointed to her temple, letting them know she used her mind to send the shifter the message.

  “Okay, now we can get started with the rest of the meeting. We have to establish the right Enforcers to help guard the school and the parents’ homes of the students,” Baron said.

  “I have one problem with this. I think we should have the right Enforcers, but Jadelyn, Chelsea, and their mates should be the ones picking the Enforcer Guards for the school. This is their attempt and dreams to get the Isle together, and changed the school system and views of others. We should wait until after the Beta Battle to resume this meeting and let them choose the Enforcer Guards they feel would be right for the school,” Rose said before they could start trying to pick the right Enforcers. All the mothers agreed with what Rose had said.

  “We know this is their project, but we wanted to make sure they have everything right,” Baron answered.

  “If you guys keep jumping in when they don’t need you, they will never learn. All of you have to make sure they are prepared to take over your titles when you retire, and you cannot be sure of that, if you keep stepping in before they need or ask for your help. Did your parents take over for you and make your decisions when you were stepping into the role as Alpha, Beta or Enforcer?” Aishe asked.

  Baron, Jake, Gabe, Trevor’s father, Mence, and Cornelius all answered ‘no.’ Their parents never stepped in when they were learning the ropes and when they were in training for the titles they held today. All of them knew they needed to step back and let them learn by trial and error, but it was hard when it was their pups. It was hard for them to realize they weren’t pups any longer, even if they had mates.

  “So, let’s step back and get together with Chelsea and the others to pick the Enforcers to guard the school after th
e battle. Today, we can go over the council meeting. Yesterday, I was called to a surprise council meeting without any prior knowledge. As some of you already know, they had just received a petition to change the terms of the Beta Battle. The rules are now both the first battle and the loser’s battle will take place the same day and the final battle will be the next day. I think whoever tried to kill Charity and Trevor had the petition signed and sent it in yesterday on purpose. It seemed like the petition was a decoy. They wanted me out of the house for some reason and the rules of the battle to be changed,” Baron said.

  “We have to figure out who started the petition and just maybe we will figure out who is behind the attacks on the Isle and James and his family,” Cornelius suggested.

  They all agreed to keep what they were doing away from James and the others and that Baron was going to get the petition from the council.

  ***

  Chelsea went behind one of the trees, slipped off her clothes, and put her bathing suit on. She quickly made her way to the water spring. She was finally going to be able to enjoy it. Every time she tried to enjoy the spring, Ace would decide to try to do something dangerous. When they were younger, Eli or whoever else they were camping with, had to come get her to stop Ace, but now that James was here, she was going to let him deal with Ace’s antics while she enjoyed herself in the water spring until dinner.

  Chelsea sank down into the warm spring water and closed her eyes—this was the most relaxing she felt in a long time. For the past twelve years, she was on edge with worry about Jadelyn being hurt or killed by some of the shifters on the Isle. Now that Eli was back, she could finally relax for the moment.

  Chelsea could feel as the others climbed into the water spring from the sway of the water. She could hear their chatter but was so relaxed she didn’t want to open her eyes just yet. When Chelsea finally opened her eyes, she noticed they had the adult version of Would You Rather out and Jadelyn was handing out margaritas.

  “Chelsea, it is you turn since everybody else has answered a question except you. So, Chelsea, would you rather have sex on an airplane and have someone catch you or would you rather have sex on a plane and everybody hear you?” Jadelyn asked, trying her hardest to hold in a laugh.

  “No brainer, I would rather have one person catch us instead of the whole plane looking at me like I am crazy,” Chelsea answered as she took a sip of her margarita, causing a fit of giggles from the rest of her girlfriends.

  Chelsea reached for one of the cards and turned to Jadelyn. “Jadelyn, would you rather have a stranger catch you having sex or your parents?”

  “A complete stranger without a doubt, all of you all have met my dad. Now would you want him catching you having sex?” Jadelyn said to them with her eyes open wider than normal.

  “Hell no, I would rather one of my mothers’ catch me instead of your dad. Jadelyn’s dad has this scary way of looking at you that makes you feel like a child again whenever he catches you doing something,” Chelsea answered.

  After all of them answered one of the Would You Rather sex questions, they moved on to different subjects until not a single card or category remained.

  ***

  Ace picked up his skateboard. He was going to jump from the cliff they were on, to the cliff above the waterfall, even though the waterfall cliff had a twenty foot height distance from the cliff they were standing on.

  “No, Ace, you are not going to jump the cliff, look at the height distance. We cannot afford for you to get hurt before the battle,” James said.

  “I am not going to get hurt. I am going to make it. I got this, I just need a little adrenaline rush,” Ace answered.

  “Nah, let’s go get the dirt bikes out of the shed,” Eli answered.

  “What dirt bikes?” James answered.

  “I had some of the Enforcers bring the dirt bikes to the shed when they brought the school supplies out here,” Eli answered. They all agreed and followed Eli to the shed behind the school.

  One by one they pulled out a dirt bike, started them up, and took off for the muddy hills. For hours, they rode up and down the dirt hills, until dinnertime.

  ***

  Chelsea, Charity, Jadelyn, and Treasure didn’t climb out of the water spring until they could see the beautiful stars in the sky. By the time they returned to the camp, the guys had already set up logs they could sit on around the fire. Ace told campfire stories as they all ate the chili Chelsea had put on earlier.

  “How about we play dominos, a quick game of rummy and volleyball?” Jadelyn asked after everyone was finished with their dinner.

  “Alright, girls against boys like always?” Chelsea asked.

  “Sure but what do the winners get?” James asked.

  “That is between the winner and their mate or mates,” Ace said.

  Jadelyn got the net and ball out of the game bag, and sat it next to the fire. The guys got up and put it together while the girls went over their strategy. James called them over when the net was finished.

  “We should have asked for Charity to be on our team,” James said.

  “Why?” Trevor asked.

  “Because she was one of the top ten in the world for volleyball,” Eli answered.

  “Well why didn’t you tell us before we agreed to this?” Greg asked.

  “Because Eli and I were the ones who taught her how to play and helped her practice. We know all of her moves since we taught them to her,” James answered.

  “Alright but this better not be one of those cases of when the student becomes the teacher,” Trevor said.

  “Fuck, we are screwed. Chelsea and Jadelyn were the top volleyball players on the Isle,” Ace said.

  Chelsea played the outside hitter, which was a great all-around player. Chelsea was all over the field blocking shots and making points. It was hard for the guys to stop her shots. James dove for a couple and still missed them as he hit the ground.

  Charity served the libero. Not only is this the passer on the court but also the digger, she had to pass it to Jadelyn, who was the setter, meaning Charity hit it to her and Jadelyn made the decision to hit it to either Chelsea or Treasure. Treasure was more involved with blocking the shots the guys sent over.

  The guys, on the other hand, were just all over the place. No one knew where they were supposed to be, making it harder to play. A couple of times Ace and Eli ran into each other trying to go for the ball.

  Charity served the ball to Jadelyn who hit it to Chelsea. Chelsea knocked the ball over the net and straight for Ace’s face, causing everyone to laugh. They played volleyball for the next hour with the girls winning. After playing volleyball, they played three games of dominos, where they guys won, but the girls won at rummy, making it two out of three wins. Each couple headed to their separate tents after the games were over.

  ***

  Two hours after Chelsea, James, Ace, and their friends went to bed, the shifter Aishe called was watching them. He felt a strong pull to the shifters camping and had no clue why. He was watching the tents surrounding areas when he heard the sound of leaves rustling. He immediately shifted and went to investigate the sound. When he got to where the sound was coming from just moments ago, the lion shifter saw two wolf shifters and a lion shifter trying to sneak up on the campsite. He knew he had to catch them one by one without making any noise. He didn’t want the campers to hear what was going on.

  He waited until they split up and went for the one who was closer to the campsite than the others. The shifter Aishe sent to help them jumped on the lion shifter’s back, knocking the shifter down. He pinned the shifter down with all his weight as the shifter thrashed around. Just as the shifter was about to howl, he leaned down and ripped his head off and dashed over to the other shifters. He quickly found the others and did the same to them before they could make any noise. He shifted and carried the corpses to the Enforcers in the woods so they could get rid of them before the campers woke.

  ***

  They made their wa
y back to the Alpha’s house after Chelsea made breakfast the next morning without knowing what went on during the night.

  At the Alpha house, they noticed the Enforcers cleaning something off the window and fixing another window. James was the first one to approach, he noticed it said, ‘lion/wolf shifter not welcomed on the Isle, go back home. He didn’t want Chelsea or Charity to see it so he directed them straight to the house.

  ***

  James felt as though he needed a few hours with his sister alone so he took her to the park down the street. It felt weird not having Charity by his side almost every second of the day. Besides Eli, Charity was his best friend. He knew what she was thinking at times and she knew what he was thinking as well. Their friends on the human side thought it was strange for a brother and sister to be best friends and always together.

  The park they were at was filled with green grassy hills and benches that surrounded a large pond. James and Charity sat on one of the benches while Charity fed the ducks, neither of them knew where to begin.

  “So how do you like it here so far?” James asked, just to say something.

  “I love it here, I just wish mom and dad were here with us,” Charity said as she turned to look at James.

  “I know, me, too. I am sorry I didn’t get there in enough time to save them,” James said as he looked into his sister’s eyes.

  “James, it wasn’t your fault. If anything it was my fault,” Charity said. She had been feeling guilty ever since she found out her parents were dead.

  “What!” James yelled. “It was not your fault, Charity, it was the shifters who killed them that are to blame, not you,” James said as he grabbed Charity by the shoulders and turned her toward him.