Shift (The Neturu Chronicles)

by Sarah Carter

  “That’s good.”

  “Hey,” Damien says, pulling her toward him. “I promise we’ll spend as much time as we can at your parents’ house, all right? I’m not your keeper. You can do whatever you want. Once you have your shifting under control, I won’t hover over you.”

  Kayla nods. “Okay. I want to get cleaned up and have a moment to myself.”

  “Sounds good, come on,” Damien replies. He takes her into the bathroom. “I already brought your clothes in here. There are towels in the cupboard and everything you need is in the shower. I’ll be outside the door if you need anything.”

  “Thanks, you’re sweet.”

  Damien smiles. “I try.” He leans over and kisses her. “Enjoy your shower, okay? Think of me if you can.”

  Kayla giggles. “I’ll try and remember that.”

  “Good,” he says with a laugh, bopping her on the nose. “See you in a bit.”

  “Okay,” Kayla replies, watching him walk out the door. As soon as it shuts, she exhales loudly. “What have you gotten yourself into? Damien, you want Damien,” she reiterates to herself. “Picture him wet in a towel.” Kayla thinks for a minute. “Yeah, I can do that. Better yet,” she says, spinning around. “Really get it into your head.”

  She opens the door and sees Damien playing on his phone. He looks up. “What did I forget to give you?”

  “Nothing,” Kayla replies. She walks over to him and lifts his shirt up. He lets her take it off. “There, I needed to see you.”

  “Do I need to take the rest of my clothes off too?”

  “Nope, just needed to get you in my head, and you are definitely in there now.”

  He smiles. “I can get into the shower with you. I promise you’ll never get that out of your head.”

  Kayla blushes. “I don’t think that would be very innocent.”

  “We could keep it that way,” Damien retorts with a smirk.

  Snorting, Kayla says, “Yeah right. I just needed to picture you in my head. I’m going to take a shower now.”

  “I think you’re adorable.”

  “Thanks, see you in a few minutes.” She turns to walk into the bathroom.

  Damien yells, “Do I get my shirt back?”

  “Nope.” Kayla giggles. “It’s mine now.” She holds it over her head, waves it, and then shuts the door. Kayla smiles and says, “Now, I can take a shower.”

  After her shower, she gives Damien his shirt back. He laughs and pulls her in for a kiss. Kayla gives in, kissing him back before they make their way back downstairs. Jackson is in the kitchen eating an apple. When he sees Kayla, he stares at her, causing the heat to rise in her face.

  “All right,” Damien says, “we should get outside and start your training. We’re going to drive into the woods quite a distance so that we aren’t seen.”

  “Okay,” Kayla says. “Let’s get going.”

  They pile into Jackson’s car. “So do I get to change into something cool today?” Kayla asks, turning around to Damien.

  “No.” Damien laughs. “We’ll stick with the dog. You’re going to learn how to purposely run in a shifted form this time.”

  “I ran around the house this morning, does that count?”

  Sighing, Damien says, “I really am sorry about that.”

  “That’s all right; Jackson came to my rescue.” She senses Jackson look at her from the driver’s seat. “Hopefully next time I won’t freak out so badly.”

  “Next time, I’ll be there.”

  With a giggle, Kayla looks at Jackson. “Maybe I need to learn to turn into something scary, so if I shift in the middle of the night, I can crawl into your bed and scare the crap out of you.”

  “Nice, thanks,” Jackson retorts. “You’re so sweet. I would just shift into something bigger and pin you.”

  “There will be no pinning of her on your bed,” Damien interjects. “Not to be controlling or anything, but I would prefer if you are going to be pinned by someone, it would be me.”

  “You would make it dirty,” Kayla replies, looking back at him. “Tell me I’m lying.”

  Damien puts his hand on his chest. “I can be a gentleman. Geesh, I’m not that bad.”

  “Mmhmm,” Kayla hums. “You’re telling me if you had me pinned on your bed, in the middle of the night, the two of us alone, you wouldn’t try something.”

  He opens his mouth and then closes it. “Okay, if you put it that way, I probably would. But hey, like you wouldn’t have dirty thoughts in your head.”

  “Nope,” Kayla emphasizes. “I’m a good girl. I never have dirty thoughts.”

  Jackson suddenly coughs and tries to hide his smile. Kayla really wants to punch him. Damien shakes his head. “I think you’re lying, but we’ll leave it at that.”

  A song starts to play on the radio and Kayla yells, “Oh, oh! I love this song.” She turns up the radio and sings to it. Jackson looks at her and laughs. Kayla finishes the song and continues to sing along to the radio for the rest of their drive.

  After what feels like forever, they arrive at their destination and hike until they arrive at a clearing in the woods. “Okay,” Damien says. “You’re going to shift into a dog and then follow us through the woods. Jackson will lead and I’ll follow you. Just let it come naturally to you. We will run for a little bit and then walk and then run again.”

  “Okay,” Kayla exhales. “I hope I don’t trip and make a fool of myself.”

  “It’ll be second nature. Don’t over think it; just do it. All right?” Damien says. Kayla nods. “Okay, dear, go ahead and shift.”

  Taking a deep breath, Kayla closes her eyes. It takes a few seconds, but she finally shifts into a dog. “Good job,” Jackson says, before shifting into the mastiff.

  Kayla turns and watches Damien shift into a black akita. He barks and Jackson turns away from them and starts to run across the clearing. Taking another deep breath, Kayla takes off after him. After a few seconds, Kayla’s nervousness starts to dissipate. She actually finds the running fun.

  They make it to the end of the clearing before Jackson turns around and looks at her. Kayla barks, walks forward, and nudges him with her nose. Jackson nudges her back, and then they take off again. It is a completely freeing experience. They run down paths and jump over fallen logs. Damien comes up beside her and she swears she can see him smile. Finally, Jackson slows to a walk. Kayla runs up next to him and pushes him. He pushes her back. Kayla giggles and it comes out in a happy whimper.

  When they come to a bend in the trail, Kayla hears voices. Jackson stops and shifts back to his human body. He puts his finger to his mouth to indicate they need to be quiet. Damien steps beside her, already having shifted as well. He waves his hand at her, and after taking a deep breath, she shifts back to her body.

  “Be quiet,” Jackson whispers as he sneaks forward. A devilish grin crosses his face. He waves to Damien and Kayla to join him. When Kayla looks through the trees, her face breaks into a big smile.

  Jude and two of his friends are sitting on some tree stumps, drinking. “Dude, I cannot believe you didn’t pop that guy back,” one of his friends says.

  “That’s James,” Kayla mouths, making a gagging face.

  The next guy says, “Next time, lay him out.”

  Kayla mouths, “Henry.”

  Jude laughs. “Whatever, he hits like a girl.”

  Kayla sees Damien narrow his eyes and step forward. She grabs him and shakes her head. “Wait,” she whispers.

  “Why don’t you just show that chick, Kayla, who’s boss. I mean, if she’s throwing herself between those two guys, you should be able to have a free shot.” James snorts.

  Her jaw nearly drops to the ground and she steps forward. Jackson snatches her and holds her back. “Let me go,” she quietly hisses.

  “No, let’s do this the fun way. Damien, shift into a wolf. Kayla, walk to them when I say go,” Jackson murmurs quietly.

  Damien instantly turns into a wolf, a huge wolf. Jackson and Ka
yla turn back to the group of guys. “She was easy the first time around, the second time shouldn’t be so hard,” Jude sneers.

  “Was she at least worth it back then?” Henry asks.

  “Eh, she was all right,” Jude snidely retorts. “You know, been there, done that. I would do her again.”

  Damien emits a deep growl, making the hair on Kayla’s arm stand up. The guys stop drinking at the sound. “Did you hear that?” Jude asks.

  Jackson waves his hand for Damien to shut up. Damien narrows his eyes but keeps quiet.

  The guys listen in silence for a minute, before Jude says, “Yeah, I don’t know why I bother with Kayla. It’s fun to just get a rise out of her. I’ll shut her mouth one of these days.”

  With a devilish smirk, Jackson says, “Go.”

  Kayla steps out from the trees. “Jude, you want a girl to knock you on your ass, keep flapping your mouth.”

  Jude drops his drink and stands up. “What in the hell? What are you doing out here, Kayla?”

  “Listening to you run your mouth. I have not nor will I ever sleep with your slimy ass. You think you can go around spewing lies? If you know what's best, you'll shut your face.”

  “What are you going to do, stick one of your boyfriends on me? Bring it. That punk won’t catch me by surprise again,” Jude yells. His friends laugh.

  “Hey, Jude, tell them the truth. Did I sleep with you, or did I reject your pathetic effort to seduce me? Choose your words wisely.”

  Jude snorts. “Please, you’re as easy as they come.”

  Kayla shakes her head. “I warned you.” She snaps her fingers. Damien jumps out of the woods behind the guys and Jackson comes snarling up on the side of her. She reaches down and pets his head. “I don’t think you’ve met my pets.”

  “Those are freaking wolves!” Henry yells. He starts to back up. “JUDE! Those are huge wolves.”

  Jackson nudges Kayla, and she bends down to him. “Yes, they are wolves, my wolves. Isn’t that right?” Kayla says to Jackson. He gives a deep, throaty growl. She looks at Jude. “Now, are you going to tell the truth or do you need to be...persuaded?” Jackson steps toward Jude.

  “Okay, okay, okay!” Jude yells. “I never slept with you!”

  “Tell them what really happened,” Kayla instructs. Damien growls and creeps up on the guys from the other side.

  “I kissed her and then tried to feel her up,” Jude stutters.

  Putting her hand by her ear, Kayla says, “And?”

  “You slapped me; you slapped me across the face,” Jude spits out.

  With a smirk, Kayla says, “Very good. Now, it’s time for a lesson in following directions.”

  “What!” Jude snaps.

  “Strip,” Kayla yells. “Keep your underwear, I want your clothes. All of them.”

  Henry looks at her and says, “Hell no!”

  “What?” Kayla replies, “What did you say?” Jackson and Damien growl and take a few more steps toward Jude and his friends.

  “Okay, fine!” Jude yells. He strips off his shirt. “Tell them to back off.”

  Kayla laughs. “They are fine just where they are. Don’t move any farther boys,” she says to Jackson and Damien, “they may wet themselves.” Jude and his friends just stand there staring at her. She claps her hands. “Clothes, take them off.” The guys start to strip. “Dear Lord,” Kayla yells. “I have been spoiled. Jackson and Damien are ripped. You guys need to go to a gym sometime. Wow, Jude, I’m so repulsed right now. I can’t wait to go home to some real men. They are tantalizing with their shirts off, washboard abs, all muscly and perfect. Makes a girl drool.”

  “Shut up, Kayla,” Jude snaps.

  Damien growls again and steps towards him. “Back down, baby. Don’t eat him.” Kayla laughs.

  Henry is the last one to throw his pants on the pile of clothes. Kayla skips forward and picks it all up. “What are you doing with them?” Jude asks.

  “Probably lighting them on fire.” Kayla sighs. “I’m not sure yet, but I definitely know I’m not giving them back to you.”

  “What do you expect us to go home in?” Jude growls.

  Nodding at him, Kayla says, “Your underwear. Anyway, my pets and I are going to go now. One last thing before I leave, Jude. If you ever choose to talk crap about me again, you will have far worse than a wolf on your ass.”

  “What?” Jude yells. “What can you possibly mean by that?”

  With a shrug, Kayla snidely replies, “I suppose you’ll have to wait and see. Have a nice day.” She turns and starts to walk away.

  “I’m going to call the cops on you!” Jude snaps.

  She turns around. “What are you going to tell them? You were drinking beer in the woods and this girl from school turned up with two wolves and stole your clothes? I'm sure the cops will be interested to know why a minor is in possession of alcohol and threatening the public with indecent exposure. Bye-bye now.” Kayla walks back into the woods, leaving the stripped boys behind. Jackson follows her. When they walk a far enough distance into the trees, Jackson suddenly pulls on her arm. She squeals, dropping the clothes and jumping into his arms. “That was the most exhilarating experience of my life!”

  Damien appears next to them. “I do have to say that was pretty fun.”

  Kayla turns and jumps on him, kissing him hard. “Thank you, thank you both. That made up for four years of torment.”

  “I couldn’t tell you the last time I had that much fun shifting.” Jackson laughs.

  “What are we going to do with all of these clothes?” Kayla asks.

  Damien shifts into a monkey. He grabs some of the clothes and climbs a tree. He puts them on the very top branch. Jackson steps underneath him and tosses the rest of the clothes up to him. “There,” Jackson says. “They will never find them up there.”

  They watch Damien reach into all the pants pockets. He throws down the contents. Kayla catches two wallets and a set of keys. “Oh,” she exclaims. “I pray and hope these are the keys to the car they drove.”

  Damien returns to the ground and changes into himself again. “We’ll put this stuff in the mail and return it to them. I’m not a thief. We will, of course, wipe fingerprints off of it, just in case they give it to the police.”

  “That was so awesome,” Kayla squeals happily.

  “Okay, we’d better get back.” Jackson laughs. “We’ll need to eat soon.”

  Kayla nods. She quickly shifts back to a dog. The guys follow suit and they take off running through the woods.

  Chapter 12

  By the time they get back to Jackson’s, Kayla is still hyper from the adrenaline rush. She has tackled both guys about five times, thanking them over and over again. Damien gives her a kiss and says, “You’re welcome for the twelfth time.”

  “I’m sorry,” she sighs happily. “He has been a thorn in my side for so long, and to think that he’s been telling people that we slept together. Ew, he’d be the last person I would ever lose my virginity to.”

  “Who would be the first?”

  “I already told Jackson, Johnny Depp,” Kayla giggles back.

  Jackson rolls his eyes. “Yeah, I’m not good enough to wake up to. She wants a gorgeous actor, coffee, and chocolate cake.”

  “I supplied you with chocolate cake the other day. Where does that get me?” Damien asks with a grin.

  “You’ll find out later what your reward is,” Kayla says.

  Damien gives her a devilish smirk. “Sounds good.”

  “Oh, I’m going to throw up,” Jackson interjects. “What do you guys want to eat, anyway?”

  “Chinese,” Kayla yells.

  Looking at her, Jackson says, “Are we a little hyper?”

  “Yes, but I have no idea why.”

  “It’s probably the shifting. Your hormones fluctuate. Usually, it makes us a bit sexually charged, but it obviously makes you super hyper.” Damien laughs.

  Kayla shakes her head. “No, I get the other way too.”


  Jackson, who had just taken a drink of water, spits it out across the room. “What do you mean by that?” Damien asks, looking from Jackson to Kayla.

  “Oops.”

  “No, no, no oops, what are you talking about?” Damien asks, crossing his arms with a smile.

  Scratching her head, Kayla says, “The first night I shifted, I kind of…attacked Jackson, in a very primal way.”

  “It was nothing!” Jackson exclaims. “We didn’t do anything.”

  “Really?” Damien snidely remarks. “Why do I have a hard time believing that?”

  Jackson rolls his eyes. “Does it really matter? Neither of us had come out of a shift with someone we were attracted to before. It was as much my fault as hers. Actually, it was more my fault.”

  “We just kissed,” Kayla whispers. “Not even a big deal.”

  “You’re attracted to each other? Wait, don’t answer that. Was that the last time you kissed each other?” Damien asks, finding no humor in the situation.

  Kayla looks at Damien. “You can’t punch Jackson.”

  “What? Why?”

  “We kind of kissed last night,” Kayla barely murmurs. “I thought it was a dream.” She knows she is stretching the truth a little bit, but she doesn’t want to hurt Damien.

  Damien looks at Jackson and clicks his tongue. “Next time you date a girl, I’m going to be all over her.”

  “Hey, not if you’re with me!”

  “Well, that’s obvious.”

  Jackson clears his throat. “I won’t be kissing her again.”

  “No, he won’t,” Kayla agrees. “I will only be kissing you from now on.”

  “I hope so.” Damien sighs. “So where are we going to get Chinese from? Do they deliver?”

  Jackson shakes his head. “No, we have to go pick it up. I’ll go. You can deal with her hyperness.”

  “Hey,” Kayla exclaims. “I’m not hyper.”

  “Really?” Jackson replies.

  She narrows her eyes. “Okay, maybe a little bit, but it’s better than me trying to attack Damien in your kitchen.”

  “I would choose the latter,” Damien mumbles, “but I’ll handle her. I want shrimp lo mein.”

  “Ooh,” Kayla says, “that sounds good. You’re going to share, and I waaaant…hmm…orange chicken and egg rolls! Oh, oh, oh, and dumplings!”