by B M Griffin
Adam thought that he was finally going to get some alone time with Shayla when they got home, but when they pulled up to their place, Megan’s car was already in the driveway.
“I hope she hasn’t been waiting long,” Shayla said.
“It’s only three, Shay. I told her to meet us at five, so if she has been waiting, that’s her own problem.”
Shayla glared at him, but he just shrugged his shoulders. “What?”
“Please try not to start anything with her. This is a lot to take in.”
“I know it is, Shay. I was just looking forward to some time alone with you, but I’ll be nice. I promise.”
Shayla leaned over the console and kissed him, allowing her lips to linger against his for a moment before she said, “So was I. Hopefully, she won’t fight us for too long.”
Adam cupped her face. “I’m giving her until dark to get on our page. Either way, I’m kicking her out when the sun goes down and I won’t be sharing you again for the rest of the night.”
“Good,” Shayla said, and gave him one more quick kiss.
****
Shayla
Megan wasn’t in her car in the driveway, so Shayla figured she must have used her key to let herself in. It wasn’t something she did often, but considering how on edge she was about Shayla’s sudden disappearance, Shayla wasn’t surprised. She expected to find Megan pacing a hole into the rug in the living room when they opened the door. What she didn’t expect was to find Megan making herself at home in Shayla’s office.
“Megan, what are you doing?” Shayla asked.
Megan jumped, nearly falling out of the rolling chair she was occupying, then held her hand over her heart when she turned to look at Shayla.
“Shit, Shayla, you scared the piss out of me.”
“I wasn’t trying to scare you, but I wasn’t expecting you to be here already, and I really wasn’t expecting to find you in here. What are you doing?”
“I got tired of pacing in the living room waiting for you to get home. I had to do something to occupy my mind and keep me from blowing up your phone to check on you again. I didn’t think to bring my laptop when I ran out of my house to come here. I didn’t think you’d mind.”
“I don’t. I guess my mind is just so far away from anything work related, I couldn’t fathom you’d still be getting things done.”
Shayla smiled at her friend and Megan stood and made her way over to her. She pulled Shayla in for a hug and Shayla gladly hugged her back. She might not have a lot of friends, but she cherished the ones she had, even if she wasn’t good at letting them know. It was time that she changed that.
Megan pulled back and held Shayla at arm’s length, looking at her with a smile. “If you’d gotten here ten minutes ago, you would have caught me wearing a hole in the carpet. Guess I had good timing.”
“Guess so,” Shayla said.
They walked back out to the living room and as soon as the two of them saw Adam wearing a path in the rug, they started laughing.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Shayla said. “Let’s all sit down and talk.”
Adam didn’t waste any time taking her hand and pulling her down in the seat beside him on the couch, and Megan sat in the chair across from them.
“What are you doing here so early?” Adam asked.
“I was going crazy sitting at home thinking about what might have happened to my best friend,” Megan said. “I had to get out of there.”
“So, you came here and let yourself in? We told you we wouldn’t be home for a while. That’s why we said to meet up at five.”
Shayla squeezed Adam’s hand, a reminder that he promised to be nice. She certainly didn’t consider grilling Megan the second they sat down as being nice. Besides, they were the ones who owed Megan answers.
“What’s your problem, Adam?” Megan asked.
“You could have been followed, putting yourself and Shayla in danger, and I don’t like being lied to.”
Shayla could feel the tension in his body. He was rigid beside her. She tugged his hand until he looked at her and that was when she knew how angry he was. His eyes were as bright as the New York City skyline. Something was wrong. He would never get this mad over Megan letting herself in and using Shayla’s computer.
“What’s going on Adam? What aren’t you telling me?”
He turned his glare back on Megan. “Ask your friend who she’s been talking to.”
Adam gestured to Megan’s cell phone laying on the coffee table. Anger washed over Megan’s face. “You were checking my phone? What the fuck, Adam.”
Adam shot up off the couch and was in front of Megan in a flash. “What the fuck are you doing talking to Kevin Hall? We told you he’s dangerous.”
Shayla sucked in a sharp breath and looked her friend in the eye. Megan’s face had gone white and she didn’t yell back at Adam. “Megan,” Shayla said. She waited for her friend to meet her eyes. “Is that true?”
Tears pooled in Megan’s eyes. “Somebody at the firm must have given him my number. He’s called me at least five times since I told Charlotte to transfer the account to someone else. He is insisting he get to work with us, but it’s clear he means you. Says he isn’t going to take no for an answer. When he called earlier, he said he sent an old friend to find you because he was worried you weren’t returning his calls. He said it had been a few days and he hadn’t heard from them, and that if he doesn’t hear from them by tomorrow morning, he will be sending a few more friends to check on you.”
Megan’s usual confidence was gone, and her face was stained with her tears by the time she finished talking, and Shayla knew that hers looked just as bad. Her chest was tight and she felt like no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get enough air into her lungs. Adam picked up the coffee table and threw it across the room. It hit the wall and shattered into thousands of pieces and he started yelling.
“No fucking way! I’ll kill him! I’ll kill both of them!”
“Both of them?” Megan looked confused. “The old friend, who was he talking about Shayla?”
Tears were making a steady stream down the contours of Shayla’s face and her voice was barely more than a whisper when she said, “Eric.”
Megan heard her, though, her face said as much. She turned red and she looked nearly as mad as Adam. “I thought he was in jail for trying to hurt you?”
Shayla knew Megan wasn’t mad at her, but the vehemence in her tone when she asked the question made her flinch. Adam spun around like lighting and looked at Megan like she was stupid.
“Trying to hurt her? How about nearly killing her.”
Megan’s eyes became saucers as she looked back and forth between Adam and Shayla. Megan hadn’t known how bad it got with Eric—just that it was bad and that he sometimes smacked Shayla around. Well, she knew now.
Someone knocked on the door and Adam lost his last ounce of control. Shayla sensed a shift in the air and knew what was about to happen, and he was way too close to Megan. In the split second it took for Adam to shift, Shayla launched herself at Megan, her body slamming into her friend’s, causing the chair to flip over and land with Shayla on top of Megan pinning her down.
Shayla climbed off of Megan and held her hand out to help Megan up. Megan turned her anger on Adam. “What’s wrong with you? I ordered a pizza, you asshole!”
Adam’s fur had already become blue flames and Megan was way too close. Shayla pushed Megan back out of the way and shifted on instinct. Adam took a step back away from her, and she forced her thoughts to his mind.
“Adam! You’ve gotta calm down. You’re scaring me.”
He didn’t say anything for a second. He just stood there like a deer in headlights and stared at her.
“Adam? What are you…”?
“It’s not a pizza guy, Shay. I can smell him. It’s Kevin’s beta.”
Shayla turned toward the door, teeth bared, and a low growl rolled out of her mouth. Her instincts were taking over. She looked
for Megan, wanting to make sure her friend was out of the way, but Megan was coming toward her. She started to move to nudge Megan back out of the way, but Adam yelled in her head.
“Don’t touch her, Shay!”
Shayla looked back at Adam. He seemed to have calmed down a bit since he was no longer a wolf shaped mass of blue flames.
“Take a look at yourself,” he said.
Adam motioned his head toward a small mirror on the wall and Shayla took a look at herself. When she caught sight of what had Adam so uptight about her touching Megan, she took a step backwards away from her own reflection. Just like Adam had been seconds ago, Shayla’s entire body was covered in bright flames. The only thing that was different was the color which was the same vibrant shade of purple as her shining eyes.
“Adam, what do I do?”
“Just close your eyes and try to take a calming breath.”
Shayla did as Adam suggested and when she opened her eyes and took in her reflection again, she was back to her normal self—well, as normal as one could be when they were a werewolf.
Shayla caught Megan’s gaze. Her friend had moved as far away from Shayla and Adam as she could, while remaining in the same room. Shayla decided to try something.
“Megan,” she thought, “can you hear me?”
Shock crossed Megan’s face but she said, “Yes.”
“Good. I need you to go lock yourself in my room. Don’t come out until either I or Adam come get you. Understand?”
Megan nodded.
“Okay, go.”
Megan ran to the other end of the house and Shayla heard the door shut. She turned to Adam to ask him what they should do, but even in his wolf form, she could see the wonder in his eyes as he stared back at her.
“Did you just share your thoughts with Megan?” he asked.
“Yeah, so?”
“You’re the first werewolf I’ve met that could do that.”
“What?”
“Use your telepathy to communicate with a human.”
“Oh.”
Before Shayla had a chance to process Adam’s revelation, there was another knock on the front door followed by a loud bang and the cracking sound of the wood splitting. The door came off the hinges, flying inwards toward Shayla. She quickly moved out of the way before the door could fly into her. Jim Edwards, Kevin Hall’s beta, stepped in the doorway with a sly smirk painted on his face. Before Shayla could react, Adam leaped in front of her, putting himself between her and Jim.
“Oh, isn’t that sweet,” Jim said. “It’s hardly necessary, though. Kevin sent me to bring home our newest pack member. From the looks of her, I see Eric was successful in making her one of us, even if he failed to bring her back to Kevin himself.”
“She’s not a member of your pack, asshole,” Adam said, “and she sure as shit isn’t going anywhere with you.”
Uncertainty briefly flashed across Jim’s face, before he affixed his usual scowl back in place and shrugged.
“Still, it doesn’t matter. Shayla’s coming back with me either way.”
In the next second, Jim shifted, and his wolf was face to face with Adam. Shayla briefly thought that it was fitting that Jim’s wolf was solid black. Just like his soul, she thought.
Adam didn’t waste any time knocking Jim right back out the door he’d just kicked in. Shayla followed, staying back enough not to get in the way, but close enough to keep her eye on Adam. She knew he was stronger than Jim and could handle himself, but she needed to see it with her own eyes. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning her head to check it out, Shayla saw three more werewolves barreling toward Jim and Adam. Their scents were similar to Jim’s, and Shayla knew they were from Kevin’s pack.
Adam was focused on Jim and wouldn’t see them coming. Shayla could feel her wolf urging her to attack and she gave herself over to that instinct. She lunged forward and quickly sunk her teeth into the neck of the first wolf she reached. Swinging her body around,she released her hold on the wolf, sending him flying into the two who were behind him. All them of them went flying backwards and Shayla watched with both surprise and amazement. She’d done that.
It didn’t take the three of them long to get back to their feet and they came at her. Shayla lunged forward and the second her feet planted on the ground, her coat went up in purple flames. She could feel the power of the flames this time, and knew she could end all three of her opponents with ease. The three wolves planted their feet and came to a dead stop a foot away from Shayla. Fear was dancing in their eyes and as soon as Shayla took a step forward, the three of them turned and took off in the opposite direction.
Shayla turned her attention back in the direction Adam and Jim had been headed. Adam had Jim backed up against Megan’s car, but Jim’s eyes weren’t focused on him. No. They were staring directly at her, and even from a distance, she could see the shock in his gaze.
Jim shifted back, his hands held up in surrender, and gawked at Adam. “You turned her?”
Adam shifted, with his arms crossed, staring down at Jim like the scum he was. “No, but I did bite her after that asshole your boss sent. Turns out, my genes were strong enough to keep her out of his grasp.” Adam turned to look at her briefly, a smile on his face as he took her in, still standing strong with her purple flames blazing. “I think it was her own strength that made her the wolf she is, not me.” He turned back to Jim, his smile gone, and pierced him with a glare that could make strong men piss their pants. “You’ve got three seconds to get the fuck out of here, or your alpha is going to be on the hunt for a new beta. Oh, and you can let him know he won’t be seeing his little errand boy, Eric, again.”
Jim looked at her one more time, this time the disgust she’d seen in his gaze the previous times she’d been around him was back, but he was smart enough not to say a word. He made his way to a vehicle parked along the road and sped off, tires screeching as he pulled away and out of sight.
Adam didn’t waste any time making his way to her, and she didn’t miss the look of pride in his eyes. Normally, it would have made her feel ten feet tall, but right then, Shayla was too busy trying to come to terms with what she had just done—with the fact that she had stood up, not just for herself but for Adam, and she had actually been strong enough to make a difference.
As soon as Adam was close enough, she shifted, and he immediately wrapped her in his arms, kissing the top of her head as Shayla buried her face in his chest. She inhaled a deep breath letting his scent calm her. They stood there like that for a minute, before Adam lowered his head to her ear and whispered, “We should get inside. We are standing outside without any clothes on.”
Shayla’s eyes shot up to his. “Oh my God. I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to this part of being a werewolf.”
Adam laughed as he led her back inside. He picked up the damaged door and situated it in the doorway the best he could, even going as far as pushing the couch against the doorway to hold it in place. Shayla headed for her bedroom to check on Megan and get some much-needed clothes.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Shayla
Megan still had the door locked just as Shayla had instructed her to do, so she knocked and called out to her friend to open the door. “Hey, Megan, it’s Shayla.”
She heard feet shuffling over the carpet, then the sound of the lock being released. Megan slowly opened the door, peeking through the crack like she was making sure it really was Shayla, then snatching the door wide when she caught a glimpse of Shayla on the other side wearing absolutely nothing.
Megan reached out, grabbing Shayla’s arm, and yanked her inside. She quickly shut the door and turned her surprised stare back on Shayla. “What in the hell are you naked for?”
Shayla was already digging in her dresser for something to put on. She looked back at Megan. “I got hot.”
She saw Megan roll her eyes, before she turned her attention back to her dresser and pulled out all of the necessities: panties, bra
, t-shirt, and shorts. Megan sat on the bed just staring at her while she got dressed. When she was done, Shayla walked over and sat down next to her.
“So, is this your life now?” Megan asked. “Getting your door kicked in. Literally fighting to survive every day. Is this what you want?”
Shayla took a moment to really think about Megan’s question, and she realized for the first time in as long as she could remember, she truly felt alive. She took Megan’s hands in hers and looked at her friend in the eye when she said, “Yes.” Megan’s face drew up in astonishment so Shayla figured she should explain. “Would I have chosen this if you’d asked me a few days ago? I highly doubt it, but circumstances that were out of my control have led me here. You asked if I wanted to live my life fighting to survive every day, well I’ve already done that. I lived like that for years while I was with Eric, but I couldn’t fight for myself back then and I almost died because of it. Now I can. Now I am strong enough to fight for myself and win. Do I want to have to fight? Of course not. But I can’t deny believing I could win if I had to give me a sense of pride in myself that I’ve never felt before. It’s a good feeling, Megan. A great feeling. I have a whole new family now in the pack, and even though they will never replace you or Adam in my heart, it is nice to know that there are others out there who care about me now. So no, I hope that I don’t have to spend every day fighting to survive, but yes, I am glad that this is my life.”
Megan searched her face for any sign that Shayla wasn’t one hundred percent sure that this was what she wanted, but Shayla knew she wouldn’t find what she was looking for. She’d meant every word.
“So, what does this mean for me?” Megan asked.
“I’m not sure. We should probably talk to Adam. I think you need someone with you at all times until this Kevin issue is over.”
Megan shook her head. “No. I didn’t mean with the whole Kevin thing, although, that is something we should talk about too. I meant with you and me. Are we still going to be friends? Are you even allowed to have human friends now that you’re a…a…”?
