Shift (The Neturu Chronicles) (31 page)

               
“It caught me by surprise,” Kayla exclaims.  “Anyway, he only does it to
get a rise out of you.”

               
“Sometimes I don't think that's why he does it,” Damien retorts, looking at
Kayla.  “Do you think he has feelings for you?”

               
She shakes her head.  “No, we’ve had that conversation.”

               
“What conversation?” Damien asks hesitantly.

               
Trying to not say too much, Kayla replies, “Just that his family is pushing for
us to be together.  We both agreed to not let them decide our fate.”

               
“That’s good to hear,” Damien states.  “Eat your breakfast.” Damien’s
phone rings, and he looks at it.  “I have to take this.  Eat. 
I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

               
“Okay,” Kayla replies cheerfully.  She pulls out the stool and sits at the
counter.  Damien answers his phone and leaves the kitchen, while Kayla
eats her food.  “This is really good,” she says to herself

               
When she’s finished, Kayla goes to the sink to wash her dishes.  Pain
shoots through her.  “Oh no,” she gasps.  “Okay, you can do
this.  Think of a dog.” Within seconds, she's down on the floor. 
Kayla shivers and emits a yelp.  After a few minutes, she closes her eyes
and thinks about being herself.  When nothing happens, she starts to
panic.  She closes her eyes again and thinks even harder about her human
self, but nothing changes.  She starts to whimper.  Running out of
the kitchen, she searches for Damien.

               
Still unfamiliar with the house, she ends up getting lost. She is surprised
when she turns a corner and finds Jackson’s room. His door is slightly ajar,
and she pushes it open with her nose, hesitantly looking inside.  Jackson
is nowhere to be seen, but Kayla can hear the water running in the
shower.  Standing outside the closed bathroom door, Kayla tries to yell,
but it comes out as a bark.  When there is no response, she barks again
and again.  Still no response, so she starts pawing at the door as the
panic continues to build.

               
Without warning, the door flies open.  Jackson stands in the doorway,
holding a towel around his waist. Water drips from his body. Even as a dog,
Kayla’s heart races as she looks at him.

Jackson furrows his
eyebrows. “What in the hell, Kayla?”  Kayla starts to whimper and
cry.  Jackson tucks the towel around his body and bends down.  “Are
you stuck?”  Kayla paws at him and whimpers.  “Okay, you just need to
calm down.  It sometimes takes a while to turn back when you’re first
shifting, and if you panic, it makes it worse.”  Kayla hangs her
head.  “It’s okay.  Don’t worry so much.  Just calm down.” 
He kneels next to her.  Jackson slowly runs his hand down her back. 
“Just stay calm and take deep breaths.  Okay, now think about being
yourself.  Don’t try to force it, just calmly think of yourself.”

               
Kayla complies, and suddenly she is on her knees again.  She instantly
starts crying.  Jackson grabs her and pulls her against him.  She
wraps her arms around him, putting her face on his chest.  “That was
horrible,” she cries.  “I couldn’t change back, and I couldn’t find
Damien.  I didn’t know what to do.”

               
“You need to remember to stay calm.  When you freak out, it makes it
really hard to shift back.  Are you okay?”

               
She nods her head.  “Don’t think I’m stupid, but it was scary.”

               
“You aren’t stupid.  I could never think that you were stupid.” 
Kayla looks up at him.  They sit there for a few minutes looking at each
other, until Jackson finally says, “I’m getting you all wet.”

               
“That’s okay,” Kayla whispers.

               
Jackson takes her hair and tucks it behind her ear.  “You sure you’re
okay?”

               
“Yeah, thanks to you.  Sorry for interrupting your shower.”

               
“Hey, there is nothing wrong with a beautiful girl interrupting my shower,
although next time, I prefer you do it as yourself and not as a dog.” Jackson
laughs.

               
Giggling, Kayla replies, “I’ll keep that in mind.  Do I have to knock next
time?”

               
“Nah,” Jackson chuckles.  “Just come in.”  Kayla laughs. 
Jackson smiles and looks at her.  Then ever so slowly, he bends down to
kiss her.

               
Kayla closes her eyes.  “Jackson, don’t.  We can’t do this.”

               
He pulls away.  “I'm sorry.  I just…for whatever reason, I lose
myself around you.”

               
“It’s okay, I feel it too.  You’re all wet…in a towel…and I’m in your
arms. You have no idea what is going through my head right now.”

               
“Actually, it’s probably the same as what's going through my head right
now.  Screw it…want to finish showering with me?”

               
Instantly blushing, Kayla hisses, “Jackson!”

               
“What?” He chuckles with a huge grin.  “It was worth a try.”

               
Heat rises in her face and she pushes away from him.  “I need to leave.”

               
“Too tempted, huh?”

               
Standing up, Kayla points her finger at him.  “We’re ending this
conversation right now before we get into trouble.  I need to leave. 
I need to leave and take a cold shower.”

               
“You can take a nice…hot…shower if you want,” Jackson teases.

               
Stammering, Kayla says, “I…I need to…leave, yes…go finish your shower…by
yourself.”

               
“All right,” he sighs, standing up.  “I offered.”

               
“I'm leaving, like now.”  She turns and walks out of his room. 
Shutting the door, Kayla exhales, “Oh dear Lord, have mercy on me.”

               
“What were you doing in Jackson’s room?
”
Damien’s voice startles her.
“
Better
question, why are you all wet?”

               
Kayla walks over and punches him in the arm.  “Where were
you!
”

               
“Outside,” Damien retorts, rubbing his arm. “Why?”

               
“I shifted and couldn’t shift back.  Thankfully Jackson heard me barking!”

               
Shock crosses Damien’s face.  “I’m so sorry.  I shouldn’t have left
you alone.  Are you okay?”

               
“Yeah, Jackson calmed me down, and I shifted back.”

               
“So…why are you all wet?”

               
“Jackson got out of the shower to help me.”

               
Damien gives her a look.  “Got out of the shower…like he was naked?”

               
“No, he had a towel on!  Like I would be calm enough to shift back while a
naked guy is standing in front of me.”

               
“If you want to see a naked guy, I’m more than willing,” Damien says with a
grin.

               
Kayla laughs. “No!  Enough with naked boys today.”

               
“All right, it's your turn to take a shower.  I’ll sit outside the door,
in case you shift.  Just remember to stay calm.  The calmer you are,
the easier it is to shift back into your human form.  Come on, you can
shower in the guest bathroom.”  He takes her hand and pulls her through
the house.  “See, your random shifting is why you aren’t out in the
community.  We don’t need a dog to randomly be in a restaurant.”

               
“How long before I have more control over it?”

               
“We’ll have to see where you are in a week.  If I had been near you earlier,
I could have taught you how to quickly meditate.  Then you could have
controlled it more.  I’m really sorry that you had to go through
that.  I got a call from my father and had to take it,” Damien states,
walking her up the stairs.

               
She tugs on his hand. “Any news on my parents?”

               
Stopping, Damien exhales heavily.  “Yes, they made a decision.”

               
“
And
?”

               
He turns to her.  “You will be staying here with me.”

               
“I can’t go home at all?”

               
“No,” Damien sighs.  “I’m sorry, Kayla.  We can stay at your house,
but you don’t have a spare bedroom and we would have to hook up alarms. Unless
I stayed in your room, but I refuse to do that.”

               
Her heart sinks in her chest. “For how long?  How long do I have to stay
here?”

               
“Until you are ready and have
your
shifting under
control.  That may take a while.  Please, don’t blame me. I did
everything I could.”

               
“No, I believe you.  Are my parents coming back?”

               
“Yes, they should be back tomorrow.”

               
“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.”