Shift (The Neturu Chronicles) (32 page)

               
“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 Kayla 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.

               
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!”

               
Jackson shakes his head and laughs. “Shifting obviously made you hungry.”

               
“Hey,” Kayla growls, crossing her arms.

               
“It’s not a bad thing.  You burned tons of calories today. You could
probably eat until you puked and still not be full.”

               
Kayla gets a big smile on her face and laughs. “Will I get rocking bodies like
you guys?”

               
“Probably.”

               
“Don’t listen to him.  You already have a rocking body,” Damien says.

               
“Thank you,” Kayla replies, shooting him a seductive smile.

               
Jackson groans in protest.  “I’m leaving before I lose my
appetite.”            

               
“I want to go sit in the Jacuzzi.  I’m starting to feel sore.”

               
“We can do that until he gets back,” Damien replies.  “Come on, let’s go.”

               
Waving his keys, Jackson says, “I’m leaving.  No sex in the pool.”

               
“
Jackson
,” Kayla yells.  “I would
never
.”

               
“Maybe with the right guy you would,” Jackson snips as he walks out of the
kitchen.  Kayla watches him leave, not knowing what to say.

               
Damien crosses his arms.  “I swear I will knock him into next week.”

               
“Don’t be silly, we have the whole house to ourselves now.  What do
you
want to do?” She knows she needs to get her mind off of Jackson, and Kayla has
to admit, she does like Damien.

               
“I’ll go get shorts on and meet you in there,” he states as he runs off.

               
Kayla giggles.  She sprints towards the pool.  When she gets there,
she doesn’t turn the lights on.  The only light she puts on is the one in
the Jacuzzi.  She strips her top and skirt off; her bathing suit is still
underneath.  The water is really warm when she climbs in.  It feels
good and she sighs.

               
A minute later, Damien comes into the pool room.  Kayla smiles at
him.  “You’re hot, you know that, right?”

               
“What did you say to Jude?  Oh yeah, you get to come home to real men.”
Damien smiles, walking over to her.  He climbs into the Jacuzzi and sits
opposite from Kayla.  “I’m glad that you find me tantalizing.”

               
“What?  I was telling the truth.  You’re droolably gorgeous.”

               
Damien swims over to her and goes down onto his knees.  He grabs Kayla and
pulls her against him.  “Next time we shift, it’s just going to be the two
of us, and I will put that extra energy to some good use.”

               
All Kayla can do is gulp. “Okay.”

               
He rubs his thumb across her lips.  Kayla’s heart nearly beats out of her
chest.  Damien looks up at her.  “I’m going to ask you a question,
and I want you to answer me honestly.  Okay?”  Kayla nods. 
Damien stares at her and then says, “Do you
really
like me?  It’s
not just the shifting, is it?  It’s not because I’m here for you right
now.  It’s because you like
me
,
right?”

               
She nods. “Yeah, I really do like you a lot.  You are what I have always
wanted.  I didn’t think I would find anyone like you.  I mean, I
didn’t think my first boyfriend would be an alien, but…what the hell.”

               
“Boyfriend?” Damien quips with a smile.

               
“Damn,” Kayla squeaks, covering her face.  “That came out wrong. 
You’re not my boyfriend.  I didn’t mean it that way.”

               
He grabs Kayla’s hands and pulls them away from her face.  “Don’t be
embarrassed. We’re still getting to know each other.  We don’t have to
label it or make an official commitment yet, but it’s okay if we start thinking
about the future.”

               
“We’ve only known each other for a few days.  I don’t know why I lose all
control around you.”

               
“It’s who we are.  It’s the same reason you have that reaction around
Jackson.  We’re meant to be together, as a species.  It’s like you're
in a place surrounded by nothing but other girls.  Let’s say a guy
suddenly comes along and you’re attracted to him, it's an impulsive drive,
instinctive, and it makes sense.  I make sense to you.  Your body is
reacting to that.”

               
Kayla tilts her head.  “I never thought about it that way.”

               
“We are a very hormonal species.  We send our own version of pheromones
off like crazy, especially at our age.  When you really connect with
someone, those pheromones come off even stronger.”

               
“So it’s not uncommon?”

               
Damien shakes his head.  “Nope.”

               
“We just have to fight it.”

               
He smirks and says, “Yes, we must fight it.”

               
“Can I ask you a question, kind of personal?”

               
“You can ask me anything.”

               
She sweeps his hair out of his eyes.  “What was it like, being with one of
our kind?  I mean, what’s it like, compared to being with a human?”

               
“Okay, slightly awkward question.” Damien sighs.  “Being with human girls
was entirely physical.  It’s all the sensations of touch.  When
you’re with one of our kind, it shakes you to your core.  That energy you
feel when you go to Shima, you combine that with the other person's.  You
know how when we kiss strongly it sends all your nerves tingling? Imagine that
times a hundred.  It’s like physical pleasure and mental pleasure all at
the same time.”

               
“Do you plan on doing it again before you’re married?”

               
Damien looks down.  “I don’t know.  My family pressures me so
much.  I know it sounds ridiculous, but it’s not easy.  They want me
to marry you so badly, and it’s not that I wouldn’t, I would, but I want to do
it because we want to be together, not because they’re pushing for it.”

               
“I’ll only marry someone that I truly love, and I won’t have multiple husbands
or lovers.  I will only have children with my husband.  They can throw
me in alien jail if they want, but that won’t change.”

               
Smiling, Damien says, “That’s good.  Stick to your morals.  They are
beautiful morals.  I don’t want to have multiple lovers.  I don’t
want multiple mothers to my children.  I want one mother—lots of
children—but only one mother.”

               
“How many kids are you thinking?” Kayla asks, wrapping her arms around his
neck.

               
“Six or seven. I want boys to roughhouse with and girls to play dolls
with.  I’ll need to acquire a gun though, for when the girls start
dating.”

               
Kayla pulls herself closer to him.  “Seven kids, huh?  That’s a lot
of…yeah, well, you know.”

               
“Mmhmm,” Damien hums in reply, bringing his lips down to hers.  They kiss
each other softly.  “You taste sweet,” he whispers against her lips.

               
“Uh-huh,” Kayla breathes out, before she kisses him again.  They sit there
for a while wrapped up in each other.  Then, like a whip, Kayla feels
Damien let his energy loose.  She buckles and pulls him as close as
possible.  Their kisses grow passionate and then Damien moves from her
lips to her jawline and then her neck.  Kayla gasps.  She feels his
hands grip her legs.  “Damien,” she breathes out.  “We need to slow
down.”

               
He pulls away from her and whispers, “Are you sure about that?”

               
“No, not at all,” Kayla replies, pulling him in for another kiss.

               
Everything is going good until they hear, “Well, that is as close to sex as you
are ever going to get in this household.”

               
Damien and Kayla break apart to find Jackson’s mom standing over them with her
arms crossed.  Kayla quickly covers her mouth and backs up.  “Oops.”

               
“Can we help you?” Damien retorts sharply.

               
“Excuse me?” Mrs. Blakely snaps.  “Don’t pull attitude with me, young
man.”

               
Furrowing his eyebrows, Damien snarls, “Do you forget whom you’re talking to?”

               
“Damien, stop it,” Kayla hisses.  “I am really sorry, Mrs. Blakely. 
It was totally inappropriate.  We didn’t realize you were home.”