Shifting Shadows (Sparks Collide Trilogy) (15 page)

His eyes raged and he pushed himself to
his feet. “Shift, you piece of shit. I’m going to enjoy wiping that smirk off
of your face and then messing you up so bad, you won’t ever smirk again.”

“Promises, promises,
Michigan
.
If you’re jealous because I’m better
looking than you, take it up with your girl.”

He roared and shifted and I followed
his lead.

I had barely transformed and he came at
me, claws flying. No circling around for this kid. That meant he was good and
ready for his supposed revenge. Anger also meant he wasn’t thinking clearly and
I could use that to my advantage. His claws had swiped my side and got me good
down my stomach. I bit into his leg as he was trying to back away and I held on
until I felt bone.

He yipped and cried but I swung my head
from side to side, tasting blood. One more whine and his pack mates were on me.

Not just one or two of them but five.
It was a freaking ambush and I fell right for it. I let go of the torn up leg
and began forcing bodies off of me. They had numbers but I had Alpha strength
and speed.

I got most of them off but they kept
coming at me in cycles. Some waited to heal their injuries and the others would
jump on me again and again. This went on for what felt like forever and I was
starting to lose strength in a big way. I’d been clawed at, bitten, and jerked
around but I’d done the same to them. I hoped it would be enough for me to run
out of here and be able to be faster than them. I knew these woods like the
back of my hand, so I could go where they couldn’t find me. That is, if I
didn’t bleed out before then.

Suddenly wolves started flying through
the air and I wondered what was going on. I clawed at the wolf above me until
it passed out. Moving over him, I could now clearly see the reason for the
flying wolves and I smiled inwardly. Will was here in his dark, shifted form
and he was knocking around wolves left and right, not stopping until they were
unconscious. I barked out a greeting and he barked one back.

Will gave us the advantage because he
was unexpected and having just joined the fight, he had plenty of energy. His
presence renewed me and I went for
Michigan
. I dove straight for his left leg, the
one I’d already injured, taking him down. Once he was on the ground, I went for
his right leg, so he couldn’t run after me. The blood’s bitter taste turned
into the sweet taste of victory when he cried out in pain. I let go as soon as
he was good and paralyzed for the next few minutes at least.

Will was fighting the last two guys
moving around and I jumped into it with everything I had left. When they too
were immobile, I grabbed what I could of my clothes because of my wallet and
Will managed to find my phone and grab it with his teeth. We ran into the woods
as fast and far as we could before I collapsed.

I awoke a short while later as Will,
now in human form splashed my face with water. “Get up, Jay. Drink this.” I
looked to see him pointing to the stream next to me. We were still in the
woods. He must have dragged me here. I drank as much as I could even though it
hurt to drink but it hurt to breathe so it didn’t make any difference. When I
was done, I looked back to Will. “Do you think you can shift to human form? I
called Doc and he’s going to pick us up and get you to his clinic. It might be
easier to get you in the car if you’re not a wolf.” All I could manage was a
whine. I was in so much pain I wasn’t sure if I could shift back. I tried
though.

A few minutes later and by some miracle
I was able to gain my human form. Unfortunately, once I had, I buckled to the
ground. It looked like I was bleeding everywhere but it was dried blood in most
places. I did notice distantly, however that at least one of my wounds wasn’t
closing. Which, I knew was not normal for werewolves. Even the wolves we
brought down tonight would be fine in a few hours and totally heal up by next
week. “Try to stay awake, Jay. Doc’s almost here.” He started to tear up my
shirt and wrap it around where I was still bleeding.

“I’m trying. This sucks.”

He laughed, harshly. “No kidding.”

I tried to lift my head up but failed
“This is probably the blood loss talking but thanks for coming, man.”

He stripped some more cloth. “Hey, you
called, I came. That’s it works.”

“I didn’t know if it would still work
like that though, you know?”

He didn’t hesitate. “Hell yes, it still
works like that. It will always work like that. You’re my best friend, Jay.”
His voice sounded far away. “Jay” he called.

I tried to answer but I couldn’t. I saw
darkness but I figured my eyes must be closed or something.

“Jay, wake up. God, I’m sorry, man, for
everything, ok? You have to wake up... You were right about everything, your
mom, me, Demi, all of it. I should’ve been there for you, you really needed me.
This whole thing, your life now, it’s all my fault. Wake up so you can shove it
in my face. Get up and tell me how stupid I’ve been…”

He kept talking but I couldn’t hear him
anymore. I felt like I was floating away in the darkness.

We ended up missing the first showing
of the chick flick we wanted to see called The Daisy Bridge because Mena had
been late. She had been Skyping in on an international conference on foreign
policy and apparently the “stubborn men didn’t know their Hobbes from their
Hume when it came to philosophy.” So she had to stay and educate them on
whatever that was.

Annabella, Mena and I got to the next
showing just fine though. We’d invited Chris and Demi but they were
understandably with their guys tonight. So it was just the three of us. The
movie was ridiculously sappy and we all cried like babies. It was weirdly
needed, at least for me. Sometimes I just had to let it all go and enjoy a
silly love story.

When we got out of the theater we
checked our phones and found identical texts from Jay. “We’re doing my beach
house this weekend to celebrate
Logan
’s success. Meet at my house at
8 a.m.
tomorrow and pack accordingly. We will
be there till Monday. Kira we will pick you up at your apartment at
8:30 a.m.
so be ready.

I had a second text from Jay that read
“Talked to Doc, you have Monday off so you can join in the beach house trip. No
need to thank me.
J
.”  It ended with a smiley face
emoticon. I wanted to be angry that he would just take me out of a whole day of
work like that but I couldn’t. After all, he’d only made sure that
 
if I wanted to miss work that I could. I
didn’t have to go to the beach with them. I could stay here and go to work as
planned. I laughed aloud at that thought and texted back, “I’m in. See you tomorrow.
-Kira.”

After that we went out for wine at this
really nice wine bar and ate tapas like they were going out of style. It was
shaping up to be the perfect girl’s night. “Can we do this every week?” Mena
asked.

“Yes” Annabella and I said emphatically
at the same time.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love the guys
but I just need girl time.” Mena added.

“I so get it.” Annabella said as she
lifted a shrimp fritter to her mouth. “I wish you lived in our neighborhood,
Kira. We need you around, you make things better.”

I looked up at her, stunned. “Thank
you, that was so sweet of you to say.”

“It’s the truth.” Mena said before
sipping her wine. “You’re like the missing piece to our puzzle.”

I smiled “I feel like that too
sometimes. Like when I first met you all, I felt like I’d known you for years.
Just last month, I never would’ve imagined I’d be going to a beach house with
friends. It’s still a little weird to me.”

“Well get used to it” Annabella said,
smiling “because now that we’ve got you we’re not letting you go.”

We laughed and I bit into my tiny
tortilla. “So tell me, I’ve been dying to ask you both for what feels like
forever but who of the guys have you dated?”

Annabella blushed and Mena smiled
widely, saying “I married Trent, Logan, Brandon, and Will as children,
separately, of course.”

“You married brothers? That’s very
risky of you.” I pointed out.

“Well, I married
Brandon
almost two whole weeks after
Logan
so I felt that was very sophisticated
of me.”

“Indeed” Annabella said cheekily.

“Seriously though, you guys never dated
any of them?”

“Actually” Mena began “I dated
Trent
for a week in 7
^th
grade. It
lasted longer than our marriage and most of his other relationships so I’d call
it a success.
Besides that, no.
Oh wait, I made out
with
Brandon
when we were trashed at a party in
high school but that was the first and only time, I ever drank tequila. We
still laugh about it all the time.

Plus, I had a serious boyfriend, Nick
for five years. We broke up last year so I haven’t really been available. In
any case, my brother and I made a pact not to date each other’s friends. It’s
too weird.”

“True” I said. “What about you, A.B.?”

“No, I also only date outside
the…neighborhood.”

“How come?” I asked.

“I’ve never looked at them like that. I
mean, they’re great guys and attractive guys but I feel I can’t cross that
line. They’re too important and I guess I’ve always been afraid that if I
messed something up, I’d be the odd one out because they’ve all known each
other their whole lives.” She said lightly and took a sip of wine.

Mena looked up “Annabella” she said
slowly “If you ever dated any of the guys, including my own brother even, and
things went badly, I would take your side 100 percent.”

Annabella tilted her head “But why
would you do that?” “Because if anything went wrong there’s no way it could be
your fault. Regardless, you’re one of us and I’m certain it wouldn’t be just me
who has your back. There’s nothing you could do, no matter how awful, to change
that.”

Annabella’s eyes turned glassy and I
looked away to give her a moment.

“So” Mena said to me “Which one are you
interested in?” She said it lightly but both she and Annabella sat up
straighter and had their eyes trained on me. It was my turn to blush.

“I’m not looking to get involved with
anyone just yet. I just moved here and I want to be single and experience
everything I can. Plus I kind of understand where Annabella is coming from. If
things got bad, I’d be on the outs with all of you.”

Mena groaned “That’s terribly
pessimistic, Kira. Why would anything ‘go badly?’ You both need to be more open
to the possibility that things can and do go well. It’s like that couple in the
movie tonight. One day you’re chugging along and then, bam, you meet a gorgeous
man on a daisy bridge.”

I laughed “Gosh, why did we like that
movie? That sounds ridiculous.”

Annabella snorted and I laughed harder.

“Damn, it really does sound ridiculous.
Oh well, you get my point.” Mena said and she started to laugh too. “If there
is anyone, anyone at all that you like, you should go for it.”

“Definitely” added Annabella.

I searched both their faces but I
didn’t know what to say so I bit into one of the mini pizzas.

The rest of the night flew by and
eventually we had to call it quits if only to pack for the next day. I hugged
them both in the parking lot and got into my car. I turned to place my purse in
the passenger seat when I noticed the files from Doc’s office sticking out.

Crap. I’d have to return those tonight
or early tomorrow morning if I was going on the trip and missing work on
Monday. I would be passing by the plaza on my way home anyway, so I figured I’d
just get it done now.

I felt strange about having a key but
Doc explained that if there was an emergency with a pet at any hour and I
needed to get in or open the office for whatever reason, I would be able to. I
felt even stranger about going over there in the middle of the night but it
would only be for a moment. I’d be in, out, and on my way home in no time.

I woke up in my uncle’s office on the
operating table in excruciating pain. It wasn’t as bad as before but it still
wasn’t what I would call pleasant. “Uncle Eric” I tried to yell out but my
voice was so not making that happen. I felt my throat and flashbacked to it
being stepped on and crushed. I winced.

“James” Doc called “I’m right here.
You’re going to be fine.” He walked into my line of vision with a chart in his
hands.“I’m
just preparing to give you some stitches and
getting you some fluids.

I looked to my right hand and noticed
the I.V hooked up to it. “Where’s Will, is he ok?”