Shifting Shadows (Sparks Collide Trilogy) (31 page)

“Ok…” I said, giving Jay a puzzled
look.

“So my Dad sent the Jet and two guys to
drive our cars back for us.”

“What?” practically all of us said in
unison.

“Now that is V.I.P.” Mena said.

We grabbed our bags and headed to the
place on the beach where the plane had landed.  I’d flown in my dad’s
private airplane tons of times but watching Kira’s excitement got me pumped
too. It was weird how being with her made everything more exciting.

For months I’d been bored with my
privileged life and throw away money and then Kira comes along and suddenly
every small cup of coffee is like winning the lottery. She made me see things
in a new way and maybe the most important thing of all was my role in the pack.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to be Alpha of the southeastern hemisphere of the
United States
or even a senator or governor but when
it came to my own pack, I wanted to be the leader. I wanted to protect them in
every way I could. Once I said that to my father, he was on board with having
Kira over in Wyldwoods Estates.

“So I know we’re only going to be on
this flight for like 30 minutes but can use that time to talk about your
werewolf thing because I have a billion questions.” Kira said.

I smiled. “Sure. I promise once we’re
settled in you can ask me anything but give me a few minutes. I have to talk to
Mike. He’s the pilot and one of us. I’ll introduce you later.”

We boarded the plane and as soon as the
door shut, we were off. I didn’t know planes could leave that fast. Then again
I’d never been on a private plane before. Everyone was sitting there strewn out
across the seats and aisles laughing and talking like they were at an afternoon
picnic. Jay went into the cockpit and I settled in among the guys, the pack. I
perched on an armrest.

Logan
looked at me and said “What?” and
raised an eyebrow.

I realized I had been staring at them
all. “Well, I was about ask if you guys are all right but that’s pretty obvious
and while I’m glad, now I’m wondering how can you guys be so calm, so… normal?
It’s kind of freaking me out. I mean I know it was a few hours ago but when I
walked in you were all being attacked by witches.”

Logan
smiled. “What can I say? We’re a
jovial bunch.”

Trenton
nodded like he understood me “I guess
we’re just happy to be alive. As the incoming council, we’ve been training for
this stuff for years. We’ve had to deal with supernaturals all of our lives. I
mean, in the moment it can be scary as hell but you have to make yourself stay
calm and focus on survival. When you achieve your goal, you start feeling
pretty good.”

I looked around at all of them again
and saw that he had a point. I just wasn’t at that level yet. I almost hoped
that I never would be at a level that I could be totally fine after almost
being killed or watching my friends get hurt but I saw his point, with their
life experiences they had to be. I’d been preparing for attacks for my whole
life as well but it still scared me to deal with it face to face and this
hadn’t even been much of an attack. I didn’t know what to say so I just nodded.

Then
Will
spoke into the silence. “So, you’ve never seen them before, have you?”

I knew just what he meant. I tried to
sound casual. “Oh the wolf thing, no, that was my first time. It’s really
amazing. Knowing what you are and seeing it are totally separate things. And
uh, I guess you guys got to see some of my deeper magic too.”

Brandon
winked at me “Oh yes, oh powerful one
and
may
I just say, that flying ball of light thing
was freaking awesome.”

“Glad you liked it. I hope I never have
to do it again but yeah.”

“So are you going to find out about your
grandmother?” Mena asked. I shrugged. Unsure what I would do about it.

Annabella put her hand on my shoulder,
“You don’t have to talk about it. You seem really uncomfortable.”

“I don’t know. It’s just a little weird
for me, I guess. I mean, I only met her once. This is just a lot for me to take
in. I’ve always known witches practiced both light and dark before the war but
I never knew that my family was so strongly involved with the dark because both
my parents practice light. Or at least that’s what they’ve always told me.” I
winced. “That right there bothers me the most. That now after one little lie or
not even a lie but by not telling me who my grandmother was, I’m starting to
question everything I’ve ever been told.”

I didn’t even want to think about my
power situation. I mean yes, I was more powerful than my father but warlocks
aren’t usually as strong as witches. I was as powerful as my mother but what
did that tell me really? She was a
Beaumont
witch too. That’s the only comparisons
of my magic I ever had. What if we really were stronger than most, did that
even change anything?

Logan
smiled. “I’m not sure if we told you
this but we’re glad you’re a witch, you know. It saved our butts today.”

“I’m glad just for that very reason but
you have to know your butts wouldn’t need saving if it wasn’t for me.”

“Yeah because it’s really your fault
you look like your grandmother. Come on Kira, you need to give yourself a
break.” Demi said, surprising me. She was not one to say things just to be nice
and that reassured me somewhat.

“You know what, you’re right. I’m just
glad we’re all ok.”

Brandon
placed the back of his arm to his
head, mocked a fainting motion, and took on a ridiculous high pitched southern
accent “Oh good Lord above, what a relief.”

“Oh, stop it.” I realized it felt good
to laugh and it lessened my tension slightly.

Max addressed me “Kira, I hope you
don’t mind me saying but I won’t be surprised if it turns out you’re one of the
most powerful witches alive. I’ve studied magic for years and nothing I’ve seen
compares to your skill with it.”

I looked up. “Thanks Max.” That’s what
I was afraid of. Then again what did werewolf scientists know about magic
anyway?

I felt a hand stroke my hair and turned
to see Jay. I smiled up at him and he smiled back. When I looked away, slightly
embarrassed and shy in front of all the others, Jay changed into leader mode.
He looked up to address everyone, though he kept his hand on my shoulder. “All
right guys, the plane’s doing well and even though Mike wants to swear on a
bible there’s no one tailing us, I told him to keep a serious eye out.
Regardless it doesn’t matter, once we get into Wyldwoods, we’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure you guys don’t want to
land so you and Kira can steal another car and then wander around for a few
hours?”
Logan
asked.

“Ha-ha. I said. Don’t be jealous we
stole a car.”

“I am actually. I changed my mind, how
about we steal a car and we’ll leave Jay here.” Jay growled and
Logan
backed away from me his hands out in
front of him.

“Just kidding, man.
It was totally a joke. The witch is
all yours.”

I turned around to see Jay’s face but
he seemed fine. I wondered why
Logan
was being so dramatic. Then, again, it
was
Logan
.

“Whatever, maybe you and Trent can rob
a bank or something and tell me how it goes.” I said.

Trent
shook his head. “Nah, I’m good.”

Logan
shoved him “You’d be lucky to rob a
bank with me.”

Everybody started laughing and Jay and
I took our seats. They were plush, tan leather and were smooth to the touch. I
settled in comfortably and closed my eyes for a brief moment. When I opened
them, I noticed the front of my tight jeans had bunched up as I sat and a paper
peeked out of my front pocket. It was Violet’s list of numbers. It felt heavy
in my pocket all of the sudden so I shoved it back down until I couldn’t see
it. Jay took that hand pushing the paper down and placed it in his.

“You did the right thing.” I shrugged.
“I know but that doesn’t stop the guilt from taking hold.”

“You shouldn’t feel guilty, Kira.
You’re dealing with a lot and you’re handling it better than I think anyone
else could.”

Some of my tension drained away as he
continued. “I know I might regret saying this but you should hold onto the
numbers just in case. You never know what will happen in the future.”

“I was planning to and actually my mom
might know about the future.”

He gave me a questioning glance.
“What?”

“She has visions occasionally. It’s a
gifting.”

His jaw dropped open. “That’s amazing.
Does that mean you’ll have to tell her what’s going on?”

“She might never find out, her visions
are unpredictable but I have to tell her eventually. I’d rather her hear it
from me than find out on her own. It’s going to be hard though. My parents
won’t think aligning
myself
with werewolves is ok.”

He squeezed my hand in comfort. “We’ll
keep your secret, the whole pack will be ordered to keep your secret and we’re
going to protect you.” I squeezed back. “I know but it’s just not going to be
so easy to convince my parents of that.”

I thought for a moment. “What about
your dad, is he ok with this, really?”

He shrugged. “He seems to be. I know
it’s odd but I think I could’ve told him anything as long I mentioned I’m ready
to step up as an Alpha and he would’ve been ok with it. His council might be a
problem but it’s nothing we can’t handle.”

We shared a brief smile, his purple
eyes burning into mine. In them I saw comfort and acceptance. A testament to
how quickly things could change. I didn’t know where things were going or what
my life would be like now that I, a witch in hiding, had joined forces with a
pack of Werewolves. It was terrifying and thrilling but I’d always looked
forward to new beginnings.