The Baby Shift- Rhode Island

by Becca Fanning

  Glancing behind her, she silently mouthed to the wolf that was Connor, "Thank you."

  "In a valiant attempt to save thousands of lower echelon Springfield citizens from becoming homeless overnight, mayoral aspirant Alyssa Horton risked a lot more than most people would be willing to. Soon after the announcement of the demolition of the Glover, Mrs. Horton made successful efforts to buy the property with her own money."

  "She also rushed to save the day at the demolition site where security footage shows she was not allowed to go in. However, her shifter bodyguard who has been by her side through out her campaign transformed into a wolf and is seen subduing the guards in a not-so-gentle manner. The police however, believe Mr. Sanders was in the right as the guards were being purposefully obstructive and were not harmed in any way."

  "Alyssa Horton did however manage to save the Glover seconds before the demolition started. She is currently on the lips of every lower and middle-class citizen in Springfield and has suddenly become a huge favorite to win the mayoral elections coming up in two weeks time."

  * * *

  Connor turned off the television with a wide smile on his face. It was only the next morning since the scene at the Glover and it was already certain that Alyssa would be the next mayor. She had struck Larry Burch with a massive blow by terminating his cruel project. Connor wondered if he should give her a call. He hadn't heard from her in a while and was eager to pick up from where they left off at Folkholm. Just then, he heard a loud knock on his room door.

  Connor's heart raced. For some reason, he genuinely felt that could be Alyssa at the door. He hurriedly removed his shirt. That was a seduction technique he used when receiving female visitors in his room. Connor walked to the door and opened it.

  "Natasha?" It was more of a question than an exclamation. Connor could not think of a reason why Alyssa's personal assistant would be standing in front of his room with a broad smile on her face.

  "Hey, Connor. May I come in?" she asked.

  Confused, Connor replied, "Yeah, sure. Why not? Make yourself at home." He opened the door wider and let her in. She took a seat on his bed, her eyes blatantly surveying his entire room.

  "To what do I owe such a pleasant surprise?" Connor asked as he took a seat beside her on the bed. He could not help but notice her swallow after taking a subtle glance at his bare chest.

  "Oh, I was in the neighborhood, and I thought I'd drop by and celebrate our little victory yesterday."

  Connor grinned. "I'll go get champagne." He made to stand up, but she held his arm tenderly.

  "Wait, Connor. I didn't mean that kind of celebration. I had something a little more... different in mind. I couldn't help but notice no one stopped to question me as I headed for your room. You must have a lot of women come into your room. Tell me, Connor, how often do you fuck girls in this room? Will you fuck me like you fuck them?"

  Connor found himself lost for words. His eyes were mesmerized as he watched her unbutton her white top and pull it off her body, exposing large breasts held together by a pink bra.

  "I... I.. " was all he could say.

  "I've always wanted you, Connor - right from the first day I set my eyes on you." She held his hand and placed it on her left breast. "I know you want me, too. I can see it in your eyes. You want to fuck me just as much as I want to fuck you."

  Connor's mind raced. She was right. He wanted to fuck her. His instincts wanted him to fuck her like a maniac. But something was wrong. Something was holding him back. He had never been one to hold back but for some reason, he could not touch this beautiful woman sitting on his bed.

  "I can't, I'm sorry," Connor said, withdrawing his hand from her chest and standing up from the bed.

  The look of hurt and disappointment on her face flooded him with guilt. He repeated, "I'm realy sorry, Natasha. I can't do this. You're Alyssa's personal assistant."

  He did not know what he expected of her. Anger maybe, or pain, but he sure did not expect her to burst into tears like she did.

  "Hey, hey! Come on, Natasha. Why the hell are you crying?" he asked as she sobbed silently.

  Sniffling, she replied, "I just broke up with my boyfriend last night. He.... "

  Connor rolled his eyes. "Not again," he thought to himself.

  "Yes, thank you Senator. I really appreciate this," Alyssa said holding the phone to her mouth. This was the third call she had received that morning - all from influential people calling to render their support and endorsement for her campaign as the next mayor of Springfield.

  She ended the call after a while. When she made efforts to save the Glover, she had done it out of an instinct to save lives and had not anticipated how well the move would play in her favor. Springfield considered her a hero now, and Larry Burch was seen for the devil he truly was.

  Despite these happy thoughts, one other thought kept nudging at the back of her mind, flashing images into her brain. She couldn't stop thinking about the kiss she shared with Connor back in Folkholm. She wanted him so bad, yet she was certain this wasn't pure lust. She truly felt a connection between them - one she was ready to explore if only to find out where it led.

  "I have to see him," she told herself and stood up from where she was seated on the couch. She would go to his home at the Gray Bay, tell him she had feelings for him, and if all goes well they just might end up in bed together. Her heart raced as she hurried to fetch her car keys.

  The drive to Connor's home only took fifteen minutes. In two minutes she was already knocking on his bedroom door. She heard voices inside and her heart stopped. Was that the voice of a woman? Just then the door swung open.

  Alyssa did not know what she had expected to see but the sight before her made her completely weak in the knees. Connor was standing in front of her shirtless. Seated on his bed, also shirtless, was Natasha, her personal assistant.

  Connor stammered, "Alyssa, it's not what you think. There's a perfectly reasonable explanation for this. Now if you will just come in and.. "

  "What makes you think I care? Don't let me disturb you. Have a great day, Connor. See you tomorrow," she said and stormed out of the corridor.

  Alyssa did not immediately go home after leaving Connor's house. She checked in at a hotel on the outskirts of Springfield and there she stayed the rest of the day and all through the night. She was aware he would come looking for her at home after she refused to return any of his calls, but she could not afford to have him see her like this.

  Why was she so devastated by a man she shared nothing but a simple kiss with. The emotional pain she felt after seeing him and Natasha was as alarming as it was excruciating. When night came, she crawled up in the hotel bed and sobbed herself to sleep.

  The ringing of her phone woke her up the next morning. Groaning, she reached for it, half expecting it to be Connor calling for the umpteenth time. She had almost rejected it when she noticed it was Harvey calling.

  "Alyssa, where the hell are you?!" Harvey's voice screamed at her. He sounded extremely harsh.

  "My dad's hotel. I needed a day off. Why are you sounding so grumpy?" she said.

  "Grumpy? Damn! I wish I was grumpy, but right now I'm furious and disappointed."

  "What's wrong?"

  "You're what's wrong, Alyssa. You and that animal you call a bodyguard. Go check the morning news." He hung up before she could reply.

  There was a TV in her room so all she had to do was reach for the remote and switch it on. The morning news on channel seven was still running.

  "...unknown source provided footage shot from a nearby window which showed images of the aspiring mayor walking into Mr. Sander's apartment yesterday. She is seen knocking on his door and upon discovering his affair with her assistant, she storms out of the building in tears."

  Time stood still for Alyssa as she watched herself in the video playing on the local news station. Someone had been shooting from a distance and her face was very visible through the only window in the corridor. She stumbled out of
bed and without bothering about freshening up, headed straight for her apartment.

  Connor was waiting in her living room when she walked in. "Did you see the news, you bastard?" she questioned as soon as she set eyes on him.

  "Calm down, Alyssa. You have no idea how sorry I am. I never wanted this to happen," he pleaded.

  "I'm sure you didn't. All you wanted was some pussy! It's all you guys ever want and damn the consequences."

  Connor strode forward and held her hand. She struggled, but he forced to stare into his eyes until all she could was sob and look into those golden eyes she had come to love so much without realizing it.

  He said calmly, "I swear to you that nothing happened between me and Natasha. Something could have but it didn't. I would never do that to you. Never. You have no idea how I feel about you. Please, Alyssa, you have to believe me."

  She did not want to believe him, but something deep within her reminded her she didn't really see them sleeping together. Maybe they used to, but they weren't when she knocked on his door.

  Alyssa said, "I believe you. However, the damage has already been done. That video in the news this morning. It has destroyed my campaign. I listened to the radio on my way here. A lot of people still believe sex between regular humans and shifters is a form of bestiality. They're calling me unprofessional, Connor! They say I'm a slut, a pervert, a nymphomaniac!"

  Connor remained adamant. "We can turn this around. There's still time to build new campaign strategies before the elections."

  Alyssa shook her head. She had made up her mind long before walking in. "There's no coming back from this. Humans are simpletons. To them this is more abominable than trying to render thousands of people homeless."

  She could tell he was still going to try to convince her so she told him her final decision. "It was nice working with you, Connor, but I'm afraid it's the end of the road for us. I'll publicly step down from the elections tomorrow morning."

  Chapter 4

  As he drove his car back home, Connor admitted he had never felt so sad in his life. As a werewolf, his genes caused him to always live in the moment, but the idea of never having an excuse to see Alyssa's face again left him devastated.

  He lay on his bed lost in his own sorrow. He was so distracted that he did not hear or see his father walk into the room.

  "Is it true, son - what the reporters are saying?" Max asked.

  "No, we never had an affair," Connor replied.

  "But you have feelings for her?"

  Connor looked at his father in surprise. He did not know how the man knew but he said, "It doesn't matter now. She'll never come to me after this mess."

  "Then clean up the mess."

  "What if I don't know how?"

  "Then figure it out. As human as we are, we are also wolves. Wolves don't run away from problems, they face them head-on."

  Max's words triggered a thought in Connor's brain. He began to dream up an idea. A ruthless and dangerous one, but an idea nonetheless.

  "Dad?"

  "Yes, son?"

  "I need you to do me a favor."

  He braced himself as the cart came to a halt. Stuffed inside of a large box, Connor could feel his breathing become more laboured. It was an extremely uncomfortable situation, but hiding in a box meant for delivery of raw food was the only way he could sneak into the compound and then into the kitchen. The guards did not think to check the boxes before letting them in.

  Once he was sure he was alone in the storage room, Connor climbed out of the box and found himself among many such boxes. He made his way to the exit door and opened it gently. Finding a cook's uniform hanging around was quite easy and in minutes he was dressed as one of the cooks and prancing about in a white uniform and hat, while keeping his head down to avoid detection of his unusually eye color.

  It didn't take long for him to find the master bedroom. He had done his homework well enough. After ensuring none of the guards were watching, he slipped into the room and closed the door behind him.

  Larry Burch was lying idly on his bed reading a newspaper. He was a heavy man with thinning hair and a large head. He threw the newspaper aside and stood up from bed when he saw Connor walk in.

  "I thought I was quite clear earlier with what I'd have for dinner tonight. Why are you here again?" Larry Burch asked.

  Connor took off his hat, revealing his thick long hair and alert golden eyes.

  "What the hell? How did you get into my apartment!?" Larry shouted as he saw Connor who replied, "Doesn't matter. You really need to improve on your security detail."

  There was sudden recognition on Larry Burch's ugly face. "Ooh! It's you, huh? The bodyguard who's been fucking his own boss."

  Connor felt the anger flow through his veins. He wanted to shift and tear this man apart so badly. He however kept his cool. "You and I know there was nothing on that video. All you did was have someone follow Alyssa around, and then pounce on the first juicy scene you could find. That's what you are going to tell the media tonight or I'll..."

  The mayor burst into uncontrollable laughter. "Really? Is that what you think? That one of my men shot that video?"

  "What else am I supposed to think. She's your opponent."

  "No, boy. Stalking is not my style. I would admit I sent the video to the press. But the real question should be: who sent the video to me?"

  Connor said, "And who would that be?"

  "Harvey Brooks," Larry said with a happy grin on his face.

  It all made sense to Connor now. Harvey must have had someone spy on her after seeing their kiss in the fields. His spy must have showed him the clip and Connor could very well imagine the degree of jealousy Harvey must have felt that drove him to betrayal.

  So stunned by the news was Connor that he did not hear the guards coming from behind the door until all four of them had barged into the room.

  Larry said. "Time up, boy. Valiant effort, but a stupid one nonetheless. Of course I'll have cameras watching who comes in and out of my room. All I needed to do was stall. Get him, boys. I want him alive."

  As the men made to grab him, Connor shifted into wolf form in a second, tearing the cloths he wore to shreds as he transformed. He opened his jaw, ready to bite one of the guards in the ankle when a heavy metal struck him hard on the head. His vision blurred as he tried to make sense of what was happening, but the more he resisted, the more he got pulled into the darkness, until he could hold on no longer and passed out.

  Connor awoke to find himself locked in a large cage. At first, he struggled to make sense of where he was, but he soon realized he was still in wolf form and he wasn't the only one in a cage.

  He was in a large hall with different cages and they were people in each of the cages, all of them completely naked.

  "Shifters," he thought to himself. Some of them had been badly beaten, others had missing body parts, and some were fatally sick. His suspicions had been proven right, but he still could not believe it.

  Just as he and many other Springfield shifters had always suspected, Larry Burch was running an underground cartel that illegally imprisoned and used shifters as slaves, lab experiments, and a source of body parts. He had to get out of here before it was too late.

  He tried to get his confused mind to concentrate and then slowly began to shift back into his human form. Before sneaking into the mayor's building, he had stabbed his thigh with a sharp metal. Larry must have thought he shifted into a wolf to defend himself, but he knew he only did so because wolf fur would cover the embedded object and keep Larry's men from detecting it.

  Getting captured was all a part of the plan. Connor knew Larry hated shifters so much he would try to do something illegal and inhumane to him, but he never expected something this despicable. He reached for his left thigh and drew out the sharp metal embedded in the bloody and loose flesh there. With it, he slowly began to pick the lock to his cage.

  In a few minutes he was out of the cage and back in human form. He sneaked past tw
o guards as he sniffed the air for the exit. Finding it, he slowly tried to inch his way to the doorway when he heard a loud shout. Someone had spotted him.

  Connor broke into a sprint on all fours as the thugs ran after him. He heard a shot from a gun, and another, but managed to use his massive wolf strength to break the lock of the door. Once outside, he did not run for freedom. That was not part of the plan. Instead he climbed to the top of the building.

  There he howled as loud as he could. The sound echoed for miles through the Springfield night. He did not know how long he stood there howling while the thugs tried to shoot him down and climb up the building themselves.

  The moment he saw the first dozen wolves surround the building, he knew it was over. His father had mobilized the pack as he had requested, and the shifters would have their victory over their oppressors that night.

  Chapter 5

  Connor sat on his bed sipping a glass of wine as he watched the morning news. Alyssa was scheduled to speak that morning. Only less than a day ago she had told him she would announce her decision to step down. He hoped the fact that Larry Burch was now being questioned for slavery, human trafficking, and other heinous crimes would change that decision. He watched her beautiful face appear on the television screen.

  "I must admit that I walked onto this stage with the intention of stepping down as a mayoral candidate. But then, I saw on the news today the despicable acts of injustice and discrimination going on in Rhode Island for centuries. It sickens me to finally realize the extent to which humans can despise other humans. Therefore, I'm putting all cards on the table today."

  "Yes, I have been having an affair with Mr Connor Sanders, a well-known shifter and my very own bodyguard. If because of this you do not wish me to be your mayor, then I say shame on you. When I started this campaign, I claimed to be doing so to make Springfield a better place for everyone. A close friend of mine has made me realize that I need to let you all know that shfters are a part of everyone. I will always support the fight against discrimination."