Shifters (The Neturu Chronicles Book 3)

by Sarah Carter

  “We don’t make sense. We also know more about the Kenga,” Aurora says.

  Groaning, Damien says, “Let’s not get started on that again.”

  “Let’s drop it and eat before our food gets cold,” Claire suggests.

  “Are we going to eat all of this?” Xander laughs.

  “Hell yeah,” Claire replies. “Then we’re going to get ice cream.”

  “Yeah!” Aurora cheers loudly.

  Xander shakes his head. “Oh boy.”

  Chapter 9

  Claire

  Ariel spins around in a circle. “There’s so much ice cream.”

  “That’s why we got a cart,” Damien says. “You guys can get whatever you want to try. We have another fridge and freezer in the basement. Claire needs to eat so much.”

  “Hey,” Claire laughs.

  He shrugs his shoulders. “What? It’s true.”

  “I know,” Claire agrees. She pats her stomach and says, “I should get a snack before bed.”

  Kayla shakes her head. “Claire, I love to eat too, but sometimes you even gross me out.”

  Claire scoffs and shoos her with her hand.

  “So, what’s snack time going to be tonight?” Damien asks.

  She taps her chin and then says, “Pizza rolls.”

  “What are pizza rolls?” Ariel asks.

  “I will grab a bag so you can try some.”

  Aurora chimes in with, “Can we have pancakes? I tried them once and they are my favorite thing.”

  “Sure,” Damien replies. “Anything you want.”

  “Bacon,” Xander interjects.

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Nudging her head to the freezer, Claire says, “Pick some ice cream.”

  “I don’t know what to get,” Aurora exhales, spinning in a circle this time.

  “Here, let me introduce you to two men you will love,” Claire says, grabbing her hand. She opens the freezer and says, “This is Ben and Jerry. They make the best ice cream. Go crazy and pick what you want.”

  “Chocolate,” Aurora states, bending over to look at the ice cream.

  Scoffing, Claire says, “You need something more interesting than chocolate. Like this. It’s chocolate with brownies in it.”

  “No way. Give me that one.”

  “Let me see,” Ariel says, squeezing in between them.

  “Pick what you want,” Claire says, moving away to let them look. “What about you Xander?”

  “Actually, I’m not a big ice cream fan like them,” he replies.

  “What do you like?” She asks. Xander shrugs. “Let’s go look at the baked goods. Come on. We will be right back,” she calls out to everyone. Claire grabs his hand and pulls him down the aisle.

  Damien replies with, “I will go grab your pizza rolls and a couple of pizzas, since we are out.”

  “Sounds good.

  Xander pulls his hand away from Claire and she looks at him. “We don’t need you murdering people in the middle of the grocery store.”

  Shocked that she didn’t think of it, Claire takes a step away from him. “Good point.”

  “So, what are we going to look at?”

  “Stuff like cake and doughnuts and pies,” Claire answers.

  “That sounds amazing,” Xander moans.

  Leaning in by him, Claire whispers, “Don’t say anything but Jackson actually bakes. He’s pretty good at it, but won’t admit it, because he thinks it’s girly.”

  “Why does he bake then?”

  “He puts kiej into it for everyone. Kiej has no effect on me, but it helps the other three.”

  “It’s poisonous to humans right?” Xander asks.

  Claire looks around and then says, “Yeah, we have to be really careful. Tracy knows not to eat it, but we still have to be careful.”

  “Who’s Tracy and why can’t she eat it?”

  Completely shocked and scared that she let it slip, Claire slaps her hands over her face. “Oh my god,” she gasps.

  “What? What’s wrong?”

  “Xander,” Claire emphasizes. “This is really important. You can’t say anything to Damien or Jackson.”

  “Why?”

  “Tracy is Kayla’s best friend,” she states.

  He gives her a clueless look and shrugs his shoulders.

  She takes in a deep breath and says, “Tracy’s human.”

  Xander’s jaw drops. “Isn’t it against the law for a human to know?”

  “Yes, please, please, please, don’t say anything. I don’t know what Damien will do. Kayla would be devastated if she lost Tracy.”

  “Why would she lose Tracy? Where would Tracy go? Wait, not to jail. Would they send her to jail?”

  Shaking her head, Claire says, “No, but I don’t know what they would do. They may erase her mind.”

  “That’s cruel.”

  “It is for the good of both races.” Claire hushes into a whisper. “Humans aren’t ready to know that we are here. It would start a war. We would do what would be necessary. People would get hurt or die. We may even have to leave and try to find a new planet. Who knows how long that would take? Plus, we have adapted so much. It would be incredibly difficult.”

  Claire watches Xander frown and furrow his eyebrows. “I’m not sure I like that the council would do that.”

  “I understand why they step in. I don’t know if that’s what they would do with Tracy. Tracy has known for two years and has never said anything. She let it slip once to me. We can trust her, but I don’t know what Damien would do. He’s a council member before anything else.”

  “I won’t say anything. I promise,” Xander swears. “You just need to learn with her that you can’t slip up.”

  “I wasn’t even thinking,” Claire groans. “That could have been disastrous.”

  “What could have been disastrous?” They hear from behind them.

  She turns around to see Damien. Her heart drops into her stomach. “Huh?”

  “We were talking about that it would have been disastrous to let the girls loose in the bakery department before dinner. Between Kayla and Claire alone most of it would be gone.”

  Her jaw drops, but she is so thankful he is quick. “We wouldn’t have eaten it all…”

  “Really honey?” Damien replies.

  “WHAT-EV-ER,” she replies, turning her back to him and walking away.

  “Oh my god Claire, seriously?” He calls out behind her.

  Spinning around she gives him a huge grin and says, “Gotcha.”

  “Women,” Damien groans. “Come on Xander. Let’s get some stuff you would like.”

  “We had doughnuts before and red cake. That was really good.”

  “Red velvet cake. It’s right over here. Come on.”

  An hour later, they are putting the last of the food away. “So what now?” Claire asks.

  “Can we watch TV?” Aurora asks excitedly. “I want to see more commercials.”

  “What’s with you guys and commercials?” They hear.

  Everyone turns to see Alex standing in the doorway. “Alex!” Claire cheers. She runs over and gives him a hug.

  “Claire, I missed you, too, but it’s like been six hours.”

  “Fine, I don’t miss you. You’re a jerk face.” Claire places her hand on Alex’s face and pushes him away.

  “Actually, since it’s so late, can I go to bed?” Ariel asks. “This has all been a little much for me.”

  “Of course,” Damien replies. “We will go get you set up.”

  “You know I think we should all go to bed. I mean the twins and me. We haven’t slept in real beds in a long time,” Xander says. Damien nods and they all walk to the top floor.

  Claire turns around. “We will be extra quiet in the morning. I may be done with class before you even wake up.”

  “Do you want something to help you sleep?” Damien asks. “So, that you know you will sleep through the night.”

  “That would actually be nice,” Xander stat
es with a smile. “Finally sleeping in a real bed in a nice house might throw us off a little.”

  “Just so you feel better. There are twelve guards around the house. A security system that goes to a ship that’s a few miles above the house but could be here in a second. We are actually going to post a guard member at each of your doors. Alex will be with you in the morning. Claire and I are right down the hall. I have taken every step to make sure that you are and feel safe. Is that good enough?”

  “I may sleep for a day if that is true,” Xander laughs. “We sleep so lightly because we are always so scared.”

  “No more fear,” Claire says, putting her hand on him. “Okay?” He nods. “Hugs.”

  “Claire, no!” Damien screams, lunging for her.

  She wraps her arms around Xander and immediately feels her energy rise. It feels like her head is split in half. Damien grabs her and starts to pull her away from people. “Alex, help me!”

  They each grab her arm and drag her to their suite. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,” Claire gasps.

  “Alex, leave us,” Damien snaps, as he sets Claire on the floor.

  “Master Damien, I can’t leave you in here alone with her.”

  “Alex,” Damien replies sharply. “With what’s about to happen. I really don’t think you want to see it.”

  He puts up his finger and leaves the room, shutting the door behind. The pressure in Claire is building. “Damien,” she groans, holding her head.

  “Kiss me Claire.”

  “What?” She gasps, looking at him through one eye.

  “I have a theory but you need to trust me. Kiss me.”

  Grabbing ahold of his shirt, Claire brings his lips to hers. As soon as they touch, it’s like a bomb erupts inside of Claire. She instantly connects to Damien. The surge between them is unlike anything else before. She doesn’t even take the time to take his clothes off. Claire easily just rips them.

  They make love with unbridled energy and fury. It’s so powerful that Claire can’t even breathe but a few times. Finally, they collapse on the floor. “HO-LY, HO-LY crap,” Claire gasps in between breathes.

  “I need to breathe…oh my god, I need to breathe,” Damien mumbles into the carpet.

  “What was that?” Claire exclaims in shock.

  “Pretty sure that is a first in the history of the Neturu,” Damien groans.

  “Are you okay?” Claire asks, rolling over to him. “Are you hurt? I’m indestructible, but you aren’t.”

  Damien rolls onto his back and puts his arm over his face. “I am so beyond exhausted, but would be up for that again. Go tackle Xander.”

  “We’re not using him that way,” She laughs. “Pervert.”

  A knock is heard from the door. They hear Kayla say, “Umm, not to interrupt what’s going on in there but are you okay?”

  Claire grabs one of Damien’s dress shirts and wraps it around her. She cracks the door open. “Yeah, we’re fine. Need to take a few minutes to collect ourselves.”

  “What happened?” Kayla asks. “We could feel the energy out here, like in huge waves.”

  “Imagine what it was like in here,” Damien laughs.

  Jackson makes a disgusted face. “How about I not do that.”

  “We need to take a few breaths and then we will be out. Why don’t you get everyone ready for bed?”

  “Okay,” Kayla replies, hesitantly.

  “I promise. We’re fine.” Kayla nods her head and Claire shuts the door. She immediately spins around. Damien is still laying on the floor with his face covered. “Are you sure you’re alright? That was insane.”

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” he answers. “I’m exhausted and sore.”

  “I’ll run a bath for you.”

  He moves his arm and smiles. “Are you going to be massaging me?”

  “Will it lead to sex?”

  “Oh god…not tonight. I mean I have endurance but that was like sprinting a marathon.”

  She rolls her eyes. “Nice comparison.”

  “It’s true,” he laughs. Staring at her, Damien finally says, “Though, I don’t care if you touch them anymore.”

  “Funny.”

  “I’m not trying to be funny. You’ve always been the best, but that tops the cake for sure. I mean, you ripped my clothes off of me. Could that be any hotter?”

  Claire crosses her arms and laughs. “I went all hulk and you think that’s hot.”

  Damien grins like a little kid. “Well, we have a good way to expel the built up energy now.”

  “Oh, what are we supposed to do if we’re in the middle of the mall?”

  “Dressing room,” Damien exclaims, with a huge smile.

  “Damien!” She chastises.

  “What?” He replies, shrugging his shoulders. “It could make things…interesting.”

  With a glare, Claire says, “I’m turning around and running a bath.” She hears Damien laugh in the background and she rolls her eyes. As the bath starts to fill, Damien comes sAuntering in. Claire looks at him and says, “Oh my god. You look like you’ve been hit by a bus. You actually have bruising.”

  “I do,” he says, looking down. “Wow, look at that.”

  “Damien,” Claire snaps. “That’s horrible. I hurt you.”

  “It’s fine. You’ve bruised me worse by sparring with me. You needed to expel the energy, and I definitely needed to experience that once in a lifetime.”

  Claire rolls her eyes again. “Whatever. I’m going to go check on everyone.” She grabs her robe and puts it on. “Be back to join you in a minute.”

  “Okay baby,” Damien calls out, as she leaves.

  When she makes it into the hallway, everyone is standing by the twins’ room. They all stop and stare. “What?” Claire says, defensively.

  “You all right?” Kayla asks.

  “Yeah,” Claire answers. “You don’t want to know the details. We just…expelled a lot of energy.”

  “We could feel it,” Kayla states.

  “And hear it,” Jackson snorts.

  Glaring at him, Claire says, “Thanks Jackson. That doesn’t make it anymore awkward.”

  “But it was coming out in waves. It was weird, but powerful. Like ten times crazier than a shifters’ club.”

  A thought pops into Claire’s head. “I can’t wait to find out what the doctors have to say.”

  “How would they know?” Xander asks.

  “We have sensors implanted in us. They monitor our health and what our energy does. If anything goes whacky, they notify us. Like they did in the restaurant.”

  “Soo, they know when you have sex?” Aurora says, with a disgusted look on her face.

  “No, they shut it off then.”

  “Still, how invasive.”

  Claire tilts her head. “It’s necessary. It’s still a learning process with me. There isn’t a lot of history of the last succubus. We have some journals from her but nothing too informative or insightful.”

  “It’s got to be strange,” Xander says.

  “Kind of like being telekinetic,” Claire replies, with a grin.

  He nods. “Good point.”

  “Do you guys need anything before bed?” Claire asks.

  “Kayla got us bottles of water. She also showed us what we can get cleaned up with and toothbrushes. I think that’s all we need,” Ariel says.

  “As soon as you’re settled in bed a guard will be posted at your door. You’ll be safe.”

  “Sounds good,” Xander replies.

  “Oh, Alex went to get us…fennah?” Ariel says, pointing down the steps.

  “Yeah, that’ll put you out like a light for at least eight hours, if not more,” Claire states.

  Ariel smiles. “That will be nice.”

  Claire smiles back. “Okay, why don’t you get ready. We are right in that room if you need us at any time.”

  “Thanks, that’s really nice of you.”

  She steps forward to put her hand on her and stops, withdrawing in
quickly. “Listen, we are protecting you, but you’re our friends now. Keep that close. We will do everything we can to rescue the others and make sure everyone has a full life.”

  “I’d give you a hug right now but we know what happens,” Ariel laughs.

  “Yeah, I’d probably kill Damien via sex, but he’d probably say, ‘What a way to go.’”

  “Probably,” Kayla and Jackson say in unison. They laugh.

  “Okay, I have a class at eight and then will come straight home.”

  “Maybe Damien will make us pancakes,” Aurora gleefully says, smiling broadly with eagerness.

  Nodding, Claire replies, “He probably will. Okay, good night. See you in the morning.”

  “Night,” everyone says.

  She makes it back into their room and then bathroom. Damien is in the whirlpool bath. She walks in and he opens one eye. “Are you feeling better?” Claire asks, taking off her robe.

  Damien sits up and grimaces. “Slowly getting there.”

  “Move forward,” she says. “I’ll use my cool ninja skills.”

  “I was hoping you would say that.” He moves, and Claire gets behind him.

  She presses down on a spot and he moans. “It’s sad isn’t it?” Claire whispers.

  “What is?”

  “Xander and Trinity. I can’t even imagine leaving you behind. I would be devastated.”

  He nods. “You can see it in his eyes. I mean really see it. When he sees her, he lights up. I think they love each other a lot. You can see it on his face.”

  “You can definitely tell. We are going to find her right?”

  “We will do everything in our power to get them out of there. We won’t stop until we do.”

  “Good,” Claire replies. She presses another point and then starts to massage him. They sit in silence for a few minutes. Bending over she kisses Damien’s back. “I love you and what you do.”

  “I love you too baby. I have since the beginning and I always will.”

  “Alright,” she says. “Let me really fix you now.” Claire presses another point in Damien’s lower back and he groans.

  “I love what you do,” he chuckles. She laughs with him.

  *****

  Claire shuts the front door. She sees Jackson coming down the steps. “Hey,” she says. “Is anyone up?”