Shiftless (The Neturu Chronicles Book 2)

by Sarah Carter

  “I let my little sister paint my nails.”

  Claire bursts out laughing. She smiles and says, “Two years ago, I got into an accident in my parents’ car when they were out of town. My brother, Alex, Felix, and I combined all our money to get it fixed in time. My parents didn’t find out until a few months ago.”

  “When I hacked your computer, I read your writing,” Damien states, and then grimaces. Claire’s jaw drops and she pulls away from him. Damien grabs her and holds her against him. “I read it and I loved it. You’re a fantastic writer with a great imagination.”

  “Fun fact: I want to smack you right now.” Claire scowls at him.

  “Better fact, you’re cute when you’re mad. It was what got me from day one.”

  Rolling her eyes, Claire says, “I accidently sent a heated text to my dad instead of my boyfriend.”

  “Oh, damn. We’ll come to that later.” Damien laughs. “I’ve been arrested.”

  “Excuse me?” Claire exclaims.

  Damien shrugs.

  “I tried to get in ventriloquism. I had a puppet and everything.”

  “What?” Damien draws out. He thinks about it for a moment. “I’ll eat an entire jar of peanut butter with a spoon while watching a movie.”

  Claire makes a face. “Gross.”

  “But I hate peanut butter and jelly together. It makes me gag.”

  “I love eating ice cream and pickles,” Claire says.

  “You eat like a pregnant woman. Must be a succubus thing.”

  “No comments!” Claire giggles.

  “Here is one that no one knows,” Damien starts. “If you tell anyone, I’ll never speak to you again. I was at this party once, and this gorgeous bombshell started hitting on me.”

  Claire glares at him.

  “Wait for it. Okay, so we got to talking and flirting. You know, I thought it was going to be an easy home run. The night progresses and we leave. When we got back to her apartment, we started kissing and then she said, ‘I have something to confess.’ At that point, I didn’t really care, so I said, ‘What is it?’” Damien stops and looks at Claire.

  “Well, what was it?” Claire pushes.

  “She was not a woman,” Damien replies.

  With her jaw dropping, Claire bursts out laughing. She laughs so hard, tears start rolling down her face.

  “Trust me, I find nothing wrong with people doing that, but I politely said, though she was beautiful, I wasn’t interested and left.”

  Claire giggles into a fit. “Oh my gosh, I don’t know if I can top that.”

  “No, I probably win.” Damien snorts.

  “Normally, when we’re out, either Felix or Alex runs interference and acts like my boyfriend around guys who won’t get a clue about hitting on me. But one time, I played that my brother was my boyfriend, because he was across the room and was none the wiser. Well, this guy still wouldn’t let up. So, I called my brother over and said, ‘This is my boyfriend.’ The guy shrugged and said, ‘So?’ My brother looked at me, looked at the guy, then added, ‘I’m also her brother.’ The guy looked horrified, turned around, and left.”

  Now it’s Damien’s turn to burst out laughing. He sighs and shakes his head. “I ditched a girl at the movies once because I couldn’t stand it one second longer.”

  “That’s horrible and not attractive,” Claire snaps.

  “Let me say this: she was horrible. I took her out to dinner and she accosted the waitress because she said she was flirting with me, which she wasn’t. We got to the movie and she was rude to the ticket person. We went into the theater and she was complaining about the people in front of us. And then, she complained about the movie, during the movie. I couldn’t take it anymore. I got up to use the bathroom and left. I did leave cab fare for her with the ticket guy because I knew he wouldn’t have forgotten her.”

  Claire rolls her eyes. “This guy in my high school was being a douche to one of my best friends, so I filled up his locker with about a thousand tampons and a few boxes of Midol and wrote in huge letters, don’t be such a bitch.”

  “That’s my girl.” Damien chuckles. “I’m really OCD about certain things, like the toothpaste being squeezed from the middle.”

  “Oh, so you weren’t too happy with me.” Claire grimaces.

  “I ignored it and fixed the tube,” Damien states with a smile.

  “I’m a messy person.” Claire sighs. “It’s true. My room is a disaster area.”

  Damien looks up and then says, “I can juggle, pretty much about anything.”

  “I’ll have to see that.” Claire giggles. “Okay, this one is embarrassing to confess.”

  “Ooh, do tell,” Damien murmurs.

  “I may be a bad ass, beat-the-crap-out-of-you kind of girl…but…I have a thing for sappy, girly paranormal romances. Yes, I’m part of that crowd.”

  Obviously trying to keep a straight face, Damien says, “There isn’t anything wrong with that.” Then he bursts out laughing.

  “Jerk. Here is something that will trip your trigger. My truly favorite movie is The Sound of Music. My favorite song is ‘My Favorite Things.’”

  “Really?” Damien replies.

  Claire nods.

  “Let’s see, I have to give two more to finish this. Okay, this is something only Jackson knows. A couple of months ago, we made a bet on a sports game. I sadly lost. So, Jackson made me wear a pair of woman’s panties around for an entire day.”

  Claire covers her mouth as she laughs.

  “Yup, and he wasn’t around. So periodically throughout the day, I’d have to lift my shirt up and take a picture of the underwear underneath my jeans, to prove to him that I did it.”

  Claire tips over and falls off his lap from laughing.

  “It’s not that funny,” Damien mocks with a smile.

  “Yes, it is!” Claire exclaims.

  “You know two things about me now that no one else really knows,” Damien states. “I hope I can trust you.”

  “100 percent,” Claire replies. “I won’t tell a soul.”

  “What should the last fact be?” Damien murmurs, tapping his chin. “Something else that no one knows. I couldn’t fly when I first turned into a hawk.”

  With a shocked look, Claire says, “What?”

  “Nope, couldn’t fly at all. I actually fell a lot. Hurt myself a few times and had to shift to heal a few gouges out of my legs. Yeah, it took me about six months before I got airborne.”

  “But you’re so talented with your shifting. You’re known for your talented shifting.”

  “No one knows that one. Trust me,” Damien states. “So, let’s talk about what was just brought up.”

  “Yeah. Where is this tattoo?” Claire asks eagerly.

  “Here, move,” Damien instructs. Claire gets off of him. He pulls up the right leg of his trunks. There, on his leg, is his family crest.

  “That’s cool!” Claire exclaims.

  Damien smiles, “My parents hate tattoos, so I had to get it somewhere hidden. I hope my future wife will get one, too.”

  “You want her to get branded? That’s never a good idea.”

  “I don’t plan on ever getting a divorce, once I’m married. I truly believe you can work through anything. Plus, this could easily be covered by something else.”

  “True.” Claire sighs and looks up at him. “So, where am I supposed to get it?”

  He grabs hold of her and pulls her against him. “You can get it anywhere you want baby.”

  Claire giggles, and then he kisses her.

  After a few moments, there is a voice from the ceiling. “Master Damien?”

  Humming against Claire’s lips, Damien murmurs, “Mmm, what?”

  “Your father is requesting you for dinner in twenty minutes,” the voice declares.

  “Fun time is over.” Damien sighs. “We should go get ready.”

  “I still need to ask some questions before we go to sleep about these facts of yours,” Claire giggles.<
br />
  “I want to know where those pictures are,” Damien whispers in her ear. “And who took them.”

  “They’re hidden somewhere where no one can find them and I took them myself on my computer,” Claire replies softly. “Now, let’s go get ready.”

  “Sounds good, baby,” Damien says, picking her up.

  Claire squeals and giggles. She smacks Damien, “Put me down.”

  “Fine,” Damien groans, setting her on the ground. “You are absolutely no fun.”

  “I’m a lot of fun, don’t lie,” Claire says. “Come on, stud. Let’s go.” She takes his hand and leads him out of the room.

  Chapter 16

  When Damien and Claire enter the room, Claire stops and hums, “Mmm, that smells delicious.”

  “Yes, well, the bonus of being me is that I have a private chef I take with me,” Mr. Blakely states cheerfully. “So, you’ll enjoy dinner.”

  “That’s good because I’m hungry again,” Claire chirps. She takes the seat next to Kayla.

  Kayla turns and looks at her. “Man, you’re going to have to keep your fridge stocked with a ton of food.”

  “No doubt.” Claire snickers. “Especially during my training.”

  “We wanted to talk about that,” her grandfather says. “We think we’ve come up with a plan and wanted your opinion.”

  Claire teases and says, “Oooo, I get an opinion. I thought it was just orders from now on.”

  Mr. Blakely looks at her. “I think we’re going to approach things differently with you. We really want to keep you a secret. I believe if you joined the guard as a regular member, you’d be discovered. Someone can always get punished for breaking a non-disclosure agreement, but once word is out, there isn’t much you can do about it.”

  “Alright,” Claire replies.

  “So, you’ll strictly be special ops. We’ll use you for very special missions.”

  Furrowing her eyebrows, Claire asks, “What will I do in between those missions?”

  “For the next four years, you’ll go to college. For the rest of the summer, you’ll be training.”

  Her jaw drops. “My whole summer before college I have to spend training? That’s not fair!”

  Mr. Blakely puts up a finger. “We’re planning to give you the next few weeks off.”

  “I’m going to come out of retirement during your training,” her grandfather states. “We need to come up with special training, just for you. It won’t be like training a regular guard member. We’re going to take these three weeks to develop a plan. The doctors need to look over all the information they’ve gathered. We have to do a few tests in the next few weeks, but tomorrow will probably start your time off.”

  “You’ll be given whatever you want,” Mr. Blakely adds. “Consider yourself taken care of. If you want to travel, I’ll let you go anywhere. You’ll be paid from now on.”

  “That isn’t necessary,” Claire shyly mutters. “I do have money.”

  Shaking his head, Mr. Blakely says, “You are officially part of the guard. You’ll be taken care of. A credit card will be issued for you. Feel free to use it. Damien can explain everything. Our highest guard members earn a lot of money. In my mind, you’re the highest guard member we have. The most precious, at least—the most valuable. Your happiness and wellbeing are very important to me and to the council.”

  Not able to help it, Claire stares at Mr. Blakely. “Like, how much money are we talking?”

  “What were you thinking? What’s reasonable to you?”

  “I have no idea,” Claire replies. “I hadn’t even thought about this. What were you thinking?”

  “Well, given what you’ll be capable of, I was thinking $250,000 a year. For now, that will cover your education and anything you’ll need. You’ll be expected to drop whatever you’re doing and go on missions. You’ll also be expected to keep up on your training. You’ll need to study the history of the guard and the creed. It’s lengthy.”

  Smiling, Claire says, “I have it memorized already.”

  Her grandfather raises his eyebrows. “How did you memorize it?”

  “I snuck one of your copies when I was fourteen and read it over and over again for three months. I returned it and you never knew,” Claire mumbles, with her cheeks turning red.

  “Young lady, you knew you weren’t supposed to do that,” her grandfather sternly retorts.

  “I know,” Claire whispers. “No one knew.”

  “Well, I guess it was a good thing that you did.” Mr. Blakely chuckles. “It saves some steps in your training. It’s been four years so you’ll have to read the changes. There haven’t been many.”

  She nods. “Okay.”

  “So, is your salary enough?” Mr. Blakely inquires, folding his hands on the table.

  “Uh, yeah,” Claire answers. “I think it’s a little much.”

  “No, it’s perfect. These missions will be dangerous. I want you to realize that.”

  That slowly starts to sink into Claire’s head. Damien finally interjects, “This all concerns me. What if something happens to her?”

  Her grandfather replies, “She’s well trained. Claire can handle her own. This is what she’s worked so hard for. Claire’s ready. The only thing she has to worry about is her own fear. You have to conquer that, baby girl. Fear will hinder you.”

  “Fear of dying,” Claire whispers.

  “The missions will be dangerous, but we’ll do everything we can to keep you safe. If we need to send in twenty guard members, we will. Your protection and safety are a high priorities.”

  “I can also kick everyone’s ass,” Claire mutters, trying to pump herself up. “I can do this.”

  “You can,” her grandfather agrees. “I have total faith in you, Claire.”

  Kayla says, “You can do this Claire. Think of all that you’re capable of.”

  “A few of the tests we need to do are: seeing how much energy you can absorb at once, how many things you can turn into at that point, and how long you can stay as a different person. The major one I want to see is if you can drain someone while fighting them. We’re going to bring in guard members who have no idea who you are and don’t know what you’re capable of, Mr. Blakely states.

  “Alright,” Claire replies.

  “We’re going to set up fights that you’ll go through. Makeshift missions. We need to identify what plans we can execute with you. It’ll be some intense training.”

  Rubbing her hands together, Claire declares, “That’s my kind of fun!”

  “I’m thankful for your eagerness,” Mr. Blakely says. “So, the question is, where would you like to go?”

  “Home,” Claire replies. “I want to go home for a while.”

  “We’ll get you there tomorrow. Your grandfather and I have talked. We’re leaving it up to you. Do you want to tell your parents and brother about what you are?”

  Claire pauses. “My parents would be bad. My mother would be a basket case. I’d like to tell Ben. He can handle it. He’s my best friend. I’ll need someone to cover for me with my parents if things come up. We’ll have to come up with a fake job for me. No one should find out I’m part of the guard at all.”

  “I totally agree. You’ve put some thought into this,” Mr. Blakely says.

  She nods. “Yeah, I want this to work and it’s going to take some major secrecy.”

  “Are you going to be able to handle that?” Mr. Blakely asks.

  “Yes,” Claire replies. “This whole thing is a dream come true. I always wanted to be part of the guard. Now, I have the highest honor in the guard. I know what it takes to be a guard member. Secrecy is mandatory. This just means Damien and I need to stay together, because if I end up with someone else, I wouldn’t tell them, and that would create problems.”

  Damien chuckles lightly. “Why don’t we just get married? You’re exactly someone we want in our bloodline and I’m the best option for you.”

  “I think that’s a splendid idea,” Mr. Blak
ely chimes.

  Claire and Damien turn to him. “Dad, I was joking.”

  “No, you being together is a perfect match. You’ll always be safe with her around. You seem to be wonderful as a couple. And your points are valid. She can be open and honest with you. There’s no need to hide anything. You can be a great support system, and yes, we would love to bring her into our bloodline. She comes from a great family, she’s intelligent, and incredibly talented. Claire would be a perfect match. You have my blessing.”

  With her jaw down, Claire can only stare at Mr. Blakely.

  Damien starts to stutter behind her. “Dad, wow. Are you crazy? We just started dating. You’re going to scare her off.”

  “Well, we’ll have to convince you both that it’s the best idea,” Mr. Blakely states.

  Shaking her head, Claire says, “I need a minute.” She stands up and walks out of the room. When she gets into the hall, she closes the door. Claire slowly walks back to Damien’s room. When she gets in there, she sits down on the bed. “What in the hell just happened?”

  A minute later, the door opens and Damien walks in. “Hey, my dad is a jackass.”

  “No, Damien. He isn’t. I understand his point of view.”

  “Yeah, but what he’s saying is preposterous. I mean, we can’t get married. We don’t even know each other that well,” he exclaims. “It’s ridiculous.”

  “The thought of being married to me is ridiculous?” Claire stammers.

  Damien thrusts his hands out. “No, of course not. I adore you. I’ve never thought about marriage before, but I could see it with you.”

  “Really?” Claire replies softly.

  “Of course,” Damien says, sitting down next to her. “I’ve never met someone who I want to be around all the time. I’m just happy when I’m with you. You make my soul smile. You’re incredible.”

  Claire jumps on Damien and pushes him down on the bed. “I’ve never wanted someone so much in my life. You make me feel things that I never thought I’d feel. You have invaded my dreams, and they’re such wonderful dreams,” Claire whispers quietly. “But for right now, forget about marriage and just kiss me.”

  Quickly, Damien pulls her down and embraces her. They kiss each other frantically for a while. Finally, they pull away and both breathe heavily.