Shift (The Neturu Chronicles)

by Sarah Kay Carter

  Damien palms his forehead. “We should just get you a Ford, then it doesn’t matter if you go thirty-five.”

  “No! I want this sooo badly. I’ll get used to it and then go a hundred miles per hour down the highway.”

  “You will do no such thing! You’ll kill yourself.”

  Raising her eyebrows, Kayla snips, “Then don’t make fun of my granny driving.”

  “Point taken. All right, what color do you want?”

  “Red.”

  “Let’s get out,” Damien says with a laugh.

  As they climb out of the SUV, the dealer says, “Any specifics you want.”

  “Dual motor all-wheel drive,” Damien replies.

  “That’ll make it even faster,” the dealer informs them.

  Looking at Kayla, Damien snorts. “I don’t think that even matters. Not when you go zero to sixty in a minute on purpose.”

  “Shut up!” Kayla yells, shoving him. Suddenly, she feels a twinge. “Hey, where’s that shake? I feel kind of funny.”

  He turns to the salesman. “Do you want to go get everything together so I can sign it and send it to my father? I’ll be in in a minute.”

  “Sure,” he replies. “Is she okay?” the dealer asks curiously.

  “Yup,” Damien replies. “Come on, hon.” He takes Kayla’s hand and pulls her to his car. “Okay, drink the shake and then get in the car. Meditate and I will meet you in a bit, okay?”

  “What if I have to shift?” Kayla squeals.

  Looking up, Damien says, “Run in here and lock yourself in the bathroom as fast as you can. You can shift and then shift back.”

  “Okay.” Damien kisses her and hands her his keys. Kayla takes them and gets into the car. She finds the shake in a bottle on the floor. “I can’t believe I’m drinking something green in this car. Don’t spill, Kayla, or Damien will kill you. Here it goes.” She grimaces and chugs the drink down. The pain stops, but she decides to meditate anyway. She closes her eyes and quickly arrives in Shima.

  It's the first time she's been to Shima by herself. She stands in the light with her arms crossed. “So,” she whispers. “I can go anywhere.” An idea comes to mind, and she closes her eyes. A whole different world appears. It is the landscape from her dreams when she was a kid. She laughs and starts to walk amongst the trees. She reaches her hand out and touches the leaves. They are super soft. “This is incredible.”

  A voice breaks through the silence. “So you came back to our home planet.”

  She spins around and finds a guy standing behind her. Startled, Kayla takes a few steps back. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

  The guy studies her. “That doesn’t really matter.”

  “Yes it does,” Kayla argues. “Who are you? I thought no one could come in here if I didn’t want them to.”

  “Obviously you aren’t strong enough to block anyone out yet. That doesn’t matter…Kayla.”

  Her heart rate accelerates. “What…how do you know my name?”

  “I know a lot about you. I know that you are very…special.”

  Kayla takes another few steps back. “Do you know Damien? He’s going to be here any minute.”

  “Ah yes, Damien, the young, domineer, rich son of the Merjyet line. Who doesn’t know him,” the guy says softly. “You know what he’s really like, right? He eats girls up and then spits them out. It will be no different for you.”

  “I know about his past,” Kayla snaps. “He is nothing but a gentleman to me.”

  The guy smiles at her. “Maybe he is different with you then, but him and his family do want something from you…your talent.”

  “He likes me for me, regardless of what the council wants.”

  “Oh no, it’s not the council. It’s his father. The council doesn’t care who you have babies with as long as it’s one of the five families. I’m just saying that so you keep your options open. Damien is a player; he won’t ever be anything else.”

  Staring at the stranger, Kayla says, “Keep my options open how?”

  “There are four other families. Just saying, it doesn’t matter to me in the end. We just need your bloodline to continue.”

  “I think you should leave; you’re making me uncomfortable. Damien will be here any second.”

  A smirk spreads across the guy’s face. “I will feel Damien arrive in Shima before he gets to us, so you don’t need to worry about our paths crossing.”

  “What’re you going to do to me?” Kayla whimpers, backing up farther.

  “Me? Absolutely nothing. I just wanted to talk.”

  Narrowing her eyes, Kayla says, “We’re done talking now, so you can go.”

  “We aren’t done talking. Sorry to disappoint you. I just want you to know the truth. Drake, Damien’s father, will do anything to have you join his family.”

  “I know that. Jackson’s family is doing the same thing.”

  The guy’s eyes widen in surprise. “Jackson, as in Jackson Blakely?”

  “Maybe.” She backs up a few more steps.

  “No need to be afraid of me. You should trust me and what I say, Kayla. Now, back to Jackson, if his family is pushing for you to get together, they have to have hidden motives. I don’t know what they could be, but there has to be some. Of course, any bloodline would love for you to join them, but no one knows about you yet.”

  “Then how do you?”

  “A little birdy.”

  Kayla looks at him closely. “What’s your name?”

  “You can call me anything you want.”

  Giving him a look, Kayla says, “How about jackass? Does that work for you?”

  “Ooh, a girl with spunk, I like that.” The guy laughs. “How old are you?”

  “Seventeen.” As soon as Kayla says it, she wishes she hadn’t.

  The guy stares at her for a moment in silence. “Just think before you jump into anything. There are many other options, many other guys.”

  “Like you, I take it,” Kayla sarcastically replies.

  He shrugs his shoulders. “If you so choose.”

  “Since you won’t even tell me your name, I doubt that will ever happen.”

  “William,” the guy finally says. “My name is William, William Caster.”

  “And you would be?”

  William crosses his arms. “An option. I just don’t want you to get sucked into Damien’s games.”

  “I like Damien. He’s kind and sweet to me. I don’t know you at all, so what makes you think I would ever listen to you?”

  With a heavy exhale, William replies, “You will learn on your own, a sad, hard lesson. Trust me and run away from him as fast as you can.”

  Emotions rip through Kayla, but in the end she says, “Go to hell.”

  “What?”

  “I don’t know you. I don’t care to know you. Don’t talk about the guy I’m dating like that. He is a representative of the council, and he can have you punished for your behavior.”

  A smile spreads across William’s face. “Well then, I guarantee this won’t be the last time we talk, but I have to go. Bye-bye, Kayla.” The guy vanishes.

  As he disappears, Damien appears next to her. “Hey, lovely, you did it on your own.”

  “Where in the hell have you been,” Kayla yells.

  Damien jumps back. “What? I was doing your car stuff. Why? What’s wrong?”

  Kayla grabs her chest and can’t seem to catch her breath. “There was some freaky guy here telling me how big of a douche bag you are.”

  “What?” Damien snaps. “Who? What are you talking about?”

  “I was here, walking around, and some guy appeared!”

  Grabbing her arm gently, Damien calmly asks, “What did he look like?”

  “I don’t know, blond hair, blue eyes, about your build, not ugly but not as cute as you.”

  “Aww, thanks.”

  Bringing her hand back, Kayla punches him. “It’s not funny! It was creepy and scary and I couldn’t do anything abou
t it!”

  “Did he do anything to you? Did he hurt you?”

  “No,” Kayla says, shaking her head. “He didn’t come near me; he just babbled on about you.”

  “Did he tell you his name?”

  With a jerky nod, Kayla answers, “William Caster.”

  An odd expression crosses Damien’s face. “William Caster…he’s been dead for, like, forty years.”

  “This guy had to only be like twenty or twenty-one, and he wasn’t dead. Who was William Caster?”

  “The Caster family is one of the overseeing families, but William was the grandfather. He passed on a long time ago. He was a strong botanist for our people, quite well-known actually. He’s not a twenty-one-year-old blond guy.”

  Kayla says, “What about someone our age, did he have a grandson our age?”

  “No, they only have girls. Girls who throw themselves at me.”

  Screaming, Kayla yells, “Now is not the time for gloating!”

  “I’m not gloating,” Damien sternly articulates. “I was just saying that there are no guys. They want more power, hence why the girls throw themselves at me.”

  “Still, I never want to hear about girls throwing themselves at you. I have a feeling I will be a jealous girlfriend if that is the case.”

  Damien pulls her into his arms and kisses her head. “Okay, no more talk about girls, but I want to figure out who this guy was. What did he say?”

  “That you’re a slimy piece of crap for the most part, and that I have options, lots of options. He said it’s your dad, and not the council, who wants you to marry me. Be honest with me, is that the truth?”

  “Not that I know of. I promise you, all that I know is what I have heard from council meetings. If you want, you can ask them yourself. We can do a video call when we get back.”

  “Really, you would do that?”

  He nods his head. “If that’s what it takes for you to know the truth, then of course. I’m not blowing smoke; I will make the call with you.”

  “Will you think less of me if I want you to do that?”

  “No, we can do it as soon as we get back. I’ll call my dad and set it up. No one would want you to believe anything that jerk said. I really want to know who he was. I don’t get it. If he wanted you to take him seriously, you would think he would give you a legitimate name.”

  Kayla shrugs. “I don’t know. He was very creepy, and he rubbed me the wrong way. He sure wanted me to think less of you, a lot less. What did he say, oh yes, something along the lines of how you will chew me up and spit me out.”

  Damien gets a sad look on his face. “Is that what you think I’m going to do?”

  “No, I think that guy just wanted me to think the worst. William Caster is a shmuck.”

  “I just don’t want you to think that I’m going to use you, and I don’t think his name is William Caster. He's giving the real William Caster a bad name.”

  Pulling him close, Kayla hugs Damien. “It was just weird and frightening. No more letting me come here alone, okay? You need to teach me how to block someone.”

  “I promise, that’s the next thing we will teach you,” Damien states, kissing the top of her head. “Let’s get back. I don’t need you shifting in the car on the way home.”

  “I thought coming to Shima was supposed to help.”

  Smiling, Damien replies, “Yes, but it is still a really expensive car and I prefer not to have a dog in it.” Kayla pinches his side and Damien gasps. “All right, all right, no more dog jokes!”

  “Yeah, well, I’m allergic to cats, especially orange ones.”

  “You can’t be allergic to anything, so you’re lying. Come on, let’s go.”

  With a giggle, Kayla closes her eyes. When she opens them, they are sitting in Damien’s car. “What’s the plan?” Kayla asks.

  “Your car will be delivered the day after tomorrow. Not that you can drive it anytime soon, but at least you’ll have it.”

  “I still don’t think I should let you buy me a car. That guy made it sound like you will do anything to get me to marry you. Is that what this is about? Are you buying me a car to win me over?”

  He shakes his head. “No, but that’s not a bad idea.” Kayla glares at him. Damien laughs. “I’m kidding. No, my family has a lot of money. My dad was okay with it, and I really thought you needed to have a car. Plus, I won’t lie, I have a thing for buying cars, and this was the best excuse to research and haggle about a badass vehicle. It made my week.”

  Kayla laughs. “You know I told Jackson that it didn’t impress me when boys spend money, and it really doesn’t, but you buying me a car kind of wins you some points.”

  “Awesome,” Damien chirps with a grin. “That’s not why I did it though, just so you know.”

  Kayla leans over and puts her hand on the side of his face. “Thank you,” she whispers. Leaning in, she gently kisses him. They sit there tenderly embracing each other until she feels Damien moving his seat back. Giggling, she asks, “What are you doing?”

  “This,” he retorts, grabbing her. Damien lifts her up and pulls her over sideways on top of his lap. She wraps her arms around him. “See, much better,” he murmurs, bringing her down to kiss him again.

  Kayla finally pulls away and breathes out, “We should go. We’e going to be home late, and aren’t you worried about me shifting?”

  “We can pull off on the side of the road,” Damien whispers, pulling her back down.

  Laughing, Kayla pushes him back. “Stop, we probably have an audience in the car dealership.”

  “Whatever, free show.” Damien chuckles. “All right, let’s go.”

  It takes some maneuvering but Kayla gets off of him. She honks the horn in the process, which sends them both reeling in hysterical laughter. They talk all the way home. Damien makes her laugh a lot, and Kayla watches him carefully.

  As they get closer to Jackson’s house, Kayla’s phone rings. She picks it up and answers it. “Hello?”

  “Kayla, where are you, honey?” her mom asks.

  “Oh, I’m with Damien. Are you home?”

  Her mom sighs. “Yes, where are you?”

  “We’re almost back in town. We’ll come right home.”

  “No, go to Jackson’s. You’re supposed to be there.”

  Kayla frowns. “What? I can’t even be at home with you?”

  “No, the council wants you with Damien and Jackson’s family.”

  “I’m with Damien. Jackson’s in school, so I can’t really be with him.”

  “Where did you go with Damien? You shouldn’t be out and about. When you first start shifting, it sends your body into a tailspin.”

  Rolling her eyes, Kayla snorts. “Yeah, I know, Jackson and Damien have been extra helpful with information, since you never taught me anything about shifting and what to expect.”

  “I’m sorry, sweetie. We thought we were doing the right thing.”

  Kayla stews in silence until she can’t take it anymore. “Well, now I get to take a crash course on how to be a shapeshifter!”

  “We’ll talk about it when you get here, okay? How far away are you?”

  “Like fifteen minutes, we wanted to get back before anyone knew we were gone.”

  “Where did you go?”

  A smirk passes over Kayla’s face. “We went to a dealership and bought me a car. A Tesla to be exact.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Yup, Damien’s dad bought me a car, kind of a welcome to our society gift.”

  Her mom is quiet for a long time before speaking. “I wouldn’t dare say anything about what he decides to do, but do you really think you should accept it?”

  “You won’t buy me a car, so yes, I will accept his gift. Is it a little excessive and expensive, yes, but I need a car.”

  “Okay, Kayla, just come back here. We’ll meet you at Jackson’s.”

  “See you there,” Kayla snaps, ending the call. “I missed my parents, but now that they’re back, I want to
scream!”

  Damien reaches over and takes her hand. “Yelling won’t get you anywhere. Just talk to them. They are your parents and they love you.”

  “Yeah,” Kayla grumbles as she stares out the window. The rest of the car ride is spent in silence. When they get to Jackson’s, Kayla crosses her arms and glares. “I don’t want to go in there.”

  “We can bypass them and go to my room or your room. Technically, it’s like you’re emancipated and under my care now, so really, you don’t have to listen to them,” Damien tells Kayla with raised eyebrows.

  She laughs. “They are my parents, no matter what. Ignoring them would never fly. Come on, let’s go in.” She gets out of the car and exhales. Damien comes around the front of the car and takes her hand. He squeezes it, and they walk to the house. “Hello?” Kayla calls when they get inside.

  Her mom comes out of the kitchen and sweeps her into a hug. “Oh, honey, we were so worried.”

  The relief of having her mom finally home and the frustration from her parents’ secrecy makes Kayla cry. “How could you do this? How could you hide who we really are?”

  “Kayla,” her dad says, coming up behind her mom. “We thought you might be happier just being human.”

  “Why? It’s not who I am. We’re alien shapeshifters. No matter what you do, you can’t change that!”

  Her dad hangs his head. “We know that now. Can we just try to get past this? We want to help you.”

  “Damien and Jackson have been doing a fine job of helping me. They don’t hide things.”

  “That’s good,” her mom sighs. “What kind of progress have you made?”

  Rolling her eyes, Kayla says, “I can turn into a dog and run, shift on the fly, meditate, and go to Shima. And some crazy dude came to me while I was there last time.”

  “What?” Kayla’s father snaps, looking at Damien. “What is she talking about?”

  Damien crosses his arms. “Someone went to Shima and talked to her, tried to pin her against my family and me. I can’t figure out who it could be.”

  “Did he give a name?” Kayla’s dad asks.

  “Yeah, do you know who William Caster is?” Damien asks.

  Kayla’s dad nods. “Yes, of course, my father worked with him for a short while, brilliant man. Why?”

  “That’s what the guy said his name was, but he was only around twenty-one. The Caster family has no male heirs. I don’t get it,” Damien murmurs with a perplexed expression.