Without thinking, I took a step forward, gaining the creature's interest. It tore its snarling gaze from Asher and seemed to calm as the golden eyes drank me in.
"Elle, stop," Asher whispered. He reached out and grabbed my arm.
With his movement, the creature growled and let out an ear-piercing and heart-stopping howl. I swear, it was as though Asher's grabbing me had enraged the animal. I knew that sounded wildly insane, but something was off about our encounter, and I couldn't stop myself from being drawn to its existence.
"Watch out," Asher yelled again, pulling me protectively behind him.
He stood tall in front of me, using his body as a shield, trying to form a wall between the beast and myself.
The wolf continued its stare; his eyes focused only on me. As I watched him with a morbid curiosity, I couldn't help but feel drawn to those golden eyes. They seemed so familiar to me, which was crazy because I was pretty sure if I'd have met a wolf before, I would've remembered it. Or at least, I hoped I would have.
I took a step out from behind Asher and drew in a deep breath. "What are you doing?" he asked, slowly turning his head toward me.
"Don't move-this animal could rip your throat out with one swipe of his claw."
With trembling legs, I walked toward the animal, still snarling at Asher. My fight or flight instinct should have kicked in, but instead, I walked closer to the beast. The red and brown leaves crunched with each step I took, and my breath grew heavy with white puffs that floated through the chilly fall afternoon.
I extended my hand and continued to walk toward the wolf who was looking at me with confusion set in those golden eyes. I wasn't sure what I was doing, but something in my heart and mind told me everything would be alright.
I moved closer to look into those golden eyes as they seemed to pierce through me. There was something about those eyes. Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning had been thrown at me, I stopped dead in my tracks. Those eyes-they were so familiar. It was like I'd looked into them a thousand times before.
My mind began to race. My senses worked overtime, flooding my brain: the scent of mint and sawdust, those golden eyes, the shaggy brown hair, the way those eyes made me feel like I was home.
I knew what was lurking behind those eyes.
In that moment, my world began to tip, I opened my mouth, and only one word rang from my now quivering lips: Maddox.
I jerked my hand away from it, just as the paw of the animal scratched my arm. Everything around me began to swirl into a madness of colors and shapes and sounds. My body collapsed onto the damp ground as my vision went black and my world as I'd known it ended.
Chapter 9
I woke sometime later, lying on my living room sofa. My head was aching, and my eyes were still fuzzy as I tried to focus on my surroundings. I could hear voices chattering away in the background, ringing with anger and frustration.
Breaking glass and loud thumping broke through the annoying ringing in my ears, jolting me back to the present. "What is going on?" I grumbled, trying to sit up.
My eyes opened just as Asher's fist made contact with Maddox's face.
The sound almost made me sick.
"Why did you throw me out of the house? I just wanted to make sure she is okay," Asher screamed with a rage I'd never heard from him before.
"She'll call you later," Maddox yelled. He spit saliva and blood from his mouth. "This is a family matter. Let us take care of it," Maddox finished.
"That's enough," my dad bellowed from somewhere across the room. Everything stopped. Asher and Maddox, who'd continued to fight, stood there, frozen like statues.
My parents, Asher, and Maddox swarmed around me, kneeling next to me as I lay back on the sofa.
"Are you okay?" my mom asked, moving a strand of loose hair away from my eyes.
"Yes, I'm fine," I said. I rubbed the throbbing pain nestled into the back of my scalp. "My head just hurts."
"See? She's fine," Maddox said. He used his hand to wipe away the remainder of the blood from his cut lip.
"Everything happened so fast-that beast scratched her and then everyone came running," Asher said as he looked deep into my eyes. "I've never been so afraid in my entire life," he finished, holding my hand in his.
Maddox rolled his eyes and started to move toward me, but my dad held him back.
"Asher, we appreciate you bringing Elle back home. She's fine, just a little confused. Go home, and she'll call you later," my dad said. He moved away from Maddox and began to lead a confused and disjointed Asher toward the front door.
I opened my mouth to protest, but my mom shook her head no and motioned for me to stop.
I snapped my mouth shut and put my head back down again.
My dad emerged from the hall after I heard the front door shut. "Elle, we need to talk," he said in his gruff voice, only this time it was laced with an edge I didn't understand.
"You're all acting really weird," I said, noticing that everyone around me was on edge.
"We need to know what you're thinking and feeling," Maddox said.
He kneeled next to me.
I closed my eyes and tried to think for a minute. Everything I remembered seemed more like a dream than reality. "I had the craziest dream," I told him. I half-laughed as I thought back to the images that had returned to my mind.
Of course, it had been a dream. I must've come home from my walk with Asher and fallen asleep. Yes, that made perfect sense. I laughed to myself, unable to believe I'd actually had a dream where Maddox-my best friend, my life-long soul mate-was a wolf.
I smiled and laughed aloud.
"What's so funny?" my dad asked, a perplexed expression on his usually serious face.
"I just had a wild dream," I admitted. I ran my hands over my face,
contemplating whether or not to share the dream with anyone; they'd think I was insane!
"Really? About what?" Maddox asked, wearing a hopeful grin.
Asher turned to glare daggers at Maddox. I knew they weren't friends, but the hatred emitting from Maddox at that moment just didn't sit right with me.
"It really is silly," I began. "I had this wild dream that while Asher and I were walking through the woods, we saw a wolf' I giggled.
"Go on," my dad and Maddox urged in unison.
I raised my eyebrow and looked at my dad and then back to Maddox. They were acting very strange. I shook off the thought and continued, "Well, while Asher and I were walking through the woods, we saw a wolf, and I swear he looked just like you, Maddox. I mean, in my dream, you were a wolf," I finished with a smirk.
I expected everyone around me to erupt into a hilarious round of laughter, but instead, everyone rose their eyebrows and glanced around, waiting for one of the others to react. I didn't like the heavy tension in the air or the feeling I'd gotten in the pit of my stomach that told me I was missing something very, very important.
"What?" I asked, starting to get nervous.
"We need to tell you something," Maddox said. He reached for my hand.
"Maybe this isn't the best time," my dad began. "You said she needed to know," Maddox argued.
Even though Maddox and my dad were spitting words at one another, it was still all done with love and respect. My dad thought the world of Maddox, even considered him a son of sorts, but their arguing was different than the silly banter I was used to between them.
"Discussed what? Why are they fighting?" I asked the questions in rapid-fire.
"Elle, there's something we need to tell you," my dad began.
Maddox swiftly removed himself from under my dad's hand and started to pace the room. He ran his hands through his short black hair, his eyes ablaze with anger.
"You're making me nervous," I said. I sat up and felt myself begin to shake.
"You need to remain calm and just listen while I tell you everything," my dad began. My mom reached for my hands and held them tightly in hers as she slowly sat down next to me on the sofa. "This isn't easy..
.for any of us, but you must understand that everything I'm about to tell you is the truth."
I gasped, unable to control my emotions any longer. A lone tear escaped from my eye as I watched everyone whom I deeply cared for staring at me like I was some breakable object. "Just say it," I yelled.
My dad took a deep breath, and then he began. "Elle, you're different. We," he said, pointing to everyone I loved with the sweep of his arm, "are all different. We're what are called shifters. Our bodies take on the form of our spirit animals. Each of us has a different animal we take on, and we don't know what animal we'll become until it happens."
I raised my hand to stop my dad from saying another word. "Dad, this is insane. You're all playing a really bad joke on me," I said, praying my words were true.
"Elle, I know this all sounds like a wild fantasy novel, but you have to trust us," my mom begged, squeezing my hands.
"Elle, I don't want to upset you, but it's time for you to know who and what you are. People of our kind begin shifting when they reach the age of sixteen. We sent you to stay with your aunt while we prepared things around here for you. When you first shift, it's...painful. You'll experience pain, confusion, and hunger. We had to set a safe place up for you while you're first learning."
I shook my head and felt warm tears let loose. "No, you're all just being incredibly cruel. Stop this joke," I cried out.
Maddox leaned in front of me and kneeled on one knee. He placed his hand under my chin and forced me to look up at him. "Elle, I've been your best friend since we were babies. Have I ever lied to you?" he asked, looking into my eyes.
"No," I whispered, drawing in a breath.
"Elle, your dad's telling you the truth. Your family and mine...we're shifters. I'm a shifter, too," Maddox finished. He continued to force me to look at him.
I heard Asher gasp and from the corner of my eyes, I saw his fist clench at his side as he watched Maddox touch me.
'Tm a shifter?" I asked, already knowing the painful answer.
It couldn't be happening to me. I was a teenage girl. I was human. I'd lived with these people my entire life, and I'd never suspected anything was different about them. To learn that they'd all kept such a terrifying secret of that magnitude from me caused deep anguish to grow inside of me. Flashes from the last few weeks replayed in my mind. Trepidation took over my body and mind: the aches of my body; the way Maddox had grown even more protective of me; my parents having sent me away for the summer-everything came crashing down on me at once as if a dreadful nightmare had taken over my life.
"You've all been lying to me?" I asked. A sob escaped my lips.
Maddox rushed to my side and began to speak. "Elle, you have to believe that I've just learned about all of this myself, a short time ago. If I'd have known sooner, I would have told you. When I discovered what I was, I begged our families to let me tell you, but we all agreed it had to come from your family and not us. Only, I couldn't wait," Maddox said, hanging his head low. That explained why I'd awoken to fighting, however, it didn't explain how or why Asher had known what I was. The situation was getting way too weird for me, and I was usually as far away from normal as you could get.
"How did you know what I am?" I asked.
Everyone in the room grew silent as they waited patiently for Maddox to answer. From the way he looked at me with a pained expression, I could tell he didn't want to answer my question.
Maddox sighed. He paused a moment more before beginning. "Elle, my family's been helping shifters for decades. We're part of the pack, just in a different way." He hung his head low after he'd finished.
Shifters.
That word sent shivers through my soul and crept down my spine. "I don't understand," I cried out. "Shifters? What does that mean?"
"Elle, the world as you know it isn't what you think. Our world is full of people with various abilities, only people like us have to remain hidden. There are humans who want to hunt us. Only a few even know we exist and they're called Vampire and Shifter Hunters, VASH, or hunters. I know this is hard to believe, but this is real. You saw it for yourself," my dad pointed out. He continued to plead with me to understand what he was saying and to believe his words were true.
Shifters.
Hunters.
What was happening to my world?
"Maddox's family moved away years ago, fearing our kind was being hunted, but after everything had calmed down, they decided to come back. They returned around the same time you were all born. Our pack began to grow as more shifters discovered us. We decided to call our pack the Evershade, to represent our need to remain forever hidden amongst the shadows and shades of life. At first, we all considered moving away, but friendships and loyalties have been established and you and Asher had grown so close, we knew we couldn't leave the pack.
"Not all shifters have shifters-that's one of the reasons we sent you away. You were showing some signs of being a shifter, but we couldn't be sure just yet. Nevertheless, we had to prepare.
"Asher and his family help those like us. As mortals and shifters, they understand our need to hide and constantly flee.
"Shifters...we stick together in packs. When one leaves, they're more vulnerable to being found and hunted, and we can't risk anyone uncovering our secrets. That's part of the reason we moved to small towns with a heavily wooded area, so we can shift and hunt without being detected."
My head spun as I tried to take everything in. My whole life had been one big lie. I wasn't who I thought I was. Maddox wasn't the boy I'd grown up knowing. Asher, a guy I was really starting to care for, might turn and walk away from me once he'd learned the truth. I couldn't blame him. I didn’t dare ask him to continue caring for me, knowing that I was a beast, a monster.
I had to get away.
I had to get out of my house and as far away from my family as I possibly could.
I jumped up, leaped over Maddox, and tore out the front door, running toward the woods. My legs moved faster and faster with each stride I took. My hands brushed tree limbs away as I made my way through the thick, dark woods. I ran until my heart was beating rapidly and I couldn't find the breath to continue.
Falling to my knees, I sobbed, my hands curled into fists at my side. Anger and pain spiraled through my body as I struggled to accept that everything would be forever changed.
"Elle," Asher yelled, rushing up behind me.
I couldn't turn to face him. I felt so betrayed, I had no idea how I’d ever be able to face Asher after learning what I just had about myself.
"Go away," I cried, without moving from my spot on the ground.
"No, I need to make sure you're okay," Asher argued, slowly sitting down next to me. He put his arms around me and pulled me into him for a hug.
I wanted to fight against him, to stop his embrace, but I couldn't. I was so tired and hurt that I just didn't have the energy to fight anymore.
“I’m so sorry," Asher whispered in my ear, as he held me tightly. He rocked me gently, consoling me while I cried all of my hurt out and onto his shoulder. "Maybe I should've been watching more carefully. Maybe I could've stopped that wolf from getting too close to you," he said, as he began to blame himself
I shook my head and let out an almost wild laugh. If he'd have known the wolf we'd encountered was really Maddox, he'd have freaked out.
Oh, no! What would happen if he found out what I really was? He might leave and never come back. How could he like or care about me when I didn't even know what or who I was?
I heard footsteps approaching and dug myself deeper into Asher's embrace. Even after my family had forced him to leave after he'd carried me home, he'd waited outside for me. I didn't deserve his comfort or his affection, but I was grateful for it, regardless. I took in his scent and warmth, not wanting to face anyone else yet. I didn't think I could control my rage. I wanted to tell Asher what I'd just learned, but I couldn't because I knew it would sound crazy. Once I'd said it out loud, there was no denying it wasn't true.
He deserved the truth, but I wasn't sure what, exactly, the truth was. "Elle," Maddox asked quietly. "Are you okay?"
I snapped my head up and narrowed my eyes at Maddox. Having noticed my hatred-filled glance, he took a step back and away from where Asher and I were on the ground.
"Go away," I growled.
"Elle, please let me talk to you," Maddox began.
I jumped up, almost knocking Asher over, and took a long stride until I was face-to-face with Maddox. I breathed heavily, my lips only inches from his. "You lied to me," I told him. "You were supposed to be my best friend, the one person I trusted more than anyone else, and you betrayed me. You and my family..." I let my voice trail off It was just too difficult to finish my thought.
"I don't understand-" Asher began.
Maddox turned to Asher and snapped, "It's none of your business."
"I don't know what's going on, but someone attacked Elle in the woods. You need to let her cope with that. I don’t know what else you two are fighting about, but Elle needs compassion right now,” Asher stated firmly.
Maddox opened his mouth to speak again but slammed it quickly shut when Asher rose to his feet. "She doesn't want to see you," he said in slow, steady words.
"Don't you dare talk for her," Maddox said quickly. "I've known Elle all my life. She's mine, not yours," Maddox said, pointing his finger at Asher.
"Stop!" I screamed. I couldn't take much more.
"You should've told me. Everything's different now," I cried out. "You should've told me there were wolves in these woods," I snapped. It was as close as I could get to speaking the truth.
Maddox nodded his head, showing he understood the meaning behind my words.
Evershade Page 5