Shifted (The Oblivion Series Book 1)

by Barb Shuler

  There was something in his soft words, and the pain in his eyes that had me nodding. The ache in my heart eased off. Something inside me said he spoke the truth. I tried to calm myself. If I didn’t, my beast would take over again.

  “That’s it, deep breaths. Sheri, can you get a robe for my daughter?”

  I shuddered as I curled into his chest and sobbed. The darkness was pulling at me, battling against the power he was shoving into me. I felt a hand brush gently against my face as the hair was pushed away.

  “Here, Trenton. What’s wrong with her?” Sheri’s voice shook as she wrapped a robe around me. “Why is she acting like this? This is not our girl. She’s always been so calm, controlled, docile.”

  “It's the mark. I have to remove it from her. If I don't-”

  His next words fell so softly from his lips that I didn't hear them. Or maybe he didn't finish his sentence.

  I was unaware of what was happening to me. My mind was fogged over and the voices seemed to be growing. Not the ones around me, only the ones in my head. They seem to be gaining strength. That was when the ear shattering scream fell from me. A pain lanced through my head, my eyes clamped closed and I struggled to break free of the painful hold they had on me.

  I was so exhausted, the pain and power struggle too much for me to continue.

  My breathing became labored, my struggle waning.

  “Hush, child, I'm going to make it better. You'll be free of the pain soon.” I knew it was my father's voice that soothed me, my mind relaxing as he held me.

  A moment later, something tasting of bark was shoved between my teeth, my arms were gripped and the chanting increased. The voices in my head redoubled their effort, desperately fighting to maintain their hold over me.

  I tried to scream, but could only choke back the sob as another pain, a sharper one shot through me. My side and back were on fire. It felt like a hot poker stabbed into me with the force of an elephant sitting on a daisy.

  I could feel the tears rolling down my cheeks as my father’s voice, speaking in a language I could not decipher, filled my ears. I could hear Joshua’s snarls and howls.

  My heart hammered in my chest with each ‘thwack’ of his paws on the ground. It was as if I could feel him with me, beside me, even though he was across the yard.

  The pain quickly became more than I could bear. I let the haze of darkness that was surrounding me drag me deep and take me away.

  JOSHUA

  He was hurting her! He was making my mate tear up and scream in pain.

  As the small blade Trenton held slid through her skin my wolf took over. I was on all fours and lunging before I could stop my movements. Thankfully, my father and Javi both grabbed a hold of my wolf body and held me in place. Nothing else would have kept me from ripping Trenton to shreds. My paws slammed against the earth, nails digging large gouges into the soft dirt.

  I howled in tune with my mate as she screamed a second time.

  My mate was in pain, yet I was helpless to stop it. If they let me go, I would attack Trenton for causing her more pain, not doubt about it. It had been bad enough when he had abandoned her as a small child, but to reappear now and cause her more pain, physical pain - I was having to fight my own instincts to keep from ripping him away from her, or worse, ripping his throat out.

  “Son, you have to calm yourself.”

  Father’s words penetrated my mind - sort of. How was I to keep calm when my life, my mate, was writhing on the ground, screaming in pain? I struggled against their arms. My teeth snapped together as a howl of agony left me.

  In the moment, between my howl and my father cursing, Talia was on all fours. She snarled, that sound that only large cats make. The people around us backed up, everyone except Trenton. He glared at her, his voice firm and commanding as he watched her.

  “Natalia Marie, listen to me. Fight it. I know it hurts. You have to fight it-”

  His words stopped and he looked around. I felt it too, though I was sensitive to that kind of thing. Someone very powerful was close, too close. My growl drew Talia’s eyes away from Trenton and to mine. She let out a strangled cry and took off running. Her path would lead her straight to the source of the magic.

  No! I could not allow that. I slipped away from my father and Javi and went after my mate.

  I raced to catch up with her. My body moved in to block her as we breached the open land before the river. I came to a stop before her, my teeth bared. Not in anger, but in frustration. Her body slammed into mine, bowling us over. With a loud grumble I got to my feet. I stood over her, my gaze hard on hers as she mewled and growled. Pain flared through me and I almost lost my thoughts with the blazing light that shot through me.

  With a snarl, I did the only thing I could think of. I sank my fangs into her shoulder. She was my mate. No one would take her from me again. No one. I would not sit by and watch her go through this.

  I released her shoulder and howled a long, painful cry as she continued to fight. I snarled, turning towards the influx of power that rose to the south of us. I felt Talia shudder under me. Her body shifted from fur covered to human. I didn’t move. I stood, blocking her from the threat coming at her. Just as quickly as it had risen, the power dissipated.

  My eyes roamed across the area, every leaf that moved in the wind was seen, but nothing more. Not until Father, Trenton and Javi burst through the thicket behind me.

  “Talia, thank God,” Trenton said as he moved closer to her.

  I shifted my stance. He would no longer be the bearer of pain to my mate. My lips pulled back over my fangs and I growled. My shoulders hunched slightly, ready to pounce if he did not back away from what was mine.

  “Joshua, I am not here to hurt her. Do not fear for her.”

  His hands were raised as he moved ever so slowly closer to us. Again I snarled, taking a step closer to him.

  “Ram. Care to help me here?”

  “He fears for her. If I move any closer he will feel threatened. Javi, that is not Joshua right now. Do not test his wolf. He will attack you. I’d prefer to have you in one piece. I need your help with Talia.”

  I looked to my father. He was right, of course, my wolf would not allow him any closer to our mate. She was unmoving under me, save for the muscle spasms draining what was left of her energy from her. I could feel it. Each labored breath felt as if my lungs were on fire.

  I was trying to pull my wolf back. Talia needed help but I was not in control of the beast. He had ripped the control from me the moment Talia took off into the woods. We had allowed her to be hurt too many times already. He wasn’t having anymore of it.

  When Mother came through the now open space in the thicket behind everyone she moved directly towards us. Father tried to stop her but she shrugged him off. My wolf and I both knew she would not harm anyone. She did however grab me by the scruff of my neck and tug me from atop Talia. She knelt beside her and started looking over the wound on her side. She pulled out that bundle of herbs, lit it with a match and started to chant.

  I could see and smell the sweat beading down her neck as she used all she had to heal Talia. The bleeding had stopped when she shifted. Now Mother just had to get the darkness out of her.

  I stepped back - only after Mother commanded me to - to allow Trenton forward to help Talia.

  9

  Trenton

  It has been almost a week since my precious daughter fell into what seems to be an endless sleep. As I sit by her bed I take her hand in mine and say a prayer. I can’t stand the thought of losing her, not now, not after everything that has happened. Not after losing her mother.

  I made a promise to keep this child safe. That was the truth of why I left her with Ram and Sheri so many years ago. She was safe here. I spent all that time searching for an answer and, even now, I still don’t have the knowledge I need to defeat the King. That sniveling, traitorous bastard. He will pay for everything he has done. I will cut him down to his knees and thrust my sword through his
blackened heart.

  My anger spikes as it does every time he occupies my thoughts. He is seated on my throne, in my home and yet, he thinks he can rule with an iron fist as my father had. No, he’s a traitor, and our people know it.

  The fools that stayed behind have no idea what he has done, and what he has planned. I do. I have seen his planning, I know of the destruction he plans to thrust upon us all. I swear with every fiber of my being that I will continue to search for a way to stop him.

  One that does not include the sacrifice of my daughter.

  My gaze moves over to her - my sweet Natalia - when the bed shifts. A small groan escapes her lips and I quickly rise, leaning over to kiss her forehead. “Don’t move, princess. Let me get Sheri.”

  I step from the room and nod to Joshua, who skirts around me and takes my place to watch over her.

  “Sheri, she is awake. Could you please see to her needs?”

  “Yes, of course. You need to go eat. Ramport is in the kitchen. He shall get you a bowl of stew.”

  She smiled tightly at me as she gave my arm a gentle squeeze. I moved towards the kitchen as instructed and flopped down in the chair across from Ram.

  “Nice to see Sheri hasn’t lost her edge,” I chuckle as he shakes his head.

  “She’s a sharp one, my mate. But she’s right, you do need to eat. No arguing, or I will tell her you refused. At which point, you will be on your own. No one tells my Sheri ‘No’ and lives to repeat the same mistake twice,” he said, shrugging slightly.

  I believed his words. Sheri was not one to be trifled with when she was in a mood. And since Talia went down, her mood seems to worsen by the minute. It’s out of love that she worries so much. We all know that.

  It is that fact alone that endears the woman to me.

  “So, care to tell me all about your time stalking about in the woods? Were you waiting on a written invitation or were you just pretending to not be here this time?” Ramport’s eyes met mine and he raised a brow.

  I growled in frustration as I ran a hand through my hair, tugging at it slightly.

  “I was trying - and failing - to keep the Druids away from my daughter. They have new blood, and are not as easily distracted as they once were.”

  I glare at him. His easy stance is making me nervous.

  “If you knew I was about, why didn’t you send word that they had gotten to her!” I stood, my anger rushing through me all of a sudden. His eyes change to gold as he moves to face off against me.

  “You don’t get to judge the actions I’ve taken. I,” he began before quickly correcting himself, “we have taken care of your child like she was one of our own since the age of six. A duty every member of this pack swore to uphold with their lives. You do not have a right to dictate how I chose to do things. You lost that right when you tucked tail and ran off to hide in the woods!” he snarled as he shoved me back.

  My anger soared and I swung at him, knocking the pitcher of flowers from the bar beside him. With a snarl he lunged, his shoulder digging into my solar plexus. We toppled through the open doorway and into the next room. The angry, startled shouts of men and women alike filled the air, but neither of us gave into it.

  With a single leap I was over him, my leg shooting out, my foot connecting with his kidney. His body slammed through the front door, shattering it into pieces.

  I stalked out, my shoulders hunched as a roar escaped him. I charged him, but his hand moved faster this time and caught me across the jaw. My head snapped back, a cracking sound filling the air. The sharpness of the pain laced with my anger sent me into a feral state.

  Hands, legs and teeth did the damage as I fought my best friend. He had struck a nerve. I was scared for my daughter. Afraid for my friends and for myself.

  The new King was the orchestrator behind all of this and I was helpless to stop him. As Ramport dodged and got his own hits and jabs in something in the air changed.

  I was hit from behind. I face planted into the grass. I flipped over, my feet hitting the ground hard, snarling as I looked up to meet the very angry eyes of my daughter.

  She was half shifted. I’d never, in all of my life, seen such a thing before. It was as if her change had been paused. I could see the fur that brushed against her skin, her jaw elongated only slightly but her hands were curled into claws, and her fangs were dripping with saliva.

  I stared, barely blinking, as I stood to my full height. What in the name of the Gods was happening to her?

  With a whispered word from Ramport she fell forward, her body snapping and cracking as she finished her shift. A roar of anger left her as she stalked towards me, stopping only when Ramport growled out her name. The command in his tone was the only thing stopping her from coming forward. With what I assumed was a chuff of frustration her ass slammed into the ground.

  My head tilted to the side, my brow raised in question. Did this make her submissive to me in any fashion? No! Quite the contrary, actually. She simply sat there, her tail flicking back and forth, her narrowed eyes boring into me.

  “Natalia, care to explain yourself?” I kept my eyes on her and this insolent stare down.

  She made no move to shift back, to make her feelings known or to look away from me. The only part of her that moved - still - was her damn tail. Ticking back and forth like a pendulum on an old grandfather clock.

  Tick fucking tock.

  I took a step closer and was met with a snarl and growl from behind her. My eyes went to Joshua and then Ramport before I looked back at my daughter.

  “Enough of your games, child. We have work to do.”

  TALIA

  He had some nerve. Some big friggin’ nerves. He's been gone so long, almost twelve years to be exact, and now, out of nowhere, he returns. On top of that he is acting as if he hadn't abandoned me at all. They, whoever they are, are now after me because of him. All of the misery surrounding me is because of him.

  I love my father, I missed him every minute of every day that he was not here, but that does not excuse him for his inaction in all of this. I could overlook him abandoning me. I can forgive it even, but this - his actions towards Ramport, I cannot forgive. This man may be my father by blood, but Ramport is the man that raised me. He is my family, maybe more so than my father. Moreover, he is my Alpha, and I will not stand by while he is treated in such a fashion.

  That is why I sit here, my canines dripping with the eagerness my animal feels about biting into my father’s flesh and ripping him apart. I knew Joshua had shifted forms. His warning growls helped me regain some of my former control, easing the ache in my chest momentarily. Then the smug bastard crossed his arms and tried to scold me as if I were a child! Yes, I was his child, and he was my father, but I would not be spoken to in such a manner. I was a grown woman. I made my own choices, and right now, my body fought between my two forms.

  I wanted answers, I wanted retribution, and I wanted to hug the man who stood before me. Okay, I shall be honest, I wanted to wipe the floor with him as well due to his aggressive actions, but I was forbidden to touch him so by Ramport.

  My father glared at me again before looking to Ramport, who moved to stand beside me.

  “You’ve turned her against me?”

  The sneer in my father's words brought my hackles up. I stood, my eyes moving to meet his gaze as I let out a hiss. My lips pulled back from my teeth.

  “You did that yourself, old friend,” Ramport said. He grabbed me by the scruff of the neck when I shifted slightly. I went lax in his grip, but not without letting him know my frustrations by grumbling at him. I growled and chuffed. My lips fanned at the side as the air was pushed between my lips.

  “I know, child. Your father makes even the most docile of creatures want to rip his head off. Don’t get your tail in a twist. He's here now for a reason,” Ramport’s words were soft, but we all heard them. As an Alpha he knew how to make his voice carry on the air.

  After I relaxed slightly he released me.

  I s
lunk around him, moving to his other leg to look up at my father before I pawed at the dirt. There was a tingle that ran through me but not one I was accustomed to. I shook my head and peered around us. My head barely moved as I scanned the bodies spread throughout the yard.

  One of the men Ramport had called in was standing off from the others. I watched him out the corner of my eye. That's when I saw it. His lips were moving - silently.

  My body jerked again and I let out a mewling sound as I shifted on my paws and put the man in my full view. Ramport’s body was blocking most of me but he didn't seem affected, no one else did either. What was this? The tingle turned to a slow burn. The man looked directly at me as he chanted to himself.

  A smirk tugged at his lips when he saw I was watching him. That was when my animal took over. We were in danger and she was going to protect us.

  My body whipped around Ramport and with three long strides she was flying through the air. Both paws slammed into the man's chest. His body bowled over and I scrambled to stay on top. My long claws dug into his shoulders as my body jerked again. His words were no longer silent. As he screamed out words I didn't understand everyone around us moved. My claws stayed in his shoulder as I half shifted back to human. What the hell? The pain that shot through me was enough to cause the bile in my stomach up the back of my throat.

  With a snarl, I shifted back to human, since my animal seemed to be out of it. What was he doing to me? I raised a hand and punched him in the face as hard as I could before he tossed me off of him. I was pulled back when I went in for another shot at him. I let out a primal scream as arms locked around me. The man was snatched up off the ground. He fought the hands that gripped him until he was thrown to the ground by Ramport. My father stepped up to him and the color drained from his face.