Split Shift (Abaddon Academy Book 1)

by LM Wilson

  “What the fuck?” I hiss. The girl doesn’t even open her eyes as I scramble off the bed and practically run while trying to cover the extra bits I shouldn’t have. I have no idea where the hell I’m supposed to go, but I find myself slamming Ray’s dorm room door open and coming to a sudden stop.

  “Joey?” Gel asks looking me up and down.

  “Is this a common occurrence? Cause dude, I was in the middle of getting naked with this hottie, I’m just about to put the condom on, then suddenly, I have tits and a pussy!” I wave my hands towards said tits. “What the fuck is going on?”

  “Not Joey. Get in here before anyone sees you.” Ray grabs my arm and practically drags me into his room, shutting the door firmly.

  I glance around his room, talking out loud as I see each person, “Ray, Gel, Riv, someone want to tell me what the fuck is going on?” I glance at each of my friends, trying to figure out how River, Raine and Angel fit into whatever the fuck is going on right now.

  “Oh shit, Chase?” Gel asks, doubling over laughing.

  “Who the fuck did you think I was?” I feel like I’m going to pass out. I’m naked, no longer a guy and my ex-best friends are all staring at me like they know what the hell has happened to me.

  “Well, you are in Joey’s bod… Oh wait, you said you were in the middle of getting lucky, what was it like trying to put a condom on only to have your dick vanish?” Gel says between bursts of laughter. My entire face goes redder than a tomato.

  “Who the fuck am I this time?” My head snaps to the door as my own voice shouts.

  It’s the strangest thing seeing my own body walking and talking from the outside. As I look up and up, I realise just how frighteningly tall I am compared to chicks. “Hi, I guess you’re me. I’m Chase Masedon, but we have actually met before.” I circle around the person wearing my skin. “This is fascinating, I’ve heard of Split-shifters but I never thought I’d see one let alone actually get to switch with one.” I reach my hand up, touching my jaw, then the one Joey is occupying. It’s weird to see but the idea that someone could actually occupy another’s form is amazing. “Is it true that Split-shifters can use their bond’s animals? Are you the lost princess? Can we switch back at any time or is it true that you have to be unconscious first? Oh, is there a limit to the amount of people you can switch with? Do you choose who or is it random, fate, some kind of emotional attachment thing?”

  “Chase, enough!” Riv, Ray and Gel all shout at me. My face goes bright red again as Joey focuses all his/her attention on me.

  “Yes, I can shift into the other person’s animal form.” Joey mumbles hanging her head and rubbing her foot across the plain blue carpet.

  “What?” Gel asks, he looks like he’s going to lose his temper. “No way, why didn’t you say so sooner, you could’ve taken us all flying.”

  I’m curious if what they’re saying is true, so I try shifting, except nothing happens to me. Peering over at Joey, I realise why. She’s standing there in my bear form, her ears perked and her lips pulled back in a snarl.

  “Hey, not fair.” Gel complains.

  “Quit screwing around. We need to figure out a way to get this under control.” Riv snaps folding his arms and glaring at me.

  “Does it make me gay that I’m seriously digging the new you Chase?” Gel winks at me, my eyes go wide and I start backing away.

  “No. Just no.” I snarl at the same time Riv and Ray shout, “Angel!”

  “What? She’s got a smoking body and he’s wearing it right now.”

  A full body shudder goes through me as Gel looks me over from head to toe. I feel like a piece of meat. Holy shit! Is this how girls feel whenever I look at them like that? “Why isn’t she changing back?” I ask, more to change the subject than anything else.

  “She can’t, you control the shift.” Ray growls at me.

  I close my eyes and concentrate, trying to bring her back, the problem is, I’m not exactly sure who she is. Idiot, she’s in your form! I picture myself shifting back and Joey reappears wearing my face. I get right up close to Joey and peer into my own face. It’s really freaking weird. “Have you tried shifting on your own?” Her eyes start watering as she shakes her head. “Close your eyes and picture yourself in your own body then just kind of push yourself into the image.”

  As I watch, she flickers between the girl I’ve been daydreaming about, to me, then back again. Joey, my girl is Joey. She shimmers and heat floods my system, I actually feel like I’m growing, expanding in all directions. My vision clears and suddenly I’m standing naked in front of her, staring right at her tits. She quickly pulls the towel up, covering herself.

  A pair of track pants hits me in the face and I quickly pull them on, the legs are way too short, but they cover my hardening cock at least.

  “Does this mean I don’t have an animal form?” Joey’s voice breaks on the words and my heart sinks to my stomach. Ray wraps her up in his arms and jealousy like I’ve never felt before makes my stomach churn.

  “I don’t know babe, but we’ll figure it out. I promise.” Ray hums as he sits down on the bed with her still in his arms. Gel joins him sitting on his left, clasping her hand in his. I feel like a string is attached to my chest as I too move towards the bed. The second my hand touches her back; I feel normal again.

  ♡

  Chapter: Joey

  After my outburst River fills us in on why he was called away from the pool. Turns out there’s another new student and apparently, she’s a Shifter celebrity.

  “No fucking way, Miranda Rockworth!” Angel looks like he’s died and gone to heaven.

  “I’m guessing the name should mean something to me but can we all for a moment just pretend I’m me and don’t know who that is?” I say trying to hide my growing jealousy over the intense look of lust on Angel’s face.

  “Miranda Rockworth is the daughter of Talia Rockworth, the head of the Shifter council. She’s basically the Shifter version of a queen.” River explains patiently.

  “And Miranda’s supposedly the hottest chick ever. She’s even got her own modelling career.”

  “Huh, I wonder why my mum never told me about Shifter’s having royalty.” I mumble ignoring Angel’s gushing.

  “They aren’t technically royalty. The true heir to the Shifter throne was-.”

  “Angel!” River and Raine snap, cutting off whatever Angel had been about to say.

  I glance from River to Raine then back to Angel, Angel shrugs sheepishly but doesn’t finish his remark. I really want to know what they’re talking about but with the looks on their faces, I feel it’s better to just file the information away for later. Raine’s blue-black eyes are narrowed into a glare that would scare anyone and I’m grateful it’s not aimed in my direction this time.

  “Well, this is all fascinating, but now that I know how to switch back, I’m just going to….” I trail off heading for the door.

  “Ah babe, you might want to put some clothes on first.” Raine gestures to the towel that is barely covering my naked body. I huff and pull open the top drawer, pulling out the first shirt my fingers touch.

  “You realise you’re not going anywhere, we’ve still gotta figure out what triggers the shift.” Chase growls.

  “If I shift, I’ll just switch back.” My voice comes out muffled by the shirt I’m pulling over my head. The towel drops at the same time I pull the shirt down. I can feel at least three sets of male eyes following the towels movements but I ignore their stares, focusing instead on pulling the hem of Raine’s shirt down to cover myself.

  “Nope, you’re not going anywhere alone, we need to keep an eye on you. Your unusual shifting abilities need to be monitored.” Chase grumbles as River places a hand on my shoulder, preventing me from exiting the room.

  “I’m not some experiment you have to observe.” I grumble staring at Chase’s hypnotic green eyes.

  “I didn’t mean it like that.” Chase runs his hand through his auburn hair, ruffling the s
trands and making my hands twitch with the need to mess them up further.

  “I’m leaving. At least let me go get some proper clothes on.”

  “Fine but Raine’s escorting you.” River concedes. Turning to Raine he says, “Straight to her dorm, she gets dressed and packed, then you bring her to the cabin.” Raine just nods, his dark hair falling forward to cover his left eye. Before exiting his room, he snatches up his leather jacket off the top of his dresser and to my shock, places it gently across my shoulders.

  “Come on babe, the sooner we get your stuff the sooner we can all relax.” I swear under his breath he adds, “And maybe some alone time.”

  The walk to my dorm should have only taken a few minutes but halfway there I’m stuck standing off to the side of the walkway while none other than Raine’s one-night stand Miss Floress, blocks the path to my room.

  “Raine I’ve been trying to see you.” She practically purrs, rubbing herself up against his arm. Considering this is an academy for shifters it wouldn’t surprise me if she actually could purr. She seems like the type of girl who has claws both metaphorically and physically.

  Instead of responding to the girl, Raine pushes her hands off his arm and pulls me into his side. “Claire, have you met Joey? My Girlfriend?”

  If looks could kill, I’d be a dead woman. With my mouth agape, I stare up at Raine, trying to form words that just won’t come out.

  “You don’t do girlfriends.” Claire snaps, grabbing onto Raine’s other arm.

  “For the right girl, I do.” Raine smiles softly down at me, I almost blush, until he whispers into my ear, “Just play along, we need to get rid of her in case you shift again.”

  My heart plummets but I plaster on a fake smile and pat his chest. “Can we go now; I’m bored with this conversation.” My voice comes out far more coquettish than I intended but it appears to work. Miranda growls and flips her hair over her shoulder before stomping away.

  ♡

  Chapter: Chase

  The door closes behind them and Riv immediately begins talking, “I need you two to help me.”

  “With what?” I ask curious.

  “You can’t tell Raine.” Riv hedges.

  “Come on Riv, tell us already.” I eye him, wondering what could be worse than a split-shifter who’s making our lives difficult.

  “Fine, Miranda is claiming to be the lost princess.” He blurts the words out.

  “Oh, she’s the right age.” Gel looks anywhere but at us as he speaks.

  “Miranda Rockworth isn’t the lost princess.” I sit down on the edge of the bed. “The lost princess has the same mark as us, she also controls all of the elements and according to all the research I’ve done, she is supposed to be a split-shifter.” I glance at Gel, “Does she have a mark?”

  “How would I know?”

  “You’ve perved on her every chance you got, don’t bother denying it, we all know how obsessed you are with Miranda Rockworth.”

  “Unless it could fit under her string bikini suit, she doesn’t have any marks on her.”

  “Well, I have a theory.” Ray claims as he walks into the room, without Joey.

  “Where’s Joey?”

  “Gone.”

  “What the hell do you mean gone?” Gel shouts jumping to his feet.

  “I took her to her room; she closed the door in my face then I waited for almost ten minutes. By the time I managed to get into her room, she was gone.” Ray sits down on his bed, his body stiff. “You’ll need to get a new door for her room by the way.”

  “I don’t give a fuck about the door. What happened to Joey?”

  “Oh, it’s Joey now, what happened to Miss Kale?”

  “Raine you come in here telling us that she’s gone and you still haven’t explained yourself.” Riv snaps as Gel rushes to the door, I’m right behind him.

  ♡

  Chapter: Angel

  Joey is on the floor, blood covering half her face. Standing over her are two girls. As we watch the tallest of the two stomps down on Joey’s hand.

  “You actually thought those guys wanted someone as pathetic as you? You are nothing more than trash.”

  “What the hell is going on here?” Doc shouts from behind us. The girls start to scatter, but not fast enough. “Miranda Rockworth, Claire Folksong, stay right where you are. Angel, Chase, get Joey to the infirmary. I’m going to call River.” Chase scoops her up from the floor, her face is a mass of bruising and blood and I can’t tell where it’s all coming from. My heart is in my throat as we run back down the hall. We pass Raine and River on the way and the two of them take one look at poor Joey and turn to follow us instead.

  “What the hell happened?” River rounds on us the second the nurse takes Joey away. I pace back and forth, words escaping me.

  “I don’t know, we found her on the floor of the girl’s dorms, both Miranda and Claire were standing over her yelling something. Doc is trying to figure out what happened, but it doesn’t look good.” Chase explains.

  “I watched her go into her room.” Raine falls into the chair beside the nurse’s desk his head in his hands.

  “What you saw was most likely an illusion.” I jump as the voice comes from the other side of the curtain. “Only a really skilled air user can create an illusion that complex.” The curtain moves as a guy roughly our age appears from behind it. “My sister can do it. Not sure why she’d bother on our first day here though.”

  “Who the hell are you?” I snap.

  “Malachi Rockworth.” River says turning to look at the new guy. “Did you see what happened?”

  “No, sir. I know my sister though, if she’s involved then chances are, she was the instigator and most likely the cause of all this.” He glances back at the curtain connecting the cubicle he was using. “I can heal her, if you like.”

  “You’re a healer?” The nurse opens the curtain connecting the cubicles and practically drags Malachi over to Joey. He places his hands on either side of her face and closes his eyes. Joey appears to glow as he feeds his powers into her.

  We’re all crowded around her bed, none of us daring to speak or even breathe too heavily. We all want to know what happened to her; we all want to know she’s going to be okay. After what feels like forever, she lets out a strange hum, almost like she’s enjoying the feel of his powers inside her.

  “When was she cursed?”

  “What?” River, Raine, Chase and I all shout at the same time.

  “Inside voices!” The nurse snaps.

  “The girl, when was she cursed? She’s got a block on her powers, her animals aren’t connected to her own mind, it’s almost as if….” He trails off, removing his hands from her face. “I can’t help her. Whoever did this is far more powerful than me.” He sighs. “I’ve healed her wounds, but that’s all I can do.” Malachi steps back, practically falling over. He looks like he’s about to pass out. Without another word, he climbs up onto the bed beside Joey’s and literally falls asleep.

  “He’ll be alright, healing injuries that bad can sometimes drain the healer.” The nurse fusses with the blanket covering Joey. “River, I’m sorry, but the extent of her injuries, I’m not powerful enough to heal something like that, if it wasn’t for young Malachi….” She looks almost ashamed. I look between River and the nurse, the way he’s looking at her. Oh! “Raine.” I hiss near his ear. “Look.”

  “At what?”

  “I think that’s River’s girlfriend.” I whisper.

  “No….” He trails off as he sees what I’m seeing. I take another look at the nurse, she’s cute in that librarian kind of way, mousey brown hair, shorter than average with a pretty face under the too big glasses. She’s got a nice body, not overly large but she is a bit on the plump side.

  “What, where.” Joey sits up. “Please don’t tell me it happened again.” She groans. We all let out relieved laughs as we crowd closer.

  “Back up gentlemen, let me check the patient, then you can harass her for th
e information.” I raise my brows at Raine, teasing him about his brother’s taste in bossy women. After what feels like forever the nurse tells us that Joey is fine and just needs some rest.

  River is the first to cross the gap and grab Joey’s hand. “Are you up for telling me what happened?” I watch the nurse’s reaction to see if she’s going to be upset her boyfriend is holding the hand of a student, but she just smiles kindly at Joey as though she’s looking at her favourite sister.

  “I’m not sure. Raine and I were heading to my room, we ran into Claire, then everything is a blank.”

  “It’s okay Joey, we’ll find out what happened.” River pats the hand he’s holding, then let’s go. He turns to face us, but his face is a mask of fury. “Outside, we need to talk.” He pauses. “Angel stay with Joey.”

  I really want to know what he’s going to say to the others but right now all I care about is seeing for myself that my girl is okay. “Hey.”

  “Uh, hi.”

  “Okay so I’m kind of lame at the whole small talk thing.” I laugh trying to hide my discomfort.

  “I’m okay. You can go see what they’re talking about. I know you’re curious.”

  “I’ll just eavesdrop from the door.” I whisper as I lean down and press a kiss to her forehead. It’s not until I’m standing at the door, that I realise I kissed her. On the forehead. Like she’s my friend or something. Come to think of it, I stopped obsessing over wanting to fuck her as well. I frown to myself as I crack the door enough to listen.

  “…sure, what to tell her. If she is then it could mean a lot of problems for us.” Raine speaks so quietly I almost don’t catch what he’s saying.

  “I don’t think she is.” Chase protests.

  River’s voice comes out sharp and clear. “I don’t think it’s just a coincidence.”

  “You know, if you just use your air power you could make the sound of their voices come to you.” I jump back from the door, glaring at Malachi. This guy is showing far too much interest in what we’re doing.