by LM Wilson
“Morning babe.” I call out as she hovers near the fridge. She grunts something that sounds like ‘morning’ but with her head inside the fridge, I can’t really say for sure. I watch her perfect ass as she bends down further. After clearing my throat, I ask, “Want to come with me to the cafeteria for breakfast?”
“Not a good idea to be seen with any of you if you want people to think you’re still under her influence.”
Well damn, I didn’t even think about how that would work. “Should we keep the ruse up though?” At her frown, I add, “I just mean if she’s really getting into our heads, then she’d know immediately that we’ve found a way out and if that were to happen then she’d try to put us back under again. Wouldn’t she?”
“I guess so.” Again, she frowns. “So, wouldn’t it be better to keep skipping classes until we find something to protect you all then?”
“That’s what I was thinking too.” Chase storms into the kitchen in his usual morning grumpiness. “I’m skipping classes. Don’t want to take the chance of anyone getting in here.” He taps his temple with his finger and walks over to where Joey is leaning against the bench. “Morning beautiful. How’d you sleep?” I watch with my jaw hanging open as he wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her in for a hug. Joey’s face flushes a deep red but she doesn’t stop him.
“I slept fine.” She mumbles into his chest.
“Do you want me to go grab something to eat for us all?”
“That’s a great idea.” Angel says as he too walks into the kitchen. He takes one look at how close Chase and Joey are standing before plastering a fake look of boredom on his face.
“Movies?” He asks Joey and I swear her face turns even redder. She ducks her head in a short nod, then hurries out of the kitchen.
“Chase…?” I ask as he watches her leave.
“She was having a rough night last night. I held her until she fell asleep. She doesn’t seem to mind my hugs.” His defensive tone has me almost laughing.
“Okay, but shouldn’t you be heading out to grab some food?”
“Oh, yeah. I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Ah huh.” I shake my head as he rushes out the back door and past the kitchen window. I count to ten in my head before he turns around and comes running back.
“I should probably put some clothes on.” He gestures to the black boxer shorts with bright pink hearts all over them.
“Yup.” Both Angel and I laugh at the same time. Chase’s behaviour is just more proof hat we’ve all got it bad for Joey. I don’t know what we’re going to do. Things can’t keep going the way they have been and now that we’re all beginning to admit – even if its just by our actions – that we are smitten. We’re going to have to sit down and actually have a talk about all this at some point.
As I get up from my seat, my mind goes straight back to Joey. I hear words pouring through my mind and rush off to find a pen and paper.
I do not have the eloquence of pretty words,
All the words in the world won’t make you sway.
To know I hurt you is like falling on swords,
My mind is fraught with pain and disarray.
To love another is the sweetest of chords,
To lose you, I would die this very day.
You are everything my heart adores,
But how do I convince you my love is here to stay?
♡
Chapter: Chase
The entire walk to the cafeteria is filled with what happened last night. I’d been wandering around the house, unable to sleep. Which isn’t unusual for a bear shifter. Then I heard Joey’s muffled cries. I honestly don’t know what came over me. I burst into her room, determined to comfort her.
Her small body was curled up at the head of the bed, her hands covering her face as she sobbed. Any other girl and I’d have run the opposite direction, but Joey drew me closer with that need to protect her. Without a word, I had scooped her up into my arms and just sat there, holding her close to my chest. It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep, but those few minutes were the best of my life.
When I hugged her in the kitchen, I wasn’t sure if she’d actually let me. To say I was surprised that she didn’t push me away is an understatement. What shocked me further was the fact that neither Ray nor Gel called me out on it. I did get a little defensive when Ray said my name, but he was only trying to get me out of my daze. I’m sure of it now.
I grunt as I open the back door that leads into the kitchen. With my arms full of boxed food, it’s hard to do, but I manage it. I dump the boxes onto the bench and almost squeal in fright as Joey asks, “Where did you guys put the cups?” She’s standing on her tiptoes to see into the cupboard. Her long legs and shapely ass on full display beneath he far too skimpy shirt she’s wearing.
“Here, let me.” I move behind her, reaching above her head. With one hand resting on her shoulder, I lean closer, pressing my chest against her back as I pull down a glass. She twists to get out of my way, but I reach above her again, not giving her the chance to leave and grab a second glass. Her entire body goes stiff and she turns within the circle of my arms. When her chin lifts to look me in the eyes, I lean down, my lips gently touching hers.
That first touch is like heaven. I need more though. Carefully, I place the glass on the bench behind her before wrapping my hand around the back of her neck. Tilting slightly to the left, I move my lips against hers causing her to gasp. She opens like a flower bud, her tongue darting out to tentatively touch mine. I hadn’t meant to kiss her. I swear it was an accident. I tripped and our lips connected. That’s what happened. Well, if anyone asks anyway.
I had meant to only help her grab a glass, but now that our tongues are gently playing together, I never want to stop.
She tastes like berries and something entirely unique to her. My mind goes straight to the gutter as she presses against me. I wonder if this is how she’ll taste when I bury my tongue in her-.
“Has Chase come back yet?” Gel’s voice is like a bucket of cold water. Joey pulls away, her cheeks stained a cute shade of pink. She pulls in a quick breath then pushes against my chest. I’m so shocked that I stumble back, hitting my ass against the bench behind me, sending a box of fruit sprawling across the bench. I want to ask her why she pushed me away. I want to take her back in my arms and kiss her senseless, but she turns away from me. I watch in shock as she grabs the glass off the bench and walks away as though the best kiss of my life was nothing to her.
“Oh good, you’re… What happened here?”
“Box fell over.” I mutter as I bend down to pick up the fruit that spilled onto the floor.
“Well, be more careful next time.” Gel snags a couple of apples and disappears back into the loungeroom. I drop the rest of the fruit back into the box and practically fall into the first chair I find. What the hell was that? I really didn’t mean to kiss her. I don’t know why I did. Oh hell, who am I kidding. I’ve wanted to kiss her since the first time I laid eyes on her.
My mind takes me back to that day as I stare at the ring on my finger…
I’d been lost in my own thoughts as I made my way to the cafeteria. Well, technically I was lost in my own excuses…
Everything I do is calculated to give me the most out of my interactions. I avoid most people because I don’t want or need anything from them. I avoid most places unless I absolutely have to go to them. Like the cafeteria in front of me. I don’t want to interact with the people inside, but I know I have to so no one realises just how fucked up I truly am.
I amble into the room, an air of confidence I don’t actually feel. My eyes scan everything around me, the people in the room talking animatedly and eating as though it’s their last meals despite the abundance of food. It’s a shifter thing for sure, we always have voracious appetites. Every appetite we have is like that, sex, emotions, hunger, pain, it’s all heightened to the point where we crave the extremes. I’m no different, being a bear shifter leaves me
feeling like a sloth half the year and a… Well, a bear with a sore tooth for the other half of the year.
I turn in my seat so I’m facing the doors. I need to be able to see who is coming towards me. My eyes catch on the most stunning creature I’ve ever seen. Long legs that lead to the hem of a skirt that looks far too short. I track the pleats up to hips made for gripping, then onto a waist that is narrow and begging for arms to be wrapped around.
My perusal doesn’t stop there, I follow the narrow waist as it flares out to a chest that makes all the rest in this school look disproportionate. The girl’s long neck leads up to the most perfect heart shaped face I’ve ever seen.
My eyes catch hers and at first I think I’m staring at a pair of sapphire gemstones, but then she blinks, looking up at the lights above her and I see the colour for what it truly is, Camelot Blue, the exact shade of the gemstone in the ring that adorns my pinkie finger. It had belonged to my mother before she died, but as I stare at the beauty before me, I realise it was never truly mine or my mothers, it belongs to the woman who has- with a single look- stolen my heart.
She moves towards the line as though time has slowed to the barest of crawls. I can feel my animal shifting inside me, growing restless at the mere sight of this vision. I can’t take my eyes off her. I no longer feel the pangs of hunger. I no longer feel annoyed at the cacophony of voices around me. All I feel is curiosity and a strange sense of belonging.
Whoever she is, I need to stay as far away from her as possible. Forcing myself to feel is one thing, but having feelings shoved down my throat could never be a good thing. She grabs a couple of apples just as I’m about to get up and leave, before I’m even fully out of my seat, she’s gone.
“Are you coming to watch the movies too Chase?” Joey’s voice snaps me out of my memories. I smile up at her as she stands hesitantly in the doorway, the still empty glass in her hands.
“Yeah. I’ll bring some juice and water in with me.”
A single nod and she disappears again.
I’m falling and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. I’m so screwed. We all are.
♡
Chapter: Joey
I sit down on the couch right in the middle, hoping the guys will leave me alone. I’m so confused about everything that has happened. First the guys act like they adore me, then Miranda shows up and takes it all away from. Then Malachi messes with them again and now its like we’ve picked up where we left off before Miranda and Malachi.
Every time I look at them, I feel like I’m falling; my stomach drops like I’m on an amusement ride. My hands get sweaty and every nerve in my body feels like it’s on high alert. I’m crushing on all three guys… Okay, so I might even be crushing on that douche Malachi a little too, but could you blame me? The guy is hot. His chocolate hair is always so perfect that it makes me want to mess it up. His copper brown eyes remind me of the sweetest of caramels and his body… He seriously puts Angel to shame in the muscles department.
Not too sure I could get past the whole ‘His mother cursed me’ thing, although that wasn’t really his fault. It’s not like he had a say in what happened with his mother.
I sigh and lift my legs from the floor, curling up on the couch while I wait for the guys to finish up whatever it is that they’re doing. Raine comes in first, followed by Angel. Both of them give each other a look and then as though they had a complete conversation in that single look, they squish in on either side of me on the couch.
The heat from both of them is enough to make me feel sleepy, but the feel of their bodies against mine has the opposite effect. I can’t sit still. Every time I so much as breathe, I can feel them right there. I couldn’t for the life of me tell anyone what the movie is about. I could tell them the number of times Raine’s hand grazed mine. More than twenty. I could say how many times Angel’s pinkie finger linked then unlinked mine. Again, more than twenty.
By the time the end credits roll, I feel like I’ve been turned into a competition between Raine and Angel. When one touched me, the other would too. I finally get so sick of it that I slip off the couch and plonk my butt right next to Chase. He’s not so subtle in his wanting to touch me. He wraps his arm around my shoulders, hooks his free arm under my knees and lifts me into his lap.
His huge hard body is surprisingly comfortable. About halfway through the second movie, I feel myself drifting off to sleep.
♡
I wake to hushed whispers, out of curiosity, I remain as still as possible and listen.
“We really need to talk about this.” Chase’s whisper comes from right beside me and it takes everything I have in me not to react.
“What’s there to say? She clearly likes you more than either of us.” Raine’s voice comes out pissed but he doesn’t shout or raise it above a whisper.
“I don’t think so, I think you two just hurt her more, so it’s taking longer for her to forgive.” Chase is right, sort of. I have forgiven them; it wasn’t really their fault after all. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it and if I’m honest with myself, I pretty much forgave them the moment I realised it was Miranda’s influence that made them act the way they did.
“Its better if we just remain her friends. No one will get hurt and we’d be able to keep her safe.” Angel splutters at Raine’s words but I can’t take them talking about me anymore. I wriggle in Chase’s arms. Everyone goes silent.
“Is the movie over?” I ask, my jaw cracking on a yawn.
“Yeah. It’s over.” The way Angel says that makes me think he’s not talking about the movie.
“I’m going to go for a walk.” Chase announces, lifting me off his lap and dropping me on the couch between Angel and Raine.
Angel jumps to his feet as though the brush of my side against his has burnt him. “I’ll join you.”
I watch as the two of them walk away, leaving me sitting on the couch with Raine. “Do I smell or something?” I ask, trying to break the tension now hanging in the room.
“No, babe. We’re just all worried about River and Doc.” Raine gets to his feet and turns to face me, holding his hand out. I grasp it in mine and he pulls me to my feet. We’re so close that I can see the blue shining in his dark eyes. “It’s nothing to do with you Joey. We’re all pretty messed up guys. Chase has always been a little on the secluded side, Angel tends to wear his heart on his sleeve and me, well, I’ve always been the idiot who acts first and thinks second.” As he speaks, my gaze drops to his lips.
One second, I’m standing here listening to Raine talk, then the next his lips are touching mine. I’m so shocked I don’t move. Just stand here as he tries to kiss me. After a couple of seconds, I start to snap out of my daze, only for Raine to back off, blushing and stammering. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have. I just thought… I’m sorry.”
Before I can even comprehend what the hell just happened, he runs off like the hounds of hell are after him.
With my shoulders slumped, I turn around to face the doorway, only to come face to face with a very pissed off looking Angel. “I see how it is.” He storms off before I can even open my mouth.
A noise comes from behind me and I gasp as Chase walks through the joining door that leads to the kitchen and right up to me. “I never thought you would be the type to play us all off against each other. I really thought better of you.” For the third time in less than two minutes I’m watching someone I thought was my friend storm away from me.
“What the hell did I do?” I drop into the nearest chair, staring at the floor.
“My guess would be that you didn’t tell the others that you’ve kissed them all.” Malachi says from the open window across from me.
“Why are you stalking the window?” I ask, trying to change the subject.
“Technically I’m stalking you, but we both know why that is.” He climbs up onto the windowsill and drops into the living room on silent feet.
“What kind of shifter are you?” I ask, genuinely curious as he c
rosses the soft carpet towards me.
“Well let’s see if you can guess. I’ll even give you a hint; I’m not the same as any of the others.” I blink and he kisses me.
I’m not kidding. He presses his lips to mine and even though its only for a few seconds, I’m lost in the feeling of his lips on mine. He pulls back and I let out a soft groan of protest.
“So, what am I, Joey?” He whispers into my ear, bringing me back to the question he asked me. I give my head a small shake, trying to clear it enough to think. Chase is an Earth bear, Angel is an Air dragon, and Raine is a Fire panther. I run through the list in my mind, trying to think of what other creature he could be. Then it hits me…
“You’re a Water Elemental.” He nods and grabs my hand, practically dragging me from the cabin and out into the bright sunshine. My bare feet sink into the soft grass. On a laugh I say, “You’ve got grace, extra mental powers and you’re far too quiet.” Again, he nods, this time more eagerly. He’s not a big cat nor is he a wolf….
Malachi winks and his eyes change colour. My own widen at that not so subtle hint. “Oh my god! You’re a… a…” Pegasus… I can’t even say it out loud. He shifts and my jaw hits the floor.
Huge chocolate brown wings, the tips touching the ceiling. His body is all sleek lines and pure muscle. It’s his mane that has me gaping though, it’s not the chocolate brown of his hair. No this is more like the creamiest coffee with streaks of caramel.
Malachi flaps his wings a moment before tucking them into his side. The scent of fresh rain permeates the air, making me feel far more relaxed that I have in a while. “You’re beautiful.” I whisper, holding my hands over my heart.
“So are you.” I feel my body shifting, the same heat I felt when I switched with the guys engulfs me. The world tilts for a moment, then I’m looking down at everything from a new height. “You are the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.” Malachi whispers.