A Time for Change

by Marquaylla Lorette

  “Exactly,” Charity said.

  “What do you mean when you say ‘exactly’?” James asked in a confused voice.

  “You just told me it wasn’t my fault it was the shifters fault and I am saying the same thing to you,” Charity said.

  Damn, James thought. He knew he had just walked right into that one. Charity was always able to get him to see the truth or the error in his ways by tricking him.

  “Do you ever feel like mom and dad are still with us?” Charity asked.

  “Yes, sometimes it feels as if they are watching me or I can hear mom calling my name,” James answered with a sigh.

  “Me, too. Do you ever think the nightmares of seeing them like that will go away for us?” Charity asked her brother.

  “Yes, we just have to remember the good times we had with them,” James said

  As he thought about what Charity had just said, he knew it was time to take her somewhere else so they both could get new memories of their parents.

  “Come on, I have one more stop to take you to, and I think you are going to love this one,” James said when he noticed the sad look that came over Charity’s face.

  James had called Serenity earlier that day and she promised to have some good pictures out for him and Charity of their parents. He hoped they both could get some new memories of their parents out of this and the nightmares would stop. James wrapped his arm around his sister’s neck as they walked toward the Beta/Head Enforcer’s house where his mother’s best girl friends from the Isle were waiting for them.

  Serenity, Faith, Grace, and Leslie were all waiting for them in the living room when they walked in. They had pictures of their mother and some of their mother and father all spread out across the coffee table. Charity and James took the only two empty seats left in the room.

  “Wow, Charity, you look so much like your mom when she was your age,” Leslie said as she looked at Charity.

  Charity smiled, she had never seen pictures of her mother and father when they were younger. They had left almost everything they had behind when they left for the human side.

  Charity picked up one of the photos and traced her fingers along her parent’s faces.

  “That was the first day your parents met at your mother’s eighteenth birthday party; well, it was all of our birthday party. We had decided to combine our parties since we were all turning eighteen right around the same time and invited every shifter on the Isle. We had a blast and that was taken a few minutes after they found each other,” Faith said as she smiled at the picture, remembering one of her best friends.

  For the next hour, they told James and Charity the stories behind each of the pictures on the table.

  “We have something else to give you both as well. After your parents left for the human side, we went and packed all of the things they left behind. Everything we packed is in the attic labeled Katarina and Zuri’s things. James, could you go up to the attic and get the things down so you and Charity can take all of it,” Leslie said when she suddenly remembered about the boxes they put in the attic over thirty years ago.

  James stood and headed to the attic following Serenity’s directions. He reached his hands up and pulled the string when he reached the attic. The door didn’t budge as he pulled the string so he tugged harder each time until it finally opened. When he finally went inside the attic, a bunch of dust flew out, causing him to choke a little. James swatted spider webs out of his way until he finally reached the boxes he was looking for. He carried the five boxes out as quickly as he could because he was tired of smelling the stuffy air.

  James and Charity divided everything of their parents up and hurried to the Alpha’s house to show their mates.

  ***

  Baron and Jake headed to the Isle council building where they had their meetings. The council consisted of one shifter from each species. They handled everything from rule changes on the Isle to residents having conflicts with their Alphas.

  When Baron told the council what happened to Charity when she was attacked the night at the Alpha’s house, the council volunteered to hand over the petition changing the rules of the Beta Battle. The council was behind the changes Chelsea and the others wanted to make on the Isle and would do anything to help them. They had no clue what had happened over the years; it seemed as though everyone was getting along, accepting each other, until Zuri and Katarina found each other. The council had even put in rules banning everyone from harming or harassing Katarina and Zuri, but it didn’t work.

  The council building was a small one-story building with concrete columns in the front with light-brown hardwood floors and matching walls with a dome shaped ceiling on the inside. There was a large cherry wood desk with matching chairs where the council sat. Behind the council seats was a vault where they kept all of the important paperwork and Isle rules.

  Baron and Jake could hear some rustling noises as they drew closer to the front door of the council building.

  “Is the council here?” Jake asked.

  “No, they went home a few hours ago, whoever is in there is not supposed to be,” Baron said as he pulled out his keys to open the locked door.

  When Baron and Jake walked in, the shifters trying to open the vault immediately shifted so they couldn’t see their faces. Baron and Jake shifted as well and charged at the other shifters trying to break into the vault.

  One of the shifters leaped over the desk and tried to make a run for the door. Jake caught the shifter’s hind with his teeth and pulled him back. As the shifter thrashed it caused Jake’s teeth to bury deeper into the shifter’s skin. The harder the shifter thrashed the more of his hind ripped apart until a big chunk was left in Jake’s mouth. The shifter fell to the floor where he bled to death while the fight continued.

  Baron charged at the other two shifters that were standing in front of the vault. Baron wasn’t going to harm them, he was just going to hold them until the police came. That was until they started snapping at him with their canines and one of them actually bit him. Baron reached up, extended his claws, and slapped the shifter who bit him with as much power as he could. Being the Alpha made Baron stronger than he even knew he was at times. When he slapped the shifter, his claws slit the shifter’s neck, killing him instantly. The other shifter next to Baron howled at him before he attacked. The shifter actually had gotten a good chunk out of Baron’s shoulder before Baron could kill him.

  Baron shifted back, keyed in the vault’s security code and walked into the vault when the door swung open. He walked straight to the shelves and looked around until he found the year and day the petition was filed. When he found it, he looked for the stack of papers found under P and grabbed them before walking out of the vault and locking it back up.

  When Baron brought the petition closer to his face, he got a whiff of the scent. It smells just like the letters Chelsea and Ace received from the human side, Baron thought. He knew this was important since the letters sent back from the human side were tampered with.

  Whoever tampered with the kid’s letters must have tampered with the petition. I need to get my hands on all the kids’ letters so I can make sure the same magical being tampered with them all, without the kids finding out, Baron thought. Jake spoke pulling Baron from his thoughts.

  “I found where they broke in and called Gabe’s family to come fix it. They are already outside starting on the window. I also called my mother, she has a potion in her mailbox for your shoulder,” Jake said when Baron approached him.

  Baron locked up the building and thanked Gabe and Chelsea’s family for coming out to fix it. They climbed into Baron’s car and drove straight to Aishe’s house where there was a potion waiting for him. After letting Jake apply the potion, they went straight to the Alpha’s house and hid the letter in a safe until everyone got there.

  Chapter Seven

  Two days later, Chelsea, Ace, and James walked into the Battle Arena with their friends directly behind them. They headed straight for the seats wh
ere everyone who was battling sat before their fight.

  James, Chelsea, and Ace were waiting for the battle to begin when a shifter sitting behind them kicked James’s chair and yelled out, “We don’t allow hybrid shifters in our battle. I am going to tear you apart on the field like they did your parents.”

  James tapped into his lion shifter side and turned around so quickly that no one knew he had until he reacted. James reached over, grabbed the shifter by his shirt, and lifted him in the air as he growled at him.

  Baron had heard and seen what had happen and made his way over to James before he killed the shifter. Baron placed his hands on James’s shoulder and used some of his Alpha power to calm him down.

  “I heard what he said, James, and I will make sure he is your first opponent. You can take all your anger out on him during the battle,” Baron said into James’s ear.

  Baron waited there until James turned around and sat in his seat before walking back to his seat.

  James sat in his seat, twisting his hands around each other, something he did when he was pissed, until the announcer announced it was time to start the battle.

  “I would like to welcome everyone to the first Beta Battle. Here is what will be on today’s agenda. The first battle will be between two male shifters, once their fight is over, the other two male shifters will battle, the female shifters will battle last, and then the mates will battle. After the battle, the winner of the battle will go sit in the green box while the losers will move to the red box. The first round of the battle will be fought in our human form, but as soon as you hear the bell ding again, you are to shift immediately into wolf form to fight in the next round. At the end of the day, the only couple who wins all of the battles of the day will have tonight off while everyone in the red box will have to fight tonight for the right to battle again. Now to start the first battle of the day is with James, mated to Ace, son of Beta Cornelius, Grace, and Leslie; and Chelsea, daughter to Gabe, Faith, and Serentiy. James is also the only wolf/lion shifter battling tonight. He is the son of the late Katarina and Zuri. Let’s all have a moment of silence for them and how their lives were terribly ended. Per the council decision, either James can fight in his wolf or lion form during the battle. James and Hector come up and let the battle begin.”

  Once they were in the center of the arena, the announcer moved to the winner’s box to make his announcements, and the referees took their place. The referees were there to break up the rounds before one of the battlers killed the other one and in this case, they were going to really be needed. James was so pissed he couldn’t see straight and had eyes for only Hector.

  Immediately following the referee’s countdown, the bell rang, signaling the first round. James felt his anger rush to the surface. He took a deep breath, stepped back, and waited for the right moment. James didn’t want to let his anger take over in the battle, since acting out in anger could cause him to make a mistake and loose the battle, something he couldn’t afford to do.

  Hector was tired of waiting for James to move first and charged at him with a determine frenzy. James blocked and moved out of the way of everything Hector tried to hit him with, causing some of Hector’s strength to leave him before the next round. As Hector would throw a punch at him, James would step slightly to the left to avoid his punches, along with everything else Hector threw at him. James waited until the right time and threw a couple of combo punches, which all landed squarely on Hector’s jaw just as the bell rang again for the second time.

  Hector hadn’t fully recovered yet from being punched in the jaw so many times when the bell rang, but it didn’t stop him from shifting immediately—he just knew this round would be his. He wasn’t going to let a lion shifter beat him. James immediately shifted into a huge lion, Hector was not expecting James to be this huge in lion form.

  James knew he had to save his strength for the next couple of battles, so he was going to fight smarter instead of harder since he would have to fight many shifters today. James was not going to lose this battle, he had to win for his parents, sister, mate, and friends. The school depended on them winning these battles and he wasn’t going to let them down. James kept his eye on his opponent, who wasn’t that far in front of him, watching him.

  Hector growled loudly before charging at James. Ace and Chelsea were both on the edge of the seats as they watched. Chelsea was biting her nails as she watched Hector charge at James. Her leg began to bounce up and down when she noticed James not moving out of Hector’s way. It looked like James was going to let Hector rip him apart limb by limb with his sharp teeth or claws. She blew out the breath she didn’t know she was holding when she saw James move out of Hectors way, but not before knocking Hector to the ground with a forceful slap of his paw.

  Hector was pissed! Most of the wolf shifters of the Isle saw him get knocked down by James. Hector growled as he stood and charged at James with a burst of energy.

  Right before Hector could jump on James, James rolled out of the way, and Hector landed on the ground with a thump. Hector moaned and growled as his body began to ache from the pain. As James moved out of Hector’s way, again he could feel his energy depleting some.

  James wanted to end the fight before he got too tired so he charged at Hector. He jumped into the air and landed on Hector as hard as he could and applied more pressure as Hector began to thrash about. When the bell rang signaling the end of the fight, James hopped off Hector and let him up, even though he wanted to kill him for what he said about his parent’s death. The referee directed Hector to the red box while directing James to the green box where the winners sat.

  Everyone still had their eyes on James, mesmerized by his cat shifter eyes and wolf muzzle that they didn’t hear the bell ring signaling Ace and Hector’s mate, Javier’s battle to begin.

  Ace yawned and folded his arms across his chest as he ducked and dodged his opponent, frustrating his contender in the process. A couple of shifters in the stands laughed as Ace yawned again. Javier charged at Ace and threw a punch at him. Instead of moving out of the way, Ace caught his opponent’s fist in his hand and flipped his opponent onto his back while gripping his fist.

  Javier grew angry. He didn’t like how Ace was making a joke out of their battle. Javier jumped up off the ground, panting, as his anger took over him. He was going to make Ace pay for what he did. He swung with all his might, but what he didn’t count on was Ace moving out of the way. Javier swung around in a circle and fell to the ground after Ace moved out of the way of the punch. Ace waited until his opponent stood back up before he showed him how to connect a forceful punch. The bell rang signaling the end of round one and the beginning of round two.

  They shifted within seconds of each other. Ace immediately began to play with Javier again. He would pretend as if he was going to strike him but would stop just inches from his face.

  “Finish him now, Ace! Stop Playing!” James yelled from the winner’s box. Ace raised his paw and struck his challenger with enough force to knock him to the ground. His opponent howled when he felt the punch and his body hit the ground with a thud. Ace waited until his opponent got back up before going in for the kill. He didn’t want to chance someone claiming it wasn’t a fair battle. The other shifter was embarrassed since Ace knocked him down in front of the entire shifter pack.

  Javier jumped into the air with his claws extended trying to land on Ace, counting on the force of the impact to give him an advantage. Ace stood there as Javier fell from the air and waited for him to reach him before knocking him over with his paw, causing Javier to growl.

  Crouched in his wolf form by the loser’s box, Ace became angry when he heard Hector talking disparagingly about James and his family, low enough where only Ace could hear it. Ace took his paw and slapped Javier with so much power he knocked the wind out of him. The announcer called the fight after Javier struggled to get off the ground after five minutes. Ace headed to his place in the winner’s box sitting right next to James as they waited f
or Chelsea.

  As Chelsea walked to the center of the arena, Javier and Hector’s mate whispered to her, “You are going to wish you never stepped into the arena with me, and your mates never embarrassed mine.”

  Chelsea just laughed and continued to make her way to the arena, not paying attention to Aixa. She could feel James and Ace watching her as she made her way to the center of the arena. When she let her eyes roam over there to where they were sitting, they both smiled and nodded their heads at her.

  Chelsea kept her eyes trained on Aixa, watching her every move. Aixa wasn’t about to wait for Chelsea to move or lose as her mates did. Aixa growled and began circling around Chelsea as if she was a predator and Chelsea was prey. Chelsea already knew Aixa was more bark than bite and was waiting on Aixa to make the first move.

  Aixa stood behind Chelsea and tried to trip her from behind.

  Chelsea could sense Aixa behind her so she flipped into the air and grabbed Aixa by the shoulder for leverage while she was upside down above her in the air. Before she landed fully, Chelsea lifted Aixa up by her shoulders. Chelsea waited until she had Aixa over her head before she put any force behind the throw. When Aixa’s body had cleared Chelsea’s head, she threw Aixa with only some of her strength.

  Aixa’s mates growled and stood when their mate’s body landed on the ground with a loud thud. Everyone in the crowd covered their mouths with their hands, they couldn’t believe what they just saw.

  Chelsea knew Aixa was playing it up for the crowd since she knew for sure she didn’t put that much force behind the throw.

  Aixa used the wall as leverage for her to stand. The crowd knew she was faking it by the time she made it back in front of Chelsea since she was switching the leg she limped on every couple of steps. Aixa waited until she thought Chelsea was looking the other way before she tried to triple kick jump Chelsea in the face. Chelsea caught Aixa’s leg right before it caught her in the face and threw her leg in the air causing her to fall on her back. While on the ground, Aixa swept her feet under Chelsea knocking her off her balance. Chelsea thought quickly and she did a back flip before she could fall. The bell dinged just as Chelsea’s feet hit the ground.