Shift (The Neturu Chronicles)

by Sarah Carter

“If you two got all hot and bothered about this, then you can return the favor by parading around in those bikinis,” Damien interjects as he gets up. He leans and kisses Kayla. Pulling away, he smiles. “You can tell me, did that turn you on?”

  Jackson scrambles to his feet. “Don’t answer that, Kayla. It won’t lead anywhere good.”

  “I think the exact opposite,” Tracy quips. “It could only lead to good places. Good places all over the house.”

  “I like you more and more,” Damien says with a grin.

  “Don’t mind her, she has the dirty mind of a teenage boy,” Kayla sighs.

  Damien nods. “That’s why we’ll get along splendidly.”

  “Just don’t fight anymore. I want you both in one piece.”

  “Come on, really?” Tracy whines. “I say we make popcorn and keep score. We can be the judges. Two chicks in bikinis, it seems appropriate. Then in the end, you can give the winner their spoils.”

  “Tracy,” Kayla shouts.

  “What?” she asks innocently. “Like you wouldn’t enjoy that?”

  Kayla’s jaw drops. “I can’t take you anywhere.”

  “You just figured that out? Who have you been friends with all these years?”

  “You get around boys and you lose your mind.” Kayla can’t help but laugh.

  A wicked smile passes over Tracy’s face. “Only when there are hot boys, hot boys with their shirts off. Hot, sweaty boys demonstrating how strong and athletic they are. Yes, I think losing my mind is the best solution.”

  Palming her forehead, Kayla whispers, “Really.”

  “I love you!” Damien laughs. “This is awesome. You are like my female counterpart!”

  “I wouldn’t say that,” Jackson replies. “I actually adore Tracy.”

  Tracy wiggles her eyebrows, “Does that mean I can kiss you?”

  Jackson laughs. “Sure, why not?” He walks over, bends down, and kisses her. It’s like a punch in Kayla’s stomach. She feels like she can’t breathe. When he pulls away, Jackson murmurs, “There, now you’ve kissed one of us. Does that make your day?”

  “Hell yeah!” Tracy cheers. “I want more.”

  “Tracy,” Kayla snaps. “Stop it!”

  “Why?” Damien asks. “If they want to make out, we can go into another room.”

  Her world starts to spin. “I have to go,” Kayla mumbles, turning and fleeing from the room.

  “Kayla,” Tracy screams. “Stop!”

  Kayla runs to the end of the hallway, turns the corner, and falls to the ground. Damien is right behind her. “Get up and move,” he urges. She tries to stand and buckles. Damien snatches her up and darts into the next room. He slams the door. “Shift, just shift.”

  He doesn’t have to say anything else. Kayla instantly shifts. She sits there for a moment staring at the floor, breathing hard. All she can think is that she can’t feel this way. The jealously and pain swirling in her, it just isn’t right.

  “Kayla, you just changed into a very big tiger.” She turns and looks at him. “You should shift back now.”

  She quickly shifts back to herself but remains kneeling on the floor. “I’m sorry,” she confesses.

  “About what, having to shift? It’s fine. It happens. We need you to drink a shake and eat some brownies. You’ll be fine. Way to get yourself out of there. We wouldn’t be able to explain a tiger. Let me go get you something to eat, okay?” Damien says. She nods. “Stay here.” Damien opens the door and almost runs into Jackson, his body framed by the open doorway. “Keep an eye on her, okay?” Damien asks him.

  Jackson replies, “Yeah, go.” Damien leaves and Jackson shuts the door. “I told Tracy that you really have been sick and it comes on suddenly, so you’re okay for a few minutes.”

  “I’m sorry,” Kayla whispers, not looking at him.

  Jackson pauses and then replies softly, “Sometimes when strong emotions come over us, it makes us shift.” Kayla looks up at him but doesn’t say anything. Jackson exhales. “I’m sorry for kissing Tracy. I didn’t think it would upset you that much.”

  “It didn’t,” Kayla mumbles, looking away. “No big deal.”

  “Damien may be completely unaware, but I’m not. I’ll just say this, that is exactly how I feel every time you kiss Damien.”

  Kayla looks up at him. “Then what are we doing?”

  “What we decided on,” Jackson states, sticking his hand out. She takes it and he lifts her up. “We’ll be friends, and sooner or later this will pass.”

  “Okay,” Kayla replies quietly.

  He puts his finger under her chin and lifts her face up to his. Looking into her eyes, he says, “Though it appears all this sexual tension between us is starting to bring out the animalistic side of you.”

  She can’t help but start to laugh. Kayla punches him in the arm. “Shut up!”

  Jackson wraps his arms around her and squeezes. “What am I going to do with you?”

  “The better question is what am I going to do with you? You’re just making it worse on yourself for the day I cash in on our bet and make you my slave.”

  “Ooh, such a threat. What are you going to do?”

  Looking up at him, Kayla replies, “I don’t know, but it will be good.”

  “It better be,” Jackson whispers with a grin.

  They stand there staring at each other for a minute. The door suddenly opens, and they immediately back away from each other. Damien comes in carrying a glass of green liquid and a plate of brownies. “Snack time.”

  Kayla takes the glass and quickly drinks the whole thing. “Wow, okay, thirsty?” Jackson quips.

  “No, I just want to get out of this room,” Kayla retorts. She takes a brownie and scarfs it down. “Okay, one more brownie and I should be good.”

  “Yeah, I’m also going to make spaghetti for dinner,” Damien declares. “Yours will just have more Kiej than oregano.”

  “That makes me nervous. I don’t want Tracy anywhere near that stuff.”

  Damien gives her a look. “I’m not stupid, Kayla. Her safety is important to me too. Yours will be the only one with anything green on top of it.”

  “Okay,” Kayla sighs. “I’m going to go back to Tracy and try to explain this away.”

  “Do you want us to come with?” Damien asks with a cute smile.

  “Why don’t you give us half an hour and then we can swim,” Kayla replies. She goes on her tiptoes and gives him a kiss then realizes Jackson is looking right at them. Kayla quickly steps back.

  “What’s wrong?”

  She shakes her head. “Nothing, I’m going to go find Tracy.”

  Leaning in, he kisses her forehead. “If you need to run, just run. You should be fine for the next couple of hours.”

  “Okay,” Kayla says. She turns and walks back to the gym.

  Tracy is standing outside the gym door. When she sees Kayla, she exclaims, “What is going on with you, girl? You’re going to give me a heart attack!”

  “I have these weird spells of…dizziness. I have to take a medicine. It makes me act funny.”

  “Obviously. Are you okay? Are you seeing a doctor?”

  Kayla tilts her head. “Sort of. I’m being taken care of by professionals; that’s all that matters.”

  “Okay, can you go into the sauna, or is it going to cause some reaction in you? I can’t deal with puke, remember that,” Tracy states strongly.

  “It’s fine.” Kayla giggles. “Let’s go. I only gave us half an hour and if I know Damien, it will be twenty minutes, if not less.”

  They enter the poolroom, and Tracy stops. “This is incredible.”

  “I know. Damien and I like spending time in here.”

  “I bet. That boy, wet, in water, sign me up.”

  “Seriously, Tracy, you need a boyfriend.”

  Grinning, Tracy says, “Yes, yes I do, but you won’t share.”

  “I’m not dating both of them,” Kayla exclaims as she points to the sauna. She turns on the swit
ch, opening the door and following Tracy inside. When the door shuts, Kayla snaps, “Stop acting like I’m dating both of them. I’m not. Damien is my…whatever.”

  Tracy throws her hands up. “Kayla, call him your boyfriend. If you insist on denying any feelings you have for Jackson, just go all in with Damien and make the commitment.”

  “But that makes it super serious,” Kayla whines as she sits down.

  Her friend looks at her. “Kayla, he bought you a car, and you’re living in the same house.”

  “Sleeping in the same bed,” Kayla whispers ever so quietly.

  “Did you just say what I think you said?” Tracy spits out.

  Twiddling her thumbs, Kayla responds, “We haven’t had sex, and I’m not planning on it. We just slept in the same bed last night, and the night before I slept in Jackson’s bed.”

  There is dead silence as Tracy stares at her. “What…why…okay, just one word…jealous! What in the world is the reason for that?”

  “Nightmares, horrible nightmares. At first Jackson kept me safe, but then I realized it would be more appropriate to stay with Damien. I was afraid he would try to make a move on me, but he was a perfect gentleman. He wouldn’t even give me more than a peck good night. I tried, but he refused and told me to go to sleep.”

  “Wow, girl, you are living my dream. So tell me…who is the better kisser?”

  “I am not answering that.” Kayla laughs. “That would just be rude.”

  Tracy leans over. “Highlights then, must have highlights.”

  “Fine. With Damien there’s passion, like burning fire deep inside me. Makes me always want more.”

  “And Jackson?”

  Kayla looks at her friend. “If you ever tell Damien this, I will never talk to you again.”

  “Swear on our friendship that it will never leave this sauna,” Tracy promises.

  “It’s like an atomic bomb. I can barely pull myself away from him. If we are within five feet of each other and we don’t keep ourselves in check, we are all over the place. If I ever had a lapse in judgment, it would be with him.”

  Giving her a really thoughtful look, Tracy asks, “Why in the hell aren’t you with Jackson? That makes no sense.”

  “A relationship with him can’t go anywhere. We can’t be together. It’s just the way it is. Anyway, Damien makes my pulse race too, and I do really like him.”

  “Wasted chemistry, I tell you.” Tracy sighs. “But I’m glad you finally found guys who actually make you want to date.”

  Kayla laughs. “It’s what we are that draws us together. There is a huge reason why I wasn’t interested in other guys.”

  “Their intelligence levels?”

  “Among other things, yes, they just match me in every way I could imagine. They’re holding me up right now when I need it most.”

  She shakes her head. “What’s going on with you?”

  “If I could tell you, I would. You’re my best friend, but it’s a family secret that I can’t tell anyone.”

  “But Jackson and Damien know.”

  “Their families have the same secret.”

  Giggling, Tracy asks, “Are you part of a secret cult?”

  Kayla laughs with her. “Yes, we sacrifice goats. I was initiated, and now there is a demon possessing my body.”

  “That’s new,” Tracy quips.

  Kayla smacks her in the arm. “Shut up!”

  “So Damien, you really like him, huh?”

  “Yes, very much so. He graduated already and attends Yale…dead sexiness. He is so nice to me. The only problem is his past, but I think I can work through it. It’s not like he’s an untrustworthy guy. Jackson would tell me if he was. Even he can’t say that Damien is a bad guy.”

  The sauna door flies open. Damien steps into the room, leaning against the doorway. “Times up.”

  “It hasn’t even been five minutes, Damien!” Kayla yells.

  “It’s been long enough for me to get my suit on. That’s as long as you get.”

  “Go away,” Kayla instructs with attitude. “How are we going to talk about you if you’re here?”

  “Enough talking, time for play,” Damien says. He walks in and picks Kayla up.

  She screams. “Put me down!”

  “Nope.”

  “Damien Blakely, put me down!”

  “Never!” He carries her to the pool. “Ready?”

  Kayla glares at him. “Don’t you dare!”

  “Watch me.” He laughs and chucks her into the pool.

  Chapter 18

  “Did you have a good time?” Damien asks as he pulls back the blanket on the bed.

  “Yes.” Kayla giggles. “Tracy loves you guys.”

  Damien smiles. “I think she’s great, right up my alley, personality wise.”

  “Because she has the warped mind of a teenage boy?”

  He nods. “Pretty much. I think you should hang out with her more often and listen to her advice.”

  “No, she would have me doing all sorts of stuff with you.”

  “Exactly.” Damien laughs. “I’m only kidding.”

  Kayla puts her stuff down and walks over to him. He turns to her with a smirk. “Speaking of doing stuff with you, I want to give you a proper kiss good night before we get into bed, since you won’t do it there.”

  “It’s not that I don’t want to do it there. I just don’t trust myself enough. I really like you, and my thoughts aren’t always so pure.”

  She grabs his shirt and yanks him towards her. “Neither are mine,” she whispers before crushing her lips against his. Damien hesitates for a second and then squeezes her against him. Kayla starts to pull him to the bed.

  “No,” Damien murmurs, pulling away from her. “We aren’t going to do that.”

  “Fine,” Kayla whispers. “We can stand then.”

  With a soft smile he replies, “No, we’re going to sleep.” The ringing of his phone cuts off any further arguments. His eyebrows furrow in confusion. “That’s odd. It’s so late.”

  “If it’s a girl, you better not answer it,” Kayla teases.

  He grabs it off the dresser and looks at the screen. “It’s my mom.” He pushes the button to answer the call. “Hey, Mom.” He listens to his mom’s response and then yells, “You only call me now! What’s wrong with you? Is she all right?” His face pales, and he looks at Kayla. “No, I’ll be on the next flight.”

  Kayla steps towards him. “What’s wrong?” she whispers.

  “I don’t care if she’s all right,” Damien retorts sharply. “You know what she means to me. What? Of course she’s asking for me! You should’ve told me sooner. I’ll get the next flight. You already booked one? At what time?” Damien looks at the clock. “I’ll head to the airport right now. I’ll see you when my flight gets in. Bye.” He hangs up the phone and looks at Kayla. “Victoria fell off her horse tonight. She broke her leg and two ribs. I have to go to her. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry. You should be there for her. I’ll help you pack.”

  He barely nods and walks out of the room. She follows him with a sad look. They pack his stuff up in silence. Damien finally looks up at her. “Come with me.”

  “I can’t do that.”

  “Yes, you can and you should. You’re under my protection. I can get you a later flight."

  Kayla vigorously shakes her head. “I hate flying, it freaks me out.”

  “I want you with me. I don’t want to leave you here.”

  “I can’t fly Damien, especially not by myself. I would keel over from a heart attack.”

  He looks at her thoughtfully. “Then drive. It’s a two-day trip, but you could do it.”

  “And shift in the middle of the freeway? That’s a good idea,” she says, rolling her eyes. “I would love to be there with you, but I wouldn’t know how to get to San Diego.”

  “Jackson can drive you. It would be a road trip of sorts, a nice little vacation.”

  A little shocked, Kayla repl
ies, “You want me to drive for two days with Jackson?”

  “Why would that be a problem?” Damien asks. “He would do it.”

  “Are you sure?” Kayla replies.

  Waving his hand, Damien says, “Let’s go ask him.” Kayla stands there staring at him. Damien gives her a look, so Kayla walks out of the room.

  When they get to Jackson’s door, Damien knocks. It takes a few seconds, but Jackson finally cracks open the door. When he sees the two of them and their faces, he swings the door wide open. “What’s wrong?”

  “Victoria fell off of Jasper. She broke her leg and two ribs. I’m flying out tonight to go home,” Damien answers.

  “What can I do to help?”

  Damien tilts his head towards Kayla. “Drive her to San Diego.”

  “Excuse me, what?”

  “I want her with me and she won’t fly by herself, so I’m asking you to drive her.”

  The look on Jackson’s face is priceless. If it wasn’t such a tense moment, Kayla would have giggled. Jackson looks at her. “You want to go to San Diego?”

  Kayla opens her mouth and then closes it. Finally, she nods. “Yeah, if he needs me there.”

  “Okay,” Jackson exhales. “It’s a two-day drive. We would have to stop somewhere and spend the night. That will be difficult since we’re technically minors.”

  “There’s a safe house in Las Vegas,” Damien replies. “That’s where I stayed on my way here.”

  Jackson’s eyes skip between Damien and Kayla, almost debating whether or not to agree to the road trip. When his eyes linger a second too long on Kayla, he finally nods. “We’ll leave in the morning.”

  “I should call my parents,” Kayla states.

  “I need to get to the airport,” Damien replies.

  “Do you want us to drive you?” Jackson asks.

  He nods. “Yeah, I would rather not leave my car in the airport parking lot.”

  “Let me get dressed then,” Jackson says, closing the door.

  “Me too,” Kayla says. “I’ll call my parents.” She turns and starts to walk towards her room.

  Damien grabs her hand and stops her. “Are you sure about this?”

  “Yeah, of course, I will be where you need me to be.”

  He pulls her against him and kisses her hard. Pulling away, he whispers, “Thank you.”