Shifter Scandal

by Juniper Hart

  Annabelle was unperturbed by the urgency in Alex’s voice.

  “Can you at least explain why you saved me from Jax? You’ve always hated me!”

  Alex frowned.

  “Annabelle, I have never hated you. I hate who you became because of Jax. I hate Jax. When I first met you a few years ago, you were full of life, and I fell in love with you. Then, you changed. I knew Jax was hurting you, so I’ve watched you over the years, to protect you in case he ever hit you.” Alex moved towards Annabelle and swooped her up in an embrace, “I hated watching you in pain, trapped, scared. But no, I never hated you. I found it hard to sit back and watch you with that asshole. I wanted to kill him every time I saw your eyes get sad. You always looked so unhappy, and I just wanted to see you smile. Watching you miserable made me miserable. So, I’m sorry if you ever thought I hated you, but what you were seeing was my loathing at the inability to change the situation.”

  Annabelle felt color turn her bronze cheeks pink.

  “You have been watching me for years, haven’t you?” asked Annabelle.

  Alex nodded.

  Annabelle smiled, and confessed, “I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind since I first saw your green eyes. I feel you near me. I feel like there’s a connection between us. I’ve never felt anything like this in my whole life.”

  They smiled at each other, and again, Annabelle felt a wave of calm wash over her.

  “I will always protect you, Annabelle. No matter where you are, I will be there for you. But you have to know you don’t always need someone to protect you. You can take care of yourself, too. Don’t let anyone beat you down again.”

  Ashamed, Annabelle nodded, hanging her head.

  “We have to go,” Alex told her.

  “Are we going back to the beach?” she asked, running after him as he headed through the woods again.

  “Of course not, Annabelle. I’m taking you back to town.”

  “Taking me? What do you mean, taking me? You mean we’re both going back to town, right?”

  Alex did not answer. He plowed forward without looking back.

  “No, Annabelle. Please try to keep up. We don’t have a lot of time.”

  “Alex, stop!” Annabelle halted in her tracks and crossed her arms over her chest. When he realized she was no longer following him, he also paused and turned to look at her.

  “What is it, Annabelle? We need to keep moving,” he told her with genuine urgency.

  “I don’t understand. Why is there such a rush? Why don’t we go back to the beach and make sure everyone is alive?”

  “We don’t have time to chit chat, Annabelle. Please, just trust me.”

  “But Alex—”

  He was no longer watching her. His eyes widened, and his head tilted upward as if he was listening.

  “Shhh!”

  Annabelle tried to hone in her ears, but she heard nothing.

  “What are you—”

  “Shhh! Don’t make a sound!” he whispered urgently. “We have to get the hell out of here!”

  He gestured at her to follow him, and then Annabelle heard something. She perked her head toward the noise, and then she heard it again; another sharp bark of a dog echoed in the distance.

  “Oh! Someone is out there! They’re probably looking for us!” Annabelle turned to look at Alex, uncertain of how to feel.

  “No, Annabelle. They’re looking for you. They’re coming to kill me.”

  Annabelle quickened her pace, but it was difficult to keep up with Alex. She felt like she was going to drop. Her body was exhausted; her head was swimming, and they had barely had anything to eat or drink all day. She didn’t know how much more she could take.

  “Please, Anna, don’t stop,” Alex begged her, still running ahead.

  They hadn’t heard the dogs in over an hour, but Alex refused to stop. His incredible animalistic senses told him they were not yet out of harm’s way, and he would not rest until he knew that Annabelle was safe and secure.

  “I can’t do this anymore,” Annabelle panted. “We just need to go back, Alex. I will drop from exhaustion!”

  “I can never go back, Annabelle. You can go home. I will take you to town when I know the search party is off our trail, but I can’t go anywhere near Middlebury or anyone we know ever again. It will be a death sentence for me. Or a lab, which is basically the same thing.”

  “You don’t know that the others saw you, Alex,” she cried, stumbling over a rock and almost landing on her face. He hurried back to help her to her feet.

  “They saw me. Bryden and Julian saw me transition right before their eyes. I saw them look directly at me. I saw the expression on their faces,” Alex replied. “I am not new to this, Annabelle. I have been around for a very, very long time. I know when people have figured out what I am. And trust me, it never works out well for me.”

  “I’m still here,” Annabelle argued. “I am not afraid of you. You can’t always assume the worst of everyone, Alex.”

  He was very still for a moment, and then he reached out and pulled her tenderly into his arms, holding her tightly.

  “You’re different,” he whispered gruffly. “You belong with me.”

  Annabelle tipped her head back and stared up into Alex’s impossibly green eyes.

  “Please,” she implored. “We have to stop running.”

  He leaned forward and kissed her sweetly, sending a wave of sadness and love coursing through her body. She eagerly kissed him back, willing him to agree with her.

  “We can worry about that later, Anna. Right now, the mob is still on our trail. We have to keep moving.”

  As if to echo his sentiments, Annabelle thought she heard a shout in the faraway darkness. An owl hooted considerably closer, startling her. She took a deep breath and nodded.

  “Okay. I trust you. Let’s go.”

  It was almost another full hour before they stopped again. Alex’s creamy white complexion had taken on a ghastly parlor as the day’s events caught up with him. He collapsed heavily onto a rock, wiping sweat from his brow.

  “We need to find a place to hide out for the night, Annabelle, and we need to get your story straight.”

  “My story?” she asked, puzzled. “What story?”

  Alex sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I need you to tell everyone that I died. I can’t get out of these woods safely if they think I am still roaming around in here. They won’t stop searching for the wolf-creature, unless they think I’m dead. We just have to get your story to ring true enough so that they believe it. We’ll say my carcass is lying somewhere far away from where I’m going, so I have a chance to get out alive.”

  “Alex! Stop talking like that! You’re coming home with me.”

  But over the passing hours, Annabelle had come to terms with the fact that Alex’s fears were probably more sound than she was willing to admit. Of course the others in the group had seen his transformation that morning. He had done terrible damage to Jax’s face, and she knew her fiancé, or ex-fiancé, would hold an eternal grudge. How could Alex explain it away?

  They could combat the testimony of one drunken man, but not three. That was a stretch, regardless of how farfetched the tale may seem. Regardless, there would be an investigation, and people would still demand to know what happened to Alex.

  Slowly, her thoughts changed from going home to running with him. It would be a fresh start for both of them. Eventually, everyone would stop looking, assuming them both to be deceased. She couldn’t bear the thought of seeing Jax again, and if Brock had died standing up for her… Annabelle shoved the horrible thought out of her head.

  “You and I both know that I can’t go home, Annabelle. Don’t worry about me. I have done this tour of duty a thousand times. I will be okay.”

  Annabelle choked back tears and turned her head so Alex would not see her expression.

  “Well this may be something you do all the time,” she sniffled, “but I wasn’t worried about you. I was worried
about me.”

  Alex was at her side, holding her.

  “I will never forget you, Annabelle, but you deserve an uncomplicated, loving man. Not a lycan, and not an abusive asshole.”

  “Alex, I want you. I need you. And I think you need me too. You told me that we belong together!”

  Alex cupped her chin in his hands and pulled their lips together.

  “I love you, Annabelle,” he told her simply. “I have loved you for a very long time. And yes, we do belong together. But that doesn’t mean we’ll always be together. Sometimes it doesn’t work out that way.”

  ***

  They made love under the stars that night, listening to the owls and crickets. Afterward, Annabelle lay naked in Alex’s arms in a pile of fresh leaves, inhaling the tantalizing scents of springtime.

  Alex was giving her instructions on what to say when they reached the small town of Sunnyvale the following morning. Half asleep, she listened to his back story, relishing the sound of his sonorous voice, feeling his heartbeat. As her eyes began to burn, she mumbled.

  “I don’t need a story. I’m coming with you. We’re staying together forever.”

  Alex kissed her tenderly before she drifted off to sleep.

  ***

  Annabelle jolted awake, covered in sweat. Looking down, she realized she was wearing Alex’s tracksuit, but she had no recollection of ever putting it on. Feeling disoriented, Annabelle sat up, a mess of grass falling away from her and looked around. Her heart hammering, she realized that Alex was not beside her.

  “Alex?” she called out softly. Dawn had broken through and dew painted everything, creating a gentle haze on everything in sight. The optical illusion was not helping with her fuzzy perception, and she forced herself to her feet.

  “Alex?” Her voice was louder now, and she turned in a circle. He was nowhere to be seen.

  “Alex!” Annabelle was screaming now. “Alex!”

  But she knew it was useless. He was gone.

  Chapter Six

  The search and rescue group found her exactly where Alex had left her. Annabelle had buried herself back in the mound of greeneries, blocking out the chipmunks and squirrels bouncing through the trees.

  He is coming back for me. He would not just leave me here. He loves me. He is coming back, she chanted to herself over and over again. The sobs would not subside, and despite the sun’s desperate attempt to lift her spirits, Annabelle felt as though her world had ended. She could not blame Alex for leaving. He had only been protecting her. He had understood the danger they would both be in if they continued on the run together.

  Alex needed her to stick to the story they had fabricated to ensure his survival. Annabelle understood all of this on a logical level, but emotionally, she knew this was a loss from which she would never recover.

  It was a bloodhound named Lucy who had found her, and when the first volunteer arrived at her location, the man, a local farmer named James Coppley, was certain that he was about to see his first dead body. James almost hit the branch of a tree when he realized the still form was that of a breathing female.

  While Annabelle’s eyes were wide open, she remained unresponsive to the rescue group, and a stretcher carried by three other volunteers rushed her to a waiting private ambulance nearby. Annabelle was taken to the hospital in Sunnyvale, where she was treated for dehydration.

  She had barely made sense of anything when the two police officers knocked on the door to the semi-private room and invited themselves in. The bigger cop, a seasoned veteran named Ward, was popping gum and sweating. The smaller one, Barret, was younger and had weasel-like qualities, and both made a terrible first impression with Annabelle.

  Her mouth pursed into a fine line as she braced herself for the questions, trying to remember what Alex had said. Yet, all she remembered were the words of devotion and love. She could not summon anything else.

  “Miss LaCroix, I know you’ve been through a lot, but we need to ask you some questions,” the younger one asked in one breath.

  Annabelle shrugged and looked at her roommate, who was suddenly sitting up in her bed with interest, staring at them through huge, wire-rimmed glasses. Annabelle reached over and closed the curtain between the two beds, shooting the nosy neighbor a dirty look in the process. The two officers further entered the room, standing uncomfortably at the foot of the narrow bed, staring down at Annabelle sympathetically.

  “How are you feeling?” Officer Ward piped in before Barret could continue. Again, Annabelle raised her shoulders. She wasn’t sure if she had the fortitude to contend with what was coming, but she recognized the importance of getting it done.

  “The doctor said you'd be fine a few days. You just need some rest. Your parents are waiting outside to see you,” Ward told her, patting her hand in a fatherly manner. “We’ll call them in as soon as we’re done. We won’t be long. I promise. We just need to make sense of what happened out at the beach yesterday. Do you think you’re up for helping us out a bit?”

  In spite of herself, Annabelle felt herself warming up to the morbidly obese man. She nodded her head and sat up on the adjustable bed.

  “Can you tell us what happened?” Barret jumped in, apparently not one for small talk. Annabelle waited, collecting her thoughts.

  “I don’t remember a lot,” she said slowly. Her eyes widened as a thought occurred to her. “What happened to Brock? Is he okay?”

  “Yes, ma’am. He’s unconscious, but he’ll make it.”

  Annabelle sighed in relief before she realized she didn’t even ask about Jax’s fate. “And Jax?”

  The policemen looked at each other uncomfortably and looked down.

  “Well, he’s alive. He lost a lot of blood. The other witnesses said a large animal attacked him, and the wounds are consistent with that story. Right now the doctors aren’t sure if he will make it.”

  Annabelle swallowed the lump in her throat. She wasn’t sad about his possible death, but she was heartbroken that his parents might have to deal with the death of their son. A single tear fell from behind her lashes.

  Barret cleared his throat. “Um…what can you tell us? Anything will help.”

  “Jax, my fiancé, went completely nuts and stabbed one of his best friends. After that, I don’t remember,” she said.

  “Do you know what the fight was about?” Barret urged.

  Annabelle sighed, “Jax has a bit of a jealous streak. I was sitting a little bit too close to Brock, and he got upset. He confronted Brock, and Brock wasn’t having it. Both of them had been drinking. One thing led to another, and suddenly Brock had a knife in his stomach.”

  “Then what happened?” Barret leaned in eagerly, his fingers working furiously as he took notes.

  Ward scowled at his partner and then smiled encouragingly at Annabelle. “Anything you can tell us, Miss LaCroix. No pressure.”

  Annabelle took a deep breath, trying to recall everything that Alex had told her. “Julian took off running with Brock and Bryden in the opposite direction, and Jax came after me with the knife. Alex jumped in to try and wrestle the knife from Jax, and I ran into the woods. I hid out and waited. When I thought enough time had gone by, I headed back to the beach. I didn’t see anyone, so I ran back into the woods, but in a different direction. I wanted to try to find help.”

  She knew what she was supposed to say next. She was supposed to tell the police she had found Alex’s body, but Annabelle couldn’t bring herself to do that. She couldn’t say such awful words. Tears filled her eyes and she blinked, not wanting to lose control in front of complete strangers.

  “I’m really tired. Can we do this another time?” Annabelle said abruptly. Ward nodded quickly putting his hand on his partner’s hand to silence him.

  “We understand, Miss LaCroix. We’ll let your parents know they can come in.” Ward turned to Annabelle as he was leaving the room, “Just one last thing. Do you have any idea where Alex Janda ended up? Have you seen or heard from him since you’ve be
en here, or did you see him at any point after the altercation?”

  “No.” The word came out much more sharply than she had intended, but she couldn’t stop herself. “I mean…I hope he’s okay, but he and I were never really close. Have you asked the others about him?” Ward smiled patiently, and Barret snapped his book closed, already heading for the door.

  “It’s okay, Miss LaCroix. We’ll talk more when you’re feeling better. Get some rest.”

  The door closed, and Annabelle lay on the hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling. She could hear the woman in the other bed whispering into her cell phone. A moment later, the door opened, and her parents rushed in, looking frantic. Tears stained her mother’s delicate cheeks, and they both seemed to have aged ten years since she had last seen them six months earlier.

  “Oh, honey!” Annabelle’s mother, Trisha, wrapped her arms around her daughter and hugged her tightly, tears streaming down her face. “Thank God you’re all right! We were so worried about you!”

  Annabelle finally allowed for the dam of tears to break, and she sobbed like a small child on her mother. Trisha held her daughter’s head, stroking her hair.

  “Shhh, baby, don’t cry. It’s okay. We’re just so happy you’re alive. We were so scared that we lost you. You’re our miracle.”

  Annabelle pulled back and stared at her mother, devastated.

  “I did everything I could to stop it! I don’t know why he did it!” Annabelle blubbered.

  Annabelle’s father rushed to his daughter’s side. “Nothing that happened was your fault. We had no idea Jax was such a terrible man. You never spoke to us, and he was always so nice when you two visited. Please forgive us for not seeing the signs.” With that, he embraced his daughter and kissed her on the head.

  Trisha interjected, “Your room is just how you left it. Your father is going to your home today to collect your things. Jax won’t be there, as you know, but one of the police officers will still accompany your father.”

  “Thank you,” cried Annabelle. Her parents were always so supportive, which made her wonder why she didn’t leave Jax years ago.