It didn’t really help, her mother was still firmly against the idea, and they had a huge fight, but Beth had made up her mind, she was going to college and nothing was going to stop her. When she pulled away from her parent’s house, her car packed to the roof with stuff, she was both happy and sad, knowing that her childhood was over and real life had begun.
It was late afternoon when Beth pulled her car into the shaded parking lot and turned off the ignition, relieved to finally have found her dorm. GPS had gotten her across the country and through Fort Collins, but as soon she’d hit campus it had sent her the wrong direction. She’d finally had to ask for directions from some other students who’d looked far more at home than she felt in this strange town.
The trip across the country had been uneventful, if a bit tiring, and she was dreading lugging all her stuff into the dorm alone when it hit her that she was here, that she’d made it out from under her mother’s thumb. The summer had been filled with one struggle after another. It had started with her decision to abandon the vegan diet her mother had insisted she eat, and ended with her mother’s refusal to come with her to Fort Collins to help her move in.
Leaning her head back against the seat, she let the feeling of freedom wash over her, took several deep breaths to still the hammering of her heart, then lifted her head and looked around. She was just about to get out of the car and find her dorm room when three huge trucks pulled into the parking lot and began to circle. She watched them circle twice, then pull into three spaces in the row right in front of her, giving her a perfect view of the people who piled out of the trucks the second they came to rest.
Unable to stop herself, she sat in her car and watched as the group milled around the parking lot, the older couple shouting when the boys began to wrestle in the grass. It wasn’t long before they began unloading the back of the trucks and a huge pile of luggage, furniture and electronics had piled up on the sidewalk. Watching them, she realized just how alone she was, and the disappointment she felt at her mother’s refusal to come help her move in washed over her again.
As difficult as her mother could be, she’d never imagined that she’d be so stubborn and thoughtless: that she’d send Beth out into the world alone just to try and prove a point. Soon the disappointment faded, replaced by the need to show her mother that she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. Taking a deep breath to push away the negative feelings, she got out of the car and noticed that the family she’d been watching as well as the huge pile of stuff had disappeared.
Not sure where to start, she walked around the car several times before opening one of the back doors and grabbing an armload of boxes. By the time she made it to the dorm, through the lobby, and to her room, she began to wonder if some of the stuff she’d brought had been necessary. She’d been lucky enough to get a room by herself in one of the nicest dorms, but it was small: much smaller than she’d expected. Walking around the room, she began to make a list of things she’d leave in the car for now; no sense in dragging them up only to take them back later.
When she got to her car, she realized that the only way she could get everything she wanted was to get it all out, then put stuff back. Before long she was standing in front of her own pile of stuff, trying to decide what to take upstairs and what to leave in the car. She’d just picked up a box of books, planning to put it back in the car when a voice from across the parking lot caught her attention. “Can I help you with that?” the man she’d been watching with his family earlier asked.
“Oh, that’s okay, I was just…” But before she could finish, the man had called the rest of them over.
“Let’s help this little lady with her luggage, boys,” he said and began picking up boxes and bags.
Before she could stop them, they’d picked up everything off the sidewalk and were looking at her expectantly. Unable to tell them that half of what they were holding was supposed to stay in the car, she started in the direction of her dorm room, feeling small and weak surrounded by the handsome group she’d just become a part of. Stealing glances at the four boys as they walked, she decided that the tallest must be the oldest; he was also, by far, the most handsome.
Knowing that she had to say something, she finally managed to say, “Thank you for your help. I’m Beth Norton by the way.”
There was a short silence then the mother spoke up. “I’m Evelyn Brooks, and this is my husband, Walter. That’s Justin; he’s a freshman this year, and his twin sister Penny who’ll be attending as well. Then there’s Steven, Daniel, and Jake; Jake’s the youngest,” she said, making Jake groan.
“Mom, do you always have to tell people that? I’m taller than Daniel,” he said, then tried to kick his brother as they walked.
“Maybe if you acted your age, I’d stop telling people that,” she said, with a wicked grin.
Beth couldn’t help but laugh at their antics; she’d been feeling so alone and then she’d met these nice people. It gave her hope that there’d be more new friends and adventures now that she was free to live her life instead of constantly fighting for it. When they’d stuffed all her belongings into the little room that would be hers for the next nine months, they waved goodbye and went noisily down the hall and out the door, leaving her with a smile on her face and high hopes for the future.
Chapter Three
***Justin***
Sitting alone on the bench in the darkness, Justin could almost imagine that he was home, that there wasn’t a bustling college town around him. The traffic on the street had quieted, and if he closed his eyes, the smell of the pine trees around the bench brought the forest back to him. After nearly a month and a half in Fort Collins, he was feeling very homesick, but it wasn’t his family that he missed; he missed the freedom of his home.
Like most freshman, he was going through the difficult process of learning to cope with college, but it wasn’t the workload that bothered him: it was the restraint placed on him living in town. His father had warned him that it would be hard to resist the urge to change, that he’d have to find other animals to change into when the pull became too strong: animals that wouldn’t look out of place in town. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that a mountain lion roaming around town would attract a lot of attention, but it was clear that nothing but that would satisfy his impulses.
He’d tried and failed several times to change into something that wouldn’t scare the general population or get him shot, finding that only a hawk could satisfy some of his pent-up energy. It might have helped if he’d made some friends, but it seemed that all any of the other students wanted to do was party and hook up: two pastimes he wanted nothing to do with. So, he spent his time studying and sitting on this bench in the darkness, trying to cope with all the emotions flooding him.
It was always worse at night, and tonight was no exception, especially after the day he’d had. It had come as a surprise to him to discover that he was the talk of the dorms, something that one of the many girls who always seemed to be hanging around him had accidentally let slip. She’d thought that he’d be flattered, but in fact, he was a bit horrified to learn that he was considered the best-looking guy in the dorm and that there had been a couple of fights over him.
Romance was the last thing on his mind; his father had seen to that, telling him horror stories of failed romances between humans and shifters, dredging up old family lore about a distant cousin who’d trusted a human only to have her turn on him in the end. The thought that he was being sought by numerous girls had sent him running for the bench, the intense need to get away from them all overwhelming him.
Normally the quiet and darkness calmed him, but it wasn’t working tonight. Tonight, all he could think about was changing into his mountain lion form and running until he was too exhausted to think. But since that wasn’t possible, he turned his mind to the only other thing that could distract him: the beautiful red-haired girl whose stuff they’d moved that first day on campus.
He hadn’t spoken a
word to her that day, but she’d captured his attention, and since then he’d found himself thinking about her often. He thought about the way the sun had made her red hair shine or the look in her blue eyes when his family had descended on her in the parking lot, but mostly he thought about the way she’d made him feel. Walking next to her that day, he’d felt a strange combination of calm and excitement, and a feeling of promise that made absolutely no sense.
If she’d been a shifter, he would have long ago sought her out, but it was clear to him that she was human in every way, so he had to be satisfied with his fantasies. He’d walked down the hallway outside her room several times, but each time he had only hesitated for a second in front of her door before moving on. No matter how attracted to her he was, it just wasn’t a good idea to get involved with a human. His father had drilled that lesson into his head since he was a child, so he’d just have to settle for his fantasies.
But tonight, even thoughts of her weren’t working, and he knew that soon he was going to have to let his wild side free, that he’d never make it until the Thanksgiving break and his visit home. Hoping that a quick change into something that would allow him some freedom in town might help, he began considering his options when a loud scream followed by drunken laughter broke the silence of the night.
Instantly on his feet, he stepped out of the trees and scanned the area looking for the source of the sound but saw nothing. When the second scream came, his instincts kicked in. The animal inside him tracking the sound, his eyes cutting through the darkness, his sense of smell so heightened he could smell the fear in the air. It was all he could do to stay in his human form as he stalked toward the scream and laughter that followed once again.
Soon he began to not only smell fear in the air but the stench of alcohol, and when he came out of the trees, he saw the source of both smells. Three men who were clearly very drunk had backed a woman up against a huge tree and were circling in front of her, taunting her with both words and an occasional grab at her breasts. The woman looked both frightened and angry: a mixture of emotions that did something strange to him.
“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” one of the men asked, his words slurred but clear enough to understand. “Don’t you want to have a little fun tonight?”
“Go away and leave me alone,” the woman said, her voice filled with an edge the men couldn’t hear because they were too drunk.
“What are you going to do if we don’t? Go ahead and scream again, but it’s not going to do you any good; there’s no one around to save you,” he replied with a sneer, then grabbed the woman and kissed her as she fought against him.
The last thing Justin remembered, before he changed, was the feeling of rage that overwhelmed him blocking out all reason or restraint and then the feeling of his muscular body hitting the man’s and knocking him to the ground.
***Beth***
Beth cursed her decision to stay at the library so late, but it was Friday night and the last place she’d wanted to be was in her room alone. It was supposed to be a safe campus, and she’d made the walk this late several times before, but tonight she’d come across a drunken group of men who seemed determined to harass her, or worse. Letting herself get backed up against a tree had been a huge mistake, and now she had nowhere to run, no way to get away from what was quickly turning into a dangerous situation.
When one of the men grabbed her breast, she screamed, which only made him laugh and taunt her more. But instead of scaring her, as he’d hoped, it only made her mad. Besides her summer job at the swimming pool, she’d taken a self-defense course, and she wasn’t going to go down without a fight. She wasn’t prepared when the man grabbed her and kissed her but then her training kicked in, and she whirled away from him while smashing the palm of her hand into his nose.
The man backed away from her, cursing and holding his nose. “What the hell? You’re going to pay for that bitch,” he said, starting to advance on her, the other two men rooting him on.
She tensed her muscles ready to defend herself, but a growl coming from the trees behind her froze her in her place. The men grew silent, then looked at one another just as a sleek golden body came leaping out of the trees and landed on the man who’d kissed her, knocking him to the ground. It took her a second to realize that what she was looking at was the most beautiful mountain lion she’d ever seen; it was nothing like what she’d seen in the zoo and must have weighed at least three hundred pounds.
It stood over the man as if contemplating what to do with him, then screamed in his face and ran off. The man was so badly shaken it took both of his friends to get him to his feet, Beth completely forgotten as they ran toward the other side of campus. Rooted to the spot, she stared into the trees where the big cat had disappeared, not sure if she was scared or excited by what she’d just seen.
It felt like the cat had been protecting her, like it had known she needed help and come to her rescue, but that was impossible; wild animals did not save humans in trouble. She was still leaning up against the tree when she heard a voice calling out to her, and a man appeared through the trees
“Are you okay?” he asked when he got close to her.
Beth had to think about the question for a second. “I think so,” she finally said, then looked up at the man and let out a little squeak. “It’s you,” popped out of her mouth before she could stop herself.
She slapped her hand over her mouth before she said anything more, but it was such a shock to see the man she’d been daydreaming about standing in front of her that she hadn’t been able to stop herself. At first, it seemed like he hadn’t heard her, he was focused on the men running across the grass, his chest heaving as if he’d just run a long way, but then he looked down at her and recognition blossomed in his eyes.
“You’re the girl we helped move in,” he said, feeling stupid but unable to think of anything else to say.
Beth blushed; she couldn’t help it. She’d been sure that he wouldn’t remember her. “Yes, it was very nice of your family to help,” she said, searching for something else to say, her mind spinning, adrenaline rushing through her body after her encounter with the drunken men.
She must have looked unsteady on her feet because he grabbed her arm and asked, “Are you sure you’re okay; do you need to sit down?”
Beth did feel a little strange, but she wasn’t sure if it was being so close to the man she’d been daydreaming about or her encounter with the drunks. “Maybe it wouldn’t hurt,” she said, taking a few deep breaths to try and still her heart.
Justin led her to the bench he’d been sitting on when he’d heard her screams and sat her down. “It’s the adrenaline; you might feel a little light headed too,” he said, sitting down next to her. “Do you want to tell me what happened? Sometimes it helps to talk about it.”
Now that it was over, Beth began to wonder if she’d really seen what she thought she had. “Those men were drunk,” she began, searching for the words to explain. “They surprised me. I don’t know if they really would have attacked me, but I think so, then—” she trailed off, not sure how to explain what had happened next. Finally, she just blurted out, “I think a mountain lion jumped out of the trees and saved me.”
Justin grimaced; he’d hoped that she hadn’t seen him. “That’s strange; they usually don’t come this far into town,” he said, then asked, “Are you sure that’s what you saw?”
“I think so. I mean, the thing was huge; it had to have weighed at least three hundred pounds. I know I didn’t imagine it,” she said, her voice still a bit shaky but getting stronger. “The funny thing is it was only a few feet away from me, but I didn’t feel scared of it. I knew that it wasn’t going to hurt me.”
“Well, whatever it was, I’m glad you’re okay. If you’re ready, I’ll walk you the rest of the way home,” Justin said, wishing he could tell her that it was him, and that she’d never been in any danger.
Chapter Four
***Justin***
To his surprise, Justin slept better that night than he had in a long time; the encounter with the drunken men and his quick change had released enough energy that he was able to relax and fall asleep deeply. But his dreams were filled with images of Beth: images that left him aroused and embarrassed when he woke. He wanted desperately to believe that it was only a reaction to having protected her the night before, but he knew that it was more than that; he’d been thinking about her for weeks.
Now that he’d met her, it was going to be impossible to stay away from her; he craved her company like food and water, which was a strange feeling since he barely knew her. It was a huge mistake to see her again, but when he left his room, his feet took him directly to her room, and before he could question the decision, he knocked on her door.
It took her a long time to answer, and he was just about to leave when the door creaked open. She was obviously not an early riser, still dressed in a long tee-shirt that barely covered her legs, her hair rumpled from the pillow; she was clutching a cup of coffee in her hand, and Justin was sure that he’d never seen a sight so alluring. When she saw him, her eyes got big and her face turned red, then she slammed the door in his face.
There was a lot of thumping and banging; then the door flew open again. “I’m sorry, I just got out of bed,” she said, trying to flatten her hair.
“I would have called, but I forgot to get your number last night. I wanted to check on you and make sure that you’re okay,” Justin said, leaving out that he couldn’t stop thinking about her, that something had driven him to her door.
FairPlay Shifters Prequel: (A Paranormal Romance Story) Page 2