While I'm lost in my own thoughts, the rest of the furniture is brought in and set up. Vance walks back in the room with his hands in his pockets; his grey t-shirt fits tight and stops where his worn jeans start.
"So, I can give you my number if you want to do something before school starts," Vance offers, rocking back and forth on his heels with his thumbs in his front belt loops.
"Oh, yeah. That would be great," I reply, giving the first genuine smile I think I've mustered.
I grab my cell phone and hand it to him and a look of relief passes over his face. He hands me his phone, and we trade contacts.
"My dad's waiting on me, but I'll text you," he grins as he walks out the door.
“We like them; that’s good,” Kylah purrs.
I get up and rush into my new room to see how everything turned out. It looks even better than it did in the store. But there are no pillows or bedding to be seen. Crap, I don't even remember looking for any.
"I'll answer your questions then we'll go get what you need," Jack says behind me, causing me to jump and Kylah to growl through my throat. "Easy there; let's go eat while I talk."
I follow him to the new dining table and wait while he gathers us everything from beef jerky to fruit. I grab a stick of jerky as he sits down.
"Ok, so how much do you know about the Huntsman clan?" he asks, a wrinkling between his eyebrows showing how hard he's thinking.
"They're the rulers over all shifters, and if someone commits a crime, they take care of it. Oh and they're all a member of one of the cat species," I answer, not recalling anything else.
"That's a good start. There are four Royal Houses; the panthers, the tigers, the lions, and the leopards. Any other type of shifter is automatically common class, but you’ll find some of the cat shifters can be common class as well," he stops and gathers his thoughts. "Now there are royal, noble, and common classes. Royal class shifters are easy to tell in their shifted form. The panthers are solid black, the leopards have a distinct shape spot, the tigers have a distinct stripe pattern, and the lions have no white patches."
"Ok, this is good information to know," I say hesitantly, not wanting him to stop speaking.
"The common class of shifters are just that, common. They can shift and that's it, but the noble and royal classes have an extra ability. It's part of how the Huntsman Clan became the rulers. Each noble or royal develops a different skill. Mine is to read the thoughts of others. It's not like I hear directly what you think, more of a general idea," he explains uncomfortably.
"Well stay out of my head then!" I scream, feeling violated.
"It's not like that! I only hear thoughts that are being projected loudly, and girl, you've been thinking loud thoughts. Like how you want to bash my head in right now," he replies, trying to defuse the situation.
“He’s not wrong, besides I hear all your thoughts too,” Kylah comments, confused as to why I’m upset.
"That's not exactly what I was thinking, but close enough," I mumble feeling better that he can't hear what I'm really thinking.
"Ok, so to the part I really don't want to talk about," he sighs, gathering his thoughts; the creases in his forehead deepening. He slouches forward aging himself by years.
"I'm of the noble class as was my brother. When we finish school, we have the choice to take a limited number of positions based on how we scored in school. We both scored high on becoming enforcers. That's what I am now. So we decided we would work at the same job. He got a call like the one I received for you. A shifter changed and she turned into a cat instead of a wolf. Adoptions and hidden pregnancies happen," he stops, his eyes lost in a memory only he can see.
I wait patiently for him to start talking again, not wanting to interrupt the moment he's having.
"Well, he arrived and it was a solid black panther girl, much like you. He didn't want to disrupt her life, so he reported back that she was just common then left her be. A week later someone reported back to the queens that there was a black panther roaming around that area. They sent someone else to check it out and killed her and my brother," he finishes choking on his words. He is hunched over and looks broken now, reliving the memory.
"Why did they kill them both?" I whisper, feeling awful for forcing him to talk now that I've heard it.
"They killed him because he didn't report her to them, and they killed her because she went feral before they found her. There's a reason the cats all go to Nightfall Academy," he answers with a serious look, staring me directly in the eye.
"So if you wouldn't have brought me back, I would have likely went feral and had to have been killed?" I shriek.
"Your alpha was strong enough to probably contain you, I think, but it could have happened, yes," he replies, regaining some of his former composure, though his eyes are still haunted.
"I'm sorry I've been so hard on you. I don't want us to die, and I'm sorry about your brother. He sounds like he was a good man," I say softly, placing my hand on his forearm in sympathy.
"Enough talk of the past. It's time to look towards the future since we both have one," he replies giving me a pointed look. I know there will be no further discussion about this.
"Let's go get bedding?" I shrug my shoulders and offer a tiny smile.
"Come on then," he gives a hint of a grin and shakes his head.
We ride back downtown to a store that sells a bit of everything. I get out of the car staying silent, lost in thought. Jack follows me and the silence is a bit tense but not enough that I want to break it. As I look at the bedding sets, one catches my attention, and I know it's perfect. It's seafoam green with silver filigree covering it. I grab it and light grey, high thread count cotton sheets. I'm set.
"Don't forget to grab a set for school," Jack reminds me quietly, still lost in his past.
"Oh yeah, thanks," I mumble. I totally forgot I'm setting up two new residences there for a minute.
We check out and ride silently back to the house. After hearing his story, I decided I need to be even more determined to stay strong and be brave. It's better than being dead, and like mom said, “just pretend you're going to boarding school.” Leave the rest out of it.
"You'll do fine Lia; you're tougher than I would have been," Jack says; his eyes echoing the sincerity in his voice.
I head to my room immediately after we park and begin making my bed and setting my room up. I'm glad to unpack everything from the suitcases and put them in drawers and on the vanity. I begin to feel like I can do this. This can be my space, and I can fake this. My stomach betrays me and let's me know I haven't eaten for a few hours so I reluctantly head to the kitchen.
My mom taught me how to cook so I want to make a meal for us. I look around for his cookware and don't find anything but one small frying pan and a spatula.
"Where's the rest of your cookware?" I yell, not seeing him in the living room.
"There's a frying pan," he yells back from his bedroom.
"You need more than that to cook with!" I exclaim frustrated that I can't make anything with just a frying pan.
“We can shift, and I can eat it raw,” Kylah offers.
“Ewww no,” I reply, internally rolling my eyes at her.
"How about we get take out tonight, then you can go buy cookware tomorrow?" he asks, grinning wide as he comes out of his bedroom.
"This was an excuse to eat takeout again wasn't it?" I accuse narrowing my eyes at him and crossing my arms over my chest.
"You caught me, but I'm excited to have a home cooked meal," he chuckles and grabs menus out of the cabinet next to the fridge then offers them to me. "Lady's choice."
"Um, Chinese," I reply after looking over the fare. I'm pretty easy to please. "Surprise me."
Chapter 7
He grabs his phone to order, and I head to my bedroom to call my mom. Now that I understand the worst case, I decide that I'm going to make the best of this situation. Hearing her give me permission will set my mind at ease though.
> "Amelia, how are you?" Mom answers with excitement in her voice.
"I'm doing good. I have everything I need to start school now and to set up where I have to stay on breaks. I've decided I'm going to make the best of this and try to enjoy myself. Is that ok?" I ask, hoping with all my heart she agrees.
"Of course sweetie; we only want the best for you. Hopefully, you'll be able to come visit when school is out," she replies, her tone soothing.
"Thank you Mommy. I really needed to hear that. I don't know how much I'll be able to call once I'm at school, but if I'm allowed to keep my phone, I'll at least text you updates," I say relieved that she agrees.
"I love you and look forward to hearing about all of your adventures," she replies, a slight quiver betraying her happy tone.
"I love you too," I reply; my voice quivering because I'm attempting not to cry.
We hang up, and I go back out to the living room to wait on food. I sit on the couch and download games on my phone. I'm in the middle of a game of Candy Crush when a text comes through.
Vance: Do you have plans tomorrow?
Me: I have to pick out cookware. Jack has none here.
Vance: I'm off tomorrow. We could go do something fun.
Me: That would be awesome. What time?
Vance: How about lunchtime? We can grab food then go.
Me: Great, I'll see you then.
"I'm going to go see the town with Vance tomorrow and have lunch," I tell Jack, hoping he doesn't try to tell me I can't.
"That would be good; maybe you can meet some other kids your age," he replies with a grin, looking glad to get me out of his hair.
"It would be nice to know a few people before I start school with them," I say, agreeing that it would make starting easier.
I go back to playing games until the food arrives. I grab dishes and sit at the table and wait while Jack brings the food in, not wanting him to try to eat on the couch again. He ordered a bit of everything, and it smells delicious. I end up eating a little bit of everything he's ordered, and we finish off everything.
"I can't believe I ate all of that!" I exclaim, still not accepting my new appetite.
“You’re eating for both of us, quit acting so naive,” Kylah huffs turning her back to me.
"You've got to quit saying that, Lia. It's not going to change," he chuckles, poking fun at me. "Let's watch a movie."
"After I wash up," I reply, rolling my eyes.
"You don't have to do that. I'll get to it later," he says, a guilty look crossing his face.
"I won't be able to enjoy the movie, and besides, it's better to just get it done with," I reply, sounding like my mother. I giggle at that thought. "Go pick the movie; it won't take me long."
I load the dishwasher and throw away the containers. When I make it to the living room, he has Ready Player One pulled up. I sit down and basically play on my phone through the movie. Not really my type of movie.
"I'm hungry," I say when the movie finishes.
"I'll go get some snacks," he chuckles, getting up and going to the kitchen.
I follow, wanting to help, but he waves me off. I sit at the table and wait while he loads it up with tons of food again, I munch on trail mix and veggies this time, until my stomach stops hurting.
"I'm going to bed; don't forget, we need to go buy cookware tomorrow," I say, covering a yawn.
"Goodnight. Do you want to go for a run in the morning?" he asks, scratching his neck.
"Sure, that sounds like a good plan. Wake me up when you're ready to go," I reply as I get up and walk back to my bedroom. I grab everything I need and take a quick shower then fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.
"Wake up sleepy head, time for a run," Jack says from the doorway.
"Coming," I groan, then hold the pillow over my head.
I get up and put on some yoga pants and a t-shirt. I grab my running shoes, the only thing left from my old life, and I'm ready to go.
We exit through the kitchen and take the same path we ran in animal form the previous day. It feels really good to get out and stretch my legs. I hadn't realized how cramped up I was until I started running. I let go of thinking and just let my mind still while I stretch my muscles.
“Thank you, we needed to burn off energy,” Kylah says; her ear flicking.
I'm famished by the time we get back to the house. I grab the one frying pan and start scrambling eggs while Jack makes toast. I'm getting excited thinking about hanging out with Vance today. A friend before I go into a new school is going to make this so much easier.
"Do you know what you and Vance are planning on doing today?" Jack asks as we sit down to eat.
"Besides eat lunch, no. He didn't say," I reply between bites.
"Keep your cell phone on you and no shifting," he says, tilting his head giving me a stern look.
"I'll try my hardest not to shift, but she's forced me to twice," I whisper, scared to leave the house now.
“Glad you finally recognize my superiority,” Kylah says sitting up straight.
“You aren’t superior; she just hasn’t learned,” Jace tells her sternly.
"It will be fine. Just don't shift intentionally, ok?" he asks, giving me a half smile.
"I won't," I reply through a yawn. I put my dish in the dishwasher and go back to bed for a while.
I wake up and realize I slept longer than I had intended. I only have thirty minutes to get ready before Vance shows up. I hop in the shower and rush through my new skin care routine. I realize I don't like all this extra work getting ready each day that this new life brings. I get my hair and makeup done in record time and not a minute too soon. Vance knocks on the door as I'm putting on the final touches.
"Lia, Vance is here," Jack yells from the front door.
“There’s a strange female leopard with him,” Kylah growls, not liking it.
“Hush and give her a chance,” I snap at her.
"Coming," I answer, rolling my eyes since I already knew he was here.
I rush out to meet him and he has a short girl with him. I expect to see her from Kylah’s warning, but I freeze for a minute not knowing how to react. I feel jealous, but he's not mine, so I have no right to be.
"Oh, hello," I say, trying to hide my initial shock. The girl is maybe five-one with a purple pixie cut. She dresses much in the same fashion as I am, with a slight punk theme, but she takes it one step further with a piercing in her brow, slightly turned up nose, and lip.
"Hi Lia. Can I call you Lia? I know we're going to be the best of friends. Vance told me you just moved here, and I said I just have to come along to meet my new best friend. Isn't that right Vance?" the girl rambles on at a fast pace.
"Um, yeah," Vance replies, rubbing the back of his neck, his face the color of a tomato.
"Oh, where's my manners? My name is Krissy; I live next door to Vance. Sorry that I invited myself along; I hope you don't mind?" she says with a hopeful look on her face.
"I don't mind," I reply, beginning to like the energetic little pixie of a girl.
“I don’t like her, why do you?” Kylah huffs, bent out of shape.
"You guys have fun, and stay out of trouble," Jack chuckles, his eyes wrinkling at the corners.
“No shifting Kylah,” Jace says sternly.
We head outside and once the door is closed Krissy starts rambling again. "Did you see how happy Jack looked? I haven't seen him look that happy in over a year. How did you make him smile? Are you guys dating?"
"Woah! Slow down. No we aren't dating; he's way too old for me. He's my guardian for now, and I don't know why he's happy," I reply, not wanting Vance to think I'm taken.
"Oh sorry. I didn't mean anything by it, just the thought of his long lost love showing up in his life to bring joy back to his bleak existence would be ever so romantic, don't you think?" she asks, her voice rising and falling dramatically with each sentence she utters.
“She always talks this much,” Montoya says out of
nowhere.
"Krissy, let Lia catch her bearings; this is her first time meeting you," Vance warns Krissy, his face betraying the aggravation he hides from his voice.
"I'm sorry. I don't mean to ramble on, but the world is full of beautiful things, and my brain is full of words wanting to be expressed at the sight of them," she explains, her head tilted down and eyes dropped in sadness.
"I don't mind too much," I say as I pat her on the back and draw my lips into a small smile.
"See Vance, I told you we would be the best of friends," she grins up at him, her eyes twinkling with mirth.
"Let's just go, the others are meeting us at the diner," he shakes his head; his eyes looking up as if he's trying to keep his temper.
"Who are we meeting at the diner?" I ask, suddenly feeling self-conscious. I take a deep breath and straighten my spine.
"Vance's friends. There's Kenton, Reid, Dom, and Spence. They'll most likely ignore us, which is why I made Vance bring me along. I didn't want you to get bored with all those guys around," she answers; her inflections exaggerating each sentence. This girl should be an actress.
"I look forward to meeting your friends," I tell Vance, smiling with my eyes. Damn this boy is hot.
We load into Vance's truck, Krissy placing me in the middle. She talks the entire way to the diner, but I'm not paying attention. I'm too distracted by the proximity of my leg to Vance's. We pull up in front of a plain building with Pop's written on the sign above the door.
I remember to play the role of the girl I chose to be and follow Krissy out of the truck bravely.
"Oh, I should warn you; these guys aren't a typical group of friends. They're a mix of royal, noble, and common shifters. It's unheard of, and I'm shocked Kenton's dad hasn't made him stop," Krissy whispers, like it's a huge taboo.
"Thanks for the warning?" I say as a question, unsure of why she's telling me this.
"Leave it alone, Krissy, we are all just people who hang out. Quit trying to label people or you can go home," Vance snaps at her, his ears turning red and his lips drawn in a scowl.
Nightfall (The Huntsman Clan Book 1) Page 6