New Beginnings (True Hybrid Book 1) (21 page)

I have to get up off the floor and run as fast and as far as I can. Slowly and very shaky, I get up off the floor. Pushing myself to my feet, I hold my stomach and try to sooth the babies.

I steel myself for the extreme pain and discomfort I’m about to put myself through. Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes and concentrate on where I want to be. It doesn’t have to be vivid, but it has to be clear.

I think of Zander’s truck. He doesn’t go anywhere without it. It has to be outside. I think of the crack in the dash from the sun, the cool leather seats, and the carpet. As I start to feel myself being pulled away, I grab Sonny’s hand.

We are willed through time and space. After what seems like a lifetime but only takes the span of a breath, I open my eyes. I’m sitting in the front seat of Zander’s truck. Sonny landed on the center console.

I try taking a breath, but it is cut short by the pain coursing through my body. The pain gets unbearable. I have to hold on. I notice I’m right.

Zander has taken his truck. It was parked a short ways away from the fight. We are so close I can make out the sounds of breaking bones and grunts.

Where are y’all? Sonny? Elisabeth? Someone answer me.

We are in your truck. Zander. You need to hurry. THE BABIES ARE COMING!!

“Roll the windows down, Sonny. It’s getting hard for me to breath.”

Sonny seems to snap back to reality. She must be in a form of shock. Guess I should have warned her. Before I can apologize another contraction hits. I grip her arm as the pain takes over.

Sonny screams and I try to loosen my grip.

“Zander is almost here. We are going to have to deliver these babies on the move.”

Zander choose that moment to open the driver side door. He climbs in, starts the truck, Zack jumps into the bed, and me and Sonny move to the back seat.

As soon as I lay down on the backseat Sonny checks me. I’m fully dilated and one of the babies is crowning. I can’t hold back the scream from ripping out my throat. Zander only makes it about a mile up the road before he has to pull over. The pain is affecting him as much as it does me.

Zander moves into the passenger seat as Zack climbs into the driver seat. Zander grabs my hand. Not sure if it is for his comfort or mine.

The contractions are starting to come more often. The road is extremely bumpy. If the contractions don’t push my babies out, the bumps sure will.

All I can see out the windows is the tree tops. The tree tops look funny from this angle. They are bare and look like twigs floating in the air with the exception of a few golden leaves spotting the branches here and there. For a split second I wonder where we are and how Zander found us.

I feel a change in me. Something is happening. My entire body starts to burn and hum. My bones start to crack and break. Shifting into a new position. I have never felt a pain like this before.

This is my first shift. I try to focus on everything around me to keep from shifting. The pain from the contractions and the shift is more than I can bare.

“Elizabeth! Let the shift happen. It will help with your healing.”

My answer to Sonny is a scream. I can’t control it any longer. The pain consumes me. I fall into a black abyss. I see, hear, and feel nothing.

It feels like I have been floating along in the darkness forever. I start to hear a faint voice. After a few seconds, the voice starts to get louder. I recognize the voice. It belongs to Sonny.

“Come on Lizzy! You need to wake up. We need to get going.”

My eyes are heavy and feel like sand paper. I open my eyes and close them immediately. Everything is very bright. I blink several times before I am able to stand the brightness. I don’t feel like myself. Something is different.

I feel heavy and warm. I try to move and my body doesn’t want to move like it normally does. My vision is much sharper than normal. I don’t feel like myself. I realize that I’m on my side and try to get up. I roll to my stomach and push myself up only to realize that I don’t have hands I have paws, cat paws to be exact, with huge talons protruding from them.

My attention is drawn away from myself when I hear growling. I turn my head to see what is happening. I notice Zander’s black wolf and Zack’s brown wolf. They are standing between me and a skinny looking business man in an aggressive stance.

Something about the business man seems familiar. His clothes are hanging off of him. They appear to belong to a man ten times his size. The only thing that looks like it fits him is the black leather belt he uses to keep the pants up.

As I study the man he starts to change. His features are blurry. He expands in size. His hair gets longer and he becomes more muscular. It only takes a few minutes for his change to stop, but it appears to move in slow motion. The clothes fill out and the belt pops.

I recognize him immediately. It’s one! I thought he was dead. He’s 6’1. Very muscular and broad. Honey brown hair that stops right above his butt. His left eye is lightening blue and his right is dark grey. He has a light tan and a new scar above and below his right eye.

There’s a smile on his face as he looks at me. He knows who I am but how did he find me? I heard he died about 6 years ago while on a mission to assonate someone in Australia.

One and I were always close because he was the only one different like me. We grew up and trained together at the compound. He was always like a brother to me.

He was never given a name because he wasn’t supposed to survive. They didn’t expect any of us to survive, but he was the first. I was the perfection of the experiments.

I attempt to run to One so I can give him a hug, but my attention is brought back to myself. I’m not myself. Nothing wants to work right. I try to open my mouth to ask what is wrong with me, but the only thing that comes out is a loud, deep, growl.

Everyone’s attention immediately turns to me.

Do you know this man?

I look at Zander and nod. He and Zack appear to back off, but continue to keep a watchful eye on One. They are obviously leery of him and his intentions.

One is a hybrid. He’s the only skinz shifter mix in existence. That’s why we were so close. We are both black sheep. We both know what it feels like to not fit in anywhere. Being the only ones weighs heavily on you as a child.

I hear little growls behind me. Something rings out in the back of my mind telling me those growls are coming from something of mine. My head feels heavy and slow as I turn to look back.

I notice I have red and purple wings on my back. They are deep purple at the ends and fade into a crimson on my back. I notice something swinging back and forth at the end of my back. It’s my tail!

So, I have a tail, wings, cat paws with huge talons and my feathers fade from deep purple to crimson. No. I’m not a freak. Not at all.

As I think about what animal I am, I hear a whine. My attention snaps to 4 strange looking lotus lying on a blanket on the ground. OH MY LOTUS! I’M A LOTUS AND SO ARE MY BABIES!

This can’t be happening. I’ve only ever heard of 2 of them. One is one and the other is the mother of all supernatural beings. Lotus. Named after the feathers that look like a lotus flower on top of the head when agitated.

One is the only shifter I have spent a whole lot of time with. So, for all I know they can all shift into a lotus. But why now? One has been able to shift into a lotus since the day he was born.

One’s colors don’t match mine though. Except his lotus on his head is the same color as my feathers. One is almost a solid black lotus with a lightening blue stripe that is the same color as his eye on the left and a dark grey stripe the same color as his other eye on his right.

His stripes go from the outside corners of his eyes, around the side of his head, down his neck and back, down the sides of his tail, and meet at the tip. The colors don’t fade from one to the other. Nor do they have a black spot between them. It looks like someone drew an invisible line in the middle and the colors stop. Pressed up against one another.

My attention is drawn away from my thoughts as I hear my babies start to whine again. My vision focuses on Zack, who is too close to them for my liking. I stand up straight and notice I’m casting a huge shadow, but I don’t let it deter me.

Letting loose a deep menacing growl as I approach. Zack’s head pops up and turns to face me. I have murder in my eyes and he quickly backs away.

Mommy?

Yes my loves?

Something is wrong with our bellies. They hurt.

I hear one of my little one’s stomachs growl. I laugh mentally. They are so cute and innocent.

You are hungry my little ones. I will feed y’all.

I look down to make sure none of them are under me before I lay down so they can nurse. I use my paw to very gently pull them to my abdomen. They latch on and a warm sensation fills my heart.

I knew I loved them before, but now I know there is no words to explain how much I love them. They are finally here and they are everything. Nothing will hurt them. Ever.

I notice movement out of the corner of my eye. Zander is trying to get a closer look. I lower my head slightly and give a warning growl to him.

What do you think you are doing Elisabeth? Those are just as much my children as they are yours. You cannot expect me to stay away from them.

That might be, but after the way you acted you don’t deserve to be near them. You have ignored us and pushed us off on Sonny and Zack too much. Until I say otherwise you are to keep your distance. They are not an option.

I know I hurt his feelings by telling him that, but he has spent more time hurting me. I refuse to let the same thing happen to my babies.

I keep a close eye on him and Zack I don’t want either one getting close to my babies.

Can we come close? I want to check on my nieces and nephews, and Sonny needs to check on you.

I think about it for a brief moment. I trust both of them more than I trust Zack and Zander at the moment. Even though One didn’t let me know he was alive, I still trust him more. He probably didn’t tell me because it was safer for me not to know. He’s always been that way with me. We were always like family.

I nod my head. They are both trusted friends. I’m eventually going to have to let Zander and Zack close to my babies, but right now is not the time. Especially after everything I’ve been through.

One is staring at the babies and his expression changes. I immediately think something is wrong. I try to get up, but One places a hand on my back. He shakes his head.

“Nothing is wrong with them. They are just different lotus than you.’’

I decide it’s time to take a very close look at my babies to discover these differences. Different isn’t always a bad thing.

The babies are 3 different sizes. One small, two medium, and one large. They also vary in color.

The smallest is a girl. Sonia Abigail. Her color fades from dark purple, at her feet, to dark grey, at her back and head. She has a feline body.

One medium sized is a boy. Donovan Lysander. His color fades from black, at his feet, to dark purple, at his head and back. He has a wolf body.

The second medium sized is a girl. Savana Bell. Her color fades from bright red, at her feet, to bright yellow, at her head and back. She has a feline body.

The biggest is at least twice the size of the others. It’s a boy. Wrath. His color fades from black, at his feet, to crimson, at his head and back. His has a wolf body.

They each have a lotus on the top of their heads that match the color of my feathers and One’s lotus. I’m not sure what color mine is yet, but I’m pretty sure it matches theirs. The boys take after their father somewhat. While the girls take more after me. They can’t open their eyes yet because they were born in lotus form. They are all beautiful.