Shift (The Neturu Chronicles) (19 page)

               
“What?” Kayla breathes out, staring at him.

               
Jackson kneels in front of her.  He gently pushes her hair behind her
ear.  “You aren’t human.  You’re a shapeshifter.  You just
changed into a dog and…ran off.”

               
“Are you…what…are you one too?” Kayla gasps.

               
“Yes, so are our parents.”

               
Overrun with emotion, Kayla shakes her head.  “My parents…no, that can’t
be.  How could they hide this?  Why would they hide this?”

               
Jackson scoots over and takes her hands into his.  “Let’s get you home
first.  We can all talk about it there.  You’re going to need to
sleep soon.  Your first shift is the hardest.  We usually do it for
the first time when we’re kids, but…well…you haven’t.  It’s going to be
harder on you.  We need to get you back to my house.”

               
She starts to cry. “No, I want to go home.  I want my mom and dad!”

               
“Damien is getting them.  Everyone will be at my house.  We will explain
what’s going on when we get there.  You need to stand up, okay?”  He
puts his hands out, and she takes them.  Jackson pulls her up, and Kayla
throws herself into his arms.  He wraps them around her and holds
her.  Kayla feels the warmth of him through his shirt.  She
shivers.  “We need to get you back and in clean clothes.  Maybe give
you a hot bath.  This takes a toll on your body the first time.”

               
With a small giggle, Kayla asks, “Are you giving me the bath?  I may
actually enjoy it then.”

               
“Whoa, okay, that is the shift talking.”

               
“No,” Kayla says, looking up at him.  “I want
you
to take care of
me.  I trust you.”

               
Jackson runs his fingers down her face.  “Then I will take care of you.”

               
“Do you know what else I want to do?”

               
“What?”

               
“This,” Kayla breathes out as she pulls him down for a kiss.  As soon as
their lips meet, it’s like a bolt of lightning.  Jackson pushes her back
against a tree.  Kayla runs her hands through his hair.  The heat of
their bodies increases as they push against each other. 

               
Finally, Jackson pushes her away.  “No, Kayla, stop, please, I can’t
control it.”

               
“Are you rejecting me?”

               
“No, Kayla, listen to me.  Our hormones increase after a shift.  It
can make you really…frisky, especially when you’re around someone you’re
attracted to.”

               
Kayla frowns. “So you don’t want this.”  

               
“No, Kayla, that isn’t it.  I just…we can’t do this, okay?  It
wouldn’t be right.  We need to get you back anyway.”

               
She starts to cry. “What is going on?”

               
“Like I said, we’re shapeshifters. It’s what we do.  Your parents thought
they could suppress it in you, but they were wrong. Now come on, we need to
walk back to the car.  You ran pretty far.”

               
Looking down, Kayla says, “I lost my shoes.  I loved those shoes.”

               
“Here, hop on my back; I’ll carry you.”

               
“That may be difficult, I have on a leather skirt.  Wait!  How did my
clothes not tear to shreds?  Isn’t that what happens?”

               
Jackson laughs. “It’s really a long explanation, but you take the molecules
around you and shift everything.”

               
“Can I shift someone else if I’m touching them?”

               
“No, not anything living.  I promise, we will answer all your questions,
but we really need to get back.  I lost my cell phone, and your family is
probably going nuts.”

               
Nodding, Kayla says, “Okay.  I guess I’ll have to walk.  That’s going
to hurt.”

               
Dropping to his knee, Jackson puts his fingers underneath the side of Kayla’s
skirt.  The feeling of his touch makes Kayla’s breath catch in her
throat.  With one tug, he rips open the seam on the side.  “Turn,” he
murmurs huskily.  She does and he rips the other side, but his fingers
stay on her skin.  Kayla’s heart beats rapidly in her chest. 
Finally, he pulls away and stands up.  “Now, get on my back.”

               
He turns around and Kayla jumps up.  Jackson easily grabs ahold of
her.  They start walking back through the woods, and Kayla rests her chin
on his shoulder.  “I’m really tired.”

               
“Shifting drains the energy out of you, especially when you first start doing
it.  You will probably sleep for a long time when you finally get back.”

               
They are quiet for a while as they walk.  “It’s kind of creepy in these
woods at night,” Kayla whispers.  “What if something jumps out at us?”

               
“I could probably turn into something bigger and scarier than whatever is
trying to jump out at us.” Jackson laughs.

               
Kayla giggles.  “Can we change into anything?”

               
“Not all of us.  Most of us are limited.  Take my family, for
instance.  We can shift into animals about the same size as we are.”

               
“So it’s not like werewolves.  We can shift into anything?”

               
Jackson bursts out laughing. “Oh please, never mention werewolves again. 
Our kind hates that mythology.  We can turn into wolves yes, but it isn’t
some disease or freakish moon phase thing.  We aren’t all buff, and we
don’t walk around without our shirts on.”

               
“Mmm, but I think I would like it if you did.”

               
Jackson chuckles. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

               
Kayla is quiet for a while, thinking through everything Jackson told her, but
another question propels her to speak again.  “Why did my parents hide
it?”

               
“I can’t answer that.  You’ll have to ask them.”

               
“I want to punch them, but I think I may wake up soon.”

               
Turning his head, Jackson says, “Wake up?”

               
“This is a dream, of course.  I mean, this isn’t really happening. 
What I don’t get is when did I fall asleep?  Maybe I’m in some feverish
delusion.”

               
He shakes his head.  “No, Kayla, this is really happening.”

               
“No, it can’t be real, silly Jackson.  There are no such things as
shapeshifters.”

               
Jackson suddenly stops and sets Kayla down.  She steps back and looks up
at him.  “Watch,” he says.  In an instant, it's like Jackson melts
and a dog appears.  Kayla gasps as she sees the mastiff from the library.

               
“That was you!” Kayla yells.

               
Shifting back into himself, Jackson nods. “Yes, that was me.”

               
“You were going to eat Jude!”

               
“I wish,” Jackson laughs, “
but
I was never going to
really hurt him.  I’ll let Damien do the physical damage.”

               
With a curious expression, Kayla says, “Damien…is he a shapeshifter too?”

               
“Yes, here.
”
Jackson turns
his back to her and bends his knees.
“
Hop
back up.”  Kayla complies and they start walking again.  “Damien and
I are cousins, but we are descendants of two different bloodlines.”

               
“What do you mean?” Kayla inquires softly.

               
Jackson hops over a tree trunk like it’s a stick.  Kayla raises her
eyebrows.  “Our grandfathers were brothers, but our grandmothers were from
two different bloodlines.  So, technically, we aren’t much alike because
females pass on certain traits.”

               
“So I got everything from my mom?  Both of my parents are shifters,
right?”

               
“Yes, they are both shifters, but our genetics are difficult to
understand.  Your dad will hand down certain traits, but so will your
mother.  Your bloodline is…special.”

               
Kayla frowns. “Why?”

               
“We’ll get into that another time.  It’s complicated.”

               
“So my parents are both shifters. What happens when you marry someone who isn’t
a shapeshifter?”

               
Jackson chuckles. “We don’t really.  You can’t reproduce with a human.”

               
“What?” Kayla exhales in shock.  “What…I mean…I’m human!”

               
“No, actually you aren’t.”

               
Kayla shakes her head, completely dumbfounded. “What?  You’re crazy! 
Of course I’m human, what else could I be?”

               
“Well, technically, you’re an alien.”

               
She just stares at him for a minute.  “Excuse me?”

               
“We aren’t from Earth.”

               
“That is the most absurd thing I have ever heard!” Kayla yells.  “There
are no such things as aliens.  I mean aliens abduct people and do all
sorts of horrible things to them.”

               
Jackson snorts. “We would never let another alien race come here and do
anything to humans.  That’s all fabricated by people.”

               
“Let’s say you are telling me the truth.  Do humans know about us?”

               
Jackson pauses and then replies, “Damien will have to answer that.  I
don’t know how much you can know.”

               
“What…why Damien?”

               
“He’s an important figure with our people.  I’ll explain it later. 
It’s probably a little much right now.”

               
Scoffing, Kayla says, “Really, everything is a little much right now.”

               
“Sorry about that.”

               
The full moon allows them to see even though it’s dark. “So do we have any
super powers?” she asks.

               
Jackson laughs. “Like what, laser eyes?”

               
“No, I don’t know.  So we can only shift?”

               
“Yes, we can only shift.”

               
“Bummer.”

               
He looks at her over his shoulder. “Shifting isn’t enough for you?”

               
“I still think I’m going to wake up from this weird dream, so I can ask stupid
questions.  Hey, if this is a dream, I can do whatever I want, right?”

               
“It’s not a dream, Kayla.”

               
Kayla puts her face down on Jackson’s shoulder.  “You smell good.”

               
“Thanks.” Jackson laughs.

               
“Since I'm dreaming,” Kayla mumbles into his shirt.  “I can ask you a
question and have no repercussions.”

               
“Oh dear.” Jackson sighs. “You aren’t dreaming, but I have a feeling that
you’re going to ask anyway.”

               
Lifting her head, Kayla asks, “Why can’t I like you?”

               
“I knew that was it.  Kayla, it’s not that you
can’t
.  I just
won’t let it go anywhere.  I don’t want you to get hurt because of that.”

               
“So I have to marry someone of our own kind.”

               
Nodding, Jackson replies, “Yes, preferably.”

               
“Like Damien.”

               
Jackson stiffens, and his next words sound forced. “Yes, like Damien.”

               
“Is that why he wants to date me?”

               
Shrugging, Jackson mutters, “I guess.  You would have to talk to him about
that.”  A heavy silence hangs in the air for a while before Jackson
finally sighs.  “I’m going to ask a question, and I know it’s not really
any of my business, but…do you like Damien?”

               
“Yeah, I guess I do,” Kayla replies as she fiddles with his collar.  “He’s
nice to me and seems really interested.  Why, does that bother you a lot?”

               
“No,” Jackson murmurs. They approach the edge of the woods.  “Here we
go.  See, it wasn’t that bad.  Your feet didn’t even get hurt.”

               
Kayla frowns. “Yeah, but I lost my shoes and you lost your cell phone.”

               
“I will buy you new shoes,” Jackson offers, setting her down.

               
“Do friends buy each other shoes?”

               
Jackson smirks. “Probably not, but this is an exception.”

               
“Whatever.” Kayla laughs when they get to the car.  She looks inside of
it.  “Oh
my gosh
, Jackson!  I am so
sorry!  I hurled all over your really expensive car.”

               
“I’m going to send the cleaning bill to your parents.  It’s their fault.”