Shift (Castlerock Shifters Book 1) Read online

  Caleb was sliding in next to her, and Tate slid past him into the back seat.

  “Just making sure you get home safely,” he replied to her unasked question.

  She smiled at him. It put her at ease immediately to have them along.

  When they reached the cabin, she invited them in, but they declined, saying they would take a rain check. She nodded. She was exhausted but would have felt rude not offering. They had a long walk back home and she felt guilty for that. She hadn’t needed them to ride with her.

  She smiled as she watched them go. No pretense. They headed straight to the village, which was permanently etched in Jaisey’s mind now – almost a straight line south.

  * * *

  Several days later, having been escorted back and forth to visit Seff daily, Jaisey was finally feeling like herself, and Jack was having the time of his life.

  Her stupid dog was just as taken with these boys as he was Seff. They all doted on him and played with him. She was seriously starting to think there was no wolf in him at all. But then, she would recall his heroic attack on the wolf to protect Seff, and he’d end up getting treats like burgers and bacon.

  When she heard a shuffling noise on her porch, she knew her escorts had arrived. She threw the door open with a huge smile. Standing there on the porch were two of Seff’s young friends, Colin and Caleb.

  “Good morning boys. Would you care for some breakfast?” she asked with a grin. She had gotten up early enough to make some homemade cinnamon rolls, and she knew the boys could smell them. The scent was rolling out the door at them. Over the few days that the boys had been escorting her to see Seff, she’d been including treats for them. It seemed they were just as thrilled as Seff.

  She didn’t get a verbal response, just two enormous grins, and nods.

  With a few rolls in a bag for Seff, they headed out toward the village. Jaisey had insisted on walking with them today. She was tired of feeling cooped up and wanted to roam the mountain with them. And certainly, if it was safe for them, it would be safe for her. Though they did all seem to be traveling in groups of at least two when they left the valley – safety in numbers clearly.

  Her legs easily found their natural stride and she saw the surprise in the boys' faces as she set a good pace in the direction of their valley. She enjoyed being back out in the forest, she had to admit. She had been developing an unnatural fear for the forest and mountain. Well maybe not unnatural, she had good reason to be a little frightened.

  But when it came right down to it, she would rather be able to wander where she liked than fear something that might or might not even be alive. She had definitely inflicted some damage on the wolf, and Jack had certainly given it something to think about. No, she didn’t think it was going to come back for round two. Still, she wasn’t taking any chances; she had one of the sturdy walking sticks with her.

  They picked up a trail about half way to the village. It was well worn and easy to follow. She knew she’d be able to find the village without the aid of a trail, but it was nice to know there was an established route.

  About half way she felt an odd sensation – like she was being followed. Jack was out in front, as was his way, but the boys were right behind her. The feeling was coming more from the forest. She glanced through the trees, trying to see through their dense foliage. Her heart fluttered for one tiny moment when she saw a flash of grey. It was only there for an instant, but she was certain she had seen it. It had to be the grey wolf again.

  The boys carried on a conversation behind her and she only half-heartedly listened as she walked. They had gone on and on about losing a football game to some of the other boys – sure that if Quinn had been on their team, they would have been the victors. She laughed at them and had to wonder who Quinn might be. Seff had mentioned him after the attack, perhaps it was the man on the road. She shuddered. If he was the friend they referred to, she would steer clear of any football games.

  When she got to the Healers, Seff was so excited about the rolls that he nearly bounded out of the bed to get them from her. If Aatu hadn’t been in the middle of an exam, she was sure he would have – another good sign.

  “Make them last Seff, that’s the last of the goodies for a while. I’m running out of baking supplies and until I have a chance to run down and do some shopping, that’s it,” she explained.

  “Seriously?” he asked through the bite he’d taken, looking horrified.

  “Yes,” she replied. “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll probably go tomorrow anyway.”

  He smiled, “Ooh, can I request something?”

  “Of course. Anything you want,” she replied, thrilled with his recovery.

  “Do you know how to make French fries?” he asked with a hopeful look.

  She burst into laughter. “Seriously? I offer you anything, and you want fries?” she asked.

  Seff looked offended, “What? They’re good.”

  “You got it,” she said nodding, still grinning.

  She sat and started writing out her shopping list. She added the basics to the list – milk, eggs, bread, flour, sugar, oil and so on. Then she started adding the more specific things for making pizzas, tacos, chili dogs and French fries – followed by another round of giggles. Seff just rolled his eyes at her. She also added extra burgers and bacon on the list for a very deserving pup.

  She continued making her list while the boys chatted with Seff. All the extra cooking she had done for the boys in only a few short days had made some serious dents in her supplies. She’d only planned on cooking for one when she came up the mountain, but she readily admitted that she loved cooking for them all. She wanted to be able to make them as many treats as she could in the few weeks she had left.

  Later that day, Colin and Tate escorted her home. The boys talked non-stop all the way back. Jaisey had been thinking about her future, so hadn’t been paying much attention, but then she’d heard that name again.

  “You know Quinn won’t agree to that,” Colin was saying.

  “Quinn?” Jaisey asked. That was twice in one day she’d heard the boys mention him.

  “Yeah, he’s sort of Seff’s guardian, so he probably wouldn’t agree,” Tate replied.

  “I’m sorry, agree to what?” she asked dismayed. She hadn’t heard what they were discussing.

  “Tate was just saying maybe Seff will be allowed to start hanging out with us again,” Colin explained.

  “But, as Colin pointed out, Quinn has gotten all weird and protective of Seff. He’ll probably refuse to let him leave the village at this point,” Tate responded with a roll of his eyes.

  Jaisey’s mind flashed again to the image of the man on the road. Was that the boy’s guardian? She cringed. She certainly didn’t want to have to deal with him. She had asked him if he was Quinn that day and he hadn’t said yes, but he also hadn’t said no.

  Well, either way, she wasn’t about to let any guardian take Seff away. He had been fine with her for weeks before the stupid attack, and the boys had been traveling safely ever since.

  “Well, maybe we could bring Seff up in the Jeep for a few afternoons. If we were all hanging out at my place surely Quinn wouldn’t worry. The other adults don’t seem to mind that you guys are coming up for visits,” she suggested.

  “That would be awesome,” Colin said with a grin.

  “Are you sure you wouldn’t mind having all of us up at your place?” Tate asked, surprised.

  Jaisey laughed. “Now I really do have to get my shopping done, if I’m going to be feeding all of you.”

  They laughed too.

  Jaisey was in high spirits that night when she started doing a quick clean in the cabin. She wasn’t sure when they’d all get together, but she wanted to be ready for them. If the boys were anything like Seff, tomorrow wouldn’t be too soon. The phone rang, interrupting her thoughts.

  “Hey, little sister…” Jared’s voice cracked on an overseas line.

  “Jared? Jared! It’s so good to hear y
our voice! Are you okay? You haven’t been injured, have you? Where are you? Are you safe?” the questions rushed before she could stop them.

  He laughed and she was able to instantly pull his image to mind. He looked so handsome in his uniform. The twins were identical, but Jared had the military haircut, while Josh wore his longer, though not by much.

  “I’m doing just fine Jais, what about you?” She couldn’t stop the grin from spreading at the endearment.

  She knew he would only have a few minutes for a conversation, so she ran quickly through the important information. “I’m great. When will you be coming home?” she asked.

  That was the most important question.

  “Well it’s looking like we might be back for Christmas, but we haven’t been given an exact date yet,” he replied. “And what about you, kid? How long you gonna stay up on the mountain avoiding responsibilities?” he asked teasingly.

  “Hey! I’m not avoiding anything,” she replied. “I was just thinking today about when I would head back down as a matter-of-fact.” No need to tell him she was now thinking how fun Christmas would be at the cabin with her family.

  He laughed from the other end of the line, his voice sounded so far off.

  “Well, you make sure you keep us in the loop. It would be great if we could be together for Christmas,” he paused, cleared his throat and continued, “I think that’s what mom would want.”

  That was all it took. Her eyes brimmed with tears and she felt the rush of loss again. He was right. Their mom would want them together for the holidays.

  How wonderful would it be to spend it at the cabin, she thought with a loving glance around the room. She could picture a fresh cut tree, decorated in the corner by the couch.

  “Yes, I think she would.”

  “Hey, call and tell the bookworm I called. I won’t have time for more calls and tell him to email Jazz for me.”

  “No problem, I need to call Josh tonight anyway,” she replied. “So, you really are okay?”

  “I’m great Jais, really. What about you? Things going like you planned?” he asked.

  “Well, I feel mostly whole now, so I guess so,” she replied.

  “I’m really glad to hear that. Hey Jais… I gotta go, sis, there are a few more guys that still need to make their calls and we’re limited on time. I wish I could talk longer. I’ll call again when I get the chance. I should have dates by then. You take care! I love you!” he finished in a rush.

  “Love you too!” she replied, and the line went dead.

  It took her a few minutes to get her emotions in check, and then she called Josh. They chatted for some time and he promised to email Jasmyn with the update.

  She headed to get ready for bed after her call with Josh. She had shopping to do in the morning if she was going to be ready for the boys’ visit.

  She grabbed her purse and keys and threw them on the counter, so she would be ready in the morning. She searched through her pockets for the grocery list she had written out, to put it in her purse, but she couldn’t find it.

  “Dang it,” she muttered to herself. She must have left it sitting on the little bedside table in Seff’s room. Well, she would just have to wing it at the store. She just couldn’t forget the potatoes for Seff’s fries, she thought with a chuckle.

  She had become so fond of Seff, and now all his friends too. She let her thoughts wander over the past few days and her quickly expanding circle of friends. There were seven boys now that always seemed to be hanging around, eight counting Seff. Caleb, Colin, and Tate had been the first she had met. But then Jei and Maicoh had shown up at the Healer’s with Randon and Rudi in tow. They were all in their teens or just approaching adolescence.

  Even stranger than all their names were how many sets of twins there were in the families. And even triplets.

  Tate had a twin sister, Tasha. Randon was a triplet, but the other two were girls, Raksha and Ruelle. There was also a set of twin girls, Accalia and Ayame.

  Rudi had been a triplet with two sisters, Susi and Honi. But Susi had been killed in an accident when they were only ten and as a result, Rudi and Honi had become almost inseparable. In fact, of all the girls that had come by and met her, the only one that seemed comfortable enough to hang out with all the boys was Honi. It was also obvious right off that she had a crush on Caleb, who was, of course, oblivious.

  Jaisey was having the best time watching them all interact. They were like a huge family and she loved every minute of it.

  * * *

  The following morning, she was startled awake by a knocking on her door. That was odd. She had told the boys she was making a run to get groceries. They shouldn’t be coming by. For a moment, she worried that something bad might have happened. But she pushed that thought away. Not everything had to be a crisis.

  She hollered a quick “Hang on a sec,” as she threw on a pair of sweats.

  “Hurry up Jaisey, these are heavy,” a muffled voice came through the door. It sounded a bit like Tate.

  She pulled the door open quickly. There stood the boys, all but Seff anyway. Each of them had their arms full of bags.

  “What’s going on?” she asked dismayed.

  “Duh. We got your groceries. Can we come in and put them down? Seriously, these are heavy,” Tate said in a huff. He was holding at least four full grocery sacks.

  “Oh! Good grief. Come in!” she responded, grabbing one of the bags from Tate.

  She ran ahead and pushed a few things aside on the counter so there would be room to put it all down.

  Maicoh smiled at her confusion, “We totally surprised you! Excellent!”

  “Well, it seemed the right thing to do. Luckily Quinn agreed to let us all come hang out here, even Seff. And we know you love to make food. Seff told us all about the stuff you made for him. So, we sort of lifted your list and here you go,” Caleb explained with a sweeping gesture.

  Jaisey couldn’t help the tears that threatened to fall. They clearly wanted to hang out with her as well. She smiled and said, “Please just tell me you remembered to get potatoes for Seff’s fries.”

  Colin nodded, grabbing two bags of potatoes from one of the grocery sacks. “Where would you like them?”

  She laughed. It took her a good twenty minutes to get everything put away. Her fridge and cupboards were stuffed full. She’d lost counter space to the last of the groceries. They’d certainly bought enough to feed an army. She took in the faces of the boys and decided it was an apt comparison.

  “So…” she said, getting their attention, “you guys aren’t hungry, are you?”

  Their nods were enthusiastic. They looked like they had just been waiting for her to ask. With a grin, she got busy in the kitchen making a huge batch of pancakes, bacon, and eggs.

  Of course, Jack got more than his fair share of bacon from various plates. The dog was in heaven with so many hands willing to scratch his ears and belly.

  When they had all eaten their fill, they decided to go see about getting Seff and bringing him back to her place. There was a huge white pickup next to Yellow Jeep. It did her heart good to see them riding in the truck, rather than walking. Caleb climbed into the driver’s seat and gave her a quick wave as they headed out.

  She went inside and cleaned up from breakfast and then started making some cookies for later. It felt weird to be cooking for so many, but she found she was really enjoying it. Perhaps she had missed her true calling as a chef, she thought with a laugh.

  By the time the boys returned, she’d managed to clean up, do some baking and have a quick shower. She made everyone sandwiches for lunch.

  When Seff entered the cabin, Jaisey rushed over to give him a hug. Mindful of his injuries, she didn’t squeeze him too tightly.

  “I’m not going to break Jaisey. I’m healing just fine. And I can’t believe you’re letting all these guys hang out up here,” Seff complained loudly, but he winked at her.

  She laughed and helped to get him settled on the couch.
Jack immediately jumped up and put his head in Seff’s lap – clearly still his favorite as well.

  “Hey!” Colin replied, “We busted you out of the Healers… we could have left you there and just come up without you.”

  “No way! Jaisey wouldn’t leave me alone like that,” Seff retorted.

  Jaisey chuckled at their banter and went back into the kitchen to retrieve the sandwiches. Seff’s eyes lit up as she handed him one. He was definitely on the mend.

  The boys wanted to watch a movie, so they all spread out in the living room, saving room for her on the couch next to Seff. Jaisey pulled the cookies out halfway through the movie and saw Jei and Tate shoot accusatory glances at Seff.

  “What was that all about?” she asked once the boys were sucked back into the movie.

  “They’re just mad that I didn’t share you with them before,” he shrugged. He wasn’t the least bit apologetic.

  Jaisey thought that over and she felt a swell in her chest. They really did want to be around her. It was weird, but she felt the same way. Like some sort of missing piece in her life had finally settled into place. She sighed deeply, content within the moment to just enjoy her new family.

  Eighteen

  Quinn

  Quinn had spent his days shadowing Jaisey. From the time she left her cabin to the moment she returned to sleep. The Ishak were leaving them alone for now. Nothing and no one had crossed their boundary since the attack. Jaisey and Jack had certainly given them something to think about. He only wished he’d been there to finish off the attacker after he’d been injured.

  Seff’s friends had come in pairs to travel with her to and from the village. They had taken turns meeting her during her visits with Seff. They all seemed to like hanging out with her every bit as much as Seff did. And, once the Healer had given Seff the all clear, they had all started hanging out at Jaisey’s cabin. While Seff was already mostly healed, he had to keep the bandages on to keep up appearances for Jaisey. She would not have understood how his injuries could have healed in so short a time.