Shift (Castlerock Shifters Book 1) Page 5

  Jaisey looked over at him, surprised. He seemed to have more depth than the average teenage boy. She found herself warming to him even more.

  And then he smiled at her, again changing the subject, “I really like your Jeep.” They both glanced over at it.

  “Thanks.” She didn’t know what else to say to him. She had just told him most of her life story. How odd.

  He looked back at her again, but this time he just stared into her eyes for a few moments. “Well, thanks for being so open with me. As I said, I didn’t want to scare you or anything. I just wanted to make sure whoever was here was supposed to be,” he said.

  She nodded and gave him another smile. She wondered how he’d known she was even there.

  Before she could pursue the thought further, he asked hesitantly, “Can I ask you something else?”

  “Sure.”

  “Are you planning on staying for very long?” he looked away as he asked.

  “Well, I’d planned to spend the summer for sure and maybe a bit of the fall, though I’m not really sure about that yet,” she replied.

  He turned his head back quickly, smiled hugely again and sounding relieved said, “Great! Would you mind if I came for a visit some time?”

  “I’d love to have some company actually,” she said with a chuckle, not the least bit bothered by the request. Sure, she’d convinced herself just an hour ago that she could live alone for the rest of the summer, but with the prospect of a friend, she found she really would like some company.

  “What’re you doing tomorrow?” he asked excitedly.

  “I didn’t really have anything specific planned,” she said with a laugh. “There was a place we used to go swimming that I was thinking about searching out again…”

  “That would be fun,” he said cutting her off. She was sure she was going to enjoy his company, figuring he’d be up for anything. And he was oddly not irritating like most teenage boys. And he seemed, well… happy. She was drawn to that automatically. It was definitely something she needed a bit more of herself.

  “Seff, can I ask you a few questions?” she asked.

  His eyes narrowed infinitesimally, “Sure.”

  “How old are you?”

  “Just turned thirteen a few weeks ago,” he replied.

  “Do your parents know where you are?”

  “Not exactly,” he replied, looking down. “I’m not really supposed to bother the people that come camping or whatever.”

  That explained a lot. His family wouldn’t be happy with him for pestering the visitors. Seff looked worried she would agree with them.

  “Well, you aren’t bothering me. It’ll be our little secret,” she replied.

  He looked up to meet her gaze. Clearly, that was what he wanted to hear, and the smile spread wider across his face.

  “You don’t want to talk about yourself, do you?” she asked with a grin.

  He smiled hugely again, “Not really, but mostly because I’m just boring.”

  “I highly doubt that,” she replied with yet another laugh. He laughed too.

  “So, tomorrow then?” he asked, rising from the stairs.

  She nodded. Apparently, he was ready to leave.

  “What time should I be here?” he asked.

  “How about ten or so,” she suggested.

  “Great. See you then,” he agreed. He headed down the steps and across the clearing. He turned and waved goodbye and then lifted his soda and hollered, “Thanks for the drink.”

  “No problem,” she replied, but he had already reached the edge of the forest and was disappearing into the tree line. Interesting he had headed southeast to the trees, rather than the road that ran behind the cabin. He had said he lived somewhere off in the valley. However, from her view, that could be any number of places. She hoped he had a ride somewhere. Or maybe he lived closer than he let on. Whatever the explanation, she would have to wait for her answers.

  She stared after him for a long while, musing over their conversation. He was definitely guarded about his family. She wondered for a moment if he would bring anyone with him tomorrow to swim. One thing was for certain, he wasn’t any sort of threat to her. She knew that without a doubt. She was extremely curious about what the deal was with his family. She figured maybe once he got to know her better, then he might share.

  Jack nudging her with a whine finally got her moving. He was ready to eat.

  “And what’s with you being all submissive to a freaking teenager? Some protector you are,” she said, accusingly to Jack.

  His tail wagged and he gave her his doggie smile.

  She chuckled and headed back inside to take care of him. She fell asleep on the couch and woke to Josh calling a few hours later. They talked for a while, and though she didn’t tell him about her trek to the ranger station, she did tell him about the boy she met. He seemed just as intrigued by the mystery that Seff presented. He recalled a boy that he and Jared had played with one summer, but couldn’t remember his name.

  He told her to be careful, to which she replied that she would. The older brother voice he used reminded her of when he and Jared had forced her into Karate classes when she started high school. They insisted that she should be able to take care of herself when she started dating. She thought the idea of being able to throw a date over her shoulder was ridiculous, but they’d insisted. Of course, their mom had agreed. Funny they hadn’t worried about Jasmyn in the same way; probably because she would have pursued martial arts anyway and in fact did, because she eventually earned her third-degree black belt.

  Either way, as it turned out, she had never even gone on any dates. Whether that was because Jasmyn was the outgoing one, or simply because she was just not the dating type, she wasn’t sure. Of course, she did take off nearly every weekend with her mom, so she wasn’t home to go on dates, she thought with a smile.

  She had a few guys that were friends, but there was never anything romantic with them. She’d known at her age that was unusual, but she’d preferred to spend her weekends with her family. And weeknights were always about studying. Finishing a four-year degree in three years had taken a lot of hard work. She simply hadn’t had the time for a social life outside of her family.

  Luckily, Seff was too young for anything romantic. And anyway, she was sure she could take him if she had to, she thought with a chuckle.

  She had her dinner in silence and then read for a while. She’d brought several new books with her to help keep her occupied over the summer. It was then that she realized she hadn’t had as many tear-filled moments during the day. That was a good sign. She knew for sure now that this place would help her heal.

  When she finally headed to bed, she thought about her strange new friend Seff for a long time, trying to guess his story. Eventually, she started walking the path in her head to the clearing with the swimming hole. She had almost reached it when she fell asleep.

  Seven

  Quinn

  After discovering the others, Quinn had run all the way back to the village, arriving before the sun had even come up. He’d called for an immediate gathering of the council, which had been quite a task as they were all still in bed.

  Once gathered, they had simply been – unconcerned. There was no other way to put it. He wondered if they had even believed his tale. They had agreed to figure out what would need to be done, but it felt as though they were simply placating him.

  That was how they had wanted to leave things. There was nothing planned to increase their security, nor to go out and search for, or intercept, any further trespassers. They clearly didn’t see it as a legitimate threat. They merely reiterated that everyone should stay south of the second ridge, which was already their mandate due to the girl who was visiting their mountain.

  Quinn argued as long as he could. He finally gave up and headed home, completely exhausted. He’d seen Seff heading off into the woods to the north of the village. It was barely mid-morning and as much as he wanted to get to his bed,
he’d followed him. He caught up to Seff easily and stopped him. The boy had been impatient, but then after seeing the state that Quinn was in, reluctantly agreed to go back with him.

  Quinn sent him to gather all his friends that were old enough to hear his news and had him bring them back to his place. He wanted to be sure they knew of the threat and to be watchful. And he wanted to make sure they knew where they were not allowed to run for the time being – anywhere near the northern border, not just around the girl.

  They didn’t question him or disbelieve anything he told them. In fact, they were anxious to head out to defend their northern border; looking to Quinn to give them the instructions.

  Rather than feeling a surge of triumph or an ego boost, he’d become uneasy. It was then that Quinn realized how he must have seemed to the council – impetuous, impatient and perhaps even a bit stupid. It was one thing to know something needed to be done, but completely another to go charging off unprepared to face the unknown.

  And really, as he mulled it over, other than the one rogue shifter that had encroached on their lands, it didn’t appear there was any further threat. His reaction had been due in large part to the discovery of a new pack.

  Thinking on that, he realized that the elders had not seemed overly surprised at that information. Mostly they had questioned him tracking the wolf so far away. They should have been as shocked or amazed as he, but they weren’t.

  They knew.

  He told the boys to hang out and wait for him and he headed back to the council chamber where he had left them sitting. They were all still there, sitting in their respective seats.

  “You knew of them already,” he said, staring accusingly at each of them in turn.

  “Yes,” the Speaker replied. The old man was not the least bit repentant in his clear omission of information.

  “Why do the rest of us not know of them? Who are they? What do they want?” he asked in a rush, wanting the answers, now that he knew the elders could provide them. He knew his scowl wasn’t intimidating them in the least, but he couldn’t keep his features even.

  “They are as they have always been… just as we are as we have always been,” was the cryptic reply from the Speaker. The rest seemed to accept that as a good answer judging by their slight nods and stoic expressions. Quinn had to rein in his temper.

  “Which means what, exactly,” he demanded, politely.

  The Speaker was about to open his mouth to reply again, but it was the Healer that spoke first.

  “Quinn, you know the stories as well as every pack member. They are of the ancient line that chose to serve that which we chose to fight and destroy. They know the power we possess in our valley, but they cannot access it. They were never able to feel it. That is why we were able to defeat their masters,” Aatu explained.

  So, they were definitely the Ishaks, but the stories didn’t say anything about them living in their vicinity. Quinn opened his mouth to request more information, but the Healer stopped him with a raised hand.

  “There are many ways of watching for threats Quinn. We see none right now. If the situation changes, you will be the first told as you have the ear of the rest of the pack in a way we do not.”

  That was unexpected. He knew he was respected by the rest of the pack, but that they would listen to him over the council, he wasn’t so sure. But then his mind flashed back on the boys and he understood.

  Nearly echoing his thoughts, the Healer spoke again. “Now, we have other matters to discuss and I believe you have a group of youngsters intent on running north the moment you give them leave, so…” he raised his eyebrows.

  “I’ll take care of it. Thank you for the information. I apologize for my behavior,” he said with as much humility as he could muster. He bowed slightly to the room and withdrew, wondering how they knew about the boys.

  He sighed and headed back to his own place. They’d certainly given him a lot to think about.

  He found the boys waiting anxiously for him. They were aching to run, just as the Healer had indicated. He could feel the adrenaline roiling from them. It took a while, but he finally managed to get them calm enough to explain. It served him right for dragging the boys into it; though he’d just wanted them to be aware of the potential threat. They were all as shocked as he had been to learn that the Ishaks had been there all that time. The day was passing away from him and he still had not gotten any rest; exhaustion was setting in.

  The boys had left after that, one by one, until only Seff remained. He was deep in thought, so Quinn stretched out on his sofa, relaxed and let his eyes close. He wasn’t sure how long he slept, maybe an hour. Seff was standing over him when he woke.

  “What is it?” he asked, noting the look of concern on the boy’s face.

  “Jaisey,” Seff replied firmly.

  “What?” he asked again. Either he was still groggy, or the boy was making no sense.

  “The girl in the Jeep,” Seff said hesitantly, looking away.

  “Seff… how do you know her name?” he asked, already knowing he wouldn’t like the answer.

  “I went and saw her yesterday afternoon. I was just curious. She’s alone – staying up in one of the cabins. She used to come here in the summers but hasn’t been back in a few years. Her mom died and she brought her ashes here to scatter from Windy Peak,” he explained.

  “Seff, how much does she know?” he asked, fighting the anger that was bubbling up inside of him. Seff knew better. The elders had given their decree to leave her be, but on top of that, the pack really wasn’t supposed to interact with the humans that came up on the mountain. They watched them and knew where they were, but they didn’t interact – not here. They were always protectors, but nothing else when it came to the humans visiting so close to their home. They could not afford the curiosity that could lead them to the valley.

  “Nothing,” he protested, “But Quinn, she is staying for the summer. The whole summer. And she goes hiking all over. And…” He looked down again, clearly realizing the trouble he was in.

  “Go on,” Quinn prompted.

  “I was going to meet her today to go hang out. Quinn, she could be in danger. She’s closer to the northern border than we are,” he stopped and watched Quinn process the information.

  “I can’t believe you went and talked to her,” he paused, shaking his head. Then he gave a small chuckle, “No, that isn’t true. I can believe it. I did the same thing at about your age. Only I hung out with some boys my age that were here for the summer.”

  Quinn mulled it over. They were still protectors of a sort here in the mountain, though the real reason for that had been eradicated centuries before. That didn’t ease their burden. He slowly nodded. Even if the elders had calmed him of his fears of the other pack, the fact remained that they had come across the border. And, while they said they saw no current threat, they had clearly missed the previous one. That wolf had crossed and hunted, if only for a moment, the girl… Jaisey. Her name resonated through him – different, pretty. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to keep a closer eye on the border after all.

  “Where were you meeting her?” he asked, trying to sound indifferent to the task.

  “You mean you’ll come with me to check on her?” Seff responded with enthusiasm. He was way too excited to visit the stranger.

  “Yes, but Seff… don’t get too attached. She’s just visiting. You know she’ll leave,” he replied. His wolf didn’t like that comment.

  The boy nodded, ready to head out. “We were going to meet at her place and go to some swimming hole she remembered.”

  Quinn rose and followed him out to find her. He had to admit that he was still just as curious about her. He couldn’t really blame Seff for wanting to meet her. He’d been mulling the idea over himself since her arrival, but for altogether different reasons. She had narrowly avoided killing Seff, so the boy’s loyalty, however misplaced it might be, actually made sense. His own attraction though – that made no sense at all.


  They took their time walking through the woods. It was mid-afternoon and there was plenty of sunlight filtering through the trees. Quinn could tell Seff wanted to shift and run, but he wanted to know everything the girl had said. So, while they walked, Seff shared his conversation from the day before. Quinn smiled at the responses she had made to the boy’s questions. He’d been very direct with her. Most humans were put off by that, but she seemed to warm to Seff despite that directness, or perhaps because of it.

  When they reached the cabin, Quinn finally realized why her cabin had looked familiar. Quinn had spent a summer playing with a set of twin boys, years before when he’d been closer to Seff’s age. So, was Jaisey a sister maybe? Yes, they’d had two little sisters. Another set of twins as he recalled. He smiled to himself at the memories he’d made with those boys. What were their names? He knew they started with a J… just like Jaisey. He ran a few names through his head, John, Jacob, Jared? Yes, Jared was one. He was pulled from his thoughts before he could find the other name when Seff huffed out a breath.

  She wasn’t there. Seff became agitated immediately, no doubt expecting foul play. Quinn found himself agitated as well, but for a different reason. Her scent had hit him – hard; comforting, feeling like home, feeling like his – all still very overwhelming. He could barely focus as the smell of her washed over him; enveloping him. The pull was getting stronger, not fading.

  Seff began pacing and Quinn was pulled from the spell of her scent. He calmed the boy down and got him to focus – got himself to focus as well. Her scent permeated the clearing which made the job that much more difficult. They searched the edges of the clearing and found three trails with her scent leading out of the clearing. All of them were strong enough to be recent. The two trails on the west side of the clearing would go to and from the ranger station, which was from the previous afternoon. That left only the one heading roughly south. They took the path, an actual game trail, and followed it toward her swimming hole.

  Realizing where they were headed eased both their minds. She was closer to their village than the elders would have been comfortable with, Quinn thought with a chuckle. In their walk up to her cabin, they had basically passed right by her.