Mutts Like Me (The Awakening Series Book 1) Page 4

  Shifters. We were all shifters.

  I wrapped my arms tightly around my waist, no longer able to deny all I’d seen, heard, and done since I’d woken up this morning to a stranger’s face. But the stranger’s face that disturbed me the most was the one I now wore. Who was I? Could these people, animal shifters, help me find out?

  According to Caleb, Toshio, and Laurent, my grandmother was dead and my dad was probably gone for good now too. Storm clouds of contradicting thoughts rolled through my mind. Information overload. Too many conflicting emotions and I didn’t know how to process it all.

  I had a father I’d never met, and he knew all about me, had apparently even been watching me for a while. I breathed deep against the pain in my chest, angry and confused for feeling it. He’d always been gone, hadn’t he? Nothing new there. No reason for me to feel this crushing sense of loss.

  Maybe that feeling of anger and grief was coming from what they’d said about Gran.

  Another shuddering pain went through me at the thought, but I just couldn’t deal with it now. Just couldn’t even believe it right now. I would need to see for myself, and I just wasn’t ready for that. I’d check in on her later. She was probably just sleeping off the latest bender. And if she wasn’t…

  I shook my head. Couldn’t go there yet.

  It’s funny how when the mind and heart are overwhelmed, the brain seems to focus on either the most essential things, or the absolute nonessential. In my case, little things kept capturing my attention as if they mission critical. Stupid stuff like the bit of lint shining like a beacon against the black fabric of Alex’s shirt. I picked it off and he gave me a funny smile.

  “Grooming me already? That shows promise.”

  “You clearly need help.”

  “You have no idea.” He gave me a grin that looked half-embarrassed.

  Once more, I found myself wanting to trust him. I looked around the room again, considering my options. Either they were all trying to hurt me for some unknown reason, or they really were trying to help. And right now, my newfound claws aside, I had no way of fighting my way out of there if they were the enemy. I needed to learn how to control the change, and I wanted to learn the truth about my dad.

  Decision made, I turned to Alex. “So, let’s get this dog and fox show on the road.”

  The big grin was back. “I see what you did there.”

  “So show me what else I can do. I have a feeling I’m going to need to know how to kick your butt at some point, so I might as well learn now.”

  “Hmm, maybe I should rethink your training.”

  “You have no idea.” I tossed his words back at him.

  He smirked. “Come on, let’s get you ready to roll.”

  I wasn’t sure what he meant, but I followed behind him anyway. It looked like we were headed back to the locker rooms. Unfortunately, I saw Toshio and Cassandra coming towards us and I gave a little tug on the back of Alex’s shirt to try to go the other way.

  He turned around, eyebrows raised. “Is there a problem?”

  Umm, yeah.

  I was in no mood to speak to those two again. I was having a hard enough time dealing with Alex. It didn’t matter though, because just as I opened my mouth, a piercing siren went off. Alex stiffened as did everyone else in the room that I could see. A flurry of activity began as kids and the few adults with them began running as if they were participating in some sort of drill.

  Alex grabbed my arm as Cassandra and Toshio rushed toward us.

  “What is this, a fire drill?” I asked, hoping that’s all it was, but the serious expressions on their faces made me think otherwise.

  “We have to get you to safety,” Toshio said. “Alex, take Cass and look for Caleb.”

  Cassandra glared as if this was somehow my fault, then she and Alex sprinted down the hall.

  Toshio took my arm and I pulled away. “What’s going on?”

  “A breach in the outer perimeter. We’ve got to move, quickly.”

  He grabbed my hand and took off running down another hallway. I gave up and ran with him. Whatever could make a room full of shifters run for cover was something I didn’t want to meet.

  Chapter Six

  We jogged down several corridors, then down a number of stairs. I hadn’t realized just how large the building was until I followed Toshio through layer after layer of security exits. At one point, we’d gone down so many stairs and hallways that I knew we must be under the city, perhaps in some secret tunnel.

  We met up with Caleb, Cass, and Alex after several minutes. My feet were aching from the lack of shoes, and I’d slipped a few times from the socks I was wearing. I considered trying to shift but, with running to keep up with Alex, I didn’t have time to figure out how. He came to a sudden stop when he saw the others, and my socks slipped on the tile, sending me crashing into Toshio’s back. It was like hitting a wall. I swear, the guy didn’t even budge. Just turned and asked if I was all right.

  “Fan-freakin-tastic. Now what?” I asked.

  “I have a new safe house just outside the city you can use,” Caleb said. “Cass knows the way. I’ll meet up with you in a few.” He tossed Cassandra some keys and disappeared.

  Literally. Disappeared. Like, into thin air.

  I didn’t even have time to close my mouth before they took off down another tunnel and I ran after them. After a few moments, we reached an area full of cars, trucks and motorcycles.

  Cass lifted the keys and pressed a button. The lights on a huge black Hummer flickered. “That way,” she said as she headed toward it.

  Toshio seemed to notice my shoe-less state at last as we came up to the beast of an auto. “You gonna be okay?” he asked, nodding down toward my feet.

  “Oh, yeah. I just love running for my life in borrowed socks. I should do it more often.”

  “Let me help you.” He didn’t wait for me to answer before scooping me up and depositing me into the car/ truck/monster whatever-the-hell those things could be called.

  I scooted in next to Alex and caught a warning look pass between them as Toshio moved to sit in the front with Cassandra.

  “Buckle up,” he said.

  She pressed another button and the thing roared to life. It seemed odd to me that we were the only ones in the garage. “Where is everyone else? Why are we the only ones leaving?”

  “The others have their own contingency plans,” Alex said. “But don’t worry, we’ll take care of you if Cass’s driving doesn’t do us in.”

  As if in answer, she floored it toward the door and I worried for a moment that it wouldn’t open and she’d just plow through. It opened faster and smoother than I would have thought and we went flying down through another tunnel lit by dim yellow tracks along the ceiling.

  I grabbed on to the door hand and turned toward Alex. “Is this the bat cave?”

  He grinned. “Nah, the bats just fly up through the chimney.”

  I blinked. Bat shifters? Were they… “Bats? As in flying rodents, people turning into bats, or vampire bats?”

  He leaned in toward my neck, causing the little hairs to rise at the nape. “I vant to suck your blooood,” he whispered.

  No way. “Seriously?”

  He laughed. “And this from the wolf girl.”

  Whatever response I had was cut off as I was slammed back in the seat, nearly toppling over into Alex as Cassandra suddenly jerked right and zoomed up a ramp toward another large metal door. The wisdom in Toshio’s warning to buckle up was becoming clear. The garage door opened sideways, surprising me, and my eyes took a moment to adjust to the daylight as we came out of the dark tunnel into an alley.

  “Turn left at the next stop sign,” a mechanical voice intoned.

  Cass hung a right.

  “Wait, aren’t you going the wrong way?”

  She glared at me in the rearview mirror but kept driving, doing the opposite of whatever the GPS said.

  “It’s programmed to give the opposite directions in c
ase we get caught,” Alex explained.

  “Caught by whom?”

  Alex frowned at Toshio. “I thought you explained all this already?”

  “I explained some,” he said defensively.

  “What, you mean about the ‘Awakened’”, I said, using air quotes. “I didn’t know if you were worried about them or the police.”

  “Trust me. You’d rather meet up with the cops than any of the Awakened.”

  “Well, sure. I mean, you guys did kidnap me. I’m pretty sure cops frown on that.” I frowned, wishing I hadn’t reminded them and myself. “And I thought you were part of that whole Awakened group.”

  Stupid bitch, Cassandra muttered under breath.

  “Excuse me?! Who are you calling stupid, you evil bitch?” I yelled my response to Cass’s mumbled opinion, not sure if I was going to love this enhanced hearing thing or not.

  Cass growled–literally growled–at me and Toshi put a hand on her arm. The sight of him comforting her made a rumble start in my own chest.

  “Whoa, whoa, ladies, please,” Alex whined. “If there’s going to be a girl fight, can you at least wait until we get to the safe house where there can be pillows and p.j.’s involved? And I want a front row seat when you two kiss and make up.”

  I punched him, hard, as Cass nearly sideswiped a parked car jerking her arm away from Toshio’s hand.

  “I’m not putting up with this shit,” she told him.

  “Good, ‘cause neither am I,” I said.

  She turned and bared her teeth—now fangs—and I felt a pinch of pain as canines burst through my own gums and clipped my lips.

  Glaring at each other in the rearview mirror, we exchanged mutual silent promises of retribution and ass whooping.

  Alex chuckled, his bright eyes full of mischief as he looked at me. “Easy there, pup. You’re still wet behind the ears here. Best not to tangle with the big dogs.”

  “Can the dog jokes, creep.” I kicked his leg and he yelped.

  Toshio sighed. “Can we all just focus on getting away from the true bad guys and not kill each other in the process?”

  “I’m not promising anything,” Cass muttered.

  I caught Toshi’s eye in the mirror and crossed my arms. “Neither am I.”

  The silent standoff lasted the rest of the ride, which was fine by me. I still had like a million and one questions and needed the time to get my head right. In the span of twenty-four hours, my entire world had changed and I didn’t know how to feel about it all. On one hand, it was scary as hell. Like leaping off a cliff without a parachute. On the other, though, I couldn’t deny the strange sense of synergy. Like I’d known deep inside me somewhere that I was missing something. That there was more to life…more to me than what was on the face of it.

  By the time we pulled down a narrow, dirt road and up to an old farmhouse, the tension had abated some. I definitely still hated Cass, but I was willing to shelf that hatred for the moment in the interest of getting as much information as possible. In order to do that, I needed to argue less and listen more.

  By tacit agreement, we all grabbed some of the “in case shit hits the fan” bags that were already stashed in the Hummer, and headed up the pathway toward the house. The white paint was chipped and peeling, but the overall feel of it was kind of nice. Homey. The type of place your grandma would have if she wasn’t a drunk.

  A hollow pit of grief opened inside as I remembered what I’d been trying to forget, and hot tears rushed to my eyes.

  Don’t even think about it, Marti.

  The last thing I needed was for Cass to see me blubbering. I sucked in a breath and squared up my shoulders as I trailed behind Alex into the house.

  The interior was just like the outside. Comfortable and lived in. Maple, country-style furniture dotted the living room in a semi-circle around the fireplace in the center. Caleb and Toshio shucked their bags in the corner and made for the kitchen as the rest of us scattered to explore.

  I made a beeline for the stairs, intent on picking a bedroom before Queen Cass selected hers. Same sex or not, there was no way I was going to have her as a roommate. Alex’s daydreams of a sexy pillow fight were much more likely to become a nightmare as we tried to smother one another with said-pillows and, despite my newly discovered talent of being a wolf-girl, I was still pretty sure she’d win that battle.

  I crossed the hardwood floors, bypassing the master and the room with two single beds in it in favor of the one at the end of the hallway. It was the smallest space but had only a single bed that would be perfect for me.

  I tossed my bag at the foot of the bed and headed back down the stairs. As I approached the kitchen, the sound of low voices penetrated my weary brain and I slowed, straining to hear.

  By instinct, my ears seemed to filter out the ambient sounds of creaking floors and whipping wind as I honed in on the human chatter.

  “Sara’s ready to transition. Phoebe too, but someone has to be there for them.”

  That sounded like Caleb. When did he get here?

  “Agreed. So who’s it going to be?”

  Toshio.

  My skin prickled at the sound of his low, melodic voice and I forced myself into motion again. I stepped into the kitchen and cleared my throat.

  “Everything all right?” Toshio asked, brows raised. It was clear I’d interrupted something, and the two guys exchanged glances.

  “Fantabulous. Everything okay here?” I raised my brows back at him.

  There was a long pause and Caleb nodded grimly. “Yeah, we were just catching up, and it looks like I’m going to have to take off for a bit. I have some unfinished business to take care of. You’ll be safe here. Toshi and Alex will make sure nothing happens to you, and…” he trailed off and I picked up the rest for him.

  “And Cass will continue being a mega-bitch from hell because, shifter or not, some things never change.” At Caleb’s level look I suddenly remembered they were siblings. “It’s cool,” I said with a shrug. “I’ve decided I’m just going to stay out of her way and hope she does the same.”

  “Piss off, newbie,” a shrill voice called through the floorboards overhead.

  The corner of Toshi’s mouth kicked up in a grin that I couldn’t help but return.

  “So, yeah, we should be fine,” I said to Caleb. I shifted from foot to foot restlessly and stared at some point behind his shoulder.

  He smiled. “Good. Just trust these guys and you’ll be fine. Listen to your instincts and they’ll never steer you wrong.”

  He shot me a wink and gave my shoulder a squeeze. “Hopefully we’ll see each other real soon, Marti.”

  With that, he was gone, vanishing into thin air.

  “Jesus! What the hell is that?” I gasped. “Do you guys have some sort of Star Trek teleporter thing? Is that why you’re running from the law?”

  Toshi smiled. “Not quite, but almost. Caleb is part witch, and pretty powerful at that.”

  My mouth dropped open as I processed that news. “Witch? Like, real, live Harry Potter shit? But wait, doesn’t that make him a wizard then?”

  My eyes widened. Holy flashbacks, was the gym some sort of Hogwarts? You’d think after everything else I’d experienced today, this shouldn’t come as a surprise, but…

  Mind. Blown.

  Toshio looked at my face and chuckled. It was a small chuckle at first, then grew into a full-blown laughter.

  I suppose my amazed expression tipped it off and was about to be offended, but then his head tipped back as he laughed, revealing the long column of his throat.

  I can’t lie. The room suddenly seemed a bit warmer, and my mouth a lot drier.

  “Sorry,” Toshio said, becoming serious again. “I know it takes some getting used to.”

  “You think?” My sarcasm fled suddenly as it started sinking in. No wonder people were after them. Us, my mind whispered.

  Holy frijole.

  “Is he going to be okay? Shouldn’t he have stayed with us?” I as
ked. It wasn’t like we were biffles or something. I hardly knew him, but somehow, I cared about what happened to Caleb. The thought of him meeting some violent end actively worried me.

  “He’ll be fine,” Toshio replied, a flash of irritation shooting over his handsome features before skittering away. “He’s kind of a maverick sometimes, but he knows how to take care of himself.”

  I looked at the floor, considering. I guess if you could just ‘poof’ yourself in and out of places, that was a pretty good defense. I gave a mental shrug. Toshi was probably right. Caleb could take care of himself. I wondered what else he could do but before I could ask, a sudden yawn crept up my chest and I covered my mouth to swallow it back.

  The day had finally taken its toll and exhaustion settled over me like a deadweight. “I feel like I could sleep for a month.”

  “Why don’t you go get some rest?” Toshi said softly, concern in his eyes. “We’ll hold down the fort here. You need to get your strength back. It’s a lot to take, and you’re handling it like a champ.”

  The words sent a strange bolt of pride through me and I couldn’t deny there was a pep in my step as I made my way up the stairs. It lasted until my head hit the pillow, and then I was out like a light.

  A few, dreamless hours later, I jerked upright.

  The slam of a car door had my heart hammering in my chest. I rolled off the bed, still fully clothed and peered out the window.

  Nothing but moonlight streaming on the empty driveway.

  I was about to climb back into bed, putting it off to imagination, when Caleb’s words drifted through my mind.

  Listen to your instincts and they will never steer your wrong.

  I crossed the room and jogged down the stairs to find Cass and Toshi talking in the living room, their voices slightly muffled by the music coming from a stereo near the fireplace.

  I was slightly surprised to see they had changed into black sweatsuits similar to the gray one I still wore. Their clothes matched the as ones I’d found in the bag I’d been given, as well as in the bedroom closet. Was this some sort of uniform they all had?

  I pushed aside my fashion observations, and asked what I’d come down here for. “Did you guys hear that noise?”