Shifters

Chapter 9

Jared was tired. After months of interrogating the vampires and the other half-breed thing, he was god damn tired.  Turning his black truck onto the street he realized just how fatigued he felt.  Every muscle in him felt like it was putty.  A week’s worth of sleep is what he was going to do... Nothing but eat, sleep and then sleep some more.  Maybe a shower here and there. And maybe a visit to his intriguing neighbor that he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about.  He wondered how cold her little feet were in the chillier weather. He smiled when he remembered how he almost put her to sleep on her own porch just by holding her feet.

It was the heat he knew that made her feel so drowsy.  Jared smiled again.

Stopping at the intersection, the back of his neck started prickling.

“God what the hell now,” he grumbled.  He started forward and realized Lydia was standing out in front of her house at the edge of her yard. She looked like she was about to jump at whatever she was looking at.  Something was wrong.

He stopped his truck out in front of his house and jumped out without turning his engine off.

“Lydia what’s wrong?” Jared yelled.  She didn’t respond and she looked odd.  He couldn’t figure out what it was but something was wrong with her. Turning to see what she was looking at he felt the blood drain from his face.

There in her house, at the bottom of her stairs stood Petro.  And Lydia wasn’t moving. She didn’t even register that he was there, nothing. He knew Petro couldn’t come out. What the hell was he doing here? 

He reached Lydia and realized what was wrong. She was losing control. Over herself. And the shifting. 

Jared stood in front of her and looked into her eyes. They were almost fully dilated, her skin would be burning and the pain and pressure she should be feeling, he knew, was there. She just wasn’t registering it.

“Lydia look at me sweetie,” he said softly. He paid no attention to Petro, he wasn’t any threat right now as long as they stayed outside. “Lydia, Lydia look at me. That’s right look into my eyes.”  He didn’t dare touch her, he wasn’t sure how she was keeping control of herself like this. She should be screaming and begging for it to end. But no she was standing right there looking like she was ready to fight.

“Lydia focus on me, focus on my voice. That’s right you have to calm yourself. No, no don’t pay any attention to him,” he noticed she was trying to look around him. “No that’s right listen to my voice. We’ll deal with him in a moment. I need you to calm down. Listen to my voice.” Jared kept talking in a calm and soothing voice.  After what seemed an agonizingly amount of time he noticed she didn’t look as flushed and her eyes were starting to return to normal.  How in the hell she did it he did not know. Every other shifter he has ever come across or has had the misfortune to see shift for the first time was a terrible mess.  He even remembered his first time.

Unless this wasn’t her first time. But then how had she not been detected??

“Jared?” Lydia said in a bit of a dazed voice. “Jared what are you doing standing in front of me?” Looking around Lydia realized she was outside. “Actually what am I doing out here?”

“Can you walk? I need you to come with me right now,” Jared was trying not to show any kind of concern or the fact that Petro was still standing behind him with just a screen door separating them. He did not want her getting worked up again.

“What? Yes why wouldn’t I be able to walk? What am I doing out here? What’s going on this is really weird,” Lydia said as she tried to look around Jared. She realized that she had a strange urge to try to get back into her house again.

“She really is remarkable isn’t she,” Petro said, “if you hadn’t come along so conveniently we may have had another shifter.  Remarkable control she has.”

Lydia stiffened at the voice. “What’s he doing in my house?” Louder now she said, “You! What are you doing in my house? Get out now you have no business in there, I’m going to call the police if you don’t leave now. Actually I’m going to call them anyway! You have no right! NO right being in MY house! Get out, GET OUT NOW!!” Lydia started yelling. Jared grabbed her shoulders and swung her around. He noticed she was started to lose it again.

“Lydia I need you to trust me, please go to my truck and get my cell. In it is a friend of mine’s number. Alex is all it says tell him Jared needs him and another one has been found.” Jared was talking in a more stern voice.

“I don’t take orders from you! You have no right to order me around and that man has NO right to be in my house!!” She was breathing heavy now, she could feel herself getting warm again.

“Listen to me! If you don’t get that phone and call Alex NOW we’ll lose a known and wanted terrorist,” Jared was trying to find any excuse to get her mind off what was going on inside her. He thought if he could get her thinking on something else he could possibly kill two birds with one stone.

“Lydia please he can’t leave your house until it turns dark,” Jared was trying to urge her away from the house, “we can’t lose him.”

Petro chimed in, “Yes Lydia dear, go run and do what the nice man wants. Go run and use his phone while I go through your things. I wonder what kind of panties you wear.” His voice was soft, but had a hard edge to it. “I wonder what panties your daughters wear”

Lydia started shaking, the rushing that started in her head was almost unbearable.  She couldn’t hear anything but her blood running in her veins.  Coursing through her body.  She could feel the heat emanating off of her like she was molten lava.  Her vision suddenly became clearer and crisper.  Everything was focused on that man with the blond hair.

“… Your kids Lydia. Your kids are in danger.” Jared was frantic now she was going to shift right here in the middle of the street, in broad daylight because of that fucking asshole.

He saw no alternative, he heard the familiar popping noises and clipped Lydia on the back of the head knocking her unconscious.

“Shit,” he swore softly, as he caught her. “I’m going to personally torture you myself you fucking coward,” Jared sneered as he walked away with Lydia.

Petro chuckled softly, “Not if I slip out the back while you take care of your little pet.”