Chasing Sapphire

14. SHIFT

SAPPHIRE

The wolf that was straddling me, its face contorted and within a minute, the hairy beast shifted into a man. His face once scary, was converted into brown skin with soft stubble. My tongue tied as I watched him writhe in agony, his eyes clenching and a whimper leaving his mouth.

Then I realized that we weren't alone. I heard someone chanting words that probably belonged to a foreign language in a familiar voice.

With pure horror that filled my insides, I looked towards the source of the voice and gasped when my gaze landed on Bella, the girl I lived with. She was stepping towards us, her hand extended out and her eyes emotionless, as she chanted those words continuously.

Suddenly, the man above me fell on me with a thud, almost crushing me with his giant built. I shrieked in horror when his pounding heartbeat came to a halt against my ribcage, his body lying on top of me still and lifeless.

Bella hurried towards me and tried to pull him away. I breathed when he was pushed aside to the ground, my head felt weirdly light. I could hear the sound of other wolves at a distance. It won't take them much to reach us.

She extended her arm for me and helped me in standing up. I looked around myself, my vision blurring slightly. My knee hurt, my head hurt and due to the impact of the wolf, my back hurt too. But the physical pain was less than the emotional torture. I just witnessed an animal shift into a grown man, and there was a solid possibility that Bella had something to do with it.

I looked around, trying to find something to balance myself. My head was spinning, my vision turning black. I felt Bella's hands around me and as much as I wanted to push her away, I couldn't find the strength to do so.

"Sapphire, Are you alright?" she asked but I couldn't reply. The moment I tried to walk, all the energy left me and I found myself falling backwards to the ground.

°°°°°

When I woke up next, I felt like someone had run me over with a truck. My whole body ached like hell, specially my knee and back. It took me a whole lot courage to open my eyes and the minute the bright sunlight entered my eyes, I flinched. I was in my room in Bella's house but had no recollection of how I reached here.

"Easy," I heard a familiar voice. I turned my face to my right and frowned in confusion when I saw Connor sitting there on the chair.

"Where's Bella?" I asked, closing my eyes again and rubbing my head.

"She had to go to market. I came to meet you but she told me to stay here for a while and keep an eye on you. Are you feeling well?" he asked, all in single breath and I nodded.

Waking up and finding a man sitting beside my bed wasn't exactly something I was used to. Roman usually left for work before I wake up. Besides, I knew I must be looking crazy right now, with my tangled hair and clothes covered with jungle mud.

"Bella told me that you got lost in Jungle. What were you doing there?" he asked in a worried voice. I used all my effort in sitting up. He offered to help me but I refused. I don't want him to come near me when I smelled like shit.

"Um... I don't know. I just wanted to explore this town." I lied. I went there to get some answers but I ended up with even more questions. He nodded, his green eyes dripping with sincerity.

"What do you know about West family? I asked, rubbing my eyes to clear my vision.

"Nothing much. They are rich and well, a little shady." he said I nodded in agreement. Shady was probably a small word for them.

I tried to remember how Bella saved me and the memory caused me to shiver. Somehow, she changed a wolf into a man and there was no way I could comprehend it by using science I studied in high school and college.