SHIFT

Chapter 1

The grass swayed slightly as a gust of wind stirred the peaceful, quiet surrounding of the forest.

A panther laid at a patch of clearing, its eyes closed and its sleek black fur rose up and down in a steady rhythm. Hearing a rustle among the bushes, it immediately rose from its position on the ground into a fighting stance, its eyes searching for any threat.

"Relax, Becca. It's Adam," hearing her brother's voice, Rebecca smoothed her stance and changed into her human form.

She turned to face her brother, her hands deftly started braiding her long black hair. "You disturb my nap."

Adam bowed his head mockingly at her. "Forgive me, your highness."

She only rolled her eyes in response. She knew that he wasn't sorry at all. It's not the first time Adam had woken her up from her sleep for the sole purpose of annoying the hell out of her.

"Mom called. Said she's expecting you to be there by noon," Adam said, his voice lacking the usual cheerfulness in its tone.

"I know. I've already put the boxes in the car," she said as a wistful smile formed on her lips.

He only smiled back at her before enveloping her in a brotherly hug. "I'm gonna miss you, little sis."

"I'm gonna miss you, too, big old Adam," she said, a playful tinge hinting at the nickname.

Moving in with her mom wasn't Rebecca's idea of starting her senior year. It was her dad's.

Her parents had had a divorce a couple years back because her mom had finally found her mate. Yay! (note the sarcasm). And as a resort to fix the crumbling mother-daughter relationship, her dad had asked her to live with her mom so that they could do some bonding and stuff, which Rebecca was more than a little reluctant because, yeah, let's face it. Her mom had left them, her children, just like that after the divorce without a single word.

And now standing outside her mom and her soulmate, Quentin's house, Rebecca felt like driving back to where she knew Adam and her dad would welcome her with arms' wide open.

Only, her curiosity and the sliver of longing at seeing her mom again stopped her. She was curious about this whole soulmate thing.

Her dad had told her that not all shapeshifters, or even other creatures for that matter, had the luck of finding their other half. Her dad hadn't found his.

She just hoped she would meet hers.

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Dinner was alright, to say the least. It was awkward at first. What's with Rebecca seeing her mom for the first time after years of silence.

When her mom had opened the door, she had gasped silently with her hand stilled on the doorknob. Rebecca hadn't known what to do. Whether to hug her mom and cry on her bosom or just wave with a smile on her face.

And she had opted for the latter. Only instead of a smile it had turned into a grimace. She couldn't exactly put a genuine smile on her face when all she wanted to do was yell at her mom and ask her why she'd left them all those years ago without a proper goodbye.

And then her mom had waved back at her with tears at the corner of her eyes. She had ushered her in and the first conversation they had after Rebecca had finished putting her stuff in order was about food.

"There's apple pie in the kitchen. Want some?" Her mom had asked.

And Rebecca's reply was a short "I don't eat apples."