Shifters

Chapter 5

What in the hell was he thinking? Why in the hell was he grabbing some woman’s feet he didn’t even know? But seeing her purple skin made him react. It wasn’t normal for a woman to have such poor circulation. She couldn’t be more than twenty six maybe twenty eight at the most.

He wasn’t sure why he just randomly decided to grab her feet... sometimes the Alpha in him made him feel like doing odd things.  He grimaced at the thought…. Being an Alpha wasn’t like what the movies or books said.  He wasn’t at all a dominate, need to control, O.C.D. freak.  He didn’t have some need to be the top dog so to speak.  Well, it was just more of an instinct thing. 

If a line of shifters were standing against the wall and the wall caught on fire… the Alpha would be the first to know before anyone even saw it. Most shifters had an innate sense that let them know basic emotions in others.  If someone was hiding a secret let’s say... a surprise birthday party or something then most shifters would sense that excited nervousness.  But to an Alpha it was different.  Sure they could sense nervousness but they could also tell if it was a tense nervous, from let’s say someone holding a gun to their back.  Or if it was just a plain nervousness from excitement about keeping a secret surprise birthday party.

Little differences that most didn’t think about made a HUGE difference in the shifter world.

Walking to the back door of his house, he thought he’d place a few calls and see what he could do to have someone take a look at her medical records when he heard a voice.

“Bothering the neighbors I see, you animal,” Alex said amused at seeing his friend’s odd face.

Jared’s head snapped up, god where did he come from? He should have sensed him from across the street easily. Or at least seen the other vehicle in the driveway. But he was distracted. He realized he hadn’t even been paying attention to anything but his interesting and amusing neighbor.

“A guy’s entitled to take a break you ass,” Jared said with humor. “What are you doing here, I told the General no more missions. I’m done.”

Alex looked tired and drained. Shadows played at his face and made him look older than he was. Death had a way of sucking the life from everyone around it.

“I’m not here to badger you into any missions. I’m here to tell you some news,” he took a deep breath, “They found the group we apparently ran into over in Alaska. They have been carting a different version of that liquid silver crap around with them. We wiped out about two thirds of their group and captured 4 of them.”

Jared tensed.

“One appears to be some scientist gone missing a few years ago. They turned him.” Alex’s features turned even harsher than he expected,” they are trying to manufacture some kind of serum that will make them able to go out into the daylight.”

He walked to the window looking out into the street, he lowered his head down and seemed to play with the window ledge. Jared waited sensing more was to be explained. And he wasn’t expecting what came next.

“They have one of your kind with them. Working with them or for them. We don’t know she got away with the leader apparently. A female vampire leader.  That’s why you couldn’t smell or hear them. Their enhanced somehow by the liquid. It enhanced them and made you lose control. What we were able to get out of the scientist they turned is that the liquid was supposed to make them almost invincible.  Sunlight wouldn’t be able to burn them. At least not for a while. They still can’t stay out in it for long but they could for a few hours. With injections. It is giving them odd abilities depending on which had it. And the leader will only let certain ones try it. She is afraid if one became stronger than her, she would lose control.  It’s enhanced her beyond normal vampire abilities. She has your uncanny ability to sense danger, smell is greater and she can see almost flawlessly.”

He paused and started pacing around the living room. He seemed lost in thought.

“What we can’t figure out is why the other shape shifter is helping them. The scientist wouldn’t tell us or can’t tell us. From what I know from your past and from your stories are that you are enemies. Well, not just enemies, complete opposites. Like night and day.  Why would a shape shifter help a mortal enemy? That liquid made you unable to stay in human form. And you said you felt anger and felt like you were losing it.”

Alex was pacing faster now.

“What if this stuff enhances them but makes your kind unable to stay human? What if somehow those vampire bastards are controlling the other shifter? I heard those vampires talking to you, I saw the report on what you had said they were saying. It sounded like they were waiting for you, waiting for you to shift so that the liquid would make you theirs to control?’

He stopped now. He looked up, his eyes dark and furious.

“Can you remember anything else that can help us?  Two out of the four we captured speak a language we can’t understand.  Jared, if they get the ability to move during the day. Things will become very dangerous for everyone. Not just humans. They have the ability to control your kind.  Imagine if they get the ability to travel during the day? They get prime picking, we’ll lose track of them.”

Jared sat and closed his eyes. God why now, he wanted to go see Lydia.  Wanted to help her, wanted to get to know her more.  He sighed. He could go talk to them see what he could find out. But something felt off again. He had that feeling that something was going to go wrong he knew it. And he also knew, or was pretty sure, just what it was that was wrong.

“I’ll go talk to the two you have on two conditions. One is the woman across the street from me, the one I was talking to. Something is wrong with her. I was going to go bug her for her doctors name and pull all her medical records….” he sighed again,” but I suppose you could do it in a more, reserved manner.”

He smiled now, he was always a bit head strong. Run in teeth flashing, think about the consequences later.

Alex was almost afraid to ask what the second was.

“And the second is when the military tries to do more tests, you had best do your damnedest to stop it,” Jared’s eyes were dark and dangerous. God damn it all why was he always pushed to do something he didn’t want to. Why the fuck did humans think they could use force to solve everything. Why don’t they ever learn? Well there were some that were better than others….