Shaping Destiny (8 page)

My morning flew by, and I
even got a new phone. It was time to call Jared, but I decided to
just text him.
Got a new phone. It’s still
the same number. Call you later.
Simple
and sweet. He was most likely still mad at me, so time apart
probably made the most sense right now.

“Can I put my number in
your phone?” Max asked.

I jumped and let out a
breath. “Max. You scared me.”

“I didn’t think I could
sneak up on you anymore.”

I could tell he was pretty
proud of himself.

“Well, you just caught me
distracted. If I were paying attention, there would’ve been no way
you could’ve sneaked up.” I smiled up at him.

“I’ll take that as a
challenge.” He held out his hand. “Can I see your
phone?”

I handed it to him, and he
typed his number into it. “There, now you can call me if you’re in
trouble.”

“Thanks. So what are our
plans for the day?”

“We’re going to climb that
mountain.” He pointed in the distance.

“You do realize it’ll be
dark before we can even climb to the top.”

“Yeah probably, so that’s
why I’m taking you to only part of the mountain. Trust me, you will
like it.”

Sometimes I wished I could
control my smiling around him. “All right, let’s go. Do I need
anything?”

“Nope. You have your coat
and sneakers, and you don’t need anything else.” He held out his
hand. “This way.”

We drove up the mountain
road for a while until he pulled off to the side to get out. The
scenery reminding me of home: trees, boulders, birds, and
quiet.

“This is beautiful,” I
said.

“Come this
way.”

A skinny trail waved
between obstacles, going up higher and higher to the sky. I saw a
ledge near the top. It wasn’t the top of the mountain, just the
hill we climbed.

“Is this the part where
you tell me you’re not my bodyguard but in fact a
murderer?”

“Very funny. No, this is
the part where I show you a waterfall.”

I reached for his hand as
he pulled me up the rest of the way. The waterfall was
enormous.

“Oh wow! I didn’t know
this was here. When you said waterfall I thought narrow and
drizzling, but this . . . Wow!” It stretched about forty feet wide
and dropped a good twenty. The trail went over and followed the
side of the water all the way to the top. The water’s mist sprayed
us slightly as we climbed, but when we reached the top it only made
the scenery even more breathtaking.

“This is what I wanted to
show you.”

“I have never seen
anything like this.”

“Here, sit down.” Max
gestured to a large boulder that looked like two giants had dented
when they sat. “I think we need to talk.”

I nodded. “Max, you’re
more than just my bodyguard, aren’t you? The day I could smell so
clearly, you smelled Jared when I did. Then last night when you
healed so quickly. Why is all this happening?”

“Well, the healing thing,
I truly have never seen before. That is new to me.” He paused for a
minute. “But before I tell you about me, I need to know one more
thing about you.”

I waited for him to
continue.

“There is no easy way to
ask you . . . Along with smell, hearing, and healing, can you shape
shift?”

This wasn’t happening. Was
he really asking me the same question as the boss did when he
captured me? Fear ran down my spine. Could they possibly be working
together?

I stood up. “What kind of
question is that? I told you the night the boss tormented me that
he expected me to be some kind of shape shifter, and here you are
asking me if I truly am one. The boss is insane; you don’t believe
for a minute that he was telling the truth, do you?”

“Leah, please sit down.
I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Well, when you start
asking the same questions the boss did, it makes me wonder.” I
crossed my arms against my chest. “Who hired you to protect
me?”

“You can’t truly believe I
have anything to do with the boss. After all the times I fought
against him. You know I’ve already broken the rules by being with
you. I can’t tell you who hired me. This whole thing was supposed
to be discreet.”

“I don’t know what to
think anymore. Please take me home.”

Max ran his fingers
through his hair, feeling desperate. “Leah, I know you can feel the
connection we have with each other.” He stood to walk closer to me.
“I know you react to my touch, and I to yours.”

My eyes locked with his,
in shock.

Max slowly reached out
until the tips of his fingers glided along my cheek. “I can see the
goosebumps that form on your skin. I can feel your insides tremble
when our skin meets. I tried with all my might to stay away from
you in the beginning, but I couldn’t. I have never felt this
before. Please don’t run and think I’ll hurt you. Even the thought
of you being hurt enrages me. No one is going to hurt you, I
promise.”

My body ignited on fire by
his words. “Why?” I put my hand to my chest, feeling so much
emotion for this man.

“
I don’t know yet.” We got
lost in each other’s eyes, drifting hopelessly closer. As my body
heated through, his desired expression started to fade to
concern.

“Your eyes.” He put his
hands on either side of my face. “I can hear your heart beating too
fast. You need to calm down, take a deep breath.”

I tried breathing, but it
only came out shallow and fast. “I can’t think when you’re so
close. It’s burning.” I barely spoke.

He stepped away quickly,
while I crumbled in pain. I started counting in my head and
breathing as deeply as possible, until the pain
subsided.

“Leah, it’s OK. You did
it, you held off the change. Are you OK?”

I slowly moved to the
boulder we once sat on and leaned against it.

“Yes, I’m
fine.”

“You’re a shape shifter.”
He leaned down to look at me. “I know you don’t want to believe it,
but you are.”

“I’ve heard enough. What
you’re saying is impossible. You’re not making any sense! I thought
you were different.”

Max looked down, not
speaking for what seemed like forever. “I am different, just not
the way you think. Remember that night when you were telling me
about a black wolf that came and scared everyone way?”

Feeling drained I replied,
“That was you?”

“Yes.”

Max drove me home. I’d had
enough talk of shape shifting. Although I supposedly almost shifted
myself, I still didn’t want to believe it was possible.

As the next week passed,
Max kept reminding me that I couldn’t hide forever. He wanted to
help me understand and not go through this alone, but I didn’t want
to face the truth yet.

***

The connection between Max
and me only made the need to shift more apparent, which only made
it harder to ignore the inevitable. That day when we were up in the
mountains, he told me how he felt. He placed his hands on my face,
and our feelings circled around us. It was then when my heart
wouldn’t slow, and pain enveloped my torso. Not until he let go was
I able to pull myself together again. This fact didn’t keep me from
seeing him, though. I feared to tell him the burning pain he caused
me, and the more we were together the stronger it got. It was time
to do something.

From my patio, Max’s smell
filled my senses. I needed to talk to him. After grabbing my coat I
headed outside, knowing Max would find me.

“I know you can hear me.”
I continued walking down the sidewalk. He never lingered far
anymore, because of the repeated attacks. “I’m ready.”

A black truck rounded the
corner and stopped instantly next to me, its passenger’s door
already swung open.

“Get in,” Max
said.

We drove up to our spot in
the mountains: the waterfall. Max opened the door for me when we
arrived, and we climbed hand in hand to the top.

I couldn’t run away
anymore. The boss and his lackeys were after me, and I needed to
know why. My choices where limited: either I learn what was
happening to me or I get captured by the boss. Max couldn’t protect
me forever.

“Should I be
scared?”

“What are you scared of?”
Max stopped to asked.

I looked down. “Being a
monster, hurting you, and not being human.”

“You have this all wrong.
Just because your body changes, doesn’t mean your mind does. You
will still be you.” He put both hands on my arms. “If you’re having
second thoughts . . . ”

“No, I’m fine. Let’s keep
going.” Having second thoughts was putting it mildly. My whole life
had turned upside down in a matter of months.

Max said he could feel the
pull between us, but he didn’t know his touch made it harder for me
to control. I never wanted to tell him, because he would try to fix
it. No matter how much I feared being a shape shifter and denied
it, it frightened me more than the thought of his
leaving.

“No matter how many times
I see this place, it’ll always be amazing,” I said.

“It reminded me of you
when I first saw it.” Max put his hands in his pockets and looked
down. “I’ve never met anyone like me before. A shape shifter, I
mean.”

“Not one? Not even
family?”

Max shook his head. “I’m
adopted. When I found out, I was seventeen. I never told my parents
or friends. I’ve always kept this secret to myself.”

“So you had no one to talk
to about it?”

“No, but I don’t want that
for you, Leah. I want to help you understand.” Max looked
up.

“But how do you know that
I am like you?”

“There are too many things
that have happened: smell, hearing, the attacks. I know you want to
fight it until the very end, but there is no denying it any longer.
I’ll prove it to you; we just have to find out what triggers your
turn. For me it was anger, but I don’t think that’s it for you.
Last time we were up here you almost turned, so I thought this
would be a good place to start.”

My cheeks burned red. I
knew exactly what made my insides heat up. I just needed to tell
Max.

“I do,” I said
softly.

“You do what?”

“I know what would make me
turn.”

“That’s great. Tell me.”
He walked toward me.

I put my hand out to block
him getting too close as my stomach turned into knots with
anticipation. I already felt his presence strong enough just
talking to him. I didn’t need him any closer.

“You. You are my trigger.
I can’t even get near you without feeling like I’m going to
explode. It’s just getting worse and worse every day.”

“Me?” He took a step back.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because of that.” I
gestured to his step back. “I didn’t want you to leave.”

“I’m not going away. I
couldn’t go away.” Silence fell between us. “When you’re ready to
turn, I’ll help you.”

Blush filled my cheeks.
“I’m ready . . . I think.” Who could be ready for something like
this? Thinking about my skin, bones, and muscles all moving in a
painful transformation made me want to walk back to Max’s truck . .
. until I locked eyes on him.

That’s all Max needed to
start his way toward me. Maybe it was out of respect that he held
back any physical desire, but now he didn’t. His eyes became
lustful, yet gentle. Prickling pain started at my toes and worked
its way up slowly. His pace didn’t slow toward me, and all I could
hear were our hearts beating faster and faster. All sounds became
muffled as blood pumped through my veins. My skin boiled with heat,
my head started to spin, and without warning his lips landed on
mine. Our arms enveloped each other. His hand slowly went up my
back until it rested at the nape of my neck. I had never
experienced a kiss with so much passion, desire, and heat. I
couldn’t fight the fire much longer even though I tried.

I yelled in pain, breaking
our kiss. Max never let go as my legs gave out. He cradled me and
gently laid me down on the ground, stroking my hair in hopes to
comfort me. I screamed even louder as transformation consumed me.
The pain felt as if I were being ripped open from the inside. My
screams turned into roars as fur lined my skin and my hands turned
to paws. There was no turning back now, even if I wanted to. The
transformation was almost complete.

“You’re OK, Leah. It won’t
be this painful every time.” Sadness laced his words.

Everything calmed. I
opened my eyes to reveal much crisper and detailed lines of nature.
All the trees and leaves shimmered. They lit up nature with vibrant
colors and smells. I could hear cracking of branches and brushes as
if they were breaking right next to my ears. The breeze held more
than just air; sounds of nature danced between the plants and
animal life. A mile away a field of pine trees filled my nose as
they tried to grow. Nature encircled every part of my
senses.