Chameleon (Supernaturals) (11 page)

“I have broken no council law!” Alex shouted. His sudden anger startled me so badly that I leapt off the couch and into Russ’s arms. Russ was more than happy to hold me. He actually looked as surprised as me by Alex’s outburst.

“Gentlemen, enough.” Constance somehow raised her voice without actually raising it. “Can’t you see you are terrifying the children? The past doesn’t matter. What matters is that we get Danielle to safety.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. I grabbed hold of Russ so hard that my nails were digging into his skin. “Russ, who are these people?” I whispered.

“They’re kind of like the government for supernaturals,” Russ murmured. “But don’t worry. They can’t just take you.”

Constance shook her head as she sent me another one of her calming smiles. “We mean you no harm, Danielle.” The more she smiled at me the more I could see that the look was too perfect. She wasn’t just smiling to smile. She was trying to convince me that she was telling the truth. It made me think she was probably lying.

“We need to figure out exactly what’s happening with you,” she went on. “You’re a very special girl. We want to help you.”

“You want to use her!”

I expected Constance to get angry with Russ for yelling at her, but she never lost her temper. “We want to protect her, and if she’s already been attacked then we were right to come.”

“And we’re wrong to just be standing here,” Duncan added. He frowned at Russ and said, “You are not telling us everything we need to know. Why would the wolf try to kill her if he was sent to kidnap her? There is no creature more loyal than a werewolf. If he had orders to bring her back alive he never would have harmed her.”

I didn’t appreciate being talked about like I wasn’t there. “He didn’t have much of a choice,” I snapped. “What that wolf did to me it did in self-defense.”

“Dani!” Russ hissed. All of his anger was now solely directed at me. “Shut up!”

“Speak, girl,” Robert said. “What do you mean?”

I did my best to ignore Russ’s glare. “Russ didn’t kill the wolf—”

“Dani!” Russ slapped his hand over his face and tried to rub away his frustration. “Do you
want
them to take you away?”

“Do you
want
to get thrown in jail?” I yelled back. “What difference does it make if I tell them the truth?”

“What truth?” Robert said eagerly.

Alex gave me an encouraging nod and when I looked back at Russ he threw his hands up. “Fine. Whatever. But when they’ve locked you up somewhere don’t expect me not to say I told you so.”

“I killed the wolf. Russ had nothing to do with it.”

“What?” Alex asked while Duncan said, “
How?
”

Russ groaned. “She ripped the freaking dog’s throat out. It came after me and she just wolfed out.”

Nobody had a reply to that. It was Alex who finally said, “Transformation magic. I guess it’s not that far a leap since you’re already casting spells without incantations or any training.”

“She’s already what?” Constance asked astonished.

“It wasn’t magic,” I said.

“Of course it was,” Robert argued. The scowl had returned to his face. I wasn’t sure if he thought everyone was an idiot, or just me.

“No,” Russ agreed. “It wasn’t magic.”

“So she’s a shape shifter?”

“No,” Russ said again. “I’m not sure what happened but she didn’t shape shift. She had animal instincts. Shape shifting doesn’t turn someone into a natural killer. That guy was second in command of his pack. He was a trained fighter. Then after she killed him she started healing on her own. Just like a werewolf. Transformation magic gives you the form of something. It doesn’t give you all its power. I could feel that her magic was gone. I think she literally became a werewolf.”

It was clear that no one believed Russ. Finally Duncan spoke up. “Well she’s definitely not a werewolf now. Trust me, I’m a vampire. I’d know if she were a mutt. So what changed? How come she stopped healing?”

“I don’t know,” Russ said. “One minute she was a werewolf—she felt different to me, smelled different, she had no magic—then the next minute it was just like before. The animal was gone and her magic was back. She was just like me again.”

“It happened when he touched me,” I said. “I felt the change when the werewolf grabbed me. One minute I was a warlock and the next I was a wolf. It happened again afterward when Russ touched me. I was an animal and then suddenly I was a warlock again.”

Robert and Constance exchanged a glance. “The Supreme High Councilor will know what to do,” Constance said.

“Surely there will be others besides the werewolf.” Duncan waved his hand as if to say, “Let’s get moving.”

Robert looked at me with yet another frown. “Come Danielle. We must go quickly.”

“Go where?”

“To the consulate, of course.”

“Damn it!” Russ hollered. He grabbed on to me tightly again. “I knew it!”

Russ seemed pretty convinced that I was never coming back and I began to panic. “Wait a minute,” I said. “Where is this place?”

“Manhattan.”

“New York?” My stomach lurched. “I can’t go all the way to New York.”

“I’m afraid you must,” Constance said.

“What will I tell my parents? They’re not going to let me leave with a bunch of strangers. And how long will I be gone? I have school tomorrow. All the supernatural powers in the world do not help my understanding of geometry. If I miss more than a day or two I’ll be screwed.”

“You have more important things to worry about right now than school,” Duncan said.

I looked around the room. Constance, Robert, and Duncan were mentally half way to New York already. Alex didn’t look happy about it, but he wasn’t going to stop anyone either. Only Russ seemed to be on my side, though he clearly blamed me for this. I steeled myself and faced Constance. “My parents aren’t going to let me go.”

Russ let out another groan. “They aren’t going to tell your parents, dummy.”

I looked at Alex and his face was grim.

“So you
are
kidnapping me?” I asked Robert.

It was Constance who answered me. “We simply can’t tell your parents. Humans cannot know anything of the supernatural world for their own safety. If you stay here you will be putting their lives at risk as much as your own.”

“We can keep you safe Dani,” Russ said. “Dad and I won’t let anything happen to you or your parents.”

“Don’t be foolish boy,” Robert barked. “This is not up for discussion. The girl is coming with us.”

“No!” I screamed. “You can’t make me! I’m not going anywhere!”

Duncan stepped in front of Robert and Constance then, wearing a grave expression. When he reached out to grab me I closed my eyes and pictured him glued to the floor. I pictured them all stuck.

I heard their gasps before I opened my eyes. “No one is taking me anywhere,” I warned them. “If you try it, you’ll join that werewolf in the afterlife.”

Russ snickered and squeezed me tight. “I was wrong,” he told me. “You’re not supernatural awesomeness. You’re a supernatural badass.”

Robert shouted angry threats at me and when I didn’t listen he turned his rage on Alex, blaming him for my actions. The guy was a total waste of space, but Duncan wasn’t quite as idiotic. He remained completely calm and said, “The werewolf was just the first of many who will come for you. Some will want to kidnap you. Others will simply want to kill you. All of them will go through your family and friends to get to you. You’re strong, but you can’t protect everyone you love at all times. Someone will eventually be hurt. Is that what you want?”

Russ looked like he was ready to murder Duncan, but the vampire’s words had struck a chord in my heart. I hadn’t exactly forgotten that wolf charging Russ. Then there were my poor, sweet, innocent parents. They would never be the one in a thousand Russ was talking about. If they ever accidently learned of any of this they would be devastated. Plus, they’re so, I don’t know, helpless I guess. I couldn’t stand the thought of some freak werewolf coming after them just to get to me.

“How long would I have to stay there?” I asked.

Russ tensed but didn’t say anything.

Constance smiled. “Just until we know what you are and how to keep you safe,” she said. Nice and vague I noticed. “Until we know who out there is trying to get to you and why.”

I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t put my parents in danger. I sighed my defeat and let everyone go.

“Dani,” Russ whispered in a tight voice. “Don’t.”

“I have to, Russ. My parents.”

“Fine. Then Dad and I will come with you.”

Alex’s face turned hopeful, but with just a look it became obvious that they would never allow it. He tried anyway. “Surely Dani would be more comfortable, perhaps more willing to cooperate, if she didn’t have to go alone.”

“Alexander, you are well aware that that is out of the question,” Robert said.

“Not me if that’s what the problem is. Just send the boy.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Why?” Russ demanded. Everybody ignored him.

Alex sighed. He’d given up.

“Come, Danielle,” Robert said impatiently.

“But—”

When I hesitated, Robert nodded to Duncan, who then held out his hand to me. I looked back at Russ and felt Duncan’s hand come down on my shoulder.

“Dad, do something!” Russ said when Duncan gave me a slight tug toward the door. “We’re never going to see her again!”

Russ’s pleas for help did nothing. Alex was already resigned. “Calm down Russ. Of course you’ll see each other again.”

“Are you sure?” I asked Alex.

“Of course,” he said, but he didn’t look too sure.

A new sense of dread washed over me. “Promise me, Alex. Promise me!”

Alex looked pained but he smiled. “I promise. We’ll come visit, and I’m sure they’ll let you call us when you get there.”

Robert narrowed his eyes but Constance smiled. “Of course.”

Russ finally gave up his fight and Alex clasped his shoulder. Whether as a supportive gesture or a physical restraint I couldn’t tell. “It’s probably better for her right now anyway,” he said to Russ. “Her cravings are going to be awful for months. To be around as many powerful people as the council? She’ll barely feel it.”

I was in shock. This was happening and I couldn’t avoid it. The most I could hope for was that they would figure out everything quickly and I could come home soon. “I just need to shower and pack a bag.”

“I’m sorry, we have to leave now,” Robert said.

“But—”

“We’ll provide you with everything you need,” Constance added.

“I don’t get to go home first? I don’t even get to say goodbye to my parents?”

“You are very important, Danielle,” Duncan told me. “We can’t risk anything happening to you. In fact we should be gone already.”

I ripped my shoulder out of Duncan’s grasp. “I’m not leaving without seeing my parents!”

“It’s for their safety as much as yours,” Constance said.

I was trying to be strong, but the thought of not being able to tell my parents I was leaving made my eyes burn. What would they think when I didn’t come home? They’d be worried sick. I ran at Alex and threw myself into his arms. “Tell them something,” I said. “You know how they are. They won’t understand. Help them. Take care of them.”

Alex squeezed me like I was his own daughter. “Don’t worry about your parents. I’ll protect them with my life Dani. I promise.”

I told myself I wouldn’t cry for Russ. It would only make it harder for us both. I fell against him and he pulled me into a hug so tight I couldn’t breathe. He’s so much taller than me that my feet left the ground. For a minute I just rested against him. When he set me back down he wiped the single tear that had escaped my eye. “You won’t be gone long,” he said fiercely. But if he really believed that, why did he look like he was determined to prove a point? “Call me when you get there and tell me all about it.”

“I’ll miss you,” I said.

Russ tried to smirk. “Get into trouble for me.”

“Stay out of trouble for me.”

This was the moment where we were supposed to say goodbye but neither of us could do it.

“I’m sorry, Danielle. We need to go now.”

It was Duncan. He’d placed a hand lightly on my shoulder again and his voice resonated with genuine sympathy. I hated him a little less right then.

I gave Russ one last look and he suddenly kissed me as if his life depended on it. It was the strangest kiss. Besides being my first kiss, it was so surprising that I couldn’t even kiss him back right away. Then my body turned to fire and I attacked him with force. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the craving, or if it was the intensity of the moment, or if maybe it was something that had always been there, tucked away just below the surface.

I’d always loved Russ. I’d wondered every now and then if we’d ever be more than friends but I’d never felt the need. I would have been content had we never crossed that line. Now, as I finally got a taste of what romance with Russ could be like, I wondered how I’d ever lived without it. Letting him go and ending this kiss was going to kill me. It was so perfect that I wondered, on the off chance I didn’t come back any time soon, if I’d look back on this moment and be grateful or if it would haunt me.