As I hurtled toward my destination at 500 miles an hour, I pulled out a notebook, placed it on the shiny mahogany table in front of me, and scribbled a quick to-do list. Pick out an outfit. Get folders and notebooks. Switch into fourth period drama. I chewed on the end of my pen. Oh yeah—just one more thing. Get kidnapped.
According to my pre-mission briefing, kidnappings were
up in the States by five percent over the last five years. The significance of
which didn’t hit me until I found that the statistics for kidnappings had
remained static for a good thirty years. The spike caught the attention of the
FBI, and they put their best men on it. The problem? Right when they thought
they’d discovered the pattern of the kidnappers, it seemed to change.
We hit some turbulence, and the force of it pulled me
out of my reverie. I sucked in a deep breath, my hands resting on the soft
leather side arms of my big comfortable seat as the Gulfstream jet jumped. I
let the rollercoaster feeling wash over me like a wave, forcing myself to enjoy
every last tingle. I only had this flight and a few hours tonight to assume my
new thrill-seeking alias—the one that would lure the kidnappers and save the
day before the pattern changed again. I might as well make the most of
it.
Sharp pains ran through my body. My right hip cracked. I
bit my tongue, trying not to cry out in pain. My skin felt on fire as fur tried
to poke through, but couldn’t.
His face tensed, a pained look in his eyes. “Are you
shifting?”
I shook my head. There was nothing normal about this,
and it was proving to be more difficult and painful than my other months of
un-shifts. Each one grew worse than the last.
Toby scooped me up, carried me inside, and helped me
onto my bed. “I can’t keep my wolf inside any longer. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” I fought to keep my voice steady. Tears
threatened.
He brushed hair from my face and kissed my forehead.
“Ziamara’s upstairs sleeping. She said to wake her if you need
anything.”
I gripped a pillow, squeezing it as hard as I could to
distract myself from the pain. It didn’t work, and the pillow exploded, filling
the air with white feathers.
A loud pop sounded and then a horrific pain shot through
my shoulders. I slumped down and screamed, unable to take the pain.
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