Chapter 34
So Many Changes
JESSICA
EIGHT YEARS AGO:
Emerald Pack Clinic
Iwake up to the bright light of the morning rays streaking in through the window. I blink a few times and realize this isn’t my bedroom. I’m in the clinic. Slightly confused at how I got here, I survey my surroundings.
No machines beep, and as I roam my hands over my body, no tubes or needles protrude from anywhere. I instinctively reach for my throat. There is no hole, just the puckering of a scar where once was.
My mouth is dry, like I swallowed sand. Pulling myself into a sitting position, my hand accidentally bumps a head with long black hair. Emily. I smile and gently massage her scalp with the tips of my fingers.
She groans. I roll my eyes. This girl can sleep like the dead, heavier than the twins. If we were ever under siege, the attackers would think they were dead and leave them alone. I apply more pressure.
She moans, briefly lifts her head to squint around, and plops her head back onto her arms.
I shake my head. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth, and my stomach gurgles. I guess I’m hungry, too. I press the call button and continue to rub Emily’s head while I wait.
My door flies open. Ean barks, “Emily! This isn’t room service. We don’t—” He stops when he notices me sitting there, eyes open, stroking Emily’s long hair. “Little One,” he whispers.
I start to laugh, but it sounds like a wheeze before I cough.
He turns and closes the door, leaving me coughing and choking to death while Emily continues to sleep. He finally returns with my nurse, Mimi.
Ean wakes Emily. When she awakens from her sleepy haze, she lunges at me in a strong embrace and begins to cry. “I’m so sorry! So sorry! I shouldn’t have left you alone.”
I rub her back. “I’m fine,” I whisper. When she pulls back, I wipe the tears from her face.
“What happened to you? You look so different.” She lightly tugs on my hair.
I glance down at the strands of blonde hair in her hand and run my fingers through the long strands, as I just did to Emily. Definitely mine, attached to my scalp. I lift the strand closer to my face to examine it.
Emily watches me. I simply shrug.
Dr. York enters the room. “Jessica, you’re awake.”
I’m still holding my hair when I turn to him and ask, “Can hair grow like this overnight?”
He rests his forefinger over his lips. “No, not usually. The length of your hair typically represents about a year or two of growth.” Reaching behind my back, I find that my hair hangs to my waist. “As shifters, our hair does grow rather fast. In the past six months, if I had to guess, your hair grew about four inches. Of course, if you slept regularly, it probably would have grown a bit more.”
My hair isn’t the only thing that changed.
The wounds on my body closed. The scars don’t look fresh anymore.
I no longer have a straight boyish figure.
My breasts grew a whole cup size, at least. I am even taller, now hitting the five feet marker, and my feet are also a size bigger.
My body is toned and muscular, like I work out or train regularly.
I can see without glasses, and my voice, once I have drunk enough water, no longer resembles a teenage boy’s hormonal rasp.
There is some rasp to it, don’t get me wrong; it isn’t perfect, but it is clear.
When I speak, I no longer struggle to be heard.
The best part of all the bodily changes are my teeth. The braces are gone. I have a mouth full of healthy, white, straight teeth. Mentally, I feel different, too.
After rushing into my room, my parents, Anders, and Dr. York sit, bewildered at my transformation. Anders explains that I was missing for five days. I can’t believe it.
Chris arrives and questions me. Over and over, he asks if I was hurt or if I saw the man who took me, assuming it was a man. Was there more than one man? Did they touch me? How did I escape? Where did they take me? The questions repeat, on and on.
But I have nothing to share. My last memory is leaving the dinner party.
I knew Dr. York stayed at the clinic late on Fridays to finish his charts.
I planned to catch him before he left to stitch the wound on my stomach.
Even though it was dark, I had walked from the mansion and training grounds to meet Anders every morning so I memorized the path.
I wasn’t worried that I couldn’t see well at night.
“Jessica,” Anders mutters my name. “Talk to us. What’s going on in that head of yours.”
I frown. “You don’t believe me? Why? You can hear my thoughts. You would know if I was hiding something.”
My mother shakes her head. “We haven’t been able to hear your thoughts.” Chris nods in agreement.
I look to Anders. “I kind of miss knowing what you’re thinking,” he says with a sad smile.
“I’m so confused right now. I keep replaying everything that happened yesterday in my head. None of this makes sense,” I huff. “Now, I’m broken.” I rub my forehead.
“Not broken. Maybe you need time to process everything,” Dr. York suggests.
I nod as a thought sprouts in my mind, like I forgot to do something important.
“Can I visit Alpha Agnus’s place?” I ask. “I just… feel like I need to see her. Maybe a few cracks with her cane will put things into better perspective,” I joke.
Visiting Alpha Agnus helps me sort through my feelings and hone some of the magic I thought I no longer possessed. She says that my mind matured during my absence, and now I have better control of it. This is why no one can hear my thoughts anymore, unless I allow it.
By the time Xavier picks me up early Friday morning, I feel better and look forward to returning home.
“I was told you were scheduled to take the academy exam this morning with the rest of the recruits.”
“Right! I guess I forgot.” I wince. Will memory loss be my new thing? Great. Now I have holes in my head.
“Don’t worry about your bags. I will take care of them when I return to the mansion,” he comments, opening my door.
“Thank you, Xavier.” I hug him.
“My pleasure. It’s good to have you back, Little One.” He squeezes my arms before letting me go.
Ean waits by the doors and smiles when he sees me. “You ready?” he asks.
I wrinkle my nose. “I forgot to study.”
He pats my back. “I’m sure you will do just fine.” He knocks on the classroom door and playfully pushes me inside.
“If you’re looking for the head guard’s office, it’s farther down the hall,” Professor Hocson instructs in his English accent, peering at me with his dark beady eyes. He’s an eagle shifter. I remember that.
“I’m here to take the exam, Professor.”
“You what?” he asks sharply.
I remove the hood covering my head. “I’m Jessica Langhlam. We agreed I would take the exam with the rest of the recruits.”
He stands quickly from the seat behind his desk. “Oh, goodness, Princess. My apologies. I didn’t recognize you.” He motions to an empty chair.
I cross the room without looking at anyone.
“You will need to remove your hat and jacket.”
I start to unzip my hoodie but hesitate when I remember what I’m wearing underneath. Crap! My borrowed bra is a little too snug, and Sixes gave me a pink tank top and yoga pants. My hair hides inside my sweatshirt because I don’t know how to braid it. Maybe it’s long enough to cover my backside.
“Hat and jacket,” Professor Hocson repeats.
I slowly remove the hat and set it on the table. Taking a deep breath, I pull off my hoodie, hang it on the back of the chair, and drop into my seat. Someone whistles from the back of the room, and heat burns my cheeks.
Professor Hocson approaches and places a pencil and an exam booklet in front of me. “You sure you want to take the exam today? It’s not too much, considering everything you’ve been through?” he asks in a low voice.
“Thank you for your concern, but I feel better and would like to take it today.”
“Okay. Well, the exam clock started fifteen minutes ago. If you need extra time, I can make an exception since you arrived a little late.”
I offer a small smile and open the exam. I’m not there very long when I hear the rustling of papers and a chair scraping along the floor.
“Thank you, Mr. Fitzpatrick. You may leave. Grades will be posted in two hours.” I glance up as Liam passes. He smiles and winks at me.
I furrow my brow. I didn’t expect that from him. I thought he would avoid me or stare with his usual pinched expression.
Then, Luke stands. He offers me a big smile, showing those damn dimples.
I frown and look back down at my exam. What the hell is up with them?
Sodie is the next one to turn in his exam.
When he passes me, I give him a huge smile.
His friendship never wavered. I am really going to miss him when he leaves.
It doesn’t take long for me to finish. I turn my booklet into Professor Hocson. “Done so soon? You sure you don’t want extra time?”
“No. I’m confident with my answers.”
“Alright. I’ll let Anders know how you did. Have you thought about what you would like to major in before we start your core college courses?”
“I haven’t made up my mind yet.”
“Well, that’s okay. We have about a month before you need to decide.”
I nod and turn to gather my things. Marcus and Dustin watch me from the back of the room. I hurriedly grab my hat and head out the door.
Sodie, Luke, and Liam stand at the end of the hall, talking amongst themselves.
As I continue to walk out of the building, they all follow me.
What is with them? The last time I saw Luke, he treated me horribly.
And Liam? Don’t even get me started. His hot and cold demeanor always makes my head spin. Now he’s being attentive and nice.
I ignore them both and turn to Sodie when he asks, “How do you think you did?”
“Not terrible, I think. How about you?”
He shrugs. “As well as I could.”
Guilt spreads in my chest. Did I somehow mess up his studying time… by going missing? I hope not. Sodie deserves to graduate.
He bumps into my arm. “I’m not a good test taker, but I had good study partners.” He tips his head toward Liam and Luke.
Heat tingles along my bare arm. I glance over to see Liam’s hand fall back to his side.
I’m not wearing my sweatshirt. I immediately stop. “I forgot my hoodie. I’ll be right back.” They all follow me. “I don’t need an escort.” They just stare at me, unbudging. I pivot specifically to Liam and raise my eyebrow, daring him to reply. He doesn’t, simply inclining his head.
I hurry inside to the classroom, which has since emptied. My sweatshirt is gone.
“Forget something, Princess?” Marcus asks as Dustin holds up my hoodie and waves it at me.
Marcus sits on the desk closest to the door.
Dustin remains by the doorway, leaning against the frame and crossing his arms over his chest. “Tell me, Princess. Did Liam set up my cousin to take the fall for your little escape plan? Hmmm?”
What the hell is he talking about?
“Did you two have a falling out, and you planned to run away? I saw that look he gave you, but you ignored him. Is that why you showed up here looking all sexy, instead of like a boy for a change? Trying to show him what he’s missing?”
This guy is crazy. I glance over at Dustin, who grins and licks his lips, like I’m some special treat he wants to devour.
“My cousin took the fall for your little game.” He bolts off the desk and looms over me. “He was kicked out of the guard, beaten up, and humiliated because of you!”
With pure instinct, I intercept his hand before he grabs my throat. His other hand raises to hit me, I block it and move back.
Marcus chuckles. “Oh, my beautiful princess has some fight! Is that how you like it? Fight first. Does that turn you on, Princess? I can play along. When I win and pin you under me, you’re going to enjoy what I give you.
” He steps closer, and I take two backward.
“Don’t run, Princess. It’s obvious that you and I were meant for each other.
I can give you so much more than that worthless bastard. ”
I laugh, catching Marcus off guard. “You seem to be quite obsessed with Liam’s sex life.” I roam my eyes down his body. He’s aroused. When I gaze back at his face, I smile and wink. “Is he the one who does it for you?”
He scowls and darts for me. Instead of backing away this time, I run for him. I jump, twist, and wrap my legs around his neck, pulling him to the floor. I leap up onto my feet, lift my leg, and plant my shoe into his face. Rage sings through my blood and distorts my vision.
Dustin moves away from the door. I kick him in the chest once, twice. I spin to kick him a third time with all my might, sending him crashing into the wall.
Marcus stands, dazed but upright, so I turn my attention back to him. I kick him in the stomach, shoving him into a desk. He recovers quickly and charges me. I strike him in the chest and then in the stomach. When I get in close enough, I kick him in the groin.
He falls to his knees, and I lean forward and fist his dark brown hair and pull. In a low breathy whisper, I taunt, “Is this how you like it? Rough enough for you, handsome?” He growls. “No? I guess I’m just not your girl.” I punch him in the temple, knocking him unconscious.
A hand grabs my shoulder, I plow my elbow into something solid. I lift my other arm to punch, but my arm is blocked. I lift my leg to kick, but he grabs my leg and pulls me into him.
“Fuck, Jessica. It’s me.” Liam releases me and wraps me in his arms, crushing my face into his muscular chest. The scent of a crisp, clean cologne with an underlying hint of campfire smoke fills my nostrils. “Shhhh. I got you. It’s okay.”
My heartbeat starts to slow, and my vision returns to normal.
“Shit. I thought I was running in to save you. Didn’t think I would need to save these assholes from you.” He chuckles.
I don’t reply, simply clinging to him as if he’s my air, my calm in the storm.
“Bring her to my office,” Anders commands. “Get these fucking pricks out of here. I’ve had enough of their crap to last me a lifetime.”