Once Upon a Shifter (101 page)

"So if you'll excuse me..."

"Wait a minute," the stranger said, his hand still in my window. "I think I can help you."

My tears, which had been slowly leaking down my face the entire time, stopped.

"You can?"

"Yeah," he said.

"What's in it for you?" I asked suspiciously. My dad did not raise any fools.

"Something that I think that you'd be ok with," he returned. "How about you follow me in your car? I'll cancel my meeting, and you can come home with me."

Sounded sketchy. "No, thanks."

"Hey," he said. "I know that you have to take a leap of faith. Look, here's my driver's license." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his ID. "Text my license number to someone you trust and tell them to sic the police on me if you disappear."

I needed this chance, however slim it might be. I took a picture of his driver's license, and I sent it to my best friend, Kara. "Ok." I heard the little sound my phone made when the picture was sent. "I'm game."

"Great." He smiled, and I almost fell backward in my seat. His teeth were strong, white, and straight. They flashed brilliantly. In a city with people who bleached their teeth, I could tell the difference between bleached teeth and naturally white teeth. His were natural. He looked like a wet dream with his high cheekbones and his dimples.

Someone so hot couldn't be a scary person, right? Yeah, he had a pretty fierce beard, but his eyes were kind.

I drove behind him, nervously checking my gas tank. The needle did not move much as we drove into Bel Air. He stopped at the gate of his community and said something to the guard. The guard waved at both of us to come in. He closed the gate after me.

Bel Air

My head felt like it was swiveling around. My dad had been fairly wealthy — we used to live in Malibu on the beach — but that was nothing compared to the opulence that I saw in Bel Air. These were not houses. They were extremely huge compounds. Some of the homes were gated so that you could not see them from the street, though others were free and clear. I could see the landscapers working on the huge yards. It was California, so they were not decorated with thirsty flowers. "Don't you know there's a drought?” was the chorus when we saw people with living plants on their lawns.

Instead, they had cacti and some hardy desert plants that did not require a lot of water.

My humble little Toyota did not even remotely fit in here. I hunched over in my seat, making my body smaller. I was ashamed to be poor. Even when my parents had been wealthy, they had not been this wealthy.

I saw his car pull into a circular driveway. I pulled in after him. It was a pure white house that looked like the plantation houses in older movies about the South. It had big white columns.

I turned off my ignition, and I stepped out of my car.

I gave myself a mental pep talk.

"You're just as good as these people," I scolded. "You are the same as them. Everyone puts their pants on the same way in the morning."

I squared my shoulders and lifted my chin. I could do this.

I mentally imagined myself as an Ent from the Lord of the Rings, one of the giant trees that could talk. Yes, in real life I was a very petite, curvy woman. But I could pretend.

I marched up the driveway, and I went through the open garage door. He was waiting for me there.

"I'd like you to meet someone," he said, taking my arm and intertwining it with his.

I walked up the steps from the garage into the house, feeling a bit of sweat on the back of my neck. I wiped my spare palm on my jeans.

When we got in the house, I saw him cutting up some broccoli.

"Aren't you supposed to be in a meeting?" he asked without looking up. When he turned around, he blinked. I saw that he was a dead ringer for the man whose arm I was holding.

"You're twins." Oh god. I was Captain Obvious. My cheeks flushed. Oh god.

"Guilty," said the one in the kitchen. "And who are you?"

"I'm Zeva," I said, letting go of the first one's arm. "What's your name?"

"Xavier," he said, his eyes twinkling at me. "I'm so pleased to make your acquaintance. You smell very nice. What is it? Some kind of expensive floral perfume? It's perfect for you."

"No," I said. "I don't wear perfume."

"Oh." He paused. "Oh. That must be why you're here."

I frowned at him, totally confused.

"Would you like a drink?" the other one said chivalrously. "Do you want a Coke?"

"Sure," I replied. "I just realized that I don't know your name."

"Asher, honestly, where are your manners?" Xavier chided. "How could you meet a lovely lady like this one and not introduce yourself?"

"I got...caught up," Asher said. A silent moment of twin communication passed between them.

"I see," Xavier said, rubbing his matching beard.

"I don't. What's going on? Could you buy me a vowel?"

"Here's your Coke," Asher said, opening a literally cool drawer full of soda. It said ‘SubZero’ on it. He popped the tab and handed it to me. "Sit down. Let's talk."

"I'm not really sure what's going on either," Xavier said, his eyes flicking towards me. "So someone clue me in and bring me out of the dark."

"She's having a few problems. Zeva, why don't you tell Asher what happened today?"

"Um," I looked down at my feet. "I just got evicted. And the financial aid office says that I won't qualify for aid, so I have to take a year off of school. I was planning on finding a 24-hour parking garage when your twin met me and brought me home. That's a pretty quick summary of my day."

"Where do you go to school, honey?"

I thought about protesting his use of 'honey', but I didn't. "I go to UCLA. Well, I went to UCLA."

"Interesting," Xavier said.

"Very," Asher added.

"You know, our dad is the one whose name is on the new UCLA stadium."

I gaped at Xavier. "Really?"

"Yeah. I think we could help you out."

"Help me out...like get me a scholarship?"

"Oh, I think we can do better than that."

They smiled at each other.

"We're going to tell you things that are private. Very private. Xavier, do you still have that NDA on file?"

"What's an NDA?"

"A non-disclosure agreement. You don't have to agree to the contract that we're about to give you, but you can't talk about the meeting we're having today. Is that ok?"

"I guess." I wasn't really in a position to dictate terms. "That's fine."

Xavier put a non-disclosure agreement in front of me. Asher highlighted several places.

"Just sign where it's highlighted."

I signed and initialed all the pages.

"Ok. What are you two up to?"

"We are the head of an organization."

"What kind of organization?" I was regretting coming into their house, and I wondered if I could get out before they could catch me. Probably not. They looked pretty fit, and I ran about as fast as a turtle. A Galapagos turtle. There was that old saying that if you met a bear in the woods, you didn't have to outrun the bear. You just had to outrun the person next to you. I was always going to be the person next to you that got eaten by the bear.

"An organization of people like us. In order to solidify our position as leaders, we need to have children. We've been the head of this organization for almost 3 years now. If we don't have c— children within the next two years, we have to forfeit our position and our scumbag cousin will take over."

"What makes him a scumbag?"

“He is so sketchy." Xavier's fists were clenched. "We've never been able to pin anything on him, but there have been disappearances..."

"So you don't want him to take over. That would be really bad."

"That's right," Asher said, nodding. "You're right."

"So you want me to have your kids," I said, connecting the dots. "That's what this is about."

"I think we can solve each other's problems," Asher said. "You only need money. We need a kid. And we need a human."

"Uh, you say that like you're not human."

Offer

They only looked at me. I did the math.

"Oh my god!" I turned and sprinted for the door.

"Just wait," Asher told me.

"What are you guys?" I screamed. "Aliens? Is this an abduction? HELP!"

Asher's hand was on my mouth.

“We’re not aliens. We’re men. Mostly.” Asher sighed. “We’re werebears.”

“Were-shifters don’t exist. They’re only for movies.”

“Welcome to Hollywood, sweetheart,” Xavier said, putting his big arm around my shoulders.

I blinked up at him. He was so tall, towering over me.

"Here's our offer." Xavier's extraordinary blue eyes with light blue lines in them met mine.

"We'll buy you a house. Well, first you'll move in with us for the coming year. We'll make a baby. In return, you get that house. You'll get your tuition and education completely paid for, whether you choose to get your LPN at a community college or your PhD at UCLA. We can help you out with getting back in. I assume you've already talked to their counselors."

I nodded.

"Superb. So that's the offer: house and education. Oh, and your medical expenses will be paid for life. You'll also get a stipend of $10,000 a month for the rest of your life. Do you think that's fair? Should we throw in a new car?”

My jaw was completely open. "That's a ferociously generous offer. What's the catch? I just have to have a baby?"

"You'll be sleeping with both of us, you know," Asher said quietly.

"That's a pro, not a con," I shot back.

Xavier's face lit up. "That's why you are perfect for this."

"I'm in." I lifted my chin. "I can do this." I hope.

"Awesome," Xavier chirped. “Sign our contract.”

I read it, and I signed where I needed to.

Xavier took it back from me. “Let me show you to your room."

I followed him up the staircase, which brought us to a very pretty room.

"This is the Rose Room. Our mom went overboard when she decorated it. It's in shades of rose. Do you like it?"

"Like it?" I asked in total disbelief. "I love it."

"Good," Xavier said. "Your closet is in here."

The closet was bigger than my former apartment. It was connected to a pretty marble bathroom with gold taps. All in all, the room was the nicest one I had ever been in. It was mine, all mine. Well, for the next year anyway.

"Wow."

"Asher and I have bedrooms that are around yours. You can sneak into our beds anytime. When you are fertile, we'll smell it."

"Smell it? Smell me? How?"

Xavier sighed. "We have an enhanced sense of smell."

"Oh." I nodded. "Okay."

"I can send movers over to your old apartment to help you get your stuff here."

I shook my head. "Weren't you paying attention earlier? I was evicted. All my stuff is in my car."

"Asher and I will help you bring it in."

"No," I said firmly. "There's no need to bring my furniture in here. I'll just take my suitcase. I'll be set."

"That reminds me. I need to give you a set of keys. Here, take mine." The key was an ornate old-time key. It had a bear engraved on it. Another button was attached to it, which I guessed went to the garage.

"These seem old."

"They are anything but. Turn the key head."

I twisted it in my hand. Inside, it glowed.

"Eek!" I yelped, dropping it to the floor. "Is it radioactive?"

"No," Xavier chuckled, picking up the key. "It's just bioluminescent bacteria. Your key can help you find your way in the dark. It's like a lodestone. It'll bring you home, wherever you are."

"That sounds awesome. What about GPS?"

Xavier raised a brow. "Do you know our address?"

I flushed. "No."

"There you go, then. I am going to get your suitcase, and then I'll be right back."

He wrapped me in a big hug, squeezing me tight. His arms were like steel bands around me, but I got the impression that he wasn't hugging me very hard. I sat down on my bed and hugged my knees. I didn't know what he thought he was doing, but he couldn't get into my car without my keys.

In less than a minute later, my suitcase was in my room, carried by a very cheerful Xavier.

"How did you even get in? My car was locked."

"Was is the operative word."

My keys were in his hand.

"Did you think that I hugged you just to snuggle?"

"You picked my pocket!" I gasped. "How could you!? I didn't even notice."

"I'm very, very good." He winked.

Suddenly, I was very conscious that this smoking hot werebear was in my room. His eyes were on mine, and he wasn't joking anymore.

After a few beats, he broke the moment by clearing his throat. "I'll be downstairs if you need me. Just settle in. Take a shower. Relax. We'll get some dinner." He caught one of my hands and kissed it in an unexpectedly gallant gesture. "I'm glad that you're here." He left me in my room alone.

I stripped and went into my shower. I needed to wash off everything that had happened today, the highs and the lows. I stared at the tile wall as the water pounded down on me. This whole situation was surreal. First of all, I never knew that were-animals actually existed. I thought that werewolves were the stuff of horror movies and Twilight. Second, I was now apparently living with weres, and I had already agreed to bear their child, no pun intended, so that they could solidify their position. I shook my head and let the water wash away all of my racing thoughts.

When the bathroom mirror was completely steamed up, I got out of the shower and wrapped myself in a pink towel. I got dressed in one of my pretty dresses. Yeah, I was a bedraggled homeless person only a few hours ago, but the shower had me feeling brand new, like anything was possible. I had been given an opportunity, and I was determined to make the most of it. I put on a bit of makeup, just enough to make me not look like a hideous troll, and I went barefoot downstairs.

The scent of cooked meat permeated the air.