in the way.
The only girl I could think of who would be coming up my driveway was Nikki, and had I shifted to wolf, it wouldn’t have worried her in the least, since her boyfriend could turn into one faster than I could. But the scent was all wrong. Nikki smelled like strawberry shampoo and the chocolate chip cookies her mom always baked, with the small tinge of the wolves that surrounded her. Still, I tried it anyway…
“Nikki?” I asked cautiously of the pretty, dark, tanned legs that were laced tightly into the black leather boots, knowing before the answer came, that had it been Nikki, she would have shown up in her pink-and-white sneakers.
“No,” a voice answered me curiously, “but that’s who I’m looking for.”
I shimmied out from under the truck in a few seconds, though it seemed to take forever. A little voice in my head reminded me that had my visitor been a real threat, I would have been dead by now. Finally free, I sat up, leaned my back against the door of the truck, and looked at the owner of the legs I had been talking to. Naturally, being a guy (which I could not help) I started at the legs and went up from there.
The legs went up to a red plaid skirt that fell to the middle of her thigh, and then a black leather bomber jacket covered the curves of her torso and arms, which were folded across her chest. Long, black hair, a shade or two darker than mine, had shocks of blue dyed through it. It brushed the tops of her arms.
“Who are you and how do you know Nikki?” she asked me in a steely voice as if I were the intruder and that knowing the girl she looked for was a direct insult. Her arms moved away from her chest and she set her hands on her hips.
“That should be my question, don’t you think? You are standing in my driveway,” I pointed out, while looking into the pretty, oval face whose mossy green eyes bore down on me.
She sniffed and tapped one leather clad foot impatiently, “Well?”
“Well, what?”
“Who are you and how do you know Nikki?” she demanded once again.
“I’m Brian Shaw,” I deliberately ignored the other half of the question. I wasn’t going to give directions to someone I didn’t know, even if I did find her intriguing. The wolf inside me shifted, and I felt as he came closer to the surface, as if he too, were curious about the girl who stood before us. “Who are you?”
Seeming only slightly more mollified, she inclined her head a fraction toward me, “I’m Victoria Creed. Call me Tori. Nikki is my best friend. I came to visit. Well, I would be visiting if I could find her.” she frowned, brushing a big streak of blue hair back from her eyes, then looked down at me again, dug in one of the pockets of her jacket and came out with a tissue, which she handed to me, “You’ve got a big chunk of grease that’s getting ready to fall in your eye again.
“I wiped the tissue over my eye, and found the glob stuck to my eyebrow. Feeling more generous, I said, “Thanks. The Harmons live about a mile that way.” I pointed up the road with my free hand, “I’ll give you a ride if you want. It’s not a very good road to walk on. It’s pretty rough.”
She nodded slightly, and the sun glinted off a tiny silver stud in her right nostril that I hadn’t noticed before, “Ok.”
Deciding it would be a good idea to give Nikki a heads-up for her incoming visitor just in case her “Seer power” thingy wasn’t working, I concentrated on her and on the image of the girl across from me and sent her a silent message… A girl named Tori Creed is coming up to visit you. I’m bringing her up. Just wanted you to know…
I hoped she had gotten the message. I knew Nikki could pick up anything from the wolves if they tried hard enough, especially from Adam, to whom she was totally tuned in. I had never deliberately tried before, though.
I jumped up into the truck, barely remembering the sandwich I had thrown in there. It looked even less enticing now. And
The only girl I could think of who would be coming up my driveway was Nikki, and had I shifted to wolf, it wouldn’t have worried her in the least, since her boyfriend could turn into one faster than I could. But the scent was all wrong. Nikki smelled like strawberry shampoo and the chocolate chip cookies her mom always baked, with the small tinge of the wolves that surrounded her. Still, I tried it anyway…
“Nikki?” I asked cautiously of the pretty, dark, tanned legs that were laced tightly into the black leather boots, knowing before the answer came, that had it been Nikki, she would have shown up in her pink-and-white sneakers.
“No,” a voice answered me curiously, “but that’s who I’m looking for.”
I shimmied out from under the truck in a few seconds, though it seemed to take forever. A little voice in my head reminded me that had my visitor been a real threat, I would have been dead by now. Finally free, I sat up, leaned my back against the door of the truck, and looked at the owner of the legs I had been talking to. Naturally, being a guy (which I could not help) I started at the legs and went up from there.
The legs went up to a red plaid skirt that fell to the middle of her thigh, and then a black leather bomber jacket covered the curves of her torso and arms, which were folded across her chest. Long, black hair, a shade or two darker than mine, had shocks of blue dyed through it. It brushed the tops of her arms.
“Who are you and how do you know Nikki?” she asked me in a steely voice as if I were the intruder and that knowing the girl she looked for was a direct insult. Her arms moved away from her chest and she set her hands on her hips.
“That should be my question, don’t you think? You are standing in my driveway,” I pointed out, while looking into the pretty, oval face whose mossy green eyes bore down on me.
She sniffed and tapped one leather clad foot impatiently, “Well?”
“Well, what?”
“Who are you and how do you know Nikki?” she demanded once again.
“I’m Brian Shaw,” I deliberately ignored the other half of the question. I wasn’t going to give directions to someone I didn’t know, even if I did find her intriguing. The wolf inside me shifted, and I felt as he came closer to the surface, as if he too, were curious about the girl who stood before us. “Who are you?”
Seeming only slightly more mollified, she inclined her head a fraction toward me, “I’m Victoria Creed. Call me Tori. Nikki is my best friend. I came to visit. Well, I would be visiting if I could find her.” she frowned, brushing a big streak of blue hair back from her eyes, then looked down at me again, dug in one of the pockets of her jacket and came out with a tissue, which she handed to me, “You’ve got a big chunk of grease that’s getting ready to fall in your eye again.
“I wiped the tissue over my eye, and found the glob stuck to my eyebrow. Feeling more generous, I said, “Thanks. The Harmons live about a mile that way.” I pointed up the road with my free hand, “I’ll give you a ride if you want. It’s not a very good road to walk on. It’s pretty rough.”
She nodded slightly, and the sun glinted off a tiny silver stud in her right nostril that I hadn’t noticed before, “Ok.”
Deciding it would be a good idea to give Nikki a heads-up for her incoming visitor just in case her “Seer power” thingy wasn’t working, I concentrated on her and on the image of the girl across from me and sent her a silent message… A girl named Tori Creed is coming up to visit you. I’m bringing her up. Just wanted you to know…
I hoped she had gotten the message. I knew Nikki could pick up anything from the wolves if they tried hard enough, especially from Adam, to whom she was totally tuned in. I had never deliberately tried before, though.
I jumped up into the truck, barely remembering the sandwich I had thrown in there. It looked even less enticing now. And
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