The First Shifters

Small Spat

We’re walking down Wolfe Street, which would have been like a Main Street. But we all know why it’s named after the wolves. Trio, Caliste and I are blending in pretty well as we saunter down the street to the new restaurant. Trio is wearing something very similar to Caliste, and we had a good laugh about it. The people around us were dressed in edgy styles, some clothes torn. Spikes, piercings, tattoos, it was a world vastly different from the upper class on the east side of town. A lot of the richer kids and adults didn’t come to this side of Emberhold (which the city was named). I guess we just liked living life on the edge. We’re still in designer clothes, so we do get some stares.

“This is the place,” Trio says in a low voice, and it is absolutely packed. The line is wrapped around the building and pouring into the alleyway.

“Look,” I started, eyeing all the people waiting. “I’m all about good food. And I really wanna try this place. But man, not that bad.”

“Yeah, I gotta say, that’s going to be one wicked wait time,” Caliste adds, and Trio nods in agreement.

“Well? The usual then?” Trio asks, and we all smile. The usual spot was a great ramen house, a hole in the wall. It was run by a panda bear named Pando (real original I know) but the man could cook some amazingly good food.

“Well, well. If it isn’t the Princess.” I whip around when I hear his voice, the hair on my neck and tail standing up. “Didn’t expect to see you on this side of town.” It’s Ryker, and half of me wants to claw his throat out. The other half is turned on by his street attire. The edgy black leather jacket, the boots, it was all just making him look so good. So yummy. I involuntarily lick my lips, and inwardly groan.

“I’m allowed to come here to eat,” I growl, crossing my arms over my chest.

“What, food not good enough on the east side of town?” Ryker snickers. I roll my eyes.

“Food is food, no matter what side of town it comes from.”

“Yeah, maybe,” he starts to circle around me, my friends having stepped to the side to watch this little show. “But aren’t you too good for us, Princess?”

“Stop calling me that,” I snarl at him. My golden eyes are narrowed, and my ears are pinned back against my head. “My name is Inara, and I don’t have to explain my eating habits to you.” I feel like I’m about to claw this man's face off his skull, and I feel a gentle tug on my elbow.

“Let’s just go, he’s not worth the headache,” Caliste growls lowly, staring Ryker down as well. Her fur is on end, the tip of her tail twitching.

“Listen to your friends,” Ryker teases. I go to turn away, but stop for one last word.

“You know, for someone who stood up to bullies, you’re no better. Ryker Striker.” I growl. This gets a visible reaction out of him. “You’re just like the snobs on the east end.”

I walked a few feet away from him before he calls out, “Your brothers didn’t have an issue beating people like us into the ground.” It’s a challenge, one I’m desperately trying to ignore. “Are you just going to stand by and let them hurt the rest of us? Talk about a hypocrite.”

If there was one thing a lot of people didn’t know about me, it was that I was a damn good fighter. A warrior, trained in secret, admired among my pack of Greys. No one ever messed with me among the high class, they all knew better. This little prick, however, seemed to be begging for me to kick his ass. I yanked my arm away from Trio and Caliste, and marched over to Ryker.

“Ah, f**k. Trio, call Scarlett. I have a bad feeling we’re going to need a quick getaway.” Trio must have nodded at Caliste; I didn’t hear anything else. I was zeroed in on Ryker, who had a smug look on his face. This jackass had me seeing red, and I was about to do something about it.

“Just because you were too weak to do anything about it,” I poke my finger in his chest, “Does not mean it’s my problem,” I snarl.

“They’re your family,” he snarls back.

“You’re sticking me in with them when I had no idea what was even happening!” I scream at him. “I’m literally five years younger than those *ssholes! Did you really think I knew what they were doing? Does it give you some sick satisfaction to pick on the youngest sister for something I never did?!” I shove him hard, and the surprise in his eyes at my strength gives me satisfaction. I’m smaller than him by a foot and some inches, but I was a force to be reckoned with. Ryker didn’t respond to me, and I’m wondering if he realizes what a jerk he’s being.

“It’s no wonder you’re so spoiled,” he finally sneers. This literally didn’t have anything to do with whatever issue he had with me.

“You can think what you like, but I’ve never condoned what my brothers do. They’re their own person, I can’t control them. Like I can’t control you, or anyone else.” My hands are still balled into fists. “So, what is the issue you have with me? When I’ve never met you before?”

“They’re your family,” he repeats. I throw my hands up in the air.

“I didn’t ask for that! Do you think I like what they do? It’s sickening!” I’m a mess internally. He’s bringing up everything I push down to the surface. Of course I can’t stand the way they behave. But what could I do? I didn’t have any kind of power over them. My brothers were set to take over Father's company, Scarlett was on the fast track to take over Mother’s fashion empire. Where did that leave me? Definitely not with any of the power they held, the influence they had. They had all the connections; I was just here for the ride.

“Then do something about it,” he growls, getting in my face. I’m about to slap him when I hear Trio behind me.

“As much as I would love to see you kick his ass, we’re drawing in a lot of attention,” he whispers, his skin matching the dark color of the sky. I look around to see people openly staring at us, glaring, growling. They were starting to get the picture that some east end snobs were in their side of town, and not everyone liked it. Some people I think were waiting to see a fight break out.

“I wonder what Alex and Piper would think of your behavior right now,” I growl at him. This gets a huge reaction; one I didn’t think I would get. He lunges at me with a snarl, and I have to push Trio out of the way and duck. That was the final straw, he brought out the beast.

Ryker is assessing me, and I him. The animal instincts have taken over; we’re circling each other, snarling and growling, looking for an opening. Well, he is; I’m sizing him up, looking for weak points. He’s bigger than me, so I’d need to use that to my advantage. Ryker was muscular, but not super bulky like some of the warriors I’d trained with. He was going to be a bit more flexible.

He lunges at me again, his hands reaching for my throat. I dive under him, and twist around to grab hold of his tail and bring him down out of the leap. I’m not wanting to hurt him, even though I’m extremely pissed off at him right now. We do this little dance for a bit, where he’s trying to pin me down and I keep dodging him. I know he wants to establish dominance over me, but I won’t let him. Regardless of our situations, he has no right.

Finally, he’s stopped, and we’re both crouched down panting. I stand up, and smooth my hair down back into its natural waves. I glare at him, and hear a car screech to a stop in the middle of the road.

“You ever pull a stunt like that again,” I growl at Ryker, “and you will regret it.” He snarls at me, and I flip him off in response. I could imagine his ego was hurt; he may be the strongest where he was from, but there was no topping a perfectly genetically bred Grey. Scarlett steps out of her sleek ride, the black paint reflecting the lights of the city against its high gloss.

“I hope you have a good reason for messing with my little sister,” she snarls menacingly towards Ryker. I grab her hand, trying to get her to calm down. She’s a few inches taller than me, with bright silver eyes, and the same silver hair I have. Her ears are almost white, with a slight grey overlay. Her tail is almost shimmering, and I realized she’s put glitter in it again. Given her attire, with the short dress and stilettos, Scarlett must have been going to the club with her friends. Scarlett had more fur over her arms, the tuffs at her elbows also glimmering with the shimmering glitter. Had we been born closer together, we may have looked like twins.

Ryker stayed silent, still crouching and glaring at both of us. Caliste and Trio had already crawled into the back of Scarlett’s car, and my sister had gotten back into the driver seat after I shook my head at her. I give Ryker one last look, watching him straighten back out as he stands up. He’s glaring at me, but there’s something else under the surface, something I can’t quite pin down. I shake my head, aggravated that we couldn’t just be friends. I held no malice towards him, but he definitely had left a bad taste in my mouth.

“So, what the hell was that all about?” Scarlett questions me. We’d driven in silence for ten minutes or so, and I had appreciated the time she gave me before hammering me like she normally did when she wanted answers. Scarlett wasn’t the most patient person.

“Ryker seems to have it out for Inara,” Caliste answers in my place when I take too long to answer. His name elicits a nasty snarl from Scarlett, and I’m shocked a bit at the response.

“Sounds like Rowan and Silas didn’t kick his ass hard enough,” she growls, her grip tightening on the steering wheel.

“So, what’s the deal with those three? Why am I being drug into something I have no knowledge about?” I ask her, trying to get to the bottom of what ever this drama was. It was more than what I cared to deal with; Scarlett sighs.

“In a nutshell, when they were in school together, Ryker made some serious accusations against The Greys. He’s all about conspiracy theories, but he really crossed the line.” I raised an eyebrow for her to continue. “He believes our family has had a hand in the way things happened, that this was forced.” I just look at her, needing a bit more info because that was a bit vague. “You know, the ice age, the evolution.”

I’m dumbfounded. “Excuse me? Come again?” I ask. Trio and Caliste are snorting in laughter.

“He really thinks that The Greys had something to do with all this? He’s got to be joking,” Caliste laughs. She’s got tears streaming down her face from how hard she’s laughing. “Man, I’ve really heard it all.” Trio is just shaking his head, trying to catch his breath. Scarlett smiled, but she was still tight lipped. It was a face that said she knew more than she was letting on, but I let it go.

“Where are we going, sis?” I ask. The edgy west side of town had melted to the brighter, crisper and cleaner buildings that was the east side. They stood tall, as they were well managed and cared for. We’d past the industrial park that separated the east and west sides; now we were in the high-class fancy side with the restaurants that had holograms vying for attention. It was a huge difference from where we just were. Even the streets were clean, as little robots roamed the street sides looking for any and all trash.

“I’m taking you to the Vixen with me,” she said casually.

“Vixen? As in Club Vixen? Looking like this?” Caliste practically shrieked. Scarlett laughed at her.

“Darling, do you think I wanna be seen in public with you all looking like that?” I rolled my eyes playfully, and turned to look at my companions.

“Scarlett never leaves the house without backup. I promise, you won’t go in looking like that.”