The First Shifters

Finding Ryker

I wake the next morning, and my head is just pounding. I groan, covering my head with my comforter. The cream color doesn’t do anything to block the sun from my eyes. I’m not even sure of what happened last night, but I do remember trying to drink my problems away. Ryker’s eyes show in my mind, and I growl. Why this man had me so irritated was beyond me. Why couldn’t he just have been nice? Instead of drinking to forget him, we could have been laying in bed somewhere. He could ignore my brothers, right? I sighed, knowing that was highly unlikely. He seemed to hate my brothers with a passion. I couldn’t really blame him either, but my sisters’ words came flooding back in. What exactly did he think my family had to do with how humanity evolved now? It didn’t make sense. No one could just make an ice age happen. I still didn’t even quite understand it. Now I did understand the genetically engineering aspect of it, that was no accident. But we were decades, centuries past it. We were set to be who we were, and there was no changing that.

“Finally, you’re awake,” a soft voice spoke, and I smiled.

“Oh, Fiona, what did I do?” I asked her, looking at her golden-brown eyes as she lay on my bed. Fiona was the house pet, but she seemed to spend more time with me than anyone. She was one of the last wolf pups, and it saddened me. Fiona would be our last full-animal wolf in the family. I internally shake my head, there was no need to think about that now while she was still young.

“Well, from what I gather, you got incredibly drunk last night,” she chuckled, resting her head on her paws, which were on my thigh. “I don’t know who Ryker is, but he sure did make you awfully mad.” I groaned again.

“I need to not do that,” I whine. I peek under the covers, and discover I am in a skimpy bra and a cotton red thong. “Please tell me I didn’t make a fool of myself in public at least,” I whimper to Fiona. She scoffs at me.

“I highly doubt Miss Scarlett would have let you do that to the family.” She’s making a throaty sound that is her laugh, and I playfully glare at her.

“No, you’re right, Scarlett would have locked me in her car before I did something stupid.” I look over at the nightstand and reach for my phone. It was tiny, but that was due to the holographic screen that popped up instead. There were notifications from my friends, my sister, and I saw one from my brother, Silas.

Silas: Heard you had a run in with Ryker. Do you have a problem?

I roll my eyes. My brothers thought things needed to be solved with violence and fear. Not that the women feared falling into their beds, I growl inwardly.

Inara: No, Ryker is not a problem.

I kept it short and sweet; I didn’t want them involved with Ryker. I could handle this problem myself. Not that Scarlett seemed to think that way, considering it had to of been her to tell them. Before I knew it, I received another message.

Rowan: Ryker needs to know his place, little sister. Be sure he knows it.

His message makes me groan out loud, and Fiona tilts her head at me.

“What has Miss Inara in a twist now?” she asks me softly.

“My brothers. They think they need to use an iron fist at all times. I don’t know why they can’t just leave him be. Ryker has been an ass, yes, but he doesn’t need to be beaten and threatened.” I thought for a moment. There had to be a way to reach Ryker in a less brutal manor. I was going to have to suck up some of my pride and approach this differently, use the white flag, so to speak. Saying Alex and Piper’s names really got a rise out of him. Maybe they knew something that could help me. I didn’t want any of my friends involved this time. I look down at Fiona, who’s staring at me with her sweet eyes. She knows me so much better than anyone in this world.

“Would you care to come with me today, Fiona? I think you could help me.” Her tail wags and she lifts her head, giving me one of her million-dollar smiles.

“Of course, I would love nothing more, Inara.”

I’m shuffling through my closet, trying to find an appropriate outfit. My head is still pounding, but after rummaging through my nightstand and finding some pain pills, I’m feeling a little more like my normal self. With my high metabolism, I’ll be good to go by the time I’m finished dressing. I’ve opted for some black sweatpants, a tight-fitting cropped shirt that’s white, and a soft baby blue sweater that has beautiful artwork of a grey wolf howling across the front. It’s surrounded by leaves and birds, easily one of my favorite pieces. I slip on a pair of my designer tennis that are almost the same blue as my sweater, grab my watch and phone, and I’m out the door with Fiona at my heels.

--

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Alex asks me. We’re sitting at a picnic table in the campus park. No sooner had I left my house, I realized I didn’t know the first thing about Ryker, where to find him, his hang-out spots. Nothing that would help me, that is until I remembered Alex and Piper.

“I have to do something, Alex. This whole thing is getting out of hand. I just want to make it right. Tell me everything you know, please.” People tell me all the time it’s like gazing into the sun when they look into my eyes. I’m hoping that charm is there as I’m pleading Alex with my eyes. He sighs, and I know I’ve won.

“Ryker came to our family as a lost pup. We’re not really sure where he came from,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “We suspect he’s from the River Wolves.” It made sense when Alex said it out loud, the color of his fur alone made more sense. The River Wolves were almost on par with the Greys, but they were known more for their hard work and what they provided our city with. River Rock Co., for example, was the quarry company that provided the majority of our home with the marble that was in it. But if they thought a young pup couldn’t cut it, they were out. The River Wolf group was known for being hard asses, and notorious for it’s cast out pups. I concluded that Alex’s family was one of the many families that stepped up to care for these poor kids. It was literally an organization, unfortunately.

“Ryker grew up happy, but when he ran into your brothers,” Alex paused for a moment, and I could see the uncertainty in his eyes. I placed my hand over his in encouragement.

“I promise, what you say here, stays with me.”

“Silas and Rowan haven’t exactly been forgiving. Ryker is convinced that your family has had something to do with the ice age and our mutations.” It was the same as what Scarlett told me, so I knew this was tracking right.

“How did he come across the information?” I pressed, leaning in.

“Ryker is actually very, very smart, despite the hard-ass face he gives everyone,” Alex chuckled. “Believe it or not, he had an internship at The Grey science division.” I know the shock was very evident on my face, because Alex was laughing now. “I know, people who don’t know him are just as surprised.”

“No, it’s not that,” I say quickly. “With him being on campus, I knew he had the brains. What shocks me is that he was given an internship with my family.” I’m racking my brain now; I think I remember this story. In my early teen years, there was this huge upset with my cousin’s parents. They had to fire someone for breach of confidentiality. I’m wondering now if that’s not at all how that whole situation went.

“He found something he wasn’t supposed to,” Alex whispered to me. “Between you and me, I think there’s a little more digging to be done, but you didn’t hear it from me.” I nodded my head; Alex didn’t want to be drug into this. If this was going to blow open wide, I wouldn’t either if I was him.

“Thank you so much Alex, this clears up a lot,” I say to him, standing up from my seat. Fiona rises from her spot, and stretches.

“You remember how to get to the dorm?” Alex asks me, brushing off his pants. I nod my head.

“Room 203, right?” He nods at me, and I bring him in for a hug. I know I’ve taken him by surprise, but I’m grateful for him right now. “Thank you so much Alex, I appreciate this.” I can see his tail wagging as I let him out of the hug.

“Anytime, Inara. You know, you’re pretty cool,” he says sheepishly, and holds his fist out for a bump. We bump fists, and Fiona follows me as I walk across campus towards the dorm rooms.

“Inara,” I hear Fiona at my waist. “Your heart is pounding. Are you alright?”

“I’m nervous, Fiona. Last night didn’t go well, and here I am showing up to his dorm room.” This could go a number of ways, and I didn’t want Alex to take any heat for helping me. Ryker didn’t have to listen to me, but I was hoping to make peace with him.