Inner animal. by Emily Zimmerman. (books to read for 12 year olds .TXT) đ
- Author: Emily Zimmerman.
Book online «Inner animal. by Emily Zimmerman. (books to read for 12 year olds .TXT) đ». Author Emily Zimmerman.
She was silent for a beat before she finally whispered, âreally?â
I slid down to her level, leaning over her and staring into her eyes âreallyâ
A slow, small smile spread across her luscious lips and she looked down at my chest âit was for me tooâ
I leaned down and captured her lips with mine, kissing her briefly before I got up. Her beautiful lips twisted up into a pout and she crossed her arms âwe have to go, Nina. What would your parents think if they found you here?â I asked her on a sigh.
She groaned as she sat up, and just as her feet hit the ground, a scream echoed through the sanctuary. We both looked at each other for a mere second before running out my door. The whole place was in chaos; Jenna and Drake were shifted, along with Lamina and Joan. And I could just make out two bears, Laurence and Maria, fighting off two Jaykoren.
âBane! Get these people to the ship! Your father is waiting. Weâll hold them off as long as we can and then meet you there. Go!â Jenna called.
I grabbed Ninaâs hand and called for everyone in the sanctuary to follow me. I smelled smoke and realized that they had set the entire building on fire. We all shifted as we left the sanctuary and ran in the direction of the beach. As we barreled through the forest, behind the group, I listened for footsteps that didnât sound like shifters. I didnât hear any.
I looked at Nina and realized she was doing the same thing, I shook my head at her and she nodded once. We hit the sand, still running. The ship that we used for evacuation was idling off the shore. We shifted and piled into the smaller boats. I nodded to my dad who was in the other boat at the shore and we sailed off to the evacuation ship.
The ship was a mega yacht; easily big enough to hold us all. The trip by sea to our new sanctuary was three days, the island held a little village. The leader of that village of shifters feels the need for schools. So weâll have to go, but I wasnât thinking about that right now.
I grasped Ninaâs hand in mine as we reached the boat. I pulled the boat around to the wet-room and jumped out, helping everyone off. I picked up a child whom hasnât even shifted yet, she had to ride on her motherâs back, most of the children did. I lifted them all onto the boat and they ran to their fathers while they waited for their mothers.
Nina was leaning down on one knee in front of a woman with an infant, trying to convince her to let her go so she could get safely off the boat âI promise, sheâll be okay, let me hold her until you are safely off of the boat, and then sheâll be handed to you. Please.â Nina said softly, holding her arms out.
The mother stared into Ninaâs eyes for a few seconds before quietly nodding and tentatively giving her the infant. She got up and took my outstretched hand, climbing carefully off. Nina cradled the child to her chest as she walked over to me, giving me the baby. Just as I was helping Nina out, Jenna, Drake, Lamina, Joan, Laurence and Maria sailed in and quickly jumped out.
We anchored the boats to the side of the yacht and Nina and I watched from the sundeck as the sanctuary went up in a plume of smoke.
âAll of my things, my pictures, my clothes, theyâre all goneâ she whispered, staring out at the island as it slowly got farther away.
I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple âitâll be alright. Weâre still alive. Barely anyone was hurt, and those who were hurt are healing as we speak. Your things were just things; our lives are something we should be grateful for.â I tried to convince her.
I heard her hitch a breath and watched as a single tear fell down her cheek âI know. Iâm sorry. But you canât blame me for being sad.â She murmured.
âAnd I donât. How could I ever blame you? Come on, love. Iâll show you your room.â I murmured softly.
We walked to the elevator, and she held tightly to me as if afraid I would walk away from her. I punched in the third floor and we started up. She looked up at me âwhere are we going now?â
âWeâre going to another sanctuary. The headmaster is going to have us in school. College grade probably. Itâs going to be a three day trip.â I explained. Her eyes were still filled with tears, and it killed me to see her this way. I wished that I could just go back in time and at least get some of her things. I understood how she felt, we all lost things most important to us.
I held her close to me as we stepped out of the elevator. I turned to her and pressed my lips to hers.
âWe prepare for every new shifter in case of emergency. We have new clothes for you in your room, copies of pictures, and a few of your favorite posters. Sadly any picture frames or pieces of jewelry will be lost forever.
She paused mid-stride âI still have my pictures?â she asked softly.
I nodded âof course. And the clothing we give is set according to your style. My clothing is all black and greenâ I chuckled.
She smiled slightly âokay. I can handle it if I have all my picturesâ she murmured.
We entered her room and she took a deep breath, examining the purple bedspread and dark mahogany bed-frame. This room was much bigger than her old room, with a small flat-screen TV in front of a purple sofa on the other side of the room. Her walls were painted a darker shade of purple, and the ceiling was regular white.
I watched as she walked over to a box sitting in front of her bed on the floor. She leaned down and, with a sigh of relief, picked up a picture.
âYour room will not be changed. We have copies of the pictures in that other box that you can use in your room at the sanctuary. The reason that we do this is because we feel that the inner animal is comforted by familiar sites. So too many new things donât make you goâŠferalâ I explained.
She smiled at me âI think we went pretty feral last nightâ she raised an eyebrow at me.
I grinned, yes we did.
Chapter twelve:
I got up and walked over to Bane. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pulled his head down and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around my waist and picked me up off the ground, crushing me to his chest. I smiled under his lips and tangled my hands in his hair.
The clearing of a throat made Bane and I break apart, he set me down and we looked behind him. Mom, dad, Lamina, Maria and Laurence all stood there, looking between Bane and I.
I blushed and hid behind Bane âthere seems to be a pattern hereâ dad muttered.
âHow long has this been going on?â Maria asked.
Bane wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me out from behind him. âWeâve been together for two weeksâ I shrugged.
Dad and mom knew, and Iâm pretty sure Lamina â if not knew already â suspected something. Bane wasnât shy about it at all, he was grinning widely.
âWell I can see you two are happy about itâ Maria smiled.
I glanced at Lamina, who was giving me a look that said we needed to talk about this.
I turned to Bane âI need to talk to Lamina. Go to your room and get settledâ I murmured.
He nodded, kissed my cheek and, with a wistful smile, left.
Mom and dad raised an eyebrow, Laurence looked distrustful, Maria looked like she didnât see anything wrong, and Lamina KNEW something was wrong.
âYou guys go get settled. We need to talk in privetâ Lamina ordered.
Everyone rolled their eyes, but separated. Lamina pulled me into my room and shut the door, ââtell me everything!â she exclaimed.
I laughed âwellâŠweâre matesâ
She let out a loud squeal and pulled me into a hug âI knew it, I knew it!â she jumped up and down with me in her arms.
âHas he told you he loves you yet? Are you guysâŠserious?â she asked me excitedly.
I laughed and nodded âyes, weâre pretty serious; I mean you saw me with him. He has told me he loves me, many times actuallyâ I sat down on my bed and sighed dreamily âheâs so wonderful. Heâs kind, sweet, charming. He is always gentle when heâs around me. I love himâ I whispered.
Lamina sat beside me âthat is nothing like the Bane I know. Bane is always soâŠfull of disdain. Iâve never seen him act the way he does with you. That smile was a very unusual Bane smile. Heâs usually got no smile at all, his motherâs death changed him.â She murmured sadly.
I looked down at my hands. Iâd heard about his motherâs death. Poor Bane.
âLaminaâŠcan I tell you something? I donât want to share this with my parents because I know theyâll go ballistic. Iâm trusting you with this secret and I want you to cross your heart â no matter what you think of this â that you wonât tell them.â I said fiercely.
Lamina immediately crossed her heart and acted as if she was sticking a pin in her eye; it surprised me that she didnât jump to conclusion.
âBane and I sort of⊠did the deed last nightâ I blushed deep red.
âWhat? Oh my God!â she screamed.
I shushed her, she didnât seem upset, just completely surprised.
âYou had sex with Bane?â she whispered loudly.
I smiled sheepishly âI hadnât really thought about it in thatâŠuse of words, but yesâŠwe didâ I muttered.
Lamina did a strange squeal in the back of her throat and grabbed me by my shoulders âhow was it?â
I stared at her in shock, how do I answer that? Honesty seemed the way to go.
âIt was the best night of my lifeâ I blushed again.
âOh my gosh! I understand completely! Joan and I have been keeping it from Drake too, you know how protective Drake is of meâŠand now that youâve told me your secret, I have to tell you mine. Iâm pregnant.â She put her hand to her flat stomach as if to protect it.
I gaped at her, and then half screamed âseriously?â
âShh! Drake doesnât know. He would go berserk. But yes, I just found out two weeks ago. You know how Drake has been so protective of me? Well that is because Joan and I are planning our weddingâ a tear slid from her
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