Read Online SwitchBack: A Paranormal Werewolf Romance (Knightsbridge Canyon Series Book 1) by David VanDyke, Drew VanDyke - Free Book Online Page B

kind of toning regimen.
    I turned around and tore off the bandage, wincing as the tape peeled another layer of skin. The wound, which started larger than an everlasting gobstopper, had finally shrunk to the size of a quarter and filled in quite nicely. There was still discoloration and would probably be a slight scar, but surprisingly, it wouldn’t be unsightly. Not that anyone that mattered had seen my ass lately.
    Which made me think about Will.
    I stepped into the bath and settled in, taking the latest Nora Roberts with me. I loved to read in the tub and since baths instead of showers were now a regular part of my routine, it gave me time to catch up.
    I had just cracked the spine when Mother materialized in the toilet. Again, I would say “on the toilet,” but as usual, her aim just wasn’t that good.
    “Mother!” I hissed. “What are you doing here?”
    “Oh, I just thought I’d check in and see how you’re doing.” She had that gleam in her eye that told me she was up to something.
    There came a scratching and whining at the door and I looked at her, exasperated. “How come he always knows you’re here?” I asked.
    “Animals are more sensitive to energies and emotion than we give them credit for,” she replied. “Or it could be the dog thing again.”
    Hmph. I laughed. Maybe I should get my own miniature Schnauzer. Use him as an early warning system.
Warning. Dead Mother Approaching.
    “So, Mommy dearest, tell me again how I managed to get lycanthropy and Amber only got allergies?” I settled back for a bath-time story.
    “Once upon a time, your great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother Louisa Scott was visiting relatives in Scotland,” Mom began.
    “Hence, the Scott in our name.”
    “Am I telling this or you?” She sank deeper into the porcelain bowl.
    I bit my tongue and smiled as she continued with her obviously fractured fairy tale. Never tells it the same way twice, no matter how many times it’s been. I keep hoping she’ll slip and tell me something that sounds true, but hell, how would I know? Nah, I’d know. I’d feel it, right?
    That’s what I keep hoping.
    Mom continued, “The story goes that she was out picking wolfsbane and moonflowers in a fairy circle one starlit night in the Highlands when Titania took umbrage and caused her to fall into a deep sleep. While asleep, Titania enchanted a passing wolf into the circle and turned it into a man, who lay with Louise and on that night she conceived. Upon returning to America, much to her husband’s delight, who thought that they couldn’t have children, she gave birth to twin girls, the first of many sets down through the generations. One twin is always a lupine, the other, an oracle of some kind: a seer or a prophetess. I don’t know what happened this time around to your sister, except for the nightmares and migraines, and the fact that she always seems to win when they go to Vegas, and she has a keen eye for fashion trends…anyway. You’re the one with the more demonstrable powers. Which reminds me of the reason I’m here.” She pointed at the ceiling. “Full moon’s coming up soon and you’re going to have to make a shift.”
    “I know I have to, but I don’t wanna,” I whined. “It’s such a pain in the ass. Hurts like a son of a bitch. And it’s totally disgusting.”
    “Yes, well. Either you choose the time and the place, or the change will choose it for you. And you know what happened the last time you let that happen.”
    “I know. I know. I went through a whole herd of sheep before I tired out and changed back. Thank God I didn’t hurt anyone. The only good thing about the shift is that I seem to lose most of my body fat when I turn back.”
    “It’s a metabolism thing,” my mother said. “And you should be grateful. Some women would kill to have your bone structure.” She floated over to caress my face with icy digits.
    “So, how many days have I got?” I asked, as if I didn’t know.