Devin
People thought life was easy for me. To an outsider, it looked like I had everything handed to me on a silver platter. What they didn’t know, was that I had to fight for everything I had. I had a dark secret that I’ve carried with me since I was born. The side that I showed the world, my human side, was only half of who I was.
The other half was something darker, something ancient and long forgotten. I was a gorilla shifter. When my body flooded with adrenaline and I was on the brink of death, I could transform into a 400-pound beast with the strength of ten men. I didn’t know where this strange ability came from, or why I had it. I had given up on finding answers a long time ago. I had been adopted as a child and there was no trace of my biological parents.
I never enjoyed shifting, but there was a part of me that felt a need to do it. It was an addiction, a hunger for adrenaline. That was why I became a football player. It was the only way to feel the rush without letting the beast take over. The rush satisfied the need, but there were times when I had trouble controlling it. If I shifted in front of all those people in a football stadium, my life as I knew it would be over.
Thankfully, my best friend, Michael Princeton, was as smart as they come. He was always coming up with new ways to keep my abilities under control. In return, I always helped him with a certain problem his family had been dealing with since we were young.
The day of his graduation, I was wandering through the living room I had spent so many weekends playing in as a child. It was filled with people, all here to celebrate his success. We both knew that success came with a price, but Michael stilled relished in it. I looked over and saw his sister, Deandra, or Dee for short.
Michael knew I had feelings for her since we were young, but when he found out what I was, he made me promise never to pursue those feelings. He thought I was too dangerous, that I couldn’t protect his sister. That was ironic, considering all I had done for him over the years. Today, though, he was distracted, so I decided to say hello.
I walked over to her as she sat at the piano. Dee had grown up into a big, black, beautiful woman with exquisite curves and a voluptuous body. I watched her hands dancing across the keys and listened to the beautiful music that she produced. No one, not even her brother, would deny her talent. They never had the means to support her, or maybe they didn’t want to, I never asked. Either way she deserved better. I started talking to her and it just felt right. I could tell she was shy, she didn’t have a name for the song she was playing. I offered to help her make one up, but our conversation was quickly cut short.
“Devin, can I speak to you?” Michael asked.
“Can it wait, man? I’m listening to the song Dee wrote.”
“Her name’s Deandra, only her family calls her Dee. And no, it can’t wait.”
I could tell by the tone of his voice that he wasn’t happy with me. I let loose a long sigh and stood up. He led me through the crowded living room and into the hall that led towards the bedrooms.
He spun around and narrowed his eyes at me.
“What was that?” he asked.
“I was just talking to Dee, man chill out,” I said.
Michael ran his hands through his short hair.
“Don’t call her that!”
I looked behind us and saw a few curious eyes gazing our way.
“Chill out man, what’s gotten into you?” I asked.
Michael shook his head. “It’s Dmitri, he sent one of his goons to the graduation today.”
“Dmitri Mikhailov, the Russian mafia boss? I thought we dealt with that?”
Michael shrugged. “Well, apparently he’s changed his mind. He wants the rest of the money my dad owes him, tonight.”
The wind shot out of me like I had been punched square in the stomach.
“Have you told your dad?” I asked.
Michael shook his head. “No, I didn’t want to ruin his day. He seems happy for once. I thought we had taken care of it last time. I thought we were past this. I know he took the money to pay for my school, and I feel like I owe it to him to make this right.”
I nodded. “You know I’ve got your back man. Just say the word.”
Michael smiled. “You’re a good friend, Devin. Let me get the money together, and tonight we’ll meet them. We’ll just pay off the debt and be on our way. You won’t need to do your thing.”
I wasn’t too sure about that, but I had helped Michael out of a few tight spots before, so I was ready if and when he needed me. We had never gone toe-to-toe with the Russian mob, but there’s a first time for everything.
I stayed away from Deandra, even though it was more difficult than ever. I knew Michael didn’t need any more stress than he already had weighing down on him. That night we said goodbye to his parents and told them a story about going out on the town to celebrate. Michael was carrying a ludicrous amount of cash on his person as we made our way to the meeting place.
Last time we did a deal with Dmitri and his boys, things got tense, but we all walked away, nice and smooth. This time was immediately different. For starters, Dmitri wasn’t there. Instead he had sent three of his pale and tattooed lackeys to do the deal. They were all tall and built like freight trains with bulging muscles and scarred faces. They stood quietly under the streetlights in the local park. As we approached, one of them held out a hand.
“That’s far enough. Who’s your friend?” The center one asked.
“His name doesn’t matter. He’s here as an insurance policy,” Michael said.
The Russian man in the center chuckled and gestured to the other two goons standing beside him. They each reached into their windbreakers and pulled out large handguns.
“Interesting. As you can see, I’ve brought two of my own,” he said.
Michael brandished the briefcase he was carrying and opened it for them to see.
“This is all of it. Take this to Dmitri and tell him we’re even.”
All three of the men started laughing and I felt the adrenaline gushing into my bloodstream.
“Dmitri has decided that the remaining total has doubled. Call it interest.”
Michael closed the briefcase and threw it on the ground.
“That wasn’t our deal! You tell him to take that and leave us alone!” Michael shouted.
All three men armed their guns and pointed them directly at us. I felt my heartbeat thundering inside my head and my hands shaking at my side.
“This is not a negotiation!” the man shouted.
Michael looked over at me and nodded.
No, I suppose it’s not.
Black and coarse fur erupted from my skin as my bond shattered and reformed. I collapsed onto the ground as my body went numb from the pain. I heard the mobsters arguing amongst themselves in Russian as my transformation was completed. I leaned forward balancing on two gigantic fists as I stared down the men.
I charged toward them and they opened fire. The wild fear in their eyes made their aim sloppy. I swung my right arm and slammed my fist into one of the men. He flew backward several feet and landed on his back. I turned to the other and grabbed him by the shoulders. He dropped his gun and started pleading for his life.
I threw him to the side as well, hard enough to knock him unconscious. The third man, the one who had been talking the entire time, shot twice in my direction. One bullet flew just past my shoulder. The other lodged itself in my upper arm.
I let loose a primal roar. The man pulled his trigger several more times and realized he was out of ammo. He dropped his gun.
“This isn’t over!” he screamed.
The man turned and ran in the opposite direction. Pain was radiating from my arm. I fell to the side and shifted back to my human form. Michael rushed to my side. My clothes had been shredded in the transformation, I was shivering in the cold as blood gushed from my arm.
“Devin, where’d they get you?” Michael asked.
“Right in the arm, nothing serious.”
“We got to get you to a hospital!”
I shook my head. “It went clean through. I’ll be fine, I heal faster than most people.”
“I don’t what I would have done without you man. They probably would have killed me. I don’t know how I could ever repay you.”
I stood up. “Well, you could start by getting me somewhere safe and maybe some clothes. Once that’s done, I’ll take a date with your sister.”
Michael shot me a look. “You’re not being serious?”
“You know I’ve always had feelings for her, man. I just saved your life, so you know I can keep her safe. I can be her protector if things get out of hand.”
“I’ll think about it,” Michael said.
That was good enough for me.