I knew something was about to go down, but I didn't even have time to give a glance to Kyle or Serina.
'I hope they are ready to hold their own.' I thought.
The man, who was the closer to me out of the two strangers, lunged at me and tried to grab my arm. I secured the book in my left arm and dodged him. I tripped and turned my face- first fall towards the ground into a summersault. As I took a second to get my bearings, and stand again, I heard the woman yell: "Get that book!"
I glanced up to see Serina jump in front of the woman, as the woman ran at me, while at the same time, Kyle was engaged in a struggle with the man.
I opened my purse and shoved at the contents until there was enough room to put the book inside and zip it up.
The woman threw Serina into a bookshelf and she hit it with a 'thud', making the bookshelf sway. The woman gave me a dark, angry look. The outlines of her silhouette shimmered.
'She's a shifter!' I thought. Only other shapeshifters had the ability to see the shimmering, moving outlines of our bodies. It is a way for us to recognize one another, but that only became visible when our guard was down.
"She's a shapeshifter! He might be one too." I yelled to Kyle and Serina.
A loud crash caught my attention. Serina had not moved fast enough and the swaying bookshelf had fallen on her. Books scattered everywhere like fallen leaves.
I slung my purse cross-body and prepared to fight as the woman collided with me. While we rolled on the ground, we both got some punches in.
My eyes watered as her fist connected with the side of my face. I would have a black eye later.
"I am done with you!" I yelled at her and gave a head-butt in the jaw.
Upon impact, she let go of me and grabbed at her jaw. The blood trickling out of her mouth indicated that she had bit her tongue.
She tried to slur curses at me, but they came out garbled because of her tongue.
"Get off of me!" I yelled at her as I bucked my hips and shoved at her in the same moment.
She sailed off to the right, and free of her, I stood up quickly. From the place where she lay on the floor, she reached out a hand to grab at my ankle. I dodged and stomped my boot on her fingers.
She screamed like a deranged, rabid raccoon.
I ran over to the fallen bookshelf and Serina. "You, okay?" I asked as I helped her lift the bookshelf off and wriggle out from underneath.
"Look out!" Serina yelled to me from the floor.
I did a partial shift and allowed only my hands to change. My once small hands became large lynx paws with retractable claws.
I reached behind me and turned my body at the same time, sinking my claws deep in the soft flesh. Then I yanked her away from the two of us and threw her across the space and to the ground.
"Don't make me actually hurt you!" I warned in a dangerous tone. Her blood was staining the store carpet.
Not far from me, Kyle landed the man butt- first on the floor, knocking the wind out of him from a right-hook to the gut.
The man had a bloody lip and a black eye, and from the way he wrapped an arm around his torso, most likely some cracked ribs.
"Enough is enough!" Kyle growled.
"Leave us alone and get out of here!" I angerly spat.
The woman rushed over to the man. She helped him to stand and gave us a look, before they left, supporting each other as they went.
"Are you ok?" Serina, Kyle and I all asked each other in unison. We then all laughed at the absurdity of it.
"That bookshelf was heavy!" Serina complained. "There is no doubt that it is made of solid wood."
I looked Kyle up and down. From all appearances, he seemed the least injured out of the three of us.
"Did you even get a scratch, Mr. Alpha wolf?" I teased him.
"Yeah, actually, I did." He grinned. "But I am almost completely healed already."
"Show off!" I muttered under my breath.
"Any injuries, Serina?" I asked her.
"Yes. I did worse in this fight than Kyle. But the injuries are healing already. I can walk, so I will be fine."
"Okay." I said.
Burt came into view from the back room. "You guys better leave if you don't want to be delayed by mall cops. I called them and they are on their way. I don't want any more trouble while I close this place down for the day."
"I'm so sorry, Burt." I told him earnestly.
"It'll be fine, Sam. It wasn't your fault."
As we all turned to exit the door, Burt called to me. "You'd best take that book straight to Mike. Don't let anything happen to it."
I went to ask him about his statement, but then Kyle spotted the incoming mall cops.
"We gotta go!" he whispered harshly to us and we made a hasty retreat towards the mall exit.
Once we had exited the mall and were walking across the parking lot, the adrenaline began to wear off on me. While Serina's limp got better as her body used its werewolf healing ability, mine got worse.
I began to walk slower, and take more careful steps, as my natural depth perception was off. My one eye was swelled shut and I wasn't used to walking around with sight in only one eye. It made me feel off balance.
Serina and Kyle both noticed I was lagging behind.
"Hey, you okay? Do you need some help?" Serina asked kindly.
"Yeah." I admitted. "I am struggling with my sight like this." I gestured to my swelled shut black eye.
"I thought you were walking a little… differently." Commented Kyle.
"Come here." Serina said to me and scooped me up.
Although I knew she intended to pick me up, the feeling of my feet leaving the earth spooked me. My sight was disoriented enough without the world moving. Plus, Serina had never tried to pick me up before, what if she dropped me?
I felt a surge of fear and clung tightly to her.
"It's alright. I am not going to drop you." Serina reassured me.
Although I calmed a bit, I never loosened my grip on her. At the car, Kyle hit the unlock button on the key fob and opened the back door. Serina put me inside and I did up my seat belt.