Steel: The Transformation

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Cleo POV

I jumped from the couch as soon as I heard Jackson's footsteps coming up the porch. I rushed to the door but waited for him to knock before opening it.

"Hi," I smiled at him and gave him a quick kiss.

"Hi. That was quick," he smiled back at me gently. I decided to leave that comment unanswered and moved over to the kitchen.

"Did you want some coffee?"

Jackson sat down on one of the high barstools that belonged to the breakfast bar, dividing the kitchen and the living room of big open plan space.

"So what's up?" Jackson poured a large amount of milk in his coffee and shovelled down a couple of teaspoons brim filled with sugar.

"So something's happened..." I didn't know how to tell him but I had to.

"What's happened? Are you okay?" Jackson had dropped the teaspoon, creating a snowfall of sugar that gently found its place across the breakfast bar.

"Yes, everything's fine. It's just something that we need to talk about." I had no idea how to break the news about my transformation to him. 

So I mirrored what Rose had done when she'd shown me. I pulled my hand up to my face and shifted, exposing my Steel coloured bright eyes and the claws springing out in place of my fingernails. Jackson's face went from shocked, to surprised and moved shifty onto intrigued. He didn't speak for a few minutes but walked over and gently pricked his fingertip on one of my claws.

"They are very sharp," he said.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"So when did you know that you had changed?"

"I figured it out a few of days ago but it really took Alec and Rose to push me for me to accept that I'm Basati," as I spoke the last word I finally felt like it was sinking in. 

I had changed, I had accepted it. I also had accepted help from Rose and Alec which was not something that I would be the first one to jump at. Now the final piece of the puzzle fell into place.

"So Alec and Rose, they are also Basati?" Jackson's voice was curious and a little bit hesitant.

"Yes. They are a lot more experienced than what I am. They told me that I need to practice controlling my abilities. Yesterday morning I went for a run with Rose and she showed me how to use some of my abilities without shifting fully." 

I pointed at my eyes, "We need to be discrete and not attract attention to ourselves." 

Jackson nodded slowly. I knew this was a lot for him to process at once. 

But he surprised me with his calm but inquisitive voice, "So what are your abilities?"

"Well... I can see very well in darkness when I've shifted. I have heightened strength and speed. Also, I have heightened senses in terms of smells and sounds," I thought for a moment, trying to figure out if I had left something out.

"Oh, I can always see very far and make out details of things that are impossibly far away." 

Jackson nodded and surprised me again with his reply, "Why don't we go for a drive and you can show me?" 

I nodded and followed him. It would be good to show him what I could do. After all, he had showed me his wolf.

We sat in the car and he started the engine. I closed my eyes and listened carefully to its sounds. I searched each hum of the engine as we drove. After a block, I could hear it the small rattling of something. I listened closer, Rose had told me to focus on the sound and let my mind guide me. That if I trusted my instincts they would tell me where the sound came from. I focused and gave in to my instincts.