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“After this happened, I took a long military leave and met my witch wife. She crafted a charm—a talisman—with strong enough magic to keep me from changing into this creature. The military has never seen me like this. As far as my military superiors ever knew, I showed some signs of changing forms, but then it all failed. They certainly never knew I found a way to suppress it. I partially retired and became a military contractor. The rest, you know. I temporarily got pulled back into the mess when they captured Rasmus. That’s why my name was on hishospital discharge papers. They needed someone who knew what they were doing and wouldn’t tell.”

Dylan watched Ben in silence. I swallowed hard and tried my best to see the real Ben in the monster his military had turned him into. “Do ya realize ya have pointed teeth and claws? I guess ya look like a gorilla, but ya also resemble Conn in his demon form.”

“They probably used demon blood to make me. I didn’t know demons existed back then. After what they did to people mixing guardian and demon blood, it’s fairly certain they used demon blood as the catalyst for my changes.”

“How long do ya stay in yer monster form without changing back?”

“At least three days. Sometimes it lasts a whole week. And shifting back hurts like hell. The last time I shifted, I couldn’t speak in this form. I could only grunt. I never know what will happen when I change. It’s one of the main reasons I don’t like to do it.”

I rubbed my eyes. It was so hard to think. “Can ya shrink yerself a bit? Ya’re too big to fit into one of the cottages. Or into my car. I’m unsure how we can get yer monster-sized self out of here.”

“After dark, I can travel mostly unseen. Or you could order an apprehension van. I’d do it myself, but the claws won’t let me use my phone. My clothes are history. When I realized Felicity’s charm had been snapped off my neck, I ran here to hide. It was the closest park to a forest. Most of the change hit me after I got here. I haven’t been in this form in years. It must have further developed even though I suppressed it. My fangs and claws are much longer.”

Dylan shook his head. “Suppression will never be the right answer for you. You need to embrace your beast side and learn to control it.”

I blinked at Dylan’s statement. “Are ya sure that’s the answer?”

Dylan nodded as he looked at me. “Colonel Benson has a similar problem to what the demon wolves are experiencing. Theirs may also be a matter of control. Ben knows his original form. He’s shifted back and forth before. That gives him an advantage they don’t have.”

The gorilla monster shrugged. “I sure don’t feel like I have an advantage.”

“We’ll worry about ya shifting back tomorrow. Right now, I want to get you out of the public eye,” I said as I paced. “There’s a grove of trees surrounding my firepit and greenhouse. Maybe we could build ya a shelter in the trees there.”

“I don’t need shelter, but I do need trees.” Ben’s frustrated sigh whistled through a mouth of fangs. “The thief didn’t do this randomly. He went straight for the strip of leather holding my charm. Someone got ordered to yank my chain. What if whoever sent that person finds out about the Shadow Breakers?”

There was no reason not to tell him the truth. However, it surprised me he didn’t already know it.

“Someone from the main office in Ireland would be dispatched to neutralize the situation. There are several teams trained to do precisely that kind of work. No one holds them accountable for the measures they take. They function outside normal Shadow Breaker rules.”

Ben covered his eyes with both of his clawed gorilla hands. He looked like he was wearing a deformed Big Foot costume. His true personality was at stark odds with his six-inch fangs and eight-inch claws.

I ducked my head to hide my smile, but he caught me. Ben grunted again. “I should have known you’d find this amusing. It wouldn’t be so funny if you were the one turning into a monster.”

“That will never happen because I’m monster-proof,” I said with a grin. “The Dagda’s bloodline is too strong to be tampered with. I’m glad ya didn’t turn into a power-hungry monster like Jack did. I can handle ya like this. Ya’re scary but reasonable.”

“I’ve never fought in this form or tried to live in it. The only thing I’m sure about is that I prefer staying close to trees. It’s an obsession I can’t seem to fight. I want to be up high above things.”

I blew out a breath. “Well, ya for sure can’t run around Salem looking the way ya do. Do ya think ya can make yer way to my house?”

“Maybe I can hitch a ride on some big truck. I can run pretty fast in this form.”

I snapped my fingers. “Or ya could lay across the roof of my car and I could put a cloaking spell on ya.”

Ben’s clawed hands fell to his sides. “You must be joking.”

I wasn’t, but his shock had me chuckling. “Why wouldn’t it work, Ben? My magic can hide ya. Dylan can drive us. All ya have to do is hang on tight. We could leave the windows rolled down a bit so ya can get a good grip with yer claws.”

Ben’s grunt bounced off the trees. “You need to buy a truck or a van.”

I bit the inside of my jaw to keep from laughing. “I agree that it’s starting to look like that might be a good idea. I’ll give buying a bigger vehicle some thought.”

We waited until dark to leave the park. Ben clung to my compact car with his claws, his giant gorilla-monster frame draped over the top. His feet protruded slightly beyond the hatch, but most of his large body sprawled over the car. The old tires squashed under his added weight, but thankfully none went flat.

I remained convinced this would work.

Dylan drove us all home and kept the speed under fifty. I hummed as the traffic went around us. No one paid much attention outside of honking about our slow speed as they passed.

“Are you humming a song about bananas?” Dylan asked.