Page 3

Mrs. Castillo didn't look bothered by the fact that Dante didn't shake her hand. She smiled politely, gesturing to the building. “I’m going to give you a tour and walk you to your classroom this morning. Your guardian can come with you, if you want.”

He looked conflicted for a second, and if he were in any other family, I was sure he’d ask for me to go with. But he was a Shadowwalker, and we didn’t show weakness. He shook off the discomfort, scowling with his arms crossed.

“I don’t need him.”

Mrs. Castillo raised an eyebrow at me. I shook my head in response. Dante hadn’t really warmed up to me and I didn't expect him to any timesoon. He’d probably use the meeting with his dad to complain about me. Maybe they’d finally realize I wasn’t guardian material.

My family didn’t trust me to do important jobs for them. The last time he tried to get me to do something important, I let the human go with a warning to hide or they’d kill him. He disappeared, and I lied and said I never managed to find him. I took a beating for that one and had to be brought to a healer to survive the night. From then on, I was a watcher, gathering the information my uncle wanted and playing security at one of the many clubs he owned. And now a glorified babysitter. I told Dante I had errands, but truthfully, I sat at a park nearby for most of the day, waiting for him to be through. At least for the first few days, until they knew it was safe, my cousins demanded I stick close. And since I wasn’t being asked to hurt anybody, I didn't complain.

I’d been avoiding my friends lately, hoping if I steered clear, Dante wouldn’t see them and report to my uncle about their mates. I argued against Mal’s mate, knowing another human in the group meant I’d be forced to steer clear, but that wasn’t an argument I could ever win. I got a text from Felix, demanding I show up to the next poker night, but I ignored it like I did every week. It was for his own good that I stayed away.

Still, I missed them. My friends were more family to me than my blood family ever was. I kept them out of the gritty details of what my family did, but they were aware of my connections. They didn’t treat me like a criminal. They cared about me and it killed me to not be able to spend time with them as much. Being around them was the only time I ever felt normal.

My phone rang around lunch. I was considering teleporting home for a while to grab some food when it interrupted my train of thought. I answered it on the first ring and still my uncle sounded pissed on the other end.

“Took you long enough.”

I rolled my eyes. “I apologize, Uncle. What can I do for you?”

“Where is the boy?”

“Still in school.”

He made an irritated noise, and I heard paperwork shuffling in the background. “Do you have information for me?”

“Yes. The Woods guy you were looking for popped up again. I found him sneaking around his old apartment. I sent Kaiser the information for pick up. And Maganti has been following your orders without issue. I don’t think he’s the rat you’re looking for.”

“No one asked your opinion,” he snapped. “Just hurry up and bring the boy.”

“School ends at 2:30. I’ll bring him directly to you when it’s through.”

He hung up without response and I sighed, tucking the phone away. This was my life, and I hated every minute of it. But there was no escape in sight. I must’ve done something really messed up in my previous life to end up in this one.

CHAPTER THREE

DECLAN

“Dec!”

Drawing in a breath, I let it out slowly. It was a good thing I was used to my little brother showing up after school. If he startled me while I was in the middle of a tattoo, I could hurt someone. I didn’t look up, but he didn’t really expect me to. He bounced over to me like he had springs in his shoes, a bright smile on his face.

“First day of school today,” he chirped.

“I remember. How’d it go?”

He shrugged, standing on his tiptoes to see the tattoo I was working on properly. The man in the chair was a regular and knew my little brother, so when I pulled back for a second, he shifted so Oliver could get a better view.

“That’s awesome. Can we put that on my list?”

Ben, my apprentice, looked up from his tablet, frowning at my brother. “List for what?”

I snorted, rolling my eyes. “Ollie’s got a whole folder of tats he wants once he’s old enough. You’re gonna run out of space before you can fit all of them, you know.”

“Not if I’m as big as dad, I won’t.”

True. Dad was a big dude. A football player in his youth, he fit the build of a defensive linebacker without even trying. I was built more like Mom. Tall and thin. I had muscle, but I wasn’t ever going to be built like Dad. I had a runner’s build and that never really bothered me. Ollie wanted to look like our dad, but he was only eight, so time would tell.

Ollie always came to my shop after school. Our parents didn’t get home for a few hours and they didn't like leaving him on his own. He hung out with me, played with his devices, and it was rare that anyone complained about him. There were a few nasty clients who didn’t like kids around, but Ollie had always been popular. He was outgoing and friendly, but perfectly happy to play quietly if I needed him to. I liked him coming here. Our age gap didn’t make any difference to me. I’d already moved out and started my apprenticeship when my little brother was born, so to say he was a surprise was an understatement. I volunteered to help my parents when they went back to work and he’d been coming here after school since pre-school.