Page 32 of Bewitched by the Werewolf (The Bewitching Hour #5)

No one sits near us as we get comfortable in the folding chairs.

They’re not the cheap kind that fall apart after or during a single use.

They have cup holders in the arm rests and there’s even a small folding table to one side.

Looks like he prepared for this, or does he usually have a friend with him?

Maybe a female friend? I don’t like the sound of that for some reason.

A surprising jealousy flutters through my chest at the thought, and I have to shove it away.

I’m not jealous of women Ryder’s been with.

That would be stupid. He’s a shifter and I’m a werewolf hunter we’re practically sworn enemies.

But it’s hard to continue thinking of Ryder as a mindless killing beast when I see the type of man he is.

If I really thought of him as a threat, would I have allowed him in my trailer and to play with my hair the way he did?

No. I felt, and feel, completely safe with him.

I don’t expect him to shift at any moment and rip my throat out.

Although, I now know he can shift whenever he wants since that whole full-moon thing is a lie.

The fact that he hasn’t eaten me after finding out what he is a good sign that he’s not as bad as I originally thought.

Ignoring my wandering mind’s thoughts on Ryder and how his hands caressed my head and ran through my hair and the way his kiss practically made me swoon, I focus back on the field around us and everyone moving about and settling in for the movie.

I spot Tobias with a man I’m guessing is his husband, Larken is sitting with a small group of people.

She says she hates this town and can’t wait to leave for the big city, but I question how much of that she really means.

She’s comfortable with those around her and talks animatedly with a smile on her face.

I think she might just be distracted by the glitter and gold the big city possess.

The dream of moving away from the small town and instantly finding her ideal career and everything she ever dreamt of without issue.

If only I could convince her all that glitters is not always gold.

Sometimes it’s just shiny aluminum foil wrapped shit.

“Is it always like this every week? With so many people and the popcorn?”

Ryder finished chewing on his mouthful of popcorn before he answers, taking a look around the clearing where people are beginning to quiet and settle for the movie. “Mostly, yes.”

I continue scanning the crowd and faces and spot another familiar one.

Alexandria sits on a blanket with the man I saw her with at Sticky Buns.

The one who looks like he could be Ryder’s brother.

They’re cuddled close and eating snacks from a cooler as the sky finally grows dim enough to start the movie, The Wizard of Oz.

I kinda feel like Dorothy right now, swept away in a tornado to a new world filled with unknown beings and wonder.

“So, tell me,” I begin, settling into my chair. “Why is Alexandria, the famous pop star, slumming it in Snowberry?”

Ryder tilts his head at me in a manner that is so reminiscent of a dog, I have to smother a chuckle. “Who?”

I point to the short haired blonde getting cozy with the other guy.

“Lottie?”

“No Alexandria. The woman with the short blond hair sitting with the guy that kinda looks like you, but more clean cut.”

“That’s Hunter, my younger brother. The girl he’s with is Lottie. At least that’s what she told us.”

My face scrunches and I scowl in their general direction. Could I have been wrong? Not likely. Conspiracy websites don’t just focus on things like werewolves and yetis. There are plenty out there that think celebrities are aliens and Alexandria especially.

“I don’t care what name she told you, that’s Alexandria, a famous singer.” I pull out my cell phone and google her, pulling up a picture to show Ryder. “See. Alexandria.”

He inspects the photo and looks over to Lottie then back to the photo, his own brow furrowing now. “I’ll admit that does look like her.”

“Oh, it’s her alright. What is she doing getting all cozy with your brother? Wait—” I sudden realization hits me, and I sit up straight. “Is your brother like you? I mean…a shifter?” I whisper the last part just in case.

Ryder chuckles and leans back in his folding chair that protests at his bulk. It’s kind of amazing it hasn’t broken in half under his weight.

“Yes, my brother is like me. My whole family is. I told you we weren’t bitten and it’s not a disease. We’re just normal—well mostly normal—people living our lives.”

“Does she know what he is? They look awfully close.”

“Yes, Lottie knows what he is. She hasn’t known for long, but she took it about as well as you did. Asked a lot of questions. She doesn’t seem to care though. She sees Hunter for who he is, not what he is. It doesn’t matter to her. They like each other and that’s what matters.”

I watch Hunter and Alexandria, A.K.A. Lottie, and marvel and how comfortable they look together.

She doesn’t cower away or flinch when he reaches for her.

She looks completely happy to be curled into his side watching an outdoor movie with him.

The encroaching darkness and looming woods don’t seem to bother her either.

Whereas I’ve caught myself eying the perimeter more than once since we arrived, searching for possible threats or the appearance of a massive werewolf like beast.

But that doesn’t bother anyone else in attendance. Children run and play, and parents watch calmly without worry nearby. No one seems concerned that something vicious and deadly would come from the woods. As a matter of fact, they all look right at home in the dark wilderness.

“How many are there?” I ask quietly.

“How many what?”

“Shifters.” I turn to look into Ryder’s gleaming silver eyes. They practically glow in the dark as he stares back at me. He doesn’t answer immediately, considering me and how much truth he wants to divulge.

“Many. Some of which you’ve already met. Some you probably didn’t even realize,” he says.

“Like who?” I look back out to the crowd and wonder who he could possibly mean.

“Dottie for one.”

“What? Really?”

I would definitely have not suspected Dottie.

She’s so sweet and petite and nothing how I pictured a shifter.

Even before I knew about shifters, and thought they were werewolves, I just always kind of pictured them as professional athletes or amazons or something.

A large human form to match their beast. Man was I wrong.

Little tiny talkative Dottie is a shifter.

Which probably means so is her son Jared.

“Yup. There’s lots of people here who are…different. But want to live their lives as freely as anyone else. We’re really not all that different from humans. Except we have excellent senses.”

I feel more than see Ryder lean into me.

Then I hear him inhale deeply and again he makes that grumbly growl noise.

I should probably be afraid of it. It sounds like a beast readying for a meal.

Knowing that meal is me should frighten me but it only excites me.

Perhaps my obsession with werewolves has finally ventured into the inappropriate, because I like the sounds he’s making.

“Senses like?” I ask, prodding the beast next to me. I always did like living dangerously. From the corner of my eye, I spot his hand on the arm of his chair, his fingers flex and grip at the edge, his nails look like sharpened points. A sliver of the beast inside showing itself.

“Smell. I like the way you smell, Red. It’s intoxicating. The first time I scented you it nearly knocked me on my ass and gave me a raging boner all at the same time. Whatever you were doing to mask it before, I’m glad you stopped.”

His words make me squirm in my chair. The thought of my scent alone turning him on to the point of physical arousal has my own spiking, pulsing between my legs with adamant approval.

I remember what he told me when we were in my trailer, I smell like apple cider, and to me he smells like crisp citrus.

“I can smell your excitement even now. You’re arousal.” His nose brushes the hair over my ear as he leans closer, speaking low and deep. “You’re not afraid of me,” he continues, and I shake my head. “Why is that? You saw my true form. It didn’t scare you?”

“No. It surprised me because I never thought I would fine one again, but it didn’t scare me.”

“Find one again?”

“I saw a werewolf, or shifter, when I was a kid. It’s kind of what started my whole obsession.”

He hums and I can feel his eyes on me. I don’t dare turn to look into those silver pools. He could extract all my secrets with those bad boys. I’m not ready for him to know about everything, yet.

After a moment he leans back, finally giving me space to breath.

I let out a long slow breath and try not to act too affected by him.

A struggle that’s getting harder and harder to fight.

If he could see my nipples right now, he would know how affected I am by him.

Though I suppose that talented nose of his tells him all he needs to know about my current state.

“This is why I wanted to bring you tonight. To show you the people you would be affecting if you were to tell anyone about us, about me. It’s not just one person who can easily disappear and hide.

It’s entire families. Families who have already fled from public view to hide here in Snowberry, where they can live peacefully. ”

It does seem peaceful, but so did the campgrounds before the shifters attacked and fought their way through tents and people.

They left a path of destruction in their wake with no concern for who it harmed.

Sure, they might still be people, but they’re also still beasts.

A beast lurks inside all of them and if even one is an uncontrolled as the ones I saw, this picturesque scene could all be a farce.

A place to hide out to avoid consequences of their actions.

I want to believe Ryder, I truly do. He seems like a good guy, Dottie is definitely a nice woman, but I’ve only known these “people” for a week.

How can I truly trust them? Some of the most prolific serial killers were family men, sociable and well-spoken with families who knew nothing of their demonic side.

And those were just humans. If a shifter were like any of them, no one would ever know.

I want to tell Ryder everything he wants to hear, but I can’t.

There are still too many doubts and unknowns.

If I were to keep the truth about shifters to myself only to find out later that one or more did harm or killed and could have been stopped if only people knew about their existence, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.

I don’t want them to be hunted and slaughtered, and with how little anyone actually believes in their existence I don’t think they would be.

Me revealing their existence might not even make a difference.

People may never see my website or hear the truth, but I would have at least tried.

As the night goes on the movie progresses and soon enough it’s ending.

People collect their belongings and trash and take with them everything they brought, leaving no trace of them behind.

Everyone seems completely at ease and happy, smiling and laughing.

This is just another Thursday to them. To me it’s a total mind fuck.

There are werewolves, shifters, out there among all these people.

There’s a battle waging inside me to reconcile the smiling people with the beast I saw in the woods.

How can one be the same as the other? And are they as innocent and harmless and Ryder leads me to believe?