Page 13 of Shift of Heart (Shifter Lords #1)

Chapter

Ten

“ P ut your head between your knees and breathe.” Moira’s voice was low and urgent.

A strangled cry escaped me. I bent over, my entire body shaking.

The vampire’s cool hand rested on my back. “Deep breaths, Evie. In and out.”

I dragged in a ragged breath and exhaled.

“Good. Keep going.”

We raced down the highway, the vampire barely braking as we flew around curves.

I’d almost shifted. It was so close I felt the Chimera magic overpowering my Floromancy. Fangs had slipped from my teeth, and the first stirrings of fur rose on the back of my neck.

So close. Too close.

“Someone was out there,” I croaked once I could speak.

“Who?” Moira demanded.

“Shifter. I think. Glowing eyes.” I let out a deep exhale. “I couldn’t make out a form. The foliage was too high, and the beast was crouching. I can’t believe I didn’t sense it the entire time I was out there. Stupid of me.”

Ash leaned forward, hands on either side of the seat. “No. Never. I wouldn’t have expected anyone out here. We’re in the middle of nowhere.”

“Do you want me to see if I can find out who it was?” Tess asked.

Banshees had a mist form. She could easily track the shifter or whatever it was.

Shifter didn’t feel completely right. The eyes weren’t right for a shifter, but its magic had been locked down, probably to keep me from sensing its presence.

I hated to think I’d allowed the creature to get so close because I was distracted. Being distracted could get me killed.

“You don’t mind?” I asked, finally able to sit up now that the threat of shifting had passed.

“Not at all. It’s a nice night.”

“Then please see what you can find out.” I turned and gave Tess a grateful smile, but the banshee had already turned to mist and slipped from the car.

Ash stared at the window she’d disappeared from. “She’s unnerving sometimes.” He rubbed his hands over his arms and sighed. “Think she’ll be okay?”

Moira laughed. “You worrywart. She’s a banshee. I think she’ll outlast us all.”

“You’re probably right.” But he didn’t stop looking out the window trying to catch a glimpse of her.

Tess popped back into the shop an hour later. She was silent as the grave anyway, but when she was in mist form, you couldn’t hear or see her coming, especially if the lights were dim.

Moira’s yelp of fright and subsequent swearing made me and Ash laugh.

“Tess is back,” he announced.

“No shit!” Moira called. “Tess. Moan or something next time.”

The banshee rolled her eyes and reverted to human form. “Like I can help when I moan.”

I hid my smile behind my hand and poured her a cup of tea from the carafe sitting on top of the table we were sitting around.

She took it with a grateful smile and curled into her favorite chair.

Ash got up and arranged a fuzzy blanket around her.

Tess never complained, but her mist form took quite a bit of energy, and when she came back to her human form, it took her several hours to warm up to normal temperature.

Curling her hands around the mug, she inhaled the brew and sighed.

“My sense of smell is not as acute as yours and Moira’s, but I believe you’re dealing with some kind of shifter. Unfortunately, he or she was long gone by the time I went back to the area.”

“Could you tell if it was a lone wolf?” Moira asked.

“No way to tell, but what faint scent I picked up was new. The spot you chose does not have any other shifters who’ve visited recently.”

“It’s Caelan,” I muttered, scrubbing a hand over my face.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Ash warned.

“It has to be,” I insisted. “He might not know who I am yet, but he suspects.” It took a while for the clues to click into place. The golden eyes were a dead giveaway.

Moira’s lips thinned. “I agree with Evie. He hasn’t been in power for this long by being a fool.”

“Even if it is, his presence is not our biggest problem,” Ash said, his eyes on me.

I groaned. “I can’t help it. If I’m in danger, the power always rises up.”

“Maybe you should let it.” Ash’s eyes held no judgment, but I looked away all the same.

“I can’t.” Memories of my time in Hazel’s cabin assailed me. “I’m too dangerous.” I’d almost killed her several times during those first two treacherous weeks. “Hazel should have left me to my own devices. She’s lucky to be alive.”

“Hazel made her choice,” Moira said. “No one deserved what happened to you.”

“Maybe not, but sometimes I wonder if it would be better for everyone if she’d put me out of my misery instead of carrying me back to her place.”

Moira’s eyes flashed emerald. “Don’t ever say that. None of us would be here if you’d died.”

Ash scooted closer. “She’s right, Evie. You aren’t a monster.”

I snorted. “That’s where you’re wrong. I’m more than a monster. I’m the thing that nightmares are made of.”

“That seems like an overly dramatic statement,” Tess observed.

Moira burst out laughing and tried to cover it with a cough, but it was too late. I sent her a dark look. She ducked her head and gave me an apologetic look.

“Maybe it seems that way to us,” she said to Tess, “but we never had to experience what Evie’s going through.”

Tess lifted a slim shoulder in a shrug. “Why shouldn’t we be who we are? Isn’t that what Evie always tells us?”

You know...getting your good advice tossed back into your face during a low moment was not awesome.

Moira sent me a look. “I think Evie is a little frightened of who she might become if she were to fully embrace the Chimera’s magic. That’s why she’s suppressing it.”

Tess stared at Moira. “I’m a banshee. Everyone who knows what I am is scared of me.

I’ve never had a boyfriend, much less an orgasm, because making any noise other than regular conversation must mean I’m trying to kill them, right?

If I can still be myself, when the whole world is terrified of what I might do, why can’t she? ”

The banshee rose and poofed into mist again, slipping through the front door of the shop and disappearing into the darkness.

No one spoke for a long time. Ash gave me a look dripping with judgment and rose, hurrying outside after Tess.

Moira, who’d been my friend the longest, sat there silently for a moment before clearing her throat.

“Tess is right, you know.”

I closed my eyes and flopped my head back against the couch cushion. “What the fuck,” I whispered to myself before letting out a loud groan. “You’re going to be really sorry when I finally shift and eat you all like a BOGO appetizer special.”

Moira chuckled. “First lesson, Evie. Friends are not food.”

I cracked an eye open and glared at her. “As worrisome as my issue is, are we not going to talk about Tess’s lack of orgasms?”

Moira’s lips pursed. “I don’t think it will be a problem for much longer,” she said cryptically.

My eyes narrowed as I tried to figure out the cryptic tone to her words. Then I looked at the door and my mouth fell open. “You think?”

My gaze went back to Moira. “No way.”

“His heartbeat picks up every time she’s in the room.” Moira’s lips tugged up. “And when she wore that cute little fifties dress for Halloween last year?—”

I held my hand up. “Nope. That’s enough of that.”

She laughed. “I’m not even sure Tess realizes Ash is smitten with her.”

I blew out a breath. “We will not be the ones to tell her, either.”

“Not a chance. Those two will have to figure their own stuff out.”

I mulled it over. “A dryad and a banshee. You think it will work?”

“Stranger things have happened,” Moira said cryptically. She rose and picked the tea carafe up. “No more for you. This blend will help you sleep and make it easier to interpret your dreams.”

I stared down at my mug. “Dammit, Moira! You dosed me again?”

She rolled her eyes and picked up my empty mug. “Every blend I have is magical. It’s your own fault, really.”

“How am I supposed to get home?”

Moira washed out the teapot and mug, carefully setting both on the drying rack. “Your ride home is a bicycle, and the tea is mild. It’s not like last time.”

Last time was when I fell into a dead faint about thirty seconds after my last sip. Moira aptly named that blend “Coma,” but didn’t tell me until the next day when I rolled into work two hours late feeling like I’d gone three rounds with a pro boxer.

I gave her a dubious look that made her laugh. She threw her hands up in surrender. “I promise! You’ll be fine.”

Shaking my head, I rose and stretched. Every muscle in my body felt tense. “Beekeeper suit is in the locked hall closet.” I grinned. “See you tomorrow for our weekly market trip.”

“I hate you,” Moira muttered, but the words held no heat.

“Sore loser.” I pulled out my brand-new cell phone as I walked to the door, and had a moment where I wondered if I should go back and try to find my old one. “I’m going to text Ash and Tess to make sure they remember.” A frown marred my brow. “And apologize.”

“Good idea.” Moira wiggled her fingers in a wave. “See you tomorrow. Meet at the gate?”

“You know it.”

The ride home was uneventful, but my nerves wouldn’t settle down.

It felt like someone was watching me the entire time, which should have been impossible unless they were running across the rooftops to keep up.

Bicycles could squeeze through places cars couldn’t, so I picked up my speed, dodging any darker areas in favor of well-lit roads, until I was inside my locked gate.

I left my bike on the porch and hurried inside, triple-checking all the locks and windows.

Even with Moira’s tea, it took a while to fall asleep. My anxiety was higher than it had been in years, and I couldn’t help feeling like I was barreling toward something I wasn’t ready for.

When sleep finally came, I dreamed of golden eyes and spring breezes.