Page 23 of Shift of Heart (Shifter Lords #1)

Chapter

Eighteen

CAELAN

“ Y ou’re an idiot,” Simone breathed.

“He’s a stupid motherfucker, is what he is,” Garrett growled. “Are you insane?”

I sat at my desk glaring at my Omega and my Beta. “You’re very lucky you’re my closest friends.”

Garrett scoffed. “We might be, but it doesn’t mean you listen to a single word we say.”

His tone pissed me off. Garrett always said what he meant, and I usually appreciated it, but not when I fully realized how badly I’d fucked up over the last twenty-four hours.

Simone didn’t say much, her direct stare unnerving.

I decided not to tell them I’d broken into Evie’s house. The damage I’d done to her store was bad enough. Trespassing and breaking and entering were felonies. So was destruction of property, but as Shifter Lord, I had much more discretion about how I handled issues.

And Evie, like it or not, was becoming an issue.

“It’s taken care of,” I growled.

Garrett made a disgusted noise. “How is it taken care of? Did you threaten the girl or throw money at the problem?”

I gritted my teeth.

“Garrett,” Simone cautioned.

He waved a dismissive hand. “You should have killed her the second she moved here. What were you thinking?”

I tamped my rage down. Garrett was my oldest, dearest friend. His temper was an issue, but he was a born strategist and could one day be a Lord. If he reined his temper in.

“Just like everyone else, she applied to live here as a florist. A Floromancer. There was no reason to look twice at her application, and you know it.”

“That display was more than Floromancy,” Simone said quietly.

“I agree.” I scrubbed a hand over my face. “But this was partly my fault.” I bit down on the smile threatening to form. “I baited and threatened her, assuming she would roll over and do what I wanted.”

Simone chuckled. “And she did.”

I inclined my head. “Yes. Her stunt was the textbook definition of malicious compliance. I’d all but forced her to be our florist, and I specifically requested a display of power. She went above and beyond.”

Power flared in the room. “She embarrassed you!” Garrett snarled.

“She made me eat humble pie, Garrett. I deserved it.”

Simone’s brow furrowed. “Oh, Caelan.” She closed her eyes and let out a breath. “You’re smitten.”

Garrett snapped his attention to me. “No. Caelan. Of all the people in this state, you cannot possibly want that...that…”

“Be careful how you speak of Evie,” I said quietly, magic snapping against my skin.

Garrett’s nostrils flared. “She is not right. Something lurks within her body, and it is not Floromancy.”

“Garrett is right.” Simone looked away. “I like Evie. A lot. But there is something about her that doesn’t quite fit.”

They might be my closest friends, but Evie’s secrets were her own.

As long as she wasn’t a danger to the Pack, I would not betray her.

“Then she is in good company,” I said after a moment.

“We cannot stand here and judge her for the magic lurking in her bones when all three of us are not quite what we seem.”

Simone’s eyes sparkled. “I agree.”

Garrett huffed. “I do not agree. You should put her down before she becomes a threat.” Without waiting to be dismissed, Garrett turned and stormed from the room, slamming the door behind him.

Simone didn’t speak for a long moment. My Omega had always been a thoughtful person and a nurturing wolf. Her magic could calm even the angriest beast, and Garrett rarely traveled without her. She wasn’t a woman of many words, but when she spoke, I listened.

“What else did you do?”

I sank into the chair and groaned.

Simone laughed softly. “That bad?”

“Worse.” I reached for the decanter of whiskey and two glasses, pouring us each a small glass. When I started speaking, I waited for Simone’s judgment, and even though her eyes widened a couple of times during the story, her face was more thoughtful than anything.

I told her as much as I could and divulged Evie’s other form but didn’t tell her how I’d plucked each piece of glass from her body. It felt too intimate, and I was still ashamed of what I had done. Not for helping her but helping her when she couldn’t consent.

When the story was done, Simone shook her head. “You like her, don’t you?”

I wasn’t sure how I felt, but I didn’t hate her. When I said as much, Simone laughed. “She’s not a wolf. Evie doesn’t have to obey you, and it bothers you.”

She had a point. I was used to being obeyed without hesitation. Evie basically told me to fuck off in a hundred different ways, and I had yet to do it. I didn’t want to disappear from her life, and that thought bothered me far more than I wanted to admit aloud.

“I am curious about her,” I admitted.

Simone’s eyes flickered. “So are the other Shifter Lords. Tread carefully, Caelan. Evie won’t be anyone’s prize.”

She threw back her whiskey and rose. “She won’t accept your payment for her shop, either.”

I snorted. “Of course she will. I did thousands of dollars in damage but saved her from an insurance claim and from paying out of pocket.”

“Mmm,” Simone hummed. “I don’t think she will reject it outright, but she will attempt to pay you back.” She brushed a kiss over my cheek and headed toward the door. “Possibly in a way you won’t expect.”

I smothered my grin. Anticipation filled my veins at the thought of what Evie might come up with.

The automatons were hands down genius—one of the most creative things I’d ever seen—and I was one of the oldest shifters in the country.

Not much surprised me anymore, but when that headstone popped up with the epitaph, I’d seen red.

But I also felt something for the first time in a long, long time, other than cold numbness.