Page 25 of Shift of Morals (Shifter Lords #2)

Chapter

Sixteen

H azel wasn’t amused that I got up early and headed to work. After a blistering lecture, I hurried out the door and headed to the shop, leaving Hazel glaring at me from the porch.

Less than half an hour after I got to the shop, Hazel stomped in, cursing a blue streak.

“Do they know what happened to you last night?” she groused, giving the others the hairy eyeball.

“Yes, and they don’t want me here, either,” I said mildly. “I’m fine, Hazel.”

A bald-faced lie, but I was fine enough to come into work today, so true enough.

Moira snorted.

I shot her a dark look. “I’m here. I’m standing, and I’m functional.”

Hazel muttered something under her breath. “I’ll be in the back looking at that damned bouquet. Call me if things go awry.”

“That could mean a lot of things,” Ash said.

Tess let out a soft moan and floated closer to me. “We’ll keep an eye on her.”

“See that you do, banshee,” Hazel lectured, lifting her bag over shoulder and bustling past us.

When the doors closed behind her, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.

“She’s intense,” Moira whispered.

“That’s Hazel,” I muttered.

Ash pushed a fresh mug of coffee my way. “Are you alright?”

I was exhausted, bruised internally and externally, and my magic felt fried. “I will be,” I promised. Cernunnos’ warning kept replaying in my head, the real threat of dying hanging over me like a scythe made all my muscles tense.

I felt different, every cell in my body snapping and alive. And I felt the desire to change.

I could be anything I wanted.

The thought scared the hell out of me.

Everyone had gone off to run errands for the shop earlier, leaving me alone for a while. I enjoyed the silence, using the quiet time to think about my new body. Because that’s what it was. Every piece of me felt different, alive in a way it never had before.

But in the mirror looking out was the same old Evie. All the new pieces of me lay deep inside.

The bell over the door jingled not long after, revealing Ben holding a large box of our favorite pastries.

At the same time, banging, yelling, and eventually black smoke billowed from under the doors to the back.

Hazel cursed up a blue streak before slamming open the doors.

Her hair stood up on end and soot streaked half her face.

“That bouquet is a menace!” she barked.

Ben slid the box onto the counter. “Need any assistance?”

Hazel waved him away. “Bah. No. I’m going to crack that thing open like a coconut soon enough.”

I came around the back of the desk and hugged Ben, but there was a hesitancy in his touch this time.

A small piece of my heart broke at that moment. I stepped away and smiled, but Ben had trouble meeting my eyes.

I’d been waiting for this day since that evening in the field, knowing someone would find out too much about me and turn away, unable to meet my eyes.

“Can I take your vitals?” Ben asked.

“I’m fine, Ben. Fit as a fiddle.”

He met my eyes then, wariness that had never been there before all over his face. “I doubt that very much.” Ben gestured to the couch. “Please. It will take only a moment.”

Hazel motioned me away. “Go let the healer do his thing.” She flipped open the pastry box, her eyes lighting up at the array of goodies. “I’ll be right here, drowning my annoyance in chocolate donuts.”

I settled myself on the couch. Ben sat on the coffee table facing me and held his hands out. “Take my hands.”

I slid my palms over his. Gentle, calloused fingers closed over my hands. Ben’s power brushed over my skin, his eyes turning an unholy blue. I felt his magic sweep through my body, gently touching every cell.

It was over in less than a minute. Ben extricated himself and rose.

“How’s our patient?” Hazel asked, her mouth full of donut.

“Healthy as a horse,” Ben said, lips turning up in a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“Ben?” I said quietly.

“Step outside with me, Evie,” he murmured.

My heart thudding, Ben said goodbye to Hazel, taking my elbow to lead me outside. It was still morning time in Joy Springs and there was a bite of cold in the air. A few shop owners had already arrived, waving as they unloaded their goods for the day.

“What’s the verdict, doc?”

Ben sighed. “Evie, your entire body is different. Something is raging through your metabolism. If you haven’t already felt it, your appetite will increase exponentially.”

I’d already noticed the second Ben brought those donuts in. The urge to snatch the box out of his hands nearly overwhelmed me. I already had to restrain myself from gnawing on raw steak every time I went grocery shopping.

“Whether the change is permanent is unknown.” He scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “Evie.” Ben hesitated.

“Spit it out.”

“You seem like a shifter. Sort of.”

“But you’ve never examined a Floromancer before.” I had to cut this off at the pass.

Ben’s brow furrowed. “No, but?—”

“Then there’s no way to know what I was like before then, right?”

“Evie.” Ben’s voice was a growl. “You’re hiding something.”

“Someone came onto the property looking to rob me. That’s all. He was some sort of magic practitioner.” The lie came too easily, rolling off my tongue like water. “I’m fine, Ben. Really.”

“A thief does not violate you like that, Evie!” Ben’s nostrils flared. He held up a hand and stepped away. “You know what? Fine. Lie to me if that’s what you want. But don’t expect me to keep coming around hoping for a kernel of anything from you.”

I reached out. “Ben. I’m sorry. I—I can’t.”

“You won’t. Big difference.”

We stared at each other for a long moment before Ben nodded and turned away.

My heart cracked as I watched him walk away. He didn’t deserve this, my lies and deceit. Ben could never know me, not like he’d let me know him.

I did not go after him.

Ben deserved better than me.

When he disappeared from sight, I turned and pressed my hand against the door jamb, taking a moment before I went inside.

My hand flickered, briefly shifting from a claw-tipped paw to a scaled one. I gasped and clutched my hand to my shirt, hurrying inside before anyone noticed. When I was safely inside, I pressed my hand on the desk and stared, but it remained smooth and tanned, the hand I saw every single day.

Unnerved, I tried to will the shift again, but nothing happened.

I hadn’t tested my Floromancy yet. Even with Cernunnos’ promise, I was terrified to find out if my innate magic had changed.

If it had, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to go on.

Plants had been my life from the moment I could touch the earth.

If the Chimera had ripped that away from me, I might lie down and die, letting myself be with the earth one final time.

So I couldn’t try today. I was too emotionally fraught and still felt like crap.

Tomorrow I’d see how much my life had changed once more.

The bell rang again. Moira breezed in with a steaming to-go cup of tea. “That shop down the road ran out of that spiced blood! I wanted chai, and I had to get Earl Grey.”

“Tragic,” Hazel drawled.

Moira blinked. “I keep forgetting you’re here.” She waved a hand at the witch. “Don’t you have some bats to play with or something?”

Hazel shoved another bite of donut in her mouth before she raised her middle finger.

Moira cracked a laugh and came behind the desk, gently nudging me with her hip.

Tess came in next, holding a massive bouquet of roses.

I gasped. “Do not tell me those are grocery store roses!”

Tess rolled her eyes. “I would never. These are for later. I’m planning a visit to the graveyard to see if I can lure out that other banshee I keep seeing. She might need a friend.”

“You bring roses to the graveyard?” Hazel asked.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Tess asked. “Banshees and ghosts deserve flowers, too.”

Hazel opened her mouth, then closed it just as fast. “I suppose they do,” she said in a musing tone.

I turned to hide my smile. Seeing Hazel speechless was a rarity.

Ash came in next, holding a massive box that clinked when he walked. Tess put her bouquet down and rushed over to hold the door open.

“Thanks.” Ash brushed a kiss against her cheek making Tess blush furiously.

Moira and I exchanged low fives under the register desk.

He plopped the box on my work table. “I bought these from an estate sale at that haunted house down the road.”

I peeked inside the box and gasped in delight. “That’s real crystal!”

“Yup. I got the entire box for fifty bucks. Thought we could use some of them for the seasonal arrangements.”

“Our customers will love them.” I held a smaller one up to the light, marveling at the brilliant colors refracting as I turned it back and forth. “Reimburse yourself from the petty cash, okay?”

“Not worried about it.” He plucked a smaller, single stem vase from the box. “I’ve been eyeing a few for myself.”

“Take whatever you want,” I said as I dug through the rest.

Tess spotted the donut box and floated over to take one. “Anyone else?”

My stomach let out an embarrassing growl.

“Evie first!” Moira announced, taking the box Tess passed, and opening it, displaying an array of goodies.

My stomach growled again. I was starving. Reaching in, I took a Bavarian cream filled and a cinnamon twist. Once I had my selections, the rest of my team fell on the box like a pack of ravenous wolves.

The first bite was so delicious, I had to stifle my moan. When I used magic more than normal, my appetite spiked, and I ate like a football player bulking up for the big game. On average, most magic users, no matter their flavor, ate more than a human.

Ben’s words came back to me, sending a shiver down my spine. The Chimera had already changed my DNA, so it wasn’t news, but to have it confirmed while knowing Finn did even more damage last night was enough to give me pause.

My hand shapeshifting of its own volition only added to my suspicions that I might have a rocky time ahead of me.

Just in time for Caelan’s wedding.