Page 18

Chapter

Eighteen

Once they were sure I was safe, they removed the shield and ran to me. Everyone, but the trio.

Mason turned his back on me, shifted into his raven form, and flew away.

“Give them some time to adjust,” Nana Jolie whispered as she hugged me. “Having it removed and thinking you were about to die is a lot to deal with.”

I nodded and hugged her back. “Thank you for listening to me.”

She laughed softly. “I’ve learned that if someone calls for a shield like that, it’s to protect others and it’s best to listen.”

Mom pulled me into a tight hug. “You scared me.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered as I hugged her back. “I was scared, too.”

“Who were you talking to?” Kayden asked.

Shit, they’d heard that?

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “They told me to make the power mine and that they were a friend. I’ve never heard the voice before, though.”

Should I tell them about the necklace warming? Was it related somehow? I felt like it was something I shouldn’t bring up.

“Did they say anything else?” Caleb asked.

“That I was becoming the person I am supposed to be. To be a goddess,” I admitted.

“A goddess?” Mom asked with a frown and turned to Nana Jolie. “Have you heard anything like that before?”

“We were taught about goddesses and gods, but it was mythology, not real,” Nana Jolie said. “Or, so we thought.”

“It could still be mythology,” Caleb said. “She doesn’t look like she’s changed.” At my frown, he smiled and said, “No offense, cub.”

“It’s likely bullshit,” I said and shrugged. “However, their advice did help, so I’m grateful even if I don’t know who they are.”

“Maybe the darkness wasn’t related to the spell at all,” Mom suggested. “Maybe it was a coincidence, like the personality altering spell woke up the darkness that was already in her. I don’t even think darkness is an appropriate term for it, honestly.”

“We’ll do some research,” Grandpa Nico said to me and patted my shoulder.

Turning to Kayden and Trey, I asked, “How are you feeling? Better?”

I stepped closer to them, but when they tensed, I stopped.

“It’s … complicated,” Kayden answered. “If you’re okay, we’re going to head out to find Mason.”

“Oh, sure,” I said and wrapped my arms around myself. Had it changed how they felt about me?

“We’re glad you’re okay,” Trey said and gave me a tense smile.

I nodded. “I’ll text you about our dates, okay?”

They nodded and walked away.

Nana Jolie put her arm around my shoulder and squeezed. “Give them a day of breathing room. It’s not always easy dealing with such a sudden change.”

“Okay,” I whispered.

“Let’s get you home,” Mom said and pulled me out of Nana Jolie’s hold. She teleported us to the house and I immediately went up to my room to shower.

Although I felt better, stronger and more powerful, than ever, I felt like something was missing. Was this missing piece what the guys were talking about? On top of that was my concern over Mason and how the guys were reacting. Would Mason forgive me? Would this change our dynamic like I’d been worried it would?

I supposed only time would tell.

Once out of the shower, I messaged Great Nana Kara about the elf girl who shifted into a snake to set up a time to go see her and try to help. Drying my hair with the towel, I flopped onto my bed and sighed at the framed concert t-shirt with a print of the picture with the band. Why did that feel like it was a year ago when it had just happened yesterday?

Sitting up, I went to my desk, grabbed the calendar book, and flopped back onto my bed to message Liam for a second date. I’d wait to message the trio for theirs until I’d given them at least a day to decompress.

Liam replied almost immediately accepting my first offered date of one week from now. He promised to think of something fun and would message me details the day before.

Setting my phone on the bed beside me, I closed my eyes.

Two knocks on my door had me up and eyes open.

Tony stuck his head in and smiled. “Hey, Sis.” His body was tense, so I opened my arms and he immediately ran forward to hug me, resting his head on my shoulder. “You okay?”

“Yes and no,” I admitted with a humorless laugh.

“Mom told me what happened. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to help you.”

Tsking, I said, “What could you have done, little bro? It all worked out in the end.”

Pushing me back he asked, “Do you want ice cream?”

Scoffing, I rolled my eyes, and said, “Well, I’m not here to fuck spiders.”

He sighed and shook his head, hating the saying I had picked up from a fiction novel I’d read. It basically meant, “duh, what else would I be here for?”

“Mom already has the ice cream and toppings out, so we better hurry or dads are going to eat it all.”

I gasped and pushed him towards the door. “Why didn’t you lead with that? They’re going to eat all the cherries!”

Laughing, we ran down the stairs and to the kitchen where everyone was making bowls of ice cream. This was a sort of family tradition. If something crazy or emotionally draining happened, we would have build-your-own-sundaes and only talk about fun or funny things.

“Don’t eat all the cherries!” I yelled as I ran into the kitchen, my socks sliding on the tile.

“I saved the last two for you,” Branson said.

“You’re the best, Bran Bran!” I shouted as I ran around to where he was and grabbed them from the little cup he’d put them in.

Once our sundaes were made, we made our way to the living room and I gasped when I saw one of my favorite board games on the table. “I didn’t know we still had this!”

“It was in the back of the cupboard,” Riddick said. “I had to dig it out.”

“Oh, you guys are going to get destroyed!” I said confidently.

“While you were at college, I became the reigning champion,” Tony said proudly.

“Yeah, while I was gone,” I scoffed. Pulling out the board and the pieces, I started assembling it.

Four hours later, I reclaimed my title as reigning champion by winning seven games in a row.

“How does she do it?” Tony asked, exasperated. “I swear she cheats somehow.”

“I don’t cheat. I’m just that good,” I taunted.

He jumped at me in his wolf form and I shifted into my snake form, coiling around him, but not squeezing tight enough to hurt him.

“Whoa, you are much bigger,” Caleb said.

Tony huffed and relaxed, his way of telling me that I won, so I uncoiled and shifted into my human form.

“Yeah, I haven’t measured myself, but I feel like I’ve grown at least a foot,” I said.

“Let’s measure you,” Triston said and stood immediately.

“You just don’t want to get beaten at the game again,” I teased.

He smiled, clicked his tongue, and pointed at me. “Right you are. Now, let’s go measure you.”

Out in the barn, there was a doorframe that they’d used to mark our heights and a wall that they used to mark our animals’ sizes.

I stopped at the doorframe first, but neither Tony or I had changed since last year. Shifting into my snake form, I put my head at the beginning of the wall, in the corner, and spread my body down the wall until everything was against the wall and the tip of my tail was as long as I could make it.

“Whoa,” Triston said, “you’ve grown over a foot for sure. You can shift back now, I marked it. Branson get the tape measure.”

Shifting and walking over to him, my mouth dropped open at the difference from the previous mark to this one. “Whoa.”

“That’s what I said.” Triston chuckled.

Tony held the end of the tape while Branson walked down the wall until he reached us and read, “Twenty feet and three inches.”

“That’s two feet,” Riddick said behind us. “That’s quite a growth spurt, Lily.”

“Well, the research we did said she’d likely reach full maturity this year or next,” Mom commented. “So, it’s not too surprising she grew more, but that is a lot. Did you shed?”

I nodded. “Twice this year, which was abnormal, but I thought it was from the stress of trying to finish the school year.”

“I think we have to upgrade your rock and pool,” Caleb commented and we all turned to look at it.

“I still fit,” I said, shifted, and slid my way over to the rock, curling up on it to prove my point.

Mom shook her head. “You fit, but barely. I think a bigger one would be better.”

I slid into the pool and sighed at the cool water. I quickly realized that it was a bit too small and if I put my head just outside of it and draped my body across of the pond like I liked, at least a foot of my tail stuck out.

“Yeah, we need to dig that bigger as well,” Branson said.

Climbing out of the water, I shifted, and pouted. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize for something you can’t control, Lily,” Mom chastised me.

“It’ll only take us an afternoon to dig your pool larger,” Branson said. “It’s not a big deal.”

“And I think I know a rock about three miles north that should be big enough to replace this one,” Caleb said. “Tony and I can go out and we should be able to carry it.”

“I’ll go with you in case you need help carrying it,” Riddick offered.

“Should you really go through all that trouble if I’m likely to end up mated soon … ish?”

“Are you planning to never visit us when you get mated? Just going to act like we don’t exist and stop visiting your clan?” Caleb asked and folded his arms over his chest.

I rolled my eyes. “Of course not.”

He dropped his arms and smiled. “Then, it’s perfectly reasonable for us to make a space for you that you’ll enjoy.”

“That’s what family does,” Tony said and hugged me one armed.

“Speaking of family,” Mom said as she pulled her ringing phone from her pocket. “It’s Kara. Hello?” Her eyes widened and she looked at me. “We’ll be right there.” She hung up, marched over, and grabbed my shoulder. “We have to go help the snake shifter. She’s trying to eat something and it’s stuck in her throat.”

“Let’s go,” I agreed with a nod.

She teleported us to Great Nana Kara’s house in the elven territory.

“Where?” I asked.

“I’ll lead you,” Great Uncle Silverowl said, walked out of the house, and shifted into his owl form. I ran just behind him, letting him lead the way.

We ran towards a group of homes and I saw people in a semi-circle.

Rushing forward, I slid on my knees towards the four-foot-long python with a deer halfway swallowed.

She thrashed on the ground, eyes wide in panic.

“Easy,” I whispered and set my hand on her head. “I’m a snake shifter, too, I’m Princess Liliana. Let me look at you and see if I can help.”

She blinked her eyes at me and stopped thrashing.

Tilting her head, I realized her breathing tube was stuck between a hoof and the deer’s body, making it hard for her to breathe.

“I’m going to help free your breathing tube, okay? You understand?”

The little snake bobbed its head as much as it could.

Reaching down, I freed her breathing tube and watched her take a big breath. Stroking her head, I smiled. “There you go, pretty girl.” I admired her brown and black scales with a bit of red. “Your scales are gorgeous. I’m going to leave you to finish feeding, but after you’ve digested your meal, I’ll come visit you again, okay?”

She took another swallow of the deer, being careful to keep her breathing tube out, and nodded again.

Standing, I turned to the two teary-eyed elven parents. “She’ll be okay now. I’m sure that was scary for you.”

The mom threw her arms around my shoulders and hugged me tight. “Thank you! Thank you so much! We didn’t know what to do.”

I patted her back and smiled at the father. “It’s okay. It’s something that you learn as you get older, so it’s understandable this happened. I’ll come back and teach her more after she’s digested this meal. Don’t move her from here for at least two days, okay? We can move, but it’s really uncomfortable to be moved while we’re digesting. Don’t be surprised if it takes her a week or more to digest that, too. I’m not sure how quick her digestion is, as I only have myself as a sample.”

“Thank you,” the father said and gripped my hands. “We’re in your debt, Princess.”

“Nonsense,” I said and shook my head. “That’s part of what I’m here for.” I gave them my phone number and told them to call once she’d finished digesting.

Great Uncle Silverowl put his arm around my shoulders and squeezed as we headed back towards the main house. “I’m glad you were able to realize the issue so quickly.”

“Well, let’s just say I might have experienced something similar when I was little. I didn’t realize the true issue because Tony had pulled the animal I was swallowing partially out of my throat, allowing the tube to be freed, but after some research, I realized my error. After that, I did a ton of research on reticulated pythons so I knew more about myself.”

“I’m sorry we don’t have much information on your kind of shifter,” he whispered. “I’ll do more research myself to ensure we can help her as she grows.”

I leaned my head against his shoulder and said, “As long as she has someone understanding and accepting like you, Great Uncle, she’ll be fine.”

“Is everything okay?” Great Nana Kara asked and stood as we entered the house.

“Yes,” Great Uncle Silverowl answered. “Lily was able to help the girl and everything is fine now.”

“Breathing tube,” I told Mom.

She exhaled loudly and sagged her shoulders. “Those poor parents must have been terrified. I remember Tony telling me about that.”

I nodded. “It is scary, especially as the snake. I knew I couldn’t shift with half of an animal in my mouth and I couldn’t breathe. If Tony hadn’t helped, I might have suffocated.”

Mom hugged me and growled.

“Mom, that was like two decades ago,” I whispered with my face pressed against her chest.

She released me after one more squeeze. “Are you ready to return home?” she asked.

“Wait,” Great Nana Kara said and walked up to me. She reached a hand out, set it on my chest, and closed her eyes while drawing in a deep breath. “Something’s changed in you.”

“Oh, uh, yeah,” I said, unsure if we should tell her what had happened. I glanced at Mom who shrugged one shoulder.

“I don’t know what you did, but you’re definitely more stable now,” Great Nana Kara said, opened her eyes, and smiled up at me.

“Let’s hope it stays that way,” I said with a nervous laugh.

“Come on, let’s get home before your dads start worrying,” Mom said.

“Thank you for your help,” Great Uncle Silverowl said.

“Bye!” I said and waved to the two of them before Mom teleported us. I held up my hand as all of my dads and Tony asked questions. “Mom can explain. I’m going for a walk before bed.”

“Stay in the wards,” Mom ordered me.

I waved my hand dismissively at her as I walked away, even though I definitely would stay in the wards. Heading out the back door, I walked through the woods I’d grown up in, woods that were as much my home as the house behind me.

Closing my eyes, I trailed my fingers along the trees, drawing in deep breaths of the delicious forest scents.

My mind drifted to Mason, Trey, and Kayden. They’d spent as much time in these woods as I had and were often on my mind when here. Would their fighting abilities change without the darkness in them? Without that additional bloodlust?

My chest hurt to consider they might no longer feel as strongly as they used to, that those statements of loyalty might be void now.

The necklace warmed on my chest and a portal opened a few feet away from me.

I shifted into a warrior form, crouched down, and waited for whatever was going to come out.

A small hellhound, no larger than a loaf of bread, ran out of the portal whining and yelping, its tail tucked between its legs. It ran towards me, then ducked behind my leg.

Staring in utter disbelief, I realized it was hiding behind me.

Out of the portal, two large hellhounds walked out, snarling and drooling.

The little hellhound whimpered and cowered into a small ball behind my leg.

Clearly, it was scared of these larger hellhounds, and while the trio would likely tell me to just kill the hellhound for being a hellhound, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. The little thing was obviously a baby and didn’t seem to want to hurt me.

“Go back through the portal,” I ordered the big hellhounds.

They continued towards us and snapped their teeth. The pup ran farther away from the portal, hiding behind a tree.

The two hounds tried to run past me and towards the pup.

“Fine, have it your way,” I said and jumped into their path, smacking them away from the pup and back towards the portal with my tail.

After getting back to their feet, they jumped apart, and tried to attack me from different sides.

Tony and Caleb ran forward, each focusing on a different hellhound.

“How many?” Caleb asked.

“Just these two so far,” I said, not wanting to tell them about the pup.

They quickly killed the two hellhounds and stepped back to stand beside me as we all faced the portal, waiting for something else to come out.

“I still smell them,” Tony commented and raised his nose. “Is it just because their bodies are here?”

My eyes darted to the pup who was looking at me with wide, scared eyes. “Y-Yeah, that must be it,” I said quickly and looked away so they wouldn’t look in the direction I was.

Kayden and Mason ran over, eyes wide at the two dead hellhounds.

“Everyone okay?” Mason asked. His eyes skimmed over me, but quickly focused on Caleb.

My heart clenched and I took a step back.

“Yes, we’re fine,” Tony answered.

Kayden glanced at me then back at the portal and back to me again.

“I didn’t try to go through it,” I snapped and turned away from him. “It opened in front of me and I fought the hellhounds, then Dad and Tony showed up. That’s all.”

“I didn’t say anything,” he muttered.

“You didn’t have to,” I hissed and shifted into my human form.

The portal closed, the necklace cooled, and I took a deep breath to slow my heart.

“We’ll leave you to your walk,” Caleb said. “We just wanted to make sure you were safe since we sensed the ward break.”

“Thanks, I’m good. You can all leave now,” I said, still not looking at them.

Dad and Tony headed back towards the house, but Kayden and Mason lingered.

After another second, they walked away as well.

The little pup stuck its head out from behind the tree and looked at me.

“Yes, the coast is clear,” I told it and squatted down with my hand out.

Slowly, tail still tucked beneath itself, the pup walked to me and sniffed my hand. Its quills were black with a red tip, the eyes were odd and looked smoke-like, and yet was still very expressive. The pup looked up at me, raised its tail, ears perked up, and barked. The little tongue lulled out the side of its mouth as it wagged its tail at me.

“I’m not sure what to do about you, pup. I didn’t show the others, but they’ll smell you for sure. How do I know you won’t grow big and try to kill me in my sleep or something?”

It canted its head, sat on his rump, and continued panting with its tongue hanging out one side of its mouth.

Groaning, I said, “You’re just too cute!” Reaching out again, I ran my hand down the top of its head, surprised that the quills felt almost furlike when stroked in this direction. Using my nail, I lifted one and looked at the sharp tip. “These definitely don’t feel good when going the opposite way.”

It whoofed softly and wagged its tail more.

Sighing, I put my face in my hand and muttered, “What have you gotten yourself into, Lily?”

The pup rubbed its head on my hand and licked it.

“Fuck, you’re too cute. I can’t let them kill you,” I grumbled. Pointing my finger at it, I said, “You have to do exactly what I say, you understand?”

It woofed, stood, and wagged its tail harder.

“Come on, let’s go to the barn. It’ll be easier to hide you there than in my room, since my parents don’t go into the barn often. Plus, they’d hear you in the house and definitely smell you easier there.”

Walking towards the barn, I was pleased to see the pup trotting next to me, ears perked and tail up, ridiculous tongue still out the side of its mouth.

Shaking my head, I said, “Don’t make me regret this, pup.”

In response, it looked up at me with adorable puppy eyes and woofed again.

I was so screwed.