Page 16 of Waste (Legendary Shifters #4)

Shelley

D id Drew think she was silly? His distraction attempt had been pretty obvious, and Shelley wondered why.

It didn’t matter, anyway. Through the night, she’d spoken to the bathroom mirror twice and then the bedroom reflection three times.

She’d not received a response but was hopeful the ghoul had got her message.

A world clearly existed that she didn’t understand, and Shelley was determined to get answers. If ghouls were real—and Bloody Mary—were vampires, werewolves, and witches? Hell, did mermaids and the Loch Ness Monster? Shelley was excited to find out.

That night, she slept with one ear open but didn’t detect anything that would have alerted her to a surprise visitor.

Shelley was sitting at the table near a slightly ajar window when she spotted Mirry. The foolish woman was prancing about in the snow, and Shelley rolled her eyes. It was an obvious attempt to capture Drew and Charlie’s attention as they were outside readying their ski equipment for the day.

“Oh, my!” Mirry cried, tripped over nothing and fell on her ass.

Shelley sent Drew and Charlie a dry look as they exchanged glances and both sighed.

“Toss for it?” Drew muttered, and Shelley couldn’t help but smile.

Charlie groaned. “Damn, I’ll take one for the team, bro.”

“It’s worth a pint.” Drew smirked as Charlie stomped towards Mirry, looking none too happy.

Shelley pushed the window open a little further, and Drew grinned.

“That was mean,” Shelly teased, but she was smiling.

“Yeah, I know. I’ll buy Charlie a beer at the bar tonight. Honestly, I can’t be dealing with idiots like Mirry,” Drew said, and his grin widened as he watched Charlie.

Shelley began giggling as her brother tried to detach himself from the Mirry cling-on. Mirry was gazing up at Charlie with big eyes as he hauled her to her feet.

“Charlie won’t fall for that crap, will he?” Drew asked, worried.

“No, we’re not as rich as you, but we’ve had our fair share of gold-diggers in our lives. Charlie’s adept at avoiding them,” Shelley replied.

“Mirry seems determined,” Drew commented as he moved towards the window Shelley was leaning out of. Shelley nodded as she hung out of it. Mirry sent them a look, clearly seeing Shelley for the first time. She mentioned something to Charlie, who frowned and shook his head.

“Mirry isn’t going to let him go easily. She’ll pry for information,” Shelley murmured, noting Mirry’s curious expression.

“Charlie won’t tell her anything,” Drew said confidently.

“Nope. But that won’t stop her curiosity. Sorry, Drew, this could become awkward for you,” Shelley muttered, biting her bottom lip.

Drew’s gaze dropped until his eyes locked with hers. There was a heat in Drew’s that made Shelley pause. Did he desire her?

A blush started on Shelley’s cheeks. Of course, he didn’t. She was plain old Shelley Evans, not some famous beauty. But Drew continued to hold her eyes, and she couldn’t tear away.

“Whatever bull you’re thinking, stop. You’re beautiful,” Drew murmured.

“Not like Mirry,” Shelley retorted.

“No. Not like Mirry,” Drew said. Shelley didn’t want to admit it, but that hurt. “You’re genuine, and that is much more attractive than that fake over there,” Drew continued.

Shelley’s blush deepened, and a soft smile crossed her lips.

“I like how you look at me, Shelley. You see the man and not the name.”

“Because you’re more than a name and your fame, Drew. What you’re doing for me is very kind,” Shelley replied.

“Bro, you owe me a stronger drink than beer,” Charlie announced, interrupting the moment.

Shelley looked at his face and laughed. “Oh, you don’t look happy.”

“The army should employ that bitch as a specialised inquisitor. Mirry tried multiple ways to uncover who you are and if it was really Drew Martin with me. God, she’s a nightmare,” Charlie complained.

“Sorry,” Drew said.

“No, you’re not. Dude, you sacrificed me,” Charlie snapped good-naturedly, and Drew shrugged.

“What did you tell her?” Shelley asked.

“The truth. We’re a group of friends having a good time, and I dodged every other question,” Charlie stated.

“Without being egotistical, did she recognise me?” Drew asked, and Charlie nodded.

“Sorry, dude, but yeah. Bitch wanted me to introduce her to you, but I informed her we were heading out,” Charlie responded.

“Nice. We’d better go. Will you be okay, Shelley?” Drew inquired, turning to her.

“Yes, go have some fun, I’m totally envious. I love skiing,” Shelley replied and made a face. Charlie laughed and ruffled her hair.

“As soon as you have that cast off, we’ll plan a trip,” he promised.

“Or I can,” Drew added, and Charlie sent him a look before he grinned.

“Or maybe I’ll let Drew take you!”

Shelley laughed. “Sod off and have some fun. Will you be back for lunch?”

“Yeah. I’ve ordered in, so don’t worry about making anything,” Drew said, and Shelley nodded as her brother and their new friend walked off.

She had to admit, as she caught sight of Mirry staring at them, they looked mighty fine together.

Both were tall and handsome. Charlie was of a broader build than Drew, but both clearly had muscled frames, and Drew’s hair was longer than Charlie’s, which suited him.

Even though Charlie was her brother, Shelley knew he was good-looking.

Shelley withdrew back into the shadows and watched as Mirry continued to stare after them. There was a calculating expression on her face that worried Shelley. Was Mirry going to be in trouble?

As soon as Drew and Charlie disappeared, Shelley headed over to the mirror and called on Bloody Mary three times.

“Look, I know you’re there. Please inform the ghoul that I need to meet with him. Someone hurt me, and I think the ghoul knows why. Please. I don’t want to harm or get him caught; I want to talk,” Shelley pleaded.

There was no answer, and Shelley sat back in her chair, disappointed.

Logically, Shelley understood that if they’d hidden their existence all this time, they would continue to guard it zealously.

And if there were Hunters after them, Shelley didn’t blame them.

She didn’t want anyone to get hurt because of her.

But she really wanted answers. The ghoul had left her hanging, although Shelley didn’t think he’d meant to.

Were the Hunters human or monsters, too?

That was a big question. Sure, Shelley was nosy and wished to know more about the paranormal, something she’d long been fascinated by.

She’d always believed in things like ghosts, but other creatures?

No, but now that she realised some sort of paranormal culture existed, Shelley was growing hungry for knowledge.

An hour into her further research, a knock on the door disturbed Shelley. She heard voices and guessed the guards had intercepted whoever it was.

Shelley rose to her feet as the guard, Jon, knocked and announced his entry.

“What is it?” Shelley asked.

“A woman called Sandie Jones. Says she has an invitation to lunch for you,” he replied.

“Huh, I don’t know a Sandie Jones,” Shelley replied.

“She works for Mirry Moors,” Jon said.

“Oh no!” Shelley moaned softly, and Jon grinned. He’d also seen the scene yesterday with Mirry and hadn’t looked too amused.

“Drew has organised lunch already, so we’ll have to decline,” Shelley excused.

“I’ll tell Miss Jones you have plans,” Jon responded.

Jon left the chalet, and Shelley heard voices and stepped closer.

“Miss Moor won’t be happy,” Sandie said.

“Miss Moor is not my concern. My clients have made arrangements and are declining the invitation,” Jon replied.

“Oh dear,” Sandie muttered and wrung her hands together. For a moment, Shelley experienced sympathy for Sandie. Working with someone like Mirry and that temper couldn’t be fun at all. But Sandie chose to work with Mirry instead of finding another job.

Shelley saw irony in her thoughts. She worked with Jo, who was a bully in her own right.

The difference was that Shelley enjoyed her job apart from Jo.

Poor Sandie didn’t seem to get any satisfaction from hers.

Shelley watched as Sandie trudged across the road, shoulder slumped, and clearly expecting a berating, which did indeed follow.

“Who does she think she is to refuse me!” Mirry’s voice shrieked. “No one denies me. Go back over and tell her I insist, and she should be honoured I invited her! She’s a nobody!”

Shelley sighed and rolled her eyes. “Jon,” she called.

Jon popped his head in.

“Should Sandie return, the answer is still no, and perhaps she ought to suggest to her employer to lower her voice!”

Jon smirked and disappeared. Mirry continued screeching about Shelley’s lack of gratitude and how she should be grateful to sit down to lunch with her.

Shoving the temper tantrum-filled drama queen out of her head, Shelley returned to making notes.

If someone were to get hold of her or her laptop, it would appear that Shelley was indeed writing a book.

Drew/Ghoul

As they walked back to the chalet after tackling some runs, Drew stiffened as he spotted Marie casually walking towards them in ski gear. His eyes widened, believing there was trouble, but Marie grinned.

“Drew! I didn’t expect to see you here!” Marie exclaimed and hugged him.

“Marie, what a pleasant surprise,” Drew responded. “This is Charlie Evans, a friend. He and his sister are holidaying with me.” “Nice to meet you, Charlie. I’m Marie Jenson.”

“The photographer?” Charlie asked.

Marie nodded. “You’ve heard of me,” she said, smiling.

“Yes. I have a couple of your prints. You’re incredibly talented.”

“Thank you, Charlie! Comments like yours mean a lot. How long are you here for?” Marie asked, her eyes landing on Drew.

He sighed. This was a case of his sister being nosy.

“A few weeks. My sister…” Charlie broke off and glanced at Drew.