Page 27 of Waste (Legendary Shifters #4)

“No. I get it. Paranormal is really not your thing,” David teased, leaning back. “Max Schrek as a ghoul!” David chuckled.

“Glad I could make you laugh,” Shelley said grumpily.

“Hey, I’m not laughing at you! Just like Max Schrek being a ghoul. He’d have made an excellent one. The idea of it makes me shudder,” David explained.

“You keep your fictional monsters, and I’ll stick to my contemporary ones. Good old Freddie never let anyone down,” Shelley retorted.

“Those damn claws of his. I’ll never forget the bath scene when they emerged from the bubble bath.” David shook his head.

“Yeah, I refused to use bubble bath for months after that,” Shelley admitted.

David laughed harder. “Well, I'd better be off. I’ve got to leave town for business. I hope we meet again, Shelley.”

“That’s sudden, isn’t it?” Shelley asked and cursed herself as David brightened.

“You were paying attention to me! Yes, a colleague quit yesterday, and it’s been all hands on deck. My boss has had to do some juggling around, and I drew the short straw. Can’t say I’m happy about it either,” David griped, but Shelley noted the lack of real emotion in his tone.

“That’s a shame. Well, I guess it was nice meeting you.” Shelley put her hand out as David rose. He took it and squeezed gently.

“Take care of yourself, Mystery. By the way, what is your real name?”

Shelley smiled. “If I told you that, then I’d no longer be Mystery.”

“You’re a tease, Mystery. I’ll go through life wondering what your name was.” David smiled and turned away.

“Bye, David,” Shelley said, and he turned and winked before disappearing out the door.

A few moments later, a woman got up and followed.

Shelley guessed she was off the hook and stared at the book that David had left behind.

She didn’t know if it was a ploy for her to chase after him.

So, she tucked it in her bag and carried on calmly drinking her coffee and reading her e-book.

Drew/Ghoul

He gritted his teeth together as the smarmy Hunter left Shelley.

Marie had alerted him when David had approached Shelley, and they’d both watched for any sign of danger.

Drew had been worried when David began showing Shelly pictures of paranormals, guessing where it was heading.

He’d been right. The lack of reaction in Shelley convinced them both that Shelley had no idea what a ghoul was.

Marie nodded in approval and satisfaction. “Lilith’s spell worked.”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t sound too happy, Drew.”

“I’m not Marie. Shelley could have been my mate, but we’ll never know.”

“Shelley had witnessed too much. She had to be silenced,” Marie insisted.

“Keep telling yourself that.” Drew got to his feet and stared at her. “You made a decision without consulting me. I was the one at risk, not you.” “Drew, Shelley had seen me!”

“Yeah, but it was Ghoul who fascinated her. It doesn’t matter now. It’s over and done with,” Drew said and left the tower.

He’d been out of sorts for weeks at this point. He knew why; it was because he missed Shelley. As he stomped towards his room, his mind occupied, one of his sisters darted past him, panic all over her face.

Drew snorted as she disappeared and guessed why she was running. A moment later, he was proved correct when Ranson appeared.

“She headed this way?” Ranson demanded.

Drew hesitated. Should he tell on his sibling?

“Drew, man, come on. She can keep moving, but she’s going to run out of hiding places sooner or later!” Ranson stated.

Drew grinned. Ranson was right. “She went that way.”

“Cheers, buddy. Once I pin her feet to the floor, she and I are having a come-to-Jesus talk. And by God, she’s going to listen!” Ranson promised.

Drew smirked as the man strode away. He liked Ranson and his take-no-prisoners attitude.

Drew wondered who had the book on how long it would take Ranson to tame his sister.

He’d have to ask Archere or Killian. She might be determined to avoid the Human Saviour, who was a leading warrior in Refuge, but he was twice as determined to capture her.

Drew was going to bet on Ranson. He’d seen that look in Mac’s eyes, and Mac had tamed Lamia.

A distant squeal bounced off the stone walls, and Drew assumed Ranson had caught his prey. Good luck to him. At least one of his siblings should have her mate. He prayed her stubbornness wouldn’t put Ranson off and that she could bend a little. She could do a lot worse than Ranson.

Drew sighed and changed direction. His thoughts were depressing him.

He missed Shelley with a sharp pang, and the pain was tangible.

Drew headed outside to the extensive gardens and walked slowly towards the hydrangea garden.

As Drew approached, he saw they were a riot of colour, and they made him smile a little.

Frankie had separated the grounds into themed gardens, but this was one of Drew’s favourites.

He sat on the bench and let the sun warm his face.

Drew was undecided about what to do about Shelley.

Everything was a mess in his head. His feelings were at odds with his thoughts, and there was a definite lack of a bond.

Drew hated that. He actually did like and care about Shelley a lot.

He’d wanted to get to know her better and had to wonder if Lilith had removed all memory of him on purpose.

It wouldn’t be the first time Lilith had acted to protect one of them against their will.

Drew leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees.

He kept seeing Shelley’s blank expression when she looked at the picture of him and didn’t recognise him at all.

Drew had hated that. As much as he knew Shelley was in danger, it had been nice to have someone outside of family know about him.

“Damn it,” Drew muttered.

“You'd better cheer up; don’t you have a concert this weekend?” Dale said. Drew looked up and didn’t see anyone.

“Look who’s talking about hiding,” Drew retorted. Dale was in his transformed form, that of the Invisible Man.

“I am. And yeah, I’m hiding. I may have pissed in Jase’s Weetabix this morning,” Invisible Man replied.

“What did you do?” Drew sighed, knowing this would be amusing. Invisible Man was always in trouble.

“Not much…” Invisible Man’s voice trailed off, and Drew choked out a laugh.

“Go on, brother.”

“Well, Jase deserved it! I scared the pants off of Willow. You know how she’s trying to come to terms with her abilities now?

Well, I’ve been moving things, and she’s certain she’s got telekinetic powers.

Today, she was focusing on moving a coffee mug, and Jase questioned what she was doing.

Willow explained, and Jase didn’t look convinced. ”

“Oh boy,” Drew muttered, having some idea of where this was going.

“Yeah, so Willow started concentrating again, and I moved the mug slightly. Jase looked stunned. Willow began crowing, and Jase asked her to do it again. I didn’t see Balius in his arms, and the little shit slapped out a tentacle and bumped me as I was moving a vase of water.

The water hit Jase in the face and soaked him.

Balius found that hysterical and threw his milk all over Jase, too.

“Willow was panicking because she thought she’d dumped the water on Jase.

In her rush to hand him a cloth, she knocked her coffee over his lap.

Jase screeched. Man, is he high-pitched, and nearly dropped Balius, who promptly slapped Jase with a tentacle again.

Meanwhile, Raisa, who’s in her cot nearby, suddenly projectile vomits, right in Jase’s face.

Willow puked in sympathy, and the last I saw was Jase trying not to throw up. ”

Drew was laughing hard. He could imagine the scene. “How does Jase know it was you?”

“Because, man, I stepped in puke and gagged myself,” Invisible Man said.

Drew howled with laughter. “Jase is going to triple-beat your ass.”

“I know. I’m so screwed. But the good news is, Duris didn’t care less and was quite serene today,” Invisible Man stated.

“Isn’t he the one who is fighting with Balius, or is that Raisa?” Drew asked. He’d heard two of the triplets were in a constant war.

“Oh, all three fight. It’s hysterical watching them.

There are tentacles, fists, teeth, and tails all being used.

Willow will be grey before the year is out.

And they’re growing so fast. Jase told the boys that he’d split the oceans with them, and they seemed to take a time out.

I swear to God they understand what we’re saying,” Invisible Man said.

“Dale!” Jase’s voice roared from the castle.

If he was that loud, then he was pissed off to high heaven, Drew surmised.

“Yeah, he can search all over. I’m not going back until he’s calmed down,” Invisible Man drawled, sounding amused.

“Jesus, you do cause trouble!”

“Yeah, what’s the point of this ability if I can’t have fun with it? Anyway, a word of advice. If you miss her that much, get her. Start from the beginning and woo her. Ignore the naysayers, Drew. You know what’s in your heart.”

And with that pithy suggestion, Drew heard Dale dart away. Was it as simple as that? Go get her?