Lockeflewaheadofme, leading the way to a small clearing in the forest near Katakin City. When we landed on the soft grass, Kade, Asher, and Darian jumped from my back, and I shifted into my human form. Thankfully, the change was easier this time, but my emotions were still a mess. The protective instinct to snatch the males up and take them back to the cave where I could keep them safe made me jumpy and agitated, but I held myself together.
My monsters stood staring at my naked form, and I planted a hand on my hip, not at all fazed that they could see everything.
“We can’t let her walk in like that,” Locke commented. Taking off his cloak, he removed his shirt and handed it to me.
I pulled it over my head.
Kade didn’t look concerned, seeming not to care that he was still completely naked. “She’s a shifter now. Better get used to it.”
“Great, we’ll need to lug around clothin’ for not one but two of you,” Asher groaned.
Darian eyed me in the baggy shirt. “This will certainly be an adjustment.”
“Then again, all we need to do is make Raine angry and she’ll tear her clothes off,” Asher added with a lopsided grin, clearly seeing the bright side.
“Yes, but I might also roast you,” I pointed out, but the demon only shrugged like he thought the risk was worth it.
“Come on,” Locke said, and we all turned to the small wooden cottage that stood in the middle of the clearing. The long planks of wood were thick with mold, and the angled roof looked as if it was close to caving in. I eyed the building skeptically. “Are you sure this is the place?”
“It’s not how it appears,” Darian answered cryptically, gliding toward the door.
“It’s not a rickety old cottage in the woods?” I asked.
“Not like any you’ve seen,” Asher replied with a grin, and the way he said it had me narrowing my eyes as I strode after him.
We entered through the wooden doorway and stepped into a humble space with a broken bed against one side, dead vines, and plant life covering the back wall, and a single chalk drawing framed and pinned to the wall opposite the bed. The picture was of a field of pink foxgloves, and while it wasn’t the most skilled drawing, it was better than anything I could create.
“You were right, thisisn’tlike any cottage I’ve seen,” I mused.
“Perhaps they haven’t made it back yet?” Darian suggested to the others as we peered around. The moment he said it, a ghostly figure materialized from the middle of the bed and came to stand before us.What the hell?I crouched, ready for a fight, but then I recognized the handsome face with a square jaw and pale-gray complexion. “Nic?” I asked, wrinkling my brow as I recalled the name. “You’re one of Lyr’s mates.”
“And a wraith,” Kade added.
Nic glared at us warily, his expression just as hostile as the last time I’d seen him. “Were you followed?”
“No,” Locke replied bluntly. “Let us in.”
Nic glowered at us for a moment longer, and his cold gaze lingered on me. The look wasn’t anything close to sexual, but it still felt wrong to be scrutinized by a strange male while I was standing there in only a shirt. Locke stepped in front of me, shielding me from view.
“Don’t look at her,” he snarled possessively.
Nic leveled Locke’s glare and turned, gesturing with his head toward the bed. “We’ve been waiting.”
My gaze slid from the bed to Nic, then to my monsters.Waiting?“Uh, am I missing something?” I asked, but Nic pressed a button that was hidden by the dead vegetation on the back wall, and the bed moved to the side as a large hidden passage opened up in the floor.
Huh. Why didn’t I suspect a hidden tunnel?
The wraith started down a flight of stone steps that led into darkness, and the rest of us followed closely behind. Asher grabbed hold of my arm like he was afraid I’d slip, but he needn’t have worried. With my shifter abilities, the darkness was more of a pale green, and I could make out everything.I knew becoming a monster would come with perks.And even if I couldn’t see, two carved railings lined the stairs.
When we reached the landing at the bottom, the space opened up into a wide area that was illuminated with blue fire torches along the walls and a huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and my breath caught in my throat. If I hadn’t known we were deep underground, I would have thought we’d stepped into a mansion. Gleaming black tiles covered the floor, and massive pillars lined both sides of the cavernous space. The stone pillars were wrapped with thick vines that climbed all the way to the top, and the lush greenery spread across the ceiling that was dotted with glowing crystals. Large red roses sprouted around the green, the color matching the patterned red carpet that led between the pillars, and there were various places to sit and lounge. A series of doors lined the walls, and I wondered where each of them led.
Whoa.I recalled Kade and the others telling me that Lyr and her mates had blackmailed the council into letting them create a lower house of their own.If this is a lower house, what are the higher houses like?
“Do you like the flowers?” Lyr asked, appearing beside me as if she’d emerged from thin air. I jerked back in surprise, and her eyes sparkled with amusement as she flicked her white braid over her shoulder. “Dean likes to spice up the place every now and then. This time, it’s roses.”
Realizing she wasn’t a threat or a random outlier trying to kill me, I relaxed. “Dean?”
As if he’d heard his name, a male with green skin and emerald eyes stepped out from a side room, and he smiled at us as he stopped next to Lyr. It was the same male I’d seen when I’d first met the tiger shifter and she’d given me the leather outfits to wear.
