The others spread out, slinking out of the brush to range about me.
Marcell staggers back. “Don’t hurt me!”
What?
I roll my eyes and stroke Hazard’s ears. Riot presses against my thigh, no doubt urging me back to the town so I can get my car and head home.
“You’re shifters.”
The horror in his voice is surprising. I thought he was an expert.
“No-”
“You are! I know a shifter when I see one. Don’t kill me. I won’t taste nice, I promise.”
“Oh, for god's sake, of course, they aren’t going to eat you. Besides, these are my dogs. Not shifters.”
He whimpers and darts off, running into the bush, but he’s running the right way to the car, so I ignore him, turning back to Khaos instead.
“Well, this was a massive waste of time.”
“To be fair, it was extremely entertaining,” Khaos says as he changes into his human shape.
I whirl on him, stepping up into his space. “This better not be your idea of fun.”
He catches my hand, and I lose track of my thoughts, instead staring at where he’s holding me.
“It’s not, I promise. None of us would put you through that deliberately.”
I lift my eyes slowly until I’m staring into his golden eyes. “You promise you won’t do that to me?”
“I promise,” he says gruffly, and his thumb strokes over mine, one long caress that sends tingles through my stomach. My mouth goes dry, and all I can do is stare at him.
A wolf howl breaks us apart.
I listen intently. “That’s my father. You guys need to get back onto my land.”
“No, we’re not leaving you-” Riot growls, but I stalk past him.
“If you want to keep us all safe, you need to go back to the cabin. It’s the only place they won’t find you. I will be fine. Just head up there. I’ll go down and get the car and be back there as soon as I can.”
They hesitate, but another three wolves join the chorus.
“Trust me to be able to handle this,” I say softly, full of confidence.
Khaos dips his chin. “Let’s go.”
“No, Khaos, this iswrong-” Riot protests.
“Now.”
Hazard sweeps me into a hug. “You call if you need help, and if you aren’t home in four hours, we’re coming to get you.”
“I’ll be fine. They won’t hurt me.” As long as I play along and luck holds me.
Riot doesn’t look convinced, and he lingers.
No one has ever lingered or worried about me since my mother died. I give him a smile of reassurance, and he finally steps back, shifting into a wolf and following the others.
