Most people would’ve been freaking out right about now, but a new beginning sounded like just what I needed. A chance to start over, maybe with some friends, and a little magic in my life. What could be better? A hunky guy? Uh, okay, yeah, that would be the perfect addition to this new chapter of my life, but I wasn’t greedy. This was enough.
“So, I was bitten by a shifter, and now I’m one? But I was bitten by a bunny and I’m a dragon.”
Esther shook her head at me, but then I realized who had bitten me.Tilly!Suddenly, she was all I could think about. “Let me just text my daughter. I thought she was staying in for the night, but her room was empty.”
The two women exchanged a look I wasn’t familiar with, but then Tabi offered me my phone from her pocket. And as weird as it was, I took it because she’d probably found it in my pile of ripped-up clothes.
Hey, you aren’t home. Everything okay?I sent the text, held my breath, and tried to ignore the two ladies still staring at me.
After a minute, my phone vibrated, and her response appeared on the screen.Yeah, just went out with some friends. Don’t wait up for me.
Her response caught me off guard, but I stopped myself from reminding her that she had a curfew. Shehada curfew when she lived with me last. Now she was a grown adult, home from college. If she wanted to stay out late, she could.
So, I just wrote back,Okay, be careful. I love you.
I looked up, setting my phone down. “Okay, she’s safe.”
Esther nodded. “Now that that’s out of the way.” She finished her three fingers of whiskey then stood and rinsed her glass in the sink like she lived here. But then, even in my tiny house, she had the air of someone who was in charge. She laid her glass in the dish drainer, turned, and braced her hands behind her on the edge of the counter. “There are dangers. Shifters have been hunted to near extinction.”
“By humans?” She was just going to have to pardon my ignorance, but her look said otherwise. She didn’t appreciate the Q&A part of our discussion. Maybe I’d been meant to save questions for the end of the explanations.
She shook her head. “If only. Humans are no match for a shifter. That isn’t to say that they haven’t tried and occasionally succeeded, but we have ways. Even a rabbit can take a human.” She looked off into the distance, seeing something I couldn’t. “But a vampire has speed and agility. Not to mention anger.”
“Probably from a lack of vitamin D,” Tabi muttered, nodding along with the conversation, crossing her arms over her chest as if her idea made perfect sense.
Esther shot her a look and Tabi leaned back in her chair. What was that look about? Esther continued. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re careful and that your daughter is careful.” Her usual hard-ass expression was replaced by an expression of utter concern—the wide-eyed, sincere kind.
“But Tilly isn’t—”
Esther moved closer, slammed her hand on the table in front of me. “Enough.” Geez, this woman ran hot and cold.
This wasn’t the snapping of a temper. No, it was as if there was nothing more important to her at this moment than being absolutely certain I believed her. But if I hadn’t before, I did now. Some part of me simply wanted to trust and obey anything she said. So weird.
After drumming her fingers on the table for a few seconds, Tabi said, “I’ve been around for a long time and if your daughter isn’t a shifter, I’m Brad Pitt’s future wife.” Tabi chuckled and looked at me. “I’m a little too middle class for Brad to give me a look.”
Esther shot her a glare but continued to speak to me. “Your daughter is definitely a shifter.” She moved back and resumed holding down the counter. “More than that. I can smell the Bennett Pack on her. They’re dangerous.”
Tabi whistled between her teeth. “Really bad seeds. You don’t want her mixed up with them.” She laid her hand over mine, but the move was awkward. Maybe because it was the start of a tug of war between us for control of my hand. I tried to pull away, but she wasn’t having it. She hung on, squeezing, almost to the point of pain. “We are going to be here for you, for both of you, as a pack. Your pack.”
I didn’t know what that meant, but I smiled as she released me. “Thanks.” I might well have been thanking her for letting go of my hand.
But then Tabi took hold again and squeezed. “And don’t worry. Only a few new shifters go crazy before the second full moon. You’re going to be fine. We’ll make sure.”
Esther’s mouth dropped open. “Jeez, Tab.”
“Crazy?” Their interaction didn’t matter so much as that single word that clung to my consciousness. How did I know I wasn’t already there? I needed some clarification.
“Just occasionally.” Tabi looked at Esther again. “Hardly at all, but one or two new shifters, sometimes… not often, though, lose their minds before their second shift.” She hurried to go on. “But you don’t have to worry about that. We’re going to be here to guide you.”
“Oh. Good.” And what the actual hell? I had to have already lost my mind.
“But seriously, you both need to be careful. The Fascinators have watched over this town for many years, keeping the shifters secret, and not giving any vampires a reason to look our way. You two will be expected to be as careful as we are. One stupid shifter can get us all killed.”
“Killed?” Oh boy, that didn’t sound good. That was the second time they’d mentioned dying.
Esther sat down beside me and stared deep into my eyes with her dark intense ones as if she was trying to put me in a trance. “Don’t you worry about it. The pack is going to be here for you. You’re going to be fine.”
“Here for me?”Holy crap.“Here for me.” I stood. “I think I need a minute to process all of this.” It was my polite way of asking them to get the hell out of my house. We had a lot to still talk about like Tilly, how she’d become a shifter, how she’d bitten me, and all about this new supernatural world. But I was on the verge of dropping the polite pretense and just blurting whatever came out. I needed to process. Figure out how to talk to Tilly about all of this.
