Her words cut, deep. For a tiny moment I thought I could make my problem someone else’s and get some help, but it was clear I was on myown.
I shoved my feet into my black ankle boots and gave Sophie a salute. “Well, I’m not your problem anymore. Sorry for thetrouble.”
I blasted past her, knocking into her shoulder, hard, and she stumbled backwards. The growl in her throat made me wonder if I should be giving her my back, but screw it. I needed to leave before these assholes saw mecry.
“Wait!” Logan shouted, and I stepped out into the frigid snow trying to pick up the pace. I heard footsteps behind me and then Logan spun me around to face him. Dammit, a few tears leaked out of my eyes before I could control my emotions, and when Logan saw them he looked on in horror, as if he had never seen a girl cry—he probably hadn’t. Sophie and Nadine looked like they didn’t have a single tear in their badass bodies. I wiped the tears quickly and gave him a piece of mymind.
“My car is parked downtown. Once I get to it, I’m outta here.” I had stashed my only possessions in that car and left it there so the hunters wouldn’t destroy it. I couldn’t wait to get back to my life and leave this freak show behindme.
Logan looked offended. “You’re not leaving,” he said with certainty, and I looked down and noticed his feet were bare. He must be freezing, but he didn’t show it. “You’re a part of our family now whether you like it ornot.”
Family. That word did funny things to my insides. Keegan trekked out into the snow with a coat and handed it tome.
“Put this on, you look like a prostitute jonesing for her next fix,” he said with a wrygrin.
I made a choking sound and laughed. Bastard was a total dick, a funny one. I think I liked him. He reminded me of my best friend in sixth grade. Tommy. I hadn’t spoken to him inyears.
“But Sophie…?” I motioned to the house, where Sophie was waiting with the rest of thepack.
Keegan nodded. “She had a concern, she brought it out into the open. That’s how we deal with things in the pack. We can’t let things fester or they build and it affects the whole. We’re family. We’re honest. And we get it all out so we can get over it. She is annoyed by your presence and she let you know. You stuck up for yourself. Great, now it’sdone.”
What the…?These people werecrazy.
Logan tilted his head towards the house. “Come on, we gotta get Nadine and Gear to a sorcerer friend for a healing. And I need to speak to Eva about you. We need to cover yourscent.”
I didn’t know what that meant, but I guessed I was riding a little bit longer on this crazy train. To be honest, the latest run-in had scared the crap out of me, and I figured I had better odds of staying alive if I stuck with my newfriends.
“Okay,” was all I said, and started following Logan into thehouse.
Keegan stepped beside me and bent down low to whisper in my ear. “My guess is that Sophie isn’t crazy about some hot chick living with her ex-boyfriend.”
My eyes widened and Logan snapped his head back and glared at Keegan, who gave him an easysmile.
Keegan winked at Logan. “Just keeping it real,brother.”
Logan looked like he wanted to retort, but Nadine’s wail cut him off. She was in pain and we needed to helpher.
As we entered through the blown-out wall, I looked around at the neighbors. Shouldn’t the cops be on their way? A wall was blown out of the side of the house and they must have heard thefighting.
I looked at the ground, watching my step, and to my shock the dead druid had been drug out onto the snow. It looked like he had sunk halfway into the ground. The hunterstoo.
“What the hell?” I muttered, unable to keep the shock from myvoice.
Logan gestured to the scene. “I had a spell on the house to keep it from human eyes. The dead druid and hunters will be absorbed into the earth. They’re her burdennow.”
Earthbound. Wow, that was reallyliteral.
Keegan glared at us. “This learning session is cute but my pack isinjured.”
Dick.
Logan looked at my outfit. “We need to go to a club for supernaturals. Eva, my sorcerer contact, lives on the top floor and owns the place, but I can’t have you recognized or smelled as we walkin.”
He was looking at my red hair. How would anyone recognize me? I was anobody.
“The hunters have spread the word about a redheaded possible dragon female. Until we can camouflage your scent, you need adisguise.”
“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth. Mostly because Sophie was still shooting eye daggers at me. But also because at the word of hunters spreading rumors about me, a fresh wave of fear washed over me. I was fully jumping on this crazy train and I was afraid I would never find my wayoff.
