“I love watching this.” Maddy smiled. “It’s like watching a kid open a present on Christmas.”
Brayden said nothing, just watched me quietly as I devoured all five burgers like a starved lunatic.
When I was done, I washed it down with a huckleberry shake and then wiped my mouth daintily. “I’m sorry you had to see that. I swear I have manners, but I wasstarving.”
The corners of Brayden’s lips quirked. “You burn two thousand calories every time you shift. You shifted twice in one day.”
Maddy smiled. “So basically your food bill is about to go up.”
Okay, a slightly higher food bill I could handle. My tips from the bar were pretty decent, and Mom’s job at the grocery store wasn’t exactly six figures but we did okay.
“What else? Full moon? Does it affect us?” I asked.
Brayden nodded. “Makes you extra ragey, which can force a shift. You’ll have to be with us every full moon so we can keep an eye on you.”
Okay, one day a month hanging with these two. That wasn’t so bad.
“Holy water? Garlic? Iron?” I rattled off everything I could think of that pertained to supernaturals.
Maddy burst into laughter and when Brayden cut her a glare she stopped.
“Those are for vampires and fae,” he stated, “you can touch or consume them without issue.”
Vampires!
Okay, breathe. Just breathe.
“Silver weakens us and halts healing. It also leaves scars. I’ve been wounded with a lot of silver in my days,” he said, lifting his shirt.
I was so entranced by his insanely defined abs at first that I didn’t realize he was showing me something else. Dozens of faint white scars dotted his ribcage and abdomen.
“Okay, don’t touch silver.” I reached up and grabbed for my earrings.
“I took them off for you already.” Maddy pointed to the counter.
They were little feather earrings and my favorite. I would be sad to see them go.
I rubbed my face. “Okay, anything else? Do I wolf out if I get mad or what?”
They both shared a look and it seemed like they were trying to keep from smiling.
“You will need to learn to control your emotions, yes, because strong emotions, especially anger, can lead to shifting. If you feel it coming, go into a bathroom or a private area and don’t be seen.”
I swallowed hard. Controlling my emotions wasn’t exactly something I was good at.
“And… what if I am seen?”
They both shot each other a panicked look.
“Don’t be seen shifting. Ever,” Brayden said. “If you get seen in wolf form, you can play it off that you are a wild animal but not while you’re actually shifting from one form to another.”
I nodded. Shouldn’t be too hard, but the way he kept impressing that I shouldn’t be seen shifting kind of scared me.
“But what if I am seen?” I pressed.
Brayden ran his hands through his hair. “Then the Fae Lords rip you apart limb by limb while Maddy and I watch helplessly.”
Okay, well… I hadn’t been expecting that truth bomb.Moving on. “So werewolves are real, obviously.”
