Page 9 of Hextreme Measures

“Does it wear a backpack when it wanders?” Angelique asked. “Or, better, a raincoat?”

It took Madeline a moment to suss out what Angelique was saying. “Oh. Is there a procreation factor to these attacks?”

“It depends,” Ofelia replied, forcing herself to remain calm even as her heart rate sped up. The banshees were almost upon them. If they could find the target, they might be able to set a trap. “Women become banshees when they’ve been wronged to the point of no return. Their rage, their hurt, turns into a beast that consumes them.”

“Really?” Madeline wrinkled her delicate nose. Ofelia was convinced she’d gotten it from a surgeon because all of her children had different noses, and only two of them had their father’s nose. “Well, that’s kind of tacky.”

And that was all Ofelia had to hear to end the conversation. She raised her hand to shut down Madeline. “We’re going to need numbers,” she said to Sully, doing her best to keep her voice even. “The banshees might try to hurt male shifters, but they can’t turn them like they can females.”

Sully balked. “What do you mean?”

“A scratch or a bite can infect a woman.” Ofelia gave him a sidelong look. “How do you not know that?”

“Because it’s not a thing.” He vigorously shook his head. “I’ve seen women who were attacked by banshees before, and they never turned.”

“That’s because the woman in question has to be predisposed to it happening,” she replied, choosing her words carefully. “She has to be angry. She has to be holding a grudge. She has to be paranormal.”

“Wait …” Sully felt as if he was really behind now. “I’ve taken on banshees who were normal women. Their anger overtook them, and they turned into banshees. They weren’t scratched or anything.”

“There’s more than one type of banshee.” Ofelia didn’t believe she had time to explain this, and yet there was no choice. “I’m going to nutshell it. We can talk about the intricacies later.” She took a deep breath. “Some banshees are born of their own pain. Others are sought out by already existing banshees and infected because the hive knows that they’ll be good candidates.”

“What hive?”

Ofelia did not want to snap at her fiancée, especially considering the night they’d just had and what was to come. She was out of patience, though. “Zach, trust me,” she implored him. “You need to keep the women from being scratched. Just in case.”

“But …” He trailed off, searching her face for signs he was missing something. He was missing a lot, apparently, and he wished he hadn’t glossed over banshee mythology when he was studying during his younger years. “Okay.” He grabbed Ofelia’s shoulders and gave her a hard kiss. “I’ll put together a team.”

Ofelia exhaled heavily, relief coursing through her. “Thank you.”

“Try not to get hurt, huh?” Every step he took away from her felt heavy, but he forced himself to keep moving. “I don’t want you to turn into a screaming demon right before I get to marry the woman of my dreams.”

“Oh, that’s sweet.” Ofelia managed a legitimate smile. “I’m not too worried about myself, though. Tonight notwithstanding, I’m pretty happy.” She winked at him.

He blew her a kiss. Everything inside of him screamed for him to stay close. He couldn’t help her in his human form, however. Not the way she deserved to be helped. So, he kept backing away from her. “Be careful, Fe,” he said. “Just … don’t let anything happen to you.”

“She’ll be fine,” Angelique replied before Ofelia could. “She has me with her. We’ve got this.”

Sully didn’t tell Angelique what he was really thinking, that sometimes she was more of a hindrance than a help in a fight, and turned away. “Come on,” he barked to the other shifters who had gathered around him. “They’re coming.”

Ofelia watched him for a second longer, then started in the direction of the park entrance. “We need to keep them from getting inside if we can,” she instructed Angelique. When she felt another figure move in on her right, she almost came out of her skin until she recognized the individual as Ben Landry. “What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded.

“Helping,” he replied simply. He had a tortured past and magic in his blood. It was the sort of magic that helped him survive a 100-year time loop, but not the sort of magic that could help in a fight like this. At least Ofelia didn’t think so.

“But —”

“Don’t start arguing,” Angelique ordered. Ben was her boyfriend, and she didn’t look alarmed, Ofelia noted. “He knows how to take care of himself.”

“Fine.” The time for arguing was over. Ofelia sensed it just as another round of screams practically on top of them erupted. “They’re here.”

“You’re supposed to say it in a creepy voice,” Angelique admonished. “There’s a movie with a creepy kid —”

“Poltergeist,” Ofelia interjected. “I’m familiar.”

Angelique’s grin was far too wide for Ofelia’s comfort level.

“This is not supposed to be fun,” Ofelia complained. “Why are you acting as if you’re enjoying this?”

Angelique shrugged. “Why not?”