“What the fuck is this?” Bishop stared at the vines that were slithering up Garth’s legs again.
“Tiny tree witch is protecting her guy,” Ronin said with a grin.
“What? No, I…” Cece stared at her hands. They were glowing a light green, and she realized she could feel her magic flowing through her, hot and bright and making her skin tingle.
The others in the room were staring at her, and embarrassment snuffed out her magic like a candle. The vines dropped from Garth’s legs and slowly shrank to their normal length until they hung just a few inches over the two pots on the wall shelf.
Ronin slipped his arm around Kat’s waist. “Good job defusing the situation, Papa Bear.”
Bishop rolled his eyes. “Everyone downstairs now. Mal is on his way, and we need to talk about how we protect Cece going forward.”
“I’m taking over the protection detail,” Briggs said. “The bull doesn’t go fucking near her.”
“Fuck you,” Garth repeated.
Bishop glared at both of them. “Both of you shut the fuck up, or I’ll leave you twisting in the wind for assignments for a week and assign Ronin to Cece.”
“Papa Bear laying down the law,” Ronin said.
Briggs growled at Ronin, and Garth popped him the finger. Ronin just laughed and reached for Cece’s hand. “C’mon, tiny tree witch, let’s -”
“Don’t touch her!” Briggs’s body was starting to swell again, and Cece watched in utter fascination as white fur sprouted across his face.
Was it wrong of her to hope that he did actually shift to his polar bear? Probably. But damn if she didn’t want to see it happen.
Ronin dropped his hand and gave Briggs an easy-going grin. “Chill out, friend, I’m not after your lady.”
Briggs’s face turned red, Cece could see it even though the white fur, before he abruptly turned and left the room.
Bishop rolled his eyes. “Downstairs, everyone. Now.”
CHAPTER 8
“Here you go, Cece.” Kat placed a steaming mug of coffee in front of her.
She took a sip. “It’s really good. Thank you, Kat.”
Kat nodded before sitting on Ronin’s lap. They, along with the others, were crowded into the kitchen. Kat and Ronin’s kitchen wasn’t small, but with that many shifters, two of them as big as Briggs and Bishop were, Cece couldn’t help but feel a touch of claustrophobia.
“Are you able to take some time off from work?” Mal asked her.
“No, I… shit!” She stared at the clock on the wall. “I’m supposed to be at work right now. I have to go.”
Before she could stand, Willow, who was sitting next to her, pressed her hand on Cece’s arm. “I called the greenhouse this morning.”
“You did?” Cece said. “How did you know I worked at the greenhouse?”
“Your aunt,” Willow said. “I talked to your boss, Leonard, and told him you were okay but that you’d been in a car accident and wouldn’t be in today. He said to take Monday off as well, and to call him if you needed more time.”
“It’s probably best if you take a few weeks off,” Mal said. “It’s easier to keep you safe if you’re not surrounded by strangers at work.”
Cece made a noncommittal sound. She couldn’t afford to take that much time off work. Hell, missing work today and Monday would mean eating ramen for a few days. But she wasn’t about to admit that in a roomful of strangers.
“How long have you been… watching me?” she asked.
“Since the morning after you were attacked,” Willow said. “Garth has been watching you during the day, and Davis, he’s a lynx shifter, sits outside your house overnight.”
“Oh,” Cece said. “Um, not to sound ungrateful, because obviously I’m very thankful you were there last night to save my life, but I can’t afford personal security.”
