Page 54 of Hexy Beast

I don’t need my wolf to know that when it comes to being with Effie, the answer to that is a lot.

Chapter Twenty

Effie…

I thought free jumping into the river and then having sex while the naiads watched would be the most intense part of my day.

I was so wrong.

After taking the plunge, we sprint through the woods following Darius’s wolf’s instincts (really, could that guy slow down a little? I have short legs). We make a dozen hairpin turns around boulders, trees, and a beaver dam. We run past a goblin den surrounded by no fewer than fifteen “No Trespassing” signs, a two-foot moat, and solar-powered security cameras that turn to track our progress as we race by.

Then we pass the den again.

And again.

And again.

Yeah, I’m seeing the pattern too. The woods (once again) are fucking with us.

I’m on high alert, scanning the trees for more Council werewolves lurking behind them, and I’m about to warn Darius when two centaurs gallop across our path. The pair slow to a stop and double back through the trees to stand in front of us.

They’re both astoundingly beautiful. The first centaur is a man with the face of a WitchyGram model. He has curly brown hair that somehow forms a crown on top of his head, and a jawline that witches cook up spells to create. His bare chest is dark brown and muscular without even a hint of hair. From the waist down, he transforms into a gorgeous chestnut stallion. The female centaur with him has tawny brown skin, freckles across her cheeks, piercing green eyes, and stick-straight, blue-black hair that falls over her small, perfect breasts. Her body morphs at the waist into a stunning ebony mare. Seriously, they’re both the kind of pretty that makes it hard to look them in the eyes without blushing.

But pretty doesn’t mean friendly.

Adrenaline surges through me as I stand shoulder to shoulder with Darius, my hands loose at my sides as I stoke my magic so I can throw a freeze spell at these two at a moment’s notice. Darius, however, gives me a little headshake and wink before turning his attention to the centaurs.

“How long did it take you to get your hair to do that?” Darius asks.

The centaur blows Darius a mocking kiss. “Don’t be angry just because you aren’t as pretty as I am.”

Centaurs are known for two things in Witchingdom: partying and fighting. Their diamond-tipped hooves are deadly, they are sharpshooters with the bow and arrows they always wear slung over one shoulder, and outrunning them is next to impossible. What in the world is Darius thinking? I never should have told him to let his wolf take the lead.

I’m gonna have to make my move—something made a little more complicated by the fact that the female centaur trots over to stand beside me.

She sighs and says to me, “They act like idiots, but they’re friends.”

I watch as the male centaur and Darius continue to exchange insults about each other’s looks, families, and physical coordination.

“Are you sure?” I ask.

“Oh yeah, they’ve known each other forever.” She shifts her bow so it’s slung over her shoulder along with a leather tube filled with arrows. “I’m Hylo, Prince Nessus’s guard.”

Prince? Fates save us. I hope they are friends, because I really don’t want to add on a feud with the centaur royal house on top of everything else.

“Effie Sherwood. Nice to meet you.” I watch the men continue to act like boys. Now they’re gesturing at the apples in the prince’s saddlebag. “Are they always like this together?”

“Every. Single. Time,” Hylo says with a dismissive neigh.

Darius and Nessus the centaur prince continue their mock who’s-the-toughest stare-off. Well, as close as they can get, considering Nessus’s face is a good foot higher than Darius’s, leaving Darius having to tilt his head up or glare at the other man’s dark purple nipples. After all that, the men lower their voices, and even though I’m straining and using my magic to improve my hearing, I can’t catch what they’re discussing.

“We have skills of our own, Effie of the Sherwoods,” Hylo says. “You won’t hear their discussion unless the prince wishes it.”

Great. So much for being one of the superpowerful Sherwood sisters.

The prince lets out a neighing chuckle and says, “You’re shit with a bow and arrow, and you know it, while I could shoot that apple off your head with one eye closed.”

“So those are your terms?” Darius asks, waiting until Nessus nods his head before continuing. “Sweeten the deal with three persimmons and passage through Pholoe, and it’s a deal.”