Page 77 of Shifter Situations

“No. You misunderstand me,” I insisted, patting the air. “I was talking to you.”

“What?” she squealed as I crossed the distance.

I pulled her close to my chest as I grinned, pushing myself and her through the Void, only to be deposited in front of the cabin. I forced my wings out so quickly that skin stuck to the bones and blood dripped onto the ground.

I’d not realized how hungry I was until I tasted her fear.

“You’ve been here recently, yes?” I whispered to her. “Have you ever been skydiving?”

She gasped as I shot into the air, climbing in altitude with every powerful swipe of my wings. When I thought I was high enough, I paused, hovering as I glanced down.

Stone had caught up to me, gracefully gliding through the sky only to stop twenty or so feet below me.

“Should I go higher or do you think this is good?”

Katie shifted in my arms, her mountain lion clawing at my chest as she fought me. I ended up with her tail in my hand, dangling her above her death as she swatted at me.

“Do it,” Stone encouraged.

I released my grip, observing with a sick sort of fascination as she tumbled through the air.

The feline roared before shifting back to her human skin. Her scream continued through her change, and I basked in all the fear she was feeding me.

The racket she made had my ears ringing, but the meal was a lovely bonus.

We both dove, tucking our wings to follow her downward trajectory.

“Can you land on your feet from here?” I yelled, needing to be heard clearly over the rushing air.

Her voice was distorted as she shouted her last words. “Fuck you.”

“She’s so thoughtful.”

Stone chuckled quietly at me as we pulled to a stop, hovering in the air. We watched her slam into the ground from about sixty feet up. The impact of her body and the crunching of bones would stick in my head for days.

I thought that might have been the first time I’d ever dropped anyone to their death before.

Or maybe the second.

It was definitely the only one I remembered being in control of. I couldn’t hold myself responsible for the things my demon alter did to Blue’s horde in the Underworld.

We descended, landing on either side of Katie’s remains. Her body was in all kinds of fucked up angles, but her skin was still beautifully intact.

“I’d been hoping for a splat. You know? Like when you drop a watermelon on concrete? I guess the grass had some cushion to it,” Stone muttered, tilting his head to inspect her face.

I couldn’t help but say, “Fun fact. Did you know that when the human body falls, it reaches terminal velocity at around one hundred and twenty miles per hour? Faster if they tuck their limbs in when they freefall.”

“It’s sort of mind-blowing to think about how fast we were just flying.”

“Mmm,” I agreed, pulling my wings back in before digressing. “I’ve always wondered how fast I could fly while going straight up or even horizontal.”

“You don’t know?”

“No idea, but it’s on Dolyn’s endless list of experiments.”

Stone nodded thoughtfully as he stood. He stuck his hand in his pocket, bringing out his phone.

Not his phone; Katie’s phone.