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It said less about the person and more about the community at this point. Considering that I was knee deep in another murder case involving the supernatural, I couldn’t judge them anymore. This world was far more dangerous than I ever would have known.
Ryder Callahan extended a hand. I took it and gave it a firm shake. To my surprise, he didn’t bother with machismo tactics. He didn’t squeeze my hand to see how much pressure I could handle. He didn’t judge the way I gripped his in return.
The man noticed. He smirked and said, “There’s no need. We’ve fought before. I sized you up that day.”
At first, I scowled. Then I realized I’d been sizing him up, too. Could I hold it against him when I did it so readily? Absolutely not.
I was defensive because I didn’t want to be here. Addie had asked me to do this. She was the only reason I found myself back in Syracuse. I didn’t think this would help, but if I gave it a chance, then she would see it fail firsthand.
“How about we go inside to discuss this?” Ryder lifted his chin to gesture to the house behind us.
I looked the bungalow up and down, wondering what was so special about this place. I’d expected a rural meeting place where no one had to hide what they were. Instead, we were smack-dab in the middle of the city again.
Then the door flew open, and the antichrist stepped out, her hands on her hips.
The man behind her sighed and ran a hand over his face. I realized he looked a lot like the man standing beside me. While Ryder had a shorter beard that was clipped close to his face, the other man had let his grow longer. There were even streaks of white along his temples, though he appeared younger than Ryder.
“I know why you chose our house,” the man said. “But we just finished renovating. I don’t want to do more repairs.”
Addie snorted. “You live with Vi. You’re going to be doing repairs until the day you die.”
A fat red blob flew out of the house on tiny bat-wings. The basketball sized creature fluttered in circles over us before landing on Vi’s head. The creature cackled while she tried to shake it off.
“I’m going to send you back to my father,” Vi warned.
The man behind her grabbed the red creature and yanked it off her. He tossed it aside and let out a beleaguered sigh. “Fine. You have a point.”
Inside, the sound of the door closing behind me made my beast stir uncomfortably. It suddenly realized that it was locked in with nowhere to run. The house smelled of other shifters and the ozone scent of their abilities. My beast eyed them warily. The creature would fight its way out of me if it had to.
That was until Addie put a hand on my forearm. Her touch calmed the creature. I stole a look in her direction.
The bearded man laughed. “You have no idea what you’re getting into. Though, I’d say your beast picked one of the more chill women from this group.”
My head snapped up. I cocked my head and silently challenged him to explain himself. Silence stretched between us. The man’s lips parted as some sort of epiphany dawned in his eyes.
Before he could explain himself, Ryder told us to sit. There was a kind of power in his voice that tried to grab ahold of me. It didn’t grip my bones the way Addie’s voice could, but it certainly tried.
I stayed standing while the others found seats on the couch. Addie tugged at my hand, but I stayed where I was. I locked eyes with Ryder across the room. Though there was a couch between us, we both knew it wouldn’t be an obstacle.
Then, to my surprise, Ryder smiled. The corner of his mouth lifted in appreciation. He sat on the edge of the coffee table and planted his elbows on his bent knees.
“This could be good!” He never stopped grinning.
I didn’t understand what I’d done to earn that kind of praise. It occurred to me that I knew nothing about the world of shifters. Though I was like them, I didn’t know how to behave like them. There were customs in every group. While I’d assumed that my beast would make them known, it seemed that the creature couldn’t tell me everything.
Ryder looked back at me. “I asked Thor from the shifter sanctuary in Tennessee to send some rehabilitated shifters up to us so we could rebuild our numbers and strength as a pack. Not everyone on his docket showed up. Some of them took off, likely to have control over their own life again.”
The pieces started to connect. I nodded. “You want me to fill the space because you think I could offer the strength that you’re currently lacking.”
The way that Ryder lit up reminded me of a child in a toy store. Maybe that was putting it lightly, but the man seemed over the moon about how quickly I followed him.
He pointed at me. “I could use someone like you on our side.”
“No. If you think I’m going to cover crimes for you, so you can all keep killing, then you’re mistaken. I won’t be a part of your crimes.”
Addie sighed and buried her face in her hands.
Ryder’s expression slipped. He took me in for a long moment. There were gears turning behind those eyes, but I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
