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Chapter 26
Astartled scream ripped me from my sleep. I jolted to a sitting position, gasping for air. Sunlight drenched the room and I looked around to see my hair covered my three men. Gage and Reed lay on either side of me with Kahlo spread out at my feet. Everyone wore clothes except me because they’d all insisted, and hell, I’d loved the way they’d all eyed me with starved expressions. Besides, I’d been too tired to argue. Gage and Kahlo had joined Reed and me in the room last night after our intense lovemaking session. Fortunately, once my hair had dried, it had stopped trying to control everyone. That was the last time I used a magical shampoo.
The shriek came again from outside, and I flinched. I climbed over Gage. He grumbled and tumbled out of bed as I darted to the window and pulled aside the curtain, partially blinded by the sunlight. I squinted and stared below at people darting through the streets, others yelling with panic, dragging children with them. They all ran toward the rear of the town.
“What the fuck’s going on?” Gage’s groggy voice washed across the back of my head.
I lifted my gaze to a figure flying in the distance. “What is that?” A bird? Except the wings were larger than any bird I’d seen.
“Son of a bitch.” Gage cursed over my shoulder. “Is that an eagle shifter?”
Shuddering, I pressed closer against the window, gawking at the defined brown eagle wings. My stomach lurched at recognizing the eagle-man from the night Faye had captured me in the mansion. And that meant one thing. The witch was here.
Panic rippled across my flesh. I spun around and cried out, “Reed, Kahlo, get up!”
I sprinted around picking up my clothes, climbing into them, bile hitting my throat. How had they found us? Or were they here to cause havoc for the local townspeople?
Reed snapped to his feet while Gage shoved Kahlo in the shoulder to get up. With everyone awake and out of bed, hair disheveled, all eyes on me, I spoke my worst fears.
“Faye is in Crosswind. So the albino shifter might be too. Maybe they’re attacking people. We need to help them.” I slid into my pants, shirt, and vest, tightening the laces in the front of the vest with fumbling fingers, then searched the floor for my boots. One lay near the bed, the other across the room.
“White Venom’s here?” Kahlo croaked and smirked as he picked up his top.
I stepped into my shoes, tucking my blade into my belt. “Who’s that?”
“The albino lion,” Reed explained. “We found out from a nearby shifter he frequents this locality and attacks shifters often. The local pride has dispersed, as have most shifter groups in the vicinity.”
Gage burst out laughing, holding his stomach. “White Venom?” His eyes teared up. “Who the fuck does he think he is? A hero?”
“Actually, more like the villain.” I pulled my hair over my shoulder and said to myself,move for me.Nothing. All right, so maybe drying it had gotten rid of the craziness? I sure hoped so, as I didn’t need that complication on top of everything else.
“Your hair behaving?” Kahlo asked.
“Seems the drying did the trick, but I’m worried water will trigger it again. I’m hoping it doesn’t.”
His brow marred. “We’ll deal with that later.”
I nodded and rushed into the bathroom for a quick visit. By the time I returned to the main room, everyone stood ready, and Gage still chuckled.
Reed faced me. “We’ve all agreed that we’re going down to check this out. You stay here. If the witch wants you, then she can’t see you.”
I huffed, but Kahlo squared his shoulders. “We’re not budging on this, baby cakes. You’re the one in danger.”
Before I could protest, the three marched out of the room and shut the door behind them. I paced back and forth, rage surging through me. I’d sat back my entire life, locked up, protected, and here I was again. It might not be the tower, but I hated this wrapped-up-in-cotton-wool being thought of as fragile shit.
It’s for your own safety.
“Fuck, I know that. But I hate it.” I pulled the curtains aside and scanned the street, noting my three heroes sprinting against the flow of people. My chest tingled with how proud I was of them, but fear sat on my mind. What could they do against Faye? Could just be a few of their controlled slaves roughing up the locals. Except White Veno—he with the most ridiculous name ever—had been here the other day attacking farmers. So it made sense he’d be close. And that meant finishing him off. If he died, then my curse should break. Except I’d seen him battle the stone creature, so what chance did I stand?
My three men vanished down a curved road, blocked from view by buildings. An ache settled just under my heart. I paced across the room. How long would I stay here knowing they were out there in danger?
What could you do, anyway?
“I don’t know.” My voice wavered. “But I’m scared shitless of losing them.” They were right, revealing myself was idiotic, and I had no plans on doing that. What I wouldn’t give to have Gingernuts with me. He and I were practiced at being closed up together. He’d keep me company, run around, and entertain me. If everything went sour with me, hopefully Gingernuts wouldn’t be homeless.
Outside, more people scattered about and the eagle-man vanished. The men would have reached the bridge by now. What had they found? Would they be smart and suss out the scene first? Maybe retreat would be a decent option, though I remembered whom I was dealing with. Three alpha shifters would attack first. I ran my hands through my knotted hair, but it felt greasy as it the shampoo still hadn’t come out and clung my strands. I remembered the insane outcome yesterday where the tresses had taken control. Curiosity swirled within me, so I marched into the bathroom, put the plug into the tub, and pumped the metal handle. Water gushed out. What if water brought my hair to life again? It calmed down once it was dry? I had nothing to lose by trying since I seemed to still have shampoo residue in my hair, and I was curious. If I could better control my locks, force them to do my bidding, well that would be interesting and give me an upper hand.
Can you imagine if water brought it back to life, and then you got caught in the rain? You’ll turn into a sex-starved monster in front of everyone.
