Page 6 of Flock This

My gaze moved around the tall space, looking for something, anything to let me escape.

Safety was outside. With the glorious sun shining, no vampire could follow me, at least not right away. A head start was all I really needed, after all.

Across the large space, I spotted what I needed. A cracked door that led to a balcony, probably for the thrall’s smoke breaks.

I bolted in that direction, moving under rolling baskets, fluttering onto a folding table then skidding off the other side. A crash echoed behind me, telling me that some vampires had figured out where I’d gone.

I was sort of surprised they even knew where the laundry area was, given I doubted they ever lifted a finger to help.

The balcony door was cracked open, a mistake a thrall would probably die for today, but I couldn’t think about that, couldn’t take that on myself.

Just before I reached the cracked door, however, something wrapped around me, stopping my escape.

And what I found was a face I knew, a person I’d be pissed to have end me.

I snapped, my beak coming together with a click. I couldn’t break bones or anything, but I could damn well leave a nasty mark!

Kelvin didn’t appear impressed. He looked over me—probably spotting the blood even against my black feathers—and narrowed his eyes. “What have you gotten yourself into this time, Grey?”

I shifted in his grip, wishing my face had the ability to remind him that I couldn’t answer in this form. Sadly, ‘you’re an idiot’ just didn’t come across well in crow expressions.

A glance over his shoulder had him releasing a soft growl before he dropped me and nodded toward the door. “Run fast, feathers. You’ve got no idea what’s coming for you.”

I didn’t bother to ask why he was letting me go—we were uneasy acquaintances at best. The whole ‘not looking a gift vampire in the mouth’ thing told me to just let it go.

Their fangs made that uncomfortable.

Instead, I bolted the last few feet until the sunlight hit my black feathers and I could pull in a breath. My feet slid against the balcony floor before I turned to find Kalvin there, side by side with three other vampires—probably the ones who had been chasing me—all stopped by the sun.

The expression of the three said they’d kill me if they could, even hinted at them doing the math on if they could grab me and get back inside before the sun caused too much damage, and I didn’t want to wait around to see if any were dumb enough to try.

In my experience there was always someone dumb enough to try.

Instead, I backed away, my wings twitching, and went to the edge of the balcony. At only one story up, I knew I could flutter to the street level. I couldn’t fly, but I could glide down this far.

Being a crow shifter had its benefits, but I wasn’t sure they’d be enough, especially as Kalvin’s words rang in my ears.

You have no idea what’s coming for you.

Chapter Three

After the exhausting day, something about Galen’s house struck me as strangely calm and reassuring. I’d come in through an open window on the ground floor, rolling my eyes at how he lectured me about safety but left his windows open like a welcome mat to every pervert in the area.

My feet hurt, and I had no doubt I’d left tiny red bird prints across his floor as I’d made my way into his kitchen, onto a stool, then onto his white granite countertops. Traveling the long distance between the Castle and his place was neither fast nor easy, and it had taken me all day to manage it. On his counter sat a bowl of walnuts, and I went to fucking town on them.

Maybe nuts didn’t fix everything, but they pleased my crow brain enough. All it needed was some mischief, something shiny and a bit of tasty food.

If only my entire life could be this easy.

“I thought I warned you that breaking into a wolf’s house is a bad idea.” Galen’s annoyed voice slid through the darkness before I even heard him approach. Sure enough, his shadowed form appeared from the living room, but I kept my attention firmly on my snacks.

“You never listen. You just—” His statement cut off mid-sentence, interrupted by him sniffing in a way that would have been rude in normal society. “You’re covered in blood.” And boy did that statement come out a lot angrier than I usually got from him.

I got plenty of angry from him. He had a habit of scolding me for my antics—and there were a lot of antics—but this tone had me backing away from him and the snacks, fluttering my wings in warning.

He went still. Had he just realized what he was doing? He ran his fingers through his messy sleep-tousled hair then shook his head. When he spoke again, his voice was carefully blank. “Change.” Galen crossed his arms, a glow in his eyes that suggested arguing with him wouldn’t go my way. He also showed no signs that he’d turn his back and give me any privacy.

Not that privacy mattered. He’d seen me naked plenty of times—the downside to people who changed forms, I guessed. Nakedness was just a fact of life around here and not viewed as inherently sexual.

---