Page 22 of The Blood Widow

Damn, no, I wouldn’t have. My fucking morals got in the way too much.

Rubbing my face, I strolled to my room and went to my dresser. It was how I kept the people I cared about safe by securing the gifts that linked me to them. Each gift was precious, even if they gave me multiple like Beaut. She gave me ten rings, so I could summon her for help. I’ve had three disappear now, and it felt like shit. If I lost all ten, she could be lost to me forever.

I picked up another ring. I had a few more friends, but they only gave me a couple of rings, so I never took them with me. It would hurt never to see one of them again because I lost a ring.

I also grabbed one of the clear crystal necklaces, so I could change my body later and locked everything back up. I trusted Beaut with most things, but money and shiny diamonds were a temptation I didn’t want to give her. Brownies loved shiny things.

I took off my clothes and threw them in the burn pile. Ugh, the burn pile was now larger than the wash pile.

I slipped on a green army shirt and black yoga pants. Once I was wearing the fluffy slippers that Beaut gave me, I rubbed my ring.

“You insufferable, wrinkly nipple, what do you want? I see you lost another one of my rings. Do I mean that little to you?” Her green hair was up in a messy bun. She had changed too because she was in a sexy silk baby doll get-up. Her fluffy slippers matched mine. Had she been entertaining company?

“I’m sorry, Beaut, but my stupid pocket portal caught me off guard when escaping, and I ended up in the Alpha’s house.” I didn’t tell her about recognizing Ezra. She didn’t need to know that part.

She threw her hands in the air. “Well, that was rather stupid.” Her hands went to her hips. “Maybe I should give him my rings instead.”

My lower lip popped out in a playful pout. “No, you wouldn’t, you love me.”

“You’re a little lint licker. If you weren’t such a great source of entertainment, I most certainly would.” She snapped her tiny fingers and a small pot and little bottles of liquids appeared on a table that reached just above my ankles.

I couldn’t help but snicker. “You’re watching too much old TV again, if you’re saying lint licker.”

“Shut it, hussy, I love the old stuff. The new crap they have on TV is ridiculous. Except for a few Netflix shows. There’s this one where a Viking—” she caught herself and huffed at me. She forgot she was mad at me. She turned her body away and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Oh, come on Beaut. You know I didn’t do it on purpose. If I wanted it back, I’d have had to kill for it. It wasn’t fair to them.” I didn’t tell her about my identity being outed to the wolves. No need to worry her.

It made me think of the witch. I hope they didn’t kill her.

Beaut smacked her lips together as she got to work. I didn’t watch her. She hated hoverers. I moved back to my dresser and grabbed another phone from the top drawer and called Cole. I was getting low on my stash of phones.

He answered on the first ring. “Are you out of your damn mind?”

I smirked. “Hello to you too, Cole. Can you wipe my old phone and put all the info on this one?”

“I ought to beat your ass raw for getting me caught up in this.” Then, his tone took on a more sultry note. “However, I remember how much you liked that, so maybe I’ll have to get more creative.” He sighed. “You just leave the safe house without saying more than two words and a week later you dump the body of one of the most important people in the city on my kitchen floor. You owe me an explanation.”

I sighed too. I missed the fucker. Damn ghoul ruined a good thing. I didn’t answer right away. I could hear him humming, telling me he was using his magic. As long as Cole created a device, he could manipulate it easily. Thankfully, he had created everything I owned except my safe. I didn’t know what I’d do without him. Before I met him, I was constantly on the verge of getting caught. I always had someone breathing down my neck.

“Fine, it’s done. I made sure your new phone has a clear line, so no one can listen to us. Speak, woman! What the fuck is going on?”

Despite our past, or maybe because of it, he was owed the truth. I told him everything except for the Ezra/Alpha situation. There was still the chance I was wrong. If I could, I’d keep all of my friends out of it. They may not be perfect, but they deserve to live and keep helping others. My stupid mistake shouldn’t be the end of them too. With any luck, the wolves would forget all about me.

Yeah right, my luck said that those odds weren’t that good.

Beaut danced around while she got rid of the magic on the ring the wolves had, so they couldn’t use it and summon her. She listened to my explanation as well. Smirking when I didn’t tell him about the portaling mistake. To a brownie, that was a huge deal. Secrets might be currency now for the Underground, but that had always been the way for her kind. It was a sign of respect that I told her and not him.

Chapter

Twelve

Isat in my kitchen drinking hot chocolate that was fit for a queen with my new body intact. Changing forms was a slow process. First my hair, then my feet, then my face, and after a long wait, my full body. Since the change was dramatic, I understood why it took so long.

“I don’t know if I like you blonde. And look at that spray tan. You look human. Yuck, it’s a disgrace, Novem. Go back to the other you,” Beaut complained as I fixed the necklace, so it’d stay in place and couldn’t get taken off by anyone but me.

I was now a thin blonde with an orange tan. If I put on pink, I might barf on myself. My breasts had shrunk, so magically gluing the crystal between my cleavage was easier than ever.

My skinwalker friend gave me this necklace for emergencies. It wasn’t like my favorite one that just changed a few things on my body. Nope, it gave me a whole new body. This necklace cost five secrets, which was a hefty price. I could have gotten a couple of houses with those. Still could, but the more people that knew, the less the secret was worth.

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