Page 26 of The Blood Widow

“Who did this?” His tone was harsh, but I knew it wasn’t directed at me.

I shrugged like it didn’t matter. “A demon assassin that was hired to retrieve the boy. I got caught up in the mix.” My voice trailed off. If they had spoken to Bell they knew about him, if they hadn’t, I wasn’t going to give secrets away.

I also didn’t want them thinking I was an assassin, my M.O. when meeting strangers who were in the trusted circle was to pretend that I worked for the Blood Widow. If we kept running into each other, it’d be easy for them to put two and two together, though.

“I don’t normally tell people this, but since Bell and Cole trust you, I work for the Blood Widow. I’m kind of her errand girl.” I ran my hand through my hair as Cole scowled at me. He knew the truth, but thankfully, magic prevented him from telling anyone my secrets, so I continued. “Well, she told me to pick up the boy, but the demon got there first. If I didn’t have my portaling abilities I wouldn’t be here. He was strong.”

That part wasn’t a lie. For my unfed self, he was too powerful for me. Next time I went on a mission, I was feeding first. I didn’t know why that wasn’t a rule already.

Ezra, who was back in his disguise, grunted and typed on his phone faster. He wouldn’t even look at me, the asshole. I didn't know why I wanted his gray eyes on me, but I did. Cole's green eyes and Dominic’s red ones weren’t enough. So, before I did something stupid, I turned to leave.Brian was lying on thecouch. I scooped him into my arms to take him to the bedroom. His sleeping form was so peaceful. I made sure not to wake him. He was safer in the room, though. This little guy was too important to be anywhere else.

There weren’t many other places I could go to in the small cabin, but a shower sounded great.

I didn’t have anything here and now that they knew I was Novem, I wanted to change my body. I felt too venerable in this one. So, after I locked the bathroom door, I called on my magic to slip away. The small amount of blood that I took from Cole wasn’t enough, but it did recharge my power.

“Where have you been? Gone in the middle of the night with no note!” Beaut’s outraged voice made me wince.

Shit. I knew I had forgotten something.

I turned around to face the little green woman with an apology on my tongue, but her outfit caught me off guard. “Why are you in a bra and thong?”

There was a grunt and a hushing sound like when someone was shushing another person. I quirked an eyebrow at her. Her face darkened with a blush. “I was worried and stressed, so a couple of my mates came over to help calm me.”

Her words made my brain malfunction. “Wait. Mates as in more than one? And in my bed?”

“Umm, yes. I have many mates.” She kicked at the bed with her hands behind her back. It made irritation rise in me. Seriously, on my bed?

“Do you want me to pluck your green hair out?” My tone wasn’t angry, but she still gasped and grabbed her head.

“You wouldn’t.”

I quirked an eyebrow at her. Did she forget who I was? “Wanna bet?”

She let out a little whimper that stole my irritation. She was worried because of me. Just because I’ve been fucking celibatelately, I shouldn’t cockblock my friend. I sighed and pointed to the living room. “Go fuck on the couch and clean up any messes. I gotta go.”

A muffled “Yea!” came from under the bed.

Beaut shushed them. I shook my head and turned away. If she was almost naked, the men were probably fully naked, and I didn’t want to see little nude brownies running around.

When they were in the living room and—from the sounds—occupied, I opened my safe and changed my crystal to my favorite one. After locking everything up, getting an outfit for the night and toiletries, I went back to the cabin bathroom.

Then, I hopped out of my dry, crusty clothes and jumped into the steaming shower. Just like always, my body morphed slowly, but I ignored it as much as possible. It wasn’t painful, just itchy and uncomfortable like having growing pains as a kid.

I let the water soothe my muscles as I scrubbed my now plump body. I really did enjoy the softness of this disguise. I needed this.

“Hey, the washer is free if you want to use it,” Cole said through the door.

“Okay, thanks.”

If I was lucky, I’d scurry to the laundry room and then hang out with Brian—anything to escape these men. The little blood I took from Cole wasn’t enough to satisfy my hunger, so I needed to stay away from temptation.

I grabbed one of the extra towels and wrapped up my dirty clothes in it, after getting dressed in a black shirt and leggings combo. Opening the door, my eyes glanced around the bathroom to make sure I didn’t forget anything, so I wasn’t watching where I was going. I smacked into Cole’s firm chest. His arms grabbed me to steady me.

“Ow. What are you doing standing outside of the bathroom?” I said as I rubbed my forehead.

He wasn’t bothered by my harsh tone. His smirk said he thought it was cute, and I could smack him for that. I was not cute. I literally killed people for a living.

“I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.” When I didn’t say anything he stepped closer to me.

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