Page 11 of Teeth To Rip & Tear

“The dead possum.” Kaleb supplied helpfully.

I waved my hand. “Oh, that. Yeah. You should tell Dean.”

Mitchell narrowed his eyes, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth. “Hmm.” Though he made a thoughtful sound, he didn’t say much more.

Kaleb shifted after breakfast and darted into the trees at the back of the house.

Because I was Sídhe, I couldn’t lie directly, though I could avoid the truth like no one’s business.

I’d kept my secrets for so long that I wasn’t even sure if I could tell the truth.

For many years, my grandmother had instilled a genuine fear of being hunted. She taught me to hide amongst Locket's humans and mind my business. The wolves didn’t frighten me, but the Durrach did.

Fae didn’t come to the Human Realities unless they needed something. To feed, steal, or trick unsuspecting people into bargains. The Durrach were sapient but unable to feel emotions.

After Kaleb left, I hadn’t spoken much. I replayed our conversation in my head as I tried to remember how much I had revealed.

Mitchell shifted and followed on my heels as we walked to my car. I was running behind, but one of the benefits of being my own boss was that I wouldn’t get fired for opening the store ten minutes late. One of the cons of being your own boss was taking the financial hit for that lost time, though.

Joel continued to watch from the end of the driveway as I walked to my car with a fully grown wolf by my side. I wondered what he thought of my ‘guard dog,’ but realized I didn’t care. As long as Joel left me alone and returned home to his new piece of fluff, I didn’t care.

“I noticed something interesting about your ex-husband.” Mitchell leaned forward between the two front seats of my car—having shifted without my noticing.

I slammed the brakes and cursed. “Don’t do that!” I shouted. “I almost had a heart attack!”

Mitchell ignored my admonishment. “Your ex-husband has AB-negative blood.”

“And that’s interesting?” I glanced over my shoulders, my fists tightening against the steering wheel.

“It's rare, is all.” Mitchell sniffed.

“How did you even find that out?” I frowned, focusing on the road.

“Medical records,” Mitchell informed me with a grin. “I’m taking this assignment very seriously.”

“Are you?” I scoffed.

“AB negative is rare.” Mitchell continued without answering my question. “It often happens when some Fae-blood works its way into a lineage.”

I said nothing.

“AB-negative blood has a strong smell,” Mitchell noted. “We used to call humans with AB negative‘Shroud Brides.’Many used to marry AB-negative humans to obscure their lineage. Keeping a Shroud close can protect young Sídhe from creatures that hunt by scent.”

“Like wolves?” I said flatly. “You think I’m hiding something?”

“I think you’re hidingfromsomething.” He corrected.

“I like you better when you can’t speak,” I replied.

We made it to the store in good time, and I chose a parking space near the security cameras. Mitchell, once again, shifted into his four-legged form—a midnight black wolf with yellow eyes and the tiniest white patch on the end of his tail. He followed me to the store and promptly made himself comfortable by the door.

Mitchell slept for the first hour, though his ears twitched whenever I made a sound.

I smelled her the moment the shop door opened, though I would have recognized her rotund pregnant belly and halo of blonde hair anywhere.

Faith Hilltop was my opposite in every way. The daughter of one of the Deacons of the local Baptist church.

At sixteen, her pregnancy had been quite the scandal in Locket. She’d been ousted from her family home in the middle of the night and found a shotgun house to rent in one of the neighborhoods by the Elementary school. No one knew who the father was at the time or how Faith could afford such a lovely home. Until I found the receipts and the life insurance policy on my kitchen island. Waiting there as if he wanted to get caught.

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