Page 46 of Evil Hearts

The magical world was so new to all of them that it was taking some adjustment to find out about someone through a casual comment.

“He is a wolf shifter and a member of the Red Desert Pack,” Silas said.

Idris made a sound of agreement. “They’re a good pack. If Andromeda wants to be a human among wolves, they’d do a good job of taking care of her. She could also live here. There are lots of rooms for her to choose from and no one could get to her.”

Despite trying to whisper, Nanc was talking at full volume, so Cassi wasn’t surprised her lovers heard everything.

“Cassiopia, I hear voices. Who was that talking?” Nanc asked. “Where are you? Who are you with at six in the morning on a Saturday?”

“Th-th-that’s Silas, Reed, and Idris. I’ll explain it all l-l-later,” Cassi said. “Tell Andi I l-l-love her and to call when she wakes up. Love you, Mom!”

She hung up before Nanc could demand answers. Setting the phone in her lap, she looked at Silas. “D-d-did you make this happen?”

“It wasn’t hard,” Silas assured her. “If I hadn’t been able to involve the police, I was going to go myself. I thought this way would be cleaner because the cult was entirely made up of humans so the human authorities should take care of it.”

“But y-y-you had to have done this before I slept with you. Before the twenty-four hours w-w-w-were up,” Cassi protested. “What about our bargain?”

Idris snorted. “Bargain. As if we’d ever make you bargain for the safety of your family.”

Reed nuzzled against her lap. “We’d do anything for you, sweetness. Silas was just trying to make it so you’d give us an interview.”

“Interview?” she repeated, confused.

“As a flock,” Idris said. “Reed could smell you were his mate when we met, and I knew you were mine when we touched. That meant you were destined to be part of Silas’s flock.”

“Most humans don’t feel the instant connection,” Silas said. “I had to tread carefully or risk scaring you away. You came to me with a problem that I planned to solve even if you turned down my offer. By accepting, you gave us an entire night and day to show you what life with us would be like.”

This whole time had been a date! The previous night made more sense now.

Tears burned the back of her eyes. She twisted around so she could cup Silas’s cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered, trying hard not to cry. “I’ll owe you forever.”

“You owe me nothing,” he responded. “Flocks don’t work like that. We aren’t about debt or keeping score. We are everything to each other. How could I sit back while my flock suffers?”

“But I’m not flock,” she reminded him.

“Yet,” Idris rumbled. “Give us time to show you everything we have to offer. You don’t even have to work if you don’t want to.”

“Don’t be takin’ away her job,” Reed said from her lap. “I think she likes what she does. It’s important work.”

“I do,” she agreed. “I get to help a l-l-lot of people.”

“Then you can continue to do it for as long as you find it enjoyable,” Silas agreed. “I’m afraid you’re always going to have an escort now though. Unless you fully reject us, neither Idris nor Reed will let you out of their sight.”

“Humans are so fragile,” Idris grumbled.

“You want me to be part of your flock?” she clarified, ignoring Idris’s fragile comment. Compared to him, concrete walls were fragile!

“Of course,” Silas said. “I want to exchange souls with you and bring you fully into our flock. You don’t need to answer now. I don’t want you to feel pressured. We could spend the day answering your questions and—”

“Yes!” Cassi said, cutting him off.

Silas lifted his head, blinking in surprise. “Yes? Are you sure?”

“Don’t question,” Idris said, sitting up. “Take the yes, Silas.”

Silas frowned at the gargoyle. “It needs to be for the right reasons. If Cassi joins because she’s afraid or feels forced, it’ll poison the flock. It would hurt her as much as it would hurt us.”

“I d-d-don’t feel forced,” she insisted. “I’m not some helpless girl!”

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