Page 27 of Asher

“Quadruped, but we don’t call ourselves that,” I add quickly. I’m pretty sure the long word will trip them up anyway, but it’s better to move past the irrelevant info fast. “Do you remember what a shifter like me is called?”

“Hellhound,” some of them say, and I nod.

“That’s right, and there’s a really fun story why we’re called that. But remember I told you we had a different name before?”

A few small faces screw up as they try to remember, but one hand shoots up. “I know! Canis!”

“Canid,” I correct, pairing it with a smile. “That’s right. Excellent remembering. Dog shifters like me are called canid shifters, and we have a biped form and a canid form. And cat shifters like Lucifer Sam are called—”

“Felid shifters!” two of the kids yell in unison.

“Exactly right. And they have a biped form and a felid form. Now… I’m going to change, and you can see what I look like in canid form. After that, we’ll play tag. But first, there are some rules we need to talk about.” I run down the rules about where they can pet me, why it’s rude to pet without permission, and how the game of tag will go.

I love my job.

CHAPTERTWELVE

Asher

I lookup from my desk as the buzzer in the outer office sounds. My assistant is working from home today, so I get up and go see who it is. I’m not expecting anyone—truth is, I’m rarely expecting anyone. I have the office purely to keep home and work separate, but it’s not like I have clients or anything. My whole job is making money for my family and the village of Hortplatz, with the occasional favor for a friend thrown in.

When I see Micah through the glass outer door, my heart stutters in my chest. Why is he here? Has something happened? It’s been less than two hours since I got here, and I spoke with Grandmother this morning. Surely they would have called… unless it’s so bad the news has to be given face-to-face. I close the distance to the door in two fast steps, wrenching it open.

“What is it?” I gasp, and he pulls a face.

“I’m an idiot.”

While that sinks into my brain, he pushes past me and wanders toward my office. Since there doesn’t seem to be an emergency, I take my time closing the door and following, giving myself space to calm down before I rip Micah’s spleen out through his belly button.

“Just to be sure,” I say as I close my office door, “nobody’s hurt? Sick? The village hasn’t burned down?”

He glances up from where he’s flopped down on the comfortable leather sofa against the far wall. It’s my thinking space for when I have big decisions to make,nota place to nap. No matter what anyone says.

“Why would you think that?”

Relieved, I join him. “You don’t normally turn up here without letting me know you’re coming,” I point out. “What was I supposed to think?”

“Not that people were dead.” He rolls his eyes, then winces. “Although I might wish I was dead after I tell you this.”

I still. “What have you done?” My cousins and I have always had a policy of being honest with each other. We routinely fuck with each other’s lives, but there’s no secret-keeping or slyness about it. Still, normally we’re not this dramatic. He’s almost acting like a hellhound.

“It’s Zac’s fault,” he declares, throwing him under the bus without hesitation. “If he hadn’t been flapping his jaw, I never would have said anything, and Isaac never would have heard anything.”

“Isaac?” I think of my adorable little cousin and wonder if Micah and Zac have accidentally corrupted him and now want my help hiding from Grandmother for the rest of their lives. It’s not going to happen, of course—I’ve tempted fate enough times in regard to Grandmother lately. No way will I risk getting on her bad side now that I’m finally on the good one. I’ll betray them all in a heartbeat. “What did Isaac hear?”

Micah waves his hand. “He doesn’t know what he heard. He misunderstood it anyway. But Garrett…”

I sit up straight. “What about Garrett?”

Sighing, Micah admits, “Isaac repeated stuff at school today and I think Garrett’s mad at me.”

“Because what he repeated was inappropriate?” I can see why he’d be mad, but he’ll get over it. Kids hear inappropriate stuff all the time, no matter how careful you are. Garrett will probably lecture Micah and Zac and give them the cold shoulder for a couple of days, and it’ll be fine.

“No. Well, yes. But mostly no.” He must see the look of blank incomprehension on my face, because he sighs. “Okay, so at family dinner last week, Zac and I were watching you fawn over Garrett like the pathetic lapdog you’ve become—”

I raise a brow. “Don’t be jealous, Micah. I’m sure one day someone will decide they’re lonely and settle for you.”

“—and talking about how sad it is that you’re so hung up on him,” he continues, ignoring me. “Zac might have wondered why you were so obsessed, and then I said I didn’t know and maybe he poops glitter.”

---