Page 224 of Secret Shifters Next Door

“Basically, but don’t think about it too much. The thing I worry about the most is what will happen to you. The curse will…Well, it will turn you into a shifter. There’s still plenty of time. Steff and April went weeks, if not months, before he claimed her. There’s no rush here.”

That news was new. I would become a shifter? That was not something I’d anticipated. “Seriously?” I asked.

Miles nodded, looking pained. “I didn’t know how to break it to you easily. I shouldn’t have blurted it out like that.”

“No, no, it’s…it’s fine. I mean, April and Harley went through it, and they seem totally fine.”

“Right. I’m sorry. I hate that you’ve been pulled into this. I even thought about not telling you and dealing with whatever came of it. Pain, death, whatever it took to keep you safe.”

“I don’t want that for you. It sounds miserable.” It was the truth. Everything about it sounded like hell.

The pained look on his face vanished as he grinned. “That’s what I like most about you, Celina. The reason I care for you so much.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“After hearing all these…all these crazy, dangerous things––all you care about is me. What’s going to happen to me? How do I feel? Most people would probably be more self-centered, even if they usually aren’t,” he explained as he washed his hands.

I never handled compliments well. They always made me self-conscious. I looked down, afraid to meet his eyes. “I just don’t want you to be in pain because of me. I couldn’t live with that.”

Miles walked around the kitchen island and took my hands, then put his forehead to mine, staring into my eyes. “I’m telling you the truth. I’m fine right now.”

“Will you promise to tell me if things do get bad? Painful, I mean?”

He kissed me on the forehead. “I promise. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Miles went back to cooking, and I was content to watch him. My writer’s brain couldn’t stop whirring, and new questions popped up every few seconds. As much as I wanted to let things be, I yearned to know more, especially since I was fully involved now.

“What’s the next move?” I asked.

Miles was cooking bacon in a pan and glanced over his shoulder at me. “You mean about the hunters?”

“Yeah.”

“Honestly, we aren’t sure. The Antonio guy is rich. Like, wipes his butt with hundred-dollar bills rich. He’s probably got connections and really good security. Getting to him won’t be easy. One thing we know for sure is that he’s got a real hard-on for Tate. I think he sees him the same as the dragon shifter that stole his wife. We know he isn’t going to stop until he gets him. Maybe that’s something we can use to our advantage, but who knows.”

My mind kept circling back to Felicity. As bad as it was, I could still see things from her perspective. Her mother ran off with a man she barely knew, took her away from her father, and then she found out he was something that shouldn’t be real. No wonder she went a little crazy. Try as I might, I couldn’t blame her for not being able to deal with living in that shifter world. I mentioned this to Miles, and he shook his head.

“I don’t blame the shifter or the mother. All the blame for what happened to Felicity goes on her dad. You can be mad at your mom for tearing your family apart. That’s normal. What isn’t is that you turn into a bloodthirsty murderer. He did that toFelicity, Mariana…whatever. She may not have become what she is without him twisting her mind.

“It’s not her fault what she is now, but she is a hunter. That can’t be changed. Their only goal is to eradicate all shifters. If I claim you”—he looked at me with that same intensity that always took my breath away—“she’ll come for you. You’ll have a target on your back. If she cares for you at all, she’ll try to protect you from that fate. I think that’s part of why she wanted to steer you away from me. You need to keep your head on a swivel. We saw with April that they aren’t beyond kidnapping.”

His words echoed in my head. I watched him put the burger patties onto a hot pan and then walk over to me. He put his hand out. “Let me see your phone.”

I pulled it out of my pocket and handed it over. “What are you doing?”

He pulled open my contacts and started putting in his friends’ numbers. “I want you to be able to get a hold of any of us at any time. If there is ever a moment when you feel unsafe or worried and can’t reach me, call them.” He handed the phone back to me and looked me in the eyes. “They’ll come. Hell or high water, they’ll come.”

Chills ran up my arms, making the hairs stand on end. I believed that was true. His eyes told me they would walk into war for each other. What kind of friends did he have?

“Okay, thanks.”

“I don’t want to rule your life or try to control you, but I’d like you to try and be safe. Especially when I’m not around. If history tells us anything, the hunters will make some kind of move soon. We’re going to have one of our team watching you twenty-four-seven. A bodyguard basically.”

I nodded. That was something I was used to. “I actually used to have one.”

He arched an eyebrow. “You had a bodyguard? When?”

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