Page 266 of Secret Shifters Next Door

Wincing, I held my hands up in acquiescence. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m setting the scene, okay? Anyway, shifters are real, but there are other things in the world you probably don’t know about.”

“Like? What are you gonna tell me? Aliens are real? Shifters come from the Lost City of Atlantis? What?”

I gritted my teeth. I wished I were anywhere else but here with this damnable woman. Panther be damned, I wanted to be done with her.

Taking a steadying breath, I composed myself and continued. “No, not that. For one, there are hunters. People who have either been wronged by shifters in the past or those whose loved ones have been hurt by rogue or feral shifters. They band together and form small hunting units, and then, well, as the name suggests, they hunt us down and try to kill us.”

Ava paled, her eyes wide. “Are you serious?”

I nodded. “Yes. There've always been hunters. In the Middle Ages, things were dire for shifters because the hunters formed large groups that were dozens, if not hundreds, strong. These days, the groups are small, perhaps ten or twelve men and women who hunt. They’re also not as dangerous as they were in past centuries, what with DNA and fingerprinting technology that can link them to the crimes. So, it’s not really that bad.” I picked up my cup and took a sip. “At least it wasn’t until a year or two ago. A crazy billionaire pulled together a new group. They’re better trained and better funded than any group in the last five-hundred years. They’ve already killed dozens of shifters, and me and my friends here in Lilly Valley are at the top of their most-wanted list.”

Ava blinked and shook her head slowly, like she was trying to clear her thoughts. “This is…insane. How can this happen? Don’t you guys have someone you can go to for help? Someone in the government?”

“Hell, no,” I scoffed, glancing around furtively. I always panicked that merely saying the word “government” would summon men in black sunglasses and unmarked vans. “The only thing worse than the hunters coming for us would be if thegovernment came for us. We’re sure they know about us, but since we almost never do anything to draw attention to ourselves or kill anyone, they’ve almost completely left us alone. I’m afraid some of the stuff that’s happened will catch their attention, but we’re trying to lay low for now.”

The fact that this curse was allowing humans and shifters to conceive children was not something we wanted the government to know about.

Ava took another drink, then said, “What does this have to do with me, Blayne? It’s terrible, but I don’t see why you dragged me out here for a talk.”

“Here’s the thing. Along with hunters, there are other…shall we say…magical beings. Witches.”

She stared at me blankly. I stared back, waiting for some kind of response from her. Finally, she frowned, her eyes narrowed. “Witches? Like fromMacbethorThe Wizard of Oz?”

I gave a half-shrug, half-nod. “Kinda, I guess. Not really the same, though. They don’t dress in robes or wear pointy hats or eat kids. They’re just regular people. The only difference is that they have gifts that allow them to do stuff. Crazy stuff. The hunters hired a witch. Her name was Emily?—”

“Was?”

“Well…she’s dead. I was getting to that.”

“Dead? A woman is dead, Blayne?”

“Dammit, Ava, let me get through the damn story, all right?” I snapped.

A pink flush crept into her cheeks as she glared at me, and I worried she was going to get up and storm out of the coffee shop. Thankfully, she didn’t. Instead, she sank back in her chair and crossed her arms. “Fine. Go on, then.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you, but this is important.” When she didn’t respond, I shrugged and continued relaying the story. “Anyway, this witch Emily cast a spell around Lilly Valleythat affected all the shifters in town. At the time, there were only four of us—me and my three partners Miles, Tate, and Steff. The spell was meant to be the end of us. It forces us to mate with a human, which is supposed to be impossible.

“I’m not sure if you know that. Shifters and humans can have relationships, even get married if they wanted. But to claim someone and become mates is something that is only supposed to happen between shifters. This curse forced something that was supposed to be impossible. If we don’t pursue our new mate and make them fall in love with us, we die a slow and painful death. The only way to escape that fate is to claim them as a mate or…have them outright reject you.

“This curse has struck each of us. I’m the last one. Once it’s through with me, it’ll be over. So, that’s what this conversation is about. My fated mate has been revealed to me.” I drummed my fingers nervously on the table, not wanting to utter the next words, even though I knew I had to.

“It’s you, Ava.”

Instead of the relief I’d expected to feel, more stress piled onto me. My shoulders bunched into knots as my panther raged. It knew what I was going to say next.

“All you need to do is reject me here and now. Then the bond will be broken and we’ll be done with this. You’ll go your way and I’ll go mine, and we’ll never have to speak again.”

As I spoke, I watched the look on her face slowly change. It went from irritation, to disbelief, to surprise, and now she sat there looking stunned. I folded my hands in my lap and waited for her response.

FOUR

AVA

Blayne’s words echoed in my head as I sat in stunned silence and tried to make sense of everything. Witches were real? That alone was something I’d have to unpack later. Curses and spells and fated mates, that was what this conversation was really about. Blayne, the man who hated me more than probably any person I’d ever meet, was telling me that some witch had cast a spell. And somehow that spell had made me his fated mate. Could all of that actually be real?

I had no reasonnotto believe him. For one, the story was too far-fetched for it to be some joke he was playing on me. Also, if he were going to lie, he wouldn’t have made up a tale about me being his mate. If anything, he’d probably have made up a story about how I needed to get away and stay away forever—which was exactly the vibe he was giving off. No way would he have talked about me being his mate unless it was the absolute truth.

Blayne hated me so much that I knew for a fact he hadn’t wanted to utter those words. Christ, he’d looked almost physically sick when he’d said it. That hurt me. Even when Liam had been alive, Blayne and I had never had much of a relationship, but it still hurt to have look at me like I was the living embodiment of Satan.

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