“Whoa, slow down.” He said. “What bear shifter? What’s happened?”
I sniffed and recounted Kinnamo’s creation story the best I could. Felix sat stone still, taking it all in. When I finished, he didn’t speak. We sat together for a moment. The only sound was the rustle of leaves and my stupid sniffling.
After a short while, Felix buried his head and his hands and sighed. “Well. No fucking wonder you’re terrified.”
“Yeah, it’s not the best creation story.” I said.
“It’s terrible is what it is.” He snarled. His tail moved to curl around me, the soft fur tickling against my ankle. In a way, it was oddly comforting. Not every part of him in this form was made for killing. Just most of it. He let out a breath and stared up at the moon. “I’m not strong enough to stay away from you, Brie.”
“I know.” I said, wiping at my eyes again.
He grinned sheepishly at me. “ At least I don’t look like I’m crazy enough to kill you, right?”
I dropped my hand from my face and stared at him. “You arecoveredin blood.”
He chuckled and looked away. “You’re right. That was a dumb question.”
“Do you know what that monster was?”
He nodded and opened his fist to reveal a small blue crystal. It pulsed with a low, faded light. “It was a ghoul. Most of them are malevolent spirits that feed on grave sites. But judging by the gem, this one was a familiar. The power gem gives it life, and it’s normally hidden somewhere inside the body. You could cut a ghoul to pieces and the damn things still won’t go down until you remove its power source.”
“What’s a familiar?” I asked.
“Servants to witches and mages. Normally, it’s just a weak spirit that takes the form of a small animal. But this power gem tells me that our brittle friend didn’t start out as a spirit. This was a human turned into a ghoul.”
I shuddered and looked at the lump of remains. “That can happen?”
He nodded. “I’ve only heard tales of it done before. The magic required would normally be enough to kill a witch before she could complete the spell. The ghoul was after you. So I’d wager it also had something to do with our missing women problem.”
My hands shook when I remembered the feminine voice the beast used when it tried to call me. It may have belonged to one of the women. “Did it eat them?”
“No.” He began. “There was nothing in its stomach. Whatever its master wants with them, they most likely want them taken alive.” Felix said, standing up. “I’ll need to report this to Fallon, so he can try to trace its magic back to the source. Do you want me to escort you back home, or would you prefer not to see me for a while?”
I shot up and snatched his free arm. “You’re not leaving me alone. I’m coming too.” I said, squeezing his arm to my chest.
He looked down at me. “I thought you were too scared to be near me?”
“You’re terrifying. We’ve established this. But you’re also able to kill those things easily, so I’m staying with you.” I peered into the darkness of the woods. Checking to see if any more ghouls would pop out from nowhere. The last thing I wanted was to be alone in my house. There could be more monsters waiting inside for all I knew.
Felix hung his head. “I see. Is that all I am to you, beloved? A guard dog?” he teased.
“No.” I said, patting his thick bicep. “You’re also a decent farmhand.”
“Brat.”
Chapter 7
Brie
Turns out Fallon saves his grumpiness for men. At least, that’s how it seemed when he opened the door and immediately tried to set Felix on fire. I stood pressed against the wall of Cin’s home as I watched the werewolf dodge an angry flurry of flaming fists. In werewolf form, Felix was a lot bigger than Fallon, but from where I was standing, the wolf man looked ready to run for his life.
Felix ducked his head to avoid another swing, but Fallon caught him in the side with a kick and sent him to the ground hard. Felix laughed and put his hands up in surrender. “Just wait, I have a good reason this time!”
“Bullshit.” Fallon growled, before aiming another kick at his head. “If you woke me up for another one of your stupid games, I’ll shove Gorgonzola down your throat until you shit out your soul.”
“I love you too.” Felix crooned, which earned him another flaming swipe. He managed to roll out of the way before it singed his ear, then jumped up and backed away from the dragon shifter. “But I’m serious. We have a good reason to be here.” He dusted himself off and turned to me. “Don’t we, wife?”
“Oh, um yeah. Hold on.” I dug the gem out of my pocket and held it up.
