Page 12 of 3 Shifters to Break a Curse

The one called Rin had made his position on my presence more than clear as he was less than thrilled, I had shown up unexpectedly at their door, and he was even less so with the fact I was sitting in his home. I really couldn’t blame him. I already caught on to them being shifters. And because of the normally volatile way humans responded to their nature, it made sense he was cautious and protective over his home.

I was intruding into their lives, after all.

But I was sure all of them were fully aware that I was a witch. And part of me wondered if Luke and Rin had something against witches.

“Don’t worry about the circumstances of our meeting,” Ezra said and smiled. “I’m happy you were able to find help. And we will do our best to give you as much help as you need.”

He was handsome. Very handsome. And he had a gentleness to him which made it easy to trust him. Maybe it was his eyes. There was something about them. Honesty, maybe. They were hazel, like mine, but his had more gold to them. And a ring of green outlined them whereas mine was a solid band of brown. They were full of kindness and warmth too. Along with his soothing voice.

I sucked in a breath and forced down my attraction to him. With my experience with Jared, I was seriously considering swearing off men and relationships altogether. I must have had something inside me that was broken. Something that turned men sour. And I had the romantic history to prove as much. Not to mention a piece of my heart broke irreparably each time a relationship fell apart. I was done with hurting myself. My heart couldn’t take any further heartbreak. And Ezra was too kind to ruin.

“Speak for yourself, Ez,” Rin grumbled.

“If you would prefer, we can help you clean up and maybe you can rest for a few hours,” he added. “When you’re ready, we can talk about what happened to you.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

“If you wouldn’t mind,” Luke said. “I would like to gather as much information on Jared as possible. Especially if he might show up at our door. And I would prefer to be as prepared as I can for another unexpected visit before you got any rest.”

Right. That made sense as well.

Luke was equally as handsome as Ezra. He was much taller though, and larger. Not in the overweight sort of way, but in the thick muscle covering his entire frame kind of way. He also had reddish brown hair done in a sort of military-style cut, whereas Ezra’s was dark brown, and longer on the top.

Luke also struck me as being more methodical and tactful. I respected his desire for all the facts so he could better handle what may still be coming for me. For these men as well. Because I had assumed Jared would use harming them to pay me back for leaving him if push came to shove.

“No rush,” Ezra said. “We understand what you had just gone through was quite the ordeal.”

“A little rush maybe,” Rin muttered.

“Rin,” Ezra chided.

Ezra struck me as being more intentional on making sure I was okay emotionally and physically. I truly appreciated his efforts. Especially after what I had just gone through. But Rin and Luke had a point. If Jared was capable of anything, then he could very well show up here and do a lot of damage. He could hurt the men who did nothing except try to help me.

I shared with the men what I could of Jared without breaking down into a blubbering mess. Besides, he was such a wild card and changed his moods so frequently… it was hard to keep up with who he was on any given day. Once I had finished, Ezra helped me carefully clean up the dirt covering my exposed skin and addressed the numerous cuts I had on my face and arms. Once he was done, he gave me the privacy I needed to take care of the ones my clothing hid.

And his leaving me alone in the bathroom turned out for the best because the worse of the abuse was covered by my clothing. I was embarrassed enough at my intrusion into the men’s home. To have them see the full extent of my injuries would have been too much for me to handle. As it was, my torso and ribs were covered in a massive, dark purple bruise. It hurt terribly to take in a deep breath, but this was nothing compared to what Jared had done in the past.

Needless to say, there wasn’t much I could do about the bruising. Still, it shocked me to see. I even stared at myself in the mirror. A cut on my bottom lip had dried into a scab. My cheek was bruised, and I had a black eye. My neck showed a faint outline of Jared’s hands from when he tried to strangle me. Even my right ear was discolored.

My hair was also a tangled mess. I picked out the bits of tree debris and tried to run my fingers through the length of my hair without causing too much pain. But there were knots that were going to take a lot more effort to get out than my sore head was willing to take.

After finishing up, I returned to the living room. Ezra’s gaze met mine, and I smiled. “Thank you.”

“Feeling better?” Ezra asked.

I nodded and smiled softly. “Yes.”

“Is there anyone we can call for you?” Luke asked. “Maybe they can come and pick you up and take you somewhere safe.”

“Actually, yes,” I said and pulled out my phone. The screen was shattered. I frowned. “I don’t think I have much cell service out here, not that my phone is in working condition.”

“There isn’t,” Rin muttered. “For good reason.”

I nodded and scrolled through my contacts, peering through the cracks covering my screen for Savannah’s number. Once I found it, I handed my phone over to Rin who dialed her number for me on a satellite phone before handed both it and my cell back to me.

Savannah answered after the third ring.

“Hello?” she asked, voice sounding slurred with sleep.

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