Page 28 of 3 Shifters to Break a Curse

Never mind the fact I was becoming dizzy with the lack of breathable air.

I was perfectly okay with the thing’s decision. But I wanted to make sure it stayed away. So, I had chased it enough of a distance to keep it away from my home before turning around to head back. And of course, once I was on my way back home, I blamed Toni for everything. If not for her, that thing probably would never have come close to our home. Whatever the girl’s reason for running was, her problems had nothing to do with me and my brothers, and I would be damned if my home was wrecked because of Luke’s and Ezra’s bleeding hearts. Their insistence on letting her stay damn near cost us our home.

And if something ever were to happen to my home, there would be hell to pay.

As I made my way back, I kept trying to make sense of what little facts we had about the girl and her problem. I couldn’t factor the stench into everything. Nothing I could think of could make a scent quite like that. Decay didn’t smell as horrible. Whatever the thing was, there was a reason for it being out in the woods. And I had very few doubts that had everything to do with Toni.

She was the reason for everything that had happened so far. She was the only answer that fit.

I had no idea what had gotten her into the mess she was in, and part of me didn’t want to know, but since that thing was practically on our doorstep, she owed us answers. And I wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

One way or another, she was going to be upfront and honest about everything.

Once I got home, I stormed through the front door and around to the front of the couch, to where Toni sat. She stared up at me with her doe-like eyes from the collection of things that had spilled out of her bags. I ignored the pang of guilt in my chest at the way her eyes took me in and pointed a finger at her. “You had better start explaining what exactly is going on or so help me, I’ll do Jared’s job for him.”

Her eyebrows knitted themselves together. Her lips parted slightly, and she shrank back into the couch. Her lips pulled down and quivered. She nodded. She stared at me again. This time her eyes held a glossy sheen.

“Rin,” Luke said. “Cool it.”

Another pang of guilt shot straight to my heart. And it wasn’t Luke’s words that caused the sensation, but the way Toni stared up at me. I was a monster to her. No better than her ex.

Damn it. What was it about this woman who had me second-guessing myself? I realized I was being too harsh on her. Clearly, she had been through a lot. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out as much was obvious. But damn it all if her one look didn’t make me want to fall to my knees and beg forgiveness.

Was it so hard to understand I only looked out for my home? That I simply wanted to think ahead and tackle the potential complications in helping her?

Maybe.

Of course, I realized my delivery was way off. But we were working with life and death here. There wasn’t any room for sensitivity.

But the way she looked at me didn’t explain the effect she had on me, nor did it have any bearing on what I had just experienced. And whatever it was, I needed to figure out a way around it because I wasn’t about to fall prey to her. Not like the other two. I was the only one thinking about our home and lives. About the repercussions of helping her out. The last thing any of us needed was me to lose sight of the end result.

She shuddered, dropping her gaze to the floor. “I’ve already explained everything I could.”

I huffed. “Bull shit.”

She cowered in the seat.

“Rin,” Ezra said. “Go easy on her.”

I held up my hand to stop him.

“I need to know everything because what I had just chased off wasn’t natural,” I added. My words came out a little softer. Not much, but the effort was made.

She looked up at me, confused. “What do you mean it wasn’t natural?”

Ezra took a seat next to her and patted her thigh. I wanted to break his fingers. Instead, I settled on a growl. He ignored me. Go figure.

“Maybe you should tell them what you shared with me?” Ezra suggested.

“Which part?” she asked.

He smiled at her. “Everything.”

I rolled my eyes. “Touching moment and all, but whatever is out there has a scent is beyond anything I’ve ever smelt before, and it was heading this way. My guess is for her because her car was covered in the wretched odor as well.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about. The only person after me is Jared,” Toni said.

A knock rapped on the door. Toni’s face palled as she stared at me.

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