Page 37 of 3 Shifters to Break a Curse

Her eyes welled with tears, and she barely nodded. “I just don’t want you guys to get hurt because of me. I made a promise, and I need to stand by that.”

“And we appreciate that, but you did come to us for help. We can’t allow you to leave unless we know for sure that things are safe for you out there. Which was partly why I sent Rin and Luke to check things out.” I nodded toward the front of the cabin. “The other thing we are going to do is make sure you are rested enough for your journey.”

“How are you going to make sure out there is safe?” she asked. “He’s going to come for me. And if I don’t leave here, he’s going to bring a lot of trouble with him, and I promised there wouldn’t be any trouble. I promised I would leave at the first sign. And now you’re not letting me.”

“Luke and Rin will check out our property. If they don’t see any signs of him, then things should be clear. If they do, then it’s not safe to leave.”

“It will be too late by then,” she whispered.

“You let us worry about him. You should be focusing on resting up,” I said, trying to keep my voice as soothing as possible.

“How could I possibly sleep right now?” she asked, setting me ablaze with her eyes.

“By making you some of my special tea. It’s a creation of mine that I’m proud of,” I said with a smile. “You’ll sleep like a baby.”

Her expression changed to match one of her thinking about my offer for a moment. Eventually, she nodded.

I patted her leg with a smile stretching my lips. “There you go. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” she said as I stood from the couch.

“Stay put, this won’t take long,” I said and then headed into the kitchen.

“Okay,” she said again, this time, much more softly.

I looked over my shoulder at her as I approached one of the cabinets. My heart broke for her. I couldn’t imagine everything she had been through. The best thing we could do for her now is to show her patience and understanding. Prove to her she’s safe with us.

I pulled out my special blend of tea, herbs, and spices. I had been toying with the concoction little by little, trying to get the formula exactly right. So far, the current blend did the trick for the long nights when the mind wouldn’t slow down and let go.

As I worked on making the tea, I kept peeking over my shoulder at Toni. She was deeply bothered by everything she was feeling and had gone through. I could tell by the way her shoulders slumped and her head hung lower than normal. She was tormented.

Poor girl. I wished there was something I could do to ease her worries. I couldn’t blame her for wanting to keep her promise. What she didn’t understand was we had a lot more strength and capability than she understood.

I also wanted to take all her fears away, make her safe for the rest of her life, and never see her cry a single tear ever again. I didn’t care that she was still heading to Washington. I would find a way to make sure she would be safe forever.

The tea kettle whistled, pulling me from my thoughts. I poured some hot water into the cup and added a good dose of the blend into the water before letting it sit for a couple of minutes. Once the concoction was brewed, I added the perfect amount of honey. Only enough to coat the throat and soothe the stomach. I turned and brought the cup to her.

She smiled softly as I took the seat next to her and handed her the cup.

“Thank you, Ezra,” she said.

I loved the way my name sounded coming from her lips. “You are very welcome, my dear.”

She smiled softly and slowly sipped on the tea as it cooled. Every once in a while, she would blow over the rim to cool the liquid before taking some in. We sat in silence as she worked on drinking her tea. I didn’t want to push her into talking, and I didn’t want to make her revisit the sensations she was under that made her want to leave. I figured the best thing she needed was some calming company and a chance to relax enough to sleep more than an hour or two.

And with the help of the tea, I figured that would happen in the next few minutes. She hadn’t slept much since she came here, and already her eyelids were drooping. Her head bobbed slightly each time she tried to take a sip.

Before much longer, the tea was gone, and she handed the cup back to me. “Thank you again.”

Her voice came out as a whisper.

“You’re welcome,” I said, keeping my voice soft and low.

She lay against the couch and her eyes pulled closed. I let her sit there for a few more minutes, to let the sleep really sink in, and then helped her to lay down, resting her head on the arm of the couch, and covering her with a blanket.

Once she was settled, I joined Luke and Rin out front to discuss what to do. I didn’t have much experience with witches, but from what little I knew of them, when they knew something was about to happen, her warning wasn’t to be taken lightly.

“That was fast,” I said to Luke as I stepped into the grass.

---