Page 38 of 3 Shifters to Break a Curse

He nodded. “Same could be said of you.”

I shrugged. “I already told you my teas work like magic. How did everything look?”

“Everything is clear, but I feel like we’re being watched,” Rin said.

I nodded. I sensed the same thing the second my foot stepped out the door, but I tried to ignore the sensation. It wasn’t the first time I felt eyes on me, and I was sure it wasn’t going to be the last, but if Rin sensed the same thing too, then someone really was out there.

“What are we going to do now?” I asked.

Luke shook his head. “We will have to set up perimeter checks. Toni is a witch, and her sudden need to leave reeks of her ex. Literally and figuratively. He’s out there and he’s coming for her. That is the only thing that fits.”

“Agreed,” Rin said, cracking his knuckles. “I actually hope he shows up.”

“I like the idea of setting up perimeter checks,” I said. “But what if he comes? Maybe we should take Toni’s fear into consideration. She knows him better than we do.”

Rin snorted. “I highly doubt he could take on the three of us.”

Luke stood straighter. “And should he come, he will have to go through us before he can reach her.”

A breeze blew into us, carrying an awful odor that was unlike anything I had ever breathed in before. It was sickeningly sweet, like decay but there was a sourness as well. And the scent was strong. The smell permeated everything and made something as simple as breathing difficult to do.

“What the fuck is that?” I asked, pulling up my shirt and using the cloth to cover my nose.

“That is the scent that was surrounding Toni’s car,” Luke said. “Now you know what we were talking about is like.”

“Ugh,” I said. “It’s awful.”

“I think it’s him,” Rin said. “Has to be. Nothing else makes sense.”

“Well, if that is the case, I think making it through us is going to be a lot easier done than said,” I muttered, forcing back a gag.

“Hold your breath,” Rin said.

“Why?” I asked. “So, we can pass out and just pave the way to the front door?”

“Quiet,” Luke said, peering into the woods. “Something is coming.”

Company was coming, and not necessarily the welcomed kind.

I sucked in a breath and didn’t let it go.

Footsteps stomped the ground about fifty feet to our left. The three of us settled our attention in that direction just as a shadow in the form of a person moved through the trees. With each step the figure took, the smell increased.

I was going to have an incredibly difficult time keeping my dinner and not passing out in the process. But I refused to make getting to Toni easy on him. That was if our uninvited guest was Jared, and he was on his way here for her.

17

TONI

Ezra’s tea was nothing but purely magical. I failed to find any other way to describe the stuff. How he was able to work herbs the way he did and not be a witch, I probably would never understand. He was a genius when it came to them. And I worked with earth elements more than anyone else I knew. Herb working wasn’t as easy as it might seem, even though he had made it look as simple as breathing, or walking, or anything else most people took for granted.

His magnificent invention had worked. And fast too. Once I finished the last sip of the tea, I was finding it hard to keep my eyes open. Luckily, I was able to hand over the cup before my eyelids sealed, and I relaxed against the couch. Warmth enveloped my whole body, and I fell deeper and deeper into blissful sleep.

Thoughts of Jared, and my intuition took a back seat for however long I was asleep. I didn’t think I was out for very long at all because I still felt the effects of the herbs coaxing me back to sleep after a shout started me awake… or so I thought. Because though everything seemed normal and gave off the brief appearance of being normal… there was some differences. Especially in the smaller details and sensations.

I sucked in a breath and sat up on the couch. The cabin looked slightly different than it used to. The fireplace had gone cold and was duller than it had recently been. And the shadows that filled the corners stretched toward me. Yet, my body was heavy and warm. The voice was familiar and instantly made me want to run away. The sound had echoed from nowhere and everywhere all at once. The garbled words grew louder. I couldn’t catch my breath. It was almost as though hands were clamped around my throat, choking off what air I was able to take in.

A blurred face appeared in my vision, bleeding through the darkness that surrounded my mind and muted my senses. The features were close to Jared’s but distorted, melted, and just… different enough to make me doubt the image was his. Almost as though he was made from soft clay and someone had squished the entire side of his face, removing the flawless features that I had mistakenly fallen for.

---