Page 56 of 3 Shifters to Break a Curse

I realized it was the ritual she had spoken of.

Magic was confusing.

Minutes later, I sat on the couch in silence, waiting for Luke and Ezra to show back up. And when they did, I sat back, listening to everything Toni was saying about the love ritual and how it had gone wrong. I was upset with her for having done something so stupid. And it all blew up in her face because of some nonsense belief she wasn’t meant for love.

I supposed I couldn’t be too angry. Because her screw-up inevitably brought her to me. Never mind how against the idea I was at first. Now that she’s been here for a few days, I was becoming accustomed to having her around.

I wanted to shake those silly thoughts from her head. And then I wanted to make her believe she was more than deserving of love. She simply picked the wrong guy. Well… Jared wasn’t a guy but a clay figure with a demon in it?

Once again, I believed magic was confusing. Too much so for me to want to figure any of the nonsense out.

Regardless, she deserved love. She should be held all night long, be provided all the pleasure she can stand and all the food and drink she could handle. She deserved to laugh every single day. Cry never.

I sucked in a breath as I realized what I was thinking. How she turned me upside down and inside out, I would never know. I wasn’t sure I wanted to find out either. Not that knowing would matter in a couple of days.

Another thing I didn’t understand… For whatever reason, unbeknownst to me, I was protective of her. Fiercely so. This was another thing I also didn’t want to figure out. The important thing was I would die before I allowed more harm to come to her.

Now that we had an answer, we could start with figuring out how to rid ourselves of Jacob once and for all. Or maybe we should slow down just a little bit. I had no reason to be in a hurry. And I had a feeling Ezra and Luke were of the same mind when it came to Toni. After all, once Jared was gone, Toni was free to leave.

“I will help,” I said after Luke offered to check out the perimeter.

She stared at me with her eyebrows in wide arches over her equally wide eyes. Then she smiled, and my heart started to race. Her eyes lit up with sparkly bits that reminded me of diamonds. She breathed out, “Thank you.”

I gulped and then asked, “What do you need?”

She thought about my question, tapping on her chin. “I really need some time in nature. It has been too long since I was able to get in tune with her.”

“How do you normally do that?” I asked.

“However, I need to,” she said. “Sitting with the trees, or in the air. As long as I’m outside and within nature.”

“Okay so for this ritual, specifically,” I said. “How can I help?”

“I need to be in tune with nature to do my best work. For this one and with considering how out of touch I am with her… A bath in the river should do the trick,” she said.

“I have one thing better,” I said with a smile.

A bath in the river would be icy, cold, and uncomfortable. Not to mention could make her sick with the weather changing. One of the things I loved about the area we lived in was the abundance of natural hot spring pools. I knew of one on our land and have taken a dip in the waters myself from time to time. When I needed a little extra relaxation.

That would be better for her. And healthier. Less risky as well.

“Sounds perfect,” she said.

“I haven’t even told you where I’m taking you, yet,” I said through a chuckle.

She shrugged. “I don’t have to. If you say it’s better, then I believe you.”

I smiled and shook my head. “A hot springs pool is far better than a cold river. I’m going to take you to one.”

“See? I love it already,” she said. “Thank you.”

I nodded. “We haven’t got there yet. Save your thanks for then.”

“While you two are gone,” Luke said, “I’ll take the time to lay out some traps, so we are extra protected against any unwanted visitors. Keep an eye out for them on the way back.”

I nodded. “Good plan.”

He and I exchanged a glance. He, Ezra, and I… we were the only ones aware of Jared’s presence in the woods and just how close he had come to taking Toni back over the past few days. The traps would make for an excellent obstacle.

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