Page 60 of 3 Shifters to Break a Curse

Jared might have been far from the cabin, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t around somewhere. His scent was starting to feel like a semi-permanent aroma in the air. I frowned, hoping that wasn’t the case. Because if it was, I would put some consideration into moving. Regardless, I was growing tired of the waiting game.

Not that I was in hurry for Toni to leave, but in a hurry for there to finally be peace so we could all stop looking over our shoulders.

“What sort of traps did you have in mind?” Ezra asked.

I shrugged. “The dangerous kind. What else is there?”

He smiled. “I love your thinking, Luke. So, how do we feel about pits with spikes? Simple foot traps? Oh… what about both?”

I turned and faced him. “Just the foothold traps. Rin will be on the lookout for those. Besides, I don’t want to kill the guy. Just keep him from hurting Toni.”

“What if he doesn’t give us a choice?” Ezra asked, more serious this time.

I looked him in the eyes and thought about it for a moment. I thought about it myself from time to time. Especially after our last encounter. I was willing to kill him then if need be. I was sure I would be able to kill him if he pushed us that direction. Finally, I shrugged and said, “If we’re left with no choice, we do what we need to.”

He nodded. “Agreed.”

“Awesome. Now, let’s grab the traps and start laying them out. I want a solid dozen or so all around the perimeter,” I said and headed toward our shed, which stood in the back. We usually used the traps to help us hunt game in the forest and to ward off unwanted predators. Now, we were using them as a means to keep Toni safe.

In a way, the traps were still serving their original purposes. Mostly. Not only was Jared a predator, but he was a monster who needed to be stopped. With luck, the traps would work as a deterrent at the very least.

Ezra nodded, following closely behind me. “You do realize what this means, right?”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, barely sharing a glance with my roommate.

“I’m talking about Toni,” Ezra said. “Now that she’s almost free of Jared, she’s going to be leaving soon.”

I frowned as my heart sank with the idea of her not being around every day. “I don’t like the idea of never seeing her again.”

I cleared my throat. I didn’t intend to say that out loud.

“Same,” Ezra said. Providing some relief. I had half-expected him to tease me. “So, I’ve been doing some thinking.”

“Didn’t you know that is dangerous?” I asked, jokingly as I reached into the shed and grabbed out a few of the traps.

“Ha ha,” he said sarcastically. “Seriously though, what if we asked her to stay with us for good?”

I snapped my attention to him, expecting to finally see that tell-tale smile of his jabbing me. But he wasn’t smiling. Far from it. He wasn’t joking, judging by the expression on his face. I had wanted to entertain the very line of thought a number of times, but I always stopped myself from doing so. It seemed pointless at that point in time.

“Think about it,” he said as I handed the traps out to him. “Neither of us would have to live without her.”

“You think she would stay?” I asked. Ezra took the traps I held out and dangled them over his shoulder.

To be honest, the thought didn’t feel as pointless as it used to. There was more merit to it, and I wasn’t sure if that was because I liked the idea better than seeing her go. There was something about Toni that made the cabin feel more like home. I felt more complete around her and I hated the idea of the emptiness she would leave behind.

Ezra shrugged. “We will never know unless we try.”

“What about Rin?” I asked, grabbing more traps, and handing them to Ezra. “He has a say in all of this too.”

“Trust me, he’ll be on board,” Ezra said, draping them over his other shoulder.

“She’s pretty set on going to Washington,” I said, grabbing a few more traps. “She promised her coven.”

“Yeah, sure,” Ezra said. “But there isn’t anything that says she can’t come back after she’s done helping her coven.”

I almost got excited with the whole idea. But before I got carried away with that, another thought poked through my brain. One where I hated the possibility of standing in her way and my hope faded. “It is a nice thought. But it can’t be any more than that.”

“Why not?” Ezra asked.

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