Page 52 of Enspelled

His expression is so innocent that I know I’m not going to like what I hear.

“You wanted to take a walk in nature before getting back in the car.” He strides toward the forest. “I’d heard witches were into nature and herbs and—”

I hurry after him. “That is not what I meant.” I dart another glance behind me. Still no shifter. “What I meant is that—”

The gentle whoosh of a door sliding open makes me halt.

When I turn back around to face the grocery store, my palms turn clammy at the sight of the shifter stalking toward us. He’s holding a bag of chips and a can of soda. But as I watch, he tosses both aside and walks faster.

I eye the distance between me and my car and realize I probably won’t make it. And when I turn to Bodie, it's in time to watch him step into the forest beside the parking lot and disappear.

On my own, I might have a chance against this shifter, but with Bodie—even if he might be a simpleton—I have a better chance.

I hurry after Bodie.

And find him leaning against a tree, arms crossed over his chest.

“Bodie, what are you doing?” I hiss. “There’s a shifter back there who looks like he wants to tear into you.”

“I’d listen to the girl if I were you,” a deep, male voice says from behind me.

I whip around as the shifter from the grocery store makes his presence known.

He runs his eyes up and down my body, and something akin to disgust ripples across his face. “Even if she is a witch. Maybe one or two have a brain rolling around in their empty heads.”

My eyes narrow. “Says the guy who spends half his time pissing against trees and howling at the moon.”

He takes a step toward me, his eyes flashing from a clear green to silver as a low growl emerges from his throat. “Fucking bi—”

Bodie barks a laugh, surprising me because I’d actually forgotten he was there. “Pissing against trees, huh?”

I don’t take my eyes off the shifter stalking toward me, and he doesn’t take his eyes off me.

There’s no time to recite Layla’s spell that blew up a tree, so I’m going to have to stun him. Maybe I can—

Bodie steps in front of me. “Perhaps you could explain what it is you wanted with me, and we can straighten things out if there’s been a misunderstanding.”

I try to peer around Bodie’s shoulder to see how the shifter is reacting to Bodie’s amiable tone, but he has wide shoulders and I’m not eager to step to the side and remind the shifter that he was on his way to ripping my head off.

“You’re going to tell me where your friend is,” the shifter snarls. “Now.”

“And which friend is that?” Bodie asks, still as friendly and relaxed as he always sounds.

“The one who should’ve left town yesterday, and the one the alpha wants dead.”

Keane Destin.

If I knew where he was, I would tell him. But since he will be with Briar, I’m not about to send trouble their way.

“Don’t know who you mean,” Bodie says, sounding so truthful that I would believe him if I didn’t know he was lying.

“So it wasn’t you handing something to the red-haired witch and Keane Destin in this parking lot before, then?” the shifter asks, sounding like he’s moving closer.

Bodie shrugs. “Must’ve been someone who looked like me.”

I edge back and a little to the side because this confrontation is creeping closer and closer to a wolf fight. With no claws, sharp teeth, or thick fur for protection, I’d rather avoid standing too close.

Which turns out to be a mistake, because the shifter’s eyes lock on me. “You’re a witch. You can find them for me.”

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