of the troupe, but I can’t wait to find out.
I look around as Jetta leads me down a metal staircase at the back of a warehouse that’s been made over into a living space. There are strangers milling around in the living area and the kitchen below, all of whom look at me with open curiosity as I head downstairs. I tense, but Jetta stays perfectly relaxed, so I force myself to do the same. She’s the least trusting person I know, so if she’s at ease around them, then it’s for a good reason.
We head outside, and I squint at the sunlight high in the sky. It feels good—like it’s warming something inside of me that’s been iced over for a long, long time.
“What happened to the other troupers?” I ask, looking around.
“They all left that night. Scattered like mice.”
“Ugh, mice are the worst,” a brunette female says as she walks by us and heads into the warehouse.
“You’re a rat, Reese,” Jetta drawls.
She gives her a look. “Yeah? Point being?”
Jetta snorts. “Nothing.”
Reese smiles and passes us by with a wink.
I look around at the buildings, at the woods in the distance, at all the wide open space, and I see shifters everywhere, in both human form and animal. Jetta lets me stand here for a moment just to take it all in.
A chimpanzee is grinning in a wide, toothy grin, hanging off of some guy’s arm as he walks on the road in front of us. There’s a group of people on the picnic bench to our left, taking bets as a llama tries to spit in a bucket at least ten feet away.
There are kids laughing as they jump on a trampoline with a penguin, a python is tucked around some girl’s neck like it’s her favorite scarf, someone’s yelling that Gunter is stuck up the power pole again, and I can see a goat on the roof, chewing on a tulip.
I shake my head incredulously. “What...is this place?”
Jetta smirks. “Pack of Misfits,” she answers. “You get used to it. Sorta.”
“You’re not giving him the tour without me, are you, Jet?”
Jetta turns at the sound of the voice, and I shift my head to see who it is. A male walks up, and the sight of him jolts my memory. It’s the one from the show. The male who came and helped Jetta fight. The one who…
“So your lazy ass finally woke up, huh?” he asks me with a teasing glint in his eye.
“Shut up, Jericho,” Jetta says.
“You’re the male that came for her,” I blurt, looking between them. “You…you saved my life that night.”
“I just shoved you out of the way, that’s all,” he replies. “But my fucking leap was shitty, so my ass landed right in the magic.”
I let my eyes trail over him, looking for any lasting injuries, but he looks completely fine.
Jetta answers my silent question. “He was worse off than you, if you can believe it. Almost died, the fucker. He’s lucky he has shifter healing and a strong as fuck alpha bond.”
Jericho glances at me as he steps up beside her. “She cried at my bedside. Yours too.”
“Shut up,” she hisses again, smacking him lightly on the stomach.
Jericho just grins over at her, touching the spot where her hand made contact like she’d given him a caress. And the way he looks at her…
I frown, and Jetta’s eyes dart to the side guiltily. I know, right then, that they’re involved. I can see it. There’s a closeness, a teasing camaraderie between them, and even though she might be trying to suppress it, I can see that she has feelings for him.
I let go of her hand as my world tips over, like the worst earthquake ever is shaking right where I stand. “You’re...I mean, you…” I can’t get the words out. They get clogged in my throat.
Jetta’s face pales, and that’s answer enough. Honestly, I should’ve known. I should’ve expected this. Of course someone would fall for her. I mean, she’s gorgeous and smart and tough. And when Jetta lets someone in, it makes you feel like the luckiest guy in the world. I know that all too well.
“I thought…” I begin, but I cut myself off. “Doesn’t matter.”
“Cliff—” Jetta starts, but I shake my head.
“It’s okay, Jetta,” I tell her, and I mean it. “I wanted you to get free. I’m so glad you got away. It was what I always wanted for you, and I’m so proud of you, and