us followed?” I asked, needing to know.
That stony mask slipped over his expression, telling me he had thought about it.
I shook my head. “That’s what Zeke is talking about.”
The color drained from his face as understanding dawned on him. “We don’t want to lose you,” I said. “And this scares me.”
His hand moved to hold my face, his thumb stroking my cheekbone. “I just want everyone safe.”
“And we will be once this is over,” Isaac said. “But you have to make a choice. You can’t be straddling two worlds like this, man.”
Miles examined my face, then each of the guys before he seemed to come to a decision. He nodded. “After this is over, no more of my father’s contacts.”
I pulled him close and hugged him tightly as relief swamped me. He buried his face in my neck and took a deep breath.
“Thank God,” Zeke said under his breath as he moved away.
Miles pulled back and turned to the others. “I’m sorry.”
“We get it, man,” Ethan said. “It’s tempting to have that much power.”
And we did understand. Each of us would do anything for any of the others. But there needed to be a line somewhere. Miles simply hadn’t seen his.
Zeke
I finished putting up the last flyer in my stack. My ex-girlfriend smiled down at me from the post I’d stapled her missing poster to. She was a vampire now. I stepped back and started back down the street.
Brody, my bodyguard for the outing, was a quiet, lumbering shadow beside me. The man wasn’t much of a talker, and frankly, I didn’t have it in me to try to make friendly chit-chat, especially since the committee seemed to agree that we couldn’t do shit to help. I gritted my teeth as we walked down the sidewalk. Every post, every mailbox, had a flyer. I had peppered them all with posters today. And not one bit of it was ever going to help.
Riley wasn’t human anymore. She wasn’t going to come home.
Fuck, everything had changed over the last year. Ethan and Asher had been changed. Isaac could read auras or emotions or something. And all of us were on the edge of a fight. “We could help, you know.”
“You’re kids,” Brody reminded me.
“We’re all eighteen.”
“Barely.”
I scoffed and shook my head. “We don’t need babysitters.”
“Bodyguards,” he countered. “If Jadis gets her hands on any of you, she’d have the leverage to get what she wants from Lexie.”
Yeah, yeah. I’d heard it all earlier. An idea skittered thought my mind for the millionth time that day. I ran my hand through my hair as I debated asking. Fuck it. “What if you made me a shifter?”
Brody came to a dead stop.
I turned around to face him.
He scowled at me. “What?”
“What if I was a shifter? Could I fight then?”
He looked at me as if I were insane. “Why would you want to be a shifter?”
I turned away from his gaze and clenched my fists. If I was ever going to get a chance, now was the time. “Because I want to protect my family.” I turned back to him. “I’m not used to this, not being able to do anything. I hate it.”
He sighed. “Being a shifter is more than protecting what you love. It changes everything about you.”
“And I’m willing to do that for them.” I met his gaze. “I can handle it.”
Brody nodded. “I’m sure you can. However, I’m not going to turn you. And any alpha who would, you don’t want.”
“I could be an asset,” I hissed.
“I know,” he stated, his eyes sharp. “But I’m not going to change your entire life simply because you have some control issues.”
I growled at him before turning and walking away. The fucker didn’t get it. I hated this. Hated watching Asher go on patrol at night with other shifters, not being able to protect him or the guys. It went against every instinct I had.
Lexie
Asher’s bedroom in Miles’ house was comfortable. I curled up against him, my head on his shoulder as he turned the movie on. He wrapped his other arm around me as he settled back against the headboard.
“Today was rough,” I muttered.
He brushed his lips against my forehead. “But at least Miles is talking now.”
“And he’s agreed to stop using his father’s contacts.” I sunk against him in relief. “That’s something at least.”
He kissed my hair, making me smile. “Well, the day is over now.”
“It’s nice to get some alone time with you. How was your day?”
“Brody cornered me again.”