Page 41 of Midlife Shifter Unexpected

“Yeah, we did,” Mae motioned me to sit on the couch. “We knew you were settled here, but you didn’t seem to bother us, and we didn’t have any need to talk to you.”

“It might’ve been a bit more helpful.” Matheus was looking more and more annoyed by the minute.

“Why?” Mae asked in exasperation, hands on her hips.

“Because I remembered a story I had heard once on my travels. I went to investigate it and it was, in fact, true.”

“What is true?” My tone was terse.

“It was always said that if shifter ever turned up in southern Oregon there would be a price put on its head. Basically, this was intended to be a werewolf free zone and now you’ve created a werewolf in our midst… You’re going to need to protect her. She’s got a price on her head.”

“By who?”

“That’s not how it works,” Matheus said. “When someone puts a price on your head, it’s a very big deal. All the assassins find out and they go and look for the kill.”

“Great we already have an assassin here and now we’re going to have to worry about more coming just for me?” I cringed

“Well, you’ll need to stay at the estate from now on until we can figure out who’s behind this,” Mae said.

Great. I was a werewolf. I couldn’t go to work. I couldn’t go to the police station. I had to stay locked up behind wards at The Estate because somebody was trying to kill me. All of this was starting to really suck.

Chapter 29

“I told you she has a bad star over her,” Jane said with a shrug.

“You’re supposed to be one of my best friends,” I said, looking at her. “Could you stop with the hoodoo voodoo shtick? I’m not going to die.”

“You’ve got a much better chance of staying alive if you stay at The Estate.” Mae said. “Jane, you’re welcome to stay here too. I wouldn’t want you to be killed by association.”

“I don’t think it was meant quite like that. Take out this person and you know; we’ll give you an extra five hundred bucks if you wipe out the people next to them.” I said.

Jane looked nonplussed. “I can’t stay locked up in here. How are we going to find who is killing the people and who will look after all the animals?”

“We are not,” Mae said. “We’re going to dismantle the creature that’s inside the crypt and stop the entire cycle. It has to end.”

“That’s the universe saved,” I said. “What about my assassin? How common are assassins in your world anyhow? I mean is it a normal thing where people learn to be killers?”

“It was a very crucial job during the war between the demigods and the Fae,” Hilda said. “But more than that, it’s a good paying job.

“Yes, pretty cool actually,” Drake said. “There’s actually a program you can go to at the Crown Academy up in Quebec . There’s an assassin school there. That’s what I’d like to do one day if I ever get set free from guarding the cemetery,” he added with a laugh.

“You couldn’t live without me,” Anita said giving her brother playful punch.

“Good. I’ll have someone to come with me to practice on,” Drake said, giving her a bit of a karate chop. She laughed and kicked him in the head.

“You guys are a little Spartan,” I said. “Maybe you’ll need to teach me some of your moves before you go off to college, since I’m going to be defending my life for the foreseeable future.”

“We’ll get to the bottom of this,” Mae said. “I know for a while it’s going to feel like you’re living in prison, but the reality is, the safest place to be is The Estate. That gives you access to the cemetery and right now, if there’s a price on your head and a killer on the loose, I don’t think you should be going anywhere.”

“How am I going to survive?” I asked.

“You don’t have to worry about money too much,” she said. “As a member of the coven, you will get a stipend.”

“How can she be a member of the coven?” Matheus asked. “She’s not even a witch.”

“Is that the prerequisite to being in a coven?” I asked. “I think they do inclusion nowadays, Matheus. Maybe they didn’t cover that in Satyr school.

“I don’t see any reason why she can’t be a part of the coven,” Hilda shrugged.

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