Page 5 of Primal Bonds

Merry.

He told himself his niece was safe with her adopted family. But there was so much she didn’t know…

Adric will watch over her. Make sure she has what she needs.

Even so, regret lanced him, the pain worse than anything the night fae had inflicted. He leaned his head against the concrete and prepared to die.

Chapter 3

Evie almost didn’t see him.

She was on her way home from a late shift at the restaurant when thunder rumbled. She picked up the pace, jogging the last few yards down the alley to her backyard. The lavender her mom had planted was about to bloom. Purple spikes shivered in the rising wind, their scent perfuming the air.

A crash of thunder made her jump. She sprinted down the gravel path bisecting the tiny garden. Suddenly, every hair on her nape lifted. She skidded to a stop, straining to see in the light cast by the single bulb over her back door.

There. A man huddled by the stoop, his eyes glowing an unearthly green in the gloom. His chest shuddered, and the chunk of quartz hanging from a leather cord around his neck caught the light.

Earth fada. With those glowing eyes and the quartz, he had to be.

Keeping her gaze on the fada, Evie bent and scrabbled in the garden for a weapon. Shapeshifters didn’t just turn up at your back door. Whatever this guy wanted, he was trouble—and she didn’t need any more trouble in her life.

Her fingers closed on a small rock. She straightened and raised it threateningly. “Get the hell out of my yard.”

The man stared back at her, unblinking. Then his lips curved. The prick was laughing at her.

Anger seared through Evie. Anger, and fear.

Her kid brother Kyler was in the house. At least, he was supposed to be. She had to get this man—this fada—out of here.

“Did you hear me?” Her fingers tightened on the rock. “I want you gone. Now.”

His eyes closed. The small smile faded, and he rested his head against the concrete foundation. “Can’t.”

“What do you mean, you can’t?”

He slid sideways, boneless as a rag doll.

What the—?

Evie froze.

Several seconds ticked past. The man didn’t move.

She eased closer. That’s when she smelled the blood.

She darted a look around. There were three homes to one side of their row house and six to the other. Most times you couldn’t move two yards without a neighbor popping out to see what was up.

Where was nosy Mrs. Linney when you needed her? Or Kyler, for that matter?

“Hey.” She nudged the shifter’s shin with her toe. “You okay?”

When he didn’t move, she dashed up the steps, yelling for her brother. “Kyler! Open up, damn it.” She hammered on the door. “It’s me, Evie.”

No answer.

She set her jaw. Would it kill the dude to be where he was supposed to be for once? She dropped the rock and dug in her backpack for her keys, her eyes on the motionless fada.

Her fingers closed on the key ring. She shoved the house key in the lock and pushed open the door. The kitchen was empty, but the light was on. She dropped her backpack on the nearest chair.

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