Page 30 of Riot of Autumn

“Why do you have a pair of too-big men’s shorts?” Ezra eyes them like he’s going to find a name written on the tag.

“Because they’re comfortable. Sorry, I didn’t realize I could only shop in the ladies’ section.”

Some of the anger fades from Ezra’s eyes, but now I’m annoyed. He swipes the shorts from my hand and pulls them on. The silky fabric doesn’t hide a single inch of his dick. An embarrassingly needy sound escapes my throat. I drag my hand over my face and stomp out of the room.

Ezra’s laughter chases me, and I hurry over to the couch and flop down next to Zara.

“Interesting night?” she asks, smiling at me.

“You could say that.”

Ezra wanders out of my bedroom. He takes a seat in the chair next to the couch with a long groan.

Rhys’s leg is bouncing as he leans forward. He rests his elbows on his thighs and clasps his hands together. Zara has her hand on his back, rubbing in small circles.

“Everyone comfortable? Should I go make snacks and get some beverages? Anything else that might delay you guys telling us what the hell is going on?” Rhys’s brows are lifted high on his forehead. “You could, I don’t know, start with how the fuck Ezra was just a wolf?”

Ezra sucks on his bottom lip, the one that was brushing over mine earlier tonight. A trickle of lust pools low in my belly and Ezra cuts his gaze to me. I cross my legs and glare at him. God, that’s annoying, and also stupidly hot.

“I only figured it out the night in the clearing when those Fae attacked us. I don’t know if it was all the magic floating around or what, but I shifted into a wolf that night.”

“And you didn’t think to mention it before now?” Rhys sits back, throwing an arm over Zara’s shoulders. She snuggles into his side, and they look so damn content it makes me want to giggle–and also punch something. I’m complex like that.

“It’s not really something that felt right to send in a text message, and I didn’t know how to casually drop it into our conversations. It was a shock, and I’m sort of coming to terms with the idea of it myself. Okay?” Ezra’s words have a slight bite to them by the time he finishes speaking.

Ezra and Rhys stare at each other for a minute while Zara and I give each other confused faces. They must come to a silent agreement of some kind because Rhys nods, and then so does Ezra.

“Okay,” Rhys says, and my face mushes up.

“That’s it, then? All good?” All that bluster, and Rhys is over it with one simple explanation.

“Yeah.” Rhys shrugs. “I get it.” Then he turns to Ezra. “So, you turn into a wolf.”

“Also, a crow.” Ezra rubs a hand over his head, his short hair rasping against his fingers.

“No shit?” Rhys says, and Zara leans forward.

“Those with a lot of power in the Autumn Court sometimes have this ability. It’s grown rare over time, and usually they can only shift into one animal. But it’s said that hundreds of years ago there were some that could transform into any animal they chose.”

Ezra gapes at Zara, and then narrows his eyes. “Did you know this was my magic?”

Zara bites down on her lip and shrinks back into Rhys. “I wondered. But I didn’t know for sure. It wasn’t really my business.”

“Ezra, stop intimidating my sister.” I glare at him, and he shakes his head.

“I’m not upset. Just surprised. All of this is a damn shock.” He throws an apologetic look in Zara’s direction.

The night must be catching up to me, because I’m suddenly exhausted. I lean down and untie my boots, kicking them off and tugging off my socks before wiggling my toes. Shoving the socks in my boots, I lean back on the couch. I want to avoid this conversation, but we need to get this out in the open.

“Are we going to talk about what happened at Colton’s house?”

Ezra’s surprised gaze darts to mine. “You want to talk about that with an audience?” He raises his brows.

“What? Why would we keep it a secret? This is a more the merrier, all hands on deck, sort of conversation. Don’t you think it’s the kind of thing that requires group thinking? In fact, we’ll need to clue in the others as well.”

Ezra’s mouth is gaping as he stares at me like I’ve lost my mind.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

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