Page 16 of Shift of Morals
The shifter ignored her, stooping to pick up the box. “Evie, this is for you.”
I didn’t take the box. “What is it?”
“From the Shifter Lord. The occasion is formal.”
I sighed. “Seriously. No one wears ballgowns to meetings. Is that what this is? Another gown?”
Simone let out a pained sigh. “I’m only the messenger. Can you please just take the box and address it with Caelan at another time?”
“Fine,” I growled, taking the box from her outstretched hands. “But he’ll hear about this later.”
Her lips twitched. “Of that, I have no doubt.”
“Dammit,” Moira said. “How come I never get a dress?”
Everyone ignored her. Getting a dress from the Shifter Lord could only bring trouble, and Moira was refreshingly free of that.
Simone turned to go but paused at the door. “Evie.”
I hitched my purse higher on my shoulder and moved the sack holding the bouquet to the other hand. “I know. Please don’t antagonize the Shifter Lord tomorrow.”
Sadness flashed across her face. “No. That wasn’t what I was going to say at all.”
Surprised, I blinked and fell silent.
A small smile played over the shifter’s lips. “I was going to say be yourself. Caelan needs that right now.”
Moira’s delighted chuckle sent my hackles up.
“I’m not sure how to take that.”
Ash snorted as Simone sailed through the door without answering.
“I think she’s implying our beloved Shifter Lord might be going through it and some normalcy would be nice.”
I glared at the dryad. “Trust me when I say there is nothing normal about our dynamic.”
“Maybe not, but it’s normal to him. Caelan seems like the kind of shifter who likes a little violence with his romance.” Moira winked and held the door open.
“There is no romance,” I growled under my breath. “He’s getting married.”
“Mm-hmm,” Moira said, winking at me as I passed.
I let out a huff of annoyance which sent Ash into a fit of laughter.
I didn’t say anything else until we were situated in the car and on the road.
“Can we please try to behave ourselves at Caroline’s?”
Moira grinned, her bright white teeth shining in the sunlight. No fangs present. She wasn’t like a lot of vamps who chose to flash them all the time, a fact I appreciated about her. “No promises, but we’ll try.”
That was about the best I could hope for with this motley crew of friends.
Chapter
Five
Caroline’s office was in one of the few “high-rises” Joy Springs had, which wasn’t saying much. We pulled up to a six-story building and parked. I never had any need to visit this part of town, so I wasn’t very familiar with the area. From the look of it, this part of town held little natural appeal. Most of the trees had been destroyed to make room for office buildings, retail space, and wide-open parking lots, something that hurt my heart every time I passed by the place.
