Page 44 of Shift of Morals
What pissed me off the most, though, was that Seymour adored Ben, the Keep Healer, allowing the shifter to gently stroke the top of its head when he visited.
I tried and spent the next two hours unable to move my legs.
What an asshole.
An amused snort made my shoulders tense. “You’re early,” I said to the other Shifter Lord. Rowan pulled up a chair at the opposite end of the table. “Seems like your plant has better instincts than most of the other Lords.”
I gave him a quelling look. “Seymour has trust issues.”
“Seymour knows how fixated you are on his mistress and has opinions about it.”
“Why are you ruining my peace, Rowan?”
Out of all the Lords, I liked him best. Rowan was as good as his word, but lately, he’d gotten closer to Evie than I was comfortable with. And even though she wasn’t my property, and we were technically nothing to each other, the thought of her being with another Shifter Lord, or hell, anyone, made me grit my teeth and suppress the urge to gut the guilty party.
Unfortunately, the unrepentant bastard knew it. Rowan kicked his legs up on the table, out of Seymour’s reach (or so he thought) and grinned. “Caelan, you haven’t had peace since Evie saved your sorry life.”
I rubbed a hand over my face. Rowan wasn’t wrong.
Simone spoke up from her corner. “Evie’s volatile nature intrigues Caelan. Despite my repeated warnings.”
I gnashed my teeth at her. “You like her, too, and you know it.”
Simone scoffed but fell silent.
“I can’t help it,” I admitted quietly. “There’s something about her that keeps drawing me in against my better judgment.”
Rowan, one of the few Lords I trusted, studied me. “You need to decide. Are you going to protect her, or are you going to use her to further your goals?”
Magic flared in my eyes.
Rowan laughed and held a hand up. “Peace, Caelan. Evie and I are only friends. We respect each other. I’ve never met another person so in tune with nature.”
I didn’t believe him. “And if the other Lords try to force you into marriage?”
Rowan grinned, his eyes sparkling. “Hell, I’m not blind, man. I can learn to love the violent little Floromancer given enough time.”
I sighed. “Seymour. He’s the one you need to bite. Not me.”
Seymour turned his freaky little head to study Rowan. The Lord stilled.
“Not cool,” he hissed.
I laughed.
“She makes the Council nervous. We all know what happens when the Lords get itchy.”
People died. I was no stranger to violence. Peace reigned in Joy Springs because of my power, and I hadn't had a viable challenger since I'd taken over.
“They either want her dead or neutralized,” Rowan murmured.
“Through marriage,” I growled.
Rowan’s teeth flashed in a grin. “I see you’re still pissed about why you weren’t chosen for matrimonial bliss with favorite Floromancer.”
“They’d be too powerful together,” Simone observed. “The question remains, who are they saving her for?”
“Bite her, too,” I muttered to Seymour.
