Page 58 of Shift of Morals
Sighing, I sipped my tea and closed my eyes as a cool wind blew through the trees. Night-prowling creatures slithered and preyed on the property, tiny blips to my senses. Greenery and trees stretched toward the night sky, seeking the moon. Night-blooming flowers opened, their heady scents tantalizing and mysterious.
I smiled, pushing the rocking chair using the motion of the ball of my foot. As nights went, I’d call it somewhat of a success. Gianna wanted red, white, and blue, and she’d have it, even if it made my inner decorator shrivel up and die.
The wind died down, and with it the noise. My eyes opened abruptly, sensing the unnatural shift in the air. Every plant in the area turned away from the fence, seeking the safety of my wild magic.
Someone or something was out there.
A snapped branch caught my attention. I stood from the chair and went down the stairs, pressing my bare feet into the earth, just in case I needed to call on my power. A familiar scent made me freeze just as a man stepped right outside the property line.
A stranger rested against one of the fence posts, arms crossed over his chest. He smiled at me, a friendly smile if I didn’t know better. The porch lights caught the crimson glow of his eyes.
“Finn.”
“Hello, Evie. Nice night, isn’t it?” His glamour flickered and fell away, revealing the too-handsome Chimera who’d come close to ruining my life.
“It was,” I agreed.
Finn’s smile widened. “You haven’t made use of the gift I gave you. Why ever not?”
“You mean the curse? Why would I use anything you gave me?”
His eyes narrowed as he pushed away from the fence, stopping right at my new wards. Finn lifted a finger and touched the shimmering magic. My wards dropped like water from a bucket, gone as if they’d never existed.
Fuck. It had taken me a full week to create those! Note to self, make the damn things Chimera proof. How? No idea. I might have to zap myself a few times before I figured out how to keep him out.
“Nice try. Few things can keep me from a place I want to be,” he said.
Finn possessed a devastating beauty, one that had gotten me into my current predicament. Night dark hair, wicked blue eyes, and lips made for sin, the man was beautiful, and he knew it. I’d met him on a trip after my divorce from the man I refused to think about, danced the night away, and met him in a field of thistle on a cold Scottish night.
I thought I might have been falling in love, but as soon as Finn and I were alone and he’d scented me, my life was over. He’d left me for dead in that field, broken and violated, and the only reason I was alive now was due to the kindness of a witch who’d taken me to her home and showed me my life still had worth.
“Stay back,” I warned.
“Or what?” he asked as he drew ever closer. “Why do you push me away when I’m the only one who can help you become what you’re meant to be? We are the last Chimeras alive, Evie. Together we can repopulate the world.”
“Um.” I stared at him in horror. “That’s going to be a hard pass. Children are not in my future.” Especially not with him.
“The Chimera gift is difficult to survive, it’s true. You are not the first I’ve marked, but you’re the only one who’s survived.” He stood about a foot away, his hands loose at his side, but I didn’t trust his casual posture. I knew how fast the man could move.
Finn tilted his head and studied me. “I didn’t mean to mark you.” He closed his eyes and inhaled. “But your scent.”
I took a step backward.
“What can I say? It drove me wild and kicked old instincts I thought I no longer possessed into overdrive.”
The old fear and despair and disgust I felt when I thought about what happened to me on that field rose like a wave. My throat tightened and hot tears pricked the backs of my eyes. “Leave, Finn,” I said hoarsely.
He ignored my command. Magic welled inside me, the property alert and waiting for my command.
Finn put his hands in his pockets, affecting a casual air, but I knew he was the most dangerous thing on my property tonight. “Acting as a florist for a Lord is beneath you. Why do you insist on menial jobs when you can be a queen?”
“Your queen.”
“Who else’s?” He clicked his tongue. “I’ve already touched the Lord’s wedding in ways not even he will expect. Continue with your work. It won’t matter soon, anyway. Those flowers you plot so meticulously won’t be for a wedding when I’m finished.” His smile hinted of madness.
I took another step backward and turned to run, aching for the safety of my house, but Finn darted out, his hand wrapping around my arm like a vise.
I lashed out with my magic, and the property rose to defend me. The earth rumbled beneath our feet, bucking us both off balance. A sharp pain ripped down my arm, and I tore away from his grip, throwing out a palm crackling with magic.
