Page 79 of Shift of Morals
Not great, but even the most intelligent people screwed up. I’d still find him.
If he got away from me.
“Does Evie know you’re here to claim her?”
Another manic grin, Finn’s gaze moving to the back of Evie’s house. “She’s known for a while I’m here for her.”
I chuckled. “And she’s proven resistant to your charms?”
Finn’s attention snapped back to me. “You fancy yourself her protector, Lord. I can smell it in the air.” He shook his head. “I’ll allow you a temporary dalliance before claiming her for good.”
“I am a Lord. You allow me nothing.” Power punched through the air, proof of my claim. Claws unsheathed and my fangs elongated.
Finn rolled his eyes. “Do we have to do this tonight?” He laid his hand on his chest. “I just bought this shirt.”
I’d go for the jugular first, make it quick and easy. No need to stress Evie out too much if she walked out here. I removed the pack from my neck and laid it against a tree. Seymour lay still and silent.
If things went awry, maybe Seymour could bite him a few times.
“Evie is not yours to claim. Leave now, and I’ll allow you free passage.”
Another flash of crimson. “Don’t you know what I am?” he asked.
“I don’t give a shit what you are,” I said mildly. “I care about the woman inside that house.”
“You should care,” Finn said quietly. “I am the thing that prowls the night, the creature your mother warned you about.” Crimson magic pooled from his hand and spread over Evie’s ward. A silencing spell.
Oh goodie.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m sure you’re very dangerous.”
Finn moved.
Pain flared in my left shoulder and collarbone. Stunned but not stupid, I hit the ground and rolled, barely avoiding decapitation. Memories slammed into me like a truck.
“You,” I growled.
“Took you long enough. I almost had you that night. But our little Evie has such a soft heart, doesn’t she? Poor timing on her part, but I’ve already forgiven her for healing you. How could she have known it was me after all her years of safety?”
“You like stalking women who don’t want you, Finn?”
“Evie wants me. She just hasn’t realized it yet.”
“That’s what all stalkers say.”
When he lunged at me this time, I was ready.
Claws and teeth and magic and fire, Finn’s power was crushing. I dodged and ducked and got several good licks in, but I was bleeding from a dozen places, and there was something in his claws preventing me from healing. I stumbled backward from an almost certain death blow, landing hard against a tree. The pack lay by my feet, and I watched as Seymour’s pot rolled out.
Finn spotted it and snorted. “A gift from Evie? How very sentimental. She won’t need her plant magic once I finish molding her into her destiny.”
“You sound unhinged,” I wheezed, the poison seeping into my veins.
His eyes went full crimson this time, a bark of laughter escaping me. “You don’t like being called crazy.” I clicked my tongue. “If the shoe fits.”
Finn leapt, but Seymour was ready. The flytrap lunged for him, growing four times his regular size, and snapped down on Finn’s thigh.
Finn let out a high-pitched squeal and went down, Seymour’s special flavor of paralytic already working. I stumbled forward and snatched the flytrap up, tucking him against my chest.
