Page 92 of Shift of Morals
Rowan exhaled. “We can fix this. Somewhat.”
“We can’t. Not if I wed Gianna. She might be good politically, but she is a nightmare.”
“I can marry Evie.”
The words dropped like bombs, but Rowan continued navigating the minefield. “I like Evie. She likes me. You knowshe’s safest with me, Caelan. We don’t have to have a traditional marriage. Evie would be free to be herself.”
Magic rose in the air, my power rising to the surface.
Rowan snorted. “Don’t let your emotions override your good sense. Would you rather see that poor woman with Donovan? Fuck’s sake, man. She’d eat him alive, and we’d have even more of a nightmare on our hands.”
A surprised laugh escaped me. “She would, wouldn’t she?”
“Absolutely. Maybe she’d just feed him to one of her man-eating plants.”
We both laughed, the tension broken.
Bringing us back to the here and now. Rowan’s good cheer had faded when Gianna interrupted the meeting a few hours earlier demanding to be included in the security plans. Donovan had relented, but none of us wanted her in here and we had denied her request.
Gianna was not popular around the Keep, a precursor of things to come.
My cell beeped. A quick glance down revealed a message from Evie.
Finn broke into the shop.
My heart became encased in ice.
I managed to get a few good licks in. Poison first.
A smile tugged at my mouth.Good girl,I thought.
Destroying that bouquet damaged him. He won’t be up and about for a while.
Do you need me?
No. Only keeping you informed.
I’ll send scouts out to see if we can find him.
Be careful.
“Everything alright?” Ethan asked.
“Fine. Security update from Simone.” I put my cell face down. “Where were we?”
The doors slammed open. Every Lord shot up from their seat.
Three shifters stumbled into the room, the first being Lucas Velt.
“Lord.” Lucas went to his knees, the other two right behind him. “We are…awake.”
I wasn’t sure what I was seeing. “Lucas? What happened?”
The shifters were all filthy and bruised, but none of them looked feral. Lucas’ eyes were confused but clear.
Lucas bowed his head, his fists clenched atop his thighs. “We’ve been in a fog for months, Lord. I—I can’t explain it. But tonight, something freed us. I don’t know what or how, but I woke up. Normal.” A soft, broken sob. His shoulders shook with shock and relief. “I don’t know what happened, but something freed us.”
“And the other two?” They were lower-level shifters, too young to have any real power, but dangerous, nonetheless. Feral wolves were deadly, mindless with hunger and rage.
