Page 30 of Power Shift
Moira lay her hand over her heart and pretended to swoon.
Simone gagged behind Caelan’s back. “Can we get back to the scheduling? You have a busy schedule today, and I’m sure Evie has things she needs to get back to.”
Caelan’s thinly veiled look of annoyance made me wince, but he pulled a small piece of paper from his shirt pocket. “We have a small working dinner planned. Two seasonal centerpieces, but we’d like them similar to the first ones you created.”
“Automatons?” I asked, intrigued despite my desire to be left alone.
Caelan nodded. “Something historical and seasonally appropriate. We’ll leave it up to you.”
Simone’s pen stalled. “Are you sure? Have you forgotten about last time?” Her eyes flicked to me.
Caelan grinned. “How could I forget that glorious display of power?”
“I need a vacation,” Simone muttered to herself, but loud enough for everyone to hear. “Can you please keep it less offensive to the shifters this time?”
“I make no promises,” I said solemnly.
The Omega grumbled something and turned to leave. “Let me grab my notes. There are a couple of things I’m forgetting. We need to get on your schedule for next summer and next Christmas.”
“And one more event this year,” Caelan interjected, one dark eyebrow rising as if daring me to argue.
Contracts. He would use them against me, wouldn’t he?
Simone left her purse and clipboard on the desk and hurried outside.
Tess had disappeared when Caelan walked in as she normally did. She did the same thing when my mother came around, andI thought it was because my mother was technically her queen, but I wondered if her disappearances had anything to do with her powers and how much violence swirled around Caelan and my mother.
Something to ask her later if I remembered.
“We’re booked for several events during December. If you need us, it’s going to depend on the size and what exactly you need as to whether we can accommodate you.”
Caelan stepped closer, heat pouring off his body like a furnace.
Moira cleared her throat. “I’m going to the back to get…something.”
“I’ll help!” Ash hurried after Moira, leaving me alone with the Lord.
Caelan shifted to lean against the desk. “You promised two events per year.”
“I did. If you’ll notice the wording of the contract, it does depend on my availability. Since we only came to an agreement a day ago and my calendar has been booked for months…”
“I see,” Caelan murmured. “How about you open your calendar and let me see your availability?”
My heart thudded against my ribs at his proximity. “Sorry,” I breathed. “Our calendar is internal and used for other things other than shop business.”
A ripple of stunning magic flooded the street, trickling in through the shop wards. I sucked in a breath and stilled as power bloomed in the sky, culminating in the form of a tall, leanly built figure. Tall, powerful, dark-haired and dark-eyed, the male stood on the other side of the road, the same way he had when he first appeared to me several months ago.
He wore brown armor this time instead of black, but the same crimson runes glowed on the leather and his skins. His eyes, threaded with violet power simmering in their depths.
Caelan sensed the threat in the air and spun, shifting in a heartbeat. He landed on the ground in front of me in wolf form, a snarl already forming in his throat.
One of Neit’s dark eyebrows rose as his gaze found the wolf before me.
Caelan lowered his head, his magic cracking through the air. I tried to step around him, but the Lord wouldn’t allow it.
“I know him,” I said softly, though being acquaintances with a god didn’t matter if they really wanted to kill you.
Caelan’s soft snarl made me freeze.
