Page 22 of Alice and Her Shifters (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 2)

He hopped from the bed with a smile and chuckled as he pulled his clothes on.

I shook my head. Understanding a thing about what was happening with him was no closer to finding me than I was to finding it. Regardless, the second he was dressed, he headed out the door of his room. I followed him, stepping closely behind him, and rushed through the devastating state of the cottage. Everything was covered with blood and a couple of men lay dead, scattered along the front room.

“What the hell?” I asked.

“We redecorated,” he said as he slipped out the front door.

I ignored the sight for the sake of making sure two of the three men made it out of whatever battle raged outside the cottage. They were my only ticket to getting home, and I wasn’t about to lose any of them. Never mind I hated the thought of someone dying because of me… or even for me.

I still blamed myself for the death of my parents, even though Cassie never had. That was a story for another time, though.

I wasn’t prepared for what I saw as I stepped outside. A small army of men and women dressed in all black fought off a wolf and a strange creature that reminded me of a cat. He was electric and smoke and his eyes glowed in the hazel color that reminded me of Milo.

But that was impossible. Right?

Just to be sure, I searched the chaos for any hint of Milo and Calvin. I couldn’t find any.

Then I caught sight of the wolf’s eyes and they were a glowing, bright blue. The same color as Calvin’s. His fur was ghostly white and almost glowed.

It couldn’t be. My eyes were playing tricks on me. There was no way in the world Milo and Calvin were the creatures defending the cottage. Despite everything that stared me in the face, I couldn’t come up with a different explanation.

A massive bear rushed past me with a rusty coat and bright green eyes. I spun in circles, searching for Aidan, but I couldn’t find a sign of him. I returned my attention to the fight and was overcome with a burning need to join in. Not that I could do much. I didn’t know how to fight much less use the power my amulet somehow gave to me. I was completely out of my element and forced to stand back and watch in horror as the battle became slathered in red.

The animals ripped into a few of the people wearing black. A whimper and yelp came from Calvin. At least, the wolf who I assumed was Calvin. A strong urge to murder came over me. Calvin limped a few steps back. He licked the wound on his leg before jumping back into the fray.

A fiery rage ignited within me as I stepped forward. Warmth, just like from earlier, bled into my hands, pooling in the center of my palms. I held them up, aimed for the people in the black. I sucked in a breath and hoped that what I was about to do would work just like before. Magic was new to me, and I had no idea what I was doing. But I had to do something.

I released my power, hoping I didn’t hit any of the men responsible for getting me home in the process.

The blast landed, taking out five of the attackers. It wasn’t enough to kill them, thankfully, but it was enough to change the direction of the fight. At least the focus anyhow. I had gained the attention of the attackers. The bear, wolf, and cat creature all turned their heads in my direction as well.

I gulped as I realized I probably shouldn’t have done that. Not that I could change it now. As all the eyes settled on me, I glared back. “Want some more of this?”

Aidan, the bear, and Calvin, the wolf, joined my side. Milo took a stand in front of me. The three men formed a protective barrier.

I smirked, feeling empowered by the strange creatures and their protective stances next to me. Emboldened, I said, “Come and get it.”

The group charged. Rage burned through me, settling in my hands. I let loose my fire. But the enemy somehow managed to stay just out of reach of the flames that snapped and licked at the air. Frustrated, I stepped forward, continuing to blast magical flames in the direction of the enemy.

Milo tried to stand in my way, but I pushed past him. I couldn’t see through my fury. He used his snout to gently tug on my shirt. He whined a little to try and stop me. But I ignored him as I continued to use my magic.

Burning flesh filled the air and I smirked to myself. I was finally able to catch a few of them. Good. Though none of them were going to die from their injuries, because they were far too quick and got out of the way before my magic could consume them, they were serious enough to make them keep their distance.

I continued to move forward, pushing the attackers back with my fire until they all tucked their proverbial tails between their legs and ran back to wherever they came from. Once the last of them was gone, I released my magic and then sucked in a breath.

Exhaustion took over me. I felt weak, and my energy had been used up. My legs were wobbly. I took a seat on the ground before they gave out on me completely.

Milo spoke from behind me. “We were better off fighting the goons on our own. At the very least, you could have killed them. That would have been ideal. Now Camelia knows who you are, where you are, and she won’t rest until you are a part of her collection.”

I twisted around to face him. He had a serious expression as his raging eyes coldly stared at me. Behind him, Aidan and Calvin stood on either side of him watching with a mix of horror and confusion contorting their faces. All of them were back in their human forms. A pinch entered my forehead as I stared at them speechless.

“What?” I finally said after several long moments of silence that settled between us and the tension surrounding us had thickened the air.

Milo pointed at me. “Thanks to your lovely demonstration, Camelia will know who to look for. So, when she sends another round of goons after us, it won’t be to bring the three of us in… it will be to capture you.”

“You just put a mark on your head,” Calvin said, sounding reserved.

“Rose with thorns,” Aidan said. “Makes skin bleed.”

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