Page 27 of Alice and Her Shifters (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 2)

“No. I’m not playing your games,” I snapped. “I want to go home. Not learn how to control my powers from someone like you!”

Milo huffed. “You know what? Fine! If you want to die so damn bad, then be my guest.”

He rotated on his heels and stormed a little farther down the road.

“Rose needs rest,” Aidan said from his spot.

I smiled at him gently. The poor guy had been through enough in his life. Plus, I sort of understood him in his moment of clarity. “He’s right, you know.”

“Maybe,” Calvin said to Aidan before turning toward me. “But Milo was right, despite his delivery. You need to train. That is going to be the only way you have a hope of making it through this alive. And seeing as how we don’t have much time, you have to use every minute we have.”

“Milo’s delivery sucked,” I said. “And I agree I need to learn how to use my magic. But not by force, and certainly not by him.”

“Of the three of us,” Calvin said, “he’s your best shot. I can’t do magic, and Aidan… well, you already understand the impossibility of him teaching you a single useful thing.”

I nodded. “Maybe. Maybe not. My position doesn’t change.”

Aidan and I exchanged a knowing glance. The other two must not have caught on that he somehow had enormous clarity when he was with me.

Calvin huffed and took a step closer, standing between me and Aidan. “Look, if I could, I would. But I can’t.”

“Rose rests, then grows stronger,” Aidan said.

Calvin set his face into a stony mask of annoyance. I tried to peek around him to see what Aidan was doing, but Calvin shifted his weight, blocking my view. I glared at him. Aidan tried to approach, but Calvin held out a hand to stop him.

I scoffed. “What do you think you are doing?”

“Trying to get you to see reason,” he said. “Milo is an asshole at the best of times. He’s worse at others. But he knows what he’s doing better than the rest of us. Let him teach you.”

“What does that have to do with Aidan? Why aren’t you letting him get closer too?” I asked.

He huffed and looked at the ground. If I didn’t know any better, I would say that he was ashamed of something. Something that Aidan did. And there was only one something that happened between me and Aidan that I could think of. It was the very thing Milo had thrown in my face.

I stared coldly at the man before me. “I don’t believe it. Not you too!”

He stood taken aback. “What?”

“Oh, this is just great,” I said as the pieces continued to piece together. “You’re jealous!”

“What did you say?” Calvin said with an edge to his voice.

“Admit it, you and Milo both can’t stand the thought that the insane member of your party had sex with me instead of either of you!”

“I have no idea—” Calvin started.

“Don’t you dare deny it!” I shouted. “You both could go to hell for all I care. No one is going to tell me what to do, who to sleep with, or who to kill.”

“Alice,” Milo said as I started to walk away.

I turned instantly and snapped, “My name is Allison! And if anything happens involving me from here on, it is on my terms. And right now, I need sleep. Not more of your idiotic arguments. Goodnight.”

I stormed back toward the cottage, fuming. I almost wanted Milo or Calvin to lay a finger on me and justify my burning need to blast them with my fire magic. But I wasn’t fooling anyone. Regardless of how angry these men made me, they were right. I knew this. I had to train, even if it was just the basics. Even if the magic was only temporary. Even if I really was in a coma, in some hospital, and this was all just in my head.

I hated that. I was starting to hate them. Maybe even myself a little.

Instead of going to bed, as I had intended, I took one look at Milo when I stepped through the rickety door and sighed. All three of them stood in the same spot I left them in. None of them made a move toward me.

I especially hated what I was about to do. I was exhausted and needed sleep, but if what they said was true, and part of me believed them, I needed to train. Even still, training wouldn’t hurt if things turned out that what they said wasn’t true. I still needed to learn how to use this new power of mine. Never mind however temporary it may or may not be.

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