Page 9 of Alice and Her Shifters (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 2)

Because it did, for all I knew.

As I dashed between the trees, branches whipped my face and tugged at my hair and clothes. I bit against the burning sting of the forest’s assault and forced myself to keep going. The more distance I was able to put between me and those men, the better.

I didn’t even have a clue as to how they had found me. Traversing the woods seemed like a near-impossible feat. I suppose they had followed me through whatever it was I had run through. A portal? Magic was new to me… if that was what I was experiencing. I had no idea of the correct terms to use, much less what the hell I was doing when I used it. That didn’t matter so much, though. Not when I was trying to get away from them.

My plan was simple. Lose the creeps. Get home.

A branch scratched my face. I could have sworn another tried to grab my arm and my ankle. I wiggled free of the grasps and tried to move faster. I had to be careful though. If the trees were reaching for me with their branches, they probably could trip me with their roots as well. That would be the worst thing to happen. Well, close to it anyway.

Another branch reached for me. Then another. And another.

I managed to continue to evade their grasps, but only for a short time. Minutes into running, I lost the battle. A branch wrapped around my waist and pulled me into its trunk. My head hit the solid, unforgiving wood and I winced in pain. My head throbbed and swelled, accompanied by a wet sensation, like it was bleeding. Warmth radiated through my head and down my neck.

My amulet buzzed and that same strange energy coursed through my veins, but there was no way I would be able to free myself without injury. That would set me back. I had to be smart about this.

Right when my eyes started to focus on the softly illuminated world around me, the man with the hazel eyes stepped into view. “There you are!”

I stared in awe. Back in Seattle, his eyes were normal. But here… wherever we were… his pupils were formed into slits. Just like a cat. There were other differences, but it was hard to focus. My head throbbed and I desperately needed sleep.

Also, I figured I was losing my mind and unconscious somewhere on the floor in the coffee shop, so I might as well go with the flow.

“I’ll be taking this now,” he said and reached for the amulet.

“I already told you over my dead body,” I spat. “It’s mine. Go find your own.”

My amulet lashed out with a jolt of purple static. He hissed and pulled his hand away. He smiled as though he was proud of what happened. I gaped at him.

The cat eyes twinkled in the light of my amulet. “I’m Milo, by the way.”

“I wish I could say it was nice to meet you,” I said, “but I’m not taking too kindly to your persistence in taking something that belongs to me.”

He smiled wider and continued as though I hadn’t tried to insult him. “I could make arrangements on your dead body offer, but it would be such a waste. You’re awfully pretty. Too pretty to be torn apart by the forest.”

“Such a charmer,” I said, sarcasm thickly coating my words.

“I do try,” he said. “How about this… help me and I might be able to help you.”

I chuckled. “What in the world do you think you can possibly help me with?”

“Whatever you desire,” he said, and the way he purred the last word sent delightful chills through my body that centered in between my legs. I clenched them together and tried to fight off the strange and unwanted sensation.

“You would essentially owe me a favor?” I gritted out. My head started to throb like something fierce and I realized I was about to make a very horrible mistake.

“Exactly,” he said. “What do you say?”

I stared at him trying to figure out any other way out of the predicament I had found myself in. My head wouldn’t focus. The branch wound around me tighter, squeezing out more of my precious air. My head started to become lighter. Consciousness was starting to slip away…

“Are you normally prone to writing blank checks?” I asked.

“Tick-tock, Alice,” Milo said.

Whispers swirled around me. The grip around me increased painfully. I groaned.

What choice did I have? I really didn’t want to die. Not tonight, and especially not in a place unfamiliar to me, surrounded by strangers, being crushed by a magical tree.

“Fine,” I breathed out.

Milo leaned in closer, angling his ear toward my mouth. “Say that again.”

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