A Shifter's Curse, Raven Steele [the top 100 crime novels of all time .TXT] 📗

I walked into the house and dropped onto the sofa, my chest feeling lighter even though I’d been way too emotional lately. For the first time, I could actually taste victory on my tongue. And it tasted hella good.

"Doesn't anyone sleep around here?"

I turned around. Lynx stood in the doorway, wearing a short, green, cotton robe and holding a steaming mug in her hands.

"I'm part nocturnal. What's your excuse?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"Cop a squat." I patted the couch next to me. She smiled for a moment as she sat down. Silence settled between us. Her eyes were serious, and she focused on the dark liquid in her cup. Not at all like her normal happy self.

"What's on your mind?"

"It's nothing." Frowning, she sipped at her cup.

"I saw you with your mother at the club. Looked like a heated exchange."

Her shoulders dropped, and her expression fell further. "It always is with her."

"What's her deal?"

The liquid in her cup began to swirl on its own. Lynx didn’t even realize she was mixing the drink with her magic. I was oddly impressed.

"My mother comes from a long line of witches. And they all have high expectations.” She looked up at me. “Our family didn’t always hold power in this city. In fact, a generation ago my family was in servitude.”

"In servitude? What does that even mean? It sounds primeval."

She chuckled, but the sound was muffled in sadness. "In the magical community, there are hierarchies. Just like a shifter pack, except witches are ruled by family blood. My mom’s maiden name is Trite, and long ago her family was weak and poor. That’s a label they can’t shed no matter how powerful they are. It was only through my mother's marriage to the Morgans that she was able to break those chains. She reminds me of it daily. Especially since my father passed away a few years ago. One wrong move, and the Ministry could strip her of her title. And she’s determined that if she’s stripped of her title, she’ll drag me down with her. We’d be shunned by every witch around.”

I shook my head and stretched out on the sofa, throwing my leg over hers. "Sounds like a lot of pressure. So, based on your mother's reaction toward me yesterday, I take it hanging out with shifters is a no-no, right?"

She cracked a smile. “Only mouthy ones.”

I laughed. "I guess that leaves me out." I grabbed her drink and took a sip, grinning mischievously, then gave it back to her. “This could be fun.”

Her drink burned my throat. Tea with a dab of whiskey. Nice.

The front door opened and Samira strode through it, glaring at me with that dead face of hers.

“What’s got you all hot and bothered?”

She narrowed her eyes to thin slits. "You could have ruined everything tonight."

“Ruined what, Sammie?”

She seethed. “Don’t call me Sammie.”

“Oh, I kinda like it.” Holding my legs in place, Lynx curled her legs up under her on the couch and smiled as if getting ready to hear a good story. The liquid in her cup had stopped swirling.

Samira's eyes flashed to Lynx, and her mouth pinched into a tight line. There was something about Lynx that bothered her. Whatever Samira was going to say, she swallowed the words, then spat newer, colder ones directed at me. "I know what Luke does when he goes to collect money. Why would you want any part of that?”

Lynx turned to me, her eyes wide. “Are you going to join the Silver Claws?"

I willed my face not to turn red. I didn’t care if Samira knew, but for some reason I didn’t want Lynx to know. I had begun to think of her as a friend. And that was something I hadn't had in a long time. I didn’t want to let her down.

But I couldn’t reveal my true reasons for wanting to join the pack.

So I shrugged, masking the guilt I felt. "Maybe I don't have a problem with it. Maybe I’m just tired of being a lone wolf.”

An awkward silence shrouded the small space in the room. Feeling uncomfortable, I shifted my weight, and Lynx lowered her gaze to the mug in her hands. Her pursed lips and wrinkled brow made me feel even worse.

I held back a swallow, knowing Samira would hear it. If they could see through my lie, their reactions didn't show it. Whatever friendships I might’ve started had ended.

"I'm going to bed,” I said, standing. “It's getting cramped in here."

As I walked away, I was reminded of why I didn't get close to people. My secrets were too big for friendship.

For the next couple of weeks, I kept to myself as I settled into a routine. Go to work, sleep, work with Luke, and hang out at Fire Ridge with the rest of the Silver Claws. They had several side businesses going on, including taking bets for any kind of gambling and a few of the girls ran webcam businesses. They also had a chop shop that I’d heard made them a lot of money. I’d never met a pack who ran as much illegal shit as the Silver Claws.

Some of their activities happened in the guest house, behind the main one. It also had a sweet theater and gaming system set up, so there were plenty of shifters around at all times of the day and night. I hung around the pack, getting to know them. Learning their weaknesses and how I could exploit them for my plans. My smart mouth and willingness to fight made me blend in easily, exactly what I wanted.

My life at home was a different matter.

I could sense the hurt in Lynx every time we were around each other as her moods were easy to read. It wasn’t just that I was joining the Silver Claws. It was the fact that I had pulled away. I barely spoke to her unless I had to. It would be easier in the end for the both of us.

Samira, however, seemed indifferent to me much the way a stone wall reacts to vines growing on its surface. And yet, I watched as she purposely drew closer to Lynx, but the action looked forced. She was like a panther trying to make friends with a bunny. It made me wonder what she was up to.

For now, I pushed whatever motives she had to the side, deciding I would address it only if it got in my way.

Just like my uncle said he would, he returned to the Silver Claws, begging for forgiveness. They kept him in containment for a week where they questioned him mercilessly. But by the end, he was finally released and put on probation. For one month, he was the pack’s servant. Whatever the members asked of him, he had to do it.

He suffered it all because he knew at the end of the day, it would be worth it. We both did.

In a way, we were in our own little pack, aligned by the same cause. For the first time since my family died, I could see the benefit of having allies.

As for me, I continued to impress Silas and Dominic by bloodying my fists several times against business owners who refused to pay their dues to the pack. For the most part, I didn't feel bad about doing it because many of them were also running illegal shit behind the scenes. It was an elaborate system, protected by secret knocks, passwords, and handshakes.