A Shifter's Curse, Raven Steele [the top 100 crime novels of all time .TXT] 📗
- Author: Raven Steele
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This thought made me hurry, but I had to be careful I wasn’t caught by any of the neighbors either. I dragged the bag away from the nosey neighbor who lived two doors down from me, and walked several houses down until I found one that looked promising. I should probably do this under the cover of darkness and not a setting sun, but I couldn’t be certain Lynx wouldn’t return for her car.
Checking to make sure no one was looking, I lifted the lid. It was only halfway full. Perfect. I would dump them inside, then grab some leaves and cover it. I lifted the lid and hefted the bag over the plastic lip.
The sound of a motorcycle coming toward me startled me, and I jumped, afraid it was Luke. There’s no way I could explain away a bag of severed body parts. I turned abruptly, smashing into a brick mailbox.
The bag fell from my hands, and I heard a smashing sound. The smell was worse than I could imagine. Formaldehyde mixed with the smell of decomposing body parts. I gasped for air, realizing I’d gotten it on my shoes and jeans. One of the jars rolled out and continued down the hill. Had I not zipped the bag?
Shit!
I chased after it, looking like an idiot. Holy hell, I hoped no one was watching me. The jar picked up momentum and, just as I reached down to grab it, it slammed into the curb, splashing liquid on my hand. A swollen and gray tongue brushed across my skin before it landed on my shoe.
Yelping, I instinctively kicked it away and it flopped along the pavement. I lurched, nearly spewing the liquid in my stomach. Gritting my teeth, I pushed the bile down and stared at the tongue in horror, as if it might come alive and yell at me to quit being a jackass and to hurry up. Reacting quickly, I kicked it again, aiming for the storm drain. It skidded across the ground then rolled over a couple of times, stopping just shy of the sewer.
“Son of a bitch! You dirty whore!” I hissed.
I glanced around to make sure no one was watching me play soccer with the appendage, then shoved it down the drain, hoping I wouldn’t see a cat making off with it later. I ran back to the bag, dumped it in the trash, then piled leaves on top of it.
I slammed the lid, completely grossed out and smelling like I worked in a body parts lab.
The alarm on my phone buzzed. Time for work. Back in my room, I peeled the nasty clothes off my skin, dumped them at the foot of my bed, and showered quickly. Twenty minutes later I arrived at the club, courtesy of my favorite Uber driver.
By the time I got there, it was packed, more so than usual. Eddie spotted me from across the room, his thick brows pinched together, and his face red. I was late, and he was pissed. I disappeared into a crowd and headed straight for the bar while unbuttoning my shirt. I was going to have to put on one hell of a show to make things right with Eddie.
My shirt fell from my shoulders, leaving just my black sports bra. I grabbed two bottles of alcohol and jumped onto the bar, shouting, “Who wants a drink!”
Customers pressed to the bar cheering and whistling while I did my thing. I had to force the performance. This was the first time I’d done this since that terrible night with Silas. The only way I got through it was by not looking anyone in the eyes.
When I returned home, I was exhausted. Both mentally and physically. Silas, Jackson, Luke… the revelation about the blood. It was all too much.
I stripped my clothes in the bathroom and fell into bed, praying the sea of the dead would not return.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
"Briar! Wake up!"
My eyelids fluttered open. Sunlight filtered in through my window and a cold wind made me shiver. I settled deeper under my blanket.
Bam! Bam! More pounding on the door.
"Briar," Lynx’s voice called from behind my closed door. "There are some scary men downstairs. They are insisting they talk to you."
I groaned and slid out of bed. Barely opening my eyes, I found a tank top and a pair of jeans on the floor to throw on.
“They’re about to come up, Briar.”
"I'm coming." I flung open my door. Lynx wore a bright green, short dress, contrasting with her red hair, which had been pulled up into a loose bun. "What time is it? And why are you all fancy?"
"Four. I have a dinner party with my mother.” She grimaced just saying the words.
“In the afternoon? I slept twelve hours?”
“That doesn’t surprise me with how little you’ve slept lately. I wouldn’t have woken you, but these two assholes just showed up."
I walked down the stairs, meeting Gerald and Jerry on their way up. Gerald’s brows were drawn together with his jaw locked tight, and Jerry’s usual smile was gone. I stopped them from coming any further by holding my hands on the banister. "What's going on?"
Gerald looked behind me, clearing his throat. I turned to find Lynx peering around the corner.
She rolled her eyes, then stomped down the stairs, passing us. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me, Briar.”
As soon as she disappeared into the kitchen, Gerald said, "Dominic has ordered everyone back to Fire Ridge. I tried calling, but you didn't answer. I thought something might've happened to you.”
I inhaled, ready to explain my strong need for sleep, but I coughed instead. What was that smell? I froze, suddenly realizing I was wearing my formaldehyde jeans. I rubbed my hand through my hair, trying to stall them. “Sorry. Long shift at work, plus searching for Greybacks. I guess I was more tired than I thought.”
“You’re tired?” Jerry snapped. “I haven’t slept in two days.”
“And that’s my problem how?”
"Shut up, both of you," Gerald said. "Let's just get back. We’re already late as it is."
I glanced down at my clothes. "Can I change first? You guys woke me.”
Gerald motioned to the open door. "No time, sweetheart. Dominic is waiting. Besides, you look great."
"Shit," I muttered. I followed them down the stairs, glancing into the living room and looking for anything I could use to try and cover the smell on my pants. “At least let me pee.”
“Thirty seconds.”
I darted toward the guest bathroom, slammed the door behind me, and turned on the water. I really did need to pee. While using the toilet, I scrubbed at my jeans with a damp towel. When I finished, I searched the cupboard beneath the sink until I found a can of furniture polish. Lemon scent. I sprayed it on my jeans, hoping that would be good enough.
Gerald called my name from the living room.
“Hell balls, Gerald! I’m hurrying!” I quickly tied my hair back with one of Lynx’s pink scrunchies and inhaled. I smelled like my grandmother’s furniture with only a hint of something fouler. It would have to do. I flushed the toilet and opened the door.
“About time,” Jerry said. “Dominic’s going to have our ass hide if we don’t hurry up.”
I jogged after them and jumped into the back seat of an SUV directly behind Gerald.
Jerry grimaced, starting up the car. "What's that smell?"
"I told you I should have changed,” I said. “These are my cleaning clothes.”
Gerald swiveled around to face me. “I would've let you, but Dominic is on one. He’s pissed as all shit that we can't find a single Greyback. He thinks someone in our pack knows something."
"Well, it sure as hell isn't me. If one of them saw me, they’d probably kill me for taking Ryder back."
Jerry glanced at me over his right shoulder. "I heard about what you did. That took some balls."
"Ovaries,” I corrected. “Not like it matters, though. I still got punished." I mumbled the words as if I hadn't meant to say them.
"What do you mean?" Jerry asked.
"Nothing. Forget I said anything."
Gerald stared at me, his jaw set. “Jerry should know. The whole pack should.”
“Know what?” Jerry asked, exasperated.
When I didn’t stop Gerald from talking, he said, “Dominic told Briar not to save Ryder. When she did it anyway, he had Silas punish her.”
“A punishment? I don’t remember that.”
“That’s because the pack wasn’t invited.” Gerald let the words sink in before he added, “Silas had her get naked and then whipped her. Alone.”
Deep, angry shadows marred his face, much like Gerald’s had when he first found out too. He faced forward, anger compressing the air around him. I’d never seen him without a smile.
“Whatever,” I said, trying to defuse the situation. "What's done is done. Maybe I should've obeyed."
Jerry slammed his fist into the dashboard several times making me jump. Gerald reached out, trying
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