Changing Beauty (The Deadly Beauties Live On 2)

“We’ll come back to the life-or-death sentence,” Kane says, avoiding Alyssa’s not-so-scary silent threat. Well, it’s not scary in her human form. “So we have a rogue, out-of-control werewolf/witch that is possibly in town and shredding through immortals like she’s invincible enough to take on anything. And we have an ancient bloodline of anointed hunters that has been restored. Until we get them both… situated… everyone stays in pairs.”

Looks like I’m getting a damn roommate after all.

“You can move in with us,” Gage tells me.

“Nah. I want eyes on Roslyn. If this thing could do that to an immortal, imagine what it could do to her. Zee can come stay with me, and someone else can keep eyes on her when I’m taking my shift to scout.”

Gage’s lips twitch, and I roll my eyes. I don’t give a damn if they make fun of me. I’m not about to let her get close to something this vicious.

“Hashtag—Thad has finally gotten a leash.”

Damn incubus.

Several of them laugh, but I merely roll my eyes. She’s not a leash, but she’s becoming quite the little obsession. I wonder how she is with animals.

“Whoa,” Gage says, looking down at his phone. “Did you read this about Roslyn’s foster dad?”

Turning a quizzical look at him, I ask, “Now you’re cyber stalking my girl?”

He looks up from his phone. “I thought it’d be wise to check up on her and her roommate, considering all the crazy going on around here. So did you see the thing about the mauling? The few photos that leaked online are pretty damn vivid and gruesome. They called it a bear attack, but it looks more like a werewolf attack.”

Rolling my eyes, I shake my head. “Checked into it. It does look like a werewolf at first glance, but that territory is off-limits to all were. It’s marked by dark users, and they would have raised hell if a werewolf had been there.”

He studies it harder. “These marks are brutal and deep, much deeper than a grizzly could go. You sure?”

“I called Simon, the head of that dark user coven that has the territory marked. He said the only were of any kind that was hanging around at that time was Reese. And he was only there briefly to sort out some details about a shared interest of theirs. They vouched that he couldn’t have done it.”

“You really are thorough,” Gage says, eyeing me curiously.

“You girls done talking?” Kane asks us, not looking at all pleased.

We both nod toward him, but Gage returns his attention to his phone. “I’ll have Karma check her out just to be safe,” he says quietly.

“She’s human, but have her check her out just to clear your mind. Even if she wasn’t human—even if the sweet, docile, perfectly gentle girl was somehow a temperamental werewolf, she would have been too young to do this. She was twelve. Any child infected by bitten fey dies—if they lived, they’d be frozen in that age. They sure as hell don’t leave behind adult mauling marks.”

He tilts his head, studying the files closer. Apparently he didn’t read the date.

“Ah,” he says more to himself than me.

Kane clears his throat, glaring at us, and we both lean back, letting him continue his speech. But my mind is solely on the girl I can’t seem to stop thinking about.

Chapter 6

ROSLYN

My eyes float up to the sky as I walk outside, leaving the school behind. College is a lot more boring than I expected. I thought I’d be riveted by all the intellect spewing out of the wise professors’ mouths. Instead, I’m pinching myself in class to stay awake.

As my eyes squint against the glare of the sun, I see something I saw earlier. The white hawk is still there. It’s fascinating. I’ve never seen anything like it, and for some reason, it seems like it’s been following me all day.

And I’ve officially started to become paranoid. Years of running away have always had me looking over my shoulder. I don’t have to do that anymore. I’m free. I’m no longer a child stuck inside a broken system.

The bird continues soaring over me, and another bird tackles it in the air, squawking almost playfully. The two have an aerial spar, and I watch, riveted, as they continue to go back and forth at each other, both of them staying high above me as I walk home.

I grin when they start flying in circles, seeming to be having fun with each other. Even as I near my house, they’re still high above me. It’s not until I reach my block that they suddenly speed off, diving somewhere close by.

With my entertainment gone, I glance over my shoulder out of habit, expecting a cop to spot me and recognize me from the days I once made trouble. But nothing like that happens here. I really love Pine Shore.

“Hey, sweet girl.” Thad’s voice has me popping my head toward his house just before I pass it, and I pretty much dissolve when I see him shirtless and barefoot on his front porch, wearing nothing but his jeans and his devilish grin.