Once Bitten (Shadow Guild: The Rebel 1)

“What?” I asked.

“Yeah. Totally hot. What do I look like?”

“Uh…”

“Come on,” Quinn said. “There’s a mirror behind the bar.”

We followed him out.

The place was half full, but no one paid us any mind.

Well, that wasn’t quite true. There were some looks, a few cringes, but they didn’t point and laugh, so I considered it a win. Apparently, frog girls were normal in the Haunted Hound.

We reached the mirror and gazed at our reflections.

Mac screeched with indignation. “Those bitches!”

Holy crap, I did look hot. Like, hot in a men’s magazine kind of way. Wavy auburn hair and an impossibly perfect face, complete with impeccable makeup.

“I can’t believe they did this,” Mac muttered, rubbing at her green skin.

“This is one of their pranks, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” She glowered. “And I’m going to get them for it.”

“Man, we’re going to draw some attention.”

“No kidding.” She dragged a gnarled hand over her face. “This is almost worse. We don’t even look like real people.”

Quinn looked between the two of us, seemingly delighted by the drama playing out in front of him.

“I look kind of real,” I said.

“No, you don’t, honey. No one looks like you in real life. You look like you’ve been photoshopped. You should see your waist. You’re basically a Barbie doll.”

I looked down, surprised to see that she was right. I should be wearing a corset to get a waist like this. And did my feet look pointed? Like I should be perpetually forced into tiny plastic heels?

I tugged up my hood, shoving the mass of red underneath.

“You’ve got to give me five minutes,” Mac said. “I need a hood, too.”

“Okay.”

She hurried toward the hallway to go back to Guild City.

“Can I get you something, Miss January?” Quinn asked.

I shot him a look and gestured to my new Barbie body. “Oh, you like this, do you?”

“Actually, I prefer the real you.” He leaned over the bar and shot me a charming grin. “A lot. So, when you’re back to normal, if you’d like to get dinner or something, I’d be delighted to be your Ken.”

I didn’t want him, but I did like him. And warmth suffused me at his words. “Thanks. But I think…well, I’m going to have a lot on my plate.”

“That’s okay.” He winked. “I’ll try again later.”

Mac returned a moment later with a hoodie. She tore the tag off it and tugged the garment over her head. Suddenly, her face was cast in shadows, nearly impossible to see. I could get glimpses of her, and she still looked like hell, but the magic in the hoodie seemed to soften her features, making them hazy. Her green skin looked slightly sallow now, and she only sort of resembled a frog.

“What’s up with that hoodie?” I asked.