As soon as Zephyra got home, she locked her doors and windows. She sent out a text to Ellie, letting her know she was home. Ever since the violence started to escalate, they had been texting each other every few hours just to make sure the other was okay, especially if they had to leave the house. Not that Zephyra planned on leaving the house much. She made sure that after dark she was at home. Tonight was no different; in fact, her only plan was to binge on Netflix until she fell asleep.
As the detective left, Zephyra’s parents rushed in. Her mother immediately bent over to encase her in a hug. Zephyra clenched her teeth to defend against the threat of more tears. She didn’t want to cry anymore. “It’s my fault,” Zephyra told her mom, her voice cracking. “Whoever did that to her did it because of me.”
After Zephyra stopped by the police department, giving them her official statement, she decided it’d be best if she went to work even if she would only work a couple of hours. It would keep her busy until she could figure out what to do next.“Zeph? What are you doing he
“Because I’m a nymph?” Zephyra asked. “Mom’s a nymph too.”Officer Richards shook his head. “She is, but not quite so involved with the townspeople outside of the aberration community. You, on the other hand, are. Pair that with the fact that you’re beautiful…
Zephyra avoided looking at everyone as they all followed Camilla out of the room. When everyone had left, Dylan, the badass, marched towards her much as the witch had. “What notes?” he demanded, his expression twisted with anger. “Do you know something about the person who did this?” The Texan and another shifter she didn’t know held him back.
Zephyra stared vacantly into the empty kitchen, chewing the nail of her pinkie as she thought. Despite what people might think, the list of men who had either dated her or had wanted to wasn’t that long. If Zephyra started back from freshman year of high school, there were only four men. Five if she counted Brady. With a sigh, Zephyra looked at the names she had written down.
Zephyra’s dad came back into the house and as he joined them in the kitchen, she flipped over the paper. Catching Dylan’s eye she shook her head at him. Zephyra didn’t want her dad to see it. That would be way more awkward than she was willing to deal with, and also, she didn’t want him or Mom involved. The risk the creep might hurt them too was too great. Her father may have been super powerful, but he wasn’t superman, and witches weren’t immortal.
“Does that thing really have to be here?” Tonya complained, giving Dylan, in wolf form, a look of repulsion. Zephyra had to give him credit—he played his part as a dog very well. He didn’t react to Tonya’s insults at all.“Jerry Lee is not a thing,” Zephyra shot back at he
A steel-gray blanket covered the sky. The damp, chilly breeze blew past Zephyra and promised rain, and maybe even sleet. All in all, the afternoon was a fitting depiction of a dreary fall day. With a shiver, she zipped up her jacket as she waited for Brady in the back parking lot of the butcher’s shop. He’d called her that morning. One of the guys from the list, Glenn, agreed to meet with him at Angie’s, so Zephyra told Dylan they would meet up later after work.