“And that was about as long as it lasted. Eve lunged forward—she’d been drinking heavily that night. In fact, she’d almost been escorted out after passing out at the open bar earlier. I realize now she was probably working up her liquid courage. She had a bottle of glowing potion in her hands and a wild look in her eyes. She uncorked it and doused me with it and—”
And I’d shifted. It’d been the last time I ever had. I took my owl form in front of the whole firm. The potion must’ve reacted with that and given me the odd quirk of being able to speak to animals as it slammed me back to human form—for good.
Emerson had fired me on the spot, and Zale had backed away from me like I was poison. But I wasn’t quite ready to tell Peter that part. The hardest part. I needed a little more time to work up to that. I’d circle back around… one shocking revelation at a time was all I could handle… and maybe Peter too.
“And what?” Peter prompted, his voice gruff.
I sighed. “It was a curse. She cursed me, and I lost all my powers. I—I haven’t been able to do magic since that day.” My whole body trembled. I’d done it—I’d told him the truth… or most of it.
Peter sniffed. “But… I’ve seen you do magic.”
I glanced up at him, a sympathetic smile on my face. “Think about it. You haven’t.” I shook my head, and he frowned, his gaze far away as he no doubt searched his memory. “That’s why I didn’t call you tonight or defend myself or anything—I couldn’t. It’s why I don’t bother carrying my wand around, either.”
Peter’s eyes grew wide as he searched my face. “That’s horrible—and so dangerous for you!”
I let out a shaky sigh. “Yeah, well, you do what you have to, you know? That night I lost my magic, my fiancé, my job….”
Peter stopped swaying. “Just because you lost your powers? That’s insane! I don’t believe those people! And why isn’t this Eve woman behind bars?”
I gulped. Okay. This was the big one. “There’s more… I have to tell you.” My heart raced, and I could feel a cold sweat starting under my arms. Great, just what I needed. “The curse also…. It took a lot away, but… it also gave me the ability to speak with animals. All animals.”
Peter let go of me and touched his fingers to my temples. “You mean…?”
I shook my head, and he dropped his arms to his sides. “No. I’ve been lying about that.”
Peter leaned back.
“I’m not a seer. I’m able to actually speak to animals.” I licked my lips and glanced to the side. “I only say I’m a seer because if anyone knew I could speak to animals they’d—"
Peter finished for me, his voice hushed. “They’d assume you were a—shifter.”
38
GOODNIGHT
A rush of energy flooded through me at hearing Peter speak that word, shifter, and I jerked my head up to look at him. My nerves jangled, I opened my mouth, searching for the right words to soften the blow. Maybe the right words were just, “I am a shifter.” There was just one last truth to tell. The rain pelted all around us. Now, in this protective bubble, just the two of us. Now was the right time to tell him.
“Wow.” Peter shook his head and gazed down at me, his eyes pinched with sympathy. “That’s a lot to take in. And I can see, given your options, that pet psychic is definitely preferable to the alternative.”
My heart sunk. The alternative? “What does that mean?”
Peter splayed his palms. “Just—of course you don’t want people to think you’re a—a—” He glanced around at the empty, dark street, but still lowered his voice. “A shifter.”
My mouth tasted sour. He must have thought it so vile he could barely say the word. Or was he only saying that because he knew how badly shifters were treated?
I suddenly felt the weight of the evening. I could’ve fallen asleep standing in the street. I stepped back, almost out of the bubble. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. Had I already overshared?
“Hey.” His eyes searched my face. “Thank you. Thank you for being honest with me.” He lowered his gaze, his eyes darting from side to side. “I’m so upset for you. There should have been an investigation, charges leveled.” He looked up at me, a determined set to his jaw. “I’ll look into it, there were witnesses that night and—”
I flashed my eyes at him, horrified. “No!”
He blinked at me. “Why not?”
Uh… good question, Peter. I glanced around at the gutter full of wet trash and racked my brain. No good excuse came to mind. I shook my head at him. “It’s… complicated, okay? Please let it go. I have.”
He lifted a brow, clearly not believing me.
I nodded again, my eyes pleading with him to believe me. “I just got closure with Eve and Zale. I want to put this behind me.” And weirdly, had Daisy been there, I didn’t think she would’ve found fault with what I’d just said. It’d taken years but… I was ready to move on. I mean, I might still want to egg Eve’s house one day, but I was pretty much over it.
“Are we good?” I raised my brows and held my breath.
Peter stared at me for several long moments, then finally nodded. “Yeah. We’re good.” He looked off over the top of my head. “I can’t say I understand all of it, but…” He leveled me an earnest look. “If you say I should let
