“Stop throwing things at me! You crazy little pixie!” I shout at her, ducking with a squeak as she throws a cup at my head and it smashes into pieces on the wall just above me. I run out of the kitchen and towards the sofa, hiding behind it. I glance around the sofa, seeing the pixie is looking for something else to throw at me. That cute little thing is evil. Since the—not so innocent after all—pixie woke up, all she has done is throw things at me. At first, I thought the pillow throwing was cute, but when she decided to pick up much heavier things, it wasn’t so cute after all.
“Go!” the pixie demands, her voice sweet and sugary, and far too bloody close for my liking. I peek over the sofa, and she is flying, holding a sharp knife not far away.
“Right, this has gone way too far! Damn Rick for not explaining you are psycho, pixie! I’m not leaving, and if you don’t put that knife down right now, I am going to shift and let my wolf eat you,” I say, standing up off the floor and holding my hands on hips. Tay looks at the knife and back to me, seriously debating my words.
“Rick?” she asks, the affection for him clear in her tone.
“Rick asked me to watch you while he runs to the shops,” I reply, and she drops the knife and grins, looking me up and down.
“Be gone,” she retorts, and I can tell she is jealous. Am I really arguing with a tiny, pink, glittery pixie?
“I’m not going anywhere,” I dryly reply, and she tilts her tiny little head to the side before raising her hands and transforming into an owl. The owl is white, with pink feathers laced into the fur. Tay, the owl, flies off up the stairs, and I collapse onto the sofa, resting my head back. I don’t know if I should be proud that I won a fight with a pixie the size of my hand, but I am. I so am. I pull my phone out and text Sophie to check she is okay, and I only get a simple thumbs up emoji as a reply. Nice. I glance around at the now trashed room and know I should clean it up. Even if it was their fault for not telling me about the crazy pixie who can throw like a quarterback. I pick the knife up and slide it back into the drawer that is left open in the kitchen. I find a broom resting by the back door and quickly start sweeping up all the broken cups, glasses and plates. Just as I finish getting it all into a pile, the doorbell rings. As I wonder if I should answer it, they ring again, and I sigh, knowing I should. I rest the broom against the wall. I run to the door and open it. A man resting on a walking stick stands completely still as he smiles at me. The man is older, about fifty I believe, with short grey hair and brown eyes. He has a brown suit on, and I glance at the walking stick that he heavily leans on, seeing a yellow crystal on top, cut out in the shape of a dragon. I scent him as completely human.
“Hi! Can I help you?” I ask, holding onto the door.
“I’m looking for Rick, Mich, Nath or Josh. Are any of them in?” he replies, looking behind me.
“No, sorry. They just popped out,” I explain.
“Who are you? I say, we don’t see many new people around here and none as lovely as you are,” he asks, and I laugh.
“I’m new to town. My name is Adelaide,” I say and hold out a hand. He grabs my hand rather roughly to shake, just as a car pulls into the drive. Josh smoothly gets out the black sports car I haven’t seen before, his dark eyes locking on me for a moment before looking over at the man.
“Josh. Perfect timing,” the man says as Josh runs up the path and stands next to the man.
“Mr. Graves. I didn’t expect to see you at my home,” Josh says, and Mr. Graves slowly lets my hand fall and pulls his eyes off me.
“I wanted to check in on you after the mission this morning. I know it wasn’t easy capturing that family. The life of hunters can be a hard job. I should know, half my body is burnt due to a shifter,” Mr. Graves says calmly, but everything in me starts to panic as I try to process what he just said. I glance back down at the yellow dragon, and remember the symbol advertised everywhere since Paris fell. The sign of the Hunter’s Organisation. They are hunters. Why would these supernaturals be hunters unless they like to hunt their own kind.
“Capturing?” I whisper.
“Yes, a family of witches. Josh and the others are our finest hunters,” Mr. Graves muses, watching me closely. “Good hunters are always hard to find these days.”
“I imagine. They need to be good at lying and keeping secrets, I suppose,” I say, keeping my eyes locked with Josh’s so he knows that sentence was meant for him and his friends. He looks more and more pissed off by the second.
“Ah, I feel we could get along. How do you two know each other?” Mr. Graves asks.
“Adelaide is our…cousin…distant cousin who needed a place to stay,” Josh smoothly answers, only pausing a little bit to make up a lie. He must be used to lying to make something up on the spot and seem so convincing as he says it.
“Now, I do like people who look after their own. Do you have a job yet, Adelaide? I imagine it is hard to find work in this small village, and it is such a drive to the main town,” Mr. Graves asks me, and I can only shake my head for an answer, pulling my eyes from Josh to Mr. Graves.
“N-no,” I clear my throat. “No, I haven’t had a chance to look for a job yet, but it is my plan to find one soon.”
“My receptionist is having a baby, and I need to find a local person for a replacement. What do you say to working with me?” he suggests. “I certainly pay well.”
“You’re offering me a job?” I ask, a little thrown back in shock.
“Well, I want to help the cousin of my best hunters. It might make them stay in my division a little longer and ignore those head-hunters who will likely pay them more,” he says, and both Josh and he laugh. Though Josh’s couldn’t sound more fake if he tried.
“Can I have some time to think on it?” I ask, feeling more than a little nervous now. I’m a shifter. I can’t work for the hunters like my crazy ass neighbours.
“Of course! Why doesn’t one of your cousins bring you in for a tour tomorrow, and you can decide if you like it,” he suggests.
“Sounds perfect,” I say slowly, and he grins.
“Yes, it does. I will see you at base, Josh,” Mr. Graves says. “Lovely to meet you, Adelaide. Such an unusual name you have there.” I smile tightly and watch as he turns, waking down the path. He gets into the white Jeep with dark windows I can’t see through before driving off.
“You have no fucking idea what you just did,” Josh growls, and I cross my arms, growling low as his eyes glow.
“Don’t threaten me,” I snap.
“Or what?”