I stopped. The words sent a chill down my spine. Slowly, I turned to face her, searching for any sign of deceit. "I know Callum is a shifter," I said, surprising her with the admission. She recovered quickly, her expression hardening once more.
"It's late, Lila," she said, using that authoritative tone she always deployed when she wanted to control me.
"I don't care," I shot back, voice firm.
"If you leave the house," Hannah warned, "it will be locked, and you'll have to spend the whole night outside."
I didn't stop. I couldn't. I pushed past the final steps and back into the main part of the house, footsteps echoing in the silence. As I reached the top of the stairs, I spotted Trisha leaning against a door, her familiar snake coiled around her neck. Her eyes followed me, cold and calc
