by Moira Byrne
I searched my memory and frowned. "I didn't see you at The Honeyed Peach."
Sam chuckled. "That's my point. I'm the head chef. When things slow down, I let my people do their thing and I keep an eye on the restaurant. I gotta tell you, there was something in the way Aly looked at you when you weren't watching."
"What do you mean?" My heart slammed against my chest. I had no idea where this was going. Sam looked solemn as he stared ahead. Was I not going to like what he had to say?
"Aly's got a strong will. I've known people like her. Once they get an idea in their head, it'll burrow and build."
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it. When Aly spoke her piece at the orchard, she said she wouldn't leave with you, right?"
I winced as her words played through my mind. It hurt to hear them again. "Yeah. She made that pretty clear."
"That should tell you she's got it in her head that you want her to leave Fayoak."
"I only want her to be safe. It's not about—"
"No." Sam slashed his hand through the air, silencing me. "You're not listening."
I opened my mouth to argue, but the knowing look in his eye had me snapping my mouth shut. When I didn't say anything, he nodded and continued, "People like us keep an eye out for each other in Fayoak. You probably don't know this, but I'm part of the cat-pack."
"But you're a bear . . .?"
"Sure am. But that's a story for another day. What you need to know is that Aly and her sister Sophie are in my pack. They told our Alpha, Jack, what happened, back when Sophie brought Aly here. Now, Jack's a good man and he didn't tell anyone's secrets, but danger was coming and he had to tell us that much."
"Part of her old pack were the ones we fought with in that field."
Sam nodded. "Yeah, word has it they followed you here?"
My stomach sank like a brick. "Even you know about that?"
He gave me a knowing look. "Told you, boy, we're all in each other's business. You're a wolf. You know all about that, don't you?"
"What does this have to do with Aly and whatever idea she has in her head?"
"Well, look at it this way: You show up. She's in danger. You protect her. But I'm going to guess you took that one step farther. You wanted her to leave with you, didn't you? Told her she'd be safer with your pack. Maybe in your mind it was only temporary, but you didn't tell her that."
"How—" My mouth opened, then shut, then opened again. "How did you know?"
"I've seen and done a lot." He smiled. "Now, what I didn't say earlier was that I saw the way you were looking at Aly when she wasn't watching, too. It was like she was the sun and you'd wither away without her."
I looked away, embarrassed. I had no idea I'd been so obvious.
Sam bumped me on the shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm a people watcher. I don't think anyone else would've picked it up. Here's my point, that girl is convinced all you want to do is shake up her life without giving her a choice."
"Yeah, she made that crystal clear."
"You need to show her that you can be the partner she needs."
"What do you mean?"
"She needs somebody to stand beside her, not in front of her. Can you be that man? Let her stand strong and fight her own battles? Can you pick her up when she gets knocked down and help her get back into the ring to fight again?"
"I—" My mind went in circles. I hadn't thought about any of it like that before, but he was right.
"Taking her out of Fayoak won't solve anything. Her problems will follow. She's going to have to slay those demons. Will you be there to fight with her?"
"Of course."
Sam nodded. "Good. I've said what I wanted."
"Thank you, really, but . . . did you hunt me down to talk to me?" I asked, suddenly suspicious, although I couldn't figure out what he'd get out of it. "Not that I don't appreciate it because I really do."
Sam grinned. "Nah, I walk this route regularly. Saw you and figured I'd chew on your ear for a bit. Gonna continue my walk. Think hard about what I said, though. You have to live with your decisions. Don't make one you'll regret."
"Easier to see from the outside looking in."
"Truth."
He gave me a hearty pat on the back that caused me to stumble forward, then took off. I watched him walk into the park. He'd given me a lot to think about. Things I needed to think about.
I headed back to Two Steps, deep in thought. When I opened the door, the blast of conversation hit me, followed by the smell of freshly baked bread. My stomach rumbled. I didn't know if it was Sam's words or what, but I was suddenly ready to get some food. First, however, I had to find my cousins.
I stepped to the side of the door so I could scan the room. I noticed a woman walking toward the exit and stepped back to open the door for her to leave, still looking. I spotted my cousins at a table in the back of the room. They had plates in front of them and were chowing down. Figures they wouldn't wait.
The woman paused right in front of me and I dropped my eyes to meet her gaze. A chill of recognition ran through me as I realized it was Heather—the witch in the booth next to us at The Honeyed Peach.
Her blonde hair was carefully styled, with every strand perfectly in place. She smiled at me as if she was trying to show me all of her bright white teeth. I had to hold back a sneeze from her heavy perfume.
Although her expression was flirty, her eyes were cold. A shiver ran up my spine and my wolf went on alert. There was something wrong with this woman. And it wasn't just that she was a witch.
"Well, hello there," she purred. She reached up to touch me and I stepped back and slid behind the door, using it as a shield.
"Sorry to be in your way, ma'am," I said, looking away from her to make my disinterest clear. Or so I thought.
"You're not in my way." Her voice still held that strange wannabe sultry tone. It wasn't working for her.
"Glad to hear it. Excuse me." Before she could try to touch me again, I gave the door a little push so it would open all the way. I nodded as I let go of the door and hurried around her.
There was something about her dumbfounded expression as she stood in the doorway that amused me. Although, my amusement fled quickly when I remembered the cold look in her eyes. Aly had told me she was bad news.
I glanced at the door and noted with relief that she had let it close and continued on her way. I wasn't sure what I would have done if she had followed me in. I turned my attention to the menu board on the wall. I finally settled on the tuna sandwich, then stepped up to order.
The cashier gave me my change along with a small buzzer and my plastic glass. I filled up my drink before heading over to meet my cousins. I wove through the packed tables, the smell of the various sandwiches hitting me as I passed. When I reached the table my cousins were at, they looked up at me.
"Hey, Ben," David greeted me with a wave of his sandwich. "We didn't know how long you were gonna be so we went ahead and ordered."
"Yeah, I noticed. You two have the patience of saints."
He shrugged and bit into his club sandwich. It was halfway gone already. I slid into an empty chair and noticed Eric's plate was already empty. He always was a fast eater.
"What did the bear have to say?" Eric asked in his quiet voice.
I shook my head. He nodded, understanding that I'd tell him later. There were some things I wouldn't talk about in a packed restaurant. I reached over and stole one of David's chips. He growled out a low warning. I popped the chip in my mouth, then snaked out my hand to grab another chip.
David blew out a huff of air. "What good is a warning if no one listens?"
Something about his words sent alarm through me. Before I could figure out what it was, my buzzer went off. I jumped to my feet and hurried to the window to pick up my food. I inhaled deeply as I carried the tray to the table. The biting smell of the tuna hit me and I gave a rumble of approval.
"I know," David said as I reached the table, "food's really good here.
"
He reached over to snag one of my chips. He'd killed off the rest of his while I'd gotten my order. I eyed him as I plowed through my sandwich. He grabbed another. When he moved to snag a third, I let out a low growl and briefly flashed my wolf's eyes, careful that only my cousins could see.
David froze, then slowly pulled his hand back.
"That's how you do a warning," Eric said softly.
David looked at his brother, then back at me. "Jerks."
I gave a small push on my plate in his direction, letting him know he could snag some more chips. He frowned at me, then shrugged and dug right in.
I was hungrier than I thought and had soon finished my sandwich. We didn't talk as I ate, mostly because my thoughts were stuck on what Sam had said.
As I swallowed my last bite, something about that woman at the door crept back into my mind to irritate me. I wasn't sure what, but I had a feeling it had something to do with that damn field. My thoughts still spun around as we cleaned up our table in silence, then headed out.
"Look," I said to them as we headed back to my car, "I want to go back to that field. I caught a scent that I need to check out."
"Cool, we'll go with you," David said.
"No, I'll go alone. I'm not exactly the best company right now."
"You sure?" Eric asked as he opened the front passenger door.
I nodded. "Yeah. Want me to drop you guys off at the hotel?"
"We can come with you, it's not like we have anything better to do."
I shook my head. "Sam had some good points and I need to think them over. Checking out the field will give me some time to think."
"Alright, just drop us off. Meet up for dinner later?"
"I'll let you know. I need to talk to Aly. I shouldn't have left when she told me to. I'm heading over to her place after I check out the field, so you may not hear from me for a while."
I pulled into the public parking lot for the Greenhaven Orchard. I knew we'd come across that other road, but I had no idea how to get there, or what the name was. I had to start from here. I found a spot off to the side by several other vehicles and slid my car in next to a large truck.
The fastest way to draw attention was to act out of the ordinary. I casually got out of my car and walked purposefully toward the woods. I wanted to run, but that would be too obvious.
As soon as I reached the tree line, I started jogging, then sped up from there. I knew where I was going, but I kept my senses open in case any of those other cougars returned. I knew I would catch any stray scents better in wolf form, but I wanted to see everything back at that field with my human eyes first.
I paused at the edge of the field before leaving the tree line. I scanned around, but all was quiet. It was the normal quiet I expected. A deep breath confirmed that I was the only danger here. I slowly walked to the center of the field where the fight took place.
Sam's words rang in my mind as I looked around. Could I be that man for Aly? It made my fist clench to think of her getting hurt in a fight and letting her charge right back in. One look around the field, though, and I remembered how swiftly she tackled that cougar.
Aly was a fighter. She wouldn't thank me for protecting her from things. I didn't want a delicate little flower anyway. Her fire was what had attracted me to her in the first place.
I'd let the situation lead me to treat her as if she was defenseless. I'd also let her believe I wanted her out of Fayoak. Permanently. Sure, I may have felt that way in the beginning, but I changed my mind. Yet, I never made that clear to her. That was something I'd have to fix.
As I slowly circled out from the scene of the fight, I found that patch of blood I encountered when chasing off the cougar. I knelt down next to it, the same sense of aversion ran through me. I thought that maybe it was something specific to my wolf self, but it was just as strong when I was human.
I frowned. The ground was still wet, as if the blood was fresh. A sense of unease ran up my back and I raised my head to look around the field. No one was there. Even so, the feeling of being watched remained.
I crouched close to the bloody ground and inhaled deeply, as much as it revolted me. I tried to untangle the various scents. The feeling of unease grew. It had the scent of magic, but what kind? What could make my instincts go haywire like this?
My wolf clawed frantically at the back of my mind and I suddenly realized what it was telling me. Unfortunately, I was too late. A shock of pain ran through me, then a burst of white flooded my vision before everything went black.
13
Alysse
I opened my eyes and stared blankly at the empty pillow next to me. I wasn't sure if I was happy or pissed off that Ben had done exactly what I asked him to yesterday. If I were a fair and rational person, I would be happy that he had done as I asked. He'd left me alone.
Unfortunately, I seem to be neither of those things. In fact, I was already pissed that he didn't so much as text me to set up a time to talk about Ana or something. Ugh, you're so dumb, Aly.
I settled back in bed and sent him a quick text concerning Ana and nothing else. I had pushed him away from me, but I didn't want my sweet girl to grow up without her father because of that. It wasn't fair. I set my phone down beside me, then picked it up a second later to see if he had replied. Of course he hadn't, I was being unreasonable again.
I groaned and pulled myself out of bed. I was thankful that today some random fae holiday, which meant no work. I loved working at Greenhavens' orchard but I needed the day off.
By the time I had myself caffeinated and Ana bathed, fed, and dressed, it was already almost lunch time. I could still fondly remember when a holiday meant lazing around in my pajamas while I contemplated what life would be like when I was a productive member of society someday. At the time, I mostly just watched home makeover shows and stuffed my face with chips. I still did both, but a lot less frequently.
Now, I had a little baby to care for and I was a productive member of society. Things did not work out as I had imagined. I grimaced as I thought about the laundry and other unsavory duties I had to do today. Adulthood was so lame sometimes. Thankfully, my phone vibrated against my coffee table. Perfect distraction. I picked up my phone and flopped back onto the couch.
"Hey, sis," I answered.
"You got any plans today?" Sophie replied.
"Just housework."
"You must be miserable."
"Completely."
"Well, Alex had some landscaping he couldn't put off, so I'm dying of boredom. Want to go get lunch? I'd like to see my niece."
"Ana and I are second choice, huh?"
Sophie let out a small, embarrassed laugh. "More like I'm coming up for air for once."
"So you admit it."
"That Alex and I might as well be newlyweds? Yeah."
"It's sickening."
Sophie's laugh turned to a soft, moony sigh. "Don't I know it."
"Ana and I will amuse you. The Peach in forty-five or so?"
"I'll be there."
We had only made it through small talk and a few bits of our food before I started spilling about Ben. Apparently, I was practically begging to vent about him. First Izzy, now Sophie. Ugh.
"Do you think that maybe you're being a touch stubborn?" Sophie asked after I told her the situation. I also might've called Ben an idiot at least ten times over the course of my story. So, y'know, maybe I came across a little biased.
"Soph, I'm not—"
"How about obstinate? Bullheaded? Pick any one of them because they all describe you."
I leaned back in my chair and loudly clicked my tongue. "Someone's got some bite today."
"What can I say? You're a bad influence." Sophie smiled faintly.
"Tell me about it. I don't know how I'm going to handle Ana tossing my snark back at me someday."
"It's definitely coming."
I sighed. "Yeah, I know."
"You'll deserve every scathing line."
"Absolut
ely."
Sophie and I grinned at each other. Before either of us could say anything else, our phones lit up. Mine was vibrating and hers was beeping. We lifted them at the same time with shared frowns.
"Jack?" I asked.
"You too?"
"Pack problems, you think?" I swiped my screen open.
"Probably," Sophie said as she did the same.
The pack-wide message read:
We've got trouble. All available pack members meet at Chesterfield now.
I could hardly believe my eyes. This meant my pack was back, didn't it? But how? We showed them one-third of what we could do, and they ran away with their tails between their legs. Why would they come back just for me and my sister?
If this was all just about petty revenge, then why wouldn't they give up? Even for guys as prideful as them, there was no way this was worth it.
Sam popped out from the kitchen doors to look at us. I resisted the urge to laugh. It was still endlessly funny to me that a bear was a member of the Fayoak cat-pack. He met each of our eyes and we nodded, letting him know we got the message, too.
As we were gearing up to leave, Maddox strode into The Peach looking all sorts of dark, handsome, and protective. I wasn't surprised to see him here, being Rose's mate, and the look in his eyes let me know he had already seen the pack message.
He went straight to Rose and started talking to her in a hushed voice. I couldn't hear what he was saying over the gentle murmur of the late-lunch crowd, but she looked worried as she glanced around the partially-full diner. A moment later, The Peach's matronly owner, and Rose's grandmother, swung open the kitchen doors and approached them.
"Leave with Maddox, Roselani," Henrietta said with a grim look.
Rose bit her lower lip and tugged at a curl of red hair. "But—"
"No buts, child. I already have replacements for you and Rhonda coming in."
"Am I going somewhere?" Rhonda asked with an arched brow.
Sam came out from the back, his apron no longer stretched across his large chest. "Jack says we might want someone like you along. His scouts think some funny business is going on."