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The death of his best friend, Loman, after a rockfall had been the last straw.
So he’d run away without telling a soul. Leaving behind everything he knew, including, worst of all, his family.
But now… his parents were getting frail. His once strong dad falling off a ladder meant he was no longer steady on his legs. Despite Tor’s efforts to bring them out here, finally getting them a visa to visit Selig, the city where he now lived, they’d only ever come once. His dad hated being near the looming mountains, muttering about the risk of ogres, and his mom had fussed over his dad continually.
He’d sighed with relief when he’d put them on a plane home.
Since then, they’d only communicated by phone—and he’d sent them money, of course. Truckloads of money.
Because that was how Tor assuaged his guilt.
Staring down into the milling throng of revelers, he thought about the conversation with his sister. She needed him there, and he loved her—missed her. She’d visited him here in Selig too a few times, she’d liked the big modern city, but now that she was heading up a division of Tower Security she’d gotten too busy.
He’d known when his parents got old and sick he’d have to pull his weight. He loved them, in his own way, which was not the same as Katrina. She spent hours cleaning and cooking for them like the big-hearted orc she was. It’s just, he’d yearned for bigger things, needed to achieve things that he could never achieve in Motham.
Pacing restlessly, Tor stroked a thick finger down one tusk. He couldn’t use the excuse of work anymore. He had the best executive team, and Arquin Enterprises ran like a well-oiled machine. Besides, you could work from anywhere now with the high-speed internet that Motham had finally got connected to a year ago.
No more excuses. He needed to go home, be there for his dad and mom for a while. Take the pressure off his sister, particularly given her plans to have a baby. Even if he had major reservations about her choice of partner.
But fuck it, if he had to spend any length of time there, he wasn’t going to hang out in East Motham with its jumble of old shacks and factory chimneys.
In the crowded square below he could see Merle, his PA, welcoming guests, her foxy tail swishing in her expensive silk dress, ears flicking as she schmoozed the crowd on his behalf.
He should be down there by now, charming the shareholders, but socializing wasn’t his thing, so he’d let Merle and his management team get the ball rolling, waiting in the shadows until he could make an entrance, give a speech, shake dozens of hands and then leave.
But in every other way, Tor wasn’t a guy who waited in the shadows. When he got an idea, he acted on it. Party or no party.
He called up Merle’s cell, watched her excuse herself from the throng below, walk to the edge of the manicured garden, then put the phone to her ear.
“Yes, Tor?”
“Merle, I need you to do something for me.”
“Yes, Tor.”
“Find me the best realtor in Motham City. Immediately.”
Chapter
One
“Look into my eyes and smile,” the fae photographer said, camera at his eye.
Shona shifted on the chair and obediently smiled. Click, click, click. “Perfect.” He grinned at her over the top of the lens.
“Now maybe we could have you standing with the sign behind you.”
The wolf publicist sashayed over with the sign and carefully positioned it behind her. It read, “Find a home to love with Shona Dove.” The board featured a little blue dove sitting on its nest, set against a background of the best houses in Motham.
She didn’t really like the tagline, though she knew it worked. With a name like Dove, it represented exactly what she was about. Nesting. Helping folks find that perfect home… but the thought of being photographed in front of her own ad felt too much like a hard sell. Which was definitely not her style.
“Do you really think I need that behind me?”
The photographer pursed his lips. “We want to show off your brand to full advantage.”
“You might as well milk it for all you can get,” the wolf added, prowling closer.
“True,” Shona conceded, trying not to stare at the smudge of lipstick on the wolf’s canines.
