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When I first came to Hartford Cove, he’d been Alpha. While Owen now holds the title, Haut still carries himself with the confidence of a man in charge of his domain.
He stops in front of me, his eyes filled with predatory hunger. “Want to come to my room tonight, bad puppy?”
Goodness. No one in their right mind would say no to that invitation, and I’ve never been accused of being in my right mind.
“Is Tris still breathing?” At his nod, I glance over at Mel. “Are we done for the night?”
Aspen avoids looking at Haut and fixes his gaze on me. “No, we still have business to discuss—”
“Go have fun,” Mel interrupts. “I have some things to go over with Aspen. We can meet again in the morning.”
“Are you going to come back tonight?” I ask.
Mel shakes her head. “My house is basically ready, so I’ll sleep there and walk Aspen over to the diner for breakfast.”
“Got it.” I climb up on my chair and leap onto Haut like a spider monkey. “Let’s go, bad wolf.”
Haut palms my ass with one large hand and turns toward the hall that leads to his first-floor bedroom. “Coming, Mayor?”
“No, you two enjoy yourselves. I need to show Aspen where he’ll be staying.” Shadows bubble from his skin. “If he’ll be staying.”
Aspen takes several steps away from Owen. “You’re a werewolf.”
“Welcome to Hartford Cove, Aspen. Or not,” I call over Haut’s shoulder. “This is where the monsters live, so if that scares you, you’d best leave before dawn.”
And we can just keep searching for another leader who can outclass me in magic, since I appear to be stuck with it.
BREAKFAST AT NESSE’S
The next morning, we all head down to Nesse’s Diner in the center of town for breakfast.
It will either be a celebration to officially welcome Aspen to town, or a commiseration party for Mel having to deal with us alone for a bit longer.
As we pass the shattered remains of Nesse’s statue, a shiver goes down my spine. Its ruined remains stand as a testament to how close we came to losing the battle against the huntsmen, and I can’t wait to have it replaced.
The little bell over the door jingles a welcome, and my friend Abony waves us toward the room reserved for large parties at the back.
Barron and Jesse are already waiting when we enter.
Jesse rises from his chair to scoop me up in a bear hug, my feet dangling off the ground and his beard tickling my face. “There’s my favorite little witch.”
“Drop the little part,” I squeak as he squeezes the air from my body.
Jesse and I became friends during my summer visits to my grandma’s house while growing up. But back then, he was the smallest one in our group, and skinny as a bag of bones. In the fifteen years of my absence, he grew into a mountain of a man.
Behind me, Haut rumbles in warning, and Jesse sets me down, only for his mate, Barron, to step forward and pull me into a hug.
Unlike his burly counterpart, Barron didn’t change much. He still wears his black hair down to his shoulders, and his olive-hued skin still holds the kiss of summer sun, despite being a complete nerd who runs a bookstore.
I return his hug and inhale the familiar scent of ink and paper that clings to him. “How are you feeling?”
Barron had nearly died in the battle with the hunstmen. He had been riddled with silver that was poisoning his blood. Tris removed all the bullets, but the poison had already infected Barron’s system. I had donated my blood in a desperate attempt to suppress his wolf shifter side long enough to give his body time to heal at a human rate.
It was a near miss, though, and if Barron had died, we would have lost Jesse as well, either through grief or madness brought on by the death of his mate.
Barron steps back and rubs his shoulder. “I’m nearly back to normal, thanks to you.” He looks past me. “And to you, Tris.”
Tris joins us and slings an arm over my shoulders. “We’re just happy to see you recovering. I’m sure Dr. Lopez wishes Mrs. Smith would improve at the same speed.”
