My eyes widened. “You know her?”
“Bony lady with fake eyelashes and a permanent, judgmental scowl?” I didn’t remember the eyelashes, but yes to the scowl. “She’s the daughter of my father’s second-cousin. Her maiden name is Crutchfield.”
My hands flew to my mouth. So, the Crutchfields were definitely behind all of this. When their legal wrangling didn’t work to gain control of a rival pack, they tried to rig the contest to install one of their own as the Alpha’s mate, and when that failed, they went for the jugular and tried to poison Travis.
I jumped to my feet and looked toward the corn-roasting booth. Where the hell was Travis? I needed to warn him immediately. He wasn’t safe.
“Can I borrow your phone?” I asked Sarah.
She gave me an apologetic look. “I didn’t think of bringing it. I get terrible coverage on the island.”
Damn the island and its spotty cellular service. “I’ll call him from Unholy Grounds. If he shows up, tell him I’m over there.”
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Travis
My agent called right as I got to the end of the parade, delaying my meet up with Daphne. I probably shouldn’t have answered it, but she was negotiating a new contract for me, and I was eager to hear the updates.
Now, as I made my way through the crowd to the roasted corn stand, I politely declined to sign autographs because I knew that once I started, it wouldn’t stop.
With the White Wolf Moon less than a day away, my wolf was easily agitated being apart from Daphne for even short periods of time. She’d have ridden in the parade with me if there’d been room in that tiny car.
By the time I got to the corn stand, however, she wasn’t there. I debated standing in line, but maybe she’d already bought two ears and was waiting for me at her booth. I knew she felt guilty about having Sarah run it all weekend.
But when I got to her booth, I didn’t see her there either, just Sarah helping an elderly couple sampleDaphne’s Miracle Balm.
I started to ask her if she’d seen my mate when my phone vibrated. The call was from Unholy Grounds. Why would one of the Sisters be calling me?
I kept my head on a swivel, scanning the crowd for Daphne, and answered the phone.
“Travis!” It was Daphne. “Thank goodness you’re there.”
My shoulders relaxed at the sound of her voice. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”
“I could say the same about you. Listen, I ran into your sister-in-law, Lavinia.”
The hackles on the back of my neck stood up. “And what did she have to say?”
Daphne gave a humorless laugh. “She’s definitely not a pleasant woman. She tried to tell me about the will, thinking she was dropping a bombshell that would?—”
“That would instill doubt in your mind about me?” I white-knuckled my phone so hard I almost crushed it.
“How did you know?”
“I hope you didn’t believe anything she said.” I leaned against a nearby light pole and dropped my voice. “Because White Wolf Moon or no White Wolf Moon, Alpha or no Alpha, I love you with every fucking fiber of my being.”
She gave a low chuckle, and I continued, looking around for inspiration.
“You’re the butter to my roasted corn, Daphne. The cotton to my candy. The wind to my kite. The sauerkraut to my sausage dog.”
“Oh my god, Travis!” She snorted with laughter so loudly that I imagined the people around her were staring at her with eyebrows raised. “But just so we’re clear, I’m not really a fan of sauerkraut.”
I sniffed. “No one’s perfect. But the point is, I’m not me without you, Daphne.”
“Okay, I love you too, she said hastily. “And we can discuss everything in much more detail later, but I need you to be careful because?—”
Then she gasped, and then the line went dead.
