FrankandIstoodalong the side of the church, the bushes surrounding us granting a little privacy. The video on my phone played the report on the Austen Heights local news.
Tonight, the fae of Austen Heights are outraged to learn that it was indeed a werewolf that attacked fae woman Isabella Ravenswood…
“I took my potion. I swear I took it, I…” Frank paced in front of me, his hands in his hair. Duchess padded behind him, tail whipping around whenever she changed directions, like a concerned mother.
I shut off the video and shoved my phone into my pocket. “I talked to Lydia, and she insisted the potion had no problems. It wasn’t the potion. It wasn’t you.”
He spun toward me. “How do you know? I can’t remember anything. And my clothes…” Desperation shone in his eyes.
My teeth sank into my bottom lip. “Are you sure you didn’t get super tired and forget about changing your clothes before you fell asleep?”
“I… I keep telling myself that is the only plausible explanation.” But the look he gave me told me even he didn’t believe it.
An icy breeze blew past, and I pulled my coat tighter. “Are you familiar with other werewolves in town?”
He let out a soft laugh. “Our kind are illegal. We would never reveal ourselves to anyone unless we absolutely had to. Not even each other. Isabella only learned about me because she made my potion.”
“And she only told Lydia that night because she needed her to deliver it and was unable to do so herself.”
His eyes lighted. “Isabella was acquainted with other werewolves, though. She had to be. She often had mecollect extra wolfsbane for the potion, more than for just me.”
I gazed over at the old graveyard, the arching gate beckoning to me. “Okay, I have a few things to look into.”
“Like what? Do you have an idea who it could be? Did you discover something in that journal?”
I didn’t want to bring Frank with me into the cemetery. If he did harbor feelings for Isabella, taking him to see her ghost might only cause him more pain. “I need to look into it, but it’s a task I must do alone, for now. Trust me, I’ll text you and inform you about what I’ve found.”
His shoulders slumped. “It’ll be the only thing on my mind until then.”
“Think about this instead.” I rose onto my toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. A nervous energy surged through me. Since when had I gotten so bold? When I tried to step back, his hand came around my waist and he held me against him.
He kissed my jaw, then grazed my throat with his mouth. Pleasure tingled across my skin in waves. “I find it difficult to focus on anything else when you’re near.”
“Trust me, Frank.”
He pressed one more kiss to my lips. “I’ll await your message like a man starved of sunlight. And not only because my life is in your hands.”
He slowly released me and backed away. He gave a final wave before heading to his black Mercedes parked along the road. I waved in return, waiting for him to leave before turning and marching toward the cemetery.
What if Frank and Isabella harbored emotions for each other, and I was moving in on everything? Should I feel bad about dating him? My stomach twisted with guilt. Just because Isabella was gone didn’t mean that his feelings were.
I definitely found myself in uncharted territory with all of this.
I walked into the cemetery, and calling the mist to me, I summoned Isabella.
She appeared out of the gray and curling haze, lounging on the bench next to her intended grave. “I presume you have news for me?”
“Magical DNA tests confirmed your killer was a werewolf.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
“So besides Frank, who I’m familiar with, are there any other werewolves in Austen Heights?”
“Of course there are other werewolves. I supplied wolfsbane potion to five others.”
My mouth fell open. Five? I pulled a pen from behind my ear. My papers were left in the church, so I lifted my palm, prepared to write them down. “Tell me their names.”
“Sure. Woofy McGrowlface, Barkley Moonshadow, Snarls McWoof, Pawton Timberwolf, and Luna Howlson.”
