Autumn patted his chest in a placating gesture. “Don’t get worked up. The more people that are helped, the better it is, right?”
“Too bad you can’t put up more wishing trees around the city,” Lana commented. “Or the world, for that matter.”
Autumn opened her mouth, then closed it again as she glanced over at her mate with wide eyes. Lana was used to watching her mated friends have silent conversations as they spoke telepathically to one another, so she didn’t mind waiting until they were finished.
During the long pause, she glanced around the room. Normally, the bakery would be crowded with people this time of day, but it was eerily silent at the moment. Still, she appreciated the familiar setting almost as much as not having to speak in front of the full council.
A section of the bakery had been rearranged for the meeting, clearing a space for a much larger table that looked like it belonged in a corporate boardroom. Six chairs had been lined up neatly along one side, leaving a single chair by itself on the other. Lana didn’t need anyone to tell her that the isolated seat was meant for her. It was positioned under what seemed like a spotlight, set apart from the others in a way that made its purpose painfully clear.
That was the hot seat, and she was expected to take it.
The door to the bakery opened, and a massive male wearing another Mystic Fire Department jacket rushed inside. His natural black and white hair had been styled in a mohawk fade, and he had a shaved image of a crouching tiger on the side of his head. He looked like a punk rocker more than a councilmember.
Lana had met Thayer Katz a time or two, and she found him to be affable and kind despite his rather intimidating appearance. She knew Kingston and Thayer had done time together in the Supernatural Prison. Somewhere in the midst of all that chaos, they had forged the kind of bond that didn’t break once the cell doors opened. They’d come out of that place the best of friends, and still remained loyal to one another.
However, their experiences in prison had been vastly different.
Kingston had been wrongfully imprisoned, framed by one of his own brothers for a crime he didn’t commit. On the other hand, Thayer had openly admitted to his offense without an ounce of regret. Then again, murdering the evil former alpha of his pack after the male had taken his parents hostage seemed less like a crime and more like a public service as far as Lana was concerned. Still, she never would have guessed the firefighter was another member of the Supernatural Council, considering his past.
“Glad to see I’m not the last to arrive,” Thayer boomed out in a deep voice. He grinned at Lana. “Surprised to see me here?”
“It is a little unexpected,” she admitted.
That made him laugh. “Honestly, no one was more surprised than I was when they chose me to be a representative of the Shifter Realm. It’s an honor I never expected, but I surprisingly enjoy. Autumn, please have pity on me. I missed breakfast today because I was out on a call, and I’m starving.”
The goddess grinned back at him. “Take a seat. I’ve got that covered.”
With the wave of her hand, the large table was immediately filled with platters of food. Besides a wide variety of pastries and sugary treats, there were pancakes, waffles, and biscuits smothered with thick white gravy. There were also steaming trays of sausage, bacon, and scrambled eggs.
“Thank you, thank you. You are the best Goddess of Revenge ever,” Thayer gushed as he took a seat.
Autumn snorted out a delicate laugh. “I’m the only Goddess of Revenge there is.”
“Stop flirting with my mate,” Kingston grumbled as he sat down next to his friend, punctuating his words with a punch to the arm.
“I’m not flirting. I’m simply treating her like the goddess she is,” Thayer countered, rubbing his arm as he winced.
Kingston rolled his eyes. “Was the call anything serious?”
“Pretty bad kitchen fire, but we tamed the beast before it spread.”
Lana wasn’t sure what to make of the scene before her. She had been prepared to face an intimidating interrogation, but it was turning out to be an elaborate brunch. She wasn’t fooled by the casual atmosphere, though. They still had serious business to discuss, and she couldn’t let herself get distracted from her goal.
“Sit,” Kingston ordered as he gestured with his fork. “We might as well eat while we wait for the others.”
Lana removed her coat, and it disappeared from her hands before she could set it down. She noticed it was now hanging on the coat rack near the entrance, along with her satchel bag. Thankfully, she was still wearing her black leather gloves that made her feel a little more at ease as she took a seat on the other side of the table in the designated hot seat.
A small, genuine smile tugged at her lips when Autumn placed an oversized double chocolate muffin in front of her on a pretty pink plate. The top of the muffin was crowned with sparkling sugar crumbs that caught the light, and the sweet scent of cocoa and vanilla was familiar and comforting in a way she hadn’t realized she needed.
It warmed her heart that the goddess had remembered her favorite muffin. Unfortunately, comfort did little to settle the storm of nerves churning inside her. Her stomach remained hopelessly knotted with anxiety, twisting tighter with every passing second until the thought of taking even a single bite felt impossible. She curled her fingers in her lap instead while she forced herself to calmly wait for the meeting to officially begin.
A man wearing a dark blue three-piece suit with a striped tie suddenly teleported into the room. Lana wasn’t sure who he was, but he looked very annoyed. “I have to be in court in two hours,” he said in a clipped tone. “So, we need to make this—damn, are those waffles?”
He hurried over to the table and started piling food onto a plate, no longer looking the least bit irritated.
“That’s Councilman Wade Nottingham,” Kingston announced. “He comes from a powerful mage family and is a big-time corporate attorney in California. He can be a little abrupt sometimes, but he’s not much of an asshole.”
“Gee, thanks,” Wade deadpanned.
