Page 73 of Of Magic and Murder

“I’m not trying to order you to move in,” he says.

I grin at him. “The curse broke when I let you bond me to you so you literally can’t anymore even if you didn’t already give me a cheat code to ignore you.”

“I know.” His mouth curves faintly. “It’s still going to take me some time to remember that. I may not say the right things, Penelope, or be careful with how I do say them, but this is important to me. You’re important to me. I don’t know who is targeting witches in Moonburrow, but even before you knew you were mine, I knew I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you. Having you at my place… my wolf will know it, too.”

When he puts it that way, how can I refuse?

I can’t, and I don’t.

Besides, it’s not like it doesn’t make sense. Now that I accept I’m staying in Maryland, it would be ridiculous to keep the apartment over the bakery while my mate lives on the other side of town, deep in the woods where the shifters have their territory. The bond would keep tugging on us until we were together, and there’s no real reason to stay separated when we don’t have to be.

As for Riordan… he’s not leaving Moonburrow. Instinctively, I knew it when he left, just like I understand now how much it cost him to go. He thought he was doing it for me, but now that he’s returned, there’s no leaving the supernatural town again for Riordan.

He came back to be the chief deputy. He came back to be the Beta of the Moonshadow Pack. And he came back because his wolf—and his human side, too—knew he couldn’t risk anything happening to me once it was revealed that there was a witch murdered at the hands of a wolf shifter in his town.

He promised he’d find them and he would stop them. He doesn’t need to be the sheriff or the Alpha to do that. He just needs to be a protective male who will do anything to keep his mate safe.

And I have no doubt in my mind that Riordan Lobo will do that for me.

So what if he’s considered the second-most powerful wolf in town? The first time I stood near both brothers after Riordan returned, I could feel it. Max is Alpha of the Moonshadow Pack, but the power under Riordan’s skin is every bit as strong. He simply chooses to bend it around his younger brother instead of challenging him, and that might have been because the curse taught him that he can’t command the world to do as he says, but, at long last, Riordan is finally content in both his fur and his skin.

He has his brother. He has his pack. He has his mate.

Now he just needs to find the threat to all of us and take it down—and if there’s anyone I believe can do that? It’s my mate.

By mid-afternoon, I’ve moved exactly one thing into Riordan’s cabin: me.

Before we headed for my parked car so that we could drive over to pack land, we went around to the front of Dough You Believe in Magic. Just like I expected, Honey was at the counter, chatting with a customer, while Gus was curled up on top of the flour bag he claims as his throne, lording over the storefront.

I formally told Honey that I would be moving out of the apartment she so graciously let me use this past month, and if her expression of surprise is absolutely fake, I’m grateful she at least pretends that it wasn’t obvious that I would end up agreeing to move in with Riordan now that we’re bonded.

I tried to get Riordan to agree to let me pack up a few essentials, but he showed his stubborn wolfish side when he refused. He really meant it when he said that his inner beast needs me on his territory to prove that I’m his mate in all ways, and Honey readily agreed to store my kit, my clothes, and the belongings I’ve accumulated during my stay in Moonburrow for as long as I need her to.

Riordan swore that I’ll have everything I need at his place, and when I teasingly mentioned that he’s too proud to let me borrow his clothes in case I ruin them, my mate gave me a deadpan look, flexed his fingers, and used his claws to shred the hundred-dollar silk shirt he was wearing.

He draped one of the largest pieces over my chest while giving me a lusty gaze. “Will that fit?” he asked, teasing me right back.

It might just cover my nipples. “If you’re okay with your packmates seeing me wear nothing but this scrap of fabric, sure.”

Maybe I shouldn’t have put that idea in his head. Riordan insisted on driving my rental car—that Riordan promised to buy for me since I kind of have no way of returning it this late at this point—since I’ve never been to his cabin before. Good thing he’s going to buy it out because, the second his jealous side responded to the idea of his packmates seeing me wearing nothing but that scrap, he jumped the curb.

Luckily, the bunny shifter heading down Main Street hopped away before the car slammed into her. Recognizing Riordan as the driver, the prey shifter kept her complaints to a shake of her head, and I had to swallow my giggle as Riordan grumbled under his breath and righted the car.

We made one pitstop on the way to his home. After I admitted that I didn’t wear long, flowy outfits because I preferred, and that I’d be more comfortable in something else, he asked me if I was willing to add to my wardrobe on him. Feeling more confident with Riordan’s bite on my shoulder, I figured it couldn’t hurt. After twenty minutes in a small boutique on the shifter side of town, I now have enough summertime outfits—complete with short shorts and some slick, silky blouses of my own—to last me through August, and an excitement that has me squealing and clutching his arm as we drove out to pack land.

There’s only one thing he chose not to purchase for me.

No underwear among all the bags, I noticed, though I keep that little tidbit to myself. Something tells me that, now that I’m going to be living with my possessive wolf shifter mate, he doesn’t think I’ll need them… and I can’t say he’s wrong.

CHAPTER 21

INTERRUPTED

do you feel that?

gus’s whiskers are twitching.

something is wrong…