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We started running toward the coffee shop where I’d left her with Gar’s wards and the were mates.
What happened? Avery! What’s going on?
A green. That green… He followed us.
That green? That magical I’d almost fought. I should have killed him in Chicago.
Chapter Ten
~ Avery ~
One Hour Earlier
I watched Jared and Gar go toward the mechanic’s garage, then Lola and Allie hustled me into the coffee shop owned by their friend, Cara and her mate, Duncan.
“Care-Care,” Lola called as we entered. “Allie and I brought the newbie! This is Avery.”
The dark-haired woman behind the counter looked up and smiled at me, her green eyes seeming to almost glow. “Hi! I was hoping the girls would bring you over. Welcome! My sister-in-law will be here soon.”
“Ta-da!” a woman with a gorgeous mane of dark auburn called as she came through the door right then. “And here she is just as you speak of her.”
“Avery,” Cara said. “This drama queen is my sister-in-law, Nicole. She’s mated to my mate’s brother.”
“Sister with another mister,” Nicole quipped. Cara rolled her eyes while Lola giggled.
“That doesn’t even make sense,” Cara groaned.
“Well, it sounded better in my head.” Nicole turned to me. “Hi, I’m—oh! You’re a vampire. Cool!”
“Um, kind of,” I said, letting her shake my hand.
“She and her mate aren’t fully bonded yet,” Lola said.
Nicole made a wince-y face, baring her teeth. “Ooh, you probably want to get on that.” She glanced at my hand. “You’re already married. Is there a hang up?”
“Maybe we should get drinks and sit down before you start analyzing her,” Cara called. She moved around behind the counter. “Lo, Allie,” she called. “Here’re yours. Avery, I have a special one for you, but it takes a sec. Nicole. Just black coffee?”
“Oh, Darling, black as my soul. You should do to-go cups for all of us. We can show Avery around town.”
“Good idea,” one of the other women replied.
I glanced around this group. I’d never had a lot of friends outside of Leanne. I could really come to like this quartet. Allie was quiet, but I had a feeling she hid a lot beneath the surface. Deep waters and all that. Lola was clearly her protector and best friend. She also had the energy of a rambunctious puppy. Nicole really had a flare for the dramatic, reminding me of some of the over the top divas I’d seen on TV. Not the bitchy kind, just the ones who swanned in and had their personalities light up a room. And Cara, seemed the mom type. A caretaker, calm and capable.
“Here you go, hon,” Cara called, reminding me so much of Leanne my still heart hitched a little. “This is a steamed coffee-blood drink the town’s vampires swear by—especially the newbies.”
“Sounds intriguing.”
She winked. “You’ll see. I bet you come in every night to get one. Everyone got their drinks? Okay… Hey, Dunc,” she called. “We’re going for a walk to show Avery around.”
A tall, wide-shouldered man, with long sandy-brown hair rounded the corner and swept her into his arms, making her look tiny against him. “Be careful,” he admonished, his words accented. I longed to hear more so I could decipher where he hailed from.
“My husband looks just like him,” Nicole said, bumping my shoulder. “Or so they say. Apparently, their identical twins.”
“Aye,” Duncan called. “And I be the more handsome one.”
Right, that accent was deep, rumbling Scottish. His aura was orange, so I could only assume all four were weres of some sort.
“Not to my eyes,” Nicole called. “Come on, Avery, girls. Let’s go before they start playing smoochy face.”
