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“It was in the same place the hikers were found. Whoever meddled with their minds is probably the one who killed my dad. Common enemy,” I said.
“Shit.” Zoe blew out a breath.
“You two will be occupied in the woods, hunting whatever it was that did this,” I said.
“You think there’s a witch out there,” Clayton said.
“Or something worse,” Zoe added ominously.
“If this creature is attacking humans and killing shifters, don’t you think it’ll come after us?” Clayton pointed out.
“It might,” Zoe said. “But it hasn’t killed any of our patrols. It targeted our alpha.”
“And someone with that kind of power is likely on someone else’s payroll,” I added. “They won’t kill without seeing the money.”
“Welcome to the inner circle, kid,” Zoe said.
Clayton’s hands shook as he sipped his coffee. I knew this was a big task for him, but until we knew the true circumstances of my dad’s death, I couldn’t trust anyone else.
ChapterFive
Morgan
“I’m telling you,it might be time to go somewhere new. There are other packs that would gladly take you in. Shit, even moving to a human city might be better than marrying Owen,” Jasmine said.
I grabbed hold of her wrist and turned it so the tattoo on her forearm was clearly visible. “What about you? You’re lucky my dad was willing to take you in. I still don’t know how you pulled that off, but you leave this pack and any other witch finds you and you’re dead.”
The mark on her arm was what the witches referred to as adeath promise. Her coven had marked her with it after retrieving her the first time she ran away. If any other witch saw her, they’d see her as a threat and kill her on sight. My dad had a deep mistrust of witches as a rule, and the only thing I could think of as to why he let Jasmine stay was because of that mark. One of those “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” kind of situations.
“I doubt your dad would even blink if I took over running the bar without you,” Jasmine said. “He hates this place more than he hates you.”
“He’d sell it if I was gone. Or maybe just burn it to the ground.” The thought sent a shudder through me. It would take out the buildings on either side but I could see him doing it without remorse.
When I gave Jasmine the room across from mine, I was hoping to get an extra set of hands out of the arrangement. I wasn’t expecting to get a friend that would make living in this town tolerable.
“Besides, without your potion, I’ll be right back where I was before I met you.” Going into heat in a strange city where I didn’t know anybody seemed even more dangerous the marrying Owen.
“I could go with you,” she offered.
“It’s too risky. Even with makeup, other witches will sense that mark on you. Stupid magic tattoo,” she grumbled.
It wasn’t that it was just visible, witches could feel it. There was a whole subset of witch bounty hunters that made their living chasing people like Jasmine.
I set my hand on top of hers and gave it a squeeze. “It’ll be okay. I’ll figure something out. Running isn’t the solution here.”
“You think he’d come after you?” Jasmine asked.
I shook my head. “I think my dad would be happy to get rid of me.”
“Not your dad, Owen. You have to either accept or turn him down so publicly that he’s not willing to bother again. If you fled, he’d hunt you down. There are things he could do to force your hand.” I could see the unspoken thoughts written on her face. Without the potion, Owen could find me during a very inconvenient time for me and I’d oblige in things I didn’t want to do.
There was another reason I was terrified about going into heat. It wasn’t just the fact that I lost control or might even attract a mate I didn’t want; it was also the only time a female shifter could get pregnant. If Owen got me pregnant, I’d be stuck with him.
“We should prepare to open.” I couldn’t think about this anymore. Mopping the floors and cutting up limes sounded like a much better way to pass the time.
Jasmine nodded. “Whatever you decide, you’ve got me in your corner.”
* * *
