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Winter [Sterling]
Sounds like a threat.
Sterling
A threat AND a gift. Just what you like best.
Winter [Sterling]
So now I get 2 gifts.
He sent me a string of emojiis that translated to somethingveryprofane, but I wasn’t sure what: eggplant, wolf, peach, an umbrella, camera, a candle, and a toilet plunger.
Either that wolf was fucking with me, or he had a very dubious “gift” planned.
The airport was busy, with little planes puttering about. No AmberHowl wolves were supposedly going to be on duty or flying, but I was careful to scamper across the tarmac and up the stairs into the body of the jet.
“Mint!” Why wasMinton the plane?
Mint hugged me tight. Then he pulled back and demanded, “What is thatawfulhair? Whodidthat to you?”
“What are you doing here?” He was wearing an impeccable suit, as always, with a bright yellow-green pocket square and beautiful morning-glory-flower enamel cufflinks.
“Helping you, of course.” Mint pulled me to our seats.
What? Mint was in no position to help me. He was going toneedhelp if he spent any time hanging out around me. I spun around on Hamid. “Didyoudo this?”
Unruffled, Hamid replied, “Yes, ma’am. We’re flying into West Palm Beach. It will risk drawing attention if anyone recognizes you in the state you’re in. The situation around your appearance is somewhat delicate.”
“ThestateI’m in?” I snapped. “What stateshouldI be in? Perky and ready to walk a red carpet? How dare you drag Mint into this!”
Mint tugged my shirt. “Winter, I didn’t get dragged into anything. Are you safe?”
Hamid took his seat and nodded that I should sit down. I complied, but only because the pilots were peering out from the business end of the plane waiting for me to get myself sorted for my multi-state hopscotch.
I’d barely known Mint three months, he didn’t have any business getting dragged into this and should have been allowed to lead his own werewolf-free life. Before I could figure out what to tell him, he said, gently, “I’ve been worried about you. I got told by my employer to drop it, and the family had requested ‘privacy.’”
Shame soaped my insides. “Mint, I am so sorry. The bear attackistrue. We were out hunting, pulled a bear, a wild boar got involved, things got wild.”
“And that explains this terrible hair? Winter, don’t lie to me.”
“I’ve been recovering with some friends and decided I didn’t want to risk getting spotted.” I pulled up my shirt to expose the angry scar on my side, whichclearlyfeatured the ragged lines of teeth and claws around the mangled perimeter. “See? Animal attack.”
Mint jumped back, turned pale, then green, then pale again. “Ah…”
I shoved my shirt back down. “Sorry. I’ve been lying low while I healed up until I’m ready to face art gala parties again.”
Mint recovered and reverted back to his suspicion. “Nobody’s going to recognize you out here in the sticks.”
“We’re three hours from DC in a beautiful part of Virginia that attracts tourists, and it’s the end of turkey season.” I glared at my teacup. “Fucking embarrassing. My first major hunt with my new family and I end up damn near dead. My field skills were part of the matchmaker’s sales pitch.”
Okay. Maybe I should not have saidsales pitch. But Mint knew Sterling and I were a matchmaker pair, so obviously there had been a pitch.
“Is that why you’re down here?” Mint asked with a frown on his face. “You’re being punished?”
“More like in no rush to get back to the version of reality where I accidentally managed to convince Manhattan’s social scene that I like modern art.”
“You have lost weight. Your skin shows you’ve had a time of it.”
