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“I’m heading there for a meeting tomorrow morning, so I’ll be able to check.”
Speculation suddenly glimmered in Ashworth’s eyes. “I’d heard that Aiden had been cleared by the council to assume his father’s mantle as alpha and had called a pack meeting, but why are they calling you there?”
I grinned. “Because he intends to push a vote on the matter as to whether we live in the compound or not once we’re married.”
“I can just imagine how his mother will react to that.” Ashworth’s voice was dry. “Oh, to be a fly on the wall to watch events unfold.”
“To say it will be interesting could well be the understatement of the year, in a year that’s had plenty of them,” I said, with a grin.
He laughed, and we finally got down to the business of altering our protection charms, laying not only wild magic through the vampire and demon repellent spells but also additional layers via spells created by Ashworth and Eli. Then we repeated the process, creating new charms for the two of them and also Aiden.
To say we were all exhausted by the time we’d finished would be an understatement.
After they’d all left, I revoked Maelle’s access to the café, hoped like hell it worked, then walked upstairs and out onto the balcony, quickly snaring a thread of Katie’s wild magic. I was too tired to converse very long with her, but she promised she’d update me on the basilisk’s movement by lunch tomorrow.
With that done, I fell into bed and dropped into an exhausted sleep—one so deep not even dreams plagued me.
I once again woke to the delicious and rather erotic sensation of a muscular body snuggled against mine. I smiled and gently turned, watching the lovely planes of his face shift from sleep to awareness.
Then his eyes opened, and he smiled. “Morning, gorgeous.”
I kissed him, soft and lingering. “What time did you get in last night?”
“Around one. Informing a parent about the death of their child is never a pleasant task, and I tend to stay until relatives or friends can come around and look after them.”
“I don’t know how you do it. It would break me.”
He grimaced. “It is, thankfully, a relatively minor part of the job. And one that’s not fair to pass on to the team.”
I nodded and lightly touched the charm around his neck. “Before we leave the café this morning, we need to change this over for the new one we made last night.”
“Why? What’s wrong with this one?”
“It won’t be strong enough.”
I quickly updated him on last night’s events, and he frowned. “From the sound of that, we better start preparing ourselves for an influx of bodies utterly drained of blood.”
“I’m thinking if Maelle and Marie do go after each other’s people, there’s not going to be much in the way of remains left to identify them as human.” Not given Maelle’s bathing taste—one I suspected her maker might share. “What time do we have to be at the meeting this morning?”
“Nine.”
I ran a finger lightly down his hip and smelled the delicious leap of desire. “What time is it now?”
“Just after six.”
“Then we probably have twenty minutes or so before Belle arrives for the day.” I slid a leg over his hip and pressed him closer. “Would you like bacon and eggs for breakfast? Or something else?”
Being the wise man that he was, he voted for the “something else,” making me a very happy woman.
Aiden stopped the truck just beyond the compound’s main entrance, and we both climbed out. The air was sweet and warm, and the sky clear of clouds, despite the weather bureau’s prediction of storms later this afternoon.
What I couldn’t see was any evidence of the wild magic, though I could feel the thrum of the wellspring’s power clearly enough through the soles of my feet, despite the fact I was wearing shoes.
Tension wound through my limbs, but I did my best to ignore it and walked around the rear of the truck. Aiden caught my hand and led me forward, though I remembered the way clearly enough.
The trees quickly closed in, allowing shadows to cluster in this lower forest area. But the farther up the mountain we walked, the sparser the greenery became and the brighter it grew, until the wide canyon that led into the main living areas was bathed in sunshine. The canyon’s walls were almost sheer, and thick with reefs of quartz that appeared jewel-like and precious in the bright morning light. Given much of the gold discovered in the area surrounding the compound had been found in quartz reefs, the latter might not be all that far from the truth.
As we moved through the canyon, people appeared, silently watching us pass before continuing with whatever they’d been doing. Aiden’s confirmation as alpha would be old news now, but me appearing with him on the morning he’d called his first pack meeting would naturally stir some gossip and questions. At least the overwhelming emotion seemed to be curiosity rather than animosity, and that was a hopeful sign Karleen hadn’t yet persuaded the pack I was bad news. Now we just needed to convince them it would be beneficial foreveryoneif Aiden and I lived—and raised our children—within the compound.
