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“Dropped her off at the diner,” Everett said. “She wanted to talk to Esmeralda.”
“Well, she is older than dirt, so I guess if there was any way to break a bond, Esmeralda probably would know it.” He picked up his phone and made a call. “Hey, babe. Is Esmeralda there? Yeah. Uh-huh. Okay, Everett and I are on our way.”
When he hung up, Everett raised an eyebrow. “Why are we on our way?”
“Esmeralda wants to talk to me.”
“And why am I going?”
“She’s your mate, right?”
“Esmeralda is not my mate.”
Jericho rolled his eyes. “Okay, smart-ass. Payton thinks I should hear her story, so you’re coming along for the ride.”
“Yay.”
****
Brinnah watched Everett’s truck until the taillights were lost among the other vehicles, then she took a deep breath and hobbled into the diner. The scents of bacon, pancakes, and coffee hit her all at once and her stomach rumbled, reminding her she hadn’t had anything decent to eat in days. Her wolf had hunted rabbits and squirrels, but having normal human food would be heaven.
“You can sit anywhere, hun!”
Brinnah looked up and saw an older woman smiling at her. Short with silver threaded through her hair, she hustled around with a carafe of coffee. Brinnah took the first empty booth she saw and slid onto the vinyl seats. Another woman walked up, smiling, and Brinnah immediately sensed her power. There was no doubt this was the luna of the pack. Immediately, she scrambled out of the booth to kneel, but the woman grabbed her arms, halting her.
“Uh, no,” the luna said in a low tone. “There’re humans present.”
Brinnah’s eyes widened and darted around. “Oh. I’m sorry, Luna.” She bowed her head in deference.
“Stop,” she whispered and Brinnah raised her head. “It’s okay. You can call me Payton. Sit back down, please. Now, what would you like?”
“Um,” Brinnah said. “I’m looking for Esmeralda.”
Payton’s eyebrows went up. “Sure. Let me go get her.”
She turned and walked over to the older woman. Esmeralda glanced in her direction. Then they both headed back over to her.
“Hello,” Esmeralda greeted her with an easy smile.
“Hi,” Brinnah said. “My name is Brinnah Ashford.”
“Nice to meet you, Brinnah. What can I do for you?”
“Uh, I was sent here to ask for your help.”
“Oh? By who?”
“Elder Agnes.”
Esmeralda blinked and tilted her head, and then she slowly reached up and hovered over Brinnah’s ear. “May I?”
Brinnah nodded, and the older woman moved the hair back, revealing the pointed ears. Payton gasped and quickly looked around to make sure no one was watching.
“You’re from up north,” Esmeralda breathed.
Brinnah nodded. “Moondust Pack.”
“My, oh my. There’s a name from the past.” Esmeralda studied her for a long moment. “If you left the pack, you must have gotten permission.”
