Ash’s jaw dropped. “How? The entire town is talking about it! He met a woman in the forest, and apparently, he’s now obsessed. Caelan is offering a massive reward for whoever hunts her down.”
I was going to hurl. Healing a random shifter was one thing. But healing the freaking Shifter Lord? That was an entire truckload of trouble about to land on my doorstep.
“I don’t understand. He doesn’t know who she is?” I busied my hands with closing out the register.
Moira had yet to utter a word. Judgment marred her pretty face, but she hadn’t sold me out to the others. Something I’d thank her for later.
Ash waved his hand. “Semantics. What I want to know is who is this mystery woman? What did she do? And why is Caelan so insistent on uncovering her identity?”
Tess swooned. “It’s like Cinderella.”
“Except with sharper teeth and more danger,” I said ruefully.
Ash’s eyes narrowed. “You always like hot tea, Evie. What’s crawled up your butt today?”
“Nothing good will come of the Shifter Lord’s attention,” I said quietly.
Ash snorted. “Hmm. He’s rich, famous, mysterious, and one of the seven most powerful creatures in existence. Most womenwould throw themselves at his feet if he spared them even a single glance.”
I grimaced. “No thanks.”
He shook his head and sighed. “Hopeless, I tell you. This is why you’ll be a spinster forever. Little Evie and her avoidant attachment syndrome.”
Usually, I laughed when Ash psychoanalyzed me. Today, it felt like a knife in the heart. I closed the register drawer. “Moira, mind taking care of this? I’m going to head out a little early today.”
The vampire nodded, sympathy flickering in her eyes. “Of course. I’ll pop by later for dinner if you’re up for it.”
I offered a wan smile. “I’ll text you later.”
Grabbing my purse, I headed toward the back, only to hear Ash and Tess murmuring. Moira’s sharp rebuke echoed behind me.
Chapter
Five
CAELAN
“Ican’t tell you anything other than she smelled like jasmine,” I barked. “If I knew who she was, I would find her!” I held the mystery woman’s cell phone, broken beyond repair but with a faint touch of her scent. Oddly, there was no trace of a magical scent on the device, only the slightest hint of flowers.
Simone, my quiet, reliable Omega, studied me. “The Joy Springs gossip lines are on fire today, Caelan. You shouldn’t seem quite so eager to find her. It may attract...other things her way.”
I ran a hand through my hair and bit out a quiet curse. “You don’t understand. I should have died.” And that was a real kick in the teeth. Very few things could kill me, and those things I shouldn’t be able to come back from. What that woman had done defied both logic and magic.
I didn’t like things I couldn’t understand.
Ninety-nine percent of people would have left me to die. I deserved to die for all the things I’d done. Most of them would spit on my grave. This woman had brought me back from the brink of death, and not only that, she’d done more.
My skin looked like a newborn baby’s. Not a mark marred my skin. No aches, no pains, no tiredness. No...nothing. I felt like a goddamn teenager again.
All I could remember about her was a sweep of dark hair, glowing eyes, and staggering power. Something like her should not exist. She’d brought me back from the brink of death, and that was something I couldn’t ignore.
Simone nodded. “I do understand. Something more powerful than you stumbled upon you during the most vulnerable moment you’ve ever had and showed mercy.”
She sighed and crossed her leanly muscled arms, watching me with a look I didn’t like. “Perhaps you should accept this as the gift it is and leave it alone. This woman did not have an ulterior motive. If she did, she would have stayed with you and demanded payment.”
Simone was right, and I liked her logic even less. “Perhaps she’s biding her time, hiding out like a spider until she needs a favor,” I grumbled.
My Omega rolled her eyes, a gesture no one else would be brave enough to direct at me. “Healers are rarely terrible people, Caelan. She saw an injured man, and she healed him. You should take this as the gift it’s meant to be and leave the poor woman alone.”
