She nodded, and Damien frowned, like this was the first time he’d heard of it. With how overprotective he was of Willow, and knowing how he tried to keep her off her feet as much as possible, it didn’t surprise me.
“They were for him,” I offered. “He got attacked by some sort of…” I lowered my voice, not wanting everyone in the cafe to hear. “Monsteroutside of town a few weeks ago. We’re just lucky I found him when I did.” Sure, I’d left out a few small details, but that was the gist of it.
He chuckled, and I wondered if he was thinking the same thing that I was.
“Barrett, this is my boss, Willow. Her and her sister own the Witches’ Brew. And this is her…” I looked at Damien, wondering what to call him. Mate seemed too personal, like that wasn’t myright to call him that. I supposed husband sufficed. Her ring sparkled on her left hand. They’d had the ceremony last month, before Luna had given birth to her twins.
“This is my mate,” Willow jumped in. “Damien.”
He stuck out his hand towards Barrett. “Good to meet you,” he said, in something that was almost a grunt.
The wolf shifter at my back reached out and shook his hand.
“You’re a shifter,” Damien said, a look of surprise crossing his face as they pulled apart.
Barrett nodded. “Yes.”
Willow’s eyes widened. “A shifter? I’ve never met another one.”
“Wolf,” he clarified. “I’m from a small town up in Vermont. Everyone in Walnut Ridge is a wolf shifter, though.”
She looked at her mate. “He can turn into a wolf, and all you can turn into is acat?”
Damien’s eyes darkened, and he leaned down, brushing his lips over Willow’s ear, and she blushed. “Damien,” she scolded. He looked satisfied with himself, and I could almost picture a cat licking his paw after killing a mouse, and I held back a giggle at watching them interact.
Willow turned back to me. “So… what are you two up to? Headed anywhere exciting?”
“We’re actually going to the tribune,” I said, looking up at Barrett. I wasn’t sure how much I should say about what we were trying to do, but if anyone would understand—and be trustworthy—it was Willow. “There’s something… strange going on.”
“Strange how?” Damien asked, his deep voice somehow filling all of the space around us. As much as Willow teased him, he definitely wasn’t a being I wanted to be on the bad side of.
I looked around us, keeping my voice lowered. “We think the town wards are failing. That’s why the demons have been able to get through. And now… Barrett.”
Willow bit her lip, looking at Damien. “I always figured that you were just able to get through because you were my mate.”
He smoothed her hair with his hand. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”
Barrett shook his head. “The…thingthat attacked me, it felt wrong. Unnatural. And whatever is affecting the barrier has the same smell—like a rot.” His nose twitched, like he was remembering the scent. “Something is wrong with the town.”
“And you think the town records will help you figure out what it is?”
I shrugged. There was no guarantee, but I had to have hope. “There has to be some reason the elders made the wards thisway when they first created the town. Why they kept us isolated from the rest of the paranormal community. I mean, none of us even knew that demons were real until last year when Damien showed up. Who knows what else is out there?” A shiver ran down my spine thinking of whatever had attacked the wolf at my side, to cause those gashes and teeth marks. I definitely did not want to find myself face to face with a creature like that. I indicated to Barrett. “Until he showed up, I had no idea anything was even amiss. We’re all in the dark.”
Damien nodded his head, scratching his chin. “I should check in with Zain, too. Maybe he’ll know something. ”
Willow’s eyes lit up. “You know I’ll never turn down an excuse to see my sister and the twins.” They were both so close, that I could only imagine being apart was hard on both of them.
He kissed the top of her head. “We’ll go tonight.” Damien turned back to both of us. “Are you okay here? I don’t know what’s out there.”
Barrett tugged me tight against his body. “I’ll keep her safe.”
I could feel the truth in his words, and even though I should have been scared, I couldn’t help but feel exhilarated. Like for the first time in my life, I was going to do something that really mattered. Something that would help every single witch in this town.
And I’d do it all with this wolf by my side.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
barrett
