Beth smirked. “I feel like driving.”
Ann didn’t argue. She just smiled, small but grateful. “Thank you.”
Chapter 9
IT WAS EARLY AFTERNOONwhen Gael returned, and by then, Beth’s nerves were stretched thin as old wire. She’d tried to get in touch with someone,anyone, but not one of the magiks she’d called—and she’d called many—had picked up their damn phone.
So when Gael stepped into the pub right after the lunch rush, she ran straight to him, launching herself into his arms with zero decorum and even less care for the eyes on them.
He caught her instantly, holding her like she was the only steady thing in a storm. His face was drawn, pale beneath his usual golden tone, eyes shadowed with something dark. But when he looked at her, his lips curved faintly and brushed against hers with a desperate gentleness and he exhaled a deep sigh.
“Did you get him?” she asked, breathless, running her hands over his chest, arms, shoulders, making sure he was still in one piece.
“We did.”
Before she could ask who thewehad ended up being, the pub’s bell jingled, and she turned to see Aryon holding the door for a sleek, alert Belgian Malinois—Sheriff Morgan in his canine form.
Behind him padded a massive black wolf, Rex, the park ranger and werewolves’ alpha.
Elara followed, with Emma and her husband Rick close behind.
Harper, the new deputy, brought up the rear, and the group was finally closed out by Lachlan, the mayor and Sorcerer Magnus, gliding in like this was just another Wednesday.
“They were all with you?” she asked Gael, blinking at the small army assembling in the pub’s dining room.
“Yes,” he said. “The mountains are wide, and he moves fast. It made sense to have backup.”
“That’s some backup,” she muttered. “I’m guessing you’re all starving?” she asked the group as they claimed the largest table in the pub.
A round of enthusiastic affirmations echoed through the space.
“Lunch specials for everyone, then.” She kissed Gael’s cheek and headed for the kitchen. “Rex, Sheriff, you’ve got spare clothes in the back.”
Beth moved through the rest of lunch on autopilot. Orders, plates, refills, her body knew the rhythm, even if her mind kept drifting back to Gael’s face. He was back. Safe, but whatever had happened out there had taken a bite out of him.
After the rush settled, Aryon caught her as she was clearing a tray. “Shift’s over. Go home.”
She blinked. “It’s early. I’ve still got two hours left.”
“I know,” he said gently. “But Gael needs you more than we do right now.”
Beth hesitated. “What happened?”
Aryon’s gaze flicked briefly toward the kitchen, where Gael had disappeared for a quiet moment. “He found Bryn. He said he’d done nothing wrong, claimed he just asked Ann to spend time with him.”
“That’s stupid. She wouldn’t go near him.”
“I know. It was clear from his aura and what emotions he let slip that he was lying.”
Beth set down the tray, heart thudding. “So what happened?” Her voice caught slightly, and she crossed her arms. “You had to let him go?”
“No,” Aryon said. “Gael got into his head. Forced him to tell the truth.”
“And that’s good, right?”
“In a way.” Aryon hesitated. “That’s highly forbidden.”
Beth’s eyes widened. “But that’s what Bryn did. Twice. And that’s only the times we know about.”
