“You’ve outdone yourself, Fallon! How did you get this all ready so quickly?” Evie asked, as she clapped her hands in glee. Her radiant smile was my new favorite thing.
Fallon looked over the spread with awe. “I had a lot of time to skulk in the kitchen and I told the cook my perfect feast. He said we would make it when you returned. This magic stuff is wild.”
Maggie grabbed Evie’s arm, and I grabbed it right back, not willing to let her go quite yet. It felt like she was leaving. Or the guilt that I had to do the same brought out my possessiveness. That brought a blush to her cheeks, but my bear felt edgy and it was almost worse than the Goddess’ call. I wanted her on my lap to eat, but her hesitation said ‘no’.
I dragged Evie to the head of the table and she pointed to the other seat next to her. “No need to fight. You can sit here, Maggie.” I couldn’t tell if she was pleased or mortified by my attention.
Fallon eyed Evie with speculation. “Don’t be shy about telling us what happened, E,” Fallon said.
As we all took something for our plates, Evie said, “It was fun, kinda, except for the almost dying part.”
I kept slipping the best cuts, most succulent fruit and softest cheeses onto her plate as she recounted the adventure. The way she described her kidnapping was generous on her part—maybe even romantic. Dane kept catching my eye over the rapt focus of all the ladies. She downplayed the shifters nearly tearing us apart as a light skirmish. That really turned Dane’s head in a sharp motion of disbelief.
“That’s all the gossip there is, ladies. Let’s eat!” Evie pronounced.
I turned to the table and half the food disappeared, but I underestimated my mate and her companions. When they turned their eye to food, a bloodbath ensued.
Ruby produced wine—a rich summer vintage that filled the soul. Hands started flying, cutlery abandoned. Fallon portioned out the meat pie. Its warm juices and hearty flavor silenced us all until the last mouthful. That was until Maggie recounted the story of the first time Fallon tried to make that pie and the near bakery-ruining fire it produced. Evie tried to make the point that she helped and got shot down. I squeezed her leg in reassurance. She gave me a grateful look. More wine appeared. I watched my mate’s face flush, wishing I was the cause rather than the wine. How would I do this without her?
The women generated their own momentum like an avalanche. Once the wine bottles emptied, Fallon led them from the decimated table in search of more. Dane and I ended up quickly forgotten. The table looked like a battlefield of crumbs, bones and rinds. I didn’t know humans could eat so much.
“Did we just survive a massacre?” Dane asked.
“Do you still have all your limbs?” I said.
He patted himself down. “I think so, but I almost lost a finger when Ruby went for that disgusting glop Fallon called mac-and-cheese. I don’t want to hold her when she throws up later.”
I smiled. Dane would be happy to be holding Ruby, whether or not she was throwing up. His face grew serious.
“Evie recounted quite a tale. I’ve heard Ruby talk that way about how we got together. How bad was it, really? I’ve never seen you so much as scratched up before.”
The words died in my throat. When Evie let go of me to climb up to the relic, my bear didn’t just take over. He turned murderous—everything the monsters of the Harrowlands feared shifters would become if not ruled by their human side. The very thing I ruthlessly tucked away when my bear cost people their lives. I couldn’t have her see me lose control again. She would come to see me in the same way the people of my youth did.
“That bad?” Dane asked, as he put a hand on my shoulder.
“Worse than the bar.” I avoided his perceptive gaze, my bear equally chastised. Dane was one of the only beings in all of Harrowood whose opinion mattered to me. How embarrassing—my lack of control. I ruined the one thing my friend held dear.
Dane sighed. “You know, Ruby has been begging to remodel the bar for months now.”
I blinked at him. “You’re in for months of battles, then.” Was he really going to be that gracious?
“And months of make-up sex.” Dane’s wink was so lascivious I barked out a laugh. He was going to be that open-hearted. “I will give you to her so she can take it out on your ridiculous muscles. Ordering you around for a few months should make us even,” Dane said.
I rubbed the back of my neck. “I’m going to have to help you when I come back. And I’m going to ask you to take care of my mate. That she’s safe with you is probably the only thing my bear and I agree on.”
Dane squinted hard at me. “Leaving before the honeymoon? I see you've been doing a lot of wooing.” His sarcasm was hard to miss. “Females love it when you lock them in castles while you ride off into the sunset alone. The Grove will certainly watch your mate if you can stand to be apart from her. So, how long do I have to pack?”
I appreciated Dane's offer to come with me more than I would ever say. I didn't know if I deserved such a good friend.
“This is a shifter thing. I won’t put you at risk if you can’t help. Ruby would skin me for a rug. Veretis’ power didn’t diminish when Evie ate the relic. In fact, her eating it allowed me to hear the other relics buzzing their war call in the back of my mind.”
Dane just stared at me. “Ate it?”
He had to latch on to that part when I told him the shifter world was ending. “My mate is a great problem solver.”
Dane gave me a skeptical look but didn’t argue. “Aren’t the other relics lost to time? Veretis has always seemed more like a myth than a real Goddess. Maybe the buzzing came from all the blood loss.”
“I will have to figure it out when I find them. I don’t need Evie?—”
