"There's got to be a way to figure out what's bugging him," Colby groaned. "What about Doc?"
"Trevor says he doesn't need to see him." I shrugged. "I can force him to go in, but if he doesn't know what's bothering him, how will Doc be able to treat him?"
Colby nodded and slumped back in his seat, his head dangling backward a bit and his eyes closed. "Too bad there's not a script for this kind of shit."
"True." I had to laugh. "That would be fucking convenient."
When Rafe raised a brow my direction, I huffed. "For fuck's sake, Rafael. Are you going to start nagging me aboutallof my bad habits since Trevor decided I'm not worth the effort or just my drinking and swearing?"
"Oh, Clint," Colby rushed to speak when Rafe laughed, "I don't know what's going on, but I'm sure that isn't it!"
"It's okay, Colby." I tried to force a smile. "That was a little overdramatic, I know. Still, until that script comes along.." I trailed off as a crazy thought occurred to me. "Wait a minute. Maybe there is a script."
Colby's chair scraped across the tile floor as he popped up in it and shoved away from the table. "Whaddaya mean?"
"That old folktale that Rafe and Falk were going on about when the dragons needed Trevor's help. What does it say about where the Empath ends up?"
Colby and I both turned to Rafe who, surprisingly, looked concerned at the thought.
"Alpha? What's wrong?" Colby raised a brow.
"It's not that simple," Rafe hedged, sucking in a deep breath. "It's a fairy tale, for fuck's sake!"
Colby and I both stared at him. That didn't sound like Rafe at all.
"Just a fairytale?" Colby repeated, his head tilting in confusion. "You had all kinds of faith in those stories before."
"Shit." Rafe shoved his bulk up out of the smallish chrome chair that matched the vintage café style table and began to pace the tiny room, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he worked over something in his mind. When he came to a stop, he looked far from pleased by the conclusion he had reached.
"We would have to go to Hidden Dale to see Adalwolfa. She won't be returning to the mountain for several months." He stared directly into my eyes, probably waiting for me to refuse. It was no secret that there was no love lost between the bog witch and me, but I was surprised that Rafe thought I would back away from her – from anything, really – if it meant keeping Trevor.
"Can she help?"
Rafe's jaw tightened so quickly that I worried his fangs might break through his lips and, when he spoke, the words were forced between clenched teeth. "Maybe."
"Then let's go."
~*~
The small Pennsylvania town of Hidden Dale was only a few hours away by car, but it was still nearly light before we were even on the road. My twin brother, Colt, usually handled pack business when I was away but I hadn't seen him in several weeks; not since his Omega – a young female named Chloe – had taken off suddenly with their one-year-old daughter and he had gone to bring his child home. His cell phone wasn't receiving calls, but no wolf is immune to the call of their Alpha, and as soon as Colt heard my howl, he had begun the trek home. Still, he'd been several hours away, so that was time lost.
Then, of course, there had been the issue of Trevor. I couldn't very well just disappear on him and our pups, either. And – a significantand– I was pretty sure that there was a special place reserved in purgatory for a being who went behind their mate's back to try and save a relationship. After all, if Trevor felt manipulated into our mating when he had consented before I bit him, how would he feel if the bog witch was able to hocus-pocus everything better and he found out about it later? Nope. I wasn't willing to risk that.
Anyway, by early morning the twins had been left with Beth, a Beta who sometimes sat for them, and Trevor and I were driving in silence into the day.
Chapter Three
Trevor
"You want me to do what?" I knew I was staring at Clint like he'd suddenly morphed into a squirrel or something equally crazy.
"I want you to leave the boys with Beth and come with me to Hidden Dale," Clint repeated patiently.
"The salad dressing town from the commercials?"
"Pretty sure that's Hidden Valley," Clint corrected me with a straight face. "Hidden Dale is a town a few hours from here where Adalwolfa Paul occasionally teaches biology at a private college. Rafe thinks the bog witch might be able to help us with our problem."
"Myproblem, you mean," I said sourly.
