“I didn’t realize Gideon was serious about anyone.” She grinned and held out her hand. “I’m Sable. And I’ll bet you’re Declan.”
“Yep.” I shook her hand. “I’m Elwood’s grandson.”
How did she know who I was? Or that I was seeing Gideon? Oh, wait. Was this another of those sexual energy things? Or… Oh, God. She’d sniffed me.
Did that mean every single person in town knew Gideon and I had been together this afternoon? Could no one have a secret when there was magic around?
“I figured,” she said. “Everyone’s been talking about Gideon taking you around the festival and stuff.”
“Um, yeah…” I shifted back and forth on my feet. My cheeks heated.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable. Shifters are all a bunch of nosy bastards, particularly when it comes to our alpha. But it’s just because we’re all happy he’s found someone.”
“Yeah. Um. Okay.” I adjusted my glasses. “So, is he here? In the back, maybe?”
Sable shook her head. “Nope. He’s gone over to Elwood’s. I think they’re having one of those support group meetings.”
“Right. I’ll…” I pointed over my shoulder toward the door.
“Oh, you’re a cutie.” She winked at me. “I can see why he’s into you.”
Yeah, I didn’t know what that meant, so I hurried to the exit before any other embarrassing things happened.
The door to The Mystic Menagerie was unlocked, so I slipped inside. I heard voices coming from the back of the shop. Could I crash their meeting? That didn’t seem very polite, but I had news! Everyone would want to know, wouldn’t they?
It wouldn’t hurt to check and see, right? If they were discussing serious topics, I’d leave them to it and tell them what I’d found out later.
When I got to the threshold, I heard Gideon say, “Now, does anyone have anything else?”
I peeked into the room.
“Oh! Declan! You’re here!” Hazel gushed, spying me immediately. She beckoned me in with one of her long black spider legs. I barely suppressed a shiver at the sight of it. “Come join us, dear. I feel like we have so much to talk about.”
“We do?” I asked. Why did I get the feeling I was missing something?
Now everyone else was looking at me, too. My gaze, on the other hand, went straight to Gideon’s. His cheeks were a little darker than normal. It didn’t feel overly warm in here, so I wondered why he was flushed. Maybe he was thinking about how we parted this afternoon. Or all the things we’d gotten up to before that?
Okay, yeah. It was hot in here, wasn’t it?
I swallowed. “So, it’s okay if I come in?”
“Of course, Declan,” Elwood answered for the group. “I’d planned to invite you to join our next meeting. I would’ve invited you tonight, too, but I wasn’t sure where you’d run off to.”
“That wasn’t the smartest thing to do, dear,” Hazel said in a tone that reminded me of my mother. “Not when a murderer is running around killing people.”
“I just went next door to help Paula.” I made my way to an empty chair.
“Oh, don’t sit there,” Hazel said. “Why don’t you sit over where Az is. Az, you come over here.” She patted the seat beside her with one of her spider paws–or were they feet?
Taking Az’s seat would put me right beside Gideon (and well away from Hazel’s eight extra limbs). That sounded perfect to me, but I didn’t want to put anyone out. Az stared at Hazel for a long moment, but then he got up and moved to the other chair without saying a word.
“I would have been okay over there,” I mumbled, “but uh, thanks, I guess.”
I shuffled to the newly empty seat and sat down. Sandy and Tulip wore giddy smiles on their faces as their gazes bounced between Gideon and me.Yep. They knew what’d happened this afternoon. No doubt about it.
“So, what is this, exactly?” I asked.
Tulip straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. “Welcome to the Ravenstone Misfit Monsters’ Support Group.”
