A few seconds later, Lily returned with a wet cloth. She brushed it over Paula’s forehead. “There, there. You’ll feel better soon.”
Paula moaned, but she was quieter than she had been. That wasn’t a good sign.
Where on earth was the ambulance? Was there a pileup on the highway or something? I bet Gideon could get someone over here right away. I patted my pockets for my phone. It wasn’t there.
“Do you see my phone anywhere?” I must have dropped it beside Paula when I’d found her. I didn’t want to jostle Paula to go look for it. She was so frail and vulnerable. I also didn’t want to leave Lily alone with Paula. Just in case.
Wait. What if Lily had only pretended to make the call?
“No. I don’t know where your phone is.” Lily shook her head as she fussed over Paula. “You should take a drink to calm your nerves.”
I reached for the coffee with my free hand. As soon as my fingers brushed against the cup, it was like a thousand bees stung me at the same time. My hand spasmed. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Lily was trying to kill me, too, with a smile on her damn face.
I bet she swiped my phone when I was distracted with Paula. Even if I did go looking for it, I doubted I’d find it.
I felt the weight of Lily’s gaze on me. I lifted the cup. I couldn’t drink from it, but I didn’t know what else to do.
As if sensing my rising panic, Lily lifted her eyebrow. Metal glinted in one of her hands.Fuck. When had she grabbed a paring knife? Had she used that knife to chop up the moonbane? Was it covered in poison, too?
Gideon had said once that all I had to do was shout his name, and he’d come. Unfortunately, I doubted I’d make it past the first syllable of Gideon’s name before Lily stopped me. What else could I do? Run for the door? Nope, not that, because I couldn’t leave Paula.
What if I screamed in my head as loudly as I could? Would that work instead? I had to try. Last night, when Gideon and I were together, I felt a connection. What we’d shared was more than just sex. I was sure of it. But would that connection work outside bed, too?
GIDEON!
I poured all my panic and fear into his name. I prayed my magic was as strong as everyone thought it was and that shouting for him that way would work. If my magic was limited to baking, I was screwed.
The shriek of an angry raven was the only response.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Where the hell is Declan?
Gideon
I watched Declan go and turned my attention back to Emily, a magpie shifter raising two younglings on her own.
“What’s wrong, Emily?”
“It’s Corbin.” She sighed. “There’s a booth at the festival selling jewelry—shiny, sparkly jewelry. When we got home last night, I checked his pockets and found a bracelet, two rings, and a prism. I’m returning them all today, of course, but I hoped you could talk to him. He has to learn to control those impulses if we’re going to live among humans.”
“He’s still young. He’ll figure it out.” I smiled. “But yes, I’ll talk to him.”
“Thank you. It’s hard enough to be a teen without fighting your instincts.”
“You know we have our weekly support group, but it’s all adults. I doubt Corbin wants to spend the evening listening tous talk, but Elwood has talked about starting a group for teens. Maybe it’s time for that.”
“That would be great.” She hugged me. “Thank you.”
In the kitchen, Perry and Sable were finishing the last of the dishes while Mellgren hung upside-down in bat form from the shelf over the sink, wings folded like a cloak. Normally, I’d have jumped in to help, but the clock on the wall caught my eye.
Declan had been gone longer than I liked.
I told myself not to be overbearing. He was a grown man, not a fragile wolf pup, but unease coiled in my gut all the same. He’d gone to meet Paula, and she’d planned to check the camera footage. If she’d found something dangerous?—
“Gideon?” Sable waved a soapy hand in front of my face. “Did you hear me? Someone in the pub mentioned a shifter conference coming to town next month. Did you know about that? Don’t they have to check with you first because you’re the alpha here?”
I looked at the clock again. When I looked back at Sable, she was staring at me. “What did you ask me again?”
