The power in my voice halted her in her tracks. She’d never been a powerful shifter. Content to know her beauty was usually enough to assure her place in a Pack hierarchy, Rachel rarelyhad to ask for anything she wanted because most shifters were chomping at the bit to lay her desires at her feet.
But I was no ordinary shifter. “If Evie were here, she would kill you,” I said mildly.
Rachel scoffed. “As if a puny woman like her could harm me.”
My soft laugh made her eyes narrow. Her languid posture tensed.
“You honestly think your fiancée could do any damage?” Her laugh was amused, but tentative. She knew I knew something she didn’t, and it was making her nervous.
Good. “You’ve always underestimated everyone.” Even me, once upon a time. I’d done everything to prove myself to her, thrown myself at her feet just so she’d turn those gemstone-colored eyes to me, and she’d thrown it back on my face.
The only eyes I wanted upon me now belonged to a blue-eyed hurricane—a woman with a tender heart and a vicious mouth.
Rachel trailed a finger over the mahogany of the dresser. “She’s cast a spell on you. The Caelan I know would never have settled for someone so plain.”
“The Rachel I used to know would never have deigned to be someone’s last choice.”
Rachel sucked in a breath. “I’ve never known you to be so cruel.” Tears shimmered in her eyes.
“Get out of my bedroom. This will be my one and only warning.” I released my hold, and Rachel waited a long moment, her eyes narrowing as she thought about testing my boundaries.
When rationality finally won, Rachel breezed past me, but not before trailing a hand across my hip on her way out.
I waited until the door closed behind her before letting out a breath and sinking onto the edge of my bed.
She was going to be a problem. I’d call her father tomorrow to figure out the real reason she was here. Until then, I rose and locked my bedroom door.
If I wasn’t meeting with the Lords first thing in the morning, I’d stay with Evie tonight.
My phone pinged with a message.See you tomorrow night?
I smiled.I’ll be at your house by nine.
Night, Caelan.
Night, darling.
I set my phone on my nightstand and buried my head in my hands.
Chapter
Twelve
“He’s not coming?”
I shook my head. “Not tonight. He’ll be occupied most of the day tomorrow, too.”
“More time for us to find Tess,” Moira said quietly.
Ash planned to join us a little later, but he couldn’t stay long. Tomorrow, if we hadn’t yet found Tess, he’d open the shop and pretend like everything was normal.
Tonight, Moira and I were exploring Joy Springs, trying to trail our errant fae. We’d gone back to the shop and thoroughly vacuumed the small spot he’d landed using a brand-new handheld vac. Modern problems required modern solutions.
Moira held the tote bag with the vacuum. We walked into the Thistle and Thread and waved at Marnie, one of the two hedgewitches who owned the place. The scents of warm bread and hearty soup teased our noses as we headed to a table toward the very back.
“The usual?” Moira asked.
I nodded gratefully, taking the bag from her outstretched hand before she headed toward the register. The cafe rarely changed unless the sisters had put up decorations, but we wereclean into February now and there wasn’t a hint of Valentine’s Day anywhere in the place.
