An amused purr vibrated through his head as sweetness filled his mouth.Truth.
“And I know what he needs,” Leonie continued briskly. “Which isnota couple of nervous officers treating him like some kind of monster. Go on, shoo. I’ll handle this.”
There was something new in her voice; a note of command that even an alpha shifter would have had a hard time resisting. The two humans didn’t stand a chance. He heard their footsteps meekly retreat, all the way outside.
The door opened at last. And there she was.
His Leonie. Whole. Smiling. Golden eyes shining with love.
“There you are.” She kneeled, taking his hand. Under her touch, fur smoothed into skin. “Come on. It’s time to go home.”
CHAPTER 37
“Iwish you didn’t have to leave so soon,” Leonie said, hugging her sister goodbye. “Are you sure I can’t persuade you to stay another night?”
“Sorry. Got to run.” With a final squeeze, Lola released her. “My crew goes back on call tomorrow, and I’m going to have to hustle as it is to get to the base on time. Don’t want the guys having fun without me.”
“Tell Connor we said hi,” Paige said, her arm around Conleth. Zephyr stood nearby, his baby daughter on his hip. “And that we hope he can come visit after fire season ends.”
“Ashimself,” Conleth clarified. “We don’t need a repeat of last time. I’m still discovering that I’m banned from bars I never visited.”
“It’s your fault,” Lola informed him. “If you insist on having the same haircut as your identical brother, you can’t complain when he impersonates you.”
“This ismyhaircut,” Conleth grumbled. He minutely tweaked the position of one artfully disheveled wave. “I had it first. And it took a lot of work to perfect. I should apply for a trademark.”
“Give Connor and Taliesin my love, too,” Leonie said to her sister. She hesitated. “Are you sure you’ll be all right? Everyone else on your squad is a shifter.”
“Eh, I can still kick their butts. Animal or no animal.” Lola punched her affectionately in the shoulder. “Stay out of trouble, okay? Don’t go mad with power now that you can order everyone around.”
“I don’t plan on making a habit of it.” She still felt a bit guilty over how she’d steamrollered over the cops with her newfound power. “I didn’t even know I could do the alpha voice, like Dad and Rory.”
“It’s just as well you were able to convince the police to stand down,” Zephyr said. He glanced at Paige. “Ah, we’re not in any trouble with the sheriff for that, are we?”
Paige shook her head, smiling. “I already called my stepdad. He says the official report won’t contain anything incriminating. The two deputies only saw Shan in his human form. And they’re none too keen on admitting they let a random summer camp counselor take command of the scene for no apparent reason. There won’t be any repercussions.”
“Good,” Shan said. He grimaced. “It would be embarrassing to have to file an incident report on myself. Not that it would be the first time.”
“You look after my sister, tiger.” Lola gave him a rather more aggressive punch. “Make sure she takes a break now and then.”
Shan slipped his hand into hers. “I will.”
She caught her breath as his thumb brushed across her palm in silent promise. The unfinished mate bond hung between them, waiting.
Soon,she promised herself, and her griffin.Soon.
“Well, I should be off.” Lola gave her one final hug. “I’ll text you when?—”
A strident beep cut her off. Little Ashley wailed, jolted out of her nap by the sudden noise.
Shan fumbled in his pocket with embarrassed urgency. “My apologies,” he said, taking out his phone. “It’s an all-agent alert. High priority.”
Her heart sank. “Do you have to rush off somewhere?”
He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “No. It’s a code used to inform all active agents about a significant event. No immediate action required.” He frowned as he scrolled down the message. “Ah. Hmm.”
“Anything you’re allowed to share with us?” Conleth asked.
“Technically, no.” Shan’s gaze flicked to Zephyr, who was now trying to settle his daughter. “Though, under the circumstances…”
