Ihatedthat I was the reason that she was in this mess. She had to be okay. I needed to save her. Although, I knew that doing so meant that I would either have to face Grayson or the pack, and I knew I wasn’t ready to do that—but that wasn’t fair to Alice.
“We’ll find out where she is,” Lachlan murmured in my ear, and I nodded like I was on autopilot.
I turned to walk out of the shop with my mind running a mile a minute and my body aching from the magical energy I’d exerted.
The receipt crinkled in my hand, and I paused. I hadn’t paid Jan or grabbed my herbs. I swiveled around, and Lachlan stood in front of me with the bags of jars with a comforting smile. “I already paid for it. Let’s get back.”
“Let me pay you back.” I fumbled with my bag, but he put his hand on my arm.
“She only made us pay for the spell. You’re my mate, Wren. Let me pay for it if I want to.”
“Really?” Looking over his shoulder, Jan smiled at me with something that resembled empathy in her eyes.
“Just say thank you,” she told me.
“Thank you,” I said.
“And come visit more.” She started to clean up the potion mess we’d made as Lachlan wrapped an arm around my shoulder and led us out of the shop.
“Thank you, Lachlan. I needed you, and you were there.” I leaned against him more, and he let out a low rumble.
“Hey, are you okay?” Callie asked as we stepped outside.
I guessed she and Samson had left the shop when we started the spell.
I shook my head. “I’m as good as I can be.”
“Spell didn’t work?” she asked.
“Unfortunately, no. Ihaveto figure out where she is.” My voice wavered, and I bit back the burn in my throat. “It’s just so hard.”
“I can go to the village for you and check myself,” Lachlan offered.
A jolt of fear pierced my chest at the thought of him at that village. “No, please don’t. I can’t bear to think of you getting hurt.”
He let out a scoff before setting his jaw. “Wren, I’m a werewolf. I can take some puny wolf shifters.”
“Of course you can, but I would rather you not.” I placed a hand on my chest, feeling my heart beat pound hard under my palm.
“If that’s what you want, that’s fine, but I would prefer to ease your mind.”
“There has to be an easier way to ease my mind than one of my mates going to the place I was banished from.” I winced as a jolt of pain rippled through my leg.
“Your body must’ve taken a hit from the spell backfiring,” Trixie said. “I’m sore too.”
Lachlan scooped me up in his arms without a word, and I sighed in relief. I didn’t know a backfired spell could have this effect, but then, I wasn’t a witch.
I only wanted to gather ingredients for a few tinctures, but now it was the last thing on my mind.
TWENTY-SIX
Wren
IlovedeverythingaboutRhett. He was intuitive and empathetic, and those were exceptional qualities for a counselor. More than that, I found that he was also completely alluring. He awoke a primal part of me I knew had to be part of his gift as an incubus.
So when I tip-toed into his office this evening, I hadn’t expected him to propose a late session—acounselingsession. I was far too embarrassed to explain the real reason I’d come to see him.
“Lachlan’s right, you know.” He steepled his fingers together and pressed them against his plum-colored lips as he stared at me over his desk.
