It must be good to be queen. Kat held back a snigger. He was feeling cattier than usual, or maybe Kattier.
“Shall we check out our visitor?” Anthony asked, disrupting Kat’s internal sniggering.
“Yes.”
Before they even reached the bar, Alpha Silver rushed into the room.
“What happened? I could hear people mutteringabout a magical wave and free booze.” He reached for Anthony, who clasped his hands.
The Alpha pair stared into each other’s eyes until Kat cleared his throat to break up the moment. Usually, he could watch the beautiful couple forever, but a kid was buried under the bar top.
“Right.” Anthony flashed Kat a megawatt smile, before returning his attention to his mate. “How did you get here so quickly?”
Kat had wondered that also. He’d heard the Alpha pair had a mental connection, but Silver still had to travel across town. Didn’t he?
“I was coming to surprise you with a lunch date when everyone came streaming out of the hotel. What happened?”
Anthony pointed at the bar. “He did.”
Silver peered at the boy lying inside. “How did he get in there?”
“We don’t know,” Kat said, joining the couple in staring at the poor kid. “He looks like he’s breathing, but how can he be alive in there?”
Anthony pressed his right hand directly over the center of the boy’s chest, then closed his eyes and let out a low hum. His fingers emitted a brilliant white glow. Two seconds later, he removed his hand and opened his eyes. “If my reading came out right, he’s a dryad. He must have used dryad magic.”
“But, who is he?” Silver tapped at the bar top as if trying to get him to move.
“Stop that,” Anthony scolded as he rubbed his forehead. “He’s not a fish in a tank. The dryad who sold me the wood was a friend of my mother. Her original tree was diseased, so we salvaged what we could for the bar top. She had already grown a new tree and claimed she wanted it removed. Before she sold it to me, she made me agree to give Sanctuary to anyone who came through it.”
“And you agreed to that?”
Kat nodded along with Silver’s question. It seemed like a needless security risk.
“Mother vouched for her,” Anthony said as if that explained everything.
Silver’s shoulders relaxed. They both must have a lot of faith in Anthony’s mother.
“Do you know him?” Silver asked.
Anthony shrugged. “He looks young, so maybe he’s her son?”
“I thought all dryads were female?” Kat couldn’t resist interjecting. Granted, he didn’t know much about dryads, but all the stories he’d read only mentioned females.
“Apparently not.” Silver tapped at the glass again.
Anthony smacked Silver’s fingers. “I’ll call Mother. She’ll know how to get him out. If he’s here, he probably needs sanctuary. It might not be safe for him to go home.”
Still staring at the bar, Anthony stepped away and pulled out his phone.
Kat had heard through pack gossip that Anthony’s mother, Hallea Carrow, was a forest witch. He didn’t know if that was true, but the one time he’d seen her, she had smelled divine—a bit like Anthony, but without the underlying scent of ozone.
“Is he okay in there?” Kat eyed the unconscious boy. “He won’t suffocate?”
Silver shook his head. “Not if he’s a dryad.”
“I still can’t believe there are male dryads.” Kat had loved mythology when he was younger, and not one of the stories he’d read had ever mentioned a male dryad.
Anthony returned in time to answer his question as Silver shrugged. “Dryads produce asexually, and there is a taboo about introducing men into Groves. I don’t know how the leader got away with growing a son. To answer your question, Kat, he will be fine inside there since he’s naturally part tree.” Anthony slid his phone back into his pocket. “Mother is on her way. It’s better to let her get him out. My magic isn’t good for delicate work.”
