He rubbed his face with his free hand.“I shouldn’t have made any noise.I was shocked and reacted.”
Carter laughed.“You cut yourself off mid-howl.If it had been me, not sure I could have.I’ve been stung by bees before.That shit hurts, and that hadn’t been a magical swarm of wasps.”
“Were you trying to steal their honey?”I asked him with a grin.
He gave me a dirty look and shrugged.
A moment later, Bracken called, “It’s safe now.We can return.”
When we got to the edge of the road, we had to wait a minute for a break in the traffic.We jogged back, finding the others waiting for us on the porch.
“Thank goodness,” Robert said.“When Arwyn vaulted over the railing and ran across the street, I thought I was going to have a heart attack.”
Declan glared down at me, his face lined with anger.“She did what?”
I patted his stomach, trying to placate him.We were all fine.“I’m glad you stayed,” I told Uncle Robert.“We have no idea what their plan was.I wouldn’t have wanted you to leave Hester, Elizabeth, and the kids on their own over here.”
“That was my thought,” he said, “but it was good Bracken was here.He slowed the traffic so you both could get across safely.”
Declan growled, “You ran into traffic?With the vision you had, you ran into traffic?”
Carter smacked Declan on the shoulder.It looked friendly, but Declan lurched forward before he caught himself.Eyes bright gold, he turned on Carter, but Carter stared him down.
“Take your mate inside where it’s safe.”He shook his head.“Would you rather she ignored your howls of pain?”On an eye roll, he ushered the rest of our group into the gallery.
Declan closed his eyes, my hand caught in both of his.“I can’t believe you did that,” he breathed.When he opened them again, they were still wolf gold.“I’m very hard to kill.I’m begging you.Don’t risk yourself like that.”
The rest had all gone in.“I didn’t stop to weigh my options.You were in pain and I was running.”I drilled my finger into his abdomen.“You can’t be angry that my instinct is to help you.”
“Sure I can,” he growled, pulling my hand up to his lips.
We went in and found the others collecting their things to leave.After saying goodbye to the whole Bishop family, Bracken and I went out with Hester so we could ward her car.Carter took off, but Declan stood by to watch over us while we worked.
It didn’t take us long, but Hester thanked us profusely.
“I’ll see you all next weekend,” she said with a little wave.
“Aunt Hester?”
She turned back to me, her keys in her hand.“I wanted to make sure you knew you were invited to dinner tomorrow night.We need to come up with a plan about our Swan problem.”
She looked between the three of us, her expression cautious.“But I don’t have much power to speak of.I don’t think I’d be any help.”
I walked over to her.“A person’s magical ability doesn’t equate to their worth.It’ll be a brainstorming session, and you have an excellent brain.Plus, Declan and I would love to show you our new home.It’s mostly the beautiful bones Declan designed and built, but we’re slowly filling it with furniture.”
Declan and Bracken had moved closer as I spoke.
“You can weigh in,” Declan said, “on how we should decorate the nursery.”
That got a smile out of her.“Are you sure I won’t be intruding?Maybe you should ask Sybil if it’s all right.”
Laughing, I patted Hester’s shoulder.“I don’t check with my mom on my dinner guests.If you’d prefer not to, that’s a different story.You do what feels right to you.I wanted to make sure you knew you were always welcome with us.”
Caution gone, she smiled broadly.“Can I bring anything?”
I shook my head.“Just yourself.”
As Hester drove away, Bracken, Declan, and I walked back to the gallery.
