Harris laughed. “Alright. I’ll try the beer.”
“Lovely! I’m pegging you as an ale man. Am I wrong?”
Harris seemed equal parts charmed and amused. “Sure. Ale sounds great.”
Sally turned to me and I immediately said, “Make that two.”
With that, she made her way to the bar. When she returned with the beers, we both ordered cheeseburgers. “Reed tells me they’re the best in town,” Harris told her solemnly.
“Well, the competition isn’t stiff, but I’ll pass the compliment on to the cook,” Sally said with a chuckle.
“She’s quite a character,” Harris said, when she’d left.
“She moved here from the United Kingdom about a decade ago and opened the bar. She’s been a fixture ever since,” I replied. “She helps with all the events and she’s part of the town council. Everyone here pretty much loves Sally.”
“And she’s not supernatural?”
“Not as far as anyone knows,” I said with a shrug.
“And she doesn’t know about you guys?”
“No. But most people in town don’t. We try to keep to ourselves, for the most part. We’rehere, but not really part of things, exactly.”
He frowned, studying me. “That sounds pretty lonely. You have to be here, protecting everyone in this town, and nobody can know who you guys really are or the risks you take for them?”
“It’s not all the time. We don’t usually have to deal with—” I broke off, seeing Sally approach with our plates.
“Wow,” Harris commented, his brows rising. “That was fast. Really fast.”
“Oh, we’ve got faeries in the back, you know. They whip up the food for us in exchange for a bowl of cream.” Then she winked. “But don’t worry, it isn’t enchanted.”
I chuckled good-naturedly. I was used to Sally joking about the faeries by now—a quirk she’d had for as long as I had known her. But Harris studied her with a speculative gleam in his eye.
“It’s a joke, love. Just a bit of humor from across the pond,” Sally assured him. “It’s really onlyonefaerie. And I pay him a fair wage.”
With a chuckle, she walked off.
“Wouldn’t it be something if that turned out to not be a joke?” Harris said, watching after her.
I frowned at him. “She has an odd sense of humor. But she’s harmless, I promise.”
“Sorry,” Harris said, not seeming entirely convinced. “I guess it’s cop instincts. I’m naturally suspicious.”
“That’s not always a bad thing,” I said, taking a sip of beer. “We are too, most of the time.”
“And no one here knows?”
“Well,” I said carefully, glancing around to make sure no one else was in earshot. “There’s Dr. Langley—everyone calls her Hattie. She’s the medical examiner and town doctor. She knows.”
Harris nodded, then waited for me to continue. When I didn’t, dismay transformed his features. “Wait—that’s it?Oneperson you guys can be honest with?”
I shrugged, feeling suddenly uncomfortable at the way he was looking at me. “It’s better if people don’t know the truth. They’d panic.” I paused. “There might be a couple of folks who suspect there’s something odd about us.” I forced a smile, trying for humor. “Wedolive in a commune.”
“That sounds…” He seemed as if he couldn’t find the right words. “I mean, aren’t you lonely?”
I thought of Jeremy, who I hadn’t seen in months. And becoming alpha against my will meant that I suddenly didn’t really have friends anymore. Instead, I had wolves depending on me to make the right choices. And hell, half the pack was gone now, which meant my social circle was even smaller than it had been before.
“Reed,” Harris breathed. “You can talk to me. You can trust me.”
