Lee’s eyes went wide—he hadn’t heard that yet. No doubt he was startled by the prospect of having a human stay with us. “Right. Okay.”
Harris stood there awkwardly and I realized, belatedly, that I hadn’t introduced him. “Oh, right. Harris, this is Lee. He also stays at the commune.”
Lee shot me a dark look. “That’s one way to put it.” He stuck out his hand and Harris shook it. “Pleasure to meet you.”
“Same,” Harris said.
“So, I guess you won’t be joining us tonight,” Lee said, eyeing Harris. “It seems like you might be ocupado.”
“Actually, we’reallgoing to be in town tonight,” I told him, dropping my voice to a whisper. “We’re staying out of the forest—keep to the perimeter only. Right now, our goal is to stand guard and protect the town, until we can figure out what we’re up against. Harris and I were attacked last night.”
“Emma told me,” he said. “Sounds like you guys are lucky to be alive. She kind of glossed overhim, though.” He nodded at Harris. “Odd detail to leave out, that you weren’t alone.”
I shot Harris a meaningful look. Not only had Emma followed Harris’s command, she had also followed the spirit of it—not giving anyone any information that might let them put together that he was my mate.
I probably needed to smooth things over with her sooner rather than later. Maybe I could ask her to research what had happened. It would be nice to know what the hell that was all about. From what I knew, alpha powers couldn’t be channeled by anyone but the alpha. But no one in the pack had met their fated mate in generations. Our lives weren’t really structured for romance.
But that could all be a problem for tomorrow.
“I can tell the others your marching orders,” Lee said, glancing at Harris. “If he’s who and what I think he is, you should be focused on him right now.”
I didn’t like the idea of giving up control, of letting Lee think I was anything other than capable. But on the other hand, I also didn’t like the idea of leaving Harris alone right now.
“Tell Lacey and your brother,” I decided. “Have one of them call Oliver. And Lindsey, too. She ought to know what went down.”
Harris glanced at me, a small smile on his lips. He’d probably caught the shape of my thoughts through the thread of magic connecting us.
“It’s sometimes a good thing to share the load,” I told him.
“Exactly,” Lee said with another smirk. I suspected he was thinking less-than-innocent things and definitely not about pack business. Then he nodded at me and added, “Will do.”
Then Lee’s expression turned mischievous, his gaze sliding over to Harris. “Take your man home.”
Harris’s cheeks darkened as he scowled.
It was adorable.
Yup, I was already in deep shit.
* * *
We got takeout for dinner from the Crescent Springs Bar & Grill. The restaurant was busier in the evening than it had been at lunch, but Sally was still there running the place on her own, still her usual unflappable self. Though she was busy, I caught her glancing at Harris and me several times, a tiny smile on her lips.
After we got home, we ate dinner together.
Then Harris whipped out his new book and read a chapter on the couch. I joined him, sprawled out with my feet in his lap, which he didn’t seem to mind in the least.
The book turned out to be far more whimsical than I had imagined Harris capable of enjoying. It was a cozy mystery about a witch named Harriet who lived in a small town and owned a black cat—naturally. She was a librarian by day and solved mundane crimes by night using a mix of magic and detective skills she’d picked up from goodness knows where, all while navigating her overbearing parents, keeping her magic a secret from her small circle of mundane friends, and managing an epic trainwreck of a dating life.
“So…” Harris said, once I’d set the book down after reaching the end of chapter one. “What did you think?”
“Well, I think I like the main character,” I said. “And the writing style is snappy. So that’s good.”
“Why do I feel like there’s a ‘but’?”
“It’s a little…” I paused, trying to choose my words carefully so I wouldn’t offend him. “It’slighterthan what I usually read. It’s a world where happy endings seem like they’re around every corner.”
“Except for the shopkeeper who got poisoned on page ten.”
