“Are you all right?” I ask with concern as she struggles to put him on the ground.
He rushes past her, past me, and straight at Fox, jumping up at him, until Fox, with an amused sigh, crouches down and gives the puppy cuddles while I get to deal with the adult stuff. I bite my lower lip, taking a moment to really look at how incredible my bond mate is. Fox is smaller and thinner than I am, but he’s something really special. His brown hair is messed up but always looks good. He laughs and smiles as he plays with the pup, causing his green eyes to light up with joy, exactly how I love to see him.
No one has ever been so comfortable around an alpha until they meet Fox. There is something magical about him, and animals can sense it. And he’s mine. Proudly mine.
I turn and lean on the counter, reaching out and grabbing a copy of the book she’s set in front of me.
“I ordered it in. The newest one, it just came out,” Sofia says with barely contained mirth. I raise an eyebrow at her but don’t ask her what she really wants to hear.
I hum and open the book to the first page of the story.
“Cat and Wolf have survived the bomb blast, I see,” I say with dry sarcasm and flick forward a few pages. With a disgusted grunt, I snap the cover shut.
Sofia’s staring at me with huge brown-green flecked eyes. I don’t think she knows what to say. I don’t know what to say.
How is this my life?
“It’s uncanny,” she whispers, her eyes dance as she brushes her auburn hair behind her ear. “It’s just so…”
She finally erupts into the laughter she’s been suppressing.
“Ah, I see you finally read the book,” I say and stand up straight, unable to take offense to the pretty omega’s amusement. If it were anyone else, anyone, I would be laughing, too.
“The author has captured you with amazing, incredible detail. She talks about your hair and your peculiar light-coloured eyes. Wolf, or I guess it’s actually Fox, and his love of animals.”
“Yes,” I say, drawing out the word. “It is uncanny.” Now, here is where it gets tricky. “Do you think you can help us unmask this person?”
Sofia’s eyes twinkle. “Unmask a famous author living here in Sunshine? Abso-freaking-lutely. I can do book signings, and we have make it a whole thing. I’m dying to know who it is. But how did you know this author is from Sunshine Cove?”
I pull out my phone and open the gallery, scrolling until I find the screenshot from the author’s social media post. I show her the photo.
“Oh, my. That’s the view from the point of the cove. She’s even got the lighthouse in there, just a little bit. How do you know she’s a local and not a tourist?” Sofia says, leaning back and frowning thoughtfully. “It could all be an elaborate disguise.”
“Because she posts to the seasons,” I say and show her all the photos from the same spot. There are more than twenty.
Sofia shrieks. “This is so exciting!”
It’s not how I would describe it. Overnight, Fox and I became minor celebrities. And all because someone wrote a romance about us and then turned our lives into this sensational action plot.
Fox, the bastard, likes to get the book and come slinking in, purring the lines of dialogue to me to try to get me in the mood. The worst part? It absolutely works. This author is talented.
“How do you know they are a her?” Sofia asks quickly, flipping the book over.
“She refers to herself as she and…well, I guess I don’t, but from my research and the fact that…you know, I don’t know. It’s just a feeling I have.”
Sofia shrugs. “So, we’ll keep our options open, then?”
“Yeah, I guess.” I turn so I can watch Fox. He’s sitting on the ground with a wet face from all the puppy kisses.
“Danger is really going to miss him when you guys go home. When are you leaving?”
She absolutely catches me off guard.
“Oh, um…I don’t know.”
I feel like I’m missing information here and there’s a trap, but I can’t tell where it’s going to spring from. Her eyes gleam, and I know we’re in for it now. I look away because sometimes that works.
“So, you’ll be here for Light Knot Night?”
