“Sure,” I grunted. “Sounds good.”
She led us back there, and we each took a seat on a box. Anders and I looked at June expectantly.
“What do we do?” Anders said with a chuckle. “Do we need to get aOuijaboard out or something?”
“It’s not like that,” June said. Her impatience was evident to me, but Anders appeared oblivious to it.
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Let me see if I can force it.”
For several long minutes the three of us sat in silence. It didn’t take long for Anders to get bored. Soon, he was fidgeting and sighing. I wanted to tell him to keep still, but I held my tongue. Finally, June opened her eyes, looking anxious. Her gaze flitted toward the box that sat directly next to me. From there, she looked at me, an unspoken meaning in her eyes that I couldn’t make out. I frowned and shook my head slightly. If she was trying to tell me something, I wasn’t getting it.
“Uhm, I think this seat is uncomfortable,” she said. “Hang on. Let me find a better spot.”
She stood and moved to the box beside me. Anders’s eyes narrowed but he said nothing when I did my best to lean awayfrom her in a nonchalant way, putting a bit of distance between us.
More time went by, and Anders grew impatient.
“How long is this going to take?” he moaned. “I’ve got a call with some local alphas in a little while.”
“I’m sorry,” June hissed, and put her face in her hands. “I can’t figure out how to control it. I hoped after my vision yesterday, it would be easier.”
Anders snorted and shook his head. “You guys have no idea who the killer is? Nothing to go off?”
June and I shared a look. Neither of us considered it a good move to mention Rafe. I hadn’t checked to see if Anders’s great-grandfather was still alive or not, though he’d be well over a hundred-and-thirty years old. Ancient even for shifters, but even if he was dead like I thought, Anders didn’t seem the type who’d like a member of his family being accused of murder, even if they were long gone.
“We’ve got a few,” June admitted slowly. “But we’re still working on it.”
“Jesus,” Anders said, and stood. “I’m out. This Scooby-Doo bullshit is for the birds.”
Anders strode out, not even giving June a second glance. She hung her head, looking equally devastated and embarrassed.
“It’s not your fault,” I said, trying to comfort her.
“I think you should go,” she said with a sigh.
“Got it.” No reason to push it. Not right now, not with Anders standing right outside. “I’ll…uh, see you later?”
“Sure,” she grunted and rested her forehead on her hand, staring at the floor.
Anders stood outside the storeroom, like he was waiting on me. When I came out, he gave me that cocky wink and grin he liked to use, and it was all I could do not to break his nose.
“Is this for real?” he asked, lowering his voice to whisper, then nodding toward the back room. “June, I mean? Her whole story about having the sight and seeing stuff. Seems like bullshit to me. You hung with her for a while. She’s always been a little…different. She’s alotbetter now, especially now that she can shift, but I kinda get the feeling this is all a cry for attention or something. Is this something I’m going to have to work out of her? I mean, this will be exhausting as her mate otherwise, right?”
He talked about her like she was a tool or item that belonged to him, something that could be bent and twisted into a shape he thought worked best forhim, rather than an individual he should be blessed to be with.
Instead of answering him, I simply shrugged and walked past him, shoving my way out the door into the cool air outside.
That night,despite my best intentions, I ended up walking to June’s place. I hadn’t planned on it, hadn’ttrulyrealized where I was going until I was less than a mile away. I wanted to apologize for everything. She deserved a true apology, and I hadn’t had the chance to do that since I came to town. It would be good to clear the air. Also, I had the sense that if the tables were turned, Anders would have rather died than apologize, and I wanted to stay the better man between the two of us.
When I turned the corner, I paused, almost stumbling as I stopped, shocked by what I smelled. A scent. Familiar. One that belonged to someone who shouldn’tbein town at all. A hint of pine needles, roses, and orange blossoms.
“What thefuck?” I hissed, craning my neck as I looked around to find the source.
When I spotted Eugenia, she was standing under the awning of a closed bookstore, staring at the Hollis’s store. My hands involuntarily clenched into fists at the sight of her. The last time I’d seen her was after we’d fought over being Levi’s mate. Why would a member of the Hidden Grove pack be here? Had Anders taken her in? And if he had, was June aware of it? Surely she wouldn’t agree to having that woman living in the same town as her, not after what had gone down between them.
I took a step forward, intending to approach and ask her what she thought she was doing, but she shifted and bounded off, running in the opposite direction. As I watched, she was joined by two other wolves, both male from what I could see, and all three gazed back at the store, before vanishing from sight.
I cursed to myself. I needed to figure out what was going on with her. As much as I didn’t want to talk to Anders, I needed to know if he was aware of the woman’s presence in his town.
