Page 16 of Cuffed By the Wolf

“I have my reasons. Please don’t tell anyone.”

She scans the barcode on the back of the cards. “You can’t hide from your fated mate forever.”

My heart plummets to my feet. “Fated mate?”

“Where I’m from, many settle for mates that make them happy. There are fated mates too, but not many.”

The price flashes on the screen and I stick my debit card in the reader.

“When you’re ready to learn more about who you are, come see me,” she says as she places the cards in a bag.

“I know who I am,” I tell her in a polite tone.

“No rush, sweet girl.”

I smile and take the bag off the counter.

“Tell Sheriff Drake, Ms. Gloria says hello.”

“I will.”

As I walk toward the door, I keep looking back at the woman like she’ll disappear.

When you’re ready to know who you are, come see me.

I ponder on her statement as I climb into my car.

Is this town full of magic? Gavin is a wolf shifter. I’ve never seen a shifter shift before. Not that Gavin shifted — but he showed me a little bit of his wolf. There aren’t any shifters in my town. Not that I know of.

I spend the rest of the day settling into the camper. Evan lives in a remote area. There aren’t many campers around. If something happened to me, who would know I was here, other than Gavin, Fitch, and Evan? It’s time to call my best friend.

The camper is fairly new and quaint. You can tell it belongs to a guy — a couple of muted colors, and I mean, really, what’s with the brown and green throw pillows? Tomorrow I’ll buy several colorful throw pillows just to make me feel at home. I bought a comforter set. No disrespect, I had no idea how many women Evan had between the sheets. There are brown cabinets throughout, a microwave, a fridge, and a nice flat-top stove. The dinette table backs up to a comfy, cushioned bench. A stacked washer and dryer sit next to the compact bathroom with a shower. At the front of the camper is a brown U-shaped sofa and two leather recliners. A net and three footballs are stored over the sofa. Maybe when he’s trying to think up lyrics, he tosses the football into the net. Nice space for entertaining. There’s a roof hatch too. I can sunbathe if I’m brave enough to take on the sun during this brutal summer.

I put the phone on speaker while I clean.

The phone rings twice.

“Hey girl, how’s it going in small-town USA, population five thousand?” Genevieve chuckles.

I burst into laughter.

My best friend Genevieve — Eve or Evie for short — and I have known each other since middle school. She moved to Charleston from Atlanta. We’ve been thick as thieves ever since.

“Girl, let me give you the rundown.”

Genevieve gasps. “I can’t believe all these horrible things are happening to you. First the stolen painting, then having to close the gallery.”

My heart sinks at the mention of my gallery closing. These bastards have ruined my reputation.

She continues. “You go to the small town for answers only to get into a fight with the locals and get thrown in jail by some asshole sheriff.”

“That about sums up my life. And to top it all off, I’ve decided to work for that asshole sheriff. The man could win an award for the grumpiest sheriff. He doesn’t have a stick up his ass. He has a branch.”

We both laugh.

“Evie, if he didn’t need a secretary, he would’ve made sure I left town.”

“Wait, I think I misheard you. What?”