He wouldn’t tell me I did well just to spare my feelings—he’d be more likely to rub it in.
“Thanks.” I chewed on my lower lip, then added, “And thanks for coming.”
Remembering his odd comment from when he’d first arrived, I awkwardly swung my arms forward and backward. “Hey, Greyson. When you said you sensed me—”
“Alpha!” Hector emerged from the trees, Ember right behind him—both of them in their human forms. They stopped abruptly when they saw Dolph and the other werewolves on the ground, and Rio, Aeric, and Wyatt—all in their wolf bodies—nearly slammed into the backs of their legs.
Hector glanced at Greyson and apparently had refined the ability to read minds. “Secure them,” he instructed. “I’ll phone the Curia Cloisters, and then contact the Fletchings and have them take these intruders into custody.”
The other wolves got to work, nabbing the recovering Low Marsh wolves.
Greyson remained at my side, any hint of his Alpha powers gone. “You were asking me something?”
“Nah, it’s not important,” I said.
Hector approached us, holding his cellphone. “Pip…”
“Let me guess, I get to make another incident report?” I asked. “And testify that these bozos were high on wolfsbane?”
Hector gave me a sympathetic smile. “The Curia Cloisters is requesting it.”
“Great,” I grumbled. “This better make the case watertight—because I’m getting sick of all of this paperwork.”
“Take her home,” Greyson instructed Hector. “She can make her statement on the phone there.”
“Hey, thanks for asking my opinion!” I sarcastically grinned at Greyson and gave him a thumbs up.
“You must not be injured.” Hector held my backpack—which looked ridiculous with his suave, professor-y get up.
“You can’t smell it?”
“No. You’ve retained your refreshing sense of humor.”
“Oohh, nice one! See, Greyson? You should be taking notes—this is what fun looks like!” I took my backpack from Hector.
Greyson flatly stared at me, then switched his attention to Ember.
Hector beckoned for me to follow him down the path. “I do wish you hadn’t said that.”
“Why?”
“He is fond of you.”
“Fond of me the way dogs are fond of chew toys, you mean.”
“That I cannot deny.”
Chapter 18
Pip
“I can’t believe you’re here.”
I looked up from the computer where I was working on ordering another shipment of the little wolf keychains that howled. “What do you mean?”
Shania leaned over my hexagonal desk to peer at me. “You were attacked yesterday. And now here you are, at work—as if nothing happened!” She waved her hand around the welcome center for emphasis. “You should have taken off the rest of the week—or at least today!”
“Why?” I glanced at the visitors—three elderly ladies—who were checking out one of the displays. “Ember nearly force fed me a potion last night, so I’m not even hurt.”
“But it had to be traumatizing—to be attacked out of nowhere!”
“Oh. No, I’m pretty used to that, actually. And since the Fletchings are driving the entire Low Marsh Pack down to the Curia Cloisters, it’s not like I can do anything about the case. The Curia Cloisters will let us know when they finish questioning them.”
“Unbelievable.” Shania shook her head, then plopped her chin on her fist. “You complain about the wolves’ lack of sense, but you’re nearly as bad as them.”
I patted her hand. “It’s okay, Shania.”
“Why are you trying to placate me?” she demanded.
The bell on the door jingled, and together we turned toward it with bright smiles. “Hello! Welcome to Timber Ridge.”
Two new visitors entered, both possessing a beauty and sense of elegance that instantly marked them as fae.
My smile slid off in surprise when I realized I knew them. “Lord Linus? Lady Chrysanthe?”
“Ah, you do work here!” Lord Linus beamed at me as Chrysanthe took a picture on her phone with the flash on. “Chase told us you did, but he wasn’t sure if you’d be on duty today or not.”
Lord Linus had his perfect hair pulled back in a ponytail and was wearing slacks and a dress shirt rolled up to his elbows that—matched with his crooked grin—gave him a more casual appearance.