“I guess just drop them off? I can call an Uber if…things don’t go well.”
“Oh, they won’t go well. At first. Your dad’s crew will need to make the alpha a bunch of new tables. But you won’t need an Uber. You’ll be staying the night.”
She let out a shaky breath. God, she hoped so.
She pulled the handle on the door but hesitated a moment. Maybe a little nervous, yes. “You’re still calling him alpha—does that mean you’re still in his pack?”
Steve chuckled and leaned his big arm against the window. “I figure I better stick around for a while. If you and yours are joining up, I’ll get more chances at a certain little fae that enjoys rejecting me.”
“It is not a rejection,” Kairi said with humor. “It is only that I would miss the sun whilst standing in the shadow of your enormous ego.”
Steve leaned in closer to Charity with a sly smile. “One day she’ll succumb, just you watch.”
Kairi laughed delightedly. She enjoyed the game, clearly. As did Steve.
Charity rolled her eyes and stepped down from the SUV. Mental note: don’t ask.
The late afternoon sun flared in the windows at the front of the house. The trees gently waved around the property. With some attention from her father, this place could be just as beautiful as the Flush. Maybe more so, with the crystal-clear blue sky and the pleasant sea salt on the breeze.
She’d missed it. She really hoped her dad could be happy here.
She really hoped Devon would let her stay.
“It is a beautiful house, Miss Charity,” Kairi said softly, reading Charity’s mind. She followed her to the house. “It reminds me of the Flush. Your wolf has chosen well.”
“It’s well situated within the nature,” Hallen added, although it was clear the compliment annoyed him.
Charity reached the door and paused with her hand on the handle. Butterflies swarmed her belly. This was the moment of truth.
She pushed into the house, immediately greeted by the comforting smell of air fresheners and a scent that was uniquely Devon. Her gut pinched even as her heart surged. She hurried to the front room, desperate to see him again, to lay her eyes on the face she’d missed. It had only been a couple of days, but it was the longest they’d spent apart since they met. She’d hated it.
The house was soaked in a deep hush.
“What is that?” Hallen asked. “What is all this?” His wide eyes darted to the lamps, the laptop on the coffee table, and the fan on the ceiling.
“Get a hold of yourself,” Kairi muttered out of the side of her mouth. “We’re in the Brink. It’s different. We’ll figure it out later.”
Hallen’s mouth snapped shut, but his eyes still flew around the room.
Charity checked the kitchen, and again Hallen gawked. She checked the second living room Devon used as a meeting space, then the back bedrooms. All were clean and tidy, and his smell lingered, but he wasn’t here.
Her heart aching, she found her way to the sliding glass door—the one that had been repaired after she’d tossed Devon through it.
“It will be okay, Third.” Kairi placed her hand on Charity’s shoulder. “He will provide you many strong children to carry on your muddied but powerful fae line.”
“Goodness gracious,” Charity murmured. “That’s a bit much.”
“He will be more powerful than the Head Alpha one day,” Hallen said, mostly grunting. “He has more potential. He is a good ally for the fae.”
“Something it must pain you to admit,” Kairi said with laughter in her tone.
Charity ignored them, sweeping the backyard with her gaze.
“The Second will find this garden abominable,” Kairi said. “Even I can see it is all out of—”
A huge black wolf pushed slowly through the foliage, its brown eyes rooted to Charity. Magic washed into her middle and then back out again, Devon’s surge answered by her own. Apparently, after the link was broken, close proximity was needed to reconnect. She’d have to talk to Penny about that, but right now, she barely stopped from fluttering her eyes, his magic still so reassuring. It still felt so good. Lord, how she’d missed it.
He walked forward with his head held low and his hackles raised, a predator seeing someone unexpected in its territory. Someone he didn’t want there.
Kairi and Hallen fell in beside her immediately, wary and alert, ready to draw their swords should the need arise.
A burst of green magic surrounded Devon before his human form rose from a crouch. She couldn’t help but feast her eyes on his cut and powerful body.
“Why are you here?” he asked, his tone rough.
Uncertainty flared within her. Anger rose to mask it. “You didn’t say goodbye, you prick.”
He took a step toward her, his muscles popping, as though he were keeping himself from rushing her.
“Charity, the Flush is your future,” he said. “You’re an Arcana. You’re fit to rule. You belong there.”