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“And even though werewolf conversions are an urban myth, we’re still visiting the werewolves. Why?”

I shrugged. “Because Ben is green and knows nothing useful yet. We have to go rule them out, of course.”

Conn smirked at me. “Of course. Because the truth about werewolves isn’t enough.”

“Logic alone won’t lead me to those missing females. The werewolves might have taken steps to dispel the rumors. If so, what they learned might help us.”

“Ah... now I see your plan. You’re making friends,” Conn said.

I smiled at him. “As I knew ya would want me to when ya stopped sulking.”

“I love her, Aran. I haven’t loved many women. What Mulan says and thinks matters too much.”

“Yes, and I’m forty kinds of jealous but also happy that ya found someone that accepts ya for yerself. The only other thing I can say is that ya certainly have strange tastes in women.”

“Aren’t you in love with a bird man who turns his guts inside out to shift and sheds his feathers all the time? Mulan is not even close to being that strange.”

I frowned at his teasing. “Next time, ya can make yer own sandwich.”

Despite his evil smirk, I found Conn’s laughter to be reassuring. I needed to believe that everything in my personal life was going to work out the way I meant it to. Being an optimist was how I got through the day.

No glittering winged pixies whispering in my ear were needed.

ChapterSix

Idrove us out of Salem in my old Chevy, and Conn complained about it worse than Fiona did. I finally shut him up by saying we’d trade up once I was fully employed again. His grin at my statement made me suspicious of being manipulated, but I let it go. There was no use getting my panties in a twist over something so unimportant.

Conn had put the coordinates in some sort of app on his phone. He pointed out the turns and I took them. Without him and his device, I might not get home.

“If we keep doing this, I’m going to have to invest in a GPS device.”

“Or get a newer car with one built into it.”

I rolled my eyes as I let the car roll to a stop. We’d entered some sort of national forest area or at least a state-protected one.

“How can they claim this territory if it belongs to everyone?”

Conn grinned at me. “My understanding is that werewolves practice mass urination in their beast forms to create boundaries that humans find distasteful and other animals find intimidating.”

“No wonder I don’t like them. It’s probably the stench.”

“No, you find their insatiable sex drives offensive, which is ridiculous. Mine is very nearly the same as theirs. Humans are such prudes.”

“I’m not a normal human—I’m a witch. And I’m not a prude—I’m selective. Until birth control came along, human females couldn’t indulge their lust without risking pregnancy. Thankfully, such things can be controlled now.”

“Do you regret not having more children?”

“Birthing Fiona was worth the damage to my reproductive system. Ma suffered the same fate as me. Women in my family have challenges in that area. Did ya ever regret not finding yerself a demoness and trying to have one or two? Ya’ve done enough good deeds to merit fathering a demon child.”

“I reproduced long ago. In those days, doing so with a committed spouse wasn’t required. I lost all thirty-five of my offspring during the Great War. Nothing I said or did made any difference to their thinking. Why do you think I agreed to The Dagda’s terms? It was the only thing I could think to do to save even a few demons. It was about the survival of our species, not just of me.”

“Have your children regenerated? Surely some have by now.”

Conn shrugged. “One or two, but they don’t remember me. And I haven’t reminded them because they will have an easier life living outside my shadow. Few demons remember details from that far back. Perhaps one day one of them will return and know me. I will be fine if they do not.”

I put a hand on his arm. “In a strange way, I feel like I understand that. If Jack hadn’t put Fiona into a demon sleep, she would still think I was a criminal. Forgive me for bringing up all that old pain.”

He shrugged and then smiled. “I’ve had a wonderful life, Aran of The Dagda. I am not unhappy spending part of it with you.”