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“What do you have cooking?” Harry wondered.

“I've got chicken and dumplings, stew, chili, and ham and beans. I also baked a little bit yesterday and had some leftovers because Xantos bought a pie and shared it with everyone. I have blueberry muffins and pecan pie.”

“I'm so excited. Pecan pie is one of my favorites, and I also love blueberry muffins. As for the others, I'll take a little bit of everything because I love them all. I especially love chicken and dumplings because I don't get them very often. So, a little more of that would be nice. I just have to ask, where did you get the pecans?”

” They were in the food that Tyne sent for us. He gets the best things," Sally admitted.

“He does, especially when Moe is the one ordering it.”

They shared a laugh, and Sally filled up a big plate for Harry and a smaller plate for herself. She was sure that Harry would probably have another plate of the food and then a plate for dessert. Harry was worth her weight in gold, so she wasn't going to quibble over anything. If everything got eaten, she would just make more.

“You have no idea how much I appreciate you saving me. They would have torn up the office, too, once they took me out.”

“Those are some bad guys. I don't know where they keep finding them, but they're dumb guys, too, because no one should want to go to jail as a terrorist," Harry observed.

That was true, and she had no idea where they kept finding these guys, either. You would think that they'd work through all the unemployed bums that were lying around looking for an easy way to make money. Apparently, they kept finding more and more of them. Eventually, you'd think that they'd run out ofthem, but so far, that hasn't happened. When these guys went down, which they always did, all they were out of was money, and apparently, they had an unlimited amount of that, too. The office and their field workers had been vastly outnumbered but still managed to hold their own. One problem was that many humans were upset, and some even had a breakdown over these attacks. That was why it was so challenging for them to recruit the necessary workers for a new office like this one.

Sally was sure that they would always be shorthanded, but if they could just get to a certain level, they could get close to catching up. The way they managed the offices, with appointments only being made online or by phone, helped free her up so that she occasionally had the time to go out in the field and either train someone or work in a few locations. That wasn't a bad thing because it kept her speed up where it needed to be in case of an emergency when she had to work in the field.

“Lunch was great. Thank you. It's time for me to return to work. I hope the rest of your day is better than it's been so far," Harry observed, and she was gone in a flash.

Sally had to admit that her first half of the day had gone quickly, but now she had to get back on the tedious paperwork and put in any necessary orders. Even though being attacked made the day pass more quickly, she hoped she wouldn't have any more of those attacks to deal with. It would be nice if they could get rid of the terrorists altogether, and she wasn't sure why they couldn't. She got to work and plowed through her paperwork even though it was so dull that she worried she might fall asleep. She'd had a decent night's sleep, so she wasn't sure why she would be so tired.

Maybe it was just that the attack had wrung her out, and the excitement had been too much for her. Sally checked the clock and saw that it wouldn't be long before some of the fieldpersonnel began to hit the door. She was surprised that Xantos was not already there. Now the predicament was, should she call him or just assume that he was okay since he usually was? The problem was that she had noticed the time and began to worry about him. Was it appropriate to do a welfare check when she had no real reason to suspect that he was in danger? Her problem was that she just couldn't get him out of her mind, and there was nothing she could do except give him a call.

Sally could hear the phone ringing, and he didn't answer. It didn't mean he was safe. He might have been busy and in no position to respond. If she was Harry, she could just flash away and check on him, but that was not the case. If she knew his location, she could call the customer and ensure that he was all right. She knew she couldn't bother Harry again unless she was sure there was a problem. The only choice she had was to call the closest location because he usually started at the furthest location and worked his way back. Dialing the number, she heard someone answer the phone.

“Hello?”

“This is Wolf Security. I was checking to make sure that our field personnel had gotten to you and was able to install your system," Sally explained.

“Yes, he took care of our system right after lunch.”

“Thank you. I hope you enjoy the security of knowing that you have your system installed.”

She wasn't sure what to do now because he hadn't yet installed the system. If he had, he'd have come straight back. At least, she thought he would have. She prioritized his list and began making calls. Apparently, he had done his list in reverse order. It was when she called the last place that she heard somebackground noise and realized that he had been taken. That was when she summoned Harry.

“Xantos has been taken at this location," Sally said.

Harry grabbed her hand, and they flew away. When they arrived, they saw him immediately, and he was severely beaten and bloody. For some reason, the males decided to wait to kill him. The little witch flashed him away, and whatever was in the pockets of the bad guys piled on the floor. As soon as that was done, they all turned into frogs.

Harry flashed away the money, changed one of the frogs back, and let him run away. Then she flashed the frogs with them as they headed back to base. Sally had to admit that she was upset after seeing him in such terrible shape. She was worried and knew that he was in pain, but Harry had said that he would be alright, so she believed her. Harry flashed her into his room while she dealt with the frogs. Sally immediately got a wet cloth and began to wipe him down. She touched him and wished for healing, and she thought he might have improved a little, but she wasn't sure. He groaned, and she knew that he felt terrible, and there was little she could do about it.

They had beaten him badly, but he was strong, and he would work through this. Being a wolf would help him recover. This was a terrible place to be, and it wouldn't improve anytime soon. Thank the goddess for Harry and her magical powers. Harry joined her once she had finished what she was doing, which was changing the frogs back and calling the State Patrol. They would come get those bad guys and put them in jail. Things were getting crazy here, and it didn't look like they were going to get any better anytime soon. They would be taken to the council jail and thrown in with a bunch of paranormals, which was just what they deserved. Harry put a mild healing spell on him, and then she disappeared. She was one busy witch.

Harry had been wonderful, and she didn’t know what she would have done without her. All she could do now was clean him up and hope he would recover quickly. Xantos was unconscious, and she leaned in to wipe the blood off. Even with the healing that Harry had done, he looked to be in bad shape. The little witch had said that he would recover, but that recovery wouldn't be easy, and he needed to shift, but who could shift when they were unconscious? Sally wiped off some of the blood, and suddenly, he grabbed her.

“I want you so much," he said, pulling her in and giving her a passionate kiss.

This was something that didn't need to happen. There was chemistry between them, and she couldn't deny it, but not only was he not in his right mind, but she feared what would happen between them if she allowed it. She managed to pull away, and he went out again. Sally finished cleaning him up, and then she left him lying there, unsure what to do. She tried touching him and wanting him to get better, but she wasn't sure if that helped or not. Some said that touch healed regardless of who was doing the touching. She wasn't sure if that was true or not.

Sally headed downstairs and made sure that food was ready, and some of the other people began to arrive. They seemed to notice that Xantos had arrived, but no one seemed to know that he had been attacked. Once he shifted to his wolf, there would be no sign of it, so it was better that they didn't know. All she could do was hope that after supper, he would wake and shift. Sally touched her lips, and they felt numb from the passion that he used on her. She knew it could be so good, but she needed to steer clear of it. This was something they needed to avoid, and yet it kept happening. The chemistry was so strong, but they needed to fight it, and he hadn't been in any condition to fight it.

The others began to fill their plates, so she filled hers and a plate for Xantos and carried them both upstairs, where she sat and watched him, unsure of what to do for him. She tried to will him awake so that he could eat some food, which she thought would help. Sally was startled when Harry appeared.

“I'm just here to check on you and make sure he's going to be alright. He needs to wake so he can shift and eat a good meal and then sleep will help him more than anything.” Harry said.

“How can we do that?” Sally asked.