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“I’m sure they’re already getting together. They’ll probably be waiting for me in my office.”

“Well, then, go. What are you doing here? Walking me to Lila’s house? I am a capable person. I can walk all by myself. I did it for years before meeting you.”

“Woman,” he grumbled. “I spent the last few years hating your guts, and now that we’ve just finished going to town on each other, I can’t try to make sense of it. I have to figure out why in the hell there is an earthquake in this town. Maybe make it easier on me by just letting me walk you to someplace safe?”

She ignored him because, of course, she would. “We’re not anywhere near tectonic plates. This makes no sense. It could be magic. You might need my expertise.”

He shook his head. “Nope. You’re gonna make some wedding plans with Lila, and that is the end of it. Do not make me kiss you again, Alana. I will. I swear to god, if you try to argue with me, I will kiss you quiet.”

Alana wanted to argue, but there was no time for their little haters’ squabble.

Not when she saw a strange green light emanating from the woods.

It was the color of magic and not the good kind. Cohen might think this was a job for him, but he was wrong.

Half Moon Key needed its witch, and Alana would have to rise to the challenge whether she wanted to or not.

SEVEN

ALANA

Lila’s front door opened before Alana was even on the front steps. Mason went down them three at a time to clasp his brother’s hand.

“What the fuck was that?” Mason asked. “Did we just have an earthquake in Half Moon Key?”

“We did,” Cohen confirmed, his eyes finding Alana’s. “Weird, I know. I’m just here to make sure this one is safe here with you two. I need to go to the station.”

“I am going with you,” Mason announced.

“Good idea,” Lila said. “We should all go. This might be an all-hands-on-deck kind of situation.”

“No,” both Pierce brothers burst out at the very same time ... but Alana figured it was for two very different reasons.

Mason’s reasoning probably had to do with protecting Lila ... his mate and fiancée. Cohen’s forceful refusal had a bit more of an edge to it, one that Alana couldn’t trace.

Was it because he was angry with her for kissing him back every time he kissed her? Did he still think she was putting a spell on him? Surely, all of the kissing couldn’t be helping her cause.

Or maybe Cohen didn’t want Alana out there in the world, playing with magic when she hadn’t been able to tell him what kind of spell had been placed on him. That had to be frustrating for a man who was so used to being in control.

“I think that the council will want to meet,” Alana pointed out. “And now that I am on the council, wouldn’t it make sense to take me with you?”

“No,” Cohen snapped. “You are going to stay here with Lila. If the council is meeting, I’ll let you know.”

“You won’t,” she argued.

“And here we go,” Mason threw his hands up in the air. “You two are the worst. We don’t know what is happening in our town. It would be great if you could sheath the anger for two seconds so that we can see if anyone is hurt.”

“No one is hurt,” Alana insisted. “I would know.”

Cohen snorted. “How can that possibly be true?”

She shrugged and gave a sly wave of her fingers to show that she would know through magic. That particular spell hadn’t worked in a long time, but Cohen didn’t have to know that.

“Fine. You two are coming with us.”

“Hey!” Mason cried. “You can’t make that call for my woman.”

“That’s right,” Lila said. “Your woman makes her own calls.”