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Mason pursed his lips. “Well, shit. How could I forget? I won’t get you to agree to stay here, will I?”

Lila shook her head. “And I’m thinking Jade and Parker will also want in on a piece of the action.”

“Why do you say that?” Cohen asked.

“Because there they are.” Lila pointed over their shoulders.

And there were Parker and his mate Jade, and Jack and his new mate Nora. The four were paired up, holding hands but walking with determination in their direction.

“What do you need us to do?” Parker asked. “We can be on crowd control. Whatever you need.”

Cohen gave a rare smile to the other man. “I really appreciate that you know. I have the deputies to help, but it will be good to have some shifters on my side. Can you guys patrol our lands in your animal forms? Have Mason report back to me, but don’t stop roaming until we know what caused it.”

“But that could be hours,” Nora interjected. “What arewesupposed to do? The non-shifters?”

“We’ll go to the community center,” Alana announced. “The council will surely want to do a headcount of the town folks to make sure everyone is safe and accounted for. We’ll probably also need some food.” This is where Alana gave Lila a knowing look.

“You’re right, Alana. I’ll go to Moonie’s and get Bobbie behind the grill. Maybe if I can get Emily and some of the other high schoolers to help out, it’ll keep them busy and the town fed.”

“I don’t like that you’re involved in all of this,” Cohen said.

Alana thought he was talking to her and her alone, but every other person in their small group assumed that the surly sheriff meant something else.

Mason probably thought his older brother wanted to block him from helping the town, while Jack and Parker might have assumed that since they were not sheriff deputies, they shouldn’t be involved.

“We’re basically a pack-pride of misfits,” Jack said with a shrug. “You lead us, Cohen. If you want us to shift and patrol the town, we will.” He turned toward Nora and gave her a sweet kiss. “I love you, Nora. You be safe out there, and we’ll be together again in no time.”

She nodded and kissed him back, needing to be on the tips of her toes to reach his mouth. “I love you, Jack. If there is another earthquake, you take cover. You’re important to me and this town.”

“Ditto,” he whispered back.

The shy woman and her new boyfriend weren’t the only couple to be saying heartfelt goodbyes. Parker and Jade were doing the same, while Lila and Mason were basically trying to merge into one person where their mouths were joined.

Alana and Cohen exchanged a glance, and she had to look away. Did he want to kiss her goodbye? Did she want the same?

Cohen answered at least part of her questions by closing the distance between them. He didn’t kiss her, but he stood as close to her as social convention would allow. “We’ll continue our conversation later, okay? You be safe, Alana.”

“Same to you, Cohen.”

He gave her a tight nod before walking away. He used his usual short and tense tone to call his guys to him. Mason, Jack, and Parker were quick to trail behind them.

“Okay,” Lila clapped her hands together. “That was super weird, right?”

Alana nodded. “I have something to do. I’ll meet you guys at the community center in a little bit, okay?”

Lila narrowed her eyes at her. “And just where do you think you are going?”

Alana shook her head. “I’ve got my own business for the council to check before I meet with them. They’re gonna have questions for me, and I would like to answer them for once.”

“You be careful, or else I’ll sic Cohen on you,” Lila threatened.

But it was useless to say that. Alana already had a feeling that Cohen would find her in the woods to give her a piece of his mind.

She was looking forward to fighting with him again.

* * *

The eerie greenglow that Alana spotted in the high woods of the mountain shortly after the earthquake was all but gone. If she wasn’t a witch, she might have completely missed the hazy glow still trying to push against the bushy leaves of the trees in the hills.