Page 56

“Maybe,” Mrs. Francis shrugged again. “But maybe not just shifters. Humans too. Think of Lila, Jade, Nora, and witches like your sweet Alana.”

It was his turn to beam at her. “She is sweet, isn’t she?”

Mrs. Francis threw her head back with a laugh. “And to think that only a little while ago, you claimed you hated her. You couldn’t be in the same room as her before you turned into a churlish, grumpy jerk.”

“I know, I will always feel bad for that, but you’ve got to understand, Mrs. Francis. I didn’t trust her because I ... ”

“You didn’t trust her because your ex hurt you so much that you completely lost trust in your heart. In yourself.”

His throat tightened. “That’s exactly right. The second I felt a physical attraction and pull toward Alana, I figured she was just like Amanda. It didn’t help that their names are very similar.”

“But they are not the same woman, and they are very different. I never met your ex, but I have known Alana for a very long time. She is a good person, and she has a good soul. She loves this town, and she will be a good alpha mate.”

“Alpha mate?” Cohen frowned. “Why would she be the alpha mate?”

“Because there was an emergency council meeting this morning. One that you were not invited to,” she quickly added when he opened his mouth to interject. “We passed a vote, and you have been voted the Alpha of Half Moon Key.”

“But what are we? A pack? A pride?”

Mrs. Francis laughed. “Does it matter what we are? We’re a small town, a community, a family. You’re our alpha because you deserve to be. Alana too. We all know what she sacrificed to save Half Moon Key.”

“It wasn’t a sacrifice,” Alana interrupted as she joined them. The smile on the witch’s face made it damn obvious that she meant it too. She didn’t have any regrets or qualms about leaving her magic interwoven into Half Moon Key. “It was an act of love. One I would choose to do over and over again.”

“This town and its residents owe you.” Mrs. Francis inclined her head.

“No,” Alana argued. “They don’t. Trouble came to town because of me. I attracted it here.”

“That wasn’t your fault, love. You can’t take the blame for that, nor can you believe for one second that you deserve to be without your magic.”

Alana grinned. “Who said I am without my magic?”

Mrs. Francis and Cohen exchanged a confused glance.

“What do you mean?” Cohen asked. “Aren’t you without magic?”

Alana’s smile was so wide and bright that it made it a bit hard to look at her without squinting. “I thought about something …” She knelt on the ground, placing her palm against the ground. It rumbled a bit as she wiggled her fingers in the grass. Off in the distance, the lake’s water began to form little waves.

Cohen gasped. “Are you the one doing that?”

She nodded. “Yeah. As it turns out, keeping the magic tied up in Half Moon Key doesn’t mean that I’m without it. It just means I am very connected to the town.”

Mrs. Francis took a deep, steady, and comforting breath. All of her fears for her hometown vanished in that instant. “I knew you would be an amazing alpha mate,” she said. “I could feel it.” She winked at them before leaving on her way to Moonie’s.

Unsurprisingly, the diner was busy. It was just about the end of the lunch rush, and people were settling up their bills, leaving empty plates in exchange for full and happy bellies.

Lila and Mason ran Moonie’s together, and though it was Lila’s family business, Mason was a chef by trade, and he had taken to the work very easily. The town had adopted him simply because he was a good person. The kind of man who didn’t mind working at the crack of dawn so long as it was done with his mate and future wife.

“Mrs. Francis! Mason will have your shredded carrots in a second,” Lila called out.

The elder settled at the counter, and moments later, Mason walked through the revolving kitchen door with a small white bowl of shredded carrots.

“If it wasn’t for your favorite food, I would never guess you’re a rabbit shifter. You’re so fierce, Mrs. Francis.”

She patted Mason’s cheek like a dotting grandmother might. “Rabbits are survivors, and they have a whole lot of children.” She swept the busy diner with her eyes. “And now, this mama bunny knows that her family will be okay forever. That’s all I could ask for.”

She forked some of the shredded carrots into her mouth, and their sweetness exploded on her tongue. All was right in her world … in Half Moon Key … and it always would be now that the town had an alpha and a witch to watch over it.

The shifter's safe haven would endure long after they were all old and gray.