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Sugar Tits and further to the left, the sound of music drifted from the direction of Pixie Pavilion.

“And what’s the occasion tonight?” Jax pocketed his keys and jogged across the street.

“Do the people of Fates need a reason to let down their hair and dance under the moonlight?” Silas snarked.

No truer words were ever uttered. The Full Moon Frolic. Movie Monday Under the Moonlight. If the day of the week ended in a y , the citizens of Fates found inspiration for a community gathering.

“Move it faster, man. If you’re not warming a stool in five seconds or less, Maddox and I are dragging you over by your tail. I bet even Gavin will risk wrinkling his suit to help, too.”

Low laughter and echoed agreements went off in the background.

Jax crossed the knoll and headed toward the pavilion, giving a few hello nods on his way. “You know, three-on-one odds don’t bother me. It’s not like I won’t come out on top.”

Silas chuckled. “You’re really pushing it, Atwood.”

Jax chuckled, and his inner cougar practically purred at the idea of taking on his friends.

Although the demon no longer worked as an assassin for hire, and Silas had cut ties with the Angelic Academy where he’d had a brief stint as an instructor, neither his skills nor his reflexes suffered. Opening Beast Mode, the gym and workout spot a few storefronts down from Howlin’, he stayed both sharp and lethal, even hosting MMA nights—or what he called organized ass kicking—that brought people from all over.

Maddox King, although technically human, could also hold his own in a brawl… especially if it was to protect someone in his tight circle. Jax had wondered on more than one occasion if the tattoo artist didn’t have at least a little supernatural in him.

But it was Gavin Bishop, one of Fates Haven’s newest residents, who was the real wild card in any potential three-on-one scuffle. A friend of Mad’s from their college days, the reserved vampire sported a British accent and played the bookish librarian part for the Fates Haven Public Library extremely well. But instincts—and seeing the vampire wail on the heavy bag at Beast Mode—told Jax that the quiet guy hid a hell of a lot behind his pressed suits and perfectly kempt hair.

The four of them were all different. All assholes in their own ways. And the bastards were probably the only people who could talk him into something he didn’t want to do—or out of something he did.

“Just get over here.” Silas hung up with a warning growl as Jax reached the Pixie Pavilion, Howlin’ Good Times’ pop-up spot for Fates Haven outdoor events.

Slow-moving ceiling fans kept the air circulating beneath the structure’s copper roof, but despite the slight breeze, it was still hot as hell, Jax’s T-shirt practically suctioning to his back.

It didn’t take long to find his friends. They’d be hard to miss even if his inner mountain lion didn’t pick up their distinct scents quickly. They sat at the bar, each grinning at him from over half-empty beer mugs. A low-key sense of dread formed in the pit of his stomach because smirks usually spelled trouble.

The majority of people stared openly as Jax wove his way through the crowd, a few skittering from his path and quickly averting their eyes as they dipped their heads to whisper to one another.

Although a Denver suburb, Fates Haven maintained its small-town feel with its quaint cobblestoned sidewalks and magically glowing lanterns that lit up Fates Boulevard every sunset. And then there was the robust gossip mill. Newsworthy or not, nothing remained secret in Fates for long, whether it was from pure nosiness or in someone’s best interest.

Judging by the rise in blatant murmurs as he crossed the pavilion, this round of gossip consisted of the former.

He ignored the curious stares as he grabbed the empty seat next to Silas and nodded to Howlin’s new owner. “Hey there, Kailani.”

“Alpha At—”

“Kai,” Jax growled in warning. He shot her a hard look that tipped her mouth into a knowing smirk.

“You know that to get used to the title, you eventually have to use it, right?” Kai teased.

“ Eventually isn’t right now, and definitely not after spending all day listening to people kiss Alpha Atwood’s ass.”

She slid him his usual without him asking. “Point made. Let me know if you need something with more kick.”

“An ice water is perfect, Kai. Thanks.” With a parting nod, she turned toward the next waiting customer.

“Glad you decided to join us,” Silas’s baritone voice teased.

“You made the invitation sound so inviting. How could I refuse?”

The demon snorted. “Relax, you’ll have plenty of time to embrace your inner furmit and hibernate in your bear cave until the morning, or whatever you shifters do.”

“Mountain lions don’t hibernate and they sure as hell don’t live in bear dens. You’d think a former bigwig assassin to the Powers That Be would know his shifter traits. And what the hell is a furmit?”

“A hermit who sprouts fur.” Silas sent him a pointed look. “Look in the mirror and you’ll see Exhibit A. And I do know shifter traits. I’m an expert on all supe entities.”

Maddox, sitting on Silas’s other side, snorted. “Except if that supernatural is a curvy-bodied angel whose favorite accessory happens to be a three-foot-long celestial blade.”

Silas drilled an elbow into the other guy’s rib cage. Mad nearly toppled from his seat, the bulky tattoo artist clutching his midsection and sucking in a wheezy breath. “Fuck, man. I think you bruised a rib.”

“Humans. So fragile,” the demon quipped as Gavin, a grip on the back of Maddox’s shirt, effectively lifted him back into position. “Maybe you should put your mouth on a leash. Jax probably has one you can borrow.”

Maddox released a pained laugh, chuckling harder as his attention slid over their shoulders. “I couldn’t have asked for better timing than this.”

Jax didn’t ask what he was talking about because the demon stiffened, instantly alert. Only one person got that kind—or any kind—of reaction from the levelheaded Silas.

Elodie Quinn approached, her gaze flicking from Gavin to Maddox, pointedly skipping Silas, and then landing on Jax. “Can we talk for a second?”

The warrior angel might look the picture of petite innocence, but he knew firsthand the redhead didn’t intimidate easily and she possessed the ass-kicking ability to back up her snarky attitude. It was a necessary skill when ridding the world of rogue demonic entities hell-bent on bringing hell to earth.

Although she hadn’t been doing much ass kicking lately. Jax hadn’t asked for particulars, but he didn’t think her return to Fates Haven a few months ago was entirely her own idea.

The angel nibbled her thumbnail, a telltale sign something was on her mind.

“Depends.” He eyed her warily.

She cocked an auburn eyebrow. “On?”

“Is it about whatever put that look on your face? Because I hit my quota for headache-inducing issues a few hours ago. Best try your luck tomorrow.” She shot him a hard glare, making him sigh. “Or now. What’s up?”

“Have you heard? The entire town is practically buzzing about it.”

Jax glanced around the pavilion; and sure enough, at least a dozen people brazenly stared their way, one vampire in the corner watching so raptly he spilled his blood shake over the front of his white polo shirt.

A bad feeling settled low in Jax’s stomach. “You know I don’t care shit-all about the Fates Haven gossip mill. People’s business is their business, not mine.”

“She’s coming back, Jax,” Elodie whispered.

He chose that exact moment to take a swig of water; and at her words, the liquid traveled the wrong way. He choked. Tears sprang to his eyes as he attempted sucking in a dose of oxygen.

“Are you attempting to kill the man?” Silas glowered at the angel, slamming his broad hand against Jax’s back. “You can’t drop that kind of a bomb on someone and not expect a volatile reaction.”

El’s eyes narrowed on the demon. “I must have missed class the day you covered that at the academy.”

“Not like you would’ve listened even if you had been there,” Silas volleyed. “I’ve never met anyone more averse to following directions than you. It really is amazing that you lasted in the Warrior Guard as long as you did.”

“I follow the directions that make sense, and my leave of absence is only temporary.”

By the time Jax took easy, unobstructed breaths, the two former colleagues looked ready to pummel each other.

He coughed, gaining the angel’s attention. Pretending he didn’t know who she was insulted them both.

Harlow Pierce.

Harry.

Once upon a time, Nora’s great-niece had been the center of their teenage friend group, and the heart of his entire world. To anyone on the outside, they made no sense. She’d been the calm to his storm, the soft, smooth edges to his hard, jagged ones. They’d been opposites in every way, and yet it hadn’t mattered a damn bit.

Until suddenly it did.

Until that Fates Festival when she left him standing in the middle of Havenhood Park with love on his mind and heartbreak ripping apart his fucking chest.

“She’s not coming back, El.” His voice came out harsher than he’d meant it to. “It’s like those celebrity death hoaxes that circulate every year.”

“Yeah, but this time it’s—”

“People attempting to cure their boredom by stirring up the past. That’s all it is.”

“But—”

“Harry is not coming back to Fates, Elodie!” Jax immediately regretted his outburst as dozens of heads, which had all been previously side-eyeing him, now stared blatantly.

All the looks now made sense.

Scrubbing a hand over his face, Jax battled his inner cougar for control, the cat practically clawing apart his insides. “Harry made it clear on multiple occasions that she has no intention of ever setting foot back in town. And in case you somehow missed it, we sure as hell didn’t miss the anti-tracking spell she dropped on her way out.”

He sure as hell didn’t. Not the first time he’d attempted to track her and ended up standing in front of the country’s “Largest Adult Sex Shop,” nor the second time when he could’ve posed with the Guinness World Records largest feline hairball. Every attempt to find the Runaway Witch ended in some off-the-wall, obscure location.

With no Harry in sight.

“Don’t do this to yourself each time this rumor resurfaces, El. You need to get over it. Get over her .”

She glared at him. “Oh? Like you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He gripped his glass a little tighter than necessary, jaw clenched.

“Sure you don’t, Mr. Happy and Carefree.”

“I’m perfectly happy.”

“And full of bullshit, apparently. Tell me, how many relationships have you had over the last thirteen years?” She pointed a finger at him in warning when he opened his mouth. “I’m not talking about your one-night sexual distractions. I’m talking about an actual give-and-take relationship with emotions on the line.”

He returned her glare with one of his own and answered with a blatant nonanswer.

She snorted. “My point exactly… so pardon me for holding out a little hope. I’ve been waiting for years for the chance to apologize—”

“Apologize for what?” Jax’s cougar growled low in his throat. “We did nothing wrong, Elodie. That ceremony fucked us over as much as it did everyone else in this town.”

“But the two of you—”

“El, do you feel like we’re Fated Mates?” Next to Jax, a strangled sound came from somewhere in the direction of a certain silent demon.

“Fuck, no.” Her lip curled up in disgust.

“And what would you do if I laid a kiss on you right now?”

“I’d send a palm thrust into your nose , and then follow it with a knee to the gut . Maybe top it off with an elbow to the ear . A typical NGE.” Her lips twitched into a small, knowing grin.

“Exactly. No Fate Match. No feelings. No need for a fucking apology.” Fuck, he wished the knot in his chest would loosen. “I get your need to hold on to a little hope, but sometimes hope leads to disappointment and we’ve all experienced enough of that to last us a lifetime. I sure as hell have. Why add to it unnecessarily?”

“Something feels different about it this time. I can’t really explain it.”

“Are your angel senses tingling? There’s probably a cream or something you can get for that.”

Chuckling, she shoved his shoulder. “Fuck you, very much, Atwood. I’m serious.”

“So am I. Trust me. All this Harry-is-coming-to-town gossip will die by morning… or I’ll buy you that yearly subscription you keep yapping on and on about.”

Her eyes rounded eagerly. “The Sugar Tits & Treats monthly subscription box?”

“That would be the one.”

A small smile blossomed on her face. “Well, I guess a girl wins either way. You’re on.”

She flashed him a wink and left as abruptly as she’d arrived, disappearing into the growing crowd. All three of his friends openly stared at him with mixed looks of what the fuck?

“What?” Jax questioned.

Silas lifted a dark eyebrow and broke the silence first. “Did you seriously offer to buy Elodie the subscription box from my grandma’s bakery?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“You have no idea what’s in one of those things, do you?” Maddox grinned.

“I would assume whatever their monthly treat is. It’s not like it matters, because I’m not wrong. No way is Harlow Pierce showing her face back in Fates Haven.”

“You better hope so… or you’ll have to come to grips with the fact you’re building your friend’s sex-toy stash one subscription box at a time.”

The guys laughed at his expense while he digested the new information. A taste and a treat… at Sugar Tits Bakery.

Well, fuck.

His friends’ laughter grew louder as he swallowed a groan. Elodie would have to buy her own Sugar Tits box because he wasn’t wrong. The day Harlow Pierce rolled back into town was the day one of her aunt’s garden gnomes became something other than a nuisance.