Page 23 of Bewitched by the Werewolf (The Bewitching Hour #5)

He must be really distracted by Lottie to not have noticed her skulking around town.

Lottie herself, however, seems to be creating quite a splash in town.

Anyone would who was spending so much time with the alpha mayor.

Hunter having a love interest is quite diverting for the local gossip mill.

Either that or Tess has managed to somehow hide in plain sight.

She walks through town, enters the stores, and eats at the restaurants, but even with her striking red hair and nosy questions she seems to not stir the pot enough to draw attention.

I hadn’t realized how stealthily she was operating since she fills up my every waking thought.

Hunter continues to watch me, waiting for answers to his questions. I guess it is about time he knows what I’ve found out about Tess and her presence here.

“She’s an online blogger,” I pause, knowing he isn’t going to like the rest of the sentence. “A conspiracy theorist of sorts. The kind that believes in the paranormal and alien.”

Okay so maybe I fudged that last bit a little.

He doesn’t need to know she’s here specifically for shifters.

I can handle her just fine. If she gets out of hand, then I’ll bring him in on it.

But situations like this are exactly what a beta is supposed to take care of, and I am more than capable of handling one smart mouthed redhead.

“And she’s here because?”

Well, isn’t he in a curious mood today? I think of an answer that’ll appease his curiosity but not instigate his need to get further involved.

I can’t tell him some unknown source gave her coordinates that led her directly to Snowberry.

I have Ginger working on finding the messages sent to Tess and tracking where they came from to see if we can figure out who sent her here.

Tess in town is a small annoyance, someone out there sending gps coordinates to people and directing them here is a much larger problem.

One that can wait until Ginger finds more information and the eclipse is over.

I decide to use Tess’s own lie about being in town. She told everyone she was here for the eclipse, so I’ll use that. For now.

“Heard rumors and theories about the eclipse. Nothing concrete. I think Ginger’s taken down her site a time or two.”

Letting him know Ginger is already aware of Tess’s website should be of some consolation.

He knows I’m taking care of it and making sure it doesn’t happen again.

He has plenty to focus on right now without worrying about something that is currently completely out of his or my control.

Once I know who sent her here then we’ll form a plan to put a stop to it permanently.

“Well fairy dust her and get her out of town. We don’t need a nosy human with theories about the paranormal snooping around right now. With the eclipse and the elves, we have more than enough to deal with.”

A thought I also had in the beginning, until I realized how far down the rabbit hole she was.

She’ll just keep coming back over and over searching for answers.

Fairy dust would only erase the last week nothing before, and with an obsession and determination like hers she wouldn’t be gone long.

Especially if someone is feeding her information.

No, fairy dusting her memory away won’t work on her like it would a lost traveler.

I clear my throat and divert my gaze hoping he doesn’t scent or see my reluctance to do as he commands. Normally I would without question, but in this situation, he doesn’t know all the facts, and he doesn’t need to. Not yet. For now, he’ll just have to trust me.

“There are circumstances that may prevent the use of fairy dust in this situation.”

“Are you going to elaborate?”

“Not yet.”

I look to my brother’s frowning face. He’s not happy about my vagueness and I can smell it on him. A musky displeasure and then it lightens as he lets out an exasperated sigh rubbing at his temple.

“Can I trust that you’ll handle this?”

Finally, he comes to the conclusion on his own. I sit straight and become more of my usual focused self.

“Yes of course you can. You focus on the elves and Lottie. I’ll deal with Tess.” Just the way I want it.

“Tess?” Hunter asks. Had I not mentioned her name to him yet?

“The female, that’s her name. Though I prefer to think of her as the pain in my ass.” I tense up realizing how much I let slip with that one statement. To my surprise Hunter laughs. I have no idea why. Tess being a pain in my ass is not funny.

“Well, just make sure this pain in the ass remains yours and not mine.”

“Understood.” That I can definitely do.

“Just keep me updated. And if you need Ginger’s assistance with any online removals, just let her know.”

Way ahead of you little brother. Still, I nod in agreement.

I would never neglect asking for Hunter’s help if I needed it.

I may be the older brother, but I am also the beta.

It’s my responsibility to handle what I can and go to the alpha when he is needed.

Currently he is not needed, and if I have anything to do with it, he won’t be.

Now that we’ve discussed Tess and Hunter knows I’m handling her, I’m more relaxed about the rest of our conversation and can’t wait for it to be over. Hunter leans back in his chair and I can scent uncertainty on him. Whatever he’s about to tell me has him hesitant but eventually he speaks.

“I’m meeting with Fynn for lunch. He has some information he looked into regarding a possible mate bond.”

I furrow my brow in confusion. What could Fynn possibly need to research about mate bonds for Hunter? Or at all? And why is it important?

“I may or may not be feeling the mate pull towards Lottie. I’ve never heard of such a thing occurring with a human, so I asked Fynn to look into it. He said he found something, so hopefully, by lunch, I’ll know for sure if it’s possible.”

This conversation just became interesting.

Hunter is feeling the mate pull towards Lottie, a human, and I’m feeling…

something pulls me towards Tess. Could it actually be possible?

Leaning forward in my chair I grip the arm rests needing to know more about this.

My heart is racing and an eager anticipation rushes through me.

“I didn't know that was possible,” I say, trying to retain all the questions racing through my mind.

“Neither did I. Which is why I enlisted Fynn’s help. I’ll let you know what he says. If it’s possible to have a mate bond with a human, we need to know and need to let everyone else know.”

Especially me, since I have the nagging feeling I might be in the same boat as my brother.

I nod again, unable to verbalize any of the turmoil churning in my gut.

I lean back into my chair and release my death grip on the armrests.

Hunter moves on to something that demands far less of my attention, and I don’t particularly listen closely to the mundane updates.

Hunter just dropped a nuke on my perfectly calculated defense against Tess and her alluring scent.

The possibility that it might mean more than just elevated attraction is concerning.

I’ll have to be more careful around her from now on until Hunter tells me it was all just a crazy idea, and humans can’t be mates to shifters.

Yeah, that’s all. I just have to be diligent and not let her get to me.

Easier said than done.