Page 17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

I fled to the kitchen to make breakfast and to escape Vena’s fake puking, but she followed me.

“What are you making?” Vena asked.

“Something simple for Shepard,” I said. “I have a feeling he is going to need to leave soon.”

“I’ll take whatever it is, too. Even your simple is better than most things. I’m not dissing the cooks at the pack house, but I miss your cooking.”

“I can’t tell whether you’re buttering me up for something or if you’re actually being sweet.”

“I’m always sweet.”

Both Anchor and I snorted and shared a conspiratorial smile as he joined her at the island.

“Hey. I am ,” Vena reiterated.

When I arched a brow at her, I noticed that Cross wasn’t in the living room anymore and hoped he had slipped into the study with Shepard.

Losing the ring the way Shepard had was bad enough, but having to face challenges for his alpha spot because of it was worse. Would he need to face more guys like MC, who played dirty?

The title he held in the pack didn’t matter to me. I loved him for who he was, not his position of power. Yet, I knew that losing it would be a crushing blow to him, and I hated that I was so…human.

Grabbing my whisk, I beat eggs.

Vena watched me. “Ah. It’s your frustrated egg-beating technique.” She smiled at Anchor. “You’re about to have the best, fluffiest eggs of your life.”

What could I do to support Shepard? Make his meals? Have his babies? That was hardly very?—

I froze, my mind going back to all the unprotected sex at Effora’s. My panicked gaze went to Vena as I counted back in my head.

“You’re freaking out,” she said, standing. “Why are you freaking out?”

Realizing I was out of the danger window, I sagged with relief even as I picked up my phone to send her a text.

“Don’t read this,” I said to Anchor as I typed. “And I don’t care if he’s your other half or not. You keep this to yourself, Vena. Sisters before misters.”

I hit send, and her phone pinged.

“Sorry, babe,” she said to Anchor. “Close your eyes.”

Me: Order condoms.

Vena: You gave me a heart attack for nothing!

Vena: But I was wondering how long it would take you to think of that. Ordered you a case yesterday.

Vena: It’ll be here tomorrow. Multi color, flavor, and texture because I love you.

Vena: The box in the order that says “beast buddy” is mine. You can open it if you want to broaden your horizons.

Me: You have issues.

She grinned at me like a lunatic.

Ignoring her, I went back to cooking. By the time I had the frittatas ready, the study door opened.

We all looked expectantly at Shepard and Cross as they sat at the island.

“Well?” Vena asked. “What’s going on?”

“No challenges yet,” Shepard said. “But there are plenty of people threatening to.”

I slid a plate in front of him.

“Thank you, Everly.”

I rubbed his shoulder consolingly before making another plate.

“Do you need to get back to the pack?” Vena asked.

“I will, eventually. There will be a lot of questions that I’ll have to answer.”

“Blame it on Effora,” Vena said. “It’s her fault.”

“Unfortunately, that’s just an excuse that wouldn’t buy me sympathy points. My duty is to protect the ring, and I failed it. Any pack member has the right to challenge me, and I don’t begrudge them their anger. My failure rests on my shoulders alone.”

“Our shoulders, too,” Anchor said. “Your pack is loyal to you. No one from our house will challenge you.”

“Is there anything we can do to help? I asked.

“Actually, I think there is. I need to show the rest of the alphas I’m taking the loss of the ring and my alpha responsibilities seriously. It’s time to shut down Blur indefinitely.”

“What? Why?” Vena asked.

“How is that going to help?” I asked.

“The other alphas always questioned why I ran Blur when I have responsibilities to not just my pack but all the packs. Honestly, it was never a problem. The alphas mostly manage their own territories, and I have a good team to oversee things at Blur and in the pack when I can’t.

“I think it rankled others that my pack didn’t need micromanaging. Closing Blur will be an olive branch and prevent them from issuing any immediate challenges, which would be a distraction our people can’t afford.”

“Okay. What do you need us to do?” I asked.

“Call Griz, and help him clear out all perishables. Anchor, you’ll need to grab everything we need to close out the bookkeeping.”

“You’ll reopen, though, right?” Vena asked, looking more upset than I would have thought.

“We’ll see how things turn out. It was a great bonus income for the pack house, but we won’t hurt without it. While you’re clearing out Blur, I’ll meet with Hugh in person. We need his help to flush out Vivian. Orphia will know he has the ring and go after him, whether he plans to give it to her or not. I’d rather take it back from him than her.”

He looked at Cross. “Will you go with Everly?”

“Always.”

“Watch your back while you’re out there. We can’t afford for you to lose your ring as well.”

Cross smiled. “If Orphia were capable of taking my ring, I would have lost it centuries ago. She won’t risk trying to take it directly again.”

“Sounds like there’s a story there,” Vena said.

“Yes, and it’s not suitable for children. Go get ready,” Cross said.

Vena looked like she was going to bristle, but Anchor smacked her ass and turned her toward their room. She was so shocked—and happy—that she actually went.

“Am I a child too?” I asked.

Shepard chuckled, kissed my forehead, and promised to keep in touch. Then he escaped from the house, leaving Cross to answer me.

“No, you’re not. But I’d rather not share that part of my history with you. It’s in the past, and no longer who I am. I would prefer to remain as I am in your mind.”

I hugged him and rested my head against his shoulder. “Okay. If you don’t want to share it, then don’t. You’re right in that it doesn’t matter. It’s in the past. And if you’re trying to let go of it, then there’s no point in bringing it up again.”

“Thank you.”

He helped me clean up, and by the time we finished, Vena and Anchor emerged from the bedroom. His face was flushed, and she was grinning.

“No details,” I said, pushing her toward the stairs before she could say anything.

Anchor drove, which was a good thing since protesters still stood in front of Blur despite it being before ten in the morning. I looked away, fearing someone would recognize me before we turned the corner.

When we pulled in, Griz’s car was already in the employee parking lot. He got out as we parked.

“Are we going to have a problem with them if we go inside?” I asked him.

“We should be in and out before they even realize we’re here,” Griz said, unlocking the back door for us.

The kitchen already smelled like stagnant water and old oil. Thankfully, we never left any food out and always emptied the garbage cans at closing, or it would have been worse.

Griz sighed. “Everly and Vena, you two pack up the perishables in the main fridge. I’ll clean the kitchen. Anchor, you take the office upstairs. Cross, can you check over the bars and throw out anything perishable in those refrigerators? Give it a wipe down as well.”

We all split up. While Griz cleaned, Vena and I started packing boxes with stuff from the kitchen fridge. Some of it needed to be thrown out already, but most of it was still good. Once we had several boxes waiting by the back door, we checked the storage room.

“I think everything will be good in here for a while,” I said. “Let’s take what we have out to the SUV.”

Propping the door to make it easier for us, Vena headed out with the first box. As I was picking up a box from beside the door, I heard a shout and looked up. A group of protesters descended upon Vena, who was standing at the back of the SUV with the tailgate open.

“Werewolf lover!” someone yelled.

A man ripped the supplies from her arms and started throwing the contents at her. Dropping the box I was holding, I ran into the chaos, yelling her name, then Anchor’s.

I briefly lost sight of her as I reached the outer ring. The guy whose shirt I pulled on in an attempt to get him to move turned on me and shoved me back. I stumbled and fell on my ass hard enough that it felt like I broke my tailbone, and all the soreness of the sex-a-thon I had with Shepard came roaring back.

A booming growl filled the air.

Everyone stopped moving.

I twisted around to see Anchor storm out of the building. He knocked down people like they were bowling pins and he was the ball. Those still upright backed away in a hurry, giving me a clear view of Vena on the ground. She was sitting awkwardly, holding her arm.

My friend, who barely ever cried, had tears in her eyes.

She looked up at Anchor. “I think my arm’s broken, babe.”

“It’s okay. I’ve got you now,” he said, picking her up gently. Any softness he had was for her alone because, when his gaze swept the crowd, it held pure murder.

“Do you see the man at the top of the building?” he asked.

Everyone turned to look at the building, but there was no one there.

“Thanks for looking right at the security camera,” he said. “Everyone here can expect a call from the police.”

“Who are on their way,” Cross said, appearing beside me to help me to my feet. He faced away from the camera and flashed the protesters his black eyes and fanged teeth.

The crowd scattered.

“Did you have to do that?” I asked as his face went back to normal.

“It was for their own good,” Cross said simply. “Maybe they’ll think twice next time.”

“You can’t fix dumb,” Griz said. “I doubt it did any good.”

“I’m going to take Vena to the hospital,” Anchor said. “Can you give the police the footage?”

He didn’t wait for an answer because, of course, we’d do what was needed. I watched as he gently put Vena in the passenger seat of the SUV and secured her seatbelt. He ran to the driver’s side and hopped in.

“I hope she’s okay,” I said.

Cross rubbed my back for a moment.

“I’ll get the footage and let Shepard know what happened,” Griz said.

While he did that, Cross and I cleaned up the mess in the parking lot and resumed clearing out Blur. The police arrived just as Cross and I put the rest of the perishables in the back of Griz’s car.

He handed over the footage. “You can see they started it, and everyone’s faces are clear.”

“Once we ID them, do you want to press charges?” an officer asked.

“I’ll leave that up to Shepard, the owner, and Vena, the woman who was hurt,” Griz said, passing Shepard’s business card to them.

The police asked a few more questions and took all of our names, along with Vena’s information.

After they left, Griz locked the back door and walked us to his car.

“Thanks for your help. I’m sorry it turned out like this.”

“It’s not your fault,” I said. “I can’t believe they would attack Vena like that.”

My thoughts drifted to Pam for a moment. She had been thinking about leaving Blur because of the attacks. What if it would have been her instead of Vena?

At least Vena was scrappy. She’d wrap her arm in a cast and come out swinging. But the others? I wasn’t so sure. Maybe Shepard had been right to shut down Blur even though it was sad. It felt like one more thing was lost in this stupid war Orphia had started.

“It’ll be okay,” Cross said as he opened the passenger door for me.

“Will it? What if our bakery is attacked next?”

“Then we’ll repair and move on. Don’t let other people’s hate and misinformation dictate what we do. Our bakery has a mission, after all. One that will hopefully unite people. It might not happen overnight, but it has to start somewhere. Where better than a place filled with love and cookies?”

“You’re right. But it still sucks.”

“It does. Let’s head back and wait for Vena and Anchor. Does she have a favorite treat you can make her?”

I nodded and got in so Griz could drop us off at home.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” Cross said as we walked upstairs. “The sign is ready. It should be installed tomorrow.”

While I still felt the thread of excitement, I wondered how long it would take to find Orphia. Would we have to deal with her for weeks or years? Would she be like the villain in a movie franchise that kept returning movie after movie?

At the top of the stairs, Cross drew me into a hug and released me into the kitchen. He even handed me my whisk and tied a new apron on me.

“Kiss the Vampire?” I asked as I read it aloud. “Isn’t it supposed to say ‘Kiss the Cook’?”

“If you insist,” Cross said, kissing me.

I grinned at his playfulness, especially after everything that happened.

He straightened the apron as if unable to stop touching me yet. “It’s just a reminder for you. I’ll always know to kiss the cook.”

“I’ll always know to kiss you as well. Out of curiosity, did you get one that says ‘Kiss the Wolf’?”

“No. I’m getting him something better. He’s going to love it.”

“I have a feeling he won’t.”

Cross lazily shrugged and sat at the island to watch me work.

* * *

“Where are my gnomies at!” Vena yelled from downstairs, announcing her arrival just before lunchtime.

I heard Anchor shush her and one set of footsteps on the stairs. He appeared at the top with Vena in his arms. She was grinning like it was Mardi Gras and she was half a bottle in.

“A clean break,” he said. “They gave her some pain meds. Too strong in my opinion.”

“I told ‘em it didn’t hurt, but they didn’t listen to me.”

“They were listening,” Anchor said. “The whole emergency room was listening.”

“Oh-oh,” I said, beating him to the couch where I had pillows and a blanket waiting for her. “What did she do?”

“Nothing,” he said with a flush as he set her down.

“That doesn’t look like nothing.”

“That’s what she said!” Vena yelled.

“Ah,” I said, understanding.

“That’s what she said next!” Vena dissolved into a fit of laughter, which ended with her wincing and whining to Anchor that her arm hurt. But once he was within reach to soothe her, she pulled him in for some huggles like an octopus.

“Would you like lunch on the couch, or should I pry her off of you?” I asked him.

“Lunch here is fine,” he said.

“Yeah, I’m hungry too,” Vena said. “But you’re going to have to feed me, babe. I broke my pumping arm. Why that arm? I can feed myself with my left, but I can’t get a decent rhythm on you with it. Here, let me show you.”

I stopped in my tracks, turned around, and marched right back to Vena.

Gently, I grabbed her ponytail and pulled her head back so she was looking at me upside down as she fumbled with Anchor’s hands, which were defending his zipper.

“Vena Anne Hunter, if you don’t keep your hands to yourself and stop talking dirty to your man in public spaces for the next twenty-four hours, I will call your mother and tell her in very vivid detail what happened to her mummified hand last year.”

Vena stopped struggling. “You wouldn’t.”

“Are you feeling lucky?”

She gave me sad eyes. “No. Not even a little.”

“Good. Then behave, eat your dinner, and go to bed. We have enough trouble without you making more.”

“Yes, ma’am,” she said sullenly.

Anchor’s gaze bounced between me and Vena. “What happened to the mummified hand?”

“We don’t talk about the hand,” she said, slapping her hand over his mouth.

I winked at him and went to serve up the food.

Once Vena and Anchor were eating on the couch, I took my plate and let myself into Cross’ study. Someone had spotted Vivian near the old asylum the night of the meeting, which worried Cross. He was on the phone again, talking to one of his contacts to see if he could find any new information regarding Vivian or Orphia.

As soon as I sat in the chair across from his, he thanked whoever he was talking to and hung up.

“Any news?” I asked.

“Nothing.”

“And you’re more worried now than if you’d heard nothing.”

He sighed and nodded.

“I’m guessing Vivian knows what happens at those meetings,” I said. “If he’d wanted us himself, he would have made his move before we went inside."

“Which is even more troubling. If he wasn’t there for you, then why was he there?”

“Gathering evidence that what he said in the video was true, maybe?”

Cross nodded but didn’t look convinced. Neither was I. If that had been the case, he would have brought that night up in his video.

Cross’ phone rang again. After checking the number, he answered on speaker.

“Shepard, Everly is listening.”

“Why did you say it like that?” I asked, narrowing my eyes on Cross. “Is there something I’m not supposed to hear?”

Shepard chuckled. “I’m just calling to let you know Hugh confirmed our interview for later today. I’m on my way back and bringing company.”

“What kind of company?” Cross asked.

“Hugh and some of his people. He has a plan.”