Page 5 of Marked By Moonlight

“He is?” Her voice rose.

I sighed. Gen had harbored a crush on the wolf shifter since she was five and Clement about nine. A painfully unrequited crush, but you never knew.

“Yes, and he’s asked about you.”

“He did?” she squealed.

I held the phone away from my ear, contemplating my fib. I’d mentioned Gen to Clement, and he’d made a noncommittal sound in reply. Close enough?

“Just another reason for you to get over here ASAP,” I said.

“I will. I promise. It’s just that this run ofPeter and the Wolfgot extended by a few weeks.”

Right, and the hot new percussionist was probably perfect for a rebound fling — Gen’s favorite cure for a relationship gone sour. She designed sets for the Children’s Theatre of New England, and her love life had a way of mirroring the dramas that played out on the stage.

I ended the call and gazed over the town park. French horns played the wolf’s menacing tune in my mind as I considered what Gen had said.

A car passed, then a minivan, but I was too absorbed in my thoughts to notice until they were two blocks away. Only then did I fumble with my keys and start my car, because that wasHenrik’s sports car and the minivan Roux drove with Marius and Bene. They were coming home!

My battered old Citroën sputtered to life on the second try. I raced off, sparing it no mercy in my eagerness to catch up with my man. I did limit myself to just a shade over the speed limit, lest I give the police an excuse to ticket me. And not just any police officer, but Clement. I loved him, but it was strictly platonic. From my side, at least. From his…

Well, that was where things got a little complicated.

The minute I passed the town limits, I revved the Citroën’s poor, straining engine. Not long after, I swung left onto a country road that led to the château’s long, tree-lined driveway. I screeched into the wide arc area in front of the building, scattering gravel, then leaped out to greet them.

“Oh hi, Mina,” Bene said, looking uncharacteristically guarded.

Usually, the blond lion shifter was as sunny as can be. Not today, though.

Roux’s eyes were rimmed with dark lines, and he greeted me with a flat, “Bonjour.”

The man was a tiger shifter and a dead ringer for David Beckham — without the smirk. But, my, did he look tired.

Henrik, a dark-haired vampire, bent into the slightest hint of a bow, avoiding my eyes. “Hello.”

“Hi,” I chirped, more to the van door than any of them, because surely Marius would exit next.

I pictured him extending his long legs and arms and stepping out, then wrapping those arms around me. Arms that could turn into wings, plus midnight eyes that had a way of peering deep into my soul. Hair the color of a chocolate lover’s dreams, and a bad boy expression that masked how much more there was to him.

I waited. Any minute now, I would get treated to all that.

Very, very soon…

I waited another few seconds, then stuck my head inside the vehicle. But Marius wasn’t snoozing in the back or finishing a call or dealing with luggage. He wasn’t there at all.

I whirled to the others. “Where’s Marius?”

Bene looked at his feet, while Roux and Henrik looked at each other.

Oh God.

Marius was a kick ass dragon shifter who could look out for himself. But he took part in highly secretive and dangerous missions for my godfather, Gordon.

My voice rose along with my pulse. “Where is Marius?”

Chapter Three

MINA