Page 26

Mila

“No, really?" Mila responded after Maddy finished telling her a story about a woman named Briar. “She picked a fight with five guys and won?”

“She did, right here in this bar,” Maddy said with a big grin and a shake of her head. “It’s good that she’s got Tobias and Memphis now. Those two are almost enough to keep her out of trouble. Almost.”

Mila laughed. “Now I’m scared to meet her!”

“Don’t be,” Maddy said. “As long as you don’t mess with the people she’s loyal to, Briar isn’t scary at all. But if you do make one of us upset, you better watch out ‘cuz she’s coming for you. And you won’t know if she’ll punch you in the face or destroy your credit rating.”

That set off another gale of laughter between the two of them. The first stop of her and Carter’s day date had been to the Downward Dog to meet Mikey and Maddy. It wasn’t officially open yet, but Mikey was doing some work, and Maddy was spending her day off to help.

The quick stop had turned into Maddy and Mila sitting down and having a great time talking. Between Maddy and Mikey, the box of goodies they’d brought to drop off was half gone and now Carter was helping Mikey install a dishwasher, leaving the two women chatting in the empty bar.

Mila was having as much fun with Maddy as she had at Joy during the impromptu dinner the first night she met Carter.

“Briar and I met when we were kids and have been friends ever since,” Maddy said. Her expression turned serious, and she looked away before speaking. “Back then, I was Mateo. She helped me become my true self.”

It took Mila a moment to understand what Maddy meant and why the other woman looked a little anxious. Before Mila could say anything, the guys stomped in from the backroom.

“You really need to hire a damn plumber,” Carter said.

“I know,” Mikey said, sounding frustrated. “I was th—” His nostrils flared, and he looked over at the two of them. “Why are you upset?” he asked Maddy, then glared at Mila. “What did you say to her?”

The room suddenly felt so full of tension and worry that Mila swore the air was literally thick with it. If anyone understood being protective of someone, it was Mila. Even as Carter opened his mouth to say something biting to Mikey, Mila stood up and put herself between Mikey and Maddy.

“Maddy was trusting me with her truth,” Mila said, giving Mikey her most genuine smile. “Please don’t ruin this moment. I’ve never felt so honored before, and I’d like to keep talking to her. Strong, beautiful people are always worth knowing.”

Everyone froze for a moment at her words, then Mikey’s shoulders relaxed, and his scowl melted into a smile.

“She’s the most beautiful soul I know,” he whispered. “You’re lucky to know her.”

“So I’m realizing,” Mila agreed. When she sat back down, it was to find Maddy watching her with unshed tears in her eyes.

“You really need to meet Briar,” Maddy said, reaching across to grab hold of Mila’s hand. “I think you two will get along great.”

Mila squeezed her hand back. “That’s a nice thing to say, but I’d like to get to know you first.”

“Oh chica, that’s a story and a half,” Maddy said with an exaggerated groan as she withdrew her hand.

“Great!” Mila said, grabbing her drink. They were both drinking a tart lemonade Mikey made in-house. It was really good, and she was going to need to ask Mikey for the recipe. Or maybe get Maddy to ask for her. “I think the next place we’re going is, um...?”

She looked over to where Mikey and Carter were talking quietly and intensely to each other. Carter answered without missing a beat. “The Pack House for lunch.”

Maddy looked excited. “Can we join you? I’m craving their patty melt.”

“Of course,” Mila agreed. Today was so much better than she thought. “But story first!”

“I need a little time to digest your amazing pastries anyway,” Maddy agreed, patting her flat stomach.

“It all started when we were both five. My much older cousin was picking on me. Briar showed up and punched him. Of course that didn’t work, so she got a rock and knocked him out.

Thankfully he didn’t remember what happened when he woke up.

Briar and I have been best friends ever since. ”

Carter

“I think she might be a Sun,” Mikey said, making Carter blink in confusion.

“What? Whose son?”

Mikey laughed under his breath, shaking his head. “Not s-o-n. Sun as in s-u-n.”

Carter huffed with annoyance. “Fine, I got the wrong sun. Still don’t understand why you’re calling her that.”

“When she stepped in front of Maddy, I felt warmth,” Mikey explained. “You should have Tobias look at her, he’s really good with auras and older than Gio, so he’s had more practice at putting aura colors with powers or species."

Carter startled. “Are you telling me she’s not human?”

“She could be human and still be a Sun,” Mikey said. “Being a Sun is an aspect of aura manipulation, so anything alive can theoretically have Sun powers.”

“What can Suns do?”

Mikey waved a hand to indicate the invisible aura they all had. “They can manipulate other peoples’ auras with their own. When I was upset, I felt a wave of warm and soothing energy washing over me. Even though I’m an alpha, I felt it affect me strongly.”

“I don’t know if I’ve felt that,” Carter said, glancing over at the two women. Maddy was saying something that caused Mila to laugh uproariously. It looked like the two were rapidly becoming good friends.

“She probably doesn’t do it all the time,” Mikey said, smiling at the sight of the women enjoying each other’s company.

“She wanted to protect Maddy from a perceived threat so her aura probably flared and touched mine. When you reveal everything to her, it would be worth finding someone who can help her use it deliberately.”

Carter wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Now he understood how people susceptible to vampire thrall felt. No one wanted to be manipulated, even by accident.

At the same time, he wanted Mila to have all the tools and advantages.

“That’s something to deal with in the future,” Carter said. “After we explain about shifters and vampires.”

“I can’t believe you haven’t told her yet,” Mikey said.

Carter scowled at him. “It’s not easy, you know! Maddy was introduced to our world early. You didn’t have to figure out how to tell her you had a beast living inside you. What if Mila freaks out and runs?”

The worry he’d been keeping buried for the last week rose to the surface, threatening to choke him.

“Easy,” Mikey murmured.

“I can’t lose her,” Carter whispered, clasping his hands behind his head and bending over a little.

Suddenly Mila was there, rubbing his back. “Carter, are you okay?”

He suddenly felt warm all over, as if sinking into a hot bath. His body relaxed, and his fear eased. He unclasped his hands and wrapped his arms around Mila.

“I’m perfect,” he whispered. “Whenever you’re with me, everything is perfect.”

Mila snuggled up against him. “You looked upset.”

“I was, a little,” he admitted, looking up at Mikey. “But I feel fine now.”

Mikey gave him a knowing look as Maddy joined them.

“Time for lunch at The Pack House?”

“Absolutely!” Mikey agreed. “But we have to come right back here. I have to open this place in two hours.”

“Yay!” Maddy cheered. “Patty melts!”

Carter wasn’t surprised to find other shifters at the diner. They ended up at a big table with ten other people all talking, laughing, and eating. Shifters liked nothing more than to gather and they tended to mate with humans who were the same.

Because there were so many people here he wanted to introduce Mila to, they brought in three boxes of baked goods that she’d prepared. That left only two boxes to give out. The boxes were opened even before the meal was finished and everyone couldn’t compliment Mila enough.

She blushed and made all kinds of excuses, but everyone at the table was deaf to her self-deprecating comments. Carter loved how she blushed and looked so pleased by everyone’s enjoyment of her efforts.

“Face it,” he said after polishing off his burger. “You’re a damn fine pastry chef.”

“They’re all just being nice,” she demurred.

“They are nice people, but I promise if your food tasted bad or even mediocre they’d take a few bites, then find a way to hide it in napkins. Jesse definitely wouldn’t be coming over here and demanding that you start delivery to the diner!”

“He didn’t even try any,” Mila said with a shake of her head.

“He ate an entire cookie in one bite, you missed it,” Carter said with a laugh.

Mila had been busy chatting with Maddy when Jesse tried the cookie.

Jesse’s eyes had gone wide, he snatched two more cookies, then disappeared to the back, probably to feed them to his mate, Will.

He reappeared several minutes later on a mission to get Mila delivering goods regularly.

Carter had ended the discussion with: “We’re not ready to take orders yet,” but he could see that Jesse wasn’t going to take no for an answer. The wolf shifter would be calling until something was arranged.

“They really like it,” Mila said. She looked a little stunned.

“Of course they do,” Carter answered.

“I mean, people are usually nice,” Mila said with a shake of her head. “But they aren’t just being nice, are they?”

Carter gripped the back of her head and pulled her close. “They like you and admire your talents.”

She flushed and didn’t even protest when he kissed her. By the time he let go and pulled back she was beet red. “You like me too.”

That comment flummoxed Carter. “I don’t like you,” he argued. “I love you.”

Her mouth made a little O of surprise. Then she blinked rapidly before leaning her head against his shoulder. “I love you too, and I’m a little scared.”

“Same,” Carter admitted, wrapping an arm around her. He knew the shifters at the table could clearly hear their conversation and were giving them privacy by engaging the humans in a discussion and keeping the focus off the two of them. “But we’ll figure it out together.”