Page 2 of Slaying With Sylphs (Haven Ever After #6)
CHAPTER TWO
CONNALL
F ading sunlight filters through the singular window above my pack omega’s head, illuminating the tiny crown she occasionally wears. I don’t think she loves wearing it outside of her home haven of Santa Alaya, but our pack here in Ever adores seeing our princess all “gussied up”. It’s such a stark contrast to her rocker chic style.
And all of that’s a stark contrast to the laid back, feminine vibe of the human woman who seems to take up most of the space in my brain these days. It’s been hours since I saw Lou at the diner, but I seem to have left most of my thoughts behind with the pretty little human.
“Oh, this is interesting!” Lola’s dark fingers move down a page of text in a language so old, nobody alive can even read it. Nobody except for her and my pack alpha, Richard. Or do I address him as king now…I’m not sure.
Lola and Richard are newly mated, and the Luna bond they share is the first in thousands of years. The text she’s holding is ancient, but because of their bond, she can now read our goddess Alaya’s words.
My queen practically vibrates with excitement, seated in a chair in what used to be the potions shop, Alkemi’s old location, but is now an office for Vikand, our resident bookworm and scholar.
“The Luna bond’s strength grows over time, its powers broadening depending on the needs of the community.” Lola glances over at me. “Technically, since I’m now the queen, every shifter community belongs to me. Do you suppose this means my powers will extend to everyone in all havens?”
It’s a rhetorical question, I’m sure. There’s no possible way I could know the answer. But I lean against a stack of dusty, smelly old books and consider it. Or I try to. The reality is that my mind is never far from Lou Hector, even when I should be focusing on my pack. Seeing her earlier at the diner just cemented that for me. She’s beautiful, kind, fierce and loyal. Everything I’ve ever wanted in a mate. And, gods, I want to make a move.
Lola seems oblivious to my straying thoughts.
I try to focus on her and not be rude. “Well, so far, you can shift into any animal you want instead of just a wolf. Then, this week you started reading shifters’ wolves’ sentiments like an aura. I think you’d have to go back to Santa Alaya to test if that works there. Actually, if you traveled anywhere other than Santa Alaya, you’d know. But since Santa Alaya was your home, and Ever’s your home now, your bond might consider both of those places your technical pack.”
Lola smiles up at me from the confines of the weathered leather chair, her grin growing wide enough to reveal tiny twin fangs. “Connall, Richard and I are lucky to have you by our sides. Have I mentioned that this week?”
Her compliment causes my wolf to preen, rolling onto his side as he stares at our queen through my eyes. “You’ve mentioned it,” I say with a smile.
“We will always need you,” she says, her smile falling as her gaze grows more serious.
And there’s the heart of why she continues to remind me that my pack leadership needs me. Technically, I’m Richard’s Second, meaning I rule if he’s not around. He can count on me for anything the pack needs. I’m his sounding board, his partner, his closest confidante. But the Luna bond between them is new, and we’re still figuring out what it means. I mostly feel like a third wheel, because Lola and Richard are so powerful in their own right, I’m not sure they even do need me.
“We do,” she whispers.
I curl an auburn brow skyward. “You reading minds now, my queen?”
She scrunches her delicate, ski-sloped nose upward. “Eww, let’s don’t use titles, so gross. But, no, your wolf looked despondent for a moment, and it’s not hard to imagine why that might be. We’ve talked about this topic several times, and you know how Richard and I feel. If you decided to leave Ever, for instance, I would be absolutely distraught.” She levels me with a very queenly look that has my wolf crouching down, dipping his head in deference to her. “I’m serious as a heart attack, Connall.”
“And it’s appreciated,” I murmur. The sentiment of unease doesn’t dissipate in my gut, but that might have more to do with the pretty little human who works next door.
The moment I think about Lou, my wolf perks up and whines in my mind. I can’t talk back and forth with him like Richard can talk to his wolf—very few shifters get that ability—but I push understanding through our bond.
“Connall? Connall?” Lola’s gravelly voice breaks through my train of thought.
When I glance at her, she laughs and closes the book in her lap gently. “I totally lost you there for a minute. Let me guess…Lou?”
This is when I hate being a redhead, because the blush hits hard. My cheeks are on fire, heat radiating from them as my queen’s grin splits her face even wider.
“Mhm.” She stands—since the Luna bond, she’s grown taller. Now she’s almost eye to eye with me as her pitch-black eyes travel over my face, down to my neck and back up. “Tell her, Connall. Isn’t that the advice you’d give one of your clients if they came to you in this exact situation?”
I smile. She’s not wrong. “I wouldn’t encourage a client to enter into a love triangle scenario. Dirk has expressed his interest in Lou regularly, and loudly ,” I tack on, my tone bitter. “And we all know that, despite the way she needles him, she likes him too.”
It’s more than that, though. I like Dirk. He’s fiercely loyal and intensely interesting. We could be friends. I don’t begrudge him his interest in her. Any smart single male would be interested.
Lola nods, dark eyes focused on mine. It’s been like this since she developed the ability to read auras. She stares so deeply, I can practically feel her in my soul, poking around and exposing all the wounded, tender parts of me. Can she see how badly I want to ask Lou out and how conflicted I am, knowing Lou cares for Dirk?
“She’s never actually gone on a date with Dirk, despite him trying for months,” Lola hedges.
“Has Dirk ever actually asked her on a date?” I give Lola a look. “Because it seems to me that he follows her around like she’s his queen, and he can’t wait to be of service.”
Lola throws her head back and laughs, the sound bright and joyous despite a topic that has my heart shredded. My queen wipes at her eyes, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Moons, Connall, do you even know how fucking funny you are?”
I cross my arms and scowl, but she reaches forward and rubs her cheek against mine, purring softly. “I’m not laughing at you, bestie; I’m picturing Dirk in medieval knight gear carrying a glass slipper on a pillow.”
“What does that even mean?” I whisper as I rub her cheek with mine, telling her we’re all good, that there’s no discord between us or our wolves.
Lola pulls back. “Ah, it’s a human fairytale where a girl loses her shoe, don’t know why, and the guy rides around on a horse to find her and give it back.”
I snort. “That’s weird. She didn’t notice she lost it?”
Lola shrugs.
“And she couldn’t just…find it immediately? What kind of monster is this girl?”
Lola laughs. “Not monster. Human.”
I curl my nose up. “Are other humans not like the triplets and Lou?”
The queen’s eyes drift up as she considers that. “You know, I’ve met a half dozen humans at court over the years, and they’ve all been very interesting and intelligent. I can’t see anyone losing a shoe and not noticing. So, now that you point it out, what kind of dumbass was this prince chasing?”
We share a knowing look, and then one of Lola’s black brows rises in a devious fashion. “You know who would never lose a shoe and not notice?”
“Don’t say Lou.”
“Louanna.” Lola giggles. “Louanna would never lose a shoe and wait for you to bring it to her.”
“Don’t I know it,” I mutter. My imagination immediately runs wild, envisioning crawling up the trellis on the outside of the Annabelle Inn to Lou’s room with a random shoe in one hand. I could slip through the window and eat her alive until she woke up and begged for my knot. I could?—
“Rein it in, lover boy,” Lola says with a laugh. “Your aura is red-hot.”
I blush again and turn to focus on the nearest stack of books, pretending I want to learn something new, I suppose.
Red hot.
Cool blue.
Dirk and I are opposites in every way.
Do I want Lou? Absolutely—but I don’t think I’ll ever get the chance to have her.