Page 14 of Witchbane

“Hey,” I said lamely, not sure how to start a conversation about him fucking up the good thing Sean and Dylan had. We wouldn’t have much time until Liam noticed I was missing. “Can you fill me in on what’s happening?”

Al sighed. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s obviously something.”

“Your mate has banned me from the pack,” Al said.

“Yeah, I heard about that. Sorry.”

“We were sort of headed in the right direction before your mate banned me…”

What did that mean? He, Sean, and Dylan had been working it out?

“The ban makes Dylan conflicted.”

Oh. That made sense, since he’d be deep-rooted in a need to please and obey his alpha. “I can talk to Liam. See if I can get him to remove the ban.”

“I’d appreciate it,” Al said. “Give me a chance at least. I only want what’s best for everyone.”

I stared at him a moment, my back to the door of the bakery, and vaguely remembered our first meeting. He’d been a tow truck driver. My car had crapped out before I hit Chicago. He’d been the one to arrive to take the car and give me a ride to the city. I hadn’t known he was a vampire. It was dark and vampires didn’t really seem to stand out to me. Probably a bad thing. I wondered how many others I’d met.

“You’re not working for Hugo, right?” I asked. It wasn’t the first time I’d asked him since he’d arrived in town. Our handful of meetings were rare as Liam really didn’t like me being anywhere near vampires.

Al laughed. “No.” He let out a long breath, staring hard at me for a minute. “This really where you want to be?”

“Liam’s here.” And that was everything right there. I was working on creating a home around the axis of my mate. Mostly I felt safe. The whole faeHuntthing had been an issue, and now the portals, but we’d work it out.

“You don’t want more?” Al asked.

“Like what?” I wondered.

“There’s been a lot of talk about you being really powerful. The fae especially, worrying about you becoming a lord or something.”

Because someone was going to bequeath me with the title? Unlikely. “The fae have a lot of misconceptions. You know a lot of fae?”

“A few,” Al agreed. “They taste good.”

Those words made me think of Al all over Wesley, and that was weird and gross. Yuck. “I’ll stick to cake.”

“In this tiny, middle of nowhere town? You could be in a big city with a well-known shop of your own. Your father was the head of all werewolves. He had connections. Why settle?”

I shrugged. “I’m a fox. Why would I want any of what he had?”Apa’slife had been more than money and werewolf lackeys. It had been a lot of sorrow and pain.

“He was strong. People used to talk about the legend of the great Volkov…” Al paused. “Sorry, I forgot he was missing. Shouldn’t have brought him up.”

Vanished through a portal into Underhill, not missing. Possibly dead. I tried not to dwell on it. It hurt too much. “We’ll find him. I’m sure he’s fine. As you said, he’s strong.”

Al nodded. “You’ll talk to Liam? Try to remove the ban?”

“Yes,” I agreed. “I want Dylan and Sean to be happy. But Dylan’s still healing, you know. He’s been through a lot.”

“We all have a lot of pain to balance.” Al took a step forward as if to touch me, but the door opened behind me, and that fast he was gone. Vampires could move crazy fast. Liam stepped out and looked around.

“Everything okay?” He asked.

I stepped into his embrace. “Yeah, getting some air.” I curled into his body, enjoying his warmth and the scent of flour clinging to him. “I need cake,” I grumbled.

“Then stop standing in the cold and get to baking.”