Page 49 of Wrestling With Werewolves

Morgan clears her throat. “You look lost in thought, Lola. Everything alright?”

I fake a smile. “Yes! I was thinking about how different Ever is from Santa Alaya.”

Lou leans across the table and props her chin in her palm. “Do tell.”

I look around us to see if there’s anyone to notice my admission, but we’re alone on the patio. Even Iggy seems to have permanently deserted us.

“I don’t love the pace of life of politics, although I love the haven itself.” My wolf whines softly in my mind. “Papá has worked hard his entire life to become king, but it’s not a path I would choose, if it was up to me. Shifter politics becomes increasingly cutthroat the higher up our ranks you go, and he’s at the very top.”

Morgan scrunches her delicate, freckled nose. “Eww.”

I point at her and laugh. “Precisely. It’s just that, when your parents work so hard to build a life for you, it can be incredibly difficult to admit that it isn’t the life you want for yourself.” Sweat breaks out across my forehead as I pull at the neckline of my tee, my eyes drifting off into the woods beyond the patio.

“Shit, man,” Lou murmurs. “You just realized you don’t wanna go home, didn’t you?”

I grit my jaw and think about what I told the girls. Finally, I turn to them. “I do…eventually. But I’m also having a lot of fun being here.”

My thoughts go immediately to Richard and a vision of us living together in Ever. I agree with the need to take things slowly with him, even though that isn’t the shifter way. Our situation is complicated, and I can’t risk Papá finding out before the challenge.

Morgan laughs and slaps Lou on the leg. “We lost Lola again. Are we terrible conversationalists, or do you think she’s not sharing the juicy gossip?”

All the hair on the back of my neck rises as the strangest sensation comes over me. Whipping around in my seat, I stare into the dense forest on the other side of the patio railing. The trees are so close together here that you can barely see between them. Giant clumps of shady ferns are so large, a person could easily stand behind them and not be seen.

My thighs begin to tremble, my heart racing. The sensation of being watched hits me so hard, I rise to a stand, scanning the trees. I resist the urge to leap over the railing and follow my wolf’s instincts into the woods.

I stare for a full minute before concluding I can’t see anyone.

But I know someone was there.

Watching.

Lou and Morgan had the genius idea to go swimming at the big lake outside Shifter Hollow. We’ve only been here for a short while, but three mermaids have already shown up to play with us.

“Get nekkid!” Lou shouts, pulling her clothes off and running into the lake.

I laugh and follow suit, a little surprised my new friend isn’t fussed by nudity. I’ve met a handful of humans at court, and they were always dicey about shifters’ blasé attitude toward being unclothed.

Morgan chuckles as her aunt dives headlong into the water, swimming out to where the brilliantly colored mermaids splash. “Lou is absolutely wild, sheesh. No fear.” She glances at me. “I have questions, like what else lives in this lake? Anything I need to be aware of, like, I don’t know, the Loch Ness Monster? But not Lou! No. Lou’s just gonna dive right in.”

I glance around the lake, looking for anything that would give me pause, but I see nothing. Smiling at Morgan, I point to the edges. “No tail trails in the mud mean there likely aren’t water dragons, so you’re good there. And aside from them, there wouldn’t be another freshwater monster for you to worry about. You’re good to go, Morgan.”

Her mouth drops open. “I was kinda kidding, but water dragons—that’s a thing?”

“Oh yeah,” I say with a laugh. “We’ve got them in Santa Alaya in the bay, but even then, most of them are friendly once you greet them with a gift.”

“Ya don’t say,” she deadpans, staring out over the water to where Lou and the mermaids splash one another.

“No water dragons here,” a deep male voice breaks through.

Richard.

My nipples pebble at that incredible baritone, and it’s hard not to break into a gigantic smile. I made him come last night. Heat bursts through me, forcing my cheeks to flush.

When I turn, he stalks gracefully out from between two trees, a small box tucked under his arm. He grins at Morgan. “Don’t mind me; I came to speak with Lola for a moment.”

Morgan smiles at him, then pats me on the arm. “See ya in the water in a few minutes, okay?”

I nod and watch as she walks in, shivering at the water’s temperature. When Lou splashes her, she shrieks and dives in.

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