Page 62 of Magic's Rise

These werewolves eat their weight in smoked meats.

Levi lifts a steaming mug toward us in greeting. “Don’t worry, there’s more than enough for everyone.”

Griffen passes Tris a tall stack of French toast, then gestures toward a smaller man with untidy brown, wavy hair and golden eyes. “Let me introduce you once again to my bond mate, Ezra.”

“Glad to see you’re better this morning.” Ezra gestures to the table laden with food. “Please, help yourselves.”

“Thank you.” I take a seat and pile crispy bacon onto my plate before passing it to Haut and taking the French toast.

Tris fills the glass in front of me with orange juice and sets a mug of black coffee in front of Haut.

As we eat, Ezra tells us, “Your van was towed into town last night, but it will take a while to fix.”

“Figures.” Tris’s knee bumps against mine under the table. “We could always buy Barron a new one.”

I glance at Griffen. “Does Silver Hollow have a car dealership?”

“Unfortunately, no. You’d have to drive two cities over for that.” Griffen grimaces. “We can give you a loaner, though, if your van isn’t ready by the time you need to head back to Hartford Cove. Levi can come pick it up.”

Haut smacks my hand away from his coffee. “That’s generous of you. We appreciate it.”

“It’s the least we can do after you came all this way.” Griffen’s lips flatten into an unhappy line. “We tried to track the monster that attacked you last night and again at dawn, but we couldn’t find a trace of the beast. It’s using something to hide its tracks. Otherwise, our trackers would have found something.”

“Levi is having trouble describing the creature.” Ezra glances between us. “Did any of you get a better look?”

Look is too strong of a word for what I saw.

Haut and Tris exchange looks before Haut speaks up. “It was more like an absence of light. A void.”

I nod in agreement. “It was cold, too, like an ice cream headache without the delicious frozen treat.”

“Yes.” Tris shivers. “That’s exactly how I’d describe it.”

“And malevolent.” When I scoot closer to Haut, his arm encircles me. “It wanted me dead.”

“There was a man following us.” Tris hooks his foot around mine. “He tracked us to the hotel, let the air out of our tire, and then tried to stab Rowe at the gas station.”

“The same person who attacked you in the woods?” Griffen asks.

“That or an accomplice.” Haut shrugs. “I don’t suppose the car that ran us off the road was still there when you went back for our van?”

“No, we weren’t that lucky.” Ezra sips his coffee. “What did the man look like?”

“Brown hair, crazy eyes.” I frown in thought. “Young-ish. I’d recognize him again if I saw him.”

“We’ll increase our perimeter patrol and make sure nothing gets through the barrier.” Griffen rubs his chin. “In the meantime, you should all be careful.”

Haut turns to Levi. “What do you remember about the monster that attacked us?”

“Just darkness until you three lit up like stars and started moving as one person.” His focus shifts between us. “Is that something you guys do often?”

Confused, I glance at Tris and Haut. “Did we do that?”

“It was new.” Haut strokes my hair. “We’ll talk to Aspen about it.”

“Sometimes Rowe can share her magic with us.” Tris wraps a piece of French toast around his last sausage. “Sometimes it’s a boost of energy, and sometimes it’s weird night vision.”

“That’s amazing.” Levi shakes his head. “The local coven will be eager to make your acquaintance, I’m sure.”

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