Page 54 of She is the Darke

Wendell was leaning onto the counter, his hands under his chin, looking like he was enjoying the show. “Want me to tell her what you are instead?”

Callum didn’t often want to eat people, but Wendell was tempting the animal right about now.

“I’ll load your costumes into my truck outside if you want to go grab your kettle corn. Are the rest still in the dressing room?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

“I couldn’t carry it all at once.”

“It’s a lot of boxes. No one could.”

Wendell grinned. “I bet Ashbrock could.”

“Stop calling me Ashbrock,” Callum growled.

“Did you know the Ashbrock family founded this town three hundred years ago?” Wendell asked Stacia.

“No! Really?” She gave him an open-mouthed, shocked grin that had Callum’s heart all up in his throat again. God, she was stunning when she was happy. “Callum, are you one of the relatives of the founding family?”

He was the damn founding family, but Stacia didn’t need to learn too much too fast.

“Thanks for your help, Wendell,” he muttered.

“Anytime. See you tomorrow.”

“No, you won’t,” Callum said, gathering all four costumes.

“Yes, I will. I’m coming out to the pumpkin patch for Boo-zy Trick-Or-Treat tomorrow. I’m shutting down the shop for three hours and everything.”

“What’s Boo-zy Trick-Or-Treat?” Stacia asked excitedly.

“It’s happy hour at the pumpkin patch. No kids allowed tomorrow at all, and all of the local wine makers and beer brewers set up tents. It’s ten bucks to get in, and you get as many samples as you want. And they have a scary corn maze, a haunted house, and every fair snack you could imagine. I’m talking roasted corn, funnel cakes, hand dipped corn dogs, the works.”

“Oh, I’m going to that,” Stacia said. “I’m obsessed with corn dogs. That’s what she said.”

“Ha.” Callum hadn’t meant to laugh that loudly, and cleared his throat. “You said that’s what she said to your own joke.”

Wendell grinned. “I’ll be there in a scarecrow costume. Look for me.”

“I’ll find you,” Stacia promised, then turned to Callum. “Will you be there, too?”

And he could hear it—the hope in her voice. Good. It was really her.

“I’ll see you there, too.”

“Good. Good good good. I’m glad I’m finding friends here. It makes this week even more fun.” She made her way to the exit. “I’m going to buy you some kettle corn, okay?” she said to Callum.

Ooooh Stacia. She didn’t understand what giving a gift to a werewolf would do. It would tether the animal to her, but he didn’t care. Not when he was looking in the face of Iris…Stacia…Iris…Stacia…

He would say yes to anything, and damn all consequences.

She was meant to change his life. She was meant to change his pack.

She was going to save them, he hoped.

Save them or destroy them—those were the options.

“I would like that,” he told her.

Her answering smile just about did him in. The tingling of his skin said the wolf wanted to mark her, but it wasn’t time. Not yet. Not. Yet.

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