Page 18 of Moonlighting with the Werewolf

He’d been delirious. Short on oxygen. Calling me a witch.

Revealing the murder of his family and destruction of his former home.My heart knotted, and my insides turned to mush. If I let those sappy emotions linger, my absurd impulse to soothe his inner beast would land me in trouble. Again.

The chime over the door sounded, causing me to jerk upright.

In walked a werewolf, and my ability to swallow became compromised. It wasn’tthewerewolf I’d been obsessing over, but one of his lackeys—Mr. Boy Band from the other night.

He glanced around while rubbing at the side of his neck. “Hey. We, uh, didn’t get a chance to officially meet.” He strode closer and extended his arm. “I’m Elias.”

Hesitantly, I took his hand and gave it a quick shake. “Dr. Kerrigan Ryan.” I pulled free, glad for the sturdy counter between me and BunBun and Elias. I tiptoed my fingers toward my phone, just in case.

“Anyway, Conall asked me to com?—”

The door opened, and a man in black slacks, shiny shoes, and a white button-up with a silky green tie strolled in. A German shorthaired pointer with a beautiful white-and-brown-speckled coat obediently stood at his side, the leash in the man’s hand slack.

The newcomer’s gaze sharpened as it landed on Elias, who bobbed his head in a greeting but addressed the spot over the man’s shoulder instead of the man. “Mayor.”

“Elias.” The businessman—the mayor, apparently—then turned a wide, toothpaste-commercial-worthy smile on me. “And this must be our newest resident, Dr. Kerrigan Ryan.”

For some reason I almost curtsied, my awkwardness rising faster with two dudes to juggle. Er, interact with. I couldn’t stop stewing over how Elias had been going to finish that last sentence, and meeting new people never failed to overwhelm my circuits, and why was the freaking mayor in my vet clinic?

He extended a hand. “Please excuse me for taking so long to welcome you to our lovely little town. It’s been a busy couple of weeks. Mayor Craig Sullivan, at your service.” He reeled in the leash wound around his fist and gestured to his dog. “And this is Jasper.”

I rounded the counter halfway, squatting to greet the dog, since at least that came naturally. I let him sniff my hand and then patted his head. “You’re a good doggie, aren’t you?”

“He’s up-to-date on his shots, but I figured I might as well bring him along to meet our new veterinarian.” Mayor Sullivan leaned an elbow on my countertop, and I straightened and double-checked that BunBun was still safe and secure on the desk. “By the way, have you heard about the carnival this weekend? You should come.”

“Oh. That sounds fun. I was wondering if there were any events going on. I haven’t met many people yet, so I’m trying to gather my courage to get out there and let them know there’s another vet in town.”

“Perfect. In fact, I’ll meet you there. Introduce you around.” Mayor Sullivan glanced over his shoulder, at where Elias stood—poor guy looked about as awkward as I’d felt moments ago, and my heart went out to him. “Unless...I’m sorry, Elias. Am Istepping on your toes? Were you about to ask the doctor to go to the carnival with you?”

Elias made a sour face, his lip curling along with his nose. “Nah, she’s not really my type.” He craned his neck and aimed an apologetic smile around the mayor’s head. “No offense.”

If my ego took any more blows, there’d be nothing but crumbs left. But Elias wasn’t my type, either, not to mention too young for me. The guy who shouldn’t be my type, however...

No more thinking about Conall. Even if that’s damn near impossible with his lackey here for some inexplicable reason I’m dying to find out.

“Well, then.” Seriously, if Mayor Sullivan turned up the wattage on his smile anymore, I’d need sunglasses. “What do you say? Will you meet me there?”

An excuse sprang to the tip of my tongue, a vague reply about having to check my calendar, in case I chickened out. But he’d offered to introduce me around, which could be good for business. He’d also asked, not demanded, unlike another cocksure man who barked orders and jumped to wrong conclusions without bothering to ask a simple question like: are you, or are you not, a witch?

I also heard Grams in my head, encouraging me to push my limits and obnoxiously clucking at me when I hesitated. As if all that wasn’t enough, BunBun hopped closer, her cocked head and big chocolate-brown eyes seeming to say, “We talked about this, remember?”

Once you dove in, you had to find a way to keep on swimming. “I’d love to.”

“Perfect.” Mayor Sullivan slipped me his business card and told me to just shoot him a text when I arrived at the carnival grounds. “I’ll let you get back to it, but I’ll see you then.” He tugged Jasper’s leash, and the two of them exited the clinic, leaving me and Elias the werewolf alone in the office once again.

A thought hit me, one that should’ve struck earlier. “Sorry for the interruption. I should’ve asked if you were injured or having trouble healing. I hope you’d tell me instead of just standing there, bleeding out while the mayor and I talked.”

Elias’s attention remained out the window, on the mayor as he climbed into his vehicle with Jasper. Slowly, he turned to me. “No. Nothing like that.” He reached into his back pocket and withdrew a wad of cash. “Conall told me to come settle his account.”

Wow, hesodid not want to see me. Not a newsflash or anything I should experience disappointment over, but the pinch in my gut didn’t care. “I didn’t even send him a bill.”

“He said this should cover it.” Elias placed the bills on the countertop and then lowered his voice, even though we were alone save BunBun. “Thanks for fixing him up. I’m sure he didn’t say it, so I’ll do it for him.”

“Yeah, I’m guessing the guy’s never apologized or expressed gratitude in his life. There’s pride, and then there’s being a pigheaded ass who refuses to say please, sorry, or thank you, even when someone is trying to save your freaking life.” It felt good to rattle off a few of the grievances I should’ve kept inside my head, and since I was on a roll, I kept on unleashing. “And you can tell Conall I said all that if you want to. I don’t care.” Okay, I did, but I was trying not to, and wouldn’t relaying the message make it my choice to stay away from him instead of the other way around?

Elias’s gulp echoed through the room. “I’d, uh, rather not give him that message. He’s already...” He retreated a step and rubbed at his neck again as if I’d tackle him and demand he deliver my insults to Conall if he didn’t escape fast enough. “Anyway, goodbye or whatever.”

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