Page 51 of Hunted

“I wonder what Mack’s surprise is,” I say. “Did he tell you, Adela?”

She takes a sip of her herbal tea and places the China teacup and saucer on the wooden coffee table in front of us. “Not even a hint.”

“He said it was something that covers a large area,” I say, watching her closely. “And one night, I found him working on some plans for a house big enough for everyone. Could that be it?”

“Perhaps.” Her expression doesn’t change. “But I wouldn’t know anything about that. Did you not like your tea?”

I scrutinize her through narrowed eyes. “You know something, don’t you?” The woman would excel at poker. She gives absolutely nothing away.

She passes me a remote. “Did you want to pick something to watch?”

That’s another thing. First the sitting on the couch, then the offer of tea, and now TV?

Does she not know why I’m here?

I open my mouth to remind her that I’m here to work on my powers, not watch a TV show. Then I remember my powers don’t work, so I shut my mouth, take the remote from her and start channel surfing. “I’m not sure what I want to watch.”

Outside, the sound of a car pulling up briefly distracts me from my hunt. Most days I like to read with Mack or we go for walks if we’re not out in the garden, so we don’t watch too much TV. When we do, it’s late, and I’m snoring five minutes after a movie started.

When I recall the strange phone calls at the house and the unknown shifter marking a tree outside the hotel, the car outside makes me nervous. “Are you expecting someone, Adela?”

Adela is sipping from her tea, not the least bit concerned. “Gregory and Jude back from their errand.”

Adela had said they’d gone out and would be back soon when I asked where my grandparents were. But when I pressed her on what that errand was, she was vague.

I eye her suspiciously.

She has to know about Mack’s plans to build a new home for all of us, yet she won’t admit to it. She invited me to her house to work on my grounding, but the moment I arrived, she nudged me toward a couch in the den, handed me a cup of rosehip tea and is encouraging me to watch a TV show.

“What’s going on, Adela?”

The door swings open before she can respond, and my grandparents enter the house, smiling.

“We have pie and cake,” my grandpa announces, lifting a large white paper bag that smells delicious.

I look at Adela. “So much for working on my grounding.”

She continues innocently sipping from her teacup. But I know exactly what this is.

“Did you arrange all this?” I ask her.

“You’re going to have very little time for yourself in a few months, so it’s important you enjoy this quiet time while you can,” Adela says.

My grandma sinks onto the couch beside me. “After I had your mom and Ivy, any spare time I had just disappeared. Enjoy the peace and quiet while you have it. I promise you will miss it.”

I give her a hug and my grandpa says, “I’ll be back with plates and napkins for this. I hope you like cherry pie.”

My stomach grumbles happily. “Ilovecherry pie.”

He grins at me and wanders out to the kitchen with the paper bag.

They’re completely different people now. It’s been months since I first saw them in Virginia, where the previous Alpha of the Lonergan Pack was treating them so cruelly.

They’ve put on all the weight they must have lost and it’s rare that I don’t see them smiling or relaxed.

“I’m so glad I found you,” I say, squeezing my grandma’s hand. “It’s a weird thing to admit and be pleased about, but if Nolan hadn’t kidnapped me, I might never have met you.”

“We’d have found each other,” she says firmly. “I don’t know how, but I’m sure of it.”

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