Page 67 of Howl for the Gargoyle

I don't keep my clients forever.

"Oh, fuck," I moaned, hands shaking. I hadn't finished reading, but I didn't need to. I knew enough to know why Hannah had looked so bruised last night. I looked up at last and found my friends staring back at me, expressions smug. I would be angry with them for that later. I had bigger issues to deal with now. "Astraeya, please. Where do I find her?"

She sucked in a breath, lips pursing briefly, and I knew what she risked by telling me information that was meant to be protected by the agency.

"No, no," Khell said. "She can stay out of this. This is why I'm here. I have a phone tree," he said proudly. "Sunny texted Natalie, who asked Theo. Here's her address."

"I forgive you for stealing all the food I ordered," I gasped, snatching his phone and memorizing the address. Gold Coast, by the water, sixth floor.

"Ignore him, he put it on your tab," Elias said to Khell.

"I have to go," I said, jumping off the stool and finding that I did not, in fact, have food poisoning, but possibly an entire summer's worth of butterflies swirling in my chest.

"Obviously," Astraeya said, snagging her tablet from my fingers before I could race to the door with it.

"Good luck!" Khell called.

"He doesn't need luck. They're in love," Astraeya said softly.

"Doesn't matter. He's an idiot. He needs luck," Elias muttered.

And then the door to the bar swung shut, and I was startling a young woman walking her dog as I leapt into the air and took flight.

CHAPTER 24

Hannah

"Do you know why Natalie would need to mail something to your apartment?" Theo asked me, frowning at his phone. "She's being suspiciously pushy."

"Hm?"

He paused and stared back at me. "Hey. You okay?"

I nodded, even if the opposite was true. I wasn't okay. Seeing Rafe—barely, just the outline of him against the orange glow of the city sky at night—had made any doubt that he was my mate disappear. The way all the worry and the nerves and the confusion had gone quiet in my head. I'd just been happy that he was there. If I’d had my tail, it would have been wagging.

And then… I don't keep my clients forever.

What did it mean for a werewolf to have a mating bond rejected? Had it been my fault for finding Rafe through MSA? Maybe I'd never really gotten to know Rafe as himself. All the humor and the smiles and the you're my favorite client had just been work.

"Han?" Theo prompted, reaching for my arm.

I was a raw nerve, and the full moon was right around the corner. I inched away and nodded. "I'm good. Nat…Nat can mail me whatever she wants."

Theo glanced between me and his phone for a moment before nodding and answering the text. I slipped away before he could question me again, sliding through the mingling crowd of the therapy group, heading for the door.

"Hannah!"

Fletcher stepped in front of me and I skidded to a halt, stifling the growl that bubbled up from my throat.

"Fletcher."

He'd talked today about finding his balance as a werewolf, about embracing his instincts. He was making good progress, better than I had, until I'd met Rafe. Now I wondered if I was backsliding. My hackles were high, and I wanted to shove this man out of my way.

"Sorry, I'm heading out, actually," I said, trying to sidestep him.

"Sure," he said, turning with me. "I want to ask if you'd like to grab dinner together."

My steps slowed. I didn't want to walk out with Fletcher, have him following me like a puppy.

---