Page 18 of Hunting for Love

Cooper snorts. “You look like you just saw a chupacabra for the first time.”

I narrow my eyes at my friend. “That thing was scary as hell! I can’t be blamed for screaming, okay? And I’m scared right now,” I add softly, rubbing at my eyes. “This is a lot all at once.”

Martin puts his hand on my shoulder, squeezing it gently. “You’re okay. It’s okay to be scared. It’s what youdowhile scared that matters.”

I nod, taking that in and letting it soothe me. “I know what I’m gonna do.”

“And what’s that?” Carlos asks softly.

“I’m going to be the best damn true mate I’m able to be.” The guys all nod, looking proud of me. Then I add, “but for the second, can you tell me about what I’ve missed with the case? I can talk through all of this with Zander once he’s up. For now I wanna focus on the case.”

Carlos looks like he’s ready to argue but Cooper jumps in. “Alright, so as you know, the three of us headed to the well to investigate.”

I lean back in my seat, letting out a breath of relief. “What did you guys find?”

“It’s strange,” Martin says, leaning forward in his seat, dangling his beer from his fingers. “There wasn’t anything obvious. No signs of magic, no signs of weird tampering. It’s just a little wishing well.”

Cooper shrugs. “There were no weird markings or anything like that either. It’s a strange situation.” He takes a sip of his own beer, thinking about the whole situation. “I think we just have to do some surveillance and hope we get lucky.”

“We could always try tossing a coin in.”

I narrow my eyes at Carlos. “You won’t be the one dropping a coin in. That’s too dangerous.”

“It’s too dangerous to drop in a coin? Or it’s too dangerousfor me?”

“Yes,” Martin says, nodding his head.

“You didn’t…” Carlos just sighs, shaking his head in amusement. He might not be an actual kid but we all collectively look out for him. He’s the baby of the group and it’s our job to make sure he stays safe. “Fine, I promise I won’t throw any coins into any holes.”

“Martin? Maybe you and me can camp out in the food court this weekend. We’ll take turns watching the well and see if we can’t catch anything interesting happening?”

Martin takes a long swig of his beer and I can tell he’s taking a moment before answering. I’ve always felt like there was something going on between those two. They bicker and fight but they also look at each other when the other isn’t looking.

“Yeah, sounds good, Cooper.”

“And if that doesn’t work,” Carlos says, holding up a quarter and smiling wide.

Cooper snatches the quarter away. “If all else fails,maybewe can talk about you flipping the quarter into the well.”

Carlos does a fist pump to himself, making us all chuckle. “I have a feeling it’s going to end up being somethingweirdinstead of malicious.”

“What’s weird?”

I turn around in my seat, finding Zander standing there. He’s wearing my hoodie and shorts and I do my best not to let the guys see how Zander in my clothes makes me feel. I hold out my hand for him and he takes it, letting me guide him into sitting in my lap.

“This case we’re working on,” I explain, running my hand up and down Zander’s spine.

“Ronny here doesn’t think it’s malicious. But we still have to be careful. We don’t know exactly what the hell is granting wishes,” Cooper says, readjusting his glasses.

Zander lets out a little yawn, looking absolutely adorable. And holy shit, I need to get myself together otherwise Martin willneverstop teasing me. I clear my throat. “Call it a gut feeling,” I finally say with a shrug.

“As a shifter, I was taught to always trust my gut,” Zander says, looking down at me with a soft smile. “That’s probably the same with being a hunter, right?”

“Absolutely,” Martin says with a nod. “It’s important to trust your gut out there because sometimes hesitating for just a moment is a moment too long.”

“This job seems scary. Should I be worried?”

I shake my head and Carlos jumps in. “Don’t worry about Ronny. He’s usually the one staying at the base.”

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