Page 15 of Secrets of the Forgotten Heir

‘How long are you planning on staying in Witchlight?’ Fraser Banks asked.

Suddenly everything got to me: the missing Flame, returning to the village, Mrs D, my constant feelings of guilt. Always the guilt.

Angry and frustrated and upset, I glared at him. ‘Are you seriously trying to make small talk right now?’

He rubbed his forehead. ‘I feel like I’ve offended you somehow.’

‘Hm, I can’t think why that might be. Oh right!’ I snapped my fingers. ‘Because you’re trying to kick me and my friend out of my family’s ancestral home?’

His hands tightened on the wheel. ‘It’s not quite as straightforward as that.’

‘It is from where I’m sitting,’ I said firmly. It was my turn to rub my forehead. I knew I wasn’t being fair. ‘Look, this isn’t a great time to talk. Someone I care about was taken ill. How about some silence?’

‘Sure.’

We didn’t speak until he drove into one of the empty parking bays outside the hospital and cut the engine. ‘I’ll come with you,’ he said, opening his door.

‘I don’t need a chaperone,’ I shot back.

‘I’m beginning to get that vibe,’ he said wryly. ‘But I’m guessing you’re not family, and they might not let you in. I could put in a word for you.’

‘You’re saying you have sway in this village?’ I scoffed.

‘I do, actually.’

I rolled my eyes but there was no point telling him not to come. I got the impression he wanted to play the big protector even though I didn’t need protecting. If it suited him to think his reputation in this area was more significant than mine, despite living here for less than a decade, then fine. Let him.

We marched through the double doors. ‘Where is Mrs D?’ I asked a nurse who was just inside them.

‘I’m sorry,’ she eyed me. ‘Who are you?’

‘Beatrix Stonehaven.’

I watched her eyes widen and the colour drain from her patchy cheeks. She took an involuntary step back. Charming. ‘Stonehaven, as in...?’

‘Stonehaven, yes.’ I gave a long sigh. ‘I assume your complexion is several shades whiter now than it was a second ago because you recognise the name. Is Mrs Drakefield here? She was brought in after the fayre. Can you find out where she is?’

‘I’ll... I’ll... Wait there.’ She scurried away.

Banks wasstudying me. ‘It looks like your name has some weight, too.’

‘No shit,’ I snapped. ‘Is there anything else about myself that you’d like to explain to me?’

He looked amused. ‘You’re not intimidated by me in the slightest, are you?’

‘Oh, that is so sweet.’ I gave him a flirty smile then immediately let it drop. ‘It’syouwho should be intimidated by me.’

I was done waiting and that was a belter of a line to make an exit on. I turned on my heel and followed the nurse – whether she wanted me to or not.

Chapter Ten

‘Beatrix!’ A voice said from behind me, one I hadn’t heard from in three years but knew almost as well as my own. I started to turn but before I could complete the manoeuvre I found myself being squashed by a bear-shifter’s muscley arms.

Yep, this was it. The day I died. Cause of death? Overenthusiastic bear hug.

‘Yanni, I need to breathe!’ I said tightly. It took a lot of self-restraint not to immediately get out of the hold, but flinging the chief of police onto the ground probably wouldn’t go well for me. And what did it say about me that I immediately wanted to escape the hug? Probably something like ‘has the emotional range of a teaspoon’. But at least I was self-aware.

I’d forgotten how much a hug from a brown-bear shifter could squeeze the life out of you. Growing up, there were several times when I genuinely thought Yanni had brokenone of my bones, but somehow I’d never ended up with so much as a bruise.

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