Page 119 of Shadow City: Silver Wolf

"Dove, I swear." Carter sighed and waved to the next person in line. "There is never a dull moment with you around."

"Yeah, I have to agree." I wished that wasn’t the case. At some point, things had to calm down...surely.

The next fewdays flew by. Luckily, Luna didn’t come back. She’d left with her tail between her legs—but if she was anything like her father, that wouldn’t last long. She’d come back at me, but when Griffin wasn’t around.

I counted out the drawer as Griffin entered the shop. He scanned the area like he expected to find Dick or Luna inside.

Stand down, Cujo,I teased.Only Carter and I are here.

That does not make me feel any better.He strolled over to me with a frown on his face.He’s the one who injected you with a drug and handed you over to that bear shifter.

He did have a point.True, but he’son our side now.

Supposedly,Griffin growled as Carter walked out of the kitchen and behind the counter.

"Oh, yay." Carter sighed. "Your boyfriend is here while we’re closing…like he has been the entire week."

"Mate," Griffin corrected, and kissed me. "And sorry if I don’t like her being alone with you."

"I made a mistake." Carter’s shoulders sagged.

"Let’s not talk about this now." We were supposed to be acting normal, and if anyone was watching closely, our cover was blown. "Carter has been a good friend." Hopefully, that last sentence would throw anyone off if they were somehow listeningor keeping an eye out. No one would expect me to call him that if we knew what he’d done.

I closed the till and smiled sweetly at Griffin. "Are you ready to go?" We needed to act upbeat and not worried.

"Yeah, we’ll see you later, man." Griffin stood and waved at Carter. He took my hand, and we walked out the door together.

If you keep acting angry with him, he’ll be hesitant to help us if they call.Carter might feel like it would anger Griffin more, and we really needed him to be comfortable informing us.

I usually agree with you, but not on this one. Because heknows I’m pissed, he’llcallfirst thing.He kissed my cheek as we entered the hallway between the campus bookstore and cafeteria.

The seating inside, and the picnic tables just outside the glass back doors, were full. The view out back was beautiful with the scenery of the river and woods. The scents of maple and redwood swirled in the air. Most of the shifters were outside while the vampires were mostly inside.

Maybe he had a point. Carter did seem upset that Killian and Griffin were mad at him. In a way, those two had been angrier than I had been…and I was the one who’d been kidnapped. Granted, if something happened to either one of them, I wouldn’t be quick to forgive either.

We turned down the hallway to the front doors. The walls were the standard institutional beige, and the floor a warm, gray tile. A few students passed by us, heading in the opposite direction as we passed by the second hallway, which housed various administrative departments.

Griffin opened the wooden front double doors and waved me through. Of course, the scent of honey vanilla musk overpowered my nose.

The bitch was here...again.

My gaze found Luna sitting on one of the benches in front of the school. Her focus had already been set on us, like she was waiting for us to come outside.

Ignore her,Griffin said, as he angled us so that he walked in front of her like a barrier.

My natural instinct was to move so I was on that side, but he wanted to make a point to her that he would protect me. I couldn’t dissuade him even if I wanted to. He wasn’t trying to make me look weak—he was showing that he had my back.

She growled faintly as we walked by but didn’t say anything, which unnerved me. She liked to run her mouth, and her not doing so made me think she had ulterior motives.

We continued past her and soon climbed into Griffin’s Navigator and headed home.

"Should we be nervous that she didn’t say anything to us?" I already knew the answer but wanted to hear his take.

"No. She gives me the cold shoulder whenever she’s mad at me." He shrugged. "She’ll be trying to talk to me again soon enough. Just enjoy the quiet."

He sounded so sure, but the quiet was what scared me. I reached over and took his hand, enjoying the feel of his skin.

A few days later,I found Rosemary in the living room. "How did everything go at the coffee shop?" Rosemary asked, pacing the room like she’d been on edge.

---