Page 77 of Wind with a Chance of Wolfsbane

She hummed lightly. “So, are you going to be here soon?”

“Sure,” I said. “I need to go now.”

“Yes. It’s best to drive when you’re not distracted,” she responded. “At least that’s what my honey-bear tells me. Can I help it if spirits pop in and out of the car while I’m driving? Or that the trees sometimes shout while I’m driving past them? Then there are chatty lawn ornaments and flowers that love drama. The list is endless. I know you can relate.”

“On that note, I’m going now,” I said, hanging up. I considered blocking her number. Instead, I set the phone back in the cup holder.

ChapterTwenty-Three

Jonathan

Jonathan waitednear the passenger-side door of the SUV that was currently pulled off the side of the rural road. The vehicle was one of many available at the Van Helsing estate for use by hunters. Jonathan had a personal vehicle that he kept in storage in town but hadn’t yet pulled out for use. It was far easier to use a company one, like now.

As his gaze raked over the flattened mailbox lying in the ditch off the side of the road, he was pleased with his choice. There was minor cosmetic damage to the SUV, but no one was harmed, which was the important thing. The mailbox would be replaced with a new one within a day. A person couldn’t be replaced. Besides, the mailbox had already been on its last leg, nearly rusted through, so the minor accident would leave it being replaced with a new one.

That was a plus.

Another plus was the fact that he hadn’t been the one to hit the thing. The culprit was currently picking wildflowers and rather unironically singing a Grateful Dead song with mentions of Jack the Ripper, a wolfman, and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. She’d been singing something by Bob Dylan prior to the fender bender.

His cell phone rang, and he retrieved it from his front pocket, already knowing who would be on the other end. “You should be sleeping.”

A rather long grunt was the response. “Is she with you?” asked Bram, sounding tired.

“She is,” said Jonathan, watching Bram’s mate as she continued to pick flowers.

“I asked her to stay in today,” said Bram.

“Asked?” questioned Jonathan with a snort. “I overheard youdemandingthat she stay in today.”

“Yet you took her out all the same?” asked Bram, annoyance in his voice. “There have been nearly nonstop threats against her and those I care for. Only last night, she was in the middle of a creature attack on the university campus. What were you thinking, Jonathan?”

“That’s a load of rubbish, as you well know. And I was thinking she’s your mate, not a prisoner, and when she came to me asking nicely if I could take her to run some errands, that was the least I could do, especially since I know damn well that she was going to leave regardless,” stated Jonathan. “And from what Elis and Austin told me, Marcy stayed out of the way and avoided being part of the conflict last night. She was safe, despite being at ground zero. And I was thinking she’s more than capable of handling herself if need be, or is what I was told wrong?”

Bram let out an annoyed breath. “What are you referring to?”

“Are you having a laugh?” questioned Jonathan. “You know exactly what I’m referring to. You’re the one who told me about each incident. Shall we recap?”

Bram’s silence said so very much.

Jonathan went forth with recapping. “Within days of getting to Grimm Cove, your mate and her best friends—which include your daughter—stood against a succubus witch who had been draining powerful witches for hundreds of years. They made child’s play of her, Bram.”

“I’m aware,” returned the vampire.

Jonathan kept going. “Then, right after that, your mate, your daughter, and their friend were instrumental in putting an end to Dragos once and for all, correct?”

“I understand what you’re saying,” said Bram, his voice clipped.

“Nah, I don’t think you do,” stated Jonathan. “She went against Jack the Ripper, Bram, and a necromancer to whom she’d once been married. She came out of that alive and well. She even helped bring Seward back to us.”

“I’m assuming there is a point to this recap,” said Bram. “Other than to annoy me.”

“Annoying you is a nice bonus. My point is that you can’t put her under glass, Bram. No matter how much you want to,” returned Jonathan. “I know she’s your world. That you waited a very long time to find your mate and claim her, but Bram, that doesn’t give you the right to try to control every aspect of her life. She’s a very capable woman.”

Bram expelled a long, loud breath.

Jonathan glanced over to see the woman in question having what appeared to be an in-depth conversation with a butterfly. “Uh, correction, Marcy is amostlycapable woman.”

Bram’s tension was nearly palpable. “What is she doing now?”

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