Page 79 of Wind with a Chance of Wolfsbane

“So glad I amuse you,” Bram said with a grumble.

“I’m disappointed I wasn’t there to see it happen,” admitted Jonathan.

“Watch over my mate, Harker,” said Bram.

Jonathan nodded. “Of course. That goes without saying. I’ll keep Marcy safe, Bram. Get some rest. You earned some sleep from the sounds the two of you were making in your room last night.”

Bram’s chuckle was deep and long. “As much as I would love to place the blame on Marcy, I believe I might have been the louder of the two of us.”

“You were. Quick question though,” Jonathan said, all smiles.

“Yes?”

“Was it me, or were The Carpenters playing on a loop in your bedroom last night?” asked Jonathan.

Bram sighed. “You’re tiring.”

“Nah, I’m your best friend. Hanging up now, mate,” said Jonathan before disconnecting the call and putting his phone back in his pocket.

Bram’s mate, Marcy Dotter-Van Helsing, was difficult to describe. Jonathan officially met her several days ago and had yet to get a complete read from her. His very first introduction to her had been interesting, to say the least. She’d not even been speaking to him for the first thirty minutes of it. She’d been talking with a small Southern fox squirrel who was her witch’s familiar.

The squirrel, thankfully, didn’t speak back that Jonathan could hear, or he’d have seriously thought he’d finally snapped. Instead, he’d watched the two of them interact as if she truly could understand the animal’s thoughts and desires.

Burgess, the squirrel in question, called the Van Helsing estate home along with a rescued raccoon that Jonathan was positive he’d heard someone call Buffy.

ChapterTwenty-Four

Willa

My attention returnedto the welcome sign for Grimm Cove. It hadn’t been there when we’d been in college. It looked to have been hand carved from wood and had a wolf near a cauldron that was positioned in front of a full moon. On the other side of the cauldron was an owl. Bats were flying across the moon. The sign had been painted in muted colors. A lot of soft purples, grays, and blues.

My phone rang again, and I jerked as if someone had set a bullhorn off near me.

With a shaky laugh, I glanced at my phone, wondering if I’d get stuck in another strange conversation with the woman who was sure we knew one another. It was Mina. Not that she was much better to talk to at the moment. I almost preferred Marcy.

With a sigh, I answered the phone, instantly regretting doing so.

“The least you can do after running off on your own to what you better hope isnotyour end is to answer your damn phone when I call,” snapped Mina, no false niceties to get the conversation started.

Since I knew that her anger came from a place of love and worry, I let her continue to rant. It was a good five minutes’ worth of her taking very few breaths between tirades before she was done.

Since I wasn’t sure she was actually finished and not just in need of oxygen, I gave her another thirty seconds.

“What do you have to say for yourself?” she demanded, and I knew if I was there in person, I’d see her with one hand on her hip and nothing but attitude on her face. “You’re a grown woman, Willa. Act like it.”

Hearing her be the more responsible of the two of us left a small snort coming from me. I shouldn’t have been shocked because Mina had done an about-face after the attacks in Grimm Cove eighteen years ago.

She didn’t spend her nights obsessed with hunting for demons and other baddies. Her days weren’t filled with fixating on being the best Murray hunter she could be. They were filled with PTO meetings, bake sales, carpooling, and volunteering. She’d fought demons and the supernatural only when she had no other choice.

“Are you laughing?” she asked, sounding horrified.

I exhaled slowly. “No. Sorry. I just…it feels like we swapped personalities at some point in life, doesn’t it?”

A small chortle cut through some of her aggravation. “I guess so. Yes. Gah, hang on. My phone is beeping.”

“Mina, don’t try to answer another call. You always hang up on me when you do that,” I said. “It’s probably spam anyways.”

She grunted. “Fine. But you make it sound like I can’t work a phone.”

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