Page 205 of Warlords, Witches & Wolves

Chapter 7

When their father had gone, Stellan angled her a look. ‘You weren’t bullshitting him, were you? You do look a bit pale.’

‘Too much inside and not enough outside,’ she said, waving her hand. ‘Can I come with you today? A long hot soak sounds like heaven.’ It did actually. She really was aching.

‘Of course you can come if you’re up to it. Do you need a massage now?’

She shook her head, hiding her smile. Since her illness, Stellan had been super nice and solicitous all the time—the big idiot did love her. ‘Do you mind if I ask Siobhan and Chloe along as well?’ Her friend would help her watch Paul and tell her if she thought he was acting strangely. Also, Chloe, being the Pack Librarian, was really good at finding out gossip. She would undoubtedly know some gossip Ivy hadn’t heard while being laid-up.

‘If you can get them out of their cottage, sure.’

He winked at her and she winked back. Then together they cleaned up the breakfast dishes and made plans to meet up in an hour down by the garage. The wolves could have run to the private hot springs that were on a nearby piece of land the pack had recently purchased, but Paul and the members from the McClune Coven wouldn’t make the hike easily, so they would use a couple of the 4WDs to get there.

Ivy changed into bathers and grabbed a towel, then headed off to ask Siobhan and Chloe to come with her and word them up about watching Paul. She wouldn’t tell them exactly why she was worried—her dad’s concern had given her a legitimate reason to have them spy with her.

It took a lot of banging on Siobhan and Chloe’s front door to get them to open up, but when they heard a trip to the hot springs was in the offing, they both agreed to come and raced around to get changed into bathers, throw on flowing matching kaftans—when had her friend had time to get all matchy-matchy with her mate?—and grab towels. As they walked to the garage, she filled them in on the conversation between Stellan and her dad. ‘Have you heard anything?’

Siobhan looked at her askance. ‘You’re concerned about Paul? Since when did this happen?’

Ivy shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. ‘Just because he’s an arsehole much of the time doesn’t mean I’m not concerned about him. He’s pack. He’s ours to look after. Also, he’s the last of the Collins line.’

‘That’s true,’ Chloe said. ‘We all know what happens to a pack that doesn’t look after its coven.’

Ivy leaned into Siobhan and whispered, ‘Morghanna Cantrae’s Curse.’

Siobhan shuddered dramatically and they both snickered.

Chloe frowned at her. ‘It’s not something to laugh over.’

Siobhan, instantly contrite, wrapped her arm around her mate’s shoulder and kissed her cheek. ‘I’m sorry, Chlo. We know how serious it is, but it doesn’t help to be doom and gloom about it, does it?’

Chloe dipped her head. ‘No. But you shouldn’t make fun of the Curse either. It destroyed the entire McCrae pack five-hundred years ago. And if something happens to Paul before he can have offspring, we could trigger the Curse to enact on all the McVales.’ She glanced over at Ivy. ‘If there is something making Paul unhappy, it is our job to find out what and do something about it. It’s good of you to want to help him, even though you don’t get along,’ she said to Ivy. ‘And you can count on me. I will help you.’

‘So will I,’ Siobhan said, slinging her other arm over Ivy’s shoulder. ‘So, what’s the plan of attack?’

Ivy shook her head. ‘Just watch for now and listen to anything he does or says, or anything others say.’

‘And if we hear anything that’s worrying, we’ll report it to Iris,’ Chloe said.

‘Sure,’ Ivy said, even though, at this point, she’d rather Iris not be told because then Iris would want to interview her and she wasn’t sure she could keep from their coven’s leader the strange feeling Paul created within her—as if they were connected in some way.

Paul wasn’t at the garage when they got there. Stellan was though, leaning against a wall and chatting with the three witches and one warlock who were standing beside a McClune Wineries 4WD.

‘Hey, sis. Have you met Mariella?’

‘No, I haven’t. Hi, I’m Ivy.’ The lovely diminutive witch who was set to marry Paul was like a pixie, all big eyes and heart-shaped face and wild-curling strawberry blonde hair, her dress swaying around her legs with every balletic movement as she moved forward, hand outstretched. Ivy felt suddenly big and clumsy.

Her wolf growled inside her as she shook hands with the witch. Mariella frowned—hell, had she heard that? Claws pricked under her skin and she snatched her hand away before she could hurt the witch with them. ‘This is Siobhan and Chloe.’ She gestured quickly at her friends.

Mariella greeted them. ‘You had your mating ceremony last week I hear? Congratulations. May your love be eternal.’

Siobhan and Chloe each returned the traditional greeting of, ‘And may you find your eternal love,’ touching brow, lip and heart.

Mariella introduced her friends, Joseline, Frankie and Tony, and as they offered their congratulations to Siobhan and Chloe, Ivy took a moment to subdue the bitter sensation in her chest while watching Mariella closely. She had power—it rippled out from her, making Ivy’s wolf hum inside and itch to get out—but she wasn’t brash with it. In fact, if anything, she seemed kind of shy.

Siobhan—Goddess love her—punched Stellan in the arm and said, ‘Hey, Drooler.’

Stellan rolled his eyes as the McClune visitors all smirked and Mariella asked, ‘Drooler?’

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