Page 37 of Luna: Posy 2

Her eyes glittered with tears, and I knew she was missing her family.

"Maybe they can move here," Peri suggested.

"I can't ask them to uproot their lives and the store to move here any more than I can ask Tristan to give up his beta position and move there." She shook her head.

"Store?" I asked.

"The del Vecchio line carries the magic, so that side of the family has traditionally opened occult shops, and we're no exception."

"That's where you met Alpha Halder," I guessed.

"Yes. Two weeks ago, he came in while it was just my little sister Beatrix and me manning the shop. We could tell he was a shifter, which isn't unusual as far as our customers go, but we both sensed something was off about him. When he asked for a love potion, we knew it for sure."

"I didn't even know that was a real thing." My eyebrows shot up. "I thought it was something made up for stories."

"It's one of the evilest magics," she explained, "and even dark witches are hesitant to peddle it because karma always finds those who do."

"Do you think he wanted it for the queen?" Peri covered her mouth with both hands.

"If so, she got out just in time!" I gasped.

"Now that I know what's been going on, yes, I believe Lilah MacGregor was his target." Ariel nodded.

"So what happened next? Obviously, you didn't give him what he wanted," Peri said.

"We told him no and asked him to leave. He didn't like that answer."

Ariel looked down at her tightly clasped hands and her shoulders trembled.

"You don't have to tell us the details," I murmured and put my hands over hers. "He kidnapped you and took you to Tall Pines, and you've been his prisoner since."

"MeandBeatrix. Tristan let me use his phone yesterday to call my cousins. They're coming here as soon as they can. I left something brewing at the shop that needed attention, and Gelo's stuck in New York City helping a friend deal with a dark witch."

"Jello?" Peri and I echoed.

"Angelo. My eldest cousin. None of us could say his name right when we were younger, and he eventually decided that Gelo was more tolerable than Angie or Lo-Lo. If I hadn't told him the king of werewolves was personally handling the matter, he would have hopped a flight down here immediately."

"Are your other two cousins his siblings?" Peri wanted to know.

"One is. Sara is his little sister. Maria is our uncle's daughter. Sara has an affinity for water and Maria's an air witch like me. Beatrix has fire. If we had an earth witch, we'd be a full coven."

"What's Angelo's affinity?" I asked.

"The magic gene skipped him." Ariel shook her head. "So did the shifter gene. He's about as human as it gets, although he has healing power."

"But he went to deal with adark witch?" I raised an eyebrow.

"He has a lot of specialized weapons," Ariel smirked, but it quickly faded. "I feel bad for him because all he's done the past six years is take care of us girls. I wish he'd find his mate, but he's convinced that, even if he does have one, he'll be rejected because no one wants to risk their kids turning outnormal, to use his word."

"Well, maybe he'll find one here at Five Fangs," Peri chirped. "Do any of the girls have mates? Or are they not old enough yet?"

"No mates, but they're all old enough. Beatrix turned eighteen in March and Maria in April. Sara is twenty-one, same as me, and Gelo is twenty-four."

"I can't wait to meet them and your little sister."

"I hope she's all right." Ariel's voice suddenly clogged with tears. "I've been so worried about her. We haven't been able to link in days. My cousins tried scrying for her last night and found nothing. Gelo caught a flight out of La Guardia this morning. He's going to pick them up and then they'll all head here."

She stopped talking and swiped at the tears streaming down her cheeks, and Peri and I hugged her on either side.

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