Page 89 of Accidentally Vacationed with an Incubus

For a day that had started as an utter disaster, it was ending in the best possible way.

I was innocent.

Tomorrow, I’d reintroduce Devlin as my mate to my friends, pray he didn’t try to strangle Rowan again, and then we’d finally sit down and figure out who had framed me for my parents’ murders.

There was still grief to process—Ms. Cadmus’s passing had left a hollow ache that wouldn’t be easily filled—but at least Devlin and I had made sure her final moments were spent in the comfort of her home, wrapped in warmth and love. That was something.

And I had found my mate.

It hadn’t happened in any kind of conventional way—nothing in my life ever did—but he was here, and he loved me. And right now, with Devlin kneeling before me, his palms warm against my knees, the scent of apple pie filling the air, and the promise of a mating bite on the horizon, nothing could possibly ruin—

“Aw,” a familiar voice chirped from the darkness. “You two look absolutely adorable together!”

Devlin was on his feet in an instant, darkness surging from him like a living shadow. Firelight glinted off the curved ridges of his horns, his tail flicking in agitation as he sized up the intruder. A low, warning hiss curled from his lips, every muscle in his body coiled with deadly intent.

“Calm down,” I urged, pressing a hand against his chest before this turned into an all-out bloodbath. “It’s just Lobato.”

“I told you to call me Izzy,” Lobato replied cheerfully, stepping from the shadows, utterly unfazed by the demon poised to impale her.

It was strange seeing her out of her usual crisp suit and tie. Dressed in sweatpants and a tank top, her gold-spun hair twisted into a haphazard bun, she looked more like a college student pulling an all-nighter than the prison warden who had watched over me for years.

“Oh yes,” Devlin drawled, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “The unidentified supernatural creature whose magic suppressed my mate’s powers and kept her from summoning me for nearly a decade. A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.”

“The very one,” Lobato said, flashing Devlin an equally sarcastic wink.

“Izzy, I completely forgot you were coming tonight,” I said, squinting into the darkness. “I didn’t even hear your car pull up.”

“I flew,” she replied smoothly, lips quirking into a grin that saiddon’t bother asking follow-up questions.“Anyway, I just wanted to check in and see how you’ve been adjusting to civilian life.” She cast a glance toward Devlin, eyes glinting with amusement. “Judging by the company, I’d say you’re settling in just fine.”

“Yeah, it’s a long story, but I managed to find my mate,” I said.

Before Lobato could respond, a blur of white shot from the house. BooDini zoomed straight toward her, fabric flapping wildly in excitement, eager to meet the newcomer.

Lobato blinked. “Oh. A... ghost?”

Devlin shot me a smug look.See? Other people think it’s a real ghost too.

“Izzy, this is BooDini. It’s not actually a ghost—it’s the manifestation of the magic that animates my house.”

Lobato crouched slightly, watching as BooDini wobbled excitedly in front of her. “That is both incredibly bizarre and ridiculously adorable.”

BooDini preened at the praise.

A sharp ringing cut through the night air, emanating from the house.

“That’ll be the apple pie,” Devlin muttered. He turned toward Lobato, and, through gritted teeth, asked, “Can I interest you in a slice?”

Yeah. My mate might have wholeheartedly forgiven me for not summoning him for the last nine years, but he certainly didn’t extend that courtesy to the creature responsible for stripping me of my magic and preventing it.

Lobato’s smile widened. “Normally, I wouldn’t be able to resist, but I’m currently on a completely carnivorous diet. Thanks, though.”

Devlin turned expectantly to BooDini, but it was too busy fawning over Lobato to remember it was supposed to be the host. Exhaling sharply, he muttered, “Guess I’ll get the pie,” before trudging into the house.

Lobato plopped down beside me on the couch, stretching out like she owned the place. I offered her a blanket—because, seriously, how was she not freezing in just a tank top?—but she waved it off with a mischievous grin.

“I run hot,” she said, waggling her eyebrows. “So. A mate, huh? I take it he’s treating you well. And how’s the rest of the community been?”

“He is,” I said, casting a glance toward the house where Devlin had disappeared. “And my friends have been amazing actually. They’ve looked over the case, and we think we’ve found proof that someone else was behind my parents’ murders. That I was being framed.”

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