Page 12 of Fae Devoted
“Is Kincaid sure they’re missing?” Tucker asked. All Clans tried to monitor shifters retreating to the forests in their region, but a Ferwyn wolf was difficult to track despite its massive size. Spotting one was often a matter of luck and the converted Glaofin male choosing to be seen.
“No, he’s not sure. But he hasn’t come across either of the wolves in over a week.” As a wildlife guide and state park consultant, he knew Kincaid routinely crossed paths with at least one of the siblings.
“And his sire?”
Sherman Kincaid was reported missing eighteen months ago. He was one among a dozen Glaofin wolves across the country who had disappeared over the past five years—too high a statistic to be explained by a natural death occurring from injury or old age in the wilds.
“He’s still looking, but there’s been no sign of him.” The burned charcoal smell of anger flooded the room. “There can be no question what’s happened to our missing people.”
Tucker’s skin went cold. “Someone is hunting them.”
Chapter 4
Johnnie smiled atthe pair of Anwyll guards standing sentry outside Príoh Walker’s apartment, the cold to-go cup she carried numbing her fingers.
“Happy Belated Majority, Johnnie,” the pretty brunette warrior greeted. Unlike Johnnie, her grin was genuine.
“Thanks, Evelyn.” As she knocked on Abby’s door, Johnnie was acutely aware of the condensation from the full smoothie dripping onto the hallway’s expensive carpeting.
“Sorry I missed the party at Chess.” Evelyn tilted her head toward her partner. “Robert and I ended up working overtime.”
The male member of the Guard stood with his shoulders and one booted foot propped against the wall across from Samuel’s suite. His raised knee showed off a muscular thigh, and his thumbs stuck in the front pockets of his cargos highlighted the white tattoos encircling his biceps and lining his forearms. “I would have asked the guest of honor for a dance if I’d been there.”
“If we don’t count the male vamp being celebrated,” Evelyn teased the handsome Anwyll known as a shameless womanizer, “which birthday girl were you planning on bestowing your questionable charms on this time?”
Robert’s attention never strayed from Johnnie, his slow once-over proclaiming the female presently claiming his interest. “Think I could get a rain check on that missed dance?”
“I’m…” Unavailable? Taken? Unfortunately, neither of those things were true. Although harmless, there wasn’t a dance invitation she wanted to accept beyond the mating kind withJacob. A truth she couldn’t lay bare now or in the foreseeable future.
Abby chose that moment to open the door, saving her from giving Robert a reasonable excuse for turning him down.
“Hey, Johnnie.” The petite female who’d stolen their pack Alpha’s heart wore a sleeveless blue dress and five-inch black heels. And unlike last night, her blond hair was pulled into a sleek ponytail, her makeup flawless.
Johnnie shifted her weight and tugged on her braid. “Have you got a minute to talk, or are you headed to work?”
“I have time. Lady Rose isn’t expecting me for another hour or so.” She moved aside. “Come on in.”
Johnnie entered the sizable suite and stepped straight into the living room. The modern kitchen was to her left, the loft-style bedroom straight ahead. The decor was masculine, done in dark browns and smoky grays, yet Abby’s feminine touch was in the flower-filled vases scattered throughout the open space and the pastel pillows and blankets gracing the king-sized bed in the rear of the room. A blazer matching her knee-length column dress was tossed across the arm of the massive leather chair, a beige clutch with a gold logo laid sideways on the end table.
“Samuel bought too many donuts again, y’all want some?” Abby asked the guards.
“Shocker,” Johnnie heard Evelyn snicker over Robert’s chuckle.
“I’ll fix the bags, and you can take them home after dropping me at Lady Rose’s office later,” she said without waiting for an answer, then shut the door.
“Does the Alpha do this every day?” Johnnie’s gaze fell on the overflowing container of glazed donut holes and the large box stuffed with chocolate eclairs on the marble countertop. If food equated affection in the shifter world—and it did—then thebountiful display shouted Samuel’s love for his Ca’anam from the rooftops.
“Pretty much.” Abby went behind the kitchen island and started to fill plastic sandwich bags with the pastries, then placed them in paper sacks. “His solution to my habit of skipping breakfast…or should I say dinner…is providing an overabundance of temptation.”
It was six o’clock in the evening but working for the vampire queen meant Abby was on duty all hours of the night.
“Want one?” She offered Johnnie a decadent eclair.
“Of course.” Wolf shifters loved to eat, which was convenient as it took an enormous number of calories to fuel a Ferwyn’s high metabolism. Taking a big bite of the cream-filled pastry, Johnnie admitted it wasn’t half bad. Not as good as her homemade eclairs, but still dang good.
“Penny is stopping by to drop off wedding magazines in a few minutes. She can take the leftovers to Hop and her brothers.” Abby eyed the line of brown lunch bags on the counter. “And give them away to everyone she passes within a three-mile radius.”
Johnnie laughed along with Abby, but her amusement faded when her gaze fell to the melting smoothie she held, the pastry’s sweet vanilla cream turning to ash in her mouth.
