Page 49 of Bewitched By the Werewolf
I don’t get a chance to talk to Hunter about it though because he leaves almost as immediately as the elves did. I don’t follow, he’s probably going back to Lottie at our house to check on her. He left her there this morning after the event with the male taking their pictures outside theUgly Mug.He needs time alone with her, so I give it to them. You never come between a shifter and his mate, not unless you want to lose a limb.
With the elf situation temporarily dealt with, I decide to pay Ginger a visit. Maybe get more information on Lottie’s identity, anything the elves might have posted online and an update on Tess and this anonymous tipster.
Ginger answers the door immediately after I knock, already waiting for my arrival after I texted her I was on my way.
“Hey, come on in. I was just running some searches.”
I enter her apartment and cross to her bank of computers. Many of which appear to be running programs with progress bars and scrolling text.
“Find anything?”
“Eh, nothing much from the elves. Hunter said they took some photos of him and Lottie in town, but I haven’t seen any online anywhere yet. So far, they seem to be telling the truth about no one having them yet. Celebrity gossip like that would be top billing for the gossip rags.”
Ginger gracefully sits in her rolling chair and begins typing on her keyboard, sorting through the mass amounts of data on her screens. I don’t know how she keeps track of it all. I’m getting a headache just staring at it.
“Did you always know she was a celebrity?” I ask, because apparently, I’m the only one who didn’t know, which seems silly because I’m the sheriff. That’s something I should have known.
“Not always. I realized it somewhere in between family dinner and karaoke. I told Hunter about it then too. I hadn’tintended to, because I thought he might shun her, but he kind of saw her picture on my phone.”
“And why did no one think to tell me till today?”
She shrugs and makes a who cares face I’m sure all big brothers have seen on their little sisters. “Didn’t seem necessary.”
“A famous celebrity hiding from the paparazzi and her own manager in a hidden town filled with non-humans, didn’t seem like a necessary thing to tell the sheriff?” I ask sarcastically.
“Nope,” she says casually, while popping the p and ignoring me.Freaking little sisters. I roll my eyes, which of course she doesn’t see. I can scent her amusement and let it go. She’s getting a kick out of irritating me, so I won’t let her.
“Fine. What about the anonymous tipster from Tess’s website?” I ask, changing the subject.
Ginger clicks on a few things and brings up new screens of text that make no sense to me. It’s a good thing we have Ginger for things like this, because if it were up to me to handle, we’d all be doomed.
“I’m getting closer but haven’t been able to pinpoint an actual person yet. I’ve got it narrowed down to a city and state. It was expertly routed through proxy servers shooting all around the world. Whoever sent her the coordinates to Snowberry didn’t want to be found, just as much as us.” I’m about to ask if she’ll still be able to find them, but she interrupts me with a raised finger and stubborn expression. “Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean I can’t find them. It just means it’s going to take me a little longer.”
“Good. We need to know who sent that message so we can find them and make sure they don’t send anymore.”
Ginger nods in agreement and swivels in her chair to face me, abandoning her screens momentarily.
“Howarethings going with Tess? I heard you took her to movie night last night. Getting cozy with the enemy, are we?” Her tone rises into something teasing as she swivels back and forth in her chair.
I raise an eyebrow at her and cross my arms over my chest. “Tess is not the enemy. She knows what we are, at least about shifters—”
“What?! How the hell did that happen?” Ginger shrieks and stands from her seat, abandoning her taunting. She’s tall and can easily glare at me without having to crane her neck like most. She hasn’t been able to best me in a fight since we were pups, so I’m not worried.
“Doesn’t matter. What does matter, is that she hasn’t told anyone yet, and if I have anything to do with it, she never will.”
“And why didn’t you just dust her after she found out? We might not be able to completely erase all her memories of “werewolves” but you could have at least protected the truth of shifters.” She scolds with practically choreographed eye rolls, air quotes and hands on her hips.
She has a right to be mad, it’s not just my safety and future on the line, it’s all of ours. Especially since I told Tess my entire family are shifters and there are more than just us in town. But I truly believe, that with a little bit of time and convincing, she won’t reveal our secrets. There’s also that little possibility that she could be my mate. My reaction to Jared flirting with her at the movie last night should be a strong indicator that she’s definitely something more to me. When she let me hold her hand without complaint in front of him, was even more indication that she believes there’s something between us as well.
“It’s not that simple Ginger. If she needs to be dusted I will, that’s my call. Until then I’m handling her.”
A defensive and little aggressive growl resonates in Ginger’s throat. I may not be alpha, but I am the beta, and I still demandrespect and compliance. I growl right back at her, louder and with more dominance. We stand like this for a long minute glaring at one another, neither backing down. I can’t force her to comply like Hunter could with his alpha power, but I will not falter either. Tess is my problem to handle, and even if it weren’t Tess but someone else, it’s my call on how to deal with them,nothers.
Finally, Ginger drops her eyes and backs down like I knew she would. She doesn’t whimper in submission or ask forgiveness. A female like Ginger wouldn’t. She’s strong both in body and mind and I love her for it. This just happens to be a matter in which I will not budge. My protective instinct over Tess won’t let me. I can already feel it growing and demanding satisfaction. Among other things.
“Fine,” she relents with hands thrown in the air. “Deal with her however you want. But if it comes back to bite you in your ass, don’t say I didn’t warn you,” she pouts, plopping back down into her chair that spins with the force.
“I think I’ll survive,” I state flatly. “Maybe if you met Tess you would like her more. You like Lottie just fine and her being here comes with almost as much possible exposure as Tess. What is it about Tess that bothers you?”
