Page 2 of Collar Me Crazy
"Moira's cousin!" Freya's face lit up. "She's mentioned you. The seer, right? I'm Freya, I run the herbal apothecary down the street."
"Nice to meet you." Sonya studied Freya's face, noting the stress lines around her green eyes. "Sanctuary donations?"
"Oh, it's nothing really. Just Kieran being his usual stubborn self about accepting help." Freya waved a hand dismissively. "There's this animal sanctuary outside town, and the owner could use some financial support, but he's too proud to take it directly. So we have to get creative."
"The owner?"
"Ryker Dusk," Freya said. "Sweet guy, keeps to himself mostly. Takes in injured supernatural creatures, gives them a safe place to heal. He's done amazing work out there, but?—"
The vision hit without warning. Auburn hair wild with wind, strong hands gentle on a wounded bird's wing, green eyes that held depths of loneliness she recognized in her own mirror. Sonya's cup rattled against its saucer as the image faded.
"You okay there?" Twyla's voice seemed to come from very far away.
"Fine," Sonya managed, though her hands were shaking slightly. "Just tired from the drive."
But Twyla's knowing look suggested she wasn't buying it for a second. Neither was Freya, who was studying Sonya with the sharp attention of someone who understood magic's unexpected moments.
"Tell you what," Twyla said, reaching under the counter to produce a small paper bag. "Why don't you take some of these cookies to Moira? Consider it a welcome-to-town gift. She'll be at the Book Nook until closing, and Lucien makes excellent coffee if you need another caffeine fix."
"Thank you." Sonya stood, leaving money on the counter despite Twyla's protests. "Both of you. This place feels like home already."
"That's the point, honey," Twyla called as Sonya headed toward the door. "Hollow Oak has a way of calling its own."
Outside, the early evening air carried scents of woodsmoke and approaching winter. Sonya paused on the sidewalk, letting her senses adjust to the magical currents flowing through the town like underground rivers. Seven mated pairs, their bonds weaving protection and power into the very stones beneath her feet.
But there was something else, too. A restless energy, a sense of incompleteness that made her skin prickle with awareness. As if the magical equation wasn't quite balanced yet.
As if it was waiting for one more piece to fall into place or to tip the scales entirely.
She pulled her jacket tighter and headed toward the bookstore, following both Twyla's directions and the increasingly insistent pull in her chest. Whatever had drawn her to Hollow Oak, whatever change her visions had been attempting to show her, it was close now.
Very close indeed.
2
RYKER
The messenger hawk shifter's wing trembled under Ryker's gentle touch as he cleaned the wound with antiseptic solution. The bird had arrived three hours ago, barely conscious and bleeding from what looked like a run-in with barbed wire. Now, perched on the examination table in the sanctuary's medical cabin, she watched him with wary golden eyes.
"Easy, sweetheart," Ryker murmured, keeping his voice low and steady. "Almost done here. You'll be flying again before you know it.”
But his wolf was restless beneath his skin, making concentration difficult. Something was coming. Had been coming all day, riding the autumn wind like a storm front. The feeling made his shoulders tense and his hands shake just enough to notice.
"It’s going to hurt, but I need you to shift to your human form."
The hawk shifter flickered between forms, settling into her human shape. A young woman with close-cropped brown hair and fierce eyes.
“There." He secured the bandage and stepped back. "Keep that wing still for at least three days. No shifting until the bone knits properly."
"Thank you. I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't found this place."
"Word gets around in the supernatural community." Ryker handed her a bottle of pain medication and a card with care instructions. "Where were you headed?"
"Council business. Message for Elder Varric about some disturbances near the Tennessee border." She tucked the card into her jacket pocket. "Nothing urgent, but he'll want to know."
Ryker nodded, though something cold settled in his stomach. Disturbances usually meant trouble, and trouble had a way of finding Hollow Oak eventually. "There's a guest cabin if you need to rest overnight. Recovery room's just through that door."
"I might take you up on that." She studied his face with the sharp attention of someone used to reading people. "You okay? You seem... twitchy."
