Page 31 of Big Top Bear Raid
Wraith laughed as he shrugged.“It’s better than nothing.I’m going to give Detective Mathers a call, too, so we can’t have you running around naked, now can we?”
Heaving a put-upon sigh, Zion muttered, “I guess not.”
Acadia made a chuffing noise, as if laughing at his cousin.
“Laugh it up now, fuzzball,” Zion growled.Then, after giving Acadia an evil look, he ordered Wraith, “Don’t forget to get something for my cuz.”
Wraith laughed as he began jogging away.Acadia’s bear definitely sported an absolutely horrified expression.As Wraith moved, he pulled out his phone and called the detective.
They would need his help to keep everything under wraps.
Chapter Twelve
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THEY HADN’T HEARD ORseen hide nor hair of Lawrance or Steele for three days.
Zion did his best to ignore that fact so he could enjoy their crawfish boil.They were at the home of Manon Lemelle and his human mate, Chris.True to the Cajun wolf’s promise, he had produced an authentic recipe, and the smell of the spicy seafood filled the air, making Zion’s mouth water.
While the crawfish boil was in celebration of the breaking of Acadia’s bespelled status, the act had actually taken place the prior day behind their A-frame home.Acadia had been staying there with Eurik after Urskin had given him leave to shift at will while back at the circus.His cousin had endured the agonizing process of Urskin casting the removal spell on him.When the warlock had read over the spell provided by the horseman, Death, they’d actually seen the man’s dark skin pale.
Urskin had looked around their assembled sleuth and had softly asked, “You really went through this?”When they’d all nodded solemnly, he’d whistled in obvious amazement.Then Urskin had focused on Acadia and warned him, “Prepare yourself, Acadia.When they told you it would be agonizing, they weren’t whistlingDixie.”
Acadia nodded, his expression just as serious.“I understand.”
While Urskin had begun preparing his supplies, Congo had rested his hand on Acadia’s shoulder.“Lie on your stomach.”Most likely due to his cousin’s confused expression, Congo had softly told him, “Easier to curl into a fetal position that way.”
After blowing out a harsh breath, Acadia had nodded and obeyed their alpha.
Zion recalled screaming until his throat had gone hoarse when he’d gone through the process, and he hadn’t stopped the tears as he’d listened to his cousin’s cries.He’d clung to Wraith, tears slipping from his mate’s eyes, too.There hadn’t been a dry eye in the group by the time Urskin finished the spell, although the warlock had forced his voice to remain steady as he’d chanted.Even their shih tzu, Jasmine, had howled along with Acadia.
Still, as painful as the process was, Acadia had agreed with them once it was complete.Any price to remove the compulsion and pain spells from them was worth paying.Just as they had after the rest of them had gone through the process, they’d gone on a short celebratory run after it was complete.
They’d all teased Valentine that it was good he hadn’t gotten hit that time.Then they’d shared what had happened on the last run, and how Valentine had first recognized his mate, Stone.
Not surprisingly, Acadia had claimed, “I would’ve been happy to have been hit by a truck if it led to meeting my mate.”
Valentine had laughed and patted Acadia on his shoulder.“Right?”
“You okay, Zion?”Wraith asked, drawing him out of his thoughts as he settled in the chair next to him.Holding out a fresh beer, he stared at him with concern.“What’s on your mind?”
After taking the bottle of beer, Zion switched it to his other hand so he could thread the fingers of his right hand with Wraith’s now-empty left.“Just feeling a little overwhelmed, I think,” Zion admitted quietly.He gave his mate a small smile before allowing his attention to stray to Acadia.His cousin was definitely on the slender side, but he looked good for having been a captive for over a year and a half.“Still can’t believe Acadia’s alive.That he’s here with us.”
Zion felt Wraith squeeze his fingers, and he returned his focus to his wolf.His mate had been so sweet, so understanding, over the past few days.Wraith had understood that Zion had needed to spend so much time with Acadia and his sleuth during the day.
At night, they would retreat to Wraith’s home, and his mate would blow Zion’s mind with pleasure, sending him into blissful sleep every evening.
Never did his wonderful, caring mate make him feel guilty for his needs or as if he had to choose between time with Wraith or time with Acadia.Instead, he would hang out on the deck with them, either in human or wolf form.Wraith never appeared to feel slighted when Zion and his sleuth-members regaled each other with stories, catching Acadia up and re-establishing their bonds.
Wraith could also be found on his phone quite often, keeping them abreast of what was going on with the circus and Ringmaster Goldsteen.The human was charged with falsifying permits for exotic animal use and extortion, as well as a few other things.Kyle had disappeared, as Urskin had sent him to the Circle of Mages.
The circus folk had rallied around a human named Chance, naming him their new ringmaster.They’d moved on quickly, disappearing in the night.According to Sasha, a zebra shifter and Chance’s mate, the zebras were all legal and extremely well cared for.They hadn’t known Acadia was a bear shifter or that Lawrance and Kyle were warlocks, the pair having hidden their activities from the zebra shifter, just as the zebra shifter hid her scent from...everyone.She’d claimed she did it because they traveled so much, and she never knew if she would be passing through other shifters’ territory.They’d disappeared with the troupe, and Alpha Declan had allowed that matter to drop.
According to Wraith, Detective Mathers had worked with Alpha Declan and Urskin to make everything appear in order with the circus leaving, sweeping anything paranormal under the rug.
“When I got the beers, I checked with Manon.”Wraith lifted their twined fingers and pressed a kiss to Zion’s knuckles.“It’s going to be another twenty minutes before the first pot of crawfish is ready.”
Wraith was referring to the six massive pots holding the boiling crawfish.While many of the wolves didn’t plan to show up to Manon’s feast, since they respected that this was a bear celebration, it still took a hell of a lot to feed a group of bear shifters.Zion’s mouth watered a little, and his stomach grumbled a bit.
