Page 43 of To Teleport, or Not to Teleport?
“Oh, I got that part covered, now kiss him already!” Baba Yaga demanded.
I hesitated for only a split second. Rising to my toes, I wrapped my arms around Grayson’s neck, and I kissed him deeply in front of the citizens gathered. His lips were firm, his tongue pushing past and sliding along mine. I chanted in my head,I love you, wanting him to feel all the love I held for him, love I’d tucked away in a locked box until he’d returned for me.
I came up for breath to the sound of applause. Grayson kissed my nose, then my forehead, and my heart tumbled further in love with the panther Shifter.
“All righty then, let’s do this so I can get to my honey bunches of oats. Dispel the flames and balance the scales. Reveal the one who remains concealed.”
Baba Yaga extinguished the frantic flames with her spell, but a pungent smell lingered in the air. I opened my mouth to thank the powerful witch but noticed the thundering expression on her face and snapped it shut.
Tension flowed around the gathered crowd as everyone noticed the change in the witch. She turned slowly, giving the shop her back as she surveyed us all.
“Goddess above, reprimand the one who has pissed away your gift,” Baba Yaga said, her voice deep and booming as her magic flowed through the crowd.
A pained cry had everyone turning and stepping back from the offender.
“Angelica?” I whispered and followed Baba Yaga, the crowd parting as we walked toward the witch, Grayson close on my heels.
He threaded his fingers with mine and partially covered me, taking a protective stance. Shadows appeared before I noticed both Kaleb and Bear joining us, their bodies taut with tension.
“Why?” Grayson asked, his voice gravelly. “What could I have done to you? I don’t even know you.”
Angelica snarled, her gaze darting from Grayson to Baba Yaga. I’d always dubbed the woman Cruella, but never had she looked as evil as she did in that moment.
“Answer him,” Mac demanded as he joined the wall of Shifters now surrounding Angelica.
“He should be with his father!” she snapped, spittle flying at the force of her words. Her face scrunched with hard lines, aging her, which was impressive considering how slowly our kind aged.
Mac was over seventy and didn’t look a day over thirty, and I could only imagine how old Baba Yaga was. Angelica’s hate was transforming her before our very eyes.
“Grayson is innocent of the crimes his father committed,” Mac said and turned in a slow circle. “I will say this one last time. Grayson McCune hasalwaysbeen innocent of the crimes his father committed. If I learn of anyone else causing him trouble ever again, youwillanswer tome.”
“So, he didn’t help his father steal?”
A look passed between Mac and Grayson at a citizen’s whispered question. Gray’s shoulders rose and fell before he met everyone’s eyes and stopped at mine. “I’m the one who provided the evidence to prove Bryson McCune was committing crimes against this community. He’d been an abusive father and husband, and his arrogance grew alongside his list of crimes. It was my shot to finally stand up to the bastard, so I took it.”
My brows pinched together. “You did?”
Grayson nodded. “I did.”
“If not for him, Bryson would have continued hurting our community until someone noticed,” Mac said. “He is the one to blame, not Grayson.”
“Let itgo,” Zelda said in a singsong voice. “Sounds like some of y’all owe Grayson an apology for how you’ve been talking about him.Not to mentionyou owe him your gratitude.”
“If you want someone to blame, blame me.”
We all looked around for the owner of the unsteady voice, except for Grayson.
He shook his head as hurried to the back of the gathered crowd. “Mama, no.”
The older panther Shifter wrung her hands as tears stained her beautiful face. Her long, glossy black hair framed her thin face, and her green eyes swam with unshed tears. I hadn’t seen her in a few years, and even then, it had been like she was there one second and gone the next. She’d become a hermit more after her husband’s arrest and her son’s departure, a hollow shell of the caring mother I remembered as a child.
“Yes, son. I should have stood up to him,” Eliza said, grasping Grayson’s face in her hands. “I was supposed to protect you, and I failed. You never should have been put in that position. I’m so sorry.”
Grayson pulled his mom into his arms and pressed his cheek to the top of her head. “You did your best, Mama.”
“I’m so glad I followed you here, Zelda,” Sassy said around a mouthful of popcorn. “This town has more drama than any soap opera I’ve seen.”
Zelda groaned as Mac shook his head. “Angelica, you could have hurt Grayson or someone else in your quest for revenge. You realize I can’t let this go unpunished, right?”
