Page 42 of Shadows of the Soul

I folded my arms. “Tea will not fix the trauma.”

“Tea and cookies?”

I huffed and plonked my ass in the chair. I was acting like a needy child who was playing off her parents when they got a new partner.

“You drive a hard bargain. How were the negotiations?”

She opened the cupboard which held the dry goods, like pasta, then closed it. Next, she opened the pan cupboard. Hmm, it seems my aunt was more fazed by Dave than she was letting on. I glanced at him, finding a big frown marring his forehead. “Top left next to the stove,” I said. She opened the correct cupboard and retrieved the tea bags and jar of cookies.

“The negotiations?” I prompted. Perhaps she didn’t want to speak in front of Dave.

She spun around. “They were productive. Everything is fine.”

I tilted my head. Rebecca’s parents had been locked in a battle with The Order for years. We were harboring a royal deserter. They wanted their princess back, and we didn’t feel the need to bow to British Vampire royalty. My grandmother took great pleasure in having a bargaining chip over them. My only worry was the day she decided to cash in and feed Rebecca to the wolves, because I would never allow them to take her against her will.

“So are they backing down?”

My aunt nodded as she fumbled around the kitchen, looking for cups. She swiveled to Dave and held a cup out. “Tea?”

He scowled like she’d offended him. “No, Liz, I don’t drink tea.”

She chuckled. “Of course. I was teasing.”

My eyebrows attempted to climb off my face. Aunt Liz was teasing? Was the world ending? I checked out the window for apocalyptic weather or flying pigs. Nope, neither. Whatever Dave had done, I didn’t like it.

Dave shifted his gaze to me. “I need to leave. Walk me out, Cora.”

“I’ll return for my cookies,” I declared as I stood. “Make sure Rebecca doesn’t eat them all.”

Aunt Liz did a toodle-oo wave at us as we exited the kitchen. Dave herded me toward the back door, and I blinked at the sudden onslaught of sunshine. Hudson sat on the steps, hands clasped in front of him as he gazed across the gardens. He’d also showered and changed. His damp hair was curled along the nape of his neck, and was in sharp contrast to the white shirt he’d paired with dark jeans and scuffed boots.

“What’s up?” I asked as soon as Dave closed the back door.

He put a finger to his lips and pointed at Dayna, who was on the edge of the house reinforcing the wards. She murmured something, then turned toward us and jogged up the steps. She threw a bag of dust in the air. The magic shimmered around us, and the world fell silent outside of our little bubble.

“Something’s up with Liz,” Dave said as he scratched the back of his head.

“Yes—you.”

Dayna sniggered as Hudson stood. “He means she is acting unusual.”

“She seems a little scatterbrained. That could be the lack of oxygen from Dave’s tongue being shoved down her throat.”

“It was a test,” Dave stated. “She would have never let me do that in a public area. She’s a private woman, Cora, who should be mortified that her niece found her in a compromising position. Instead, she’s forgetting where everything lives in your kitchen, the one she’s cooked multiple gourmet meals in.”

“Perhaps you are underestimating your prowess,” I ventured.

Dayna scowled at me and parked her hands on her hips. “While I’m not doubting Dave’s mad skills, my sister doesn’t go doolally over dick.”

“So, what do you think it is?” I asked.

Dave’s nose twitched. “She smells funny.”

Now he mentioned it, her normal lavender soapy smell was absent. I didn’t detect anything unusual, though. For all we knew, she’d run out of her usual body wash and we were having a secret meeting about it.

“Keep an eye on her,” Hudson said as he wrapped an arm around my back and drew me to his side. “We have some pack business to take care of. Call me if anything weird happens.”

I smirked. “Anything weird? That’s a broad spectrum of problems that regularly occur at Summer Grove House.”

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