Chapter Thirty-Three #2
‘And that’s not Tennessee.’ I frowned. ‘Just a theory, but magic has boundaries. If she tripped the alarm and the call centre is outside the US, there’s a chance her magic wouldn’t be strong enough to stop them from sending someone out to investigate.
Catherine had to do some dark stuff to send magic all the way over to Wales. ’
‘Catching a Were in an administrative error kind of feels like Al Capone being put away on his taxes,’ Jackson said. ‘Wyn heard anything on his end?’
I shook my head and he made a soft but distinct scoffing sound.
‘It’s not a competition,’ I said with a warning look. ‘He’s in a tough spot, trying to find out as much as he can without giving us away to Astrid or making the pack suspicious.’
‘If he needs to go back to Asheville, I can take care of things here.’
I looked up from the stack of pages to find him leaning casually against the desk, legs crossed at the ankle, hands in his pockets, eyes fixed on me.
‘You’re doing more than enough,’ I assured him, handing the paperwork back.
‘Keep them, I have copies.’ Lifting his chin, he nodded towards the room across the hallway behind me. ‘How’s she doing?’
‘Better than I did. Feels like I’m racing to keep up with her.’
‘You know, I could’ve driven the two of you out to Wormsloe for that thing last week.’
‘Again, it’s not a competition,’ I insisted, softly this time. ‘Lydia couldn’t know about it in advance, I didn’t want you to have to lie to your own sister, plus I had no idea what to expect.’
‘I get it. I don’t have magic. You don’t need something else to worry about.’
‘No,’ I corrected. ‘I don’t want to put people I care about in unnecessary danger.’
Too quickly for me to stop it, the atmosphere between us changed and I was painfully aware of how close we were to his bed, how he couldn’t seem to shift his gaze from my lips.
‘I’d better go,’ I said, slicing through the tension between us with the bundle of paper. ‘Thanks for this, I think it’s really going to help.’
‘Stay for dinner? It’s fixing to rain out there.’
‘It is?’
Sure enough, the sky outside was darkening rapidly. A regular summer storm or was Lydia fighting with someone on Reddit again?
‘Good job I have an in with someone who can take care of the weather. Catch you later.’
‘Hey, Em,’ Jackson said as I bolted for the door. ‘Everything’s going to work out, you know, it just is.’
‘Oh yeah?’ I gave a nervous laugh as I stepped backwards into the hallway. ‘Have you been having visions too?’
Framed by the doorway, he smiled at me, easy and sincere.
‘Don’t need magic to believe in you.’
I flushed with unexpected pride, colour rising in my cheeks as my magic surged through my veins.
‘Thanks again for this,’ I said, waving the papers at him. ‘I’ll call if I figure anything out.’
‘I’ll be waiting.’
It was a promise and a reminder.
‘You’d better go,’ he said. ‘Before the rain comes.’
Still leaning against the desk, Jackson raised one hand in a wave. I mirrored the gesture, taking one last look at my brave, loyal friend. In another life, I would walk in there and kiss him goodbye.
But not in this one, I reminded myself, turning away to run straight down the stairs and out the front door.
Lafayette Square was scarred by the loss of the trees Astrid Hansen chopped down to make her toxic bonfire in Hilton Head.
Everyone was talking about the mindless act of vandalism that somehow took place without leaving a trace of evidence.
No one saw it happen, no one saw the trees leave the square, no one remembered a thing.
Local outrage was still loud enough but it wasn’t very committed.
There wasn’t much the authorities could do without evidence and soon enough, only days later, there was something new to be mad about and the naked north-west corner faded to the back of people’s minds unless they were looking right at it.
After all, trees would grow back, wouldn’t they?
I heard people say when I passed by, and thankfully no one was hurt.
No one they knew about.
Still clutching Jackson’s evidence, I crouched in the grass and whispered healing words to the stumps she left behind.
Recovery had already begun, harsh chunks hacked out by her axe softened and gentle trails of moss soothed the deepest cuts.
It wouldn’t have been too difficult to strike a bargain with the park and speed up the process.
Every other tree for miles around would willingly offer its own energy to return their fallen comrades to their former glory.
But inexplicably disappearing trees were one thing, magically reappearing trees were another.
Drawing that kind of attention to a place so close to home wasn’t a good idea.
Kneeling beside the tree stump, I stroked the broad tops of the pale stumps, whispers of Spanish moss and lichen trailing after my fingertips.
The trees could wait. Nature was patient. More patient than me.
‘Am I interrupting?’
Wyn appeared in front of me, sleepy-eyed and smiling, more relaxed than I’d seen him in what felt like weeks.
‘Hi,’ I said as he crouched down beside me. ‘And yes. We were enjoying a little alone time.’
‘Been a long time since I saw you look that peaceful.’ He pressed a palm to the trunk, a jolt of heat shooting through the tree and into me. ‘Do I have to watch out for every tree now too? I already have enough folks to be jealous of.’
‘You don’t have to be jealous of anyone or anything. We were just catching up.’
‘You and the tree?’
‘Maybe chatting was the wrong word,’ I said with a blush in my cheeks. ‘More like, I was listening to what it had to tell me.’
To his credit, Wyn didn’t laugh. Instead, he cocked his head towards the stump and concentrated.
‘How does it work?’ he asked. ‘Do you hear actual words in your head or is it more of a feeling?’
I’d never loved him more.
‘You kind of have to tune in to their frequency,’ I explained.
‘Everything is talking all the time but it doesn’t always make sense.
Kind of reminds me of when Dad and I would arrive in a new city and I heard everyone talking in a language I couldn’t understand.
After a while, you start to pick up bits and pieces, and if you stay long enough, eventually, you’d be able to speak it yourself.
Just listen. Are any of these trees talking to you? ’
He stood up and considered his options with soft eyes before walking all the way over to the tall, proud oak tree that stood across the street from Bell House.
The tree he’d been leaning against the first time I’d ever laid eyes on him.
I followed, watching as he ran a strong hand over the rough bark, his eyes closed.
Pushing up onto my tiptoes, I kissed him softly, his plush firm lips opening against mine in surprise.
‘Did the tree tell you to do that?’ he asked as his eyelids fluttered open.
‘You don’t want to know what they said,’ I replied, lacing my fingers through his. ‘This one has a dirty mind.’
‘Then I definitely do want to know what they had to say,’ Wyn murmured against my mouth.
Gently pushing me against the tree, he kissed me back, the connection between us growing more urgent and impatient.
His body pressed against mine as though he had a very important message to deliver and this was the only way to make sure I properly understood.
Surrendering to the sensation, I received it loud and clear.
‘Want to come inside?’ I asked, my voice breaking as his lips moved to the side of my mouth, my jaw, my throat. ‘Ashley should be out for a while.’
‘A while isn’t going to be long enough,’ he replied, teeth nipping against my ear. ‘Why don’t we go to my place?’
The whole square sighed with delight as his thigh moved between mine and I instinctively clenched against his thick muscular leg.
It felt so right, the warmth of him, the beat of his heart in perfect sync with my own.
His hands grasped my hips and every leaf on every tree and every frond of Spanish moss chattered excitedly.
When he pulled all my hair over my left shoulder and nuzzled into my neck, I struggled to remain upright, and a whole patch of azaleas burst into full bloom beside us.
‘Jackson found out some information about Astrid,’ I made myself say, sliding out from between him and the tree, chiding the out-of-season flowers as they sheepishly returned to the soil before anyone could see.
‘Anything that’s going to change what happens to us in the next ten seconds?’
‘No,’ I admitted. ‘But—’
‘Then I don’t want to hear about Jackson,’ he replied. ‘It can wait.’
I didn’t know if that was true but I badly wanted to believe him.
‘Let me run inside for a moment,’ I said, tugging on his arm and drawing him quickly across the street to Bell House before a tourist trolley could run us both down. ‘I just want to put these papers somewhere safe.’
He made a noise somewhere between a grunt and a groan but came with me anyway, hands never once leaving my body.
Stumbling up the front steps, falling over each other, I looked up, expecting the door to swing open for me but it didn’t.
The house was angry and afraid and in an instant so was I, chilled to the bone by what I saw.
Nailed to the front of the door, still warm and bleeding, was the dead body of a recently slaughtered squirrel.
Underneath it, five deep claw marks gouged the glossy wood.
I instinctively moved away, holding a hand to my abdomen as though the marks were scratched into my flesh rather than my home.
‘What the …’
‘Fuck,’ I heard Wyn exhale behind me.
I’d asked a question. He seemed to know the answer.
‘What does it mean?’ I asked before pressing a hand against my mouth, nauseated by the loss of life pouring down my door and pooling at our feet.
He spun around to search the square but whoever was responsible was long gone now or I’d have sensed them myself.
Turning back towards the house, Wyn encircled me in his arms, wrapping me up in a tight, protective embrace, and when he spoke, his words were infused with genuine fear I’d never heard from him before.
‘It means they know,’ he stated, his whole body trembling. ‘It means the wolves are coming for you.’