Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Leo drove to the B&B to visit with Mira’s family and friends on Wednesday morning, the two-lane road winding between low hills covered with late-summer grass.
He glanced at Mira, who sat sideways in the passenger seat, her knees tucked up and her arms draped over them.
She watched the landscape through the windshield, a soft smile on her face.
“I’ve been thinking,” she said.
“Oh? Should I be worried?” he asked with a chuckle.
She giggled. “No. I was wondering if staying in Thorn Hollow is something you’d like.”
“Stay with the pack?”
“Yeah. Live there, build a life together, the whole nine.”
“I’d love that,” he said without hesitation. “But if you wanted to stay with your family and travel, I would do that too. You’re home for me, Mira. Wherever, whenever.” He glanced at her and saw her smile deepen.
“I appreciate you being willing to become a nomad with my family, but Thorn Hollow is different. It feels like home to me and my gryphon, and I know that’s because you’re home for me too.”
The silence settled sweetly over them as he drove to the B&B, both of them lost in thought over what the future would bring. He would live anywhere so long as he could fall asleep with her. His wolf was content she was theirs, and that was really all that mattered.
Her parents waved from the porch of the B&B when he pulled into the parking lot.
Mira hopped out of the truck before Leo could open her door and hurried to the porch, hugging her parents.
“We’re so happy for you,” her mom said. “I can’t believe you shifted!”
Her dad hugged her mom and Mira together. “It’s a wonderful thing.” He shook Leo’s hand, and her mom gave him a hug.
“Thanks for coming,” Daphne said. “Would you like some coffee?”
“I could go for some plus whatever that sweet blueberry confection is that I’m smelling,” Mira said.
“That would be their freshly made blueberry donuts, they’re delicious,” Daphne said.
They walked into the bed-and-breakfast to the dining room, which was a mishmash of eclectic tables and chairs that didn’t match but somehow fit together.
The owner brought out a plate of donuts and greeted Leo and Mira, then disappeared, leaving the four of them with a carafe of coffee, mugs, and donuts that smelled incredible.
After a few minutes of delicious donuts and piping hot coffee, Mira cleared her throat and wiped sugar off her fingertips.
“So first, I wanted to clear the air. It hasn’t been long since I’ve known the truth about myself, but it’s all I can think about.
Well, at least whenever I’m not thinking about Leo,” she said with a chuckle.
Leo grinned at her.
She continued, “But I wanted to say that I’m not mad at you for keeping things from me.
I was, and I think it was a justified anger, but I also know that it would be hard to find the right time to talk to someone about such a devastating thing.
Especially knowing my biological family is gone, and the Wiccan who cast the spell was dead and couldn’t undo it.
You protected me the way you thought was best, and I have zero regrets about my upbringing.
The house is family to me. I do wish I had memories of my biological family, I mean, I have a twin brother I’ll never know, but I’m alive because my parents trusted you, and you’ve always been so good to me. ”
“You’re our daughter, no matter that we aren’t connected biologically,” Gideon said. “I am sorry for the deceit. I was a coward. I was afraid you’d hate us and leave.”
“I’m sorry too,” Daphne said.
Mira stood and moved around the table, and they met her in a warm embrace. Leo’s chest went tight because he’d never really had that in his own life. But he could have that with Mira and their future children. He’d be the best damn mate and father on the planet.
When Mira returned to her seat after giving Leo a kiss on the cheek, she explained that staying in Thorn Hollow was the right choice for them.
Her mom said, “Won’t you miss being on the road with us? All the interesting places we visit?”
“Sure,” she said. “But here’s the thing. Why do you have to keep moving? You said you were settled in Washington until that wolf pack tried to abduct one of the house members, but that pack is dead. Would you be safe now to stay in one place?”
Her parents exchanged a look that Leo knew was an entire conversation without a single word spoken. He knew what they were going to say before they said it.
“When you were young, we stayed in one place to give you something of a normal life,” Gideon said. “When those deranged shifters attacked us, we knew we’d stayed in one place long enough. Being nomadic is in our blood.”
“Even when we were certain the danger had passed, it just felt wrong to settle somewhere permanently,” Daphne said.
Her shoulders drooped slightly as she nodded. “I understand. With me staying with Leo, I was hoping you might want to put down roots here.”
“You’ve found where you belong,” Daphne said, reaching across the table and squeezing her hand. “That’s all that matters. We’ll change our travels so we can cross through Northern Ohio a few times a year. There are many festivals year-round that we can take part in.”
“And you’re always welcome to drive or fly out to meet us for a visit anywhere,” Gideon said.
“I’d like that,” Mira said.
They spent a few hours at the bed-and-breakfast, hanging out with her family and friends, and packing up her belongings from the RV that had been her home for years.
They agreed to stay there until the weekend, and Leo promised to bring Mira back the following day while he was at work so she could hang out with them.
“So?” he asked as he headed toward Thorn Hollow.
“Well, I kind of thought they’d want to settle down somewhere, but I guess it wasn’t just danger that kept them moving. It’s because they like it.”
“Seems like it,” he said. “Will you miss it? I worry I won’t give you such an exciting life.”
“I’ll miss some aspects of it. I mean, I’ve traveled all over North and South America with the house, and I’ve met interesting people and seen incredible sights.
But I’ve always wanted to just be in one place.
Coming to Northern Ohio brought me everything I’ve ever dreamed about, and it’s because you came to the festival with your alphas. ”
“I’m so glad they asked me to be part of their security team.”
When they were about to cross the line into Thorn Hollow, Leo glanced at the truck’s screen and saw No Service in the corner. Even the little SOS icon was missing.
“That’s weird. I don’t have a signal. That’s never happened before. Do you?”
She looked at her phone. “No. What’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” he said, his gut tightening. “But let’s stop at the alphas’ house and check in with security.”
Unease settled over him, worry biting at his neck.
What the hell was going on?
* * *
Leo held Mira’s hand as he walked inside the security building and found Brick with Joey at the desk, both frowning.
“Let me guess,” Brick said. “You don’t have signals?”
“Yeah, what happened? We definitely had signals when we left.”
“We’re not sure, but we think that Foley is fucking around again—excuse me, messing around—and set up signal disrupters around town. We’ve got people searching for them, but so far we haven’t found them. We’ve got no cell service, and the radios don’t work either.”
“Damn,” Leo said.
Brick blew out a breath. “Right? He needs to stay the hell away from us. Heck away from us, damn it. Damn it!”
Leo chuckled. Because Cinder was pregnant, she’d asked people to be more careful about their swearing, and Brick was clearly struggling.
“Can I help?” Leo asked.
“You’re still off today, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then don’t worry about it. If we have a real threat to pack safety, I’ll reach out, but in the meantime, enjoy the rest of your day.”
“Thanks, Brick,” Leo said.
He and Mira walked out of the security building, and someone whistled sharply.
Leo saw Adam on the back porch of the house. They made their way over, and Adam greeted them. “Can you believe this? First, Foley messes with the electricity, and now the cells and radios. He’s really…ticking me off.”
“You were going to swear, weren’t you?” Leo asked with a laugh.
Adam growled and pressed his thumb to the space between his brows. “I had no idea how much I cursed until Cinder kept pointing it out. She’s afraid the baby’s first word is going to be a swear word. And then I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“What’s up?” Leo asked.
“First, I wanted to ask if you two had made any decisions about your future.” He folded his arms across his chest and rocked back on his heels.
Leo looked at Mira, and she smiled. He gave her an encouraging nod.
“I’d like to stay in Thorn Hollow with Leo and join the pack if I can.”
“You absolutely can,” Adam said. “We’re not wolf-only like some packs are. Whenever you’re ready, we can do a joining ceremony. If you’re not in a hurry, we could plan it for the September full moon.”
“That sounds good to me,” Leo said.
“Me too,” she said.
“You’re technically part of the pack as his marked mate regardless,” Adam said. “So you’re protected by the security team and under our rules, which Leo can explain to you.”
“Basically, Adam and Cinder are the bosses, and what they say goes,” Leo said.
Mira laughed. “Got it.”
“You’re working tomorrow?” Adam asked, looking at Leo.
“Yeah.”
“We can move you to days so you can be with Mira,” Adam said. “Only unmated males should work overnights, unless they have a night-owl for a mate that is.”
“That works for me,” Leo said.
“Do you guys have a moment? Cinder wanted me to ask you to come over, and I saw you were at the security office.”
“Sure thing,” Leo said.
They followed him into the house. “Congrats on shifting, by the way,” Adam said. “That’s huge.”
“Thanks,” Mira said.
“Yes,” Cinder said as she closed the refrigerator in the kitchen and set a bottle of apple juice on the island. “Congratulations, it’s really amazing.”
“Thank you,” Mira said.
“The reason I wanted to talk to you is because there’s a madter in Bishop.”
Leo looked at Mira as she inhaled sharply. “There is?” she asked.
“Yep. Her name is Danika, and she’s the queen of the falcon shifters. Her mates are Jes and Chance. Jes is a falcon and Chance is a white lion.”
“Wow, really?” she asked. She glanced at Leo. “Do you think all white lions are related? There can’t be that many of them. Maybe he’s…a relative of one of my biological dads?”
“It’s possible,” Leo said. “I don’t know enough about white lions to say for sure.”
“It’s not just Chance, there’s a whole white lion pride that lives in the walled city of Bishop with the falcons,” Adam said.
“They have a couple of kids, but they’re young and haven’t shifted yet.
Even before you shifted, Cinder suggested we could introduce you, but now, especially since you’ve shifted into an eagle-white lion gryphon, it seems like a really great idea. ”
“I’d love to meet them,” she said.
“We’ll set it up for tomorrow evening after Leo’s shift,” Cinder said.
Leo watched Mira’s face as curiosity and hope bloomed in her eyes. It clearly meant a lot to her to meet a madter and the white lions.
“We’ll be ready tomorrow night,” Leo said.
“Good. Meet here after your shift, and we’ll head over there with a security escort,” Adam said. “Since they’re the leaders of their people—two kings and their queen—it’s good for me and Cinder to be there as a matter of courtesy.”
They spoke for a little while longer and then left, heading to Leo’s truck.
“Well, that was really unexpected,” Leo said. He opened the door for her, and she climbed in.
She beamed at him, then pulled him close for a kiss. “This is freaking exciting! I get to meet someone who was like my biological mom! I can’t wait.”
By the time they got back to the house, they were making out like teenagers.
As they wandered toward the bedroom, sans clothes, his phone buzzed with a community alert from the security team: Service restored.
Be sure to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary and report to the security office.
Brick followed up with a personal text. We found cell phone disruptors near Thorn Hollow, just outside of what our security measures can detect. They were all around town and powerful enough to shut down everything.
Foley? Leo asked.
Has to be. Who else would mess with us like that?
That’s what I was thinking.
When you come in for your shift tomorrow, we’re going to extend our patrols to outside of town and make sure we can catch stuff like this. No telling what he’ll do next.
You got it. I’ve got an escort scheduled to follow me when I drop Mira off at the bed-and-breakfast in the morning, now that Adam put me on days.
Sounds good. See you tomorrow.
Night.
Leo set his phone on the counter and smiled at his mate. “Now, where were we?”