Chapter Twenty-Five
Hazel
I was officially dating my mates again. My bounty hunter mates. At first, the knowledge made me scared, but as long as they were on our side, it was okay.
Augustine thought they were badass, and Lindon offered to give us self-defense lessons.
Goldie was leery. That was her way. She took a while to warm up to people.
Clover was cautious. A good thing, especially since she was funding all of us at the moment. Her caution kept us eating and the business going.
She and True shared some book recommendations and, I had to admit, there was nothing better than having my mates and my friends get along. I thought there would be animosity and jealousy from my wolf, but there was none.
We opened the store like any other day. Augustine made us a fantastic breakfast casserole and then took a slice with her, balancing it in one hand while she dusted. The woman loved to dust. Hummed while she did it and everything.
Goldie made cookie butter lattes for us and waited for us to approve the taste.
Clover came downstairs with me and handled drying the herbs we collected.
Winter was on her way, and our choice of fresh herbs would change with the season, so we had begun going out daily.
Sometimes, she would get anxious about things and pop a strand or two of saffron in her mouth.
Her knowledge of healing things was so impressive.
And she studied, always had a book on herbs or natural remedies on her eReader.
“I’m running to the post office and the library. Anyone want to come with me?”
The great thing about a small town like Belladonna Woods was that most of the municipal services were in one building You could get books from the library, retrieve your mail, and pay the water bill all under the same pitched straw roof.
Even the town hall was spooky.
I couldn’t wait until All Hallow’s Eve. My favorite holiday.
The guys stopped by the shop sometimes during the day. Lindon often showed up with Alice, and I thought they were conspiring, about what I didn’t know yet.
All good things. I had to trust that.
We helped customers, and business was steady. Augustine came in over an hour later and her face told me it was time to take a break.
Not a good break either.
“What’s going on?” I asked. The letters and books in her hands shook, and my pitbull friend, as Shiloh dubbed her, was not the shaking type.
“There’s a letter. It’s from your dad. I know I shouldn’t have read it, but it freaked me out that he’d written, and I don’t think I could’ve walked here without knowing.”
I put my hand on her shoulder and we took seats around the table in the back room. This table had been the audience of all of our gossip and tears and joy since we’d come here. “It’s okay. Give it to me.”
She wasn’t the only one shaking while I opened the letter. It was handwritten. The paper was dingy and had oil spots on the edges.
He told me he knew where I was. That he was coming to find me. The only relief was that the address it was originally sent to wasn’t here. That didn’t tell me how it got here, but it gave me reason to suspect he was bluffing to scare me.
He wasn’t the only one on his way, either.
“Call Lindon, please.” I handed someone my phone. Goldie, I thought. All I could do was stare at it. I sat there, motionless for ten minutes at least while the others spoke around me. Someone called Lindon. Said they were on their way.
A cup of tea was placed on the table. I saw the steam in my peripheral.
And then a hand landed on mine, and lime, cedar, and smoke surrounded me, tore through the fog of fear. “Hazel.” True sounded so far away, but I watched him kneel beside my chair. “Baby, look at me.”
It took me so long to heed his words.
His eyes pierced mine, filled with love and concern.
“Let me see the letter.” Shiloh’s voice from behind me. Lindon’s fingers took it, but I turned to see them reading while they stood shoulder to shoulder.
“Everything is going to be okay.” True stood and picked me up, sitting me sideways on his lap. “We’re not going to let anyone touch you. Any of you.”
They weren’t only protecting me but my friends.
“Alice too?” I whimpered.
“Alice too. And Divina. She’s a part of this family now.”
A family? Of course, but not in the way I’d known in the past. Family had always been a curse word to me. A sour taste. A foul smell. Grit on my fingertips and a word that made my shoulders tense and my jaw clench.
But now, that word had meaning that sank into my heart and warmed me from the inside out.
“We’ll take turns.” Lindon used his business voice. I’d learned to read his tones. “Round the clock. No one gets to any of you.”
“Damn,” Augustine said. “I do love an alpha who takes charge.” She looked at me. “But not him. He’s yours. Don’t you growl at me.”
“Did I growl?” I asked.
True chuckled, moving us both. “You did. We’ll take that as a compliment.”
Alice showed up shortly after. Early. For the first time. “Hazel, I saw your pack headed here with danger in their eyes. Good thing I baked early today. And valerian tea all around. We need some calm.”