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“Julie, until I find your real mom, I’m in charge of your safety. She loves you and she’s a good person.
She deserves to be found and to have you be alright. If I found her, but something happened to you, I don’t know what I would do.”And if I can’t find your mom, she would’ve wanted you to be safe.
At the other end of the intersection, Andrea appeared, riding a bay gelding and leading three horses.
I WOULD’VE LIKED TO GALLOP ALL THE WAY TO THEOrder, but the traffic was heavy. The city knew deep magic would hit soon, and while the tech was up, they made the best of it. We had to settle for a slow trot.
Andrea rode in the lead, Julie behind her, clutching the reins with white-knuckled panic, and Derek and I brought up the rear. I wanted Derek and Andrea separated as much as possible. When your partner goes loup and tries to turn your stomach into an all-you-can-eat buffet while you’re still breathing, you might develop a slight dislike of shapeshifters. Why tempt fate?
“He’s actually quite patient,” Derek said, drawing even with me.
“Who?”
“Curran.”
I nodded. “He’s patient as long as everyone plays by his rules.”
“That’s not true. You’ve never seen him when he isn’t under pressure.”
“Being the Beast Lord, I’d imagine he’s always under pressure.” I sighed. “I didn’t mean to aggravate him. It was a matter of bad timing. He was pumped up full of adrenaline after working out, which made him more aggressive than usual. It was the wrong time to bring it up. That’s all.” That and I couldn’t control my mouth in his vicinity. He got under my skin.
“It’s the flare, too,” he added. “Makes it harder to restrain yourself.”
“Look, if you want I’ll try to smooth things over if I get another opportunity.” Ha! Fat chance of that.
After that blowup, I was probably persona non grata in the Pack for life.
I didn’t breathe easy until we dismounted in the Order’s parking lot.
I swung the door open and motioned Julie inside. “Second floor, my office is first on the left, should be unlocked.” She ducked in.
I filled Andrea in on the problem of Julie’s missing mom, the reeves, and Hood, a.k.a. Bolgor the Shepherd, while we stabled the horses. Derek stood guard by the Order’s door, but I was pretty sure he heard every word. Wolf ears worked much better than human ones, and his were exceptional.
“Fomorians,” she said. “What’s the world coming to?”
“Three things: what are they doing here, why do they want Julie, and what happened to her mom?”
Andrea shook her head. “I have no clue. But then it’s not my area. I shoot. I make gadgets work. I’m good with post-Shift resonance theory. Ask me something about folklore, and I draw a blank every