shifting. And she had a friend who helped her with that.
“Mrs. Cortez would come and sing over each of us when we arrived at the farm, what she sang was a magic spell. We don’t know for sure, but we believe that it repressed our shifter animals, making it easier for us to live as humans. We all trust her implicitly, she’s a good lady. And that trust is a big deal because wolves and magic usually don’t mix,” Darcy explained, in what might be the understatement of the year.
Finn raised an eyebrow.
“Not you. Real magic—oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…” she tripped over herself.
“It’s okay,” he smiled. There was that wink again.
Somehow it seemed less infuriating than before.
“Anyway, the spell only lasts for 300 moons,” she explained. “This month is my 300th moon. I was planning to come up here and be alone. Spend some time with my wolf, to be sure I wouldn’t lose her.”
She decided not to mention the shadow creature she’d seen in the parking garage. It was just too crazy. She hadn’t really had time to process it herself.
“Anyway,” she continued. “That explains Mr. MacGregor, who you saw last night in wolf form. He bought us time to get away. But I don’t know what the deal is with Draven or Miss Sharp. Or why they have someone at Child Welfare on the payroll. Or how Luke fits in. He must be important, for them to go to all this effort. And I’m not about to let them get their hands on him.”
Finn considered for a moment. She expected he’d need some time to get his head around all of that.
He didn’t.
“So what do we do next?” he asked, already including himself in the plan.
She’d half-expected him to bail when she laid it all on the line, and was surprised at how much relief she felt when he didn’t even consider it. It was an odd feeling. Darcy usually preferred to work alone.
“That’s a good question.”
“These people are serious,” he said. “And they obviously have connections. They’ll figure out where you went. They’ll come for us.”
“I’ll be ready for them this time.” A protective growl began in the back of her throat.
“I’ve seen this type,” Finn warned. “If you turn them away, they come at you harder. And you’ve come out on top twice now.”
“Then we might have to go on the run until we can find someone to trust,” Darcy said, resolute.
Finn studied her.
“Me and Luke, I mean,” she said quickly. “You’ve already done too much.”
He continued to study her in silence, and Darcy felt a connection between them, a light disturbance in the air, like the sizzle of electricity before lightning strikes.
She was drawn to him suddenly, her wolf scratching at her from the inside, ready to leap over the table to get to him, to pin him down, drink in his heady masculine scent, and sink her claws into those gigantic biceps…
She forced herself to look away, to think of the child instead. This wasn’t a love story, it was a rescue.
The plunking of grapes in the arbor had grown fainter.
“Either way, we’ve got some time. Might as well make the best of it,” she said as lightly as she could, hopping off her seat to head out into the vineyard. She felt the increasing space between them already, as if her heart were a rubber band, stretched taut between the man and the boy.
It was absolutely beautiful out here, rich with the scent of living things. Too bad she couldn’t shift and run off these intense feelings.
As she stepped off the deck and into the grass, she sensed Finn rising to follow her and her heart sang a quiet song only she could hear.
15
F inn was the king of the world. At least that was how he felt.
In spite of the deep shade and the otherworldliness of the trees around them, he found that the cabin and the arbor were beginning to feel like home.
They’d spent the day filling every vessel in the house with ripe grapes, gathering wood for the fireplace, and generally acting like a normal family on
“Mrs. Cortez would come and sing over each of us when we arrived at the farm, what she sang was a magic spell. We don’t know for sure, but we believe that it repressed our shifter animals, making it easier for us to live as humans. We all trust her implicitly, she’s a good lady. And that trust is a big deal because wolves and magic usually don’t mix,” Darcy explained, in what might be the understatement of the year.
Finn raised an eyebrow.
“Not you. Real magic—oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…” she tripped over herself.
“It’s okay,” he smiled. There was that wink again.
Somehow it seemed less infuriating than before.
“Anyway, the spell only lasts for 300 moons,” she explained. “This month is my 300th moon. I was planning to come up here and be alone. Spend some time with my wolf, to be sure I wouldn’t lose her.”
She decided not to mention the shadow creature she’d seen in the parking garage. It was just too crazy. She hadn’t really had time to process it herself.
“Anyway,” she continued. “That explains Mr. MacGregor, who you saw last night in wolf form. He bought us time to get away. But I don’t know what the deal is with Draven or Miss Sharp. Or why they have someone at Child Welfare on the payroll. Or how Luke fits in. He must be important, for them to go to all this effort. And I’m not about to let them get their hands on him.”
Finn considered for a moment. She expected he’d need some time to get his head around all of that.
He didn’t.
“So what do we do next?” he asked, already including himself in the plan.
She’d half-expected him to bail when she laid it all on the line, and was surprised at how much relief she felt when he didn’t even consider it. It was an odd feeling. Darcy usually preferred to work alone.
“That’s a good question.”
“These people are serious,” he said. “And they obviously have connections. They’ll figure out where you went. They’ll come for us.”
“I’ll be ready for them this time.” A protective growl began in the back of her throat.
“I’ve seen this type,” Finn warned. “If you turn them away, they come at you harder. And you’ve come out on top twice now.”
“Then we might have to go on the run until we can find someone to trust,” Darcy said, resolute.
Finn studied her.
“Me and Luke, I mean,” she said quickly. “You’ve already done too much.”
He continued to study her in silence, and Darcy felt a connection between them, a light disturbance in the air, like the sizzle of electricity before lightning strikes.
She was drawn to him suddenly, her wolf scratching at her from the inside, ready to leap over the table to get to him, to pin him down, drink in his heady masculine scent, and sink her claws into those gigantic biceps…
She forced herself to look away, to think of the child instead. This wasn’t a love story, it was a rescue.
The plunking of grapes in the arbor had grown fainter.
“Either way, we’ve got some time. Might as well make the best of it,” she said as lightly as she could, hopping off her seat to head out into the vineyard. She felt the increasing space between them already, as if her heart were a rubber band, stretched taut between the man and the boy.
It was absolutely beautiful out here, rich with the scent of living things. Too bad she couldn’t shift and run off these intense feelings.
As she stepped off the deck and into the grass, she sensed Finn rising to follow her and her heart sang a quiet song only she could hear.
15
F inn was the king of the world. At least that was how he felt.
In spite of the deep shade and the otherworldliness of the trees around them, he found that the cabin and the arbor were beginning to feel like home.
They’d spent the day filling every vessel in the house with ripe grapes, gathering wood for the fireplace, and generally acting like a normal family on
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