Charmed Wolf by Aimee Easterling (best ereader for pdf TXT) 📕

I hightailed it back to the vehicles. Only once we were driving did my friend have the breath to fill us in the rest of the way.

“Lenny brought scones when he dropped by this morning,” Natalie reminded me as I pushed the minivan faster than its preferred snail’s pace. Rune, in the passenger seat, had his eyes closed, the pacifier pinched between a thumb and forefinger. Twice now, he’d raised his other hand and pointed. Twice, I’d turned in the direction where his finger led.

Despite his aid, the air between us was cold and unscented. My fault, not his. Rune had let his persimmon out...and I’d promptly opened all the windows to wash temptation away from me. I didn’t need my mind clouded by might-have-beens while on the hunt.

“Did you eat any of the scones?” I asked my friend now, checking out her face in the rear-view mirror.

“Is that actually a question?” Natalie rebutted. As we both knew, she was impervious to treats first thing in the morning, preferring the same cereal she’d consumed for more than a decade. Only after eleven AM did she spread her wings and indulge in other tastes.

“But Kale did,” I guessed.

“My son is perpetually hungry,” Natalie agreed. “He took the plate to his room. I can only assume he ate everything on it.”

“And the pacifier?”

“A gift for Hazel. But I wasn’t going to let her have it until I put it through the dishwasher. I popped it in my pocket...then I forgot.”

So now we knew how Kale had been charmed the second time. And that the baby was an innocent bystander. Unfortunately, knowing didn’t do anything to bring the pair of them back.

Still, something about the pacifier was giving Rune information on the fae’s location. I wanted to ask what he was tapping into...and I also knew that if I spoke the only thing that would come out of my mouth was the cascade of hurt he’d created by rejecting the role of Consort.

So I drove while Rune meditated. Until, that is, Natalie did what I didn’t have the guts to do—she tapped on his shoulder.

Rune’s eyes slit open, persimmon so strong it overpowered the window-whipped air swirling around us. “Yes?” he acknowledged.

“I assumed the pacifier might be useful since it came from the same source as the scones that charmed my son. But I don’t know much about magic. What exactly are you doing?”

“What he always does,” I ground out, even though the question hadn’t been addressed to me. “Using every tool at his disposal to track down fae.”

I hadn’t bothered to keep the disgust out of my voice. Which might explain why Rune addressed me rather than answering my friend. “Tara...”

I shook my head. Even though I’d been the one unbottling the issues between us, I now regretted it. Slamming the gas pedal all the way to the floor, I ground out: “Answer her question.”

Extra speed cleared away the persimmon, or most of it. I could breath again when Rune complied with my demand.

“A charmed object can lead you to its maker.”

Natalie’s scientific mind came up with the obvious question before my muddled emotions let me consider implications. “So why didn’t you use the glitter that way?”

“Too diluted. As best I can tell, the glitter was being used to passively soak up small quantities of energy to empower a weak fae.” Rune tapped the pacifier. “This, on the other hand, is fresh and strong. It’s likely what the fae did with all that energy. And...we’re here.”

The structure that rose above us was a Victorian masterpiece. “Lenny’s house,” Natalie reported, hopping out of the van and slamming the side door shut.

Inside the parked vehicle, persimmon grew stronger. “It really is Lenny,” I murmured. I wasn’t talking to Rune, I told myself, even though he and I were the only ones left inside.

“So it would appear,” he answered. But he didn’t get out the way Natalie had. Instead, he swiveled in my direction. “Tara, it was not my intention to mislead you.”

Without the force of moving air to brush scent aside, persimmon curled around my neck and shoulders. Like a spring breeze, it tempted me to spin and face my companion.

It didn’t, however, do anything to mitigate my tone. “You’re here to hunt fae,” I spat out. “Pretending you were taking the job of Consort was an easy way to remain in my territory. I get it.”

Rune’s eyes were sad but his mouth was expressionless. “That’s not precisely....”

The back door slid open and Natalie stuck her head in. “As much fun as it is to watch you guys fighting, do you think maybe we could get my kids back before you start pulling out each others’ hair?”

WE RANG THE DOORBELL. It didn’t seem like the best way to sneak up on the fae, but Rune promised our enemy was inside the residence. Plus—

“The neighbors will call the police if we climb in a window,” Natalie observed.

So, doorbell it was.

Lenny himself answered. Not quite as slick and well-groomed as when I’d last seen him, he looked like a man enjoying his Sunday. “Do you have questions about the ceremony?” he asked, stepping out and pulling the door closed behind him. “I’d rather my wife not hear. It’s intended to be a surprise.”

He appeared human...and yet the air that came out of the house along with him was full of lemon so sweet it made my teeth ache. Like Rune’s persimmon but stronger and sharper. The aroma repelled rather than attracted me. Somehow I knew it pointed to fae.

So I dropped pretenses. Drawing a knife faster than was humanly possible, I prodded the underside of Lenny’s chin with the pointy tip.

I’d expected a struggle. Instead, he was surprisingly malleable, acting like a scared human at the sight of weaponry. “I...” he stuttered. “You....”

I let the wolf poke through my vocal cords when I addressed him. “I want the children back. Immediately.”

“Children?” Lenny swallowed and the blade nicked his skin. A drop of red welled