Page 43 of Hellhounds Never Lie

It’d been so long since I’d felt anything like it.

This didn’t mean my magic was fixed or that it was strong like Dillon thought, but it was something. Something spectacular. I wanted to buy a round for everyone to celebrate but drinking before potentially being attacked by asshole werewolves didn’t seem like the smartest thing.

After this was over? I was totally treating everyone to a round.

The timing of my sudden magical resurgence had me wondering, though. Was my magic coming back because I’d met Dillon? Or had it returned ages ago and I’d been ignoring it?

I doubted I’d ever know the answer to that, but I suspected meeting Dillon was part of it. I just wish I understood why or how.

Van counted everyone and then nodded to himself. When he cleared his throat, everyone turned to listen. "Okay, so here's what's going to happen. We have enough people to have someone stationed at every door and window on the main floor. That's good. I will assign you each a spot. If you sense anything out of the ordinary when you’re at your post, you're going to call for me. I'll be circulating through all the rooms on this floor. I will hear you. Don't worry about being noisy. That might scare the wolves off as well as anything else. Any questions?"

I wasn't surprised when the questions started. Van answered them calmly and thoroughly, all things considered. You know that saying about no question being a stupid question? I wasn’t so sure about that. How Van didn’t roll his eyes and answer a few of the questions with a heavy dose of sarcasm, I’ll never know.

After all, did people actually think the sheriff would issue them firearms without them joining the police or, you know, having any training? Or what about the mouse shifter—Dillon had confirmed my suspicion about what kind of shifter the woman was—who asked what would happen if they had to pee. Should they just go on the floor?

Ewww.

And the answer was, of course, an emphatic “No, tell your neighbor you are leaving your position, and then go use the toilet like a civilized fucking person.” Okay, so Van maybe hadn’t said it exactly like that, but really?

After everyone had been assigned a door or a window and the large shifters had finished up planning their patrol routes and procedures, a truckload of pizzas from the Flying Rowan Café was delivered.

As soon as Parker, my very human boss, entered the pub with an armful of pizzas, Levi bolted over to him and relieved him of half the boxes. Parker eyed everyone curiously as he followed the big minotaur into the pub. I waved at him when he spotted me.

“I didn’t know there was an event at the pub today,” he said as they set the pizzas on a nearby table.

Before I could say anything, Levi tried to redirect his attention by asking a question. “Are there more to unload?”

“Is there something going on?” Parker asked.

“No. Nothing,” Levi said quickly. Too quickly.

Parker narrowed his eyes at Levi. Yeah, I wouldn’t have believed the minotaur either.

“Are there more pizzas to bring in?” Levi asked again.

Parker’s lips flattened, but he nodded and waved at Levi to follow him. I didn’t know what Levi told Parker when they were outside, but when they returned Parker was obviously irritated and Levi’s cheeks were a rosy color. They didn’t speak to one another as Hayden paid for the pizzas.

When Parker left, Levi rubbed his cheeks and sank into one of the chairs. Hopefully Parker wasn’t too mad. We probably should have arranged for someone to pick the pizzas up. No one wanted the humans to get suspicious.

I nudged Dillon. “Why did Hayden pay for everything?”

He shrugged as we watched Hayden distribute the pizzas around the room.

“He does things like that all the time,” I continued. “I can’t figure out why he can’t accept he’s the alpha here. I mean he acts like it.”

“Does it matter?” Dillon asked.

“He should just officially adopt the title and file the pack’s registration with the Supernatural Council.”

“What a person does is more important than what their title is.”

I supposed that was true, but it still bugged me. Still, I had enough of my own problems; I doubted I could solve Hayden’s too. I shut my mouth, though, because Hayden was coming over to our table now.

The pizzas weren’t as good as the ones I made, but I wasn’t going to complain. They were a little limp but still tasty. Whoever was cooking pizzas today hadn’t gotten the oven hot enough before putting them in.

I’d just finished my first slice when my phone announced a text.

MyBestestBFF4ever: If you were a witch, what kind of familiar would you want? I think I’d choose a raccoon. Or maybe a squirrel.