Page 23 of Oracles Always Win

“Youasked them here?”Thewolf gaped at the hellhound.

“Hellhoundsare smarter than they look,” the cat said, then licked his paw and started cleaning his tricolored face.Hewas still sitting in the middle of the table.

“Thisis only half my team.Therest will be here in a day or two, then we’ll decide on our next steps.”Imet the hellhound’s gaze and held it.Ihad every intention of proceeding with my investigation, butIwasn’t going to tell the hellhound that.Notright away.NotuntilIunderstood more about his allegiances.But, with the way hellhounds detected lies through spoken words,Ihad to be careful about whatIsaid. “Weowe you a debrief.We’llkeep looking for the rest of your magical items, but our focus has shifted a bit.”

Ididn’t go into details.Wecould do that later, when we had more privacy.

“Whatjob?” the wolf asked.

“ThisisHayden.”Vanpointed at the wolf with his thumb. “Andthe cat on the table isPaws, if you haven’t been introduced yet.”

Irecognized the names fromAdrian’supdates.

“Whatjob,Van?”Haydenasked again.

Vanstraightened his shoulders. “Iasked theSupernaturalCouncilfor help.Weneed to find the rest of those thingsRobbie’spack stole before they end up in the wrong hands, andIdon’t have the resources.”Hescrubbed his hand through his short black hair. “Wewere short staffed beforeDot’sarrest, and it’s worse now.Dillonis helping out, but he’s still learning the ropes and isn’t officially on the payroll yet.”

“Ithought that was done.Youfound the boxes.”

“Mostof them,”Vanagreed. “ButI’mguessing they’re here about… everything else.”

Basedon that vague sentence,IfiguredAdrianhad already filled in theChiefofPolice.Iremembered sendingVana short update when we’d first found the goblin’s storage facility.He’darranged backup for us that day.ButIhadn’t given the guy a thought since, not until we decided to investigate the local wolf pack more closely.

Hayden’sshoulders dropped. “Sothis is still aboutRobbie.”

Vanreached over and squeezed the wolf’s shoulder. “Yeah.Ifhe’s involved with any of this, we’ve got to stop him.Weshould have stopped him years ago.”

Thatwas whatIwanted to hear.Itlooked liked the hellhound would be an ally.

Haydennodded and closed his eyes, as if needing a moment to gather his resolve.Whenhe opened them again, his eyes glowed with the strength of his wolf.Powerrolled out from the alpha.Hewas stronger thanIhad first thought. “Soyou’re part ofAdrian’steam?”

Inodded.

“I’vegot his truck back at my shop,”Haydensaid. “Andwe’ve met for beers a few times.”

“Thenyou know what we found,”Isaid, leaving my words vague.Ifhe knew, he knew.Therewas no need to talk about the details here.Besides, our investigation into the trafficking ring was ongoing andIdidn’t have enough answers.Ihad no desire to have our lack of success broadcast all over town.

“Yeah.Iknow.That’swhy you’re here, isn’t it?”Haydengrimaced. “Whatdo you need?Ihaven’t talked to my brother in years, butIwill do whatever it takes to protectWillowLake.”

“Arewe okay to talk in here?”Iasked, pointedly looking around at the crowd, none of whom were even trying to hide that they were listening.

“Yeah.It’sfine.Evenif we moved to the station, everyone in town would know what we said in no time.It’sone of the joys of living in a small town.”

Thatsounded like a problem, but who wasIto argue with theChiefofPolice?Iglanced over at the bartender, wanting to signal for another round—Ihad a feeling this discussion might require more alcohol—but whenJake’seyes caught on mine, for a long momentIforgot all about the drinks.

Ididn’t understand it, butIfelt a connection toJakealmost as strongly asI’dfelt a connection to the land inWillowLake.Astrange fluttery sensation unlike anythingI’dever felt before flowed through me.And, in that moment,IknewI’ddo whatever it took to protect bothWillowLakeandJake.

Chapter Nine

JAKE

"Areyou okay, honey?"Sallyasked asIwiped down the bar.

Afew moments earlierIwas sureI’dhave to break up a bar brawl.AndIwasn’t the only one who thought that, based on how my older patrons and a few peace-loving couples, likeMercerandOak, had scurried away when things started heating up.

HowcouldIpossibly stop a bar fight?NowthatMercerhad left,Iwas the smallest person in the place.

Iworried the bar rag in my hand and stared atGage’stable, where nowHaydenandVanwere sitting too.Theywere getting along better, but the whole situation was unsettling.