Page 29 of Oracles Always Win

“Avery deadly toddler,”Iagreed. “Andhe wants something from this place, so he should be considered a danger to this place and its people.”Mygaze fell on the cute bartender again, who had already been targeted by the asshole wolf pack at least once when they robbed him.Wouldthey come back for more?

“IwishIbelieved my brother wouldn’t endanger anyone,”Haydensaid, glancing towardVanas he spoke. “Butwe know that isn’t the case.”

Thealpha wolf rubbed his eyes.Someof his angry mask cracked, andIsaw the hurt beneath.He’ddiscovered his brother was a murderous asshole over a dozen years ago, but the pain was still there.Isuspected it always would be.Mymagic itched under my skin, as if begging to slip out and fix everything that was wrong, butIcouldn’t.EventhoughIknew what it felt like to be betrayed by someone you should have been able to trust.

“Andthe owner of the inn?”Nelsonasked. “Isthat him behind the bar?”

EveryonebutAdrianlooked atJake, who was laughing at somethingJeremyhad said.Adrianwas busy scribbling in the notebook his mate had shoved at him, dutifully trying to keep up with everything that was said.

Fuck,Jakewas gorgeous when he smiled.Yes, he was attractive even when he wasn’t smiling, but there was something special about seeing joy light up his face.Itdid something to me.Icould sit back and watch him laugh all night long and be thoroughly charmed.

“Yes.That’sJake,”Vansaid quietly.

“Theguy who doesn’t know he’s a supe?”Nelsonprodded. “Ishe still refusing to help with the investigation?Becausethat sounds shady as hell.Areyou sure he isn’t working with the wolves?”

Thecat,Paws, turned toNelsonand hissed at him.Thenhe sat facingNelsonwith a glower on his little feline face.Davinawould think the creature was cute.Shewas always showing me pictures of random cats on her phone.Herfavorites were the ones that looked pissed off at the world, likePawsdid right now.ButIremembered the power the creature had summoned.Wedid not want to make an enemy of this cat.

“Yeah, it’s complicated,”Vanagreed, as he scratched the back of his neck.

“I’mconfident he isn’t working withRobbie,”Haydensaid. “Idon’t pick up any signs of deceit from him.Hisscent is confusing, butI’venever sensed any lies.”

Adrianlooked up.Hishand was still poised over the notebook. “Iagree withHayden.I’vebeen watchingJakesince coming toWillowLake.Idon’t think he’s involved.”

“Okay.Here’sthe quick version of whereIthink we sit at the moment,”Vansaid, leaning forward almost as much asIsaac. “Thewerewolf pack that robbed the inn has been keeping quiet, but we all suspect they are biding their time.And, after going through the boxes you already recovered, we think there are still some boxes missing.Two.Possiblythree.Ithink that asshole alpha is looking for another fence to sell the stuff he stole.”

“What’smissing?”Iasked.Itwas possible those missing items included something that would help them makeBabette’scages almost unbreakable.Whenwe’d found people locked up in her warehouse,Icouldn’t free them by myself.Apowerful magic had been used to secure those cages.Findingthe boxes would actually be a relief, because if we found an object that changed those locks,Icould destroy it.Itwas a much more comforting thought than believing the people we were hunting could channel enough magic on their own to contain even me.

Thehellhound frowned. “Wedon’t know.Wethink it is all magical artifacts, but we don’t have a list of what’s missing.”

“AndJakeis still refusing to help you?”IaskedNelson’squestion again, as everyone’s gaze drifted back to the cutie at the bar.WhenI’dread his desires earlier,Ihadn’t picked up anything problematic.Couldhe have fooled me?Uncooperativerobbery victims raised a lot of red flags.

“It’sa little more complicated than that.”Vanscrubbed his hand through his short, cropped hair.

“Hestill doesn’t know about supes, does he?”Iasked with a frown.Thatcomplicated things all right, but it matched whatI’dconcluded on my own. “Ithought as much, based on howI’veseen him interact with people today.”

“Weknew he was a supe when he moved here.Hisgrandfather was trying to ease him into the magical world gently, but the old man died before he could.Nowit is up to us, but we haven’t had much luck there either.Forsome reason, he isn’t seeing pastMotherMagic’scurtain,” he said, using the anthropomorphic term many supes used to describe theEternalMagicthat permeated the world. “Thenjust before the robbery, we discovered he’s an oracle.”

Isaacwhistled as if impressed, butNelsontensed.IunderstoodNelson’sreaction better thanIsaac’s.Oracleswere dangerous, both to themselves and others.Secretsweren’t sacred if an oracle was close.

Andworse?Didn’tthese people understand how vulnerableJakewas right now?Oraclesneeded to be tethered as much as demons, whether to a place or a person or both.Itwas how theDelphiccult originated in ancient times.Ifan oracle’s connection to this world was weak, they’d ultimately lose themself in visions of the future, forgetting to eat and sleep and all the other things a human needed to survive.Ifthe situation wasn’t corrected, the oracle would die.

Unbidden, my magic surged and reached forJake, ready to encase him in protections and wards.Ibarely managed to yank it back, although my magic andIwere in agreement.Jakeneeded to be protected.

Whyhadn’tVanmentioned the inn owner was an oracle the last time we met?Whatother dangerous secrets was the hellhound keeping?

Chapter Eleven

JAKE

Throughoutthe evening, despite how busy we were,Ikept sneaking glances atGage.

Iwas hyper-aware of the piece of paper with my phone number in my back pocket.Actually,Iwas hyper-aware of everything related toGage.

Myearlier reaction to him had been driven by my newly discovered lust, but now thatI’dhad a chance to think things over with a slightly cooler head,IdecidedIwas still okay with the whole let’s-have-sex plan.Hewas a safe option, even if he had that whole dark and mysterious thing going on.Hewas safe, mostly because my body had reacted to him, but partly because he wasn’t from here.

Ifwe did try to have sex and things didn’t go to plan—becauseIcouldn’t count on my body not betraying me again—we never had to cross paths again.Hewould be moving on, going back to wherever he’d come from, andI’dbe here.Mychest tightened at the thought of not seeing him again, but it was for the best.Afterall, ifIcouldn’t get my hallucinations under control,Imight not be inWillowLakemuch longer either.

Iswallowed and let my gaze linger on him.Hisbroad shoulders filled out the breadth of his black dress shirt beautifully.Hishorns glinted under the lights every time he nodded or tilted his head as he talked with the others.Evenhis jaw was sexy.Iwanted to trace that sharp edge with my fingertips… or maybe my lips.