Page 62 of Oracles Always Win

“Right.Ofcourse.”Thedoctor nodded and pulled away fromVan.Thenhe pattedVan’sbody, as if needing to check for himself that he was truly unharmed. “You’resure you’re okay, though?”

“I’msure,”Vansaid, shoving his hands in his pockets after the doctor had finished his impromptu assessment.

Aprofessional mask slid over the doctor’s face once he knewVanwas safe. “Okay,” he said. “What’sthe situation?”

Wefilled him in quickly, then he returned to his car for his medical bag and got to work.Assoon as the doctor was tending to the injured,HaydeneyedVanwith a speculative gleam in his eye.

“YouandXander, hey?” the alpha werewolf teased.

“Fuckoff,”Vansaid. “Itisn’t like that.DoctorRobertsis a friend.”

Sincea hellhound couldn’t lie,Iguessed he was telling the truth.ButIsuspected ifIlooked into his heart,I’dfind he wished things were different.ButIdidn’t care enough about the police chief’s love life to invade his privacy like that.

“Anyoneelse still in there?”IaskedVan, nodding toward the building.

“Ididn’t sense anyone there.”Thehellhound shook his head.Bloodcoated the side of his face, but it appeared his injuries had already healed, just as mine had.

“Andaround back?Anyonestill need help?”IaskedHayden, who’d just come from there.

“Thisis everyone,”Haydensaid.

Theline ofVan’sthroat worked as he swallowed hard. “Youcome across any fatalities?”

Weboth shook our heads.

“Weshould check, though,”Isaid.

“Ithink the firefighters are doing that as they work to contain the blaze.ThelastIheard, they hadn’t found anyone either,”Vansaid.

“Thankfuck,”Haydensaid, voicing the same relief we all felt.Thenthe werewolf scowled and pointed at the building. “Whatthe fuck was that?”

“Bombs,”VanandIanswered at the same time.

“AllIsmell is brimstone and ash, whichI’massuming is thanks to the demon.”Haydendidn’t look like he believed us as he lifted his face and inhaled deeply. “Yeah.Okay.Ican smell the explosives now.”

Haydenwas still cursing and wiping his nose whenJakeedged closer to me as if seeking the support only a mate could offer.Mate.Right,Ihadn’t even told him of my suspicions about what we were to one another.Orthat he needed a tether.Orabout my demonic side needing a place to anchor.

Rightnow, he was drawn to me by instinct, but he wouldn’t understand why.

Ishould explain everything to him before things progressed any more than they had, give him the opportunity to reject me.Itwould be safer for him if he did.Hecould find someone else to use as his tether.

ButIwas an asshole, becauseIcouldn’t resist the urge to have him in my arms when he was so close… not afterIcould have lost him today.Assoon as he was in my arms again, protected by my body in case anything else happened, my magic enveloped him, and my nerves settled.

“Doyou think there are more bombs?”Jake’sback was to my chest as we both stared at the inn. “Oris this one of those things that only come in threes?”

“Hardto say.”Itightened my grip on him in case he was thinking of looking for any leftover bombs himself.Although… that was exactly whatIshould do.Iknew it.ButIcouldn’t bear to leave him out here, exposed, unprotected, vulnerable.

“Ican’t believe someone bombed my inn.”Jakevibrated as anger seeped into his earlier fear and shock. “Whodoes something like that?”

“We’llhave some answers soon,”Isaid asIsawIsaac’sbike racing down the road toward us.

Nelsonclung toIsaac’sback.Theback tire swung around as they stopped.Nelsonjumped off and ran for me withIsaacright behind him.

“Didyou get the message in time?”Nelsonpanted.

“Ithink so,”Isaid. “Therewere some injuries, butIhaven’t heard of anything life-threatening.”

“Fuck, man.Whenwe saw the black smoke in the air…”Isaacbraced his hands on his knees like he was trying not to throw up. “Buteveryone is okay?”