Page 125 of Stubborn as a Shadow

“No, that was me,” Violet said. She heaved out a sigh. “I met her at Supernatural Summer Camp when we were kids. We clicked. The Double-Vs.” She almost smiled at the memory, butshe didn’t. And I hated that she was so upset. She shrugged. “We kept in touch, so I asked if she could help. I was worried about Morgan being in a place like that.”

“Did she know Morgan was Rudy?” Nelson asked. “I asked her again when I passed on some information to her about the black market, but she was still playing everything pretty close to her chest.”

“She doesn’t know.” Violet shook her head. “I was too scared about saying too much, even to Venus. My dad was always so adamant about keeping Morgan’s shifted form a secret.” She blanched. “I swear I never told Gary about Morgan either… You don’t forget lessons like that. And with Venus, I just asked her to make sure he was okay.”

We all sat with that for a moment.

“The SC came to collect Gary this afternoon,” Van said eventually. “And they suggested we let the local supes know what happened so they could watch out for more hunters and other assholes. I made the announcement just before you arrived.”

“So, more people might come here because of me?” I tried to stand up, but Nelson’s arms held me tight. “I need to go, Nelson. Leave.”

“Fuck that.” Nelson growled. “You aren’t going anywhere.” Then he looked at Violet. “And neither are you.” Then he turned back to Van. “Did you not catch that woman who got away in Gary’s car?”

“We did, but we don’t know how many others knew what the hunters had planned here.” Van tapped the side of his beer bottle. “Gary swears the only people he told about Willow Lake were the hunters because they paid him the most, but the hunters had been working with that mage and wolf, so it’s hard to know how many other people might be following the trail to Willow Lake.”

“Does that mean Keenan managed to lie to you both?” Nelson asked Van and me. “That mage and wolf were members of his coven.”

Van shook his head. “They went behind his back, looking to make some money on the side. They found out it doesn’t pay to betray their coven leader.”

I grimaced at the memory of what’d happened to those two supes. Nope. Their greed hadn’t done them any good at all.

Violet’s chair scraped over the floor as she abruptly pushed away from the table. “I should?—”

“Wait.” The single word made Violet pause. It came from a petite older woman dressed all in black. I swore she’d materialized from the shadows as seamlessly as Nelson did. “You’re Violet, right? I’m Edie. I was coming to invite you to join Davie and me for a drink.” She motioned to a table where the younger woman sat.

“V, you don’t have to go anywhere…” I grabbed for Violet’s hand again, but she yanked it out of the way too quickly.

“Why?” Violet asked Edie.

“Does there need to be a reason? Come on, we don’t bite. Or at least we don’t bite others.” Edie winked suggestively.

Violet blinked at her, but some of the tension eased from her posture. “Are you sure?”

“Of course.” Then the woman guided Violet to the other table.

“Don’t go anywhere, okay?” I called after her. “Not without talking to me first.”

Violet didn’t argue, so I took that to mean she agreed.

“It’ll be okay. Edie and Davie are good people,” Nelson said. “No one blames your cousin for what Gary did, but it might help for her to hear that from someone she doesn’t think is biased. She’s not going to believe you right now. She’s not in the right space to hear it.”

I didn’t like what he was saying, but I could see the sense in it. Violet would never believe me. I knew she wouldn’t. She was obstinate that way. And if he trusted Edie and Davie, I could too.

“Besides,” Nelson whispered into my ear, “she doesn’t have a vehicle because she came with Gary. She can’t leave tonight without someone driving her, and no one is leaving Willow Lake tonight, not when there’s a celebration at the pub. But if she still wants to leave in the morning, we’ll figure it out.”

“Thank you.” I pressed a kiss onto Nelson’s cheek. “Wait… What’re people celebrating? The winter solstice isn’t for a few weeks yet.”

“Could be anything,” Nelson said. “But the minute Jeremy puts ‘Get the Party Started’ on the jukebox you know something is being celebrated.”

As if summoned by Nelson’s saying his name, Jeremy slid into the seat I’d been using until relocating to my mate’s lap.

“Of course we’re celebrating,” Jeremy said. He lifted his hands and started counting things off. “Morgan is out of the hospital. You found him. The Eternal Magic is going to be super nice to us now that her son is moving to town. Morgan is a fucking mythical beast and he’s here. And…” He tapped his finger on his chin. “There was something else…”

When he said it like that, there was a lot to celebrate.

“I found my mate,” I said.

“Yes. That’s it.” Jeremy pointed at me. “Now, come on. You’re sitting over here with Mr. McBroody Pants, but I can see you’re itching to dance. Let’s go.”