Page 7 of Paws and Claws

"That's why we trust you, Sheriff." Rodriguez extended his hand. "You protect our right to be normal, even in a town that's anything but."

Dominic shook it firmly, his lion preening at the vote of confidence. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to coordinate with my officers. We've got a magical menace to catch."

Dominic gripped his steering wheel tight as he drove back to the station. His mind kept racing through the evidence from the past few days. The magical signature at all three scenes carried the same wild, reckless energy. His lion paced with agitation beneath his skin.

"Wild magic." The words slipped from his lips as a face flashed in his mind - dark purple hair, defiant blue eyes, and that infuriating smile. "No. She wouldn't..."

But the thought had taken root. Tabitha Moon was a constant thorn in his side, but this? This felt different from her usual rebellious stunts.

Back at his desk, Dominic pulled up her file on his computer. His shoulders tensed as he read her address - right in the middle of where all three incidents had occurred.

"Damn it." He ran his hand through his dark hair. "Connor!"

His deputy appeared in the doorway. "What's up, boss?"

"Pull the footage from Mario's last night. I want to see if there's any sign of purple hair in the crowd."

Connor's eyebrows shot up. "You think Tabitha Moon's behind this?"

"I hope not." Dominic's jaw clenched. "But wild magic that powerful in that specific area? We need to check."

While Connor went to retrieve the footage, Dominic studied Tabitha's record. Speeding tickets, noise complaints, the occasional magical mischief - but nothing malicious. Nothing that had ever put anyone in danger.

"She was pretty pissed about that ticket yesterday," he muttered to himself. His lion growled at the memory of her peeling out, nearly clipping him with her bike. "But would she really escalate to this?"

The image of those electrical poles snapped like twigs played in his mind. The terrified faces of those mothers and children in the park.

"Sheriff?" Connor returned with a tablet. "You need to see this."

The security footage showed the ghostly figures materializing outside Mario's. In the background, a familiar motorcycle was parked across the street.

Dominic's chest tightened. "Time stamp?"

"Ten minutes before the first 911 call."

"Doesn't prove anything." But his lion knew better. The wild magic signature, the location, the timing - it all pointed to Tabitha.

"Want me to bring her in?"

Dominic shook his head. "No. I'll handle this myself." He stood up quickly. "If it is her, maybe she doesn't realize what she's doing. Wild magic I hear can be... unpredictable."

"Since when are you making excuses for Tabitha Moon?"

"I'm not." But even as he said it, Dominic knew he was lying to himself.

Dominic's squad car soon crawled down Willow Lane, his lion's enhanced vision picking out every detail of Tabitha's cottage through the afternoon haze. Wild roses climbed the weathered trellis, their thorny embrace both beautiful and chaotic - just like their owner. The thought made him grip the steering wheel tighter.

"Focus," he muttered to himself, but his mind wandered to yesterday's traffic stop - the way her dark purple hair had danced in the wind, how her blue eyes sparked with defiance. His lion stirred restlessly, more interested in her scent than her crimes.

"She's a menace," he reminded himself firmly. "A beautiful, infuriating menace who's endangering my town."

4

TABITHA

Tabitha bobbed her head to the music as her wild magic crackled around her fingertips. As she worked, purple sparks danced across the canvas, bringing depth to the watercolor sunset she was creating. The painting shifted and moved under her touch with the clouds actually drifting across the canvas.

"This is the one," she muttered, adding another layer of magic to make the stars twinkle. "They can't say no to this."

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