Page 83 of Magic and Muffins

“Our shoulders, too,” Anchor said. “Your pack is loyal to you. No one from our house will challenge you.”

“Is there anything we can do to help? I asked.

“Actually, I think there is. I need to show the rest of the alphas I’m taking the loss of the ring and my alpha responsibilities seriously. It’s time to shut down Blur indefinitely.”

“What? Why?” Vena asked.

“How is that going to help?” I asked.

“The other alphas always questioned why I ran Blur when I have responsibilities to not just my pack but all the packs. Honestly, it was never a problem. The alphas mostly manage their own territories, and I have a good team to oversee things at Blur and in the pack when I can’t.

“I think it rankled others that my pack didn’t need micromanaging. Closing Blur will be an olive branch and prevent them from issuing any immediate challenges, which would be a distraction our people can’t afford.”

“Okay. What do you need us to do?” I asked.

“Call Griz, and help him clear out all perishables. Anchor, you’ll need to grab everything we need to close out the bookkeeping.”

“You’ll reopen, though, right?” Vena asked, looking more upset than I would have thought.

“We’ll see how things turn out. It was a great bonus income for the pack house, but we won’t hurt without it. While you’re clearing out Blur, I’ll meet with Hugh in person. We need his help to flush out Vivian. Orphia will know he has the ring and go after him, whether he plans to give it to her or not. I’d rather take it back from him than her.”

He looked at Cross. “Will you go with Everly?”

“Always.”

“Watch your back while you’re out there. We can’t afford for you to lose your ring as well.”

Cross smiled. “If Orphia were capable of taking my ring, I would have lost it centuries ago. She won’t risk trying to take it directly again.”

“Sounds like there’s a story there,” Vena said.

“Yes, and it’s not suitable for children. Go get ready,” Cross said.

Vena looked like she was going to bristle, but Anchor smacked her ass and turned her toward their room. She was so shocked—and happy—that she actually went.

“Am I a child too?” I asked.

Shepard chuckled, kissed my forehead, and promised to keep in touch. Then he escaped from the house, leaving Cross to answer me.

“No, you’re not. But I’d rather not share that part of my history with you. It’s in the past, and no longer who I am. I would prefer to remain as I am in your mind.”

I hugged him and rested my head against his shoulder. “Okay. If you don’t want to share it, then don’t. You’re right in that it doesn’t matter. It’s in the past. And if you’re trying to let go of it, then there’s no point in bringing it up again.”

“Thank you.”

He helped me clean up, and by the time we finished, Vena and Anchor emerged from the bedroom. His face was flushed, and she was grinning.

“No details,” I said, pushing her toward the stairs before she could say anything.

Anchor drove, which was a good thing since protesters still stood in front of Blur despite it being before ten in the morning. I looked away, fearing someone would recognize me before we turned the corner.

When we pulled in, Griz’s car was already in the employee parking lot. He got out as we parked.

“Are we going to have a problem with them if we go inside?” I asked him.

“We should be in and out before they even realize we’re here,” Griz said, unlocking the back door for us.

The kitchen already smelled like stagnant water and old oil. Thankfully, we never left any food out and always emptied the garbage cans at closing, or it would have been worse.

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