Page 33 of Fetch Me A Mate
Diana accepted the locket, feeling its weight. The silver was warm from being carried close to Miriam's heart.
"I can't take this."
"You're not taking it. You're borrowing it." Miriam's eyes sparkled. "For luck, for courage, for whatever you need tomorrow night. Wear it, love. Let them see you."
The locket settled perfectly at Diana's collarbone, like it had been waiting for her. She fastened the chain with fingers that still carried the scent of beeswax and polish.
"There," Miriam said with satisfaction. "Now you look like an innkeeper."
Rowan arrived at noon with lumber for what he claimed were last-minute repairs, but something was different about him. His usual focused energy felt scattered, his pale eyes constantly scanning windows and doorways like he expected trouble.
"Everything okay?" Diana asked, watching him reinforce a window latch that seemed perfectly functional.
"Fine. Just want everything secure for tomorrow night."
"Secure from what?"
His hands stilled on the latch. "Big crowd. Want to make sure the building can handle it."
The explanation felt hollow. Diana's empathic gift picked up undercurrents of tension from him, waves of protective anxiety that had nothing to do with structural integrity.
"Rowan."
"I need to check the back door." He brushed past her toward the kitchen, tool belt jangling.
Diana followed, finding him installing what appeared to be a third deadbolt on the rear entrance.
"That seems excessive for a community potluck."
"Can't be too careful."
"About what, exactly?" She moved closer, studying his profile in the afternoon light streaming through the kitchen window. "You've been different since yesterday. Jumpy. Like you're expecting something bad to happen."
"Nothing's going to happen." The words came out too quickly, too sharp. "Just want everything perfect for tomorrow night."
The sincerity in his voice was real, but so was the tension radiating from him. Diana wanted to push further, but footsteps on the front porch interrupted the moment.
"That'll be Twyla with the final menu details," Diana said. "We'll finish this conversation later."
"Nothing to finish."
But as Diana headed for the front door, she caught Rowan testing the new deadbolt one more time, his movements precise and professional. Like he was preparing for a siege instead of a social gathering.
Twyla arrived with a notebook full of serving suggestions and a knowing smile. "Final preparations going well?"
"As well as they can with someone acting like we're under attack." Diana glanced toward the kitchen, where the sound of drilling continued. "He's installed enough locks for a bank vault."
"Hmm." Twyla's fae heritage gave her sharper senses than most humans. "Wolves can smell trouble on the wind before anyone else notices. Might be worth listening to his instincts."
"What kind of trouble could threaten a gathering?"
"The kind that makes an alpha pace like a caged animal." Twyla began sketching seating arrangements on her notepad. "He's been wound tight for days. Protective energy rolling off him in waves."
Diana thought about the way Rowan had been watching the windows, testing locks, staying later than necessary to complete repairs that seemed increasingly unnecessary.
"You think he knows something specific?"
"I think he's preparing for something specific. Question is whether he plans to tell you what that is before tomorrow night."
