Page 44 of Death and Divination
Chapter 15
Ophelia
Imade a quick call to Bronwyn on my way to Shelby and Alberta’s, just to see if anyone had gone across the wards. Few things would cause a disruption in the wards, and Bronwyn was particularly susceptible to a break in our perimeters, but I wasn’t sure if her witchy senses tingled when folks came and went or not.
“You’ve got to be joking me,” she said. “Do you know how annoying that would be? Every time someone ran out to the mall, or your crew responded to an accident on the highway, or the wolves chased a deer past the wards? It would be like a non-stop buzzing in my head.”
“People don’t cross the wards that often,” I corrected her. Bronwyn was prone to exaggeration. Normally it was cute, but not today.
“There’s nothing forbidding anyone from leaving the town,” she reminded me. “But I doubt she left. Remember the risk residents take when they live outside the wards. If this werewolf was fleeing a mating, she’d be better off running to Cassie for sanctuary in the town. She’s safer in Accident than trying to live as a lone wolf outside the wards.”
Bronwyn was right. Outside, Tink would risk exposure to humans as well as other werewolf packs. “So, she’s probably still within the wards.”
“She’s probably still within the compound. Or, at the very least, on the mountain. There are plenty of places up there for her to hide, and I’m sure she’s got friends in the pack that would be sympathetic. Not everyone who accepts Dallas as the alpha is on board with everything he says and does.”
“But they could track her,” I countered. “If she was on the mountain, why wouldn’t Dallas just sniff her out? Or her mother? Actually, why didn’t her mother go furry and track her down before going to Dallas and admitting her daughter bolted?”
Bronwyn snorted. “Hell, if I know. Maybe Dallas is reluctant to go drag a woman home by her hair like some Neanderthal. Wouldn’t be good for his image to look like he had to force a female to mate with him. It’s probably better for him to act like nothing’s wrong and he’s not bothered, like she’s just off hunting or at a spa weekend or her bachelorette party.”
I pulled off the road just before the bridge and parked, thinking to myself that Bronwyn was probably right.
“Hey, I’ll call you back later,” I told her as I got out of my car and headed down the dirt path that led under the bridge and to the tiny house Shelby shared with Alberta.
Shelby answered the door and ushered me inside. Alberta was cutting onions and turnips in the kitchenette. The three of us filled the small house. I sat, feeling claustrophobic, my eyes watering from the onion aroma.
“Did you find her?” Shelby asked, twisting her hands together. “Is she okay?”
“She’s welcome to stay here if she needs to,” Alberta chimed in. “We’ve got plenty of room.”
They didn’t, but I got the idea that in troll terms, Alberta’s house was McMansion sized.
“Do you have any idea who Tink’s mom wanted her to marry?” I asked Shelby. “Who is the suitor?”
“She didn’t tell me.”
“I think it’s Dallas.” I explained all the reasons why I thought that as well as the results of my visit to Dallas and to Clinton.
“It makes sense,” Shelby said. “Except most female werewolves would be honored and delighted to mate with Dallas.”
“Would you?” I asked.
“Uh, no. But I’m in love with someone else,” Shelby said with a quick smile behind her at Alberta. “Before I fell in love, I…well, I probably wouldn’t have beenthrilledto marry Dallas, but it would have been a good career move, so to speak. Mate to the pack alpha? Instant respect and obedience, plus just about anything my heart desired.”
“Except for a faithful spouse,” I countered.
She grimaced. “That, and Dallas can be a bit of an ass. Jump when he says jump. Do whatever he wants without hesitation. That sort of thing. He’s not someone you want to anger, so his mate can forget about ever asserting her opinion on anything or standing up to him if she disagrees. It would be a life of submissive agreement, although I guess she could take out her frustrations on the other wolves in the pack.”
“Until they complain enough to Dallas that he decides he needs to set his mate straight,” Alberta commented. “You would have lasted five seconds as his mate, my feisty wolf-girl.”
I grimaced, realizing that I needed to finish up this visit because I got the idea there was going to be some sex going on here real soon, and that wasn’t something I wanted to see.
“Where would Tink have gone?” I asked. “I’m worried about her—more worried than I was when you came to see me at the diner. She’s been gone since last night.”
“Ruby and Dallas probably aren’t going to hunt for her unless she’s gone long enough to raise suspicions about his prowess as a lady killer.” Shelby shrugged. “I’m assuming she’s safe for now, and that she’ll come to me or Cassie if she needs help. I was worried her mother had her locked away but sounds like she’s run off and found someone to help her.”
Alberta walked over and wrapped an arm around Shelby’s shoulder. “Dinner’s almost ready. We’ve got a few moments if you’d like to…”
And I was out of there. “Let me know if you hear anything from Tink,” I told Shelby as I headed for the door. She didn’t answer me as she was now lip-locked with her troll. I was just happy that I’d gotten out of the house just in time.
The werewolf thing was a bust. It probably had nothing to do with my visions in spite of what I’d told Dallas and Clinton. Tink was most likely holed up in a friend’s spare room. I still had the rest of the day free and I intended to use it to check in on my sister, then to spend the remaining daylight hours getting to know Nash better.
And after the sun set? I thought of Alberta and Shelby locked in a passionate embrace and decided that maybe, just maybe, my evening would include some lovemaking of my own.
