Page 40 of Minions and Magic
“You’ll have to train him,” Cassie said from behind me. “Trust me, it’s a lifelong process.”
“But in the meantime, we’ll help you clean up.” Bronwyn said.
“Absolutely,” Ophelia added.
“I’ll help too, although I can think of a lot better things to ask a hot demon to do for me than getting me a lousy pizza oven.” Sylvie laughed, then led the way.
Chapter 21
Glenda
My sisters tackled the buffet leftovers, while I put out the cakes, pies, and chocolates along with little signs identifying them and their special significance to each alpha. They were a huge hit, and I heard several werewolves from different packs joking about whether they were a “Dallas pie wolf” or a “Clinton cake wolf”. The truffles I’d made in honor of Tink went even faster than the cakes and pies, so I bagged a couple and put them into the pocket of my baggy work pants to take home for Xavier to try.
Only a few hours more, and I’d be home. And for once in my adult life I was going to let all these dirty pans and dishes stay in the van until morning. All I wanted was to see Xavier, to spend some time in his arms. And none of my romantic fantasies included scrubbing pots and pans.
Tink once more made her way to Shelby and Alberta, talking animatedly with the pair of them, and grabbing another werewolf to include in their conversation. I turned to look for Stanley, but didn’t see him. Had he gone home? He’d been over by Petunia just a few minutes ago eating a piece of cake. I knew he felt awkward and unwanted here, and I wouldn’t blame him for sneaking off unnoticed. It made me feel bad that I hadn’t had time to sit with him and at least give him someone to talk to besides a few of the town folk and his boss. Clinton and Dallas hadn’t exactly been warm and fuzzy to the other werewolf, but theyhadwelcomed him and shook his hand. That should have been enough to at least keep him from being snubbed.
But it still had to have been awkward and lonely being surrounded by former pack mates who wouldn’t even speak to him.
Worried, I made my way to Petunia, taking the boar shifter a second piece of caramel apple pie.
“Thank you, Glenda.” He took the pie with a smile. “The food today was real good. I especially liked the fried chicken.”
“If there’s any leftover, I’ll bring some by the shop tomorrow.” I looked around again. “Did Stanley leave? I saw him sitting next to you earlier.”
The boar shifter nodded. “That poor guy can’t catch a break. I know how lonely he gets without his kinfolk around. Me and the other shifters aren’t the same as having wolves to pal around with, especially since he was raised pretty much only knowing werewolves until his teens. I was glad when that wolf came and told him his friend was here and wanted to see him.”
“Bart?” I looked around, but didn’t see either of the werewolves.
“Yeah, Bart. That wolf delivering the message didn’t look too happy about it. I know the pair of them have been keeping it quiet that they’re hanging out together. Stanley told me he made Bart promise not to come to the barbeque, or if he did, not to talk to him. He doesn’t want his friend to be going through the same kind of shunning.” Petunia shook his head. “Don’t understand it all. Boars don’t do that kind of thing, but then again we don’t live in packs either. Just couples and young. Sometimes family gets together for holidays, but most of the time we’re living alone until we find a mate. I try to be sympathetic, but it’s hard to understand when Stanley gets mopey.”
“But Bart told someone? Another werewolf?” None of this made sense, and a chill was beginning to shiver its way down my spine. The two of them had been so careful, and outside of my sisters and I, and Petunia, no one else knew that Bart had remained friends with Stanley after his exile. Had they been discovered? Had someone followed Bart and seen him pick Stanley up from the hospital? Seen him at Stanley’s house the other night?
“What did this werewolf look like?”
Petunia scratched his chin. “They kinda all look the same, you know? Brown hair. Not a lot of beard. I’m assuming it was a female because she had her nails painted real nice. Corvette red.”
I immediately envisioned bright red nails. Red polish. Like red paint. Polish that could have dripped onto a hiking boot and stayed there, a crimson blob on the brown leather. With a hasty good-bye, I left Petunia and ran to where I’d last seen the alphas. Dallas and Clinton were talking to a group of fairies. Without even an apology, I barged right into the middle of them and interrupted a conversation about power tools.
“Is Bart here?” I asked Dallas. “Did he come today? Has anyone seen him?”
I was in near panic, but I didn’t want to make a complete fool of myself and risk exposing Bart and Stanley if I was wrong.
“No. He said he was going fishing.” Dallas shrugged. “Normally I would have insisted he come along and at least stay for an hour, but I know how close he and Stanley were, and I figured he just couldn’t bear to see him yet. I’m hoping he’ll come around soon, but it will take time.”
I tried to steady my breathing. Werewolves were notorious gossips. If one of them had discovered that Bart was sneaking into town to see Stanley, then the entire compound would have known about it—Dallas would have definitely known about it. And the only reason someone would have for keeping such a juicy tidbit of gossip to themselves would be if they had another use for it.
Like to use the information to lure Stanley off into the woods by himself, where he would be unsuspectingly set upon and injured. Killed.
“Who wears red nail polish?” I looked back and forth between Clinton and Dallas.
“I do,” one of the fairies chimed in unhelpfully.
“A werewolf,” I added breathlessly. “What female werewolf with a beard and brown hair wears bright red nail polish?”
Dallas and Clinton exchanged puzzled looks. “Don’t pay much attention to what nail color a woman’s got on,” the elder alpha said.
Crap. There was one werewolf who might have paid attention, a werewolf alpha who loved make-up and a good mani-pedi. I left Dallas and Clinton just as abruptly as I’d arrived and raced over to where Tink was chatting with Adrienne and Ophelia.
