Page 48 of Moonlight and Mischief
“Would you like to stay and debrief, my friend?” Heath asks Cashel with a genuine smile.
“As I said earlier, what is going on with those two?” Cashel says, gesturing toward the empty seats across from him.
Slate rests his forehead in his palm, elbow propped on the table. “The thing that concerns me the most is how quiet Sienna was.”
Exhaling harshly, I look up to meet Slate’s gaze. “And the fact Ferris was so calm. Aside from that outrageous version of events he spewed, he went along with everything peacefully.”
Cashel’s Gamma, Dell, tips his chair back. “What about Zephyr’s accusations about Nyx?”
“That doesn’t sound like Nyx. She doesn’t like to leave her community. Why would she invade Ironcrest territory? She has more land than she needs already,” Dell says.
Hawthorne nods. “We’ll talk to her and see what’s really going on.”
“Sounds good. Keep me updated.” Cashel stands. “Have a good afternoon, friends.”
As we folded up chairs and prepare to leave, Slate finds me and says, “We agree that was suspicious as fuck right?”
“Yeah, but I have no idea what they’re playing at.”
He shakes his head, walking back to Hazel and kissing her cheek while she chats with Heath. Her warm smile seems to soothe him, reminding me that I have Marigold at home, and I’d like nothing more than to go wrap my arms around her andkiss her, if she’d let me.
10. Breakfast and Border Disputes
MARIGOLD
All the knots came back to my fingers easily, and in the last two days I’ve made a handful of plant hangers. Jasper has a collection of little houseplants in his bedroom, but the light is much better in the living room.
Humming to myself, I screw hooks into the wood planked ceiling and link the loops up. Carefully, I nestle the pots into each, leaving a line of hanging plants along the sunniest window. They should grow much faster now.
I step back and smile. It looks great. Whatelse can I do?
Digging around, I find a pair of sunflower-print throw pillows in the back of the linen closet. They look perfect on the sofa.
Dishes washed, my bed re-made (though I have no intention of returning to it), and books organized by color, I finally sprawl across the sofa and enjoy the late afternoon sunlight pouring in, filtered by the plants.
“That looks great,” Jasper says, stepping in. He holds two dinner plates in his hands. “Hungry?”
I smile contentedly up at him, accepting my plate. His smile is warm, but the tightness around his eyes betrays his worry.
“I hope you don’t mind, I installed the decor you requested as payment,” I say. Jasper rotates one of the plants to inspect the macrame encircling the pot.
“You decided on plant hangers instead of a big wall piece?” he asks.
“You can’t afford a big wall hanging from me,” I say. Sitting up, I reach for his hand and pull him down beside me. His arm goes around my waist automatically and my stomach flips. There’s something in his touch, the way his fingers dig into my skin, that is more possessive than normal. Either he’s more upset than I realized, or we’ve taken our relationship to a new level.
“How was the counsel?” I ask, taking a bite of the lasagna. It’s delicious.
He takes a few bites of his dinner before he shares, “Overall, it went well. But, I don’t know, Ironcrest and Granite Ridge were acting strange.”
I grip the top of his leg, a few inches above the knee. “What do you mean?”
He sighs, sinking back into the cushion and pulling me closer with the motion. Concern over the counsel isn’t enough to keep me from losing myself in the comforting cocoon of his arms.
Eventually, Jasper pulls me out of my reverie. “Well, my parents were really quiet. Didn’t argue at all when Heath brought up an agreement to not steal wolves from other packs.”
“That’s always been against our rules,” I say.
“That hasn’t exactly stopped them in the past.” His grip around me tightens.
