“…right, Victoria?” Ziamara asked.

  I shook my head to clear my thoughts, turned to the vampire, and smiled. “Of course.”

  “I told you she wasn’t listening.”

  My face burned. “Sorry. Can you blame me for being lost in my own world? I’ve had to go through so much to finally plan this wedding. First, I died—”

  “Let’s not talk about that.” My mom handed me a magazine. “Look at these bridesmaids’ dresses. I need to check on the stew.” She hurried over to the stove.

  “I miss Soleil.” Ziamara sighed.

  “Me, too,” I agreed. The pack was noticeably duller without her quirky humor. For being an angel of death, she sure brought a lot of light into our pack. “She’ll be back soon, though. Once she gets over her mourning period.”

  Zia frowned. “But won’t being here just remind her of all she’s lost?”

  My heart constricted thinking about the recent loss of Brick, Toby’s best friend. “It would do her good to spend some time with Toby. Nobody was closer to Brick than those two.”

  The aroma of the stew wafted over.

  “Is that ready?” I asked.

  “Just about.” Mom continued stirring. “You want some now?”

  My stomach rumbled. “Yeah.”

  “Grab some bowls, would you, hon?”

  Stella jumped up. “I’ll get them.”

  I flipped absentmindedly through more pages of the magazine. The wolf essence stone had two conflicting rumors—that it had been destroyed in a fire, and another that if destroyed, it would kill all werewolves. I believed the second to be true. So many had gone to find it, but none had lived to share their tales.

  Since it could wipe us all out, werewolves were far from the only species in search of it. I’d done some digging since first hearing about it, and many supernatural creatures had gone in search of it—vampires, witches, mesmers, and djinn to name only a few. Tap even spoke of a secret werewolf society dedicated to finding it.

  The fact that we had a secret society after it made me think that it held more secrets than just the possibility of killing us. Alex, one of our wolfborns—those who could only turn human during the full moon—had told me the stone was a double-edged sword. It could probably grant us a lot of power. If our pack had it, not only could we shift whenever we wanted, but we could probably overpower anyone who stood against us. We could quit losing members fighting other packs—we’d lost a young wolf named Dillon when standing against my old pack, and we’d lost Brick when fighting Toby’s old pack. The madness had to stop.

  Stella placed a large bowl of steaming stew in front of me.

  “Thank you.” I dug in too fast and burned my tongue.

  As we ate, Ziamara and Stella discussed music. I nodded as each made her point. It didn’t matter to me if harpists, violinists, or even a heavy metal band played. I just wanted to marry Toby and then find that stone so everyone else could shift at will.

  I scanned the magazines lying open in the middle of the table, and my gaze landed on one in the middle. The bride wore a large, beautiful red stone around her neck.

  “Oh! I think she likes something.” Zia smiled. “That one?”

  “It’s gorgeous.” It made me wonder what the wolf essence stone would look like around my neck, hanging just above my wedding gown. The dress would be white, so no matter what the color of the stone, it would match.

  My mom grabbed the magazine. “I like how this one sits just off her shoulders. Do you want this one?”

  I stared at the model’s necklace and nodded.

  She tore the page out of the magazine. “I’m going to get to work on this right away. It’s going to take several hours just to sew all those sequins.”

  “Wait.” Ziamara pulled out her phone. “Let me get a picture of that to add to the wedding pin board.”

  My mom held it out and Zia snapped a few pictures. “Perfect.” She turned to me. “Toby doesn’t know about the board, right?”

  I shook my head.

  “Good. Don’t tell him—not now that we have the dress picked out.”

  Mom kissed the top of my head and scurried out of the room, humming.

  “I can’t believe you finally picked something,” Stella said.

  “Well, you can’t be too picky about these things. Not after how long we’ve had to wait.”

  My phone rang. I glanced next to the pile of magazines to see Toby’s smiling face on the screen. My stomach flip-flopped. He still had the same effect on me as the first time I’d seen him. I accepted the call.

  “Hi, Toby,” I answered with a song in my tone.

  “My sweetness. Do you want to meet me at the Faeble? Tap wants to discuss decorations.”

  “You have to ask if I want to meet you?” I teased.

  “I don’t want to interrupt whatever you ladies are doing.”

  “You can interrupt me anytime you want.”

  Stella and Ziamara exchanged an amused expression.

  “In that case, I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

  “I’ll be there.” I smacked my lips, sending him a kiss through the phone.

  He repeated the gesture. “I love you.”

  “Not as much as I love you.”

  “We’ll have to agree to disagree.”

  “I can live with that. See you in a few.” I ended the call.

  Stella rested her chin in her palm and sighed. “I can see why you don’t care about the details.”

  My heart fluttered. “I’ll see you girls in a while.”

  “Have fun.” Stella grinned.

  “But not too much fun,” Zia teased.

  I balled up a napkin and threw it at her. On the way out, I checked my reflection in a mirror. Then I ran as fast as my feet would take me into the snow-covered woods. I hated how much slower I was in human form. Luckily, I could change at will—all I needed to do was get upset or excited. Any high emotion would do. And since I hadn’t shifted in a while, it should be easy. I ran behind a tree, hiding from the often-traveled path, pulled off my clothes, and tucked them out of sight for later. The snow chilled my feet to the bone.

  Closing my eyes, I thought of my wedding day and our mysterious honeymoon location, known only to Toby. How wonderful it would be to finally marry the love of my life. The exhilaration would be second to none.

  A rib cracked and then another. I cried out in pain, but not even that could pull me from the joy of my thoughts. Bones cracked, popped, and finally broke as I turned into a wolf. I looked up to the sky and howled before bursting into a run. The more I thought of Toby, the faster my legs took me.

  Once at the supernatural bar in the middle of the woods, I trotted to the back where plenty of shifters left spare clothes. I closed my eyes, shifted back to human form, and found the cubby with mine. I picked out the cutest outfit and quickly dressed.

  Inside, I sniffed the air. It appeared that I had gotten there before Toby. I headed over to the bar and sat next to another shifter, who sat stirring the straw back and forth in her drink. She seemed lost in thought. A fishy scent emanated from her.

  I gave her a double take. Could she be a mermaid? I’d only ever heard rumors about them.

  “Look who’s here.” Tap grinned at me. He stepped up onto his platform behind the bar and stood at my level. “I’ve asked a couple of my sisters to help with transforming this place into a proper wedding venue. Hope you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all. I’d love to meet your relatives.”

  He chuckled. “They may be tiny, but they can be forceful. Just don’t let them overwhelm you.”

  “I won’t.” I leaned over the bar and lowered my voice. “Have you heard anything new about the stone?”

  Tap’s face paled. “I told you to forget about that thing.”

  Behind him, Quinn paused and watched us.

  “But it can cure our curse.”

  He scowled. “It can also kill you all. Or just you if you don’t find a way to lose that fever. It never ends well for anyone with that look in their eyes.”

  We stared each other down.

  “I’m serious, Victoria. Just focus on your wedding. The witches can find a workaround—I’m sure of it. The high witch is a personal friend. Forget the stone.”

  Quinn hadn’t moved, and he arched a brow. He knew something.

  I took a deep breath. “Tell me what your sisters have in mind.”

  There was no way I would stop thinking about the wolf essence stone. If I had to come by when Tap wasn’t around, I’d find out what I needed to know from Quinn one way or another.

  Chapter 106

  Toby

  My heart skipped a beat when I saw Victoria. She sat at the bar, talking with a female mesmer who sat next to her. It was hard to believe how close we were to having our wedding.

  I crept over to her, hoping my scent wouldn’t give me away, and stopped just behind her. Then I reached around and covered her eyes. “Guess who.”

  She spun around and stared adoringly into my eyes. “I don’t need to guess.”

  “Good.” I pulled her to standing and pressed my mouth against hers, taking in her sweet scent. “I missed you so much.”

  “Not more than I missed you.”

  “You just saw her two hours ago,” Sal teased.

  I tossed a playful smirk at my old friend and pack guard.

  Victoria turned my chin back to her and ran her palm over my stubble, staring hungrily into my eyes. I pulled her close, feeling her every curve against me and kissed her deeply. Our tongues danced together as though they were made for each other.

  “Get a room,” Jet said. Something soft hit the side of my head.

  I cracked open one eye and arched a brow at my assistant alpha. Easy for him to say—he was already married and expecting a rare werewolf-vampire hybrid baby.

  He laughed.

  “We have rooms downstairs if you need one,” Quinn, Tap’s assistant, said.

  I forced myself away from my fiancée. “That won’t be necessary. We’re waiting for our wedding night.”

  Jet snickered. “If you two last.”

  Victoria pulled off my scarf and threw it at him.

  “Thank you.” I kissed her cheek.

  “Want me to do that again?”

  “As much as I’d love to say yes, Tap wants to discuss decorations.”

  Tap came around the corner, carrying a tray of empty glasses. “My sisters, who will be in charge of that, have been held up. Why don’t you two write them some notes? Then they can get started as soon as they arrive.”

  “Sounds good to me.” I turned to Victoria. “Should we sit at a private table, away from the heckler?” I glanced over at Jet.

  He laughed. “With as much as you’ve teased Zia and me, you have it coming.”

  Victoria laced her fingers through mine. “Yes, let’s.”

  “Don’t leave out a single detail,” Tap said. “If you do, those sisters of mine will fill in the gaps—and I can’t guarantee you’ll like what they come up with.”

  “We won’t.” Victoria pulled me to a little booth in the back corner.

  I slid next to her and put my arm around her. “I’m the happiest man in the world.”

  “Then marry me now. We won’t have to worry about all these details.”

  “These details are what’s going to make the best wedding—the one you deserve. You forget I’ve developed patience. Besides, what would I tell them at work if I took my vacation early?”

  “You’re smart.” She raked her fingers through my hair. “You’ll think of something.”

  I laughed. “Speaking of my job, I need to be there in the morning, so let’s get this figured out.”

  “You’re no fun.” She pouted, but her eyes shone with playfulness.

  “Then why do you want to marry me?”

  She looked me over. “Because you look like this.”

  Euphoria ran through me. I pulled her close, kissed her deeply, and ran my fingers through the length of her hair.

  Victoria gasped for air. “And because you kiss me like that.”

  I traced her jawline and let my thumb linger near her lower lip. “You mean like this?” I kissed her again, this time with more passion.

  “Hey, now,” came Tap’s voice. “Customers are starting to complain.”

  Victoria pulled away. “No, they’re not.”

  Tap grinned and slid a couple drinks and a pad of paper to us. “You’re right. I forgot to mention you’ll need to write everything down on paper. My family isn’t big on technology. Need a pen?”

  I reached into my inside coat pocket and found one. “Nope. Thanks for all this.”

  “Think nothing of it. I’ll be glad to finally see you two married. I’ve seen a lot in my lifetime, and never before have I seen a couple face so many obstacles over so many years. And with you both being such good people, no less.”

  Victoria snuggled closer to me. “It’ll make our happily ever after that much better.”

  “I’m sure it will.” Tap smiled and headed for another table.

  “You want to write?” I asked Victoria. “Your penmanship is so much better than my chicken scratch.”

  “It isn’t that bad.” She took the pen from me. “Do you have any flower preferences?”

  “I’ve always liked lilies. They come in so many colors. What do you think?”

  “They’re beautiful.” She wrote on the paper. “Anything else?”

  “What about what you want?”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll add my preferences to the list.”

  We discussed flowers, candles, tablecloths, lighting, food, and other details until my head spun and my stomach growled.

  She pressed her palm against my stomach. “We’d better take care of that. My mom made stew. Or would you rather eat here?”

  My mouth watered. “You had me at homemade stew.”

  “Let’s head back, then.” She held up the pad of paper. “Hopefully this is enough for Tap’s sisters.”

  I flipped through the pages. “We have five pages of notes. It’d better be enough.”

  Tap came by. “Done already?”

  Victoria kissed my cheek. “We have to get this one home to eat.”

  “I have food.”

  “Homemade stew?” I arched a brow.

  He shook his head, took the pad, and glanced at the notes. “Quick fixins only. If my sisters have any questions, I’ll let you know.”

  “Thanks, Tap. For everything.” I helped Victoria out of the booth.

  “If I run into trouble, you know who I’m calling.”

  “Unless we’re on our honeymoon.” Victoria grinned and handed me my jacket.

  I slid it on and turned back to Tap. “You haven’t heard from Soleil, have you?”

  He frowned and shook his head. “A valkyrie in mourning could take a long time to heal.”

  “Any idea where she went?” Victoria asked. “She left her phone in her room back at Moonhaven, so we have no way of contacting her.”

  He put his hand on her arm. “She’ll come back when she’s ready.”

  Victoria nodded, her eyes full of sadness. “I really want her to be a part of the wedding. She’s been such a big part of everything, you know?”

  “I’m sure she’d love to, but she really needs this time. I know it doesn’t always seem like it, but her kind feels everything deeply. If I do hear from her, I’ll be sure to let her know about the wedding.”

  A crash sounded in another room.

  Tap groaned. “One of these days, I’m going to implement a ‘no mesmers’ rule.”

  “Can’t you just tell them to keep their powers to themselves?” Victoria asked.

  He shook his head. “It’s all or nothing with those guys, and you get a group of them together—it’s pure chaos. The ability to manipulate objects and people with their minds makes every last one of them obnoxious and conceited to the point of—”

  Another crash sounded, this time followed by laughter.

  “I gotta go.” Tap ran off.

  “Poor guy.” Victoria turned to me. “Think we should help him?”

  “Nah. He knows what he’s doing.” I put some cash on the table for the drinks and took her hand.

  Glass shattered in the other room, followed by Tap cursing someone out.

  I held back a laugh. “Ready to head home? Wait, don’t you have a jacket?”

  “I did.”

  “Did it catch fire or something?”

  She laughed. “No. I was eager to see you, so I shifted and ran here.”

  “You’re going to freeze walking in the snow without a coat.” I slid off my jacket.

  “No. Then you’ll freeze. I could shift again.”

  “Not twice in one day. It’s too hard on your body, my sweetness.”

  She shrugged. “I could see if someone else left one in a cubby outside.”

  “And have some shifter angry with us? No. Tell me where you left your clothes and I’ll bring them back here.”

  “Are you sure? That’s a lot of trouble.”

  I kissed her forehead. “It’s better than you getting sick.”

  “You didn’t get sick after running through the snow in the buff recently.” She arched a brow.

  “Let’s not argue, sweetness. I’m not going to risk you getting sick before the wedding.” I pressed my lips against hers. “Where did you leave your clothes?”

  She explained where she left them—practically at Moonhaven.

  “I’m definitely not letting you run that far without a jacket. I’ll be back in a few.”

  “Hurry.” She pressed her palms against my chest and kissed me deeply.

  Chapter 107

  Victoria

  I sat at the bar and watched Quinn make drinks at lightning speed. He didn’t look my way once.

  “What do you know about the stone?”

  He nearly dropped the glass in his hand, but caught it. “What?”

  “I saw you watching Tap and me discuss it. What do you know?”

  Quinn placed half a dozen glasses on a tray. “I’ve got to get these to a group of harpies. If I piss them off, we’ll find ourselves buried under twelve feet of snow.”