“They can really cause storms?”

  “You’d better believe it.” He hurried away.

  I grabbed a napkin and folded it into the shape of a heart. Quinn wasn’t going to get out of telling me what he knew that easily. He had to come back to the bar some time.

  A few minutes later, he did. He tried to ignore me.

  “What do you know?” I demanded.

  He stared at me. “That anyone with that expression only finds trouble. You have the fever.”

  “I just want the stone.”

  “Exactly.” He mixed a rainbow-colored drink.

  “You know something.”

  “Focus on your wedding.”

  Anger burned in my gut. “Just tell me what you know.”

  He shook his head.

  “I knew you were holding back! What is it?”

  Quinn looked around and walked over to me and lowered his voice. “I’m on break in ten minutes. Meet me outside.”

  My pulse raced. Would that give us enough time, or would Toby be back by then?

  “It’s that or nothing. Tap can’t know.”

  “Why doesn’t he want you to—?”

  “Zip it. Ten minutes.” He hurried away with another full tray of glasses.

  My mind raced. What could Quinn know? Had he overheard something important? The Faeble was where Alex had learned about the stone. It seemed to be a place where shifters stopped while on their quest to find it.

  The bigger question was why Tap wouldn’t want me to know. It had to be huge. What if Tap knew its location? He kept a great many supernatural secrets.

  Finally, Quinn came back and set a tray of empty glasses down. “Hurry. But don’t go out with me.”

  I nodded. He walked away. I counted to twenty before heading to the back door as nonchalantly as possible. Tap was too busy arguing with the mesmers to notice me.

  Outside, Quinn stood under a tree, smoking a cigarette.

  “You smoke?”

  “You kill animals,” he quipped.

  “When I’m in wolf form.”

  He blew out a smoke ring. “Po-tay-to, po-tah-to.”

  “What’s with you?”

  “By telling you this I’m risking the wrath of a former troll king and several strong werewolf alphas.”

  I tilted my head. “Toby doesn’t want me knowing?”

  “He wants to focus on the wedding, but there are also other wolves after the stone. Ones who’ve threatened me if I share what I’ve overheard.”

  “What have you heard?”

  Quinn took a long drag and closed his eyes. Then he blew it out and stepped closer to me. “You didn’t hear this from me.”

  “Of course not.”

  He stepped closer, dropped the cigarette, and stepped on it. “The last group that came through was headed to Iceland.”

  My eyes widened. It made sense. The land where all things supernatural began. “What else did they say?”

  Quinn leaned closer. “Let’s just say they were following a hot, reliable lead.”

  “Do you know where in Iceland?”

  “It’s not that big of a place. I’m sure you can figure it out from there. You’re a lot smarter than those jerks.”

  “If they’re so stupid, why do you believe them?”

  “Because they’re greedy bastards.” He checked his watch. “I gotta get back inside. Iceland. That’s a helluva lot more than you had ten minutes ago.”

  My pulse raced. “Thanks, Quinn.”

  “Don’t mention it—seriously.”

  “I won’t.”

  He rushed inside. I paced, my mind racing. Snowflakes began to fall. I shivered, realizing how cold I was, and went inside. Loud laughter sounded from the mesmers’ tables. When I got to the bar, a cup of coffee sat in front of an empty stool.

  “That’s for you,” Quinn said. “It’ll warm you up.”

  “Thanks.” I cupped the warm mug and sipped. How would I get to Iceland? It wasn’t like I could just hop on a plane or jump into my Bentley. I’d also have to get there without anyone noticing my absence. I scoured my mind for ideas.

  If only Soleil hadn’t taken off. She could teleport. But she wasn’t the only one who could travel instantaneously. The witches could travel with runes. Gessilyn’s coven came from Iceland—they had to have runes placed all over the country. Maybe one of them could help me out. That was probably my best bet, assuming they weren’t sick of helping us out. It seemed like we were constantly calling them.

  After a while, someone touched my shoulder, and I jumped, nearly falling off the stool.

  “Whoa, there.” Toby kissed my cheek. His hair was speckled white from the snow. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “Sorry. I was deep in thought.” I brushed the flakes from his hair.

  “No need for apologies.” He looked at me adoringly and held out my coat. “I put the rest of the clothes in your cubby out back.”

  I shoved aside my thoughts of the stone and smiled. “What did I ever do to deserve someone as wonderful as you?”

  “I ask myself the same thing all the time. I am pretty great, aren’t I?” He winked.

  “You’re hilarious.” I shoved him playfully and snatched my jacket from him.

  He kissed my nose. “I like to think so. You ready to go home?”

  “Definitely.”

  Something crashed at the other end of the bar.

  Toby glanced that way. “The mesmers still giving Tap trouble?”

  “Sounds like it.” I zipped my coat and slid my hand into his. We went outside. Fat, white flakes poured from the sky.

  “It looks like we could have a blizzard.”

  My stomach twisted. Had Quinn upset the harpies by going outside with me?

  Toby turned to me. “It’s romantic, don’t you think?”

  I pictured the twelve feet of snow Quinn had predicted. “It would be more romantic at home.”

  Hunger filled Toby’s eyes. “Anywhere you are is romantic.” He pressed me against the building and wrapped himself around me. “The quiet of the snow only intensifies it.”

  I was overcome by my love for him. I wrapped a leg around him and brushed my lips across his and then trailed kisses to his ear. He shivered, and I nibbled on the lobe. He moved his hands to the back of my neck and turned my head. He stared at me for a moment before anchoring his mouth to mine and devouring it with sweeping strokes of his tongue. I shuddered and gasped for air. “Still don’t like the idea of eloping?”

  He ran his thumb across my lips. “Nope. But we really should get home. The flakes are coming down even faster now.”

  I took a deep breath and glanced to the side. The flurries had intensified. Hopefully, Quinn could appease the harpies.

  Toby laced his fingers through mine, and we ran through the heavy snowfall until we reached a thicker part of the woods, but even there plenty of snow made it through the forest.

  At last, Moonhaven came to view.

  Chapter 108

  Toby

  A nightmare woke me with a start. Gasping for air, I bolted upright. Sweat drenched my hair and dripped toward my eyes. I wiped it away and took a deep breath. Despite having just woken, my nightmare was nothing more than a blur. But the feelings lingered—terror and trepidation.

  At least it had only been a dream. I lay back down and closed my eyes. My body trembled, making me unable to shake the unease. After tossing and turning, it became clear sleep wouldn’t come. I pulled on an old hoodie, slid into sweats, and headed downstairs.

  Light shone from underneath Victoria’s door. What was she doing up at this hour? Had she had a nightmare, too?

  I rapped lightly on the door. Then I knocked a little louder.

  “Victoria?”

  Silence.

  “I’m coming in.”

  No response.

  Dread squeezed me, but I pushed it aside. My nerves were already on edge from my nightmare. I turned the knob and let the door open on its own.

  “Victoria?”

  Nothing.

  I walked in, covering my eyes until they adjusted to the light. Victoria lay sleeping on her bed next to her laptop. The browser had several tabs—I assumed wedding sites. But the open one had information about the wolf essence stone.

  My stomach twisted in tight knots. She was growing obsessed with it. I clicked the other tabs—all were about the stone, except one that had facts about Iceland. Shaking my head, I closed the computer, and set it on her desk. She didn’t stir.

  I brushed some hair from her face and kissed the corner of her eye. “Victoria?”

  Her eyelids fluttered, but she didn’t wake.

  “Let’s get you covered.” I slid my arm underneath her back and moved her to a pillow. Then I pulled the covers from under her and tucked her in. “Sweet dreams.”

  She mumbled something and rolled onto her side.

  I turned off the light on my way out and headed downstairs to the kitchen for a late snack. The mansion was quiet—even our resident vampire slept now that she was expecting. I stuck a piece of cherry pie in the microwave and found some vanilla ice cream in the back of the freezer.

  As I ate, I watched out the window as snow continued falling. It was in moments like this that I missed my best friend the most. We’d had so many late-night talks over the years—sometimes talking for hours on end and other times sitting in silence. The silence around me without him was suffocating.

  Who could I talk to about my worries? Though Victoria tried to hide it, I could tell she thought about the stone often. Sometimes in the middle of a conversation, her eyes would glaze over and she would go into her own world for a while.

  She also tried to cover up the dark circles under her eyes with makeup, but I could see past that, too.

  We both needed our best friends. Mine was gone, but I could at least try to find Soleil for her. That would require a locator spell, and unfortunately, that wasn’t something I could run.

  I reached for my phone, but realized it was up in my room. Maybe that was for the best. It’d be pretty rude to call anyone at this hour.

  Just as I rose to wash my plate, Carter came in, rubbing his eyes, and wearing only green plaid pajama pants and blue flip-flops.

  “Morning.” I went to the sink.

  “Barely,” he mumbled.

  “What are you doing up?” I rinsed my plate.

  “Weird dream.”

  I dropped the plate. It clattered against some dishes.

  “You okay?” He opened the fridge and pulled out a jug of milk.

  “What was your dream about?”

  He scratched his head. “Something about Iceland? Everything faded as soon as I woke up.”

  “Yeah, same here.”

  Carter gave me a double-take. “That’s weird.”

  “It sure is.” I leaned against the counter. Carter and I both had bad dreams, his was about Iceland, and Victoria had been looking at a site about Iceland before falling asleep.

  “What are you thinking?” He downed a full glass of milk.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “What was your dream about?”

  “I can’t remember any of it.”

  He poured himself more milk. “Think it means something? The fact that we both had a nightmare at the same time?”

  “And that Victoria had fallen asleep looking at a site about Iceland.”

  Carter turned to me and his eyes widened. The milk flowed over the edge of his glass.

  “Hey—your milk.”

  He pulled the jug away. I handed him the roll of paper towels. He wiped the counter. “Serious? She was looking at something about Iceland?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What could it mean?”

  “Anything. Nothing.”

  Carter tossed the wet paper towels into the garbage. “Too bad Soleil isn’t here. Seems like she might know something.”

  “She would, but we can’t reach her.”

  “You should call one of the witches.”

  “At this hour?” I shook my head.

  “What if it’s an emergency? Why else would we both be up?”

  “Could be a warning. Or a coincidence.”

  He arched a brow. “You really think that?”

  “It’s possible.”

  “No, it isn’t. And you know it.”

  “Unlikely, but possible.”

  “So, what are you going to do about it, alpha?”

  “Not make any rash decisions. I’m all too aware of how badly that can go after dealing with my father.”

  “He and his evil pack are dead, though. Victoria’s alive. It all worked out.”

  Spoken like a typical young shifter. I held back an eye roll and held his gaze. “I made rash decisions—decisions I regret. Brick is dead. We’re lucky it’s only him. I put too many people I care about in danger.”

  “Your father threatened to wipe us out. Nobody blames you for Brick, or for anything. Least of all, Victoria.”

  “Thanks.” I turned from him and scrubbed my pie dish.

  “You should at least think about calling the witches.”

  “Okay.” I cleaned all the dishes in the sink. From the looks of it, several people had eaten late snacks. The kitchen grew so quiet, I thought Carter had slipped out, but when I turned around, he stood in the same spot.

  “Did you decide?”

  “About calling them?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Not at this hour.”

  He glanced up at the clock. “Isn’t this witching hour? Three?”

  “For witches that are up to no good. I’ll call them first thing in the morning.”

  His mouth formed a straight line. “It’s your decision.”

  Footsteps thundered down the stairs. Carter and I exchanged a wide-eyed glance.

  Jet ran into the kitchen, gasping for air.

  “What’s wrong?” I demanded.

  He leaned against the wall, continuing to breathe heavily, and looked around with wild eyes.

  “You okay?” Carter asked.

  Jet took a minute to calm his breathing. “It was only a dream.”

  “What was it?” I exclaimed.

  He stared at me. “It was a ferocious werewolf.”

  “In Iceland?” Carter asked.

  Jet’s mouth dropped. “How’d you know?”

  “Lucky guess.” Carter threw a knowing expression at me.

  “I’ll call Gessilyn.”

  Jet gave me a double-take. “Because I had a dream?”

  “Because we all had nightmares, and this is the third time tonight Iceland has come up. I’ll be right back.” I ran up to my room, skipping two steps at a time, and grabbed my phone from the nightstand. Pacing, I called Frida. Gessilyn was all but unreachable these days.

  “Hello?” Frida sounded groggy.

  “I’m sorry if I woke you. This is Toby, by the way.”

  She yawned. “What do you need?”

  I explained the dreams and Victoria’s Icelandic tab.

  “I’m really sorry. I wish one of us could help. We’ve been up for three days straight. I’m surprised I even heard the phone, honestly.”

  Disappointment washed through me. “I understand. I shouldn’t have called at this hour. Do you have any ideas, though?”

  “Not being this exhausted. I’d ask Victoria about her tab if I were you. If I think of anything, I’ll give you a call. Might be a couple days.”

  “I appreciate it.”

  “Talk to you soon.” The call ended.

  I stuffed my phone into my hoodie’s pocket and headed back downstairs.

  “What’d they say?” Jet asked.

  “They can’t help us.”

  “Now what are we going to do?” Carter asked.

  “I know a guy,” I said. “But it’ll have to wait until morning. I suggest you both get some sleep. Tomorrow’s going to be busy.”

  Chapter 109

  Victoria

  I folded Toby’s note and put it in the drawer with all the others. He, Jet, and Carter were likely to be gone all day—doing what, he didn’t say. It probably had to do with wedding preparations.

  That meant I had some time to myself to keep looking into the stone. It took a lot of time to find anything, but at least I was making progress. Nobody seemed to know anything, and what little information was available was hidden online. Everything was shrouded with secret code words—the key one being Fenrisúlfr, which as far as I could tell was what the Icelandic werewolves called the stone.

  I glanced around the room, trying to figure out where my laptop was—I’d been so tired, I couldn’t remember climbing under my covers. Finally, I spotted it and sat with it on my bed.

  Knock, knock.

  I jumped and closed my laptop. “Come in.”

  Zia came in, her multi-colored mane sticking out in all directions. She had dark bands under her eyes. “Do you know where the guys went?”

  “No, just that they’re probably going to be gone all day. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” She sat on the bed, yawned, and rubbed her belly. “I wonder what’s up. Jet left a note but didn’t wake me.”

  “Same with Toby. Maybe they still have to finish getting fitted for the tuxes.” I shrugged and eyed my laptop, wanting to read more about the stone. “They’re fine. If it was urgent, they’d have told us.”

  “Why do you keep looking at your computer?”

  My mind raced for an excuse—anything other than the stone. “Jewelry. I need to find the perfect necklace to go with my gown.”

  “Show me what you have.”

  Crap. I didn’t have a single tab open for wedding stuff. “How about breakfast? We need to keep you fed—you’re eating for two now.”

  Ziamara rubbed her eyes. “I am pretty hungry. We can talk wedding stuff downstairs.”

  I jumped up from the bed and helped her up. “How are you feeling? Do you have any way of knowing if you’re getting close?”

  “Everyone tells me I’ll know. So far, I’m just tired. Seems like I get more tired each day.”

  “That makes sense. The little hybrid is growing fast.”

  “My mother wants me to make a trip to the castle so her doctor can look me over.”