Page 106 of Oracles Always Win

Ishuddered at the idea of anyone interviewing ghosts.Theexistence of ghosts was one of the many things my mother had kept from me.ThemoreIthought about it, the more it freaked me out to think of anyone talking to dead people.Andthe fact that they were just hanging around the place?Watchingme?Nope.Ididn’t want to go there.

Vanhesitated, his gaze darting toHayden. “Wefound a few phones and computers with information implicating some of them.Thoseare the ones we arrested.And… we found a shack with five people trapped inside.Theywere in cages.”

Shockrippled through the group.

“Sothe wolf pack is connected to our investigation.”Gage’sskin and eyes took on a crimson color as his anger rose. “Weneed to talk to those people.”

“Theysay they weren’t there long, but…”Vanshuddered. “Althoughthey don’t appear to have any physical injuries, they’re inDoc’scare for now.Hopefullythey’ll remember more after they’ve rested.”

“Ican’t figure out what in the name ofMagiche was thinking to do something so… so…”Haydenrubbed the heels of his hands against his eyes.

“We’llkeep searching for answers,”Gagesaid.

Van,Dillon, andAdrianstepped closer toHaydenuntil they were touching him.Didthis have something to do with them callingHaydenalpha?Wasthis a shifter thing?Asort of two-legged puppy pile?Thecloseness of the others seemed to relaxHaydena little, so it must have worked.

Onthe other side of the group,Jeremywas watching the interaction carefully while taking notes in one of his many, many books.

“Okay,”Isaacsaid as he clapped his hands. “That’senough of that.Todaywasn’t a victory, but we all survived.Ourillustrious leader has found his mate and his place.And, while the newlyweds have been canoodling in the motorhome all afternoon,I’vebeen talking with some of the locals, and we have a plan for how to fix up the inn.SoIsuggest we put today behind us and think about the future.”

“Yes,”Jeremyagreed as he tucked his notebook and pen into his pocket. “Let’sdo this!Someonecrank up some tunes.It’stime to celebrate, because did you see my magic today?Thatshit was amazing!”Thenhe started bouncing around while singingPink’s“GetthePartyStarted” at the top of his lungs.

Iwanted to know what had been said about the inn, but there’d be time for that later.Istayed byGage’sside—althoughIsuspected he would follow me anywhereIwent—as we watchedDillonandAshstart a bonfire in the middle of my gravel parking lot.

Andas the flames grew higher like a beacon of hope at the end of a long emotional day, more people arrived.

EvenEmma,Jeremy’sstrange supernatural pet, was having a good time.She’dfound more of her kind in the woods by the inn and they’d all chittered excitedly as they introduced themselves.Nowa troop of them were bouncing from one person to the next, sniffing thoroughly before moving on to someone else.Occasionallythe creatures stopped long enough to snatch food from someone’s hands.

Jeremy, between belting out an endless number of old party songs, kept trying to coax her back, clearly wanting to keep her from being a pest, but she only returned long enough to share a few crumbs of her stolen food with him before scurrying off again to be with her own kind.

Inaddition toVanessaandDaphne, my other painting ladies were there too.Alicearrived holdingBuddy’shand.Bothof them were smiling, soIguessed their date the other night had gone well.Alicegave me a long, tearful hug when she saw me.

IsuspectedI’dbe seeingBuddyaround a lot more now, given what my vision had shown about the two of them.Imight give the painting to them as a wedding present when the time came—even though it was black-and-white and until recentlyIwould have been embarrassed to have anyone see it.Butfor now,Iwouldn’t say anything about whatIknew about their future.Itwasn’t my place to influence their relationship.

TheJensenswere sitting on either side ofSally, and they were stroking her with delicate-looking tentacles.Theirlumpy round bodies sandwichedSally’smuch smaller one, but the succubus was grinning and giggling.Actually, they all appeared achingly happy, andIwondered if they were now a confirmed throuple like my painting ladies had predicted.Itore my gaze away from their group when one ofMrs.Jensen’stentacles snaked downSally’spants.Nope.Imight be happy for her, butIreally didn’t need to see that.

Somepeople brought food, butI’dordered pizzas from theFlyingRowanCafétoo.WhenParker, the owner of the café, stepped out of his van at the end of the driveway to deliver them, his eyes went straight toLevi, who was talking withCarter.Parker’scrush onLeviwasn’t a secret, at least not to me.Watchingthem flirt when they were at my pub was one of my favorite pastimes.He’dbeen trying to pin the big guy down for as long asI’dlived inWillowLake, but he hadn’t been successful yet, even thoughIsuspectedLeviwasn’t as immune toParker’sflirting as he wished he was.WasLeviputting him off because he was human?It’dsuck if that was the reason.Parkerseemed like a nice guy.

But, as he carried in a ridiculously high stack of pizza boxes, there was no mistaking the hurt in his eyes at seeing everyone gathered.Iunderstood.Inhis place,Iwould have wondered whyIhadn’t been invited too.Butit wasn’t exactly easy to explain how everyone was just happy to be with their friends and family after surviving a supernatural battle, when someone didn’t know magic was real.

Itprobably didn’t helpParker’sfeelings to seeLeviso engrossed in his conversation withCarterthat he didn’t appear to noticeParker’sarrival.Butthe sudden tension inLevi’sstance made me wonder if that was truly the case.Wasthat all for show to try to rebuffParker’sinterest?Itwas a cowardly way to do it, if it was.Mysuspicions were confirmed whenLevirelaxed as soon asParkerdrove away, andLeviwas the first one to come over and grab a slice of pizza.Hemoaned over the first bite.Itwas ridiculous.Butwho wasIto interfere?

Thepizzas didn’t last long.Althoughthey weren’t as good as whenAshmade them, they were still tasty.Thenmore food showed up.Soonwe’d all eaten and drunk more than we should have.

Theconversation was easy.Gage’steam mingled with the people ofWillowLakein a wayIhadn’t expected.Theywere all so…Idon’t know…rough and toughdidn’t seem like the right description, but they were warriors, while the citizens ofWillowLakewere decidedly not.ButGagehad told me that since he’d bonded withWillowLake, his team had decided to stay here too, soIwas glad they seemed to be getting along with everyone.

WhenDavinasettled down beside me,Ididn’t think anything of it at first.Sheleaned toward me, fiddling with the label on her beer bottle.Sheswallowed.Ihad only just met her, butIknew this apprehension wasn’t normal for her.

“Issomething wrong?”

“Notwrong…”Sheshook her head. “Ican see and speak to ghosts.Didanyone tell you that already?”

Inodded.

“Right.So.Thereis someone who would like to talk to you, but only if you want.”

“Someone… as in a ghost?”Myeyebrows shot up my forehead as a shiver rolled down my back.Iglanced around, like an apparition would suddenly jump in front of me and shoutboo.Butof courseIdidn’t see anything at all.

“Yes.”