Xavier looked down at her for a long time. He’d been guarding her in the house and store since her adventure in the desert, and he’d been witness to every shift in Misty’s relationship with Graham. She saw in Xav’s eyes now that he knew she’d chosen Graham and would never have interest in a human ex-cop. A Shifter had gotten under Misty’s skin, and she saw that Xav understood.

“All right. But I’m sticking by you, and keeping an eye on this one.” Xav gestured with his Taser to Ben.

“Fair enough.” Misty turned from him and read the words again. “Violets and forget-me-nots. You didn’t live in this climate, did you?”

“Ireland,” Ben said. “At the time.”

“Rosemary is easy. I have some growing at home, plus there’s always the supermarket. These other two . . . Damn it.”

“What?” Dougal asked in alarm. “What’s wrong?”

“I’d have these flowers in stock, but the gang boys destroyed everything. This means I have to buy from a rival florist, one that would be happy to see me go out of business. I swear, when I get Graham back safely, I’ll let him visit Sam Flores, wherever he’s been stashed, and kick his sorry behind.”

“I’ll do it.” Dougal flashed her his grin again, the one that said he liked any excuse for trouble.

“No, you won’t.” Misty punched numbers into her phone. “Hi,” she said to the pleasant-voiced woman who answered the phone. “I’d like to place an order. A rush. In fact, I’ll pick it up from you. Yes, I know a rush is extra . . .”

 • • •

An hour later, Misty and Xav returned from the florist with bunches of purple, blue, and yellow flowers. The owner of the flower store had pretended to be very sympathetic to the vandalism to Misty’s shop, saying she wouldn’t blame Misty for closing. “So dangerous, sometimes, to run a small place on your own,” the woman had said. “We could always find a job for you in one of our shops, if you want it.”

“I’m not closing,” Misty had answered, irritated. “I’m waiting for the rest of my repairs then I’m back in business.”

“Oh,” the woman had said, giving her a false smile. “That’s so brave of you.”

Misty had taken her flowers without further word and departed. Xav helped unload them from her car back at her own shop, where Dougal and Ben had waited with the cubs. Misty thrust the bunches of flowers into Ben’s, Dougal’s, and Xav’s hands and told them to follow her back to the convenience store.

“I hope no one sees me like this,” Dougal said. He glanced around, as though worried other Shifters, the grizzly brothers maybe, would pull up, point to Dougal with his arms full of blue blossoms, and laugh.

“Suck it up,” Misty said. She gave Dougal a smile to soften her words. “Hey, Graham’s right about that saying—it’s useful.”

She led the way back into Pedro’s store. Pedro only sighed when Misty asked to use the back room for a few more minutes and agreed, as long the owner didn’t find out. He didn’t ask questions—Pedro had once told Misty he’d seen it all. Maybe Misty charging into his storeroom with two wolf cubs, a Shifter, an armed security guy, and a whatever-he-was carrying armloads of flowers wasn’t the oddest thing he’d ever encountered.

Misty followed Ben to the spot he indicated, and started laying the flowers in the patterns specified by the book. It seemed a shame to toss the blossoms to the floor, when they would look beautiful arranged in a big vase—small purple blooms of the violets and the vibrant blue of the forget-me-nots against the large yellow roses.

The florist had carried rosemary sprigs as well, in bloom. Their spiky leaves and tiny, pale blue flowers would also look good in the arrangement. The pungent scent of rosemary mixed with the heady odor of roses as Misty worked.

She laid the flowers out in a swirling pattern, leaving enough room in the middle of it for herself and her companions. Then she stripped the rosemary from its stems, as the book told her, and sprinkled the little leaves over the rest of the flowers.

“Now the circles?” Misty asked, thumbing to the page in the book.

“The blessing of the Goddess first,” Ben said. “That’s the most important thing. The other stuff is . . . pizzazz.”

Misty held the book closed, her finger on the spell. “How do I call the Goddess? I’ve never done that before.”

“I know how,” Dougal said. He handed the cubs to Ben and stepped to Misty in the circle. Matt and Kyle settled down in Ben’s big arms, having decided he was a friend.

Dougal took Misty’s hands. His were more rawboned than Graham’s, but just as large and strong. “Think of deepest moonlight,” Dougal said. “Close your eyes, and picture it.”

As soon as Misty shut her eyes, she saw moonlight as it had poured into her backyard last night when Graham had lain over her, his weight warming. His eyes had filled with reflected moonlight as he’d thrust into her, his lovemaking rough, but his hands so gentle.

Misty thought she could feel the cool light here in this dim storeroom. A calm stole over her, one sweetly peaceful.

“The Goddess,” Dougal said in a soft voice. “Be with us.” He twined his fingers more tightly with Misty’s. “I ask your blessings to be upon Misty, as she walks the dangerous path.”

More peace. A breeze touched her cheek, one so tender Misty wanted to melt. “And on Dougal,” Misty said softly. “And the cubs, and Ben.”