“Or something. I don’t practice magic. I was hoping my pathetic attempt at stalling them would give you enough time to run or something.”
Cassidy snorted, “If Mrs. Kinman and Mrs. Pierce are stupid enough to even bare their teeth in my direction then they deserve whatever my brothers do to them.” She said it so confidently. It was probably one hundred percent true too. Ivy knew enough about those men to know that Cassidy wasn’t bluffing.
That reminded Ivy. “Hey, just a heads up, your brothers know about your boyfriend. A lady named Karen- “
“Carol,” Cassidy corrected.
“-Carol, came in and was talking about Winter Formal. Anne stepped in before Ezra could volunteer to chaperone.”
Cassidy shook her head looking as exhausted as Ivy felt. “Yeah, they already ambushed me.”
Ivy winced, “Do you need help getting back at them?”
Cassidy chuckled. She looked Ivy over. “Thanks for the offer. I’ll let you know.” She looked towards the front door. “When were my brothers supposed to be back?”
Ivy jumped, “Holy shit, any minute.” She cleared her throat. “Is it cool if we keep this between the two of us? I’m kind of not your brothers’ favorite person and if they knew I had endangered their actual favorite person, they would flip.”
Cassidy’s mouth dropped, “Are you kidding me? If my brothers found out I was here instead of in class they’d kill me. They can’t find out.”
Ivy let out the breath she had been holding, “Thank you.”
She ran to the front door. Unlocking it, she poked her head out. She couldn’t see the twins walking towards the store. Ivy felt her shoulders relax.
Deputy Robbins gave her an odd look. She smiled as naturally as she could before ducking back inside.
“You’ll have to leave out the back. I’m not sure when they’ll be here,” Ivy called to Cassidy as she motioned for her to follow.
“Wait,” Cassidy shook her head, “you’re sneaking me out?”
Ivy barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes. “Yeah! I thought that was the plan.”
Cassidy followed but asked, “Why the back door?”
“Cause their meeting is at the diner,” Ivy explained. “If you walk on Main Street, you’ll have to walk right past it on your way to the high school.”
That got Cassidy moving. She rushed past Ivy. She grabbed the chair Ivy had shoved under the door and threw it out of the way.
“It was great meeting you, Cassidy. Sorry you got dragged into my shit,” Ivy apologized.
Cassidy paused before she ran into the alley. “That was pretty tame for Mrs. Pierce,” Cassidy confessed. Ivy’s stomach clenched. Cassidy turned back around. “It was nice meeting you, Ivy. Maybe spray some of that air freshener humans use. It’ll cover our scents.” With that she disappeared.
Ivy stood starting at the metal door. So that was Cassidy Tate. Ivy wasn’t sure what she had expected. She should have known that any sibling of Ezra and Ezekiel’s would find her way into the thick of things.
Her head hit the backdoor with a thud. It was just Ivy’s luck that the first time she met the twins’ secret sister it would be the exact second Pearl Piece decided to step up her game from unpleasant to threatening. Cassidy had called it mild.
Ivy sat down behind the register, a heavy pressure building in her chest. Ignoring it, she pulled out the thin, brittle diary. She was more determined than ever to find the grimoire.
Ezra felt his phone vibrate again. He resisted the urge to pull it out. Despite the fact that this meeting should have ended twenty minutes ago, he still had to give the appearance that he was paying attention. Especially since Paul was sitting right across from him. He didn’t want to give the second-in-command any reason to single him out.
The truth was that he had lost interest in what Ben was saying when his pocket had buzzed ten minutes ago.
Ezekiel didn’t give a shit about protocol. Just when Ezra felt a third text, he saw his brother pull out his own phone.
Ezekiel scrolled through the texts. His brother frowned. His upper lip curled before he shook his head in disgust. Ezekiel met Ezra’s eyes then gestured to the door. Time to go.
When they stood, everyone at the Pack Council meeting looked at them. Ben raised a brow in question.
“Lead,” was all Ezekiel said before turning to leave.
Ben looked them both in the eyes then nodded.
Once he was outside, Ezra pulled out his phone. There were three texts on the family group chat. All from Cassidy.
Cassidy: I heard a rumor about Ivy at school
Cassidy: might be high school bullshit but I guess Mrs. Pierce went to Chic Chick today and things.got.intense.
Cassidy: you guys should invite her to dinner
Ezra shook his head and reread the texts. Only Cassidy could leave out so much important information.
“What the hell is going on today?” Ezra growled. “Should we be worried that she used Ivy’s first name and not ‘witch’?” Should I be worried that I’m thinking about taking my teenage sister’s dating advice? Ezra shrugged.
“Should we be worried that I am about to beat the shit out of a Sherriff’s deputy?”
Ezra smiled at the harsh bite in Ezekiel’s voice. Zeke was going to lay Patrick out. The mating urge had Ezekiel by the spine, he was in full protection mode. It was making him act crazy.
Ezra loved that for once he wasn’t about to be the asshole twin.
As much as Ezra wanted to see Ezekiel put the boots to one of the Robbins twins, he wasn’t going to let his brother do anything. “Hey man, like Cassidy said, it could be a rumor.”
Ezekiel shot Ezra a dirty look, “The hair salon is right next door. If Shannon heard something through the walls, it would have already made its way across the internet.”
He had a point. Shannon Denny was a shameless gossip. Mostly because she heard a lot of it from her clients, from her stylists, from the mailman. Everyone.
“Even if Pearl did come to Chic Chick it’s not like he could stop her from entering the store. It’s open to the public,” he reasoned.
“The hell you say,” muttered Ezekiel still stalking towards Anne’s store.
Ezra didn’t bother holding in his laughter. “Look, I’m not going to stop you from giving Pat shit. He needs it, but he would have called if something had happened.” He punched Ezekiel’s arm. “Now get your shit together before you freak Ivy out.”
That snapped Ezekiel out of it. He inhaled deeply, rising to his full height. “I’ll kill Pearl Pierce if she hurt our mate,” he snarled like he was letting Ezra know that he was just postponing his anger.
When they passed Pat Robbins sitting in his patrol car the man gave them a nod. He didn’t get up. He didn’t say anything. He was a lazy ass sometimes.
Ezekiel pointed a finger at him. “Stick around, you and I are going to talk.”
Ezra opened the door to Chic Chick and immediately started coughing. Someone had set off a fucking bug bomb in the middle of the store. He covered his face with his shirt before opening the door again.
“I’m going to kill Pearl,” Ezekiel promised from behind his sleeve.
“After you and I kill Pat.” He was pissed. That had been no fucking rumor. Pearl had been in Chic Chick and pulled some shit. Pat should have stopped whatever the hell had gone on. He should have fucking called them. “Ivy!” He called.
“Hey, Ezra, did your meeting run long?” Ivy smiled from behind the register.
She wasn’t coughing. Her eyes weren’t watering. She wasn’t hurt.
Ezra narrowed his eyes. In fact, she looked suspiciously like she’d been expecting them to bust in. The question felt entirely too casual.
Ezekiel stomped towards Ivy despite how hard he was coughing. Ezra hung back grabbing a rack to prop the front door open.
Ivy gave both of them confused looks. “What is wrong with you-Hey!” Ivy yelled when Ezekiel grabbed her arm and started marching towar
ds the door. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Getting you out of this place until we can clear out whatever Pearl set off in the store.” Ezekiel was coughing so hard by the end that it was nearly impossible to understand him.
Ivy jerked out of his grip when he got her to the street. “What are you talking about?”
Ezra nodded towards Chic Chick. “Whatever Pearl threw in there is toxic, honey. You can’t stay in there. We’ve got to wait until everything airs out.”
Ivy blushed but rolled her eyes. “I sprayed some air freshener. It’s not that strong,” she muttered.
Everything went silent for a second.
Ezekiel shook his head. “You did that?” He nearly yelled. “Were you trying to get high?”
Ivy crossed her arms flushing more deeply. “It’s not that bad. I can barely smell it.”
Now Ezra had to shake his head in disbelief. “There’s no way your sense of smell is that bad.”
Ignoring Ezra entirely, Ivy asked, “Is there a reason you two came storming into my work place?”
Ezra straightened, recalling Ivy’s suspiciously calm behavior from earlier. “What happened today, Ivy?”
She scoffed. After a second her shoulders dropped. “How did you find out?”
“Cassidy text about a rumor involving a certain witch,” Ezra accused.
Ezekiel hooked a thumb towards the center of town. “It’s already making it through the rumor mill. Pearl’s little stunt is already being passed around Black Bird High.”
Ivy exhaled, visibly relaxing. That reaction had Ezra humming in the back of his throat.
Before he could ask her another question, Ivy brushed her hand through the air. “Knowing how the Black Bird rumor mill works, I’m sure what you’ve heard is a tall tale.” She shrugged. “She only shifted her hand.”
“She fucking shifted?” Ezra and Ezekiel bellowed at the same time.
Ezra heard the door to Pat’s squad car close just as his brother snarled, “That old bitch has it coming this time.”
“Problem, Tate?” Patrick had one thumb hooked in his belt, a coffee cup in the other.
That question, paired with that casual attitude, lit the powder keg.
Ezekiel, the level headed twin, whipped around with wolf eyes and animal teeth peeking out from his lip. An acrid cloud of rage rose from Ezekiel’s hunched form.
Pat’s eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. He was caught off guard by the intensity of Ezekiel’s reaction. Ivy’s mouth dropped in shock.
Ezekiel rarely lost his temper but when he did? Whew.
“Yeah, we’ve got a problem,” he snarled. “You are the most incompetent deputy I’ve ever been forced to work with. And you want to be an Enforcer?” His lip lifted in a mean sneer. “You’re lucky it was Pearl Pierce today and not Lawrence McDowell. That means I’m only going to have to beat your ass and not kill you.” Ezekiel stalked forward before he finished speaking.
Ivy’s hand shot out digging into Ezekiel’s shoulder. He stopped in his tracks. His hand reached up to cover hers. Ezra wasn’t sure if his brother realized what he had done.
“Woah, woah,” Ivy sang, “what are you doing?”
Ezekiel jerked his chin in Pat’s direction. “He let Pearl get close to you.”
Ivy didn’t get it. She looked at Ezra for clarification. He shrugged. It was a wolf thing. Pat should have protected their mate better. He had it coming.
Ivy moved in front of Ezekiel and started ticking off fingers. “First off, this is a public store. Anyone can enter. Second off, she came in through the back door. It’s my fault for not locking it. Lastly,” she swung her hip out and jabbed a finger into Ezekiel’s chest, “Pearl showed more control then you’re showing right now.”
Ezekiel exhaled harshly through his nose. The pair glared at each other. Brown bled into Ezekiel’s eyes; his shoulders lost their tension.
Ivy uncrossed her arms, she smiled softly, “You good, Zeke?”
Ezekiel snorted at the nickname but nodded.
“Well, fuck.” Pat’s groan brought all three of them back to reality. The youngest Robbins brother was looking at them in complete confusion. “Not you guys too. Last time this happened Jack gave me a black eye for complimenting Grace’s dress.”
Neither brother said anything.
After a second Pat sighed, “I’ll warn Henry.” He turned without another word and got back into his squad car.
“Patrick,” Ezekiel called before the other man drove away, “see you at training tomorrow morning.”
Pat grimaced but smartly didn’t say anything. Ivy might be willing to cut him some slack but if your Alpha tells you to guard someone, no one should be coming in through the back door unnoticed. He messed up. He doubly messed up because he’d slacked off guarding their mate.
Pat knew what was coming. Despite the fact that he was an idiot, Patrick Robbins was a good guy. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.
Ezra turned to Ivy sharply. “Let us cook dinner for you tonight.”
Ivy rocked back on her heels. “I did not expect that,” she whispered.
Ezra felt his lip curl into a smirk. “I figure this is a story meant to be shared over a meal,” he teased.
Ivy’s eyes narrowed. She darted a glance between he and Ezekiel. “What are you two planning?”
Ezekiel jumped right in with a half-smile, “You just gave a full-grown shifter a tongue lashing. I think you’ll be able to handle whatever it is you think we’re planning.”
That’s all it took for Ivy to go from suspicious to challenging. “Alright, I’ll have dinner with you guys,” she agreed.
Both he and Ezekiel exhaled. Ezra shook his head. Cassidy would never let them forget this. She was going to use this date setup as leverage in the future.
Ivy blushed when she saw their expressions. She cleared her throat. “Are you guys going to be okay in the store or does it need to air out more?”
Ezekiel’s face scrunched up. “I cannot believe that you didn’t suffocate.”
She snorted.
Ezra chuckled. “We will hang out here for a bit.”
“Suit yourselves,” she turned to go but stopped and turned back around. “I locked the back door so you don’t have to guard it.”
Ezekiel growled, dragging a hand down his face. “Do not tell me that the alley exit has been unlocked this whole time.”
“Then I won’t tell you that.” Ivy sent him a cheeky grin and walked back into the store.
Ezekiel pulled out his phone. “I’ll put in a grocery order for delivery.”
Ezra pulled out his phone. “I’ll text Cassidy so she can grab it.”
She texted him back instantly. His eyes narrowed at her reply. He quickly shot her two texts rapid fire.
She wrote and erased her reply a dozen times before hitting send. He made a suspicious noise in the back of his throat when he read it.
“What?” Ezekiel cut in.
“Looks like Cassidy has a last-minute paper due tomorrow. She was planning on heading over to Evie’s house after school.” He lifted a brow. “She said she could stop by the house first, bring in the groceries, and still make it to Evie’s in time if she could use the car.”
Ezekiel’s eyes narrowed. “Is she,” he hesitated, “getting out of the house- “
“-after telling us to cook dinner for our mate,” Ezra finished.
His brother grimaced, “Is it wrong that I’m a little suspicious?”
“Oh, no, this smells like a diversion.”
Ezekiel’s grimace deepened, “I’m okay with letting this one slide. At least until after dinner tonight.”
Ezra sneered at his brother. “Are you kidding me? If you do anything to mess up this dinner, I might kill you.”
Ezekiel nodded like he was in total agreement.
Chapter Ten
The car stopped in front of a modest two-story house. Dark blue shutters stood out against the white house. The lawn looked well kept.
There weren’t any weeds between the decorative bushes lining the porch. There was a bench next to the door.
The Tate brothers lived in an adorable house. Who would have guessed?
“Do you need me to walk you to the front door?”
Ivy’s shoulders rose to her ears and suddenly, she was thirteen again.
“Grace,” Jack warned in a gravelly voice.
Usually, Ivy loved hanging out with the couple. Right then? Ivy would do anything to never see them ever again.
The twins lived in a neighborhood just outside of Black Bird proper. It was a cute, family-oriented part of the town. It was also too far away to walk. Which meant that Ivy had to bum a ride from Jack and Grace.
Jack cleared his throat. “Not to be an ass but,” he coughed, “you need me to talk to them?”
“Oh, my goddess,” Ivy would never live this down. Unbelievably, her own parents had acted cooler on her first date than Jack and Grace. “You know what? I am going to let you guys get on with your night. Thanks for the ride,” she practically squeaked out.
“You sure you don’t need a ride home?” Grace’s blonde hair was lit from behind when the overhead light came on. It made her look angelic.
Which made her question even more embarrassing.
“Grace,” Jack warned again.
Grace jumped, turning to her mate. He must have done that telepathic communication thing because suddenly Grace’s face went red. “Oh,” she sang like she was finally understanding something, “yeah, you might not need a-”.
“Okay,” Ivy interrupted, “have a good night.” She didn’t bother waiting for a reply. She got out and sped walked to the front door.
At least she looked confident. She wore a structured teal blouse paired with her favorite jeans. She had on a pair of tan, faux leather boots that Anne had donated to her closet. She wanted to looked flirty, but not like she was trying too hard.
She hadn’t done anything fancy with her hair or makeup because she already felt strange for putting so much thought into her outfit. She put on mascara and lip gloss.
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