Page 464 of His Hungry Wolf

“The lake,” Lou squeaked.

“What about the lake?”

“I once told her that it was so beautiful that I thought everyone should get to enjoy it.”

“You said you wanted to make it a state park,” I said remembering.

“And that’s what I said to my grandmother. But she said that it was on private property so it couldn’t be a park…”

“It had to be a preserve,” I said finishing his thought.

“Right,” he said turning to me.

“This is it. And it says, ‘To the new park preserve’. She’s telling you to go to the lake. This is your clue!” I said excitedly. “What else does it say?”

Lou read, “Dig deep in the bramble.” He looked at me. “Bramble is a bush. She’s telling us to dig deep under the bush. This is real,” Lou said stunned. “She left me a clue!”

Getting emotional, Lou bit his lip. He tried to stop himself from crying but he couldn’t. My heart broke for him. Wrapping my arms around him, he leaned into my embrace.

“She didn’t forget about me. She loved me,” he said with a painful release.

I hadn’t realized how much what his parents had done had affected him until now. They had stolen more than just his inheritance. They had stolen his connection to the only person who truly cared for him. She was the only person Lou thought he could count on growing up, and the one thing she had promised him, they had erased.

If he couldn’t trust her, who could he? What about his life could he hold onto as truth? How was I supposed to tell him what I had seen?

“Lou, there’s something I need to tell you.”

He pulled away and looked up at me. “What?”

“I don’t think it was just the money that your parents took from you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think this estate might be on magical ground.”

“What’s that?” he asked confused.

I looked away searching for the right words.

“As I understand it, there are patches of land that give magic to the person who owns it. It’s what professional football stadiums are built on so shifters don’t kill each other during games.”

“Okay,” Lou said looking at me like I was insane.

“It’s something the dragon shifter that attacked Nero and me told us.”

“And you think this is real?”

“I don’t just think it’s real, I know it is. Before the will reading, could your father do magic?”

“My father? No! And he can’t do magic now.”

“He can. He just doesn’t know it. I’ve seen it.”

“You saw Frank do magic?” he asked stunned.

“Yeah. I think that’s why your grandmother wanted you to inherit everything. She was trying to pass along her magic to you.”

“So you’re saying my Grandma Aggie could do magic, too?”