Page 6 of Wicked Stranger
He shook his head, causing his hair to hide more of his face. “No. Most likely from her running through the thick brush.”
“Okay, good.” Zelda nodded, then looked at Zane’s arm, which was still oozing blood. Lifting her hand, she muttered a few words as a colorful fog enveloped his arm. Right before his eyes, the wound was gone. “Wolf bites, even for Shifters, is a dangerous thing.”
“Thank you,” Zane said with an appreciative smile.
“You’re welcome.” Zelda patted his arm, then turned toward Thorne. “Tell Wicked I’ll be over to meet this Raina. Heard some crazy stories about that one.”
Before Thorne could say anything, Zelda was gone in a flash of colorful glitter. Zane just shook his head at the display. In the past, witches that Zane had run-ins with weren’t as nice or as beautiful as Zelda and Wicked.
“I still can’t believe you mated with a witch,” Zane muttered his thoughts out loud.
Thorne just laughed, then checked his watch. “Come on, let’s go find Raina’s car,” Thorne said, ignoring Zane’s comment. “Did she say where it was?”
“No,” Zane said as he started toward the thick forest.
“Well, do you have the keys?” Thorne followed, sounding irritated.
“No,” Zane began retracing Raina's route through the woods. He and his panther were excellent trackers.
“Well, shit,” Thorne grumbled, also studying the ground. Both men were alert to their surroundings. “You still good at hotwiring cars?”
Zane grinned, but before he could answer, something caught his eye. Reaching down, he picked up a set of keys and held them up. “Guess we won’t be finding out.”
“Now that’s luck,” Thorne said with a nod. “Wonder if she even knows she lost them. She must have been terrified.”
Just the thought of Raina being afraid of something set him off; a growl that was a mixture of panther and male rumbled in his throat. Seriously, what in the hell was happening to him? Thorne’s laughter clued Zane in that he had heard his reaction.
“So, what do you think of Raina?” Thorne asked, trying to sound innocent, but failed miserably.
“Fuck you, Thorne,” Zane growled, his stride quickening. The faster he found the car, the faster he could be alone to figure out his thoughts. Alone was when he was at his best.
CHAPTER5
Raina stumbled once they were transported to Wicked’s home. “Man, I hate when you do that.”
“Beats walking.” Wicked chuckled, leading Raina into the kitchen. “Come on and help me get dinner started.”
“Is this how you greet all your guests?” Raina snorted as she followed, her eyes scanning how beautiful Wicked’s home was. “Making them cook their own dinner. Why not twirl that finger of yours and conjure up something like you’ve always done?”
Wicked turned to look at Raina. “I’ve missed you.” Wicked reached out, hugging her. “It’s been too long.”
Raina hugged her back, feeling tears burning the back of her eyes. “Yeah, it has been.”
“Oh, you’re back.” A woman’s voice broke them apart. She looked first at Wicked and then at Raina. “You must be Raina. Wicked has been so excited and has told me so much about you.”
“All good, I hope.” Raina teased, smiling back at the older woman who reminded her of a cool younger grandma type.
“Of course.” She chuckled. “I’m Linda.”
“Linda watches the twins for me.” Wicked informed her with a huge grin. “She is amazing, and I don’t know what I would do without her.”
“Oh, where are they?” Raina asked excitedly. She couldn’t wait to meet Jamison and Rose. To this point, she had only seen pictures and a few videos that Wicked had sent her.
Linda frowned. “I’ve already put them to bed. I wasn’t sure when you’d be back, and well, they were getting cranky.”
Wicked glanced at the disappointment on Raina’s face. “Don’t worry, you’ll see them bright and early in the morning.”
“Fine.” Raina sighed, then cocked her eyebrow. “Can’t I just go wake them up for a little while?”