goddess for giving her just the excuse she needed.
She left the astral plane, slipping through the portal and into the cavern where she’d begun her journey. Movement caught her eye, a ripple in the pond, and Lily went perfectly still, scanning the surface of the water while staying in the shadows.
She heard a soft laugh, a familiar voice, and she relaxed. “Hey, Alex. What’re you doing down here?”
Alex laughed and said, “Hiding from Tinker.”
“What? But why?” She walked around the pool to the far side. Alex stood in water that lapped around his thighs, his nude body so perfectly sculpted, his obvious arousal creating its usual havoc with her senses. Maybe this was what she needed to settle her rattled nerves. Sex with Alex always calmed things down.
Then she realized he wasn’t alone. She caught a glimpse of a slim arm snaking around his waist and realized a woman stood behind him. If he’d brought that bitch Jennifer into the caverns, her dad was going to be furious. It was an unwritten but closely held rule: no one was allowed unless they were pack. “Alex, please tell me you didn’t bring . . .”
A small, dark sprite dressed in wet cutoffs and a tank top slipped around Alex. “Hi, Lily. It’s okay. It’s me. Annie.”
“Annie? I would never have recognized you! When did you get back? Oh my god! You cut all your hair!” How many years had it been since they’d seen each other? Lily burst out laughing. “Goddess, girl! Last time I saw you, you were still a little twerp with long frizzy hair and skinny legs.”
“Thanks loads. I really needed to hear that. Again.” Annie punched Alex’s shoulder, laughing as she stepped out of the pool with Alex right behind her. She threw herself into Lily’s arms for a hug. Her slim arms and surprisingly long legs left wet splotches on Lily’s jeans. Lily stepped back, but then she got a better look at Annie.
Gently she traced the dark bruise on Annie’s left cheek. “Sweetie, what happened?”
Annie shot a quick glance at Alex and sighed. “A couple of jerks cornered me in town. Alex rescued me.” She gazed at him with a look of absolute hero worship.
Lily tried to catch Alex’s eye, expecting his usual twinkle, but he was staring at Annie as if the sun rose and set with her smile. Lily felt an unwelcome twist of something in her chest.
Jealousy? No, at least not of Annie. Maybe of what Annie and Alex seemed to have discovered. And of course, her thoughts chose that moment to drift to Sebastian. Damn.
“I’m just thankful I showed up when I did,” Alex said. He wrapped an arm around Annie’s slim waist. “Three big guys had her cornered.” He ran his fingers over her unharmed cheek, and when he glanced at Lily, she almost sighed.
It looked as if Alex might have found the one. Only his true love wasn’t working dark magic and fucking with the astral plane, blast it. She shoved Sebastian Xenakis out of her head. “Me too,” she said. “Any idea who they were?”
Annie shook her head. “Alex’s girlfriend Jennifer acted like she knew them, but I’ve never seen them before. Of course, I’ve been away for so long that I’ve lost touch with a lot of people I might have recognized before.”
“I told you, Jennifer isn’t my girlfriend.” Alex focused entirely on Annie. “And after tonight, I don’t think she’s even my friend. Not after the way she acted.” He glanced at Lily before looking at Annie again. “Jennifer showed absolutely no compassion for what happened. It’s like she thought it was all a big joke. Friends like that I don’t want or need.”
Lily nodded. She knew how that was. Humans were often fascinated by Chanku, but so jealous that they seemed to relish bad things happening to shapeshifters.
Another reason why they needed to solve the murders. “So why are you hiding from Tinker? You afraid your dad won’t want to see you with Alex?” She laughed. “Of course, I couldn’t blame him.”
“Watch it.” Alex growled. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”
“Since when?” Laughter bubbled up before she could stop it, but it was so much fun, seeing that absolutely besotted expression on Alex Aragat’s face. He didn’t do besotted, and she clearly remembered telling him years ago that Annie would be his perfect match. This was gonna be so much fun!
“Since we were toddlers and you used to cover for me. That set a