with broad shoulders and muscular legs. His dress slacks and blue button-up had obviously been tailored to fit him perfectly, and as he bent over to peer inside one of the boxes, those fabulously tailored slacks conformed to his backside like they’d been painted on. Yum.
He straightened and turned, revealing a strong jawline and sharp cheekbones. His face might have been harsh if not for his full lips—which were currently turned down in a frown—softening his features. Instead, the total package made for one fine specimen of a man. Sweet sugar, he was beautiful.
This man had an air of authority, of power, like a Rainecourt, but he looked nothing like the pictures she’d seen of Matthias and Griffin. Rather than piercing blue, his eyes were dark brown. Mysterious. Even in his current mood, they held a look of kindness the brothers lacked. And his hair was light brown…or would it be called dirty blond? Either way, unless he’d dyed it, his locks didn’t match the dark mahogany of the Rainecourts in the photos.
Her heart sank. If he wasn’t a Rainecourt, he couldn’t save the creek. So what was he doing here? She didn’t recall seeing a for sale sign on the property.
Oh well. She’d focus on tracking down Griffin this week. With any luck, she’d have a lead by the next committee meeting.
“I don’t remember seeing it in the satchel.” The nasally voice had come from a furry little critter who currently sat atop one of the large boxes. About a foot and a half long from nose to tail, the mongoose had brown fur and beady eyes. Yep, it was a talking mongoose.
A familiar. So at least he is a warlock! Maybe he knows the Rainecourts.
Shifters, like Alice and Megan, were limited to the abilities of their animal when they took on their form—aside from their minds, of course. They kept their human intelligence, but they lacked the vocal cords needed to actually speak.
Familiars, on the other hand, were magical critters who acted as helpers for the lucky witches and warlocks who were able to catch them. They were rare, and until tamed, they lived in the forest with their non-magical cousins. Only super-powerful beings could tell them apart from mundane animals and catch them, which said a lot about Mr. Hottie in there. Oh, and because they were magical creatures who didn’t shift, familiars could talk in animal form.
Must be nice. But they had no human form, and their intelligence never surpassed that of a ten-year-old, so the vocal cords were the only thing Alice envied. That and the way Mr. Hottie picked up this familiar, cradling him against his chest and stroking his fur.
I’ve got something you can stroke. She cawed at her own joke.
The mongoose snapped his head toward her. “Dinner!” He scrambled over the warlock’s shoulder and leaped to the floor, scurrying toward the balcony door.
Surely, he didn’t mean she was dinner. Did he?
He stopped beneath her, sitting up on his hind legs and pressing his little paws together. “Here, birdie, birdie.”
Holy crap. He did want to eat her!
He leaped toward her, swiping his claws like he, an animal, actually thought he could have a shifter for dinner. In his defense, he probably didn’t realize what she was, but still…
Alice screeched and flapped her wings, taking to the air and dropping a little present on his head before flying around to the front yard.
“Ah! She shit on me!” the familiar whined as she flew away.
Okay, maybe it wasn’t the most ladylike thing to do, but she was in bird form. If it looks like a crow and sounds like a crow… Not her finest moment, true, but the damn thing wanted to eat her.
She soared over the silver Audi parked in the horseshoe driveway. The metallic paint glinted in the moonlight, so she circled above it, taking in the view. Hey, she was a crow. She liked shiny things.
As she started to fly away, something near the road caught her eye. Dark silver with a soft green glow, it sat atop a trash bag inside a garbage can, so it was fair game, right? Totally fair game.
She swooped down and snatched it, taking to the air again and flying home.
Chapter Two
Alice shoved the last bite of ice cream cone into her mouth and wiped her hands on her skirt. Meg would strangle her if she knew she stopped by Milly Moo’s and didn’t bring her anything, so it was best to get rid of the