“Well . . .” The truth was that I hid my magic because I had to hide my forbidden power. And since hiding all of my magic and power was easier than hiding some of it, I’d decided from an early age to keep it all locked away. Only a select few knew of my full witch powers, and only Tessa knew of my forbidden power. But I wasn’t going to reveal all of that to the hunter, so I settled on giving the partial truth, hoping he wouldn’t detect my deceit. “I don’t like the attention, and I don’t want it. My kind of magic is rare and could make me a target. I don’t need that.”

Thankfully, the Fire Wolf seemed perplexed enough by what I’d declared that he apparently didn’t scent my half-truth, which meant he still had no idea about my forbidden power.

His scowl deepened. “What are you capable of?”

I shrugged. “I can fight.”

“As I’ve seen. And?”

“And I can practice every branch of witch magic. There, are you happy? Now you know.” I held my breath, hoping that revelation would keep him from detecting what I was truly hiding.

“Every branch?” When I nodded, he added, “I don’t know any witch that can practice every branch. Which area are you strongest in?”

“I’m strong in all of them fairly equally.”

“How is that possible?”

“You’re seriously asking me how that’s possible? You’re a werewolf who can set himself on fire and also weave sorcerer magic. How are you possible?”

He growled. “I’m not the topic of this conversation.”

“No, but you should be. I’m just as intrigued by you as you are by me.”

He looked away, his brows drawing together so sharply that a deep groove appeared between his eyes. And in that moment, I realized I was intrigued by him. My interest in him was more than just physical attraction, because the Fire Wolf was not only a unique supernatural, he was also a mystery.

The entire underbelly of society was afraid of him. I’d been afraid of him when he’d threatened to dismember me in the Shadow Zone. And while I still believed that he might cut my hand off—maybe—if I pushed him, I no longer thought he’d be entirely unaffected by it.

Because how much of that ruthless image that he portrayed was an act?

A memory of him protecting the homeless kid in the alleyway flashed across my mind. Then the secret arrangement he’d made with Miranda, that female vamp. The truth was, in his spare time, the Fire Wolf helped homeless kids in the Portland area, yet he didn’t want anyone to know that, which I understood. Helping others didn’t exactly fit the cold and dangerous hunter image the entire community believed of him.

And if anyone understood hiding one’s true nature from the society we lived in, it was me.

The Fire Wolf took a breath, then shot a hand through his dark hair again. The strands on the top of his head curled slightly at the ends, entirely mussed from his constant need to attack it. I wondered if those strands were as soft as they looked.

“We should move. It’s been eighteen hours since your sister was taken.” He abruptly stalked away from the bed to the corner of the room and slipped behind his curtain.

That reminder of my sister jolted me back to reality.

The Fire Wolf was right. He needed to scry, and we needed to go. And all this other stuff—this intimate revelation of our true natures and his weird reaction to me when I’d released my cloaking spell—none of that mattered.

All that mattered was finding Tessa.

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Chapter 15

While the Fire Wolf was scrying, I scrambled off the bed to the kitchen and snatched my clothes.

In the bathroom, I dressed and cleaned my teeth as best I could without a toothbrush. At least the dude had mouthwash.

Once my hair was brushed and I was satisfied that I looked halfway decent, I returned to the couch. Now, with any luck, the Fire Wolf would lock onto Tessa’s location in the next few minutes, and then we’d be off.

I pulled out my phone to wire him the next installment of money, ’cause even though we didn’t have a signed deal about the job I’d hired him for, I didn’t think he’d actually leave me high and dry. And we didn’t have time now anyway to have a contract drawn up or to visit the fae lands for a fairy to seal a bargain.

Nope. I’d just have to trust him.

Several texts and missed calls filled my phone’s screen when I unlocked it. Prish had tried to reach me half a dozen times. Crap, she was probably worried sick.

I placed a call to her, and she answered immediately, her cultured tone sounding annoyed. “It’s about time. Where are you?”

“Still with the scourge of society.”

“He hasn’t killed you yet?”

“Surprisingly, no.”

She sighed. “Well, I’m glad you’re not dead. I was worried about you. What about Tess? Any luck finding her?”

“Not yet.” I filled her in as quickly as I could, telling her about the asylum and how this didn’t appear to be a random kidnapping.

She was quiet for a moment before saying, “They took her to an insane asylum? And the European mafia could be behind this?”

That icy cold feeling filled my stomach again. “Perhaps. Honestly, we don’t know much right now, but I do know that this is much worse than I’d thought.”

“No shit. But if it was the mafia, why would they want Tess?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

“But you can still feel her, right? Your bond is still intact?”

I loosed a breath. “Thankfully, yes. It’s the only thing keeping me sane.”

We talked for a few more minutes, and before we hung up, I promised to keep her updated as much as I could. I then focused on getting the Fire Wolf’s next payment complete before I lost my nerve or got distracted by the other texts waiting for me.

I pulled up my banking app and knew that the money would have to come from my hard-earned retirement account. I’d only just opened one a few years prior, and I didn’t have a lot of money in it, but there was enough to cover the hunter’s five thousand now and the final ten after he found Tessa, but there wouldn’t be much left.

Feeling slightly nauseous, I watched the number tick down, but as much as I hated seeing that money disappear, my sister’s life and honoring the promise to my mother were more important.

Once I finished wiring the remaining money to the Fire Wolf, I peeked toward where he was scrying in the corner. Like yesterday, his low humming and the sounds of something rattling filled the air.

I nibbled my lip, and my turquoise phone case flashed in the light when I pulled up my remaining unread text messages. Two other people had been trying to reach me—Nicole and Carlos.

I smacked a hand to my head and read my employee’s message first. Gods, I’d completely forgotten about the store.

I called Sajid in last night to help. We managed. When will you be back?

Thankfully, Nicole was a long-time employee who knew how to do everything. I’d been thinking about bumping her up to a manager position, and if she could handle the store till I tracked down Tessa, then she would definitely deserve the promotion.

I typed in a quick reply.

I won’t be back for a few days. Can you manage without me and Tess?

Thankfully, she replied immediately.

Yep, I got this. See you when you get back.

Gods, she was a lifesaver. Definitely need to bump her up to management. I typed in another reply.

You’re the best. I’ll pay you double for your hours. Thank you!

After I sent that off, she replied with a smiley face which lessened some of my anxiety over leaving her on her own. Satisfied that Practically Perfect would survive until I returned, I finally pulled up Carlos’s text.