Midnight Wolf (Shifters Unbound #11)(53)

“Grab a plate,” Tamsin told him. “It’s good. Then I’m going to make Dante tell me where I can take a shower.”

“You met him, then.”

“He’s right over there.” Tamsin poked the air with her fork. “I couldn’t miss him.”

“I meant—what did you think of him?”

Tamsin studied the bear Shifter, whose coat glimmered as he moved. “Quick assessment? Too sure of himself. But if he’s lived off the grid all this time, he’s good at it. Do I trust him? The jury’s still out.”

Angus gave her a nod. “I was thinking about the same.” He eyed the half-empty trays of food on the long table. “Might as well eat.”

He strolled off, as though he could take food or leave it. He’d acted the same about sleep. Angus had been heavily asleep though when Tamsin and Ciaran had crept quietly out of the truck. His face had been relaxed, his hair rumpled, lashes curled on his skin. He’d been exhausted, the poor wolf-man. She wondered what he’d say if she told him she’d wanted nothing more than to cuddle up to him, to lie back in the circle of his warm arms. He’d probably rumble and growl, and then blush. She loved it when he did that.

Angus finished loading his plate at the buffet table, but he set his food down quickly as Dante approached him. With him came a woman, one that had Tamsin jumping out of her chair and rushing to Angus’s side.

The woman had very blond hair caught in a braid that fell to her waist, and dark eyes under light brows. She was almost as tall as Dante, with a slender build and a pointed chin.

Tamsin, with Ciaran on her heels, arrived in time to hear Dante say, “This is Celene.”

A snarl clogged Angus’s words. “She’s Fae.”

The scent of Faerie—sulfur and mint—came to Tamsin, though in a subdued way. The woman wore slim jeans and a tie-dyed shirt, very un-Fae-like garb.

“She’s my mate,” Dante said. “Don’t judge.”

Celene turned an interested smile on Tamsin. “I’m half Fae. Does it bother you? I forget about my lineage most of the time—my parents weren’t my fault. Everyone thinks I’m human, so that’s what I am now.”

Tamsin gave her a careful shrug. “Hey, we all have pasts.”

Celene peered at her very obvious lack of Collar and then at Angus’s black and silver chain glinting from the shadows of his jacket. “I guess we do.”

Dante looked down at Ciaran, his very brown eyes assessing, nose twitching as he took in scent. Tamsin saw him understand that Ciaran was Angus’s but not Tamsin’s. “Hello, cub,” Dante said cordially. “Don’t worry. I won’t eat you.”

Ciaran lifted his chin. “My dad wouldn’t let you.”

Dante laughed, the deep laugh of a bear Shifter. “You’re probably right. High five, kid.”

“That’s lame.” Ciaran tried to scoff, but he darted around Tamsin and slapped Dante’s offered palm.

“Our cub is about your age,” Celene said to Ciaran. “Maybe you two can play while you’re here. She’s helping the ticket taker get ready. She likes to do that. She can show you around.”

“A girl?” Ciaran asked, incredulous.

Celene sent him an amused look. “You’ll be surprised by her, I’m sure.”

“We won’t be staying long,” Angus began, but Tamsin slid her hands into her back pockets and nodded at Dante.

“We might as well stay for the day, as long as we can keep our truck hidden. But only if you have showers. That’s a deal breaker.”

Angus had to admit he felt better after bathing and putting on fresh clothes, which Dimitri had thoughtfully supplied in a duffle bag Angus found in the truck. The clothes fit Angus fairly well, but they smelled of Feline, which meant Dimitri had borrowed them, possibly from Kendrick, who was about the same build as Angus.

Tamsin had showered first in the long RV Dante had led them to. The interior held human scent, which meant Dante wasn’t yet trusting enough to leave another male Shifter alone in his own home. Smart of him.

The human who used the trailer was absent, working already. When Angus emerged, he saw Dante set his outlandish hat on his head and yell, “Heads up! The good folks of San Angelo are about to stream in. Let’s show them a fine time today, people.”

The lights of the midway began to flash, music pumping from first one ride, then another.

Tamsin, holding Ciaran by the hand, had been in intense conversation with Celene, the three of them standing in the middle of an aisle of booths. They broke off as Dante hurried Celene away to whatever job she did, and Tamsin shaded her eyes to watch Angus jog to her.

The smell of frying meat drifted from one booth, the burned odor of cotton candy from another. Other stands sold junky souvenirs, and more had games, giant stuffed animals crammed on their shelves as prizes.

“Sun’s bright out here,” Tamsin said when Angus reached her and Ciaran. “This redhead needs a hat.” She peered into the booths around her, and then pointed. “Ah. That one.”

With Ciaran at her side, Angus a cautious step behind her, she glided to a brightly decorated stand where a human man with long dark hair in a ponytail was straightening merchandise on the shelves.

“How much for that?” Tamsin waved at a tall, crooked top hat with orange and red stripes that rested in the middle of a shelf.