“Ugh,” Jericho made a disgusted noise. “I think you know what she wanted. She was asking questions about any new employees, looking for a female with long brown hair and big brown eyes. I told her we didn’t have any females working here that matched the description. It’s a damn good thing I convinced Sally to try something new with her looks.”

Sally rolled her eyes at his comment. As irritated as it made her to admit it, Jericho had indeed convinced her that maybe she needed a new look if she was starting a new life. Something bold and totally different. It was definitely different, but she liked it. Sally felt lighter with the heavy locks gone.

“Well, I doubt you fooled Peri.” Sally’s attention was drawn back to the room at the sound of Cross’ voice. “If she came here under the impression that Sally was here, it was because she had no doubt. She wouldn’t have wasted her time if she didn’t already know,” Cross explained.

“She said she’d be back. If she tells…” Jericho’s voice dropped lower and she couldn’t hear the rest of what he said.

Sally stepped forward, trying to get closer without alerting them that she was there. Her foot landed on a peanut shell, something that, under normal circumstances, certainly would have made only the slightest noise, if any. But of course, because Sally was trying to be quiet, the peanut made a loud crack that seemed to echo up and down the quiet hall. She froze, praying they wouldn’t come out of the door.

“Shut that door,” Cross barked.

And quick as that, her eavesdropping plan was thwarted. She stepped back into the bar area and grabbed a pad and pen. Sally wrote a short note for Jericho and left it under a bottle of vodka that she knew would be used a hundred times that night.

The sun was warm on her skin once she was back on the sidewalk as she headed toward the closest beach. She’d only been once since she’d been in Oceanside, but it had been so relaxing that she’d fallen asleep on the sand. As she walked, her mind went back to the moment outside of her apartment earlier that day. She could have sworn that she’d felt a breath of air on her neck. And not only that, but she had felt as if someone had been standing right there behind her, within touching distance. But no matter how much she had willed them to make themselves known, the air behind her remained empty. That experience alone had been enough to weird her out. But the conversation she’d just overheard between Jericho and Cross cranked the weird scale meter sky high.

Why had they been talking about her in secret and who could possibly be looking for her? Was it something to do with her parents’ estate and the will? Sally was pretty sure that she took care of everything before she ran off for her new life, but then again, any time she tried to remember the days and months before coming to Oceanside, everything seemed very fuzzy and unclear. It was like using a bottle of water as a telescope, everything on the other end was distorted.

As soon as her feet hit the warm sand, the eerie feelings and the disturbing conversation was pushed away. It was just her and the wind in her hair, the ocean roaring out its power—wave after wave, the sun beaming down proudly, and the earth steady beneath her, all communing together in perfect harmony. Sally sat down just a little out the reach of the crashing waves. She leaned back on her hands, tilted her face up to the sky and closed her eyes. She let her ears be her guide. Without realizing what she was doing, she began meditating, tuning out all of the noises around her. After some time, she began hearing only the call of the elements.

Her eyes popped open and she sat up abruptly. Call of the elements? Where had that thought come from? She’d never thought like that. She never imaged the water or air as elements, let alone the earth. An eerie feeling shot down her spine and she suddenly felt cold all over. A part of Sally didn’t want to acknowledge any of the feelings that she’d been having from the moment she’d arrived in Oceanside or the strange things that had gone on recently. But another part of her refused to let the feelings go. Some part of her knew that something was wrong—really, really wrong.

Jericho was shaking with the need to phase and let his wolf run free. The appearance of Perizada, and his own emotions, had changed the plans that had been previously set in place.

“Why is she affecting me like this?” he growled at Cross.

“Well, apparently you can take the girl out of the supernatural world, but you can’t take the supernatural out of the girl. She’s a gypsy healer, which is why we want her in the first place.”

“And?” Jericho prompted, his patience at an all-time low.

“And gypsy healers can have an effect on unmated males, well any wolves really. Don’t forget that the healers are filled with light, more than any other being in the world. Most of the time this light has a calming effect on the wolves of a pack. But this light is so pure, so beautiful, that it can also cause young wolves to be infatuated. It’s one of the reasons healers are protected so diligently and why they always mate with a dominant male,” Cross explained, sounding way to calm for Jericho’s liking. Cross sat on the other side of the desk and leaned back in his chair, his shoulders relaxed and his hands clasped together under his chin. Everything about his posture screamed I am in control and nothing can ruffle me. Jericho supposed that was why Cross was the Alpha of the Burning Claw wolves.

“And what if I really do want to take her as my mate, not feign affection in an attempt to draw her in to our organization?” Jericho asked.

“Then I suggest you brush up on your fighting skills. She was a mated gypsy healer, under the protection of not only her mate but also the Romania and Serbian packs, and you know who the Romanian Alpha is. Obviously, her disappearance has not gone unnoticed. I’d be willing to guess that Peri is just a scout. The rest will be coming. Her mate will be coming and he will die before he lets you keep her,” Cross warned.

Jericho’s chest tightened at the thought of losing Sally. It angered him that he could lose her but it didn’t sadden him, a subtle reminder that she wasn’t his true mate. His true mate had died at the hands of a vampire before Jericho had had the chance to perform the Blood Rights, so instead of being able to join his mate, he was left on earth with only half a soul and no desire to carry on. The darkness had won and his only chance at redemption had been lost to him.

Cross motioned to the door. “If you don’t mind, I have some phone calls to make. The Order needs to be made aware of what’s going on.”