Stacy was about to share the details when Amy’s phone rang. She answered, golden hair glinting in the soft living room lamplight. “Hello?” The pleasant male voice on the other end said something that made Amy smile. Stacy had a good guess who that could be. Following a short conversation, Amy said goodbye and hung up.

“That was Spencer,” both women chorused, then laughed.

“How’d you know?” Amy asked.

“Because when you saw his name on your screen, you started grinning like an idiot. Didn’t you two just see each other?”

“He wanted to make sure I made it home safely!”

“And?” Stacy prodded.

“Annnnd he’s coming over tonight. We’re supposed to leave to start researching early tomorrow morning, and since we have about a bazillion spare rooms here, I figured he could stay over. I didn’t have to ask you, did I?”

Stacy laughed. “This is your home too, Amy. You can have guys over.”

“It’s not like—” Amy stopped short when she realized Stacy was joking and whacked her arm with a small notebook she’d been holding.

Feigning injury, Stacy replied, “But things went well with him? On the security side, I mean?”

Stacy couldn’t spare Rowan to go with Amy on her work trip as a bodyguard. Amy had insisted she didn’t need one since she would be out of state, but Stacy wouldn’t hear of it. So they had agreed to ask Spencer and that his going with Amy would serve as a trial run. Based on Amy’s excitement in talking to him, Stacy now wondered if things had changed.

“Security side went well. He knows what he’s doing,” Amy replied. “And stop giving me that look!”

“What look?”

“The look that says, ‘Amy, did you have sex with him?’”

Stacy smirked. “Well, did you? No shame in shagging the bodyguard.”

Amy glowered. “I didn’t. And he’s not my bodyguard. Yet.”

Soon, Stacy thought. Maybe he’d be Amy’s boyfriend, too. There was no denying Amy and Spencer were insanely hot people, and together…

They had first befriended Spencer because he worked at their local gym. Not long after meeting him, they learned his gym job was part-time, and he was a seasoned investigator. Amy thought this made him hotter. Stacy thought it made him far more eligible to be Amy’s partner. He was the perfect guy to trail Amy and ensure she wasn’t harmed.

They had previously discussed hiring him as Amy’s personal bodyguard since Rowan had many other duties. Stacy was worried about Spencer getting involved in magic, but she trusted anyone Amy trusted and wanted her safe above all else.

“He’ll be here in fifteen,” Amy added as she headed for the kitchen.

Stacy trailed after her. “He can have any bedroom he wants. Any⁠—”

“Not mine,” Amy cut in. Her lips twitched. “Not yet.”

Stacy sighed happily. “I love that word. ‘Yet.’”

“So what happened tonight?” Amy asked, desperate to change the subject.

Stacy updated her on Miles Ironwood and Kiera Swiftshadow and the strange things regarding their past with Rowan. Amy seemed equally curious. “I wonder if they were once in love and something happened. Maybe Rowan’s grumpiness is simple longing.”

“Maybe,” Stacy echoed. “It sure was funny to watch. You should have been here.” She told Amy the pair would be back tomorrow to move in and start work. Amy would be gone most of the day but hoped to return by dinner and eat with them.

Stacy was about to tell her that Kiera claimed to be a better cook than Rowan when Spencer called again, asking Amy to let him in the front gate. “I’ll need you to…” she started.

“Already on it,” Stacy replied. Rowan had rigged up a magical device for her to put the wards down until she learned to channel her magic and take them down the right way.

Moments later, Spencer stood in the foyer, hands shoved deep in his jean pockets and his gaze trailing the house’s interior with awe. “Damn, this is your house?” he asked Stacy.

Stacy was still learning to handle people’s reactions to her wealth. She didn’t need to say anything because he added with a laugh, “I think I’ll be more than happy to occasionally stay here.”

Stacy glanced at Amy, a joke on her tongue. Amy glared, warning her not to say it. You might have magic, but I’ll still take you down, her green gaze said.

Stacy probably would have let her. Instead, she outlined what Spencer’s job would be like if he chose to be Amy’s bodyguard. She highlighted various dangers they had faced over the past few months as a result of their investigating. She spoke at length about Lenny Dolos and Victor Corbinelli but left out any mention of magic. Don’t need to scare him off yet, she thought.

Amy picked up on Stacy’s discretion and gave her a grateful look.

Spencer took the instructions in stride, seeming undaunted by the dangers. If anything, it made him more apt to protect her. “I’m honored to be considered for the job,” he stated.

Amy beamed and looped her arm through his before leading him toward the stairs. “I can show you to your room now.”

His name was Stormshaft, which Victor thought was utterly ridiculous.

Werewolves, especially their leaders, often had interesting names for themselves and their packs. This particular group called themselves the Storm Pack and kept their headquarters in East Harlem. Victor didn’t give a fuck what name they went by as long as they got the job done.

Stormshaft might have had a laughable name, but nothing about his appearance or reputation was funny. In human form, he was tall, broad, and corded with muscle. Everywhere. In wolf form, he had gleaming teeth, claws as long as Victor’s arm, and blazing red eyes, not to mention the bloodthirstiness Victor needed.

Stormshaft stood in Victor’s office in his human form, though Victor noticed the ends of his claws occasionally poking from behind his knuckles. Every once in a while, patches of fur appeared on his bare arms.

Maybe this fella was too hot-headed. Most werewolves were. Victor narrowed his eyes. He was running out of options since most of his best agents were off looking for Voss. This had better work, he thought.

Victor ran a surveying eye over the pack leader, then growled, “I hope I’m not making a mistake by hiring you and your pack.”

“You aren’t,” Stormshaft replied, his voice a near snarl. “My brothers and I have a taste for blood, especially witches.”

If not for the human form, Stormshaft would have licked his fucking chops.

“Samson,” Victor warned.

The pack leader cringed at the use of his regular name. “Don’t disappoint me,” Victor added. “The witch will have to wait, I’m afraid.”

The wolf balked. “But you promised⁠—”

Victor held up a hand to silence him, keeping his tone even as he said, “The time for dealing with the witch will come, but we have to step carefully. Though I see Stacy Drake as a threat, she might also be useful to us in…other ways.”

The wolf leader’s mouth opened in a wide, menacing smile.

“You know the consequences for failure,” Victor went on, as casually as if he was mentioning the weather. Desperation shone in Stormshaft’s eyes. Victor heard how loudly the wolf’s heart pounded. Was it out of fear or excitement, he wondered?