“Briar Baker of Coconut Grove,” Raven read from the computer screen. “Let’s go.”

“Coconut Grove?” Alec echoed. “Are you sure?”

“That’s who the plates are registered to. Why?”

Alec shrugged, not doubting that the demon had the information before her. but it seemed bizarre that such a beat-up van belonged in such a prestigious neighborhood. Again, he thought of his theory that the license plate might have been switched, but he didn’t speak it aloud. They would see when they arrived.

“Are you coming?” Drake snapped. “We haven’t got much time to catch these guys before they start hocking stuff.” Alec nodded and rose from the suede sofa, following the pair from the house.

“Are you going out again?” Alicia called. “I just made you something to eat.” Alec eyed the housekeeper with irritated affection.

“I’ll be back soon,” he told her, even though he wasn’t sure that was true. Alicia sighed heavily, and Alec could tell she didn’t approve of him going after the robbers, but she knew better than to volunteer her thoughts. She’d been an employee of his long enough to mind her own business, which didn’t necessarily mean she didn’t offer her subtle (or not-so-subtle) objections to his actions.

Alec made no comment, getting back into the Challenger with the others. It wasn’t quite eight a.m. yet, but the storm didn’t allow a modicum of sunlight through the grey-black clouds looming above them.

“Laurel will have the cells canceled, but that doesn’t make me feel any better,” Raven huffed, taking the driver’s side. “I won’t feel better until I’ve got my hands firmly around their thieving, mortal necks.”

“How many were there? Five, six?” Drake asked. “I didn’t get a good look.”

“Six,” Alec and Raven answered in unison. There was a reason they were on the Council of Seven. They were the best of their species, inherently trained to see what others could not, despite the abilities all the Enchanted possessed.

“We’ll get the owner of the van and she’ll give up everyone,” Drake growled with determination.

“You’re damn right she will,” Raven agreed. The fury in her voice was familiar to Alec. Raven was not known for her patience, and Alec almost pitied the foolish girl they were en route to see.

His cell rang as the car moved sleekly through backroads, away from his remote mansion on the outskirts of the city.

“Leave it,” Raven snapped at Alec. “Whatever it is can wait.”

“It’s Landon,” Raven grunted, and Alec accepted the call. “What?”

“I heard what happened,” the Council Lycan announced. “Where are you guys?”

“We’re on our way to find the owner of the van.”

“I thought you might be doing something that stupid,” Landon scoffed. “Go home. All of you. This is a Council issue now that they took your phones. You can’t go after this group alone, especially not when your emotions are running so high.”

“My emotions are fine,” Alec retorted, annoyed that Landon would assume he wasn’t in control of himself. Raven, on the other hand, was more easily angered.

“Either way, you can’t go after this group. Go home. It’s an order from the Council.”

“Landon—”

“Don’t argue with me, Alec. Tell Raven. Moreover, you know better than to go anywhere with Drake. He’s not on the Council.”

Alec loathed that the Lycan had a point, and he gritted his teeth. Drake, no matter how much he liked to think he had an active role in the Council of Seven, was nothing more than a civilian. Explaining that to him was not bound to go over well with the male demon.

“I’ll tell them.” He would leave the part about Drake out, though.

“You better,” Landon said crisply. “We’re tracking your phone as we speak. I expect you’ll be turning around the minute I get off this phone.”

Alec didn’t answer and disconnected the call instead. “We have to go home. Council orders,” he grunted.

“What?” Raven demanded, her blue eyes flashing with ire. “What the hell? Why?”

“They’re tracking our phones. It’s an order, Raven. We’ll go home and wait for instructions.”

“No,” Drake snapped. “I’m not letting these bastards get away with this. I’m not going home.”

“Drake,” Alec sighed with exasperation, “You don’t have a choice. It’s an order. For all of us.”

“You’re on the damned Council!” Drake exploded. “What the hell is the point if you two have no say in anything?”

Alec felt himself tense at Drake’s slight goading, but he didn’t react. It was not really his nature to take the bait.

“You know as well as anyone that we have to do what the Council demands,” Raven snapped back. She clamped her mouth shut, as though she wanted to say something else but stopped herself. Alec caught the look he cast her in the rear-view.

She doesn’t want to say anything in front of me, he realized, and he was fine with that. If she disclosed too much, Alec knew he would be forced to speak to the Council about what was said, and knowing how furious she was, it didn’t seem fair that he had to rat out the demon.

A deep, ire-filled silence blanketed the car as Raven turned the vehicle around. The couple didn’t make a move to leave the vehicle as they paused inside the gates of Alec’s mansion.

“Why don’t you come inside and rest?” he urged, sensing that they were apt to go back on the mission they had been forbidden to undertake.

“No,” Drake snapped. “I want to go home.”

“Make sure you do,” Alec sighed. “I don’t need to tell you that the Council is watching.”

“Aren’t they always?” Drake grunted bitterly, but Alec noted with some relief that he seemed to be more reasonable than he had been. After the night they’d had, none of them needed more drama.

“I’ll be in touch,” Alec offered lamely as he exited the car. “Just lay low. We’ll figure this out.”

Neither demon said a word, and Alec barely closed the door before the Challenger zipped away, leaving him to watch after them, the rain dripping impartially down the collar of his silk shirt.

“Oh, good,” Alicia called from the doorway. “You came to your senses.” Alec turned toward her, his emerald eyes narrowing as he did.

“Did you call Landon?” he asked suspiciously, realizing the timing. Alicia’s face showed fake innocence, and Alec immediately knew she had been the one who had ratted them out.

“Hm?” she asked, ducking back into the house and out of the rain. Alec stalked in after her.

“Why did you do that?” he demanded, slamming the door behind him. “You had no right to interfere with Council affairs, Alicia.”

“It isn’t a Council affair when that hothead Drake is with you, is it?” the housekeeper replied before she could stop herself. Alec glared at her.

“Alicia, I exercise a lot of patience with you because I know you mean well, but you’ve gone too far this time.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Alicia mumbled, backpedaling. “I’m going to get you something to eat.” She disappeared before Alec could push the issue any further.

This is my own fault. I let her get too comfortable around here since she’s the only company I have outside of work. I need to keep her on a tighter leash before she does something that screws me over royally.

It was true what he had said to her—he knew that the Lycan cared about him in a motherly way, as infuriating as it was. He couldn’t fault her for caring, but he also couldn’t let his staff run amok.

If she worked at one of my offices, she would have been canned long ago, Alec thought, but he knew he would never fire Alicia. He sighed deeply and plopped onto the settee, suddenly realizing how tired he was after all that had occurred. He glanced at his watch and considered going into the office.

There was nothing pressing that couldn’t wait until the next day, and he wanted to get the mess sorted out with the robbery before he went anywhere.

I’ll eat and rest, and hopefully we’ll get everything settled today, he thought.

In the absence of Raven and Drake, Alec suddenly realized he wasn’t nearly as angry as he had been. Sure, the entire incident had been humiliating, but at the end of the day, it was only stuff. Granted, he had not lost any wedding ring, so he recognized why the demons were so irked, but for his part, Alec’s fury was melting away. Then again, Alec was mild-mannered by nature. It wasn’t like him to rush off into a storm to confront a possible suspect. He was more apt to sit back, weigh out his options, and formulate a plan of attack.

His phone was ringing again, and he stifled a sigh when he saw it was Henry this time.

“Yes?” He tried to keep the annoyance out of his voice, even though Alec wondered if he was going to have to hear from every member of the Council that morning.

“Hey,” the vampire sighed. “I just heard what happened.”

“I’m home,” Alec said quickly. “I’m not sure where the others went.”

“I’m just calling to see how you’re doing,” Henry explained. “Lane and I were concerned.”

Alec chuckled dryly. “I think our egos were hurt more than anything, but you know Raven. She’s on a mission.”

“I hope she lays low and lets the Council handle it.”

“We’ll see, I suppose.”

“You’re unflappable, aren’t you?” Henry asked, a note of admiration in his voice. “I’m not sure I’d be as nonchalant as you seem.”

“I’m tired,” Alec offered. “Maybe I’ll be more pissed when I wake up.”

“Don’t let me keep you,” Henry said magnanimously. “As I said, I just wanted to see how you were doing.”

An unexpected twinge of appreciation touched Alec, and he couldn’t help but smile. “I’m fine. Thanks for checking in.”

“If you’re worried about your weyr, I can have your second-in-command handle them until you get yourself together.”

“No!” Alec said defensively. “My weyr is fine. They don’t need to know about this.” The idea that his dragons might look at him as weak as a result of what happened pained him more than he could stand.

“It was just an offer,” Henry said quickly, sensing Alec’s discontent. “No one outside the Council needs to hear about what happened.”

Alec exhaled slowly. “Thanks,” he said, unsure of what else to say.

“All right. I imagine we’ll have another meeting about this, so I’ll see you soon,” Henry volunteered, filling the silence.

“More than likely,” Alec agreed. “Until then.” The men hung up their call, and Alicia entered the living room with a tray of food.

“Eat,” she instructed, setting the dishes down before Alec. “And go get some rest. Something tells me you need it.”

“Yes, Mother,” he joked, nodding toward her. It dawned on him then that in his life of relative solitude, he had several forces who watched over him, Alicia among them.

His mind shifted back toward the incident and how Miriam Aldwin’s face had popped so predominately into his thoughts. It was odd, to say the least. Since she had passed away, Alec had not given the former councilwoman much play in his mind, but he couldn’t shake the notion that she was trying to tell him something in those moments.

“Eat!” Alicia insisted, and Alec was forced to turn his attention back toward her. He hadn’t realized she remained watching over him.

“I am!” He reached for a fork and removed the silver lid from his plate, casting Alicia a wary look. “Are you going to stand there and watch me eat?” he demanded. Alicia didn’t move.

“Someone has to watch over you, Alec,” she replied quietly, and the dragon was consumed by a sense of déjà vu.

Who said that to me recently? Why do I feel like I’ve been here, in this exact spot before?

“I’ve gotten by for thousands of years before you,” he reminded her wryly. “I think I’ll be okay.”

“You never know what the future has in store for you, Alec.” The words weren’t meant to be ominous, and yet they filled Alec with a profound feeling of dread somehow.

“Alicia,” he groaned. “Please let me eat in peace.”

She held his gaze a minute longer, her lips forming a fine line, but she ultimately left without protest, much to Alec’s relief. Unfortunately, the lingering thought of Miriam Aldwin remained in his mind and kept him slightly on edge.

Does this have something to do with that damned mating spell she cast upon us? Alec wondered, and he almost laughed aloud.

Except that it was no longer as funny as it had been when Miriam had first announced what she had done. Miriam was a witch that was a member of the Council of Seven before she died. Before she passed away, she had cast a spell on the members of the Council to find their mates.

Like the others, he had not put much stock into the validity of such a spell, not when he had roamed the earth for three thousand years without ever finding the slightest bond to anyone resembling his mate. Not that Alec had ever actively sought one, but surely after three millennia, he would have come across someone in the Enchanted.

In the wake of Henry and Landon finding their mates, however, the two also being moderately cynical about Miriam’s promises, Alec suddenly was not so sure how he felt about it. But why was he thinking about it right then?

There was little point in trying to make sense of anything when his mind was still going from the events.

Eat and sleep, he thought grimly. Then I can look into this Briar Baker and find out what her deal is.