The grass curved toward me as I stalked around the Galinsky's grounds. The blades grew higher and higher as my concern built. It was like the field of green wanted to wrap itself around me to soothe my agitation. I didn't know whether I wanted to be mad or worried and that only made things worse.

Sophie didn't show up at the Moon Festival last night.

At first, I was upset. I was Alexander Greenhaven. I made women melt with a single whispered word. I didn't get stood up. But why would Sophie stand me up like that?

That was when my anger abruptly cleared. I started to get worried. I tried to call her and left a voicemail. About that time, the admission staff started giving me looks of pity.

I finally bought my ticket and went in, but kept glancing at my phone. I was waiting for a call to tell me she had an emergency delivery or something. Anything. I got nothing but a single text shortly after the festival ended.

I had recoiled as I read it. What the hell was that for? I tried to call her again, but she didn't answer. I sent her a text, but she didn't reply. I played our conversation over in my mind. I knew she was hesitant to go with me, yet I had been persistent and look where it got me. That was when I got mad again, but my anger was directed at myself and nobody else.

The ground churned as roots started to coil up from somewhere deep within the ground. I was so lost in my thoughts that I couldn't even pinpoint what plants they belonged to. My agitation simply made them grow.

"Hey, whoa, what's the deal?" Maddox's startled voice cut through the upset clouding my mind. "This might be Fayoak, and we might be out of sight, but that's still risky. Tourists are everywhere."

I blinked down at the gnarled knot of roots curling around my feet. "Damn, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

"Just . . . put them back."

I nodded and crouched down. I narrowed my focus and held a hand out to carefully guide the roots back into the ground. The earthy scent of the soil was soothing and helped me cool down.

The joy I usually felt when using my magic was missing. I was too upset, and I had no idea why I was letting myself get so worked up.

If Sophie didn't want me, then so be it. I could deal with that. The roots tensed with my agitation, then started to coil upward again. I forced them back down.

"Honestly, what's the deal?" Maddox asked.

I winced at the concern in his voice. The tree behind me cracked and groaned as it shot up an extra foot. "I'm fine."

Maddox raised a cool brow. His eyes flickered from me to the tree, yet he said nothing.

"I don't know what it is, man." I placed a hand over my face. "I shouldn't even be this worked up. It's not like me."

"Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen you like this. What happened?"

"A woman. Never been this bent out of shape before. This is exactly what I've tried to avoid for so long."

Maddox mulled over his reply for a moment. "Is this about Sophie?"

My mouth opened then shut as I thought of an answer. I wasn't completely sure how he guessed it was her on the first try. Had I really been that obvious about my attraction toward her?

"Yeah," I replied slowly, "it is. We were going to go to the Moon Festival last night. No big deal, but—"

"Oh, only the Moon Festival? A softly lit Japanese Garden. A tea ceremony. Soft music in the air. Nothing romantic or special about that." He raised that damned brow again and smirked at me.

"C'mon, Sophie and I are obviously just friends."

"Then why are you so 'bent out of shape' about her missing your date?"

"That's the thing. She didn't miss it. She just didn't show up."

"Come to think of it, she kinda lost it on me for a minute the other morning." Maddox frowned. "You think she's alright?"

"Probably. I plan to check on her after we're done here." I hoped that I would be less agitated by then.

I saw her text in my mind again. Stay away from me. I would do just that, but I had to talk to her before I walked away permanently.

My gut said there was something else to this. I knew well enough by now that Sophie was the type to try to take everything on herself and not ask for help. I had to be sure before I could part from her for good.

I sighed and looked toward the other side of the property where Sophie was renting the guest house. We were working on the main house today. Once I got the old plants cleaned up, I would decide what to plant between the guest house and the main house.

The bushes and weeds around Sophie's place were already cleaned up. I could have started planting there today, but I really didn't want to work over there right now.

I was going to check on her, just in case, but I needed some time to sort out my thoughts. Even if she wouldn't answer my calls, I needed to make sure she was okay.

My thoughts circled back to the beginning. The way she made my heart pound like a drum when I first saw her. My thoughts fast-forwarded to the day at Maddox and Rose's wedding. The way she looked at me with fear and hurt in her eyes when I pushed too far.

Maybe this was her way of telling me she wasn't interested once and for all. If so, well, I would respect that, no matter how much my inner voice screamed at me to try to change her mind.

The tree behind me trembled, and I could feel it starting to surge upward again as I grew more upset. I quickly looked back at Maddox to see if he had noticed. Of course he had.

"If you're that interested in her, why not just tell her?"

I looked down and focused on moving the rest of the displaced roots back underground. "I don't know what you mean."

"You can't honestly think I'm that blind."

"Well, you know, that whole thing with Rose . . ." I flashed him a grin.

"That's not getting stale or anything." Maddox sighed, pulled off his gloves, then took a seat on the ground by my feet, arms hanging over his knees.

"You two knew each other basically your entire lives."

With the roots firmly underground, I moved a step away from the tree and took a seat beside him on the grass. I raised my head to the sun, eyes closed. The warm rays brushed over my skin and, for a moment, everything was alright again.

"That's what made it so hard to tell," he insisted.

It was easy to distract him by poking fun at his laborious search for his mate that was right in front of him. And, honestly, it was probably one of my favorite activities. Aside from coaxing out Sophie's inner fire.

"Likely story."

"Hey, you think I can't tell you're avoiding the subject?"

I opened my eyes and looked back down at the grass. I ran my fingers over the blades. They arched toward me in a little dance as I moved my hand around in a circle. I knew he wanted me to admit that I enjoyed Sophie's company, and I did.

I had been surprised by how nice it was to sit down and have dinner with her. No expectations for anything else. Just good food and great conversation, plus a little flirting.

The kiss nearly blew my mind, if I was being honest. It was strange that she went from giving me one of the best kisses of my life to shoving me away. Maybe the wine was to blame.

"Look," I finally said, "I'm attracted to her, yeah, but relationships aren't my thing."

"Not your thing?" Maddox snorted. "I'm not buying that."

"It's true."

"Why?"

"I have my reasons."

"Lay it on me."

My gut clenched as my brain kicked into overdrive. I had to figure out a way to change the topic. He didn't need to know why I was like this. In fact, nobody needed to know. Those memories were best locked away where they couldn't actively torment me.

"How did we get here?" I fell back into the grass and stared up at the sky. "Can I get the old snarling Maddox back?"

"Nah, you've crossed the threshold into friend status, so I have to stick my nose in your problems."

"Great."

"Be glad I'm a cat, at least we give you some space. Not like the wolves." He shuddered. "They're always in everybody's business."

The corners of my mouth curved up into a small smile at his attempt to lighten the atmosphere. I didn't think I could even pinpoint exactly what it was that had darkened my mood so dramatically. It wasn't only my past.

This was also beyond being upset over Sophie standing me up. It was true that I had pursued her longer than any other woman before. Maybe I was so disappointed because I had been so close, only to have the rug pulled out from under me?

No, that didn't feel right either.

Maddox interrupted my thoughts to ask, "Why can't you be in a relationship with her?"

"I thought we were discussing why I'm so bent out of shape."

"I'm much more interested in knowing why you can't be with her long-term."

I furrowed my brows together. Maddox and I might be friends now, but that really wasn't something I wanted to get into with anybody. The past was the past, and it wasn't even the only reason why we couldn't be together for long.

"She's a shifter, for one."

"I think Rose and I have proven that shifters can mate with non-shifters."

"Mate." I shivered in the loudest and most exaggerated way I could. "You shifters are so primal."

"Hey, your girlfriend is a shifter."

"We've already covered this—I don't do girlfriends."

"But not why," he interjected.

"Yeah, you're pretty observant today, aren't you?" Although the sun felt amazing, I forced myself to get up. I didn't want to talk in circles anymore. "C'mon, we've got work to do, boss. That house isn't going to repair itself and the weeds won't pull themselves out."

Maddox gave me a loaded look that told me he was going to let it go for now, but he knew that I was full of it. Oh well.

I frowned as my thoughts turned back to how upset I was because Sophie hadn't shown up. I hadn't been that hurt since . . . No, I wouldn't go there. I shook my head and got back to work. I couldn't let myself get sucked into those thoughts. That demon was one that I'd prefer to leave caged in my past.

"Oh, hey, my help for the day is coming up the road." Maddox chuckled. "You're going to love this."

I squinted off into the distance and eyed the big truck that was tearing down the dirt road. It was kicking up so much dust that I could barely tell what it looked like. A second later, I realized it wasn't just kicking up dirt—thick, chunky layers of mud covered most of the truck. I furrowed my brow in confusion.

"When did Charlie get a truck that huge? I thought he tried to lay low?"

"Charlie's still driving his beater. That isn't Charlie."

"Then who? Are you still hiring?"

"In a sense, yeah. Just . . . keep an open mind, alright?"

I rose both my brows to my forehead and grinned. "What the hell have you done?"

Before he got a chance to answer, the truck came to a skidding stop about twenty feet in front of us. Dirt flew through the air, far enough away that we only got a light dusting. I coughed and squinted at the tinted windows.

The doors popped open.

Maddox waved. "Hey, guys."

A moment later, I watched as two muscled, yet somehow chubby, men hopped out. They hit the ground with giant grins and were dressed in worn jeans and frayed plaid shirts, ready for a day of hard work.

I looked at Maddox questioningly as they clomped over to us, then gave them a friendly grin of greeting. Why did I need to keep an open mind? Did Maddox think I had something against blue collar guys? I was one myself.

Maddox's brows rose. "You don't know them?"

"No. Why would I?"

"Well, Alex . . . I'd like you to meet Emery and George."

My grin stiffened like someone had ironed it onto my face. I turned to Maddox and let my wide eyes do the talking. He just shrugged.

"They're stuck here because of me, so I figured I'd help them out. They're actually pretty handy."

"Maddox, my man," I said through my strained smile, "they're stuck here because they shot you."

"They saw a panther with glowing green eyes run through the woods. I don't really blame them. It sucked, yeah, but they've turned over a new leaf.

"Plus, they tell me what Nadine's up to. She's too nosy for her own good. We need to keep an eye on her, y'know? Can't risk her running to the tabloids about weird things in Fayoak."

I wanted to brush off the two of them being in Fayoak still, like I did with most things, but I couldn't. I mean, this didn't even concern me. It was Maddox's choice, yet it still bugged me that they were this close. That thought brought me up short. Close to what?

The moment I questioned myself, I realized it was because they were too close to Sophie. Damnit. I had forgotten to warn her that they were still in town.

"Hey there, Maddox," they said at the same time in thick country accents when they reached us.

"Oh, look at the pretty one, Emery," one of them said.

Emery nodded. "Shoot, George, I ain't never seen a man so beautiful."

George looked startled, then leaned in close to Emery to loudly whisper, "That's a man?"

"Sure is," Emery replied.

George stiffened. "Well, it's not like a man can't compliment another man."

"Nobody's sayin' ya can't, George."

I twisted my lips to avoid laughing. This was new for me. I knew that I was pretty nice to look at, but I wasn't full fae, so I still looked fairly masculine.

If they kept it up, it was going to be hard for me to stay mad at them. I was never good at being mad to begin with, and if they were going to make me laugh, to hell with it.

"He's not as pretty as that lady we ran into earlier, right, Emery?" George puffed up his barreled chest, as if he had something to prove. I was half-tempted to go over there and make him question himself some more.

"Have you guys found love in Fayoak then?" Maddox asked in an amused tone.

"Sure have, but I dunno that either of us stands a chance," Emery said with a shake of his unruly, dirty blond hair.

"Oh? What's the lovely lady's name?"

"What did Nadine say it was again? Sarah?" George mused.

"Nah, it was Sophie. I remember 'cause her name is just as pretty as she is."

My heart froze.

"When did you see her?" I asked, my tone sharper than ever before.

"I dunno, the other day?"

I knew I should've warned her. These guys seemed harmless, but I didn't like the fact that she had missed our date after seeing them.

It was too coincidental. I mentally kicked myself for not checking on her sooner. I shot them a narrow-eyed look then turned to Maddox.

"I've gotta leave early today. I'll finish later."

Maddox gave me a confused frown but shrugged.

I didn't want to leave him alone with the two of them, but I was certain he would be fine. Maddox could take care of himself.

I had to find Sophie.