I could barely keep my grin contained. I couldn't believe it had only been a day. So much had happened. Last night had happened. My body responded and I pulled myself back under control. Now was not the time. Rhonda walked in front of me and my eyes roved over the back of her body. That woman was as gorgeous coming as she was going.

Rhonda gave me a cheeky smile over her shoulder as I followed her into the lobby of the sheriff's office. "Is there a reason why you're lagging behind?"

"I might be enjoying the view."

She turned around and plowed into me, her arms wrapping around me in a tight hug. I engulfed her in my arms and dropped my chin down to drop a kiss on her head. She raised her face, and I couldn't resist the invitation. Our lips met, and heat raced through my blood.

We had been like this all morning. Hugging. Kissing. Little touches here and there. It was as if we were trying to make up for years of missed opportunities. It was a feat of strength to pull away from each other and behave long enough to go pick up Caleb from Izzy's and get him off to school.

"You know," I murmured against her lips, "we could be doing much better things with this time. Your apartment is kid-free for a few more hours. You sure we need to do this?"

I could smell her desire for me, and her eyes ran over me, making my body respond even more. She licked her lips and hope ran through my veins that she was going to agree to hop back in the car so we could head home.

Rhonda reluctantly pulled back and took a deep breath, then shook her head. My heart sank. I knew that look.

"As tempting as that is, we need to do this. You think Sheriff Kobayashi would forgive us if we didn't give him our official statements? Besides, it's kind of important."

I heaved a sigh and released her from my arms. "You're right. Let's go face the gatekeeper."

"Gatekeeper?"

"You'll see."

We approached the window. Sure enough, Marion was sitting there, the same as yesterday. She eyed me curiously for a moment, as if checking to see if I had brought her more dessert. When she saw I was empty-handed, she frowned at us in disapproval. I was so happy I only found it amusing.

"We're here to see Sheriff Kobayashi," I said with a smile.

Her frown deepened. "Do you have an appointment?"

"Yes, actually," I replied."The sheriff asked us to come by to give our statements."

The officer pursed her lips and nodded. "Take a seat."

Rhonda watched the officer leave, then looked at me with laughter in her eyes. "That's one hell of a gatekeeper."

"I told you."

"I just want to get this over with." She sighed. "If we have to wait, we might as well have a seat and see what awful magazines they have."

"You go ahead, I'm fine."

"Why don't you want to—Oh, I see." Her voice faded out as she took in the flimsy chairs.

"Yeah, they'd be flat as crêpes if I sat down.I don't think we'll be waiting long, though."

She lifted a brow. "Oh? How often do you come to visit the sheriff’s office?"

Before I could answer, the locked door clicked and swung open.

"Frankly, I've been struggling to keep him away lately," Jeremy said with a grin.

"Not my fault," I grumbled as I gestured for Rhonda to enter through the door first. "It wasn't my idea to come by today."

"No, you just had to go storm in to stop a blood sacrifice and drag my sorry ass in with you."

"Drag your sorry ass?" I said. "I recall you jumping at the opportunity to join me."

He said nothing. Instead, he flashed me a knowing grin as he passed us, leading the way to his office.

"How did you end up mixed in all this, by the way?" Rhonda asked.

"He brought me the syringe." Jeremy looked over his shoulder. "I've got the results, by the way."

"What syringe?" Rhonda asked, brows furrowed. "Why do I get the feeling I'm missing something here?"

I winced as I realized I hadn't mentioned the syringe to her.

"I found a syringe outside your place one night. Smelled like Jude." I cleared my throat and looked to the side. "I might've followed him, too."

"You followed him? Where?"

With hesitation, I looked back at her. Relief flowed through me when I saw amusement in her gaze.

"Every Witch Way. I ran into that barrier when I got there, though."

"What barrier?" Rhonda asked as Jeremy led us into his office. He walked around his desk and sat down with an air of anticipation. He seemed to be enjoying the story.

I frowned at him and he grinned in response. I nodded to the door and he raised an eyebrow, not taking my hint to leave. I guess I couldn't blame him—it was his office, after all.

I turned my attention back to Rhonda. "Somehow the witches had a magical barrier around the shop."

"What kind of barrier?"

"Invisible. Only witches could pass through."

"How did you get through then?"

"Paige gave us a potion." I frowned. "Witch's blood, she called it."

Rhonda shivered and a frown crossed her face. "A barrier that needs a potion like that must've come from blood magic. That's why they call the potion witch's blood. Their type of dark humor."

"What do you mean, blood magic?" Jeremy asked, his eyes narrowed as he turned to his computer and typed something on the screen. "Mind if I record this? Might need this information."

"Wait," I said, "what about the syringe. You said you got the report?"

"It's a weird one." Jeremy pulled out a sheet of paper. "Get this, my tech said the ingredients included chocolate and caramel."

"Chocolate?" Rhonda said, eyes wide.

"Yeah, and he was stumped by the other chemical compounds until one of the witches on staff looked at it. He said it would have the same effect as a sort of magical aphrodisiac if ingested."

Rhonda closed her eyes and shook her head. "That son of a bitch. At least he had the decency to keep his son from eating it."

A low growl rumbled out of me. "That explains—"

I stopped myself when I saw Jeremy's interested expression. I met Rhonda's gaze and a small smile tilted her mouth. She knew I was thinking back to that heated kiss in her kitchen. I hadn't been able to keep my hands off her. My body had felt out of control.

"Explains what?" Jeremy asked.

"Nothing you need to know about," I muttered.

He looked at me with narrowed eyes. When it was clear I wasn't planning on giving him any more details, he shook his head and turned back to his computer.

"As long as it's not important to the case. Now, Rhonda, you said something about blood magic, yeah? Mind if I record this?"

"No, go ahead," Rhonda said with a smile. "I hope it helps. The only way to make that type of barrier would be to use blood magic. I don't know how the other witches could stand to pass through that barrier."

"It wasn't up all the time," I said.

She nodded. "It's expensive magic. They probably only did the ritual for the barrier when they were planning something horrendous."

"Like a human sacrifice?" Jeremy asked, frantically typing.

I leaned over in my chair to wrap my arm around Rhonda when she folded her arms around her waist.

"Could be. That would be much more powerful than animal sacrifice, for sure. You may want your folks to look for bodies. I can't believe they got away with so much. I should've known something was up when Jude showed up."

I rubbed her arm. "Don't blame yourself. None of us had any idea."

"He said something when I was in that basement," Rhonda said.

"Wait, let me get the report form up. This was for my notes overall. I think it's time we started with those official statements. I'm going to record the conversation, too. That way I won't miss anything."

I was starting to get a kink leaning over, so as Jeremy pulled a small recording device out of a drawer, I scooted my chair right next to Rhonda's. I put my arm around her shoulders again. My heart felt like it was going to burst when she leaned into me and put her hand on my knee. Jeremy nodded and Rhonda took the go-ahead to start telling her side of the story.

When she got to the point where Jude told her that he thought it was acceptable to sacrifice her for power, my gut churned. I clenched my jaw as I turned my head and dropped my chin to her hair. Immense benefit, very little cost. He was so wrong.

I inhaled deeply, using her scent to ground me. To remind myself, and my bear, that she was safe. Jude was locked up and couldn't hurt her anymore. As much as I wanted to tear him apart, I couldn't. He had to face punishment for all of his crimes. Being locked away for the rest of his life, rotting in a cell, was what he deserved.

Every day he would wake up on that little cot with bars for a door. His suit would be a polyester cotton prison jumpsuit, just like everyone else. His artisan food would be produced from a mass kitchen. The closest he would get to flowers was what he could see growing outside the fence.

While he was confined, he would have to live with the knowledge that this amazing woman was forever out of his reach. She was going to marry me, and his children would be mine. He didn't deserve such a wonderful family. I even had trouble thinking that I deserved them myself, but they were mine. And I was keeping them.

Rhonda's hand patted my thigh, bringing me back to the moment. "I threw the altar slab through the wall, then your people arrived."

I raised my head to look up at Jeremy. His eyes remained on his screen. He shook his head with a low whistle as he finished typing. He clicked a couple of times with his mouse, then I heard the sound of a printer.

"You need my statement?" I asked.

He opened a desk drawer and pulled out a piece of paper. He put it in front of me with a pen. He reached over and pushed a button on the recorder. It stopped with a small click.

"Nope. I was with you. Read this. Let me know if you have any corrections or additions. If it's good, sign it." He placed another piece of paper in front of Rhonda. "Same for you. Read it, let me know if you have any corrections. If it all looks good, sign away."

We both looked over our documents. I was impressed. The information was incredibly detailed and thorough. He even included the bit about the bugs.

"It wasn't magic that killed those bugs?" I asked when I got to that part.

"Nope. We found an industrial-sized jug of bug spray."

I wrinkled my brow. "Why would they have the bug spray?"

"Oh, summoning bug swarms is common mind control training," Rhonda said in a distracted tone. "They're great and very effective when they work. Problem is, they're difficult to control. The swarms get loose and attack everything, especially if the summoners get distracted. They have to keep something on-hand when a swarm gets loose."

Jeremy shook his head. "You'd think they'd try something less vicious. Like, I don't know, crickets, maybe."

"You would think," Rhonda agreed.

"Speaking of vicious, remember those tourists I asked you about, Rhonda?"

She frowned. "The couple who were going to go camping and the missing man?"

"Yeah, them. Well, I wanted to let you know we found some of their possessions in that basement. Judging by the confessions we've already gotten, it sounds like you weren't going to be the first human sacrifice the coven had performed."

I felt my stomach clench at how close I came to losing her and let out a deep breath. It was done.

Rhonda shuddered beside me. "I don't know how they could do something so awful."

"Ah, well," Jeremy sighed, "they won't be doing anything like that anymore."

"Why not?" I asked.

"We shut down the coven. Completely disbanded. They know if they have meetings of more than three witches, we'll come down on them faster than lightning."

"What happened to Paige, by the way?" Rhonda asked, looking up at Jeremy. "She wasn't really in with them. And she helped you get in there."

"She stayed locked up overnight. We wanted to make sure we got everyone. It was a good thing she was here, actually, because she helped us identify all the members. Turned out I had one on my staff."

"I'm guessing it wasn't the one who tested the syringe?"

"No, thankfully. We have a few witches on staff. Only one of them was an active coven member. Between Paige and my other two witches on staff, we were able to be absolutely certain of my staff member's involvement. He probably worked to keep our eyes off the coven, I imagine."

"How do you know the others on your staff weren't in the coven?" Rhonda interjected sharply. "If they lived here, they probably were."

Jeremy gave Rhonda an amused grin. I glanced over at her. A reluctant smile curved her mouth and she shook her head.

"Okay, I know that I wasn't. But I'm an exception to the rule, right?"

"Not as much as you think," Jeremy said. "The other two witches on my staff are pretty straight-laced. They left the coven years ago. It was thanks to them that the cavalry was able to get past the barrier. Their witch blood allowed them to pass the barrier, and they made the witch holding the spell in place drop it. Needless to say, they weren't fans of Jude, either."

"Where is Jude?" Rhonda suddenly asked, tension in her voice. "Is he still here?"

"Yeah, but don't worry. He's locked up tight in a holding cell. We're going to send him to a larger prison facility several hours away later today, along with the other members of the coven we arrested last night."

Satisfaction coiled through me at those words. I'd be much happier once Jude was out of Fayoak and locked away for good.

"He's a witch," Rhonda said with a frown. "They all are. How are you going to hide that in prison?"

Jeremy's smile was sharp. "Fayoak may be unique, but there are magical people all over, as well as law enforcement like me who know about them. We have a special prison just for this sort of thing."

"How come I haven't heard of this before?" I asked with a frown.

"Why would you?" Jeremy replied with a raised brow. "Get in trouble with the law much?"

I opened my mouth to answer, then closed it. "I guess I wouldn't. No need, right?"

Rhonda shifted around in her seat for a moment, then cleared her throat. "Could I . . . Could I see him before you ship him out?"

"Why?" Jeremy asked before I could.

"I have questions. It's going to bug me if I don't get answers. I certainly don’t want to go visit him in prison."

Jeremy studied her for a few seconds. "You think you can get him to confess to more?"

"Maybe. Jude likes to gloat."

"We still haven't been able to get Heather to tell us how she figured out how to do the scent-me-not potions or the blood magic. You think he's connected?"

Rhonda’s eyes narrowed and a determined expression crossed her face. "Only one way to find out."

I held back a smile. I knew that look. If Jude knew what was good for him, he would answer Rhonda's questions quickly.

Jeremy typed something into his computer and stood up with a nod. "Okay folks, let's get going."

He stepped out of his office and went to the left. We followed him down the hallway. He paused, then opened a solid metal door. We walked through and into a long hallway with a cement floor. It was brightly lit, but there was nothing to see except more hallway.

He continued walking and I realized I was completely relaxed. No anxiety knotted my shoulders. Even my bear was relaxed. I puzzled over that thought until I realized it was because Rhonda was officially mine.

Wait. Not officially. Not yet. I needed to figure out how to get married. It wasn't something I had ever imagined myself doing. I realized, in a moment of bizarre panic, that I had no idea how to get started.

"Rhonda, how do you get married?" I asked, ignoring how dumb I felt asking the question.

She grinned at me, but Jeremy answered before she could say anything, "First, you have to ask someone. I'm not interested, but maybe Rhonda is."

"Smart ass," I grumbled as Rhonda shook with quiet laughter beside me.

"Better than a dumb one."

"You have to get a license and someone to officiate."

"Where do we get the license?"

"County clerk."

"Can just anybody officiate the ceremony? Or are there special—"

"Wait," Jeremy interrupted. He stopped and turned around to face us with a grin. "Are you finally going to marry Rhonda?"

I exchanged a look with her. "Of course."

"Well, as it happens, the clerk's office is in the next building over. You can get the license there. There are rules as to who can officiate a ceremony, but I happen to know someone. However, for now . . ."

He turned back around and opened the door to the right, gesturing for us to go in. "Holding cells are down these stairs. We'll pick up this discussion later."

All the levity in the air faded as we went down the stairs. It was wide enough for three people to fit side by side, yet it felt like I was being squeezed through a narrow tube. My gut churned. I knew Rhonda could handle this, but Jude set my bear on edge. I wasn't so sure he was going to cooperate with her plan.

The stairs ended in a small room with another metal door. Next to the door was an intake window. The guard sitting behind it gave us a flat look as we walked up to the window.

Jeremy pushed the button next to the speaker. "We're here to see Jude Nielson."

The guard blinked and continued to study us without saying a word.

"Talkative, isn't he?" Rhonda whispered to me.

A moment later, the guard finally pushed a button and a buzz filled the air. Jeremy smiled grimly and grabbed the door handle. We stepped through and Jeremy walked forward to another door.

"Why the double doors?" I asked.

"If, for some reason, prisoners manage to escape their cells and get the first door open, they can't get out the next. As an additional safeguard, there's a keypad that requires a code and a thumb-print scan at the top of the stairs, too."

We followed him down another hallway. How many hallways did this place have? He opened the door to a small room that was poorly lit. It was mostly empty except for several chairs. I figured if I shifted into my bear form, I could touch one side of the room with my nose, and the other with my rear.

One wall was glass and looked into a room not much bigger than this one. There was a table with a chair on each side and that was it. A large computer setup was on the far side of the room. I frowned as I looked at it, trying to figure out what all the equipment was.

Jeremy walked over to it and hit a few keys on the keyboard. The computer made a whirring noise as the screen came to life. He hit a few more keys, and other equipment started to click and scratch to life. Was all that stuff to record everything?

The door to the room on the other side of the glass opened, drawing my attention. A guard escorted Jude into the room. His hands and his feet were cuffed with a chain running between them. He wore a bright, neon green polyester jumpsuit and had thin slippers on his feet.

He kept his head held high as he walked, although his mouth was twisted in a grimace. His nostrils flared with annoyance with every step he took. Next to me, Rhonda sucked in a deep breath.

"Can he see us?" she whispered.

"No, he can't see nor hear us. The guard will be in the room with him the entire time. Do you want to go in alone, or do you want Sam to go with you?"

I clenched my jaw. I wanted to go with her. I didn't want her in the same room with him where he could hurt her again. There was no amount of protection that I would consider enough unless I was right there by her side. I knew I couldn't make her decision for her, though, so I kept my mouth shut, resigned to stomach whatever she chose.

Rhonda looked at me and studied my face.

"I have to do this, Sam," she said softly.

"I know."

"I think he'll say more if I go in alone. Trust me?"

I took a deep breath, then let it out. "Of course."

She smiled and hugged me. I wrapped my arms around her with a soft exhale. She was mine, and I was hers. I trusted her, and she was one of the most capable people I knew.

She pulled away and looked at Jeremy. "I'll go by myself. Let's get this over with."

He nodded and walked to the door. He swung it open and she stepped into the hallway. I looked through the glass at Jude as he sat at the table, staring at his hands. Seconds later, the door to the room on the other side of the glass opened and she stepped in.

Jude's head whipped up. He looked at her with a blank expression for a second before his face oozed into a superior smile. Rhonda stood in front of the table with her back to the glass. I moved to the side but found that I could still only see her profile.

"There you are," Jude said, his tone amiable. "Have you come to your senses and decided to help me out of this place?"

"Jesus, Jude." Rhonda sounded exasperated. "I don't know how it took me so long to see you for the manipulative, sad bastard that you are."

The smile fell off his face. "If you aren't going to be useful, you can just leave."

"That won't be happening, no matter how badly you want it. You see, you have no power here. You especially have no power over me."

He narrowed his eyes and glared at her. "I have more power than you think."

"What are you going to do, Jude? Make it so I can't use my powers?" Rhonda laughed. "That'll do you a lot of good, won't it? Look, I don't want to be here talking to you either, but I have a few questions. Answer them, and you'll never have to see me again."

He said nothing. His expression was cold.

Rhonda let out an exaggerated sigh. "I just don't get why you were so sloppy. Why not choose a pack closer to Fayoak?"

Jude bristled. "I was not sloppy, I was—"

She placed her hands on the edge of the table and leaned forward. "You were what?"

Jude looked at her, and I realized he was looking through her as if she wasn't even there. Rhonda asked him question after question. He simply stared at her without saying a word. My anger grew as he ignored her completely. Before I knew it, I was on my feet. But an idea grew in the back of my head. I thought I might be able to get him to give us all the information we wanted.

"Sam, what are you doing?" Jeremy asked as I calmly walked to the door.

"Rhonda's got everything out of him that she can," I said. "He's not going to tell her anything more."

"You got a plan?"

My only answer was a sharp grin over my shoulder at Jeremy. I moved to open the door where Rhonda was with Jude.

She looked at me in surprise when I stepped inside. "Sam?"

I shook my head slowly. "That was even easier than you thought, wasn't it?"

"Yes?" she asked, her back to Jude. I could clearly see the confusion on her face.

"It didn't take you long to get him to talk."

Her eyes narrowed for a brief second as she considered what I was doing. I knew the moment everything clicked because she smiled and turned back around to face Jude.

"Easy as pie," she said with a laugh.

A slow smile curved my mouth and I saw Jude's nostrils flare.

"You think you've won, don't you?" he asked, eyes focused squarely on me.

"Sure do," I replied.

Jude sneered, "I only wish those idiots had finished the job so I didn't have to look at your smug face right now."

My attention narrowed on Jude, but I saw an almost imperceptible tensing in Rhonda's shoulders. She continued to play along, though. The satisfied smile remained on her face.

"Finished the job?" My question was a real one, but then I saw the cruel smile slowly find its way to his expression.

My mind raced, but I was careful to keep the confused expression on my face. That night when I thought I was being mugged. The attack must have been courtesy of him. It was the only thing I could think of. Jude's smug expression clearly told me he thought I hadn't figured it out. He felt superior for having information I didn't know.

He let out a bark of laughter. "You're as dense as all the other shifters, I see."

I had him. Now, I just had to keep him talking. I crossed my arms over my chest, barely resisting the urge to smile.

"That bad, huh?"

Jude snorted, his hate-filled eyes trying to bore through me. "You have no idea."

"Why'd you start with a pack so far away from Fayoak, then? Why not one here? Or in the next town over? Seems like you wouldn't want to have to lead them so far."

"What do you care? Why do you need me to tell you?"

"I just know what we were told. I was sure you might have a better explanation for your terrible idea, but . . ."

"You just don't get it, do you? I had to find an Alpha who was weak. It was sheer luck that I found one that was already corrupted and eager to bend to my will. From there, we had to find a stupidly trusting, but old Alpha. That was harder."

"Why old?"

"We had to find one who could 'die of old age,' if you will." Jude smiled cruelly. "My puppet would take their place."

"Ah, I see. Did you just stumble across the 'trusting, old Alpha' too?"

"Stumble across? No, you idiot. It was work. Research, investigation, planning. Cunning. All things you wouldn't understand."

Rhonda suddenly interjected, saying, "Did you have Heather to thank for that? She seemed pretty cunning."

"Heather?" Jude rolled his eyes. "That moron couldn't think her way out of a box. I'd been stringing her along since before I left. But then, when I found that perfect pack, the plan all fell into place."

"What about the potions?" she asked. "The ones that got rid of scent?"

"Stupid bitch. She didn't do it right. She was supposed to make a sprayable potion. It didn't last as long as it was supposed to, either. She didn't follow my orders at all."

"So, you sent Edward to have a talk with her?" Rhonda's voice had taken on a calculating edge as she worked to fit all the puzzle pieces together.

"That psychopath? No. I wouldn't trust him to tie my shoes without cutting my toes off. He managed to convince that bimbo that I sent him, and she sold him some of my potion. Blew that entire plan away when he got caught. Do you know how easy it would've been if we could've slipped in unnoticed? We'd kill that lion Alpha first and deal with the smaller packs from there. Then it all would have been mine."

I shook my head in mock sympathy. "It's so hard to find good help, isn't it?"

His narrowed gaze studied me. "Like you could even begin to understand."

"You're right." I held back my grin. "Anything else you'd like to tell me?"

"I don't even want to look at you. Either of you. I'm tired of shifters. I'm tired of all you idiots here in Fayoak. Coming back here was easily the biggest mistake I’ve ever made."

I nodded and turned to the door, gently touching Rhonda's back. "I agree."

I opened the door and carefully closed it behind us as we stepped into the hallway. The moment we were alone, Rhonda's arms slid around me and I wrapped her up in my arms.

"How'd you know he'd talk to you?" Rhonda asked as she cuddled in my arms.

"He doesn't think shifters are any smarter than animals. I figured he'd be eager to tell me how stupid we are if I dared to talk to him."

"Well, you were right," Jeremy said as he stepped into the hallway from the other room. "Good work. Now we know exactly how Heather was involved, too. I'm sure she'll be happy to hear that we can add more time to her sentence."

"So, what happens now?" I asked.

"He sits and cools his heels until transport." Jeremy motioned toward the double doors that led down to where we were. "You two, on the other hand, are free to go. I'm sure you're ready to get out of here, too. Shall we?"

"I'm so glad this is over," Rhonda said as we followed Jeremy back through the hallway. "Good riddance to that asshole."

"How long do you think he'll be locked up?" I asked Jeremy, a knot of worry forming in the pit of my stomach. "What if the judge goes easy on him?"

"That won't happen." The confidence in Jeremy's voice surprised me.

"How can you be so sure?"

"He's a clear danger to society. We have more than enough proof. I'm not sure when he'll go to trial, though. We don't have many magical judges. The few we do have are booked solid."

"Any idea how long his sentence will be?" Rhonda asked.

"Life, easily," Jeremy replied without a hint of hesitation. "His days of freedom are over."

"Which means he's out of our life for good," I said.

"So, what now?" Rhonda asked with a faint smile.

I knew exactly what I wanted to do. "Let's get married."

Rhonda laughed and shook her head. "Jeremy, you said you knew someone who could help get us hitched?"

He grinned. "Sure do. I can pull a few strings. Maybe even push the paperwork through. When do you want to get married?"

I pulled Rhonda into my arms. "How about tomorrow?"

She looked up at me and I thought my heart might explode with happiness. "I can't wait."

Behind us, I heard Jeremy laugh. "It's about time. I think the whole town has been waiting for you two to get it over with already."