Incoming!”

Austin’s quick-fire warning could mean only one thing.

Before I even had a chance to prepare myself for the approaching storm, the bell jingled as the door opened.

Thanks for the heads up, I mentally groaned, making a quick note to give the high school student a stern talking-to if I survived the next few moments. I loved Austin with all my heart. Hiring him a year ago had been one of the best decisions I’d made with regard to the store, because his love for learning rivaled my own. He also was a natural whiz kid when it came to computers. In fact, the current system we used was his recommendation. The kid definitely had his finger on the latest technology pulse.

Frankly, I’d have been somewhat lost without him, but I would never tell him that.

“Sedona.” Her greeting was short and to the point. She glanced around the quiet store, a frown creasing her forehead. “I trust business is good?”

My aunt didn’t bother to try hiding her disappointment that I’d eagerly chosen to take over my grandfather’s beloved bookstore instead of following in her footsteps and working for the coven. She didn’t understand how appealing a life surrounded by literature could be. Instead, all she saw was dust and shelves, pages upon pages of tedious reading. I’d spent many evenings desperately trying to help her see, to somehow help her feel what I did, to no avail. She may have been a witch, but she was no empath.

My mother had been one—a powerful one, judging by the stories others had shared with me. My heart hurt whenever I thought about all the many missed opportunities of being guided by her as my gifts emerged.

That was before the tragic accident that had stolen my father away from us. Within a few months, my mother had joined him—dying from a broken heart.

Love could be deadly for empaths.

“How are you today, Aunt Millicent?” There was no point in commenting on her original question. No answer would please her.

A black head of hair peered around from behind one of the bookshelves. The expression Austin wore as he mouthed sorry was almost comical. Part of me wanted to beckon him out so he could act as a buffer between us.

“Is there somewhere private we can talk, niece?”

It always amazed me how effortlessly my aunt could reduce me to a little child being scolded. With a long haughty glance around my store, I knew she was looking to see if we were alone.

“If you’d rather we talk in the back storeroom with my inventory,” I stated, my heart already sinking with all the possibilities of why she wanted to have whatever conversation she’d planned away from prying eyes and curious ears. “Or you’re more than welcome to come by tonight and we can chat.”

Secretly, I wished she’d opt for neither and leave. Her unexpected visits were rarely meetings I cherished. That could be because the majority of the time I felt she saw me more as a pawn to do her bidding than as family.

While she didn’t exactly enjoy the inner circle of the coven, we had ties to the Beaumont family, and she ranked high in the coven. She absolutely enjoyed being useful to those in power.

She let out a snort of disgust. “My time is precious. I’m sure your back room will suffice.” Without waiting, she sashayed past me like she owned the place. “Better yet, send the boy out on an errand.”

I knew better than to argue, because that would only result in her lingering longer. I loved my aunt and was grateful for the way she’d taken me in after my parents’ deaths, but when she got this particular look in her eye, I knew this wasn’t a social call.

I quickly dispatched Austin on a java run, telling him to take his time coming back. The instant flash of gratitude in his eyes spoke volumes.

She scared the crap out of him—something about how he was terrified she could peer into the deepest recesses of his soul or curse him to become a toad. I always chuckled whenever he said that, because what kind of secrets could a seventeen-year-old boy be hiding?

When I finally returned to her, Aunt Millicent let out a loud, overly dramatic breath. “As you know, coven business keeps me busy, not that I’m complaining.” And here it came. “You know. Your gifts are being squandered in this . . .” Again, she didn’t bother disguising the disdain she felt as she glanced about Shelf Indulgence. “Quaint little store. Why he left it to you is beyond anyone’s understanding. He knew I had bigger, more impressive plans for you, Sedona.”

With my parents dead, it had fallen on my aunt to continue raising me and seeing to my education—both academically and supernaturally. The obvious choice would’ve been my grandfather, but with his advanced age and reclusive tendencies, the task had been left to my mother’s older sister.

It was my turn to sigh. “Did you really come here to argue, aunt?” I asked, feeling my own sense of sadness that she couldn’t see how happy my life made me.

Sometimes feeling her emotions weighed on me like a concrete-encrusted blanket. It was suppressive and overwhelming. It totally eclipsed the bond of love and family buried beneath. It was that version of Millicent that I longed to be nurtured by.

She sniffed. “I only want what’s best for you, my dear niece.” A flyer on the front counter caught her attention, giving me a temporary reprieve. “What a shame. Heidi had so much potential. If they don’t find her soon, I believe it will destroy her poor family.”

My gaze strayed over to the photograph I’d memorized.

Heidi Bennett had disappeared during the Cold Moon Ball back in December, and no amount of searching had led the authorities to her whereabouts.

“Is there still no news?” I asked, genuinely hoping there were at least a few leads to go on.

Aunt Millicent shook her head and placed the flyer back with the others on the counter. She then turned her steely gaze back to me. There’d been a flicker of compassion there—of some long ago memory that had surfaced—but it evaporated the moment she started talking again.

“Can you not see why I push so hard for you to come work for the coven?”

I closed my eyes briefly, my shoulders sagging a little before I repeated the same words I always answered her with. “We all have our own paths to walk. This is mine.” I stepped away, as if joining with the shelves behind me, my private comrades. “Why can’t you see how happy I am?”

“Duty doesn’t always equate to happiness, Sedona.”

And there was the truth—the reason why I believed my aunt was so fixated in converting me over to her way of thinking. For her, everything was about duty and control. She was willing to sacrifice happiness, and even love, if it meant she held power and could be of use.

She couldn’t comprehend that there was a myriad of ways of fulfilling your life’s purpose that didn’t result in being miserable.

“Was there something in particular you wanted?” It was time to focus on the real reason she’d stopped by the store. Aunt Millicent wasn’t one for idle chitchat.

Her gaze narrowed, and her lips turned up at the edges in a half smile. “Can’t I simply visit with my niece?”

I remained silent. We’d played this game many, many times over the years.

With a sigh of exasperation, she finally nodded. “Well, now that you mention it, I heard you had a visit from a newcomer yesterday . . . a Micah Westbrook.”

Thank goodness she didn’t share in my gifts, because the blast of longing and heat that coursed through me at the mere mention of his name would’ve shocked her.

“Yessss . . .” I drew out, cautious.

“What were your impressions of him?”

There it was, the reason why she’d come, and not because she felt any sense of obligation toward me as a family member.

She was fishing for information. Sometimes being one of the few empaths in town was exhausting. It made conversations like this a tangle of weird intentions.

“He seemed like a nice guy,” I answered. “Why, is he of interest to the coven or the Court?”

Everything was about the Luna Coven, in my aunt’s eyes.

“As you know, whenever someone comes to live in Havenwood Falls, they must meet with us and state their purpose. He registered when he first arrived, but the coven’s High Council is still . . . curious.” The way she spoke that last word sent an involuntary shiver up my spine.

“Something set off a red flag?” Unintentionally, I’d stepped forward as if being drawn into the intrigue.

The movement wasn’t lost on her.

“You know I can’t discuss the High Council’s business with you, Sedona.” There was a but in there somewhere. “But, while he appeared to be honest and upfront, there was something not quite right about him that they couldn’t put their collective finger on.”

Here it was.

The request I always dreaded.

“I need you to get a reading on him, Sedona.” She quickly held up her hand to stop the refusal she knew was coming. “And before you get on your moral high horse, remember that you are my niece, and the position comes with certain responsibilities. While I barely condone you hiding away in this musty bookstore, I won’t continue to support you constantly neglecting your gift. You were given empathy for a reason. You will do this task for me—and your High Council—without complaint.”

“And if I find nothing of consequence?”

Her lips pursed. “I will be the judge of that. Do this for me, Sedona. Do this, and it will be last time I will ever ask.”

It was the same promise she always offered and one I knew she’d never keep.

“He seems like a great guy, Aunt Millicent.” I replied carefully, because while I believed he was hiding something, the last thing I wanted to do was tell her she was right. Once unleashed, my aunt could be relentless in pursuing answers. I needed to know for myself before I confirmed her suspicions.

She pushed again. “Is that all you felt? You didn’t feel anything out of the ordinary?”

I shrugged, suddenly tired of this whole conversation. Why couldn’t things be simple between us? “He was polite when he came into the store . . . perhaps just gaining his bearings as a newcomer.”

“You will do this for me.” It was more of an order than a request. She gave one last look at the missing person flyer. “For all we know, he’s connected to Heidi’s disappearance.”

She’d found my Achilles heel. As much as I wanted to respect people’s privacy, and regardless of the temptation I felt over uncovering why Micah was like a blank slate, I couldn’t ignore this.

I finally relented. “Okay, one more time, and then you won’t ever ask again.”

The smug look of satisfaction across her face made my stomach dip. “Thank you, niece. The Council thanks you as well.”

In a flurry of cheek kisses and a request for me to stop by on Sunday for dinner, she left me standing, staring out after her.

Fifteen minutes later, Austin reappeared, two large coffees in his hands. “Is it safe to come back?” Austin’s whispered question broke through my daze.

“Yes, she’s gone,” I retorted, shifting slowly before turning around to face him. “You couldn’t have warned me sooner? I thought we had an unspoken code that whoever saw her coming would let the other know?”

Austin’s gaze dropped to the ground, softening whatever annoyance I felt. “There wasn’t enough time, I promise.” He walked over to the large bay windows. It would be time soon to change over the display. “So what did she want?”

I gave him a look that told him I wasn’t going to be confessing anything anytime soon. “Just family stuff. Nothing that warranted the cloak-and-dagger routine.”

This only made him laugh. “With her flair for the dramatic, she’d be perfect in the theater.” Austin handed me my drink before taking the lid off his own and blowing across the heated surface. “Although God help the fool that hires her.” He shuddered before realizing what he’d said. “Sorry, Sedona, I know she’s your aunt.”

That was the perfect cue to change the subject. “So, Austin, what’s the word on the street?”

His eyes lit up. “Did you know there’s a new girl in town? Everyone at school was excited to meet her, but she never showed up because she’s homeschooled. Rumor has it she lives with her uncle in a house they’re renting by the Kasuns’.” The fact that this was his gossip reminded me that my young friend paid more attention than I gave him credit for.

But he did share something interesting. Micah was living out by pack property. I was surprised the alpha, who was also our sheriff, had okayed it without knowing everything about Micah—from a thorough background history to what type of toothpaste he used and how he liked his coffee.

“Makes sense that her uncle came in here looking for a book for her, then,” I commented, finally moving to the computer at the front counter so I could check on the order status.

“He did?” Austin’s eyes went wide with interest. “You met him? When will he be back to pick it up?”

My finger traced a line on the screen. “Looks like it should be delivered here in a few days. Perhaps I could drop it off at his home. It’ll give me a chance to meet his niece.”

“Uh-huh.” His teasing grin told me he could see right through me. “Maybe I should join you, and then I can convince her to come to school. The drama department is always looking for fresh meat. Speaking of which,” Austin’s voice raised an octave in excitement. “You’re officially looking at the recipient of a full-ride scholarship!”

All thoughts of Micah were temporarily forgotten. “You got it!” I squealed and threw my arms around him. “Austin, I’m so excited for you! What does this mean?”

“It means I get a free ride to any college I choose.” He was positively beaming with pride. “I heard I was a shoo-in for it, but you know . . . there’s always a part of you that reminds you of all the ways you suck.”

“You? Insecure? Really?” I gently teased back. Despite the cocky confidence he seemed to ooze, it wasn’t surprising that he also doubted himself. “I can’t think of anyone more deserving.” I quickly gave him a warm hug. “So will you be majoring in theater?”

His answer surprised me.

“I’ll be minoring in it. I figured I shouldn’t let my tech skills go to waste, so I’ll be majoring in computer science.” And with that, a huge toothy grin spread across his face. “You know, something to fall back on in case my career on Broadway doesn’t pan out.”

Suddenly a wave of sadness washed over me. “So you’re leaving after you graduate.” It was more a statement than a question.

Austin nodded. “As soon as I figure out where I want to go, I’m out of here.”

Most supernaturals stayed in town and enjoyed the protection it provided. But with Austin being human, the world truly was his oyster.

“You do know that I shouldn’t be too happy for you. After all, I’ve invested so much time in training you, and now I’m going to have to start that process all over again. You’re pretty irreplaceable.” I tried to look disappointed. I turned the corners of my mouth downward, but couldn’t hold it. A smile quickly broke out and revealed my true feelings.

He had the decency to look at least a little remorseful. “I can ask around to see if anyone would be interested in replacing me. I could even train them for you.” Austin’s expression was one of pure earnestness.

“I’m just kidding you. It will all work out. For now—” I gave him another quick hug. “Enjoy your accomplishments and let me know a good time for us to go out and celebrate. This isn’t something to ignore.”

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully, giving me a lot of time to ponder the discussion with my aunt. As much as I hated it, she’d roused my curiosity once more.

I took one last look at the order screen before closing it out.

Mr. Westbrook, what are you hiding, and do you understand how much danger you’re in now that my aunt’s picked up a scent?

Chances were he was about to find out.