Gentry was a werewolf, and there was no more questioning back and forth. There was no more black and white anymore. Gentry and his brothers were the gray area that didn't make scientific sense in this world, but that existed anyway.
She, Blaire Annalee Hayward, had fallen in love with a werewolf.
This wasn't the destiny she'd imagined for herself. She was vanilla. Matt had called her "too bland" when he'd given her the divorce papers. He'd said she bored him, and that his life was so un-exciting, he couldn't pretend to love her another day.
That had been her life, though. Boring but safe, and now look what had happened? Fate had just laughed. Fate had spun her 180 degrees in a tornado wind and was watching her try to find her way through unfamiliar territory.
But so what? Blaire grinned as she took a right at the rundown Hunter Cove Inn sign. Maybe her life was meant to have an adventure like this. Maybe her life had been bland before to prepare her for a man like Gentry, so she could appreciate him more. A relationship with him would never, ever be dull.
The radio was on low, but a song came on about belonging down below. It had a heavy drum beat, and the base was hitting hard. Blaire turned up the radio dial and laughed at the lyrics. The song was talking about a good girl gone bad. Well-played Fate.
She drove into town blaring it and sang with the chorus the second time around at the top of her lungs.
Eff you, Matt. No … fuck you, Matt. Yeah, that felt better.
Gentry had never once made her feel boring or like the color beige. He'd empowered her and been amused when she was sassy. That man had the devil in him in the form of a wolf, and maybe that was okay because, right now, Blaire felt like a dragon was growing inside of her, too.
She pulled in front of a coffee shop with a big front porch. On the porch were four rocking chairs situated around a wood burning stove that was steaming with heat. Sweet! She could read her dirty werewolf book and drink hot chocolate and actually vacation! No work.
She wished Gentry was here, so she could cuddle up in a blanket in the chair, slip her feet under his butt to keep them warm, and then sneak peeks at him whenever she wanted. Which was all the time. Something about that man held her attention.
The barista was nice to her in the coffee shop. She was probably human. Blaire was assuming the werewolves in this town were rude and hated strangers, so the nice people she met today would probably be humans like her.
Blaire collected her giant hot chocolate and dusted off the rocking chair closest to the flames, then sat down and opened her book to chapter one, clutching the hot cup to her chest to warm herself.
She had blasted through Chapter Four before she realized someone was sitting next to her. She was at a dirty part, so her cheeks flushed at being busted.
The woman grinned knowingly and gestured to Blaire's book. "Do you read sex books in public often?"
"No, but I want to," Blaire said cheekily.
"You know Gentry Striker?" the woman asked.
The smile fell from Blaire's face so fast she felt her ears move. Werewolf? "Who wants to know?"
"It sounds like you just asked me if I was friend or foe," the black-haired woman said, warming her hands by the fire.
"And?"
She slid Blaire a glance with her twinkling, black eyes. "Friend." The woman was pretty, with a straight nose and smile lines on her face. She was in her early sixties perhaps, and silver streaked back from her temples in a striking way. "I've seen you before."
"In town?"
"Nope." She pointed to her temple. "In here. Been waiting on you to get here."
"I don't understand."
"There was a mix-up at the realtor's office, right? Gentry was looking for a long-term renter, but he got you instead."
Blaire sat straight up and settled her book carefully into her lap. "That was your doing?"
She dipped her chin once.
"Why?"
"Lots of reasons, both for you and him. Mostly because Gentry needs someone to push him to his potential. And I'm guessing you need the same."
It suddenly felt uncomfortably cold under the woman's stare. "I should go." Blaire stood to leave, but the woman said, "You have questions your man can't answer." She arched one delicate eyebrow. "I can."
Blaire looked longingly at her car. She didn't like how much this woman knew, but it was also seriously tempting to get some answers that she may never get from Gentry. Slowly, she sat back down and scanned the street. No one seemed to be paying attention to them.
"What kind of answers."
"First, let me introduce myself." The woman offered her hand. "I'm Odine."
Pretty name. "I'm Blaire, but I have a feeling you already knew that," she said, shaking the woman's warm hand.
Odine smiled her answer, then flipped Blaire's hand over and looked at her palm. She traced the big line that curved around her thumb. "Broken life line." Her voice was thoughtful. Troubled perhaps.
"I don't believe in that stuff," Blaire murmured, pulling her hand away.
"Hmm," Odine said, her eyes tightening in the corners. "Perhaps someday you will. You've only recently learned that monsters exist, yes?"
Blaire swallowed hard. "Are you a monster?"
"Not the kind you're thinking of. I'm human, like you. Also like you, I fell for a wolf, which is why I have the answers you will likely never pry from Gentry. This town is a hub for the supernatural. Something about Rangeley attracts them. Maybe it's the low human population in the winter months, or the miles of woods that surround this place. Maybe it's the ample game or the rich history of supernaturals in these parts." Odine gave her a conspiratorial grin and leaned forward, lowering her voice. "Or perhaps it's the stuff you don't believe in that attracts the nightmares."
"Gentry isn't a nightmare."
"I wasn't speaking of your mate."
"His brothers?"
"To be decided. Roman and Asher are on the fence. Good on one side. Evil on the other. Which way will they jump? I don't know that answer yet, but they won't stay on the fence much longer. Gentry has always been on the right side of the fence. He has his father's moral compass, and it points due north. It causes … tension … between him and his brothers. They are more like their mother, but he is his father's child. It bodes good for you."
"You called him my mate."
"You were his mate before he even laid eyes on you."
Unsure, Blaire laughed. "But … I was married."
"And how did that work out for you?"
Anger blasted through her. "That ended because we were broken, not because I belonged to someone else."
"You always belonged to Gentry," Odine said sharply. "Your ex was preparation for what you will go through in Rangeley."
Blaire shook her head and inhaled deeply. This was crazy. Odine was clearly insane.
"You don't believe in destiny either?" Odine asked innocently. "You will."
Blaire scooted to the edge of her chair to leave, but Odine reached forward in a rush and plucked a few strands of hair from Blaire's head. She turned them over in her hand, where they hovered, caught fire, and turned to ash in an instant. There was a heaviness to the air that clogged Blaire's throat.
Odine's eyes never left hers as she removed her palm from under the floating ashes and let them drop to the snow. "No, I have the right person. You felt a deep connection to him the second you saw him. You wanted him to touch you, body and soul. You knew on a cellular level that he could repair the damage that's been done to you."
"Stop," Blaire pleaded, terrified.
"I'm not telling you this to scare you, child." Odine's eyes softened. "I've been there, right where you are. I've been there with my wolf, and it was scary, it was beautiful, and I wish it had been different for me." Odine pitched her voice louder. "It can be different for you and Gentry. Change is needed in this town. You. Are. That. Change."
Blaire looked around, panicked, because she could feel eyes on her. Three men had stopped on the sidewalk and were watching her with angry, glowing eyes.
"Why are you telling me this here?" she whispered to Odine.
The softness in Odine's eyes left in a flash and was replaced by anger. "Because we're gonna stir up the hive, you and I, Blaire Hayward. Piss off the queen bee who fancies himself a demigod here. He took something precious from me. We'll put pressure on him to react and force Gentry to step up for this town. Force the other Strikers to pick a side and jump the goddamn fence either way."