Oh, no. Not the dreaded threat. Hah! Nothing would stop him from trying to find Mara.
It’s Call of Duty, Harry. Dude—think hard.
Wait. What was happening here? Why was he so enraged about Mara’s sacrifice? You’d think he liked her or something.
Shit. He liked her.
He liked her enough to want an opportunity to see if they could find their way through this together. Maybe date. See a movie. Have a pizza with the kids.
The kids. He was thinking about Mara with the kids.
Harry tipped his head back and grinned up at Nina, fighting the urge to stick his tongue out at her. “But I’m a werewolf, Crypt Keeper. That means I heal quickly. Break away.” Hah, and hah again!
Nina flicked his hair. “Let’s hope your pride heals as fast after I wipe the joint with you, Square Root Man.”
Marty stood before him, one hand on her slender hip, the other holding her dog Muffin like a football under her arm. “Harry? Chasing after Mara is a sure way to garner your own trouble with the council.”
Wanda sat on his lap hard. She wasn’t heavy by a long shot, but she was as strong as, if not stronger than, Nina, judging by the grip she had on his face.
Her usually serene features remained as such. There was little strain in her effort to keep him seated, which was totally affecting his manhood. “Look at me, Harry. Look and listen. You’ll only make things worse if you try to find Mara. Now, hear me, Harry. You’re not going anywhere. We absolutely won’t make things worse for her. There are rules and protocol when addressing the council—rules I won’t allow you to break with your poor imitation of the Hulk. So, we’re going to use our big brains and talk this through rather than Nina it, okay?”
Nina let go of one of his hands and gave Wanda the middle finger. “Fuck you, Wanda. My way gets results.”
Wanda’s gaze narrowed. “Your way gets us kicked out of places and shunned by the socially acceptable. I will not risk Keegan’s status or Mara’s future because Harry’s gone all rage-ish. Got it? No muscle today, Elvira.”
Nina rolled her beautiful eyes. “Fine, but if he keeps this shit up, I’m gonna clean house.” She gave Harry one last shove. “Now knock it the fuck off, or we’re gonna tango. You cool?”
Wanda patted his face and smiled, giving his cheek a pinch. “If I let you up, you have to promise not to bolt. I take a man’s word very seriously, Harry. Plus, I know your ego can handle only so much. Two women dragging you back here by force will only make your self-esteem cry salty tears of regret. So, you in or are you out?”
Harry lifted his chin, yanking it from Wanda’s grasp, and puffing his chest outward like any man who’d just cried uncle to two women would. They knew these council people better than he did. The last thing he wanted to do was rock the boat for Mara. “I’m in. I apologize. I’m still dealing with my hormonal surges. Sometimes they get the better of me.”
She ran her finger down the length of his nose, popping the tip of it. “I get it. So, let’s put our heads together.” Wanda hopped off his lap and smoothed her hair from her face.
As the women kept a cautious eye on him, they scattered to different areas of Mara’s cottage, settling in for some brainstorming.
But Harry couldn’t sit still and let Mara take the hit for him. He also couldn’t go back on his word to the girls. At all costs to their personal and even professional lives, they were always there for him.
Instead, he paced the floor of Mara’s cottage while Nina taught Carl the art of duct-taping his limbs back on if the need should arise, frantic with worry about this council that Marty had flat out refused to allow him to surrender himself to.
Damn Mara and her sense of honor. If she could have just held out for a little longer, maybe they could’ve found the person who’d ratted her out and stopped this all before it got any worse.
He could have made something up for this crazy council, and kept them from ever knowing Mara had anything to do with it.
And now, she’d been gone ratting herself out for over four hours. He was going to lose his mind.
Yet, here everyone was, all in a huddle of support for Mara. Christ, he admired their unity.
Marty sat on the couch, hugging one of the million pillows Mara had flung all over while Wanda held Muffin, Marty’s poodle, and the catalyst for this whole string of accidents.
“Anyone hear from Keegan?” Harry asked, fighting the lump in his throat.
“Nothing yet. Hey, Harry?” Wanda called out. “Come sit, would you? You’re going to wear a hole in the floor with all this pacing, or wear me out in the process.” She reached over the back of the couch, holding her hand out to him.