The cubs, in little boy form again, were happy to see her too—that is, when they could lift their faces from their plates of pancakes.

Andrea had been explaining that while Misty was healed once again, and she’d closed up Graham’s wound, he was still under Oison’s thrall.

“But you took the magic out of me, right?” Misty said, sliding into the empty place at the table. “Can’t you take it out of him?”

Andrea shook her head as she wrapped her hands around her cup of coffee. Andrea was a Lupine, a gray-eyed wolf who had agreed to mate with Sean, a Feline, in exchange for a safe move to a new Shiftertown. Somewhere along the way, the two had found the mate bond.

“The magic dust my father gave me counteracted whatever Fae magic touched you from the sword,” Andrea said to Misty. “Graham’s a different case. He’s under a complete Fae spell that seeks to control every aspect of him. I knit up his wound, but I couldn’t break the spell. I don’t have that kind of power, and my father doesn’t either. The magic that entered you, Misty, was incidental. The Fae is not after you.”

“Just Graham,” Misty said. She looked across the table at Graham, unhappy.

“Not just me.” Graham rejoiced that Misty was here to look at him at all, even with sadness and worry. Her brown eyes were free of pain, her face pink with health. “All Shifters.”

Sean said from the stove, “Liam told me about the connection between Oison’s sword and your Collar. I agree, we need to get the Collars off if the Fae have a big ‘enslave the Shifters’ plan. But, unfortunately, it's going slowly. The element we need to remove the Collars safely is rare. That’s why the research.”

“Yeah, I know,” Graham growled. “Why do anything when you can think about it for years, have meetings about it, talk about it?” He pinned Misty with a stare. “Too much damned talking.”

“Get over it,” Sean said. “Here you go, Misty.”

Sean flipped a stack of wonderful-smelling pancakes onto a plate and carried it the few steps to the table.

Sean and Andrea’s cub, Kenny, ten months old, sat at the table in a high chair borrowed from the Lupines next door. The cub, who would maintain his human form until about age three or four, had dark hair like Sean, and gray eyes like Andrea.

Matt and Kyle eyed Kenny speculatively. They didn’t like the little Shifter in their territory, even though Graham had explained the concept of guests to them. Kenny watched them, unworried, nonchalant, even. An alpha in the making.

Misty’s eyes lit when she saw the pancakes Sean set before her. She poured a stream of syrup over them and then dug in.

Graham would love it if Misty would look at him in the same eager way she regarded the pancakes. And then reach for syrup and pour it all over Graham’s body.

He tightened. His c**k started rising, and Graham cleared his throat, moving in his seat, willing the thing to go down. Not that it mattered; Sean and Andrea would scent the change in his hormones right away. They already did, from the smirk Sean sent Andrea.

Misty didn’t notice, intent on her pancakes, stopping to dribble more syrup onto the stack. A sticky droplet clung to her lips, and it took all Graham’s self-control to keep from going over the table and licking it from her. Graham felt better since Andrea had patched him up—except for the continuing thirst—and his relentless need for Misty had returned, full force. Plus he’d mate-claimed Misty last night, which fanned the spark of his mating frenzy into a raging blaze.

“Want any more, Graham?” Sean asked, returning to the stove.

“No. Thanks.” Graham had conceded to eat a little, knowing he had to keep up his strength, but filling his stomach had seemed to make made the magical thirst worse. “Can you go now? I need to talk to Misty alone.”

Misty licked syrup from her fork. “Don’t be rude. They’ve traveled a long way, and they helped us.”

“And I’m grateful. Now I need to talk to you.”

Misty gave him the eye-rolling look, which warmed Graham’s heart, because she was alive to do it.

Sean clattered his cooking accoutrements into the sink. “Eric and Liam will want you with us when we question the Fae.”

Liam had found the Fae-blood human he’d promised to round up at the Shifter meeting, Sean had told him last night. Eric and Liam had stashed him in Eric’s hideaway out in the desert, ready for interrogation.

“I’ll come out later,” Graham said.

“And Graham really needs to talk to Misty alone,” Andrea said. She rose and lifted her son out of the chair. “We’ll take the cubs out too.”

“We will, will we?” Sean asked. But he didn’t look annoyed, he looked amused. “If you say so, love.” He dried his hands and came to bend over the cubs. “Want to go walkies?”

Matt and Kyle growled, Lupine for Who is this fool?

Andrea laughed. “Come with me, little loves. We’ll go play. Don’t worry about Sean. Though I know he smells like a cat.”

Matt and Kyle started eagerly out after Andrea, bumping into each other as they went. Sean shook his head, took up the high chair, and followed. “You want to watch yourself with this mate thing,” Sean said to Graham as he went. “The females, they take over.” He glanced from Graham to Misty, grinned, and strolled out of the house.

Graham left the table and locked the back door. He went out and locked the front door as well. Dougal had gone out early and had his key, but Graham didn’t need his guests deciding to charge back in while Graham was having a heart-to-heart with Misty.