Amara shrugged. “Come on, people. Let’s get this over with.”
Selena sighed and stalked after them, her boot heels sinking into the soft earth. “No one mentioned a nature hike, damn it.” Selena glared at the trees. “Where’d Sparky go?”
Amara choked out a laugh. “Sparky?”
Selena shrugged. She really didn’t give a fuck what anyone thought of her. It was part of her charm, but she was too earthy for most people to handle. “Who called you? Brian?” Not that Amara minded. If she was pregnant, Selena was the best person to check her and the babe out.
“Yup. He was worried you’d need, and I quote, the big guns. No offense to Mel.” Selena slapped a mosquito off her neck. “Fucker.”
Amara laughed. “Don’t you mean sucker?”
“Hell, I didn’t ask for either, so it can keep its pointy little proboscis to itself.”
Amara studied Ash’s back, not surprised he’d returned without a sound. Her lips curled up in a smile.
I wonder if she’s earthy enough for a dryad?
“Parker’s on the move.”
Amara and Selena jumped, earning a sharp look from Ash. “Holy fuck. Greg?” Was Selena using her powers to make him heard again? She shared a look with Selena, who shrugged.
“Don’t look at me. I’m not doing it.”
“Look, it’s taking a lot of juice to make myself heard, so listen up. Don’t ask me what’s going on, but Parker’s on the move. He’s sticking to the shadows as much as possible so he doesn’t become a crispy critter, but he’s smoking. From what I can tell, he’s headed this way. And Amara? The beast is in full control.”
Amara stared at Ash and knew what had set her mate off. The fact that she’d been naked in front of the male dryad, coupled with the fact that she’d left with him wouldn’t have sat well with the beast. “Oh shit.”
“What?” Ash was mystified. “Why did we stop?” Apparently Ash couldn’t hear Greg. That was interesting. Why could she and Selena hear him, but Ash couldn’t?
“Parker is up and headed this way, and his beast is in control, not him.” Amara waved to Ash. “You need to leave. If you’re here, he’ll attack without hesitation.” And no amount of chanting would stop him this time. She didn’t know which of them would win, but she couldn’t lose Parker, and she couldn’t leave Maggie’s Grove if he killed Ash. Her roots were too deeply settled to move somewhere else. It would kill her.
And that would kill Parker.
Ash bowed his head and slipped away, there and gone in an instant.
“Neat trick.” Selena scanned the skies, her markings glowing, her eyes turning white. “Parker’s almost here.”
Amara was worried for her safety. Neither of them knew the casuta, and without it, she might not be able to keep him from attacking. “You should go.”
Selena’s markings flared. “No. I can help you calm him. I’m not a threat to you or your mating, and his beast will know that.” She blew her bangs out of her eyes. “Oh well. Let me take a look at that.” Selena brushed her fingers over the mark on Amara’s neck. “Oh yeah. You’ve got something in there all right. Let’s see if I can get it out.” Selena closed her eyes and hummed, moving her fingertip in a complicated pattern on Amara’s neck.
The mark stirred under Selena’s touch, writhing with the witchdoctor’s movements. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Parker land. He was snarling, his gaze riveted to what Selena was doing. There was comprehension in those reddened eyes. The beast inside Parker understood Selena was there to help.
The story might have been different if Ash had stuck around.
Parker’s tension eased, the snarl disappearing into weariness. Seeing him calm down, she relaxed and allowed the witchdoctor to work her magic.
Parker settled on the forest floor, the burns on his skin blistered, dripping blood onto dry leaves where branches had cut him. He psychically lifted a mound of dirt out of the ground, disturbing a chipmunk family that squealed in terror and chattered angrily at having their den disturbed.
Parker didn’t seem to notice. He lay down and curled up in the hole he’d crafted. With a wave of his hand, the dirt he’d set aside settled over him, sheltering him from the rays of the sun.
Her roots ran into the earth, but to be completely buried by it? Amara shuddered.
“Yeah. I know. I prefer a mattress myself, but to each his own.” She blew Selena a raspberry, but the witchdoctor only smiled serenely. “Hold still. I haven’t gotten it all out yet.”
Amara obeyed. What the hell else was she supposed to do? Curl up in the dirt with her mate?
“There. All done.” Selena smiled, her eyes returning to normal, the markings fading from her skin.
“Thank you, Selena.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll be fine. I got all of it out and gave you a spiritual inoculation against future infections. And for the record, you’re not pregnant.”
Amara sagged in relief.
“Yet.”
She groaned.
Selena patted her shoulder. “Honey? Prophylactics are your friend.” She looked around, a frown darkening her face. “Where the hell did I park my car?”
Amara pointed toward the parking lot. “And, Selena?”
Selena turned back. “Hmm?”
“Be nice to Ash.”
“Why?”
“Because he rules the forest you’re standing in, dummy.”
Selena made a rude sound. “Oh please. He ain’t the boss of me.”
The leaves overhead rustled. Amara coughed.
Selena waved, her expression nonchalant. “Bye, Amara.”
But for all her brave words, the witchdoctor sure hauled ass out of the forest, muttering the entire way.
Amara pulled out her cell phone and dialed the learning center. “Rock?”
“You’re taking a sick day.”
Amara blinked. “I am?”
“Yup. Brian called me, let me know what was going on. Is it taken care of?”
“Yeah. I feel fine. Listen, I—”
“No. Sick day.”
“I’m already—”
“Sick. Day.”
“Call Selena. She’ll tell you I’m fine.”
He sighed. “Amara. You’ve taken exactly three days off since you started working for me, and that was only because Glinda passed away. And you know I don’t count tree time as sick time. It’s written into your contract. Take a sick day. Hell, take a sick week. Enjoy your mate. I’ve got some things to work out on my end, but I think this will wind up being a good thing for everyone.”
Amara’s gut clenched. “You’re firing me?”
“What?” Rock sounded completely stunned. “Hell no. I’d fire myself first.” Amara began breathing again. “Now that you’re mated to Parker, there are some things that might get adjusted, that’s all. For the love of all that is holy, take some time off. Maybe find the bitch who’s after him and take her out while you’re at it.”
She headed toward the car park. There wasn’t much she could do for Parker while he was buried, but she gave a mental command to the forest to watch over him. The forest would alert her if anyone or anything disturbed him before his rest was over. “Yeah. Having some time off might not be a bad idea, but, Rock? I don’t want to take more than five days.”
Rock sighed. “Stubborn.”
“As a tree root.” She hopped in her jeep and started it, suddenly starving. She’d completely forgotten breakfast, and waffles sounded like a great idea. It wasn’t muesli, but a change was nice once in a while. Besides, heading to the local diner would allow her to gauge the townspeople’s reactions to her after the battle with the wicked witch.