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The inside was a constantly evolving masterpiece, but he could still spot his bumblebee on the wall. It was comforting that it was still there. He was lucky Fee hadn’t painted over it yet, hadn’t kicked him out her life entirely.
While she finished getting ready in the bedroom, Theo snooped through the refrigerator in the cramped kitchen. A bag of apples, a tub of yogurt, a bottle of that horrible kombucha she’d tricked him into trying once. Never again.
“Hey, what are you doing?” she asked, coming up behind him.
“We’re gonna need to stop for food,” he said, pulling his head out of the fridge. “You have nothing but fruit and vegetables in here.”
Phoebe gasped in mock panic, her hand going to her chest. “Fruit and vegetables! The horror!”
“I’m a carnivore! I think an apple might actually kill me.”
“Oh, please. You’re human, too, you know. I’m pretty sure you still require the usual human nutrients. And I’ve seen you eat Froot Loops by the bucketful.”
Theo laughed. “Well, loop form is the only way I like my fruit.”
Phoebe rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” She wandered back out into the living room. She had a slouchy bag hung over one shoulder and was stuffing a cardigan into it as she spoke.
Theo couldn’t help but watch as she moved around her space, tidying before they left. Her newly blonde hair stood in adorable spikes around her head, and if he wasn’t mistaken, her usually brown eyes had turned blue. She looked good. But that was nothing new.
“I still can’t believe you signed us up for this mission,” he complained. “We both know she’s not at this damn resort, or whatever it is.”
“It is a rustic forest retreat, complete with cozy cottages and scenic views,” she said as though she was reading from a brochure. “And we don’t know for sure that she’s not there.” She still wasn’t looking at him while she spoke. “She might be. And Ruby wants us to check.” She straightened, focusing on him again.
“Did she try calling the place?” he asked, still trying to weasel his way out of this mission. He didn’t know how to survive it. How to be close to Fee and not hurt her. In the year since he’d left his pack, they’d tip-toed around each other. Spending time together but never lingering too long, careful to keep things between them strictly surface level. Platonic. Safe.
“She did and they wouldn’t give out the names of guests.”
“What about the police?”
Fee rolled her eyes. “No one around here is trusting the police to handle this. Everyone has their secrets in this town.” She looked at him pointedly and he couldn’t argue. This county had more non-human residents per square mile than anywhere else in the country. Aside from Sheriff Mike’s very low-key approach to law enforcement, the locals avoided it as much as possible.
He sighed. He couldn’t help but think about how much had changed since he and Fee first met. How they’d been so young, and new, and naive.
They’d both become a bit jaded over the years.
But Fee still wanted to help.
And he wouldn’t begrudge her that.
He would just have to be careful.
“Okay, you’re right. We’ll go check. For Ruby.”
“I could go alone,” she said, and his entire body rejected the thought. If Lena had been kidnapped, he sure as fuck wasn’t letting Fee wander around alone looking for her.
“No, I’ll go with you.”
She studied him a moment longer until he thought he might melt under her gaze.
“Okay, good. Let’s go, then,” she said and he followed her out. She stopped to cover a few of the plants on her deck, since it was getting cold at night now, while Theo climbed down the tree.
“Where are you kids off to?” The question came from the shade of the trees surrounding Phoebe’s house as soon as Theo’s feet hit the ground.
He groaned. He should have known they wouldn’t get out of here without the usual nymph interrogation, and yet he somehow never saw them coming.
They couldn’t do anything around here without a dozen nymphs knowing their business. “Hey, Daphne.” He flashed a smile at the dryad leaning against his truck. “What have you been up to?”
“Oh, you know. The usual,” she said with a shrug.
