Elise’s expression softened. “Don’t say nice things to me. I’ll get emotional.”
“I just saw a peek into your brain, and now I’m sad,” Johnny said.
“Eat a dick,” Elise tossed back.
A black bear tore through the woods and skidded to a halt in the driveway.
“Loch!” Elise exclaimed. “Did you find him?”
“If he found him, he wouldn’t be alone,” Johnny pointed out.
“Dick. Eat it,” Elise repeated.
“Loch, are you ready to go? We’re going to look for Keller on our way to the barrier.”
The black bear nodded.
Johnny and Garret returned to their bear forms.
“Want me to hold your bag?” Elise offered.
Johnny clenched his teeth around the bag strap and shook his head. Elise gave him a curious look before swinging up onto Garret’s back.
“For the record,” she said, “do either of you have any idea how humiliating it is for a shifter to hitch a ride on another shifter?”
Garret made a grumbling sound that sounded like laughter before he took off into the woods. Johnny lingered near the back of the pack. If anyone noticed, he could pretend he was looking for Keller.
Once they reached the Golden Oak county line, they slowed to a walk. Garret signaled for the others to shift back. They were too close to the main roads and trails to remain in their bear forms.
As Johnny pulled on his clothes, he checked the vial once more. Not a crack to be found.
“Did anyone see any sign of Keller?” Garret asked once he was dressed.
“Nothing,” Loch said. “I couldn’t even catch a scent.”
“Me either,” Johnny echoed.
“We’ll look for him again on the way back,” Elise said. “We’re losing the light. We have to find the barrier.”
“Spell it up, shifter-witch,” Johnny said.
“There’s a less obnoxious way to do that.” Elise sighed.
“I’m sure there is.”
Elise extended her hands in front of her. Little sparks of magic erupted from her palms, just as they had last time. Johnny waited for the little sparks to grow bright, to seek out the barrier like last time, but it didn’t happen.
“We could be too far south,” Garret suggested.
“We’re not,” Loch said. “I remember these trees and those boulders. We’re exactly where we were last time.”
“What if the spell repeats the same section of forest over and over again to confuse us?” Garret asked.
“Shh,” Elise hissed. “I feel it.”
“Where?” Johnny asked. He reached into his back and tightened his grip on the vial.
“I’m not quite sure,” Elise said. “It’s hiding from me. Whatever is generating this spell made it harder to find. We must’ve spooked them last time.”
“Keep trying,” Johnny urged.
“Don’t push yourself too hard,” Garret cautioned.
The sparks around Elise’s palms grew brighter but not like last time.
The sun dipped below the horizon. Darkness settled into the spots between the trees.
“Any day now,” Johnny muttered.
“You want to try? Oh wait, you can’t. Shut up and let me concentrate,” Elise snapped.
Slowly, they inched through the forest. Johnny ran his fingers along the side of the vial.
“I’m sorry.” He sighed.
“For what?” Loch asked.
“I’ll come back.”
“What are you talking about?”
Johnny took out the vial, removed the cork, and took a careful sip.
“What the hell is that?” Loch demanded, but Johnny wasn’t listening anymore.
All around him, the trees began to shiver and blink in and out of existence.
Buildings appeared in the distance, a flat grassy area expanding around him from where he stood. On his left was a swing set.
“It worked,” he beamed.
Three people stood twenty yards away, huddled together in conference.
One of them was Holly.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN—HOLLY
“Holly!”
She froze.
Across the park, a figure that most certainly hadn’t been there a second ago waved his arm.
“Is that…” she murmured, moving between Trevor and Lucien.
“Holly?” Trevor called after her.
She didn’t answer. Every nerve in her body tuned into the figure on the other side of the park. She cursed the new moon. If it were a full moon, she wouldn’t have to squint.
“Holly!” he called again.
She took in a shuddering breath. That was Johnny’s voice. Johnny had somehow made it into Golden Oak.
A million questions flooded her brain, but she pushed them away. “Johnny!” Her voice cracked as she called out to him. Her legs pushed her into a run without an order from her brain.
He ran to her, his arms open. They collided hard, but she didn’t care. He was real. He was there. His arms closed around her, crushing her to his chest.
“I—” She tried to speak, but tears choked her words.
“It’s all right.” He brought his hand up to cup the back of her head. “I’m here.”
“But how?” she wailed. “How did you get through the barrier?”
“I’ll explain everything, I promise. Just let me hold you for a moment, okay?”
“Okay.” She wound her arms around him and clung to him like her life depended on it.
“Friend of yours?” Lucien’s cool voice cut through the night air.
Johnny tightened his grip on her. Holly turned her head so she could see Lucien and Trevor. She didn’t miss the tight, tense look on Trevor’s face.
“Lucien, this is Johnny. He’s a bear shifter from Silver Spruce,” Holly said. “Johnny, this is Trevor.”
“I can’t say it’s a pleasure,” Johnny growled.
“No offense taken,” Trevor said mildly. “You aren’t the only one with some explaining to do.”
“Some explaining?” Johnny released Holly and moved toward Trevor. “I should tear your throat out right now.”
“Wait!” Holly darted in between Trevor and Johnny.
“It’s fine, Holly,” Trevor said. “I can handle this.”
“You don’t need to handle anything,” Holly snapped. She turned to face Johnny, who couldn’t tear his burning gaze from Trevor. “Hey,” she murmured. “Look at me.”
When he didn’t,
