“No,” he said, helping her onto the boat. “Even if Aiden knew, he’d never let on. Jared would in a heartbeat, but Aiden is too focused. Too serious. Jared loves talk.”
She laughed to herself while Luke jumped down to the dock to untie the ropes. Looked like Tanya and Jared were made for each other. The blabber witch and her tattler wolf.
With the push of a button, the engine turned over, purring like a rumbling growl, and they pulled away from the dock for deeper water.
“What about you?” Gabby asked, settling beside him as he perched on the end of the captain’s chair. “Are you serious like Aiden or a guy gossip?”
He looked at her. “About you?”
She met his eyes and nodded.
“I don’t talk out of school, Gabrielle. Not about people I care about, and with you I’m as serious as a heart attack. I knew the moment I met you. My inner wolf paced, gnawing at my gut for time alone with you.”
“Then how did you know about the baby? Was it a hunch?”
“Sort of. Let’s get to where we’re going, and I’ll tell you how I knew.” Luke tugged her onto his lap.
Holding her with one hand while steering the boat with the other, he gunned the engine in open water. She squealed, the wind whipping at them both.
The water was like glass. No chop to hinder the boat’s slice through the depths. They had warm temperatures and miles of clear blue sky. The outside world hadn’t a clue what dangers spied through mirrors made portals, and just for today, she allowed herself to forget as well.
Everything was perfect. Nothing short of a demon attack would ruin this moment. Not if she had anything to say about it.
Luke throttled down to a soft cruise, piloting the boat toward a wide cove. Tall grass dotted with colorful orange cattails swayed in a gentle breeze, and a small, wooden dock bobbed to one side of the cove. Luke angled the boat against its tall, narrow bumpers and then cut the engine.
“Gabs, sit tight while I tie us off.” Grabbing the bowline, he jumped onto the dock’s weathered planks, quickly tying the rope to a cleat.
He nodded, motioning her toward the stern. “Careful. The gunwale is slippery. Grab my backpack and then take my hand.”
Holding out his hand, he helped Gabrielle over the side of the boat and onto the dock. “It’s a short hike from here, but well worth the walk.”
“Gunwale. Sounds like a type of cannon, or a defensive block at an old fort, rather than the top edge of a boat hull.”
Luke slipped his pack over his shoulder and then held her hand as the two headed over the grassy shoreline into the woods. They trekked over an overgrown path, barely visible through the trees.
“If you’re planning to bury me out here in the sticks, I should let you know Raven and the girls will happily fry your balls and then dance naked on your ashes.”
He snorted. “After what I’ve seen? I’m sure. Then again, I’m a wolf. If I wanted to get rid of you, I wouldn’t need a shovel. Of course, if that’s just an odd way of asking, ‘are we there yet,’ then yes, our target is over the next ridge.”
“Wow. That sounds up there with gunwale. Me thinks you’ve been hanging with your sentinel buddies too long. Next you’ll be using tactical hand signals.”
“Don’t joke. I can’t phase on the fly like Aiden and Jared. Tactical signals come in handy sometimes.”
She looked at him as he pushed a few low branches out of their way. “If push came to shove, you’re telling me you couldn’t shift without the correct moon phase? Even if we got into it with a demon?”
He lifted her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles. “Does that worry you?”
“Not for my sake. Our wolfitch wasn’t the only revelation this week.” Gabrielle filled him in about training with Capiria and her newfound abilities.
“Wow. That old witch is no joke,” he replied.
“That’s an understatement. Technically, I can call down lightning and raise the seas, though I haven’t tried manipulating water yet. Or wind or earth for that matter. Capiria says I’m able to pull lightning out of a clear blue sky, but so far I’ve only harnessed and redirected it during a storm.”
“You’ll get there, love. If the ability is in your blood, then it’s only a matter of will.” He stopped to push a scrub branch out of the way. “And speaking of getting there…we’re here. This is what I wanted to show you.”
Ahead was a clearing, and at its center a stone foundation. Gabrielle let go of Luke’s hand to walk ahead of him into the large rectangle.
“What is this place?” It looked like the ruin of a small lodge. It was on the tip of her tongue to joke about Capiria and her witch’s cottage made of candy, but she didn’t.
Luke walked into the overgrown foundation as well, dropping his backpack near what was left of a side wall. A sapling grew smack in the center, its thin branches scraping what was left of the chimney wall.
“This is the original Chateau Laval.”
“Original. As in your family lived here?”
“Yes and no,” he replied, running a hand over the moss-covered chimney stones. “This is the original homestead my family settled when they migrated from France, centuries ago.”
“Wow. I forgot how long Quebec Province has been in existence.”
“1608. Though we came in 1640.” He squatted in front of the chimney’s hearth plate, using a handful of grass to clean the caked dirt from the forged iron. The date was still clear as day in the embossed metal.
“We left mostly because of superstition and fear. My ancestors saw an opportunity for a fresh start.
