6. Waylen

6

WAYLEN

I t had been days since I started working on the garden beds, and I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever get any information out of Alma about Maribel. She hadn't offered up a single word about the eccentric old woman, which made me believe she wasn't planning to.

At least not until her garden was fully tamed.

Honestly, I couldn't blame her. She was smart to string me along for free labor. But not getting any information about Maribel wore on me. The others had been pressing for updates, and I still had nothing to give them. All I could say was that I was still working on getting something from my lead. It held them off for a while, but as time dragged on without any new information, they were getting restless—especially Astrid. I understood, though.

Xander was her brother, and she was desperate to save him.

My eagle released a call that rattled my skull at the thought of Xander. He was as unsettled about the whole situation as I was—as we all were.

Xander had been quiet too long.

While I didn't doubt Dean and Astrid's claim that Xander was possessed by Lucius, his ability to vanish after attacking Astrid felt eerily reminiscent of Lucius. If I didn't find Maribel soon—or if Xander appeared while I was unprepared—things could escalate quickly, especially if what Dean and Astrid said about his mind control abilities was true.

If that wasn't enough to worry about, there was also Lyra.

Being around her was like being caught in a damn riptide. I wanted to stay focused on taming these garden beds so I could get the information I needed from Alma, but every time I looked at Lyra—every time I heard her voice or stood in her presence—my eagle spazzed out and I felt an indescribable pull toward her that I couldn't shake.

I didn't understand it.

The longer I stuck around, the harder it became to ignore whatever pull I felt toward her. At first, I convinced myself that she didn't feel it. There was so much tension that clung to her, and she had such a guarded coldness about her.

Until I looked closer.

That was when I noticed she might feel what I felt after all. It was in the way she glanced at me when she thought I wasn't looking, in the way she paused a beat too long when we passed each other in the garden, and in the way I'd caught her staring at me through the windows of the cabin when she was inside.

There was something there—maybe she just didn't know what it was yet either.

A desire to bridge the gap between us pulsed through me, but I didn't know how to do it without revealing too much to her about why I was really here.

I'd lied, and now there was no turning back.

She thought I was an actual gardener, and I couldn't just admit the truth—not after so much time had passed. Yet, a part of me knew I should come clean.

My eagle wholeheartedly agreed.

Even so, a part of me worried coming clean would ruin my chances of getting any information about Maribel.

Telling Lyra the truth would have to wait.

Digging in, I worked my ass off the rest of the day. When it was time to head out, I wiped the sweat from my brow and gathered the tools I'd been using. As I walked them back to the shed, I spotted Lyra standing near the edge of the first garden bed. She watched me with an unreadable expression, her arms folded over her chest. My eagle stirred, and a smirk twisted my lips while I held her gaze.

"Are we going to keep playing these staring games, or are you going to let me take you out sometime?" I asked, not realizing what I'd said until after the words had left my mouth.

Her eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

I'd been as surprised as she was by my question, but I was also relieved. If she agreed to let me take her out, we'd have a chance to get to know one another better. Maybe then I'd be able to figure out what the hell this pull I felt toward her was.

"We've been having staring contests all day," I said, my smirk stretching wider. "Personally, I think I've won more than half of them, but that's beside the point. The point is, I'd like to take you out sometime."

I waited for her to reply, my smirk faltering slightly, but she didn't say a word. Instead, she continued to stare at me with that unreadable expression on her face, making me sweat.

Had I crossed a line? Misread things between us somehow?

Shit. Shit. Shit.

How was I going to backtrack out of this?

I smoothed a hand along the back of my neck and flashed her a crooked grin. "So? Is that a no, then?"

"Yes. I mean, no," she said, and then gave her head a little shake. "What I'm trying to say is, yes, I'll go out with you sometime."

It was a struggle, but I resisted the urge to fist pump the air. However, I couldn't dim my smile.

"Great. I know I'm supposed to be off tomorrow, but can I come by and pick you up for lunch?" I asked.

She nodded. "I'd like that." A faint twitch of a smile tugged at her lips. "Okay, so, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"I'll be here at noon to pick you up."

The cabin door swung open and Alma made her way out to sit in one of the chairs on the porch. She skimmed her watchful eyes over the two of us.

"What's going on out here?" she asked, her intense gaze lingering on us.

"Nothing," Lyra said without hesitation. She started toward the cabin but tossed a look back at me from over her shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good rest of your day."

Once she'd disappeared inside, Alma stood and then made her way down the porch steps toward me. I stayed where I was, wondering if she was about to reveal information about Maribel and then send me on my way.

She didn't say a word when she reached me. Instead, she continued past me, heading to the nearest garden bed. I followed.

"Any chance you'll tell me something about Maribel now?" I asked in a low tone.

Alma chuckled and shook her head. "Not yet, boy. You're doing good work, but I'm not quite ready to spill the beans."

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "I don't mean to sound rude, but time really isn't on my side with this. I need to find her."

"Sounds like you better hurry tending these garden beds, then," she said before making her way back to the porch. She paused before climbing the first step and glanced over her shoulder with a knowing smile. "And don't think I didn't hear about you asking Lyra out. Good luck with that, too."

I shouldn't have been surprised. This woman probably knew what I was going to do before I did it. But it still threw me off. A sudden need to prove myself pulsed through me, like I needed to let her know that asking Lyra out wasn't just a whim but something that actually mattered.

Before I could say anything though, she'd climbed the porch steps and disappeared inside.

I ran a hand through my hair as I turned to head to my truck. It was time to head to my real job. Cranking the engine to life, I backed out of the driveway while my thoughts bounced between Alma, Maribel, and Lyra. I'd planned to dig into Maribel's whereabouts today, but I was still coming up empty. The fact that Alma hadn't given me anything useful wore on me.

I needed to find her.

My shift at Crescent Creek Ziplining passed in a blur of harnesses, platforms, and treetop runs. My eagle enjoyed the work, and it was a good distraction from everything else. But even as the adrenaline surged through me from guiding groups through the course, I couldn't stop thinking about tonight's meeting at Last Drop with the others. They wouldn't be thrilled to hear I still had nothing new on Maribel.

Honestly, I felt like a failure.

By the time the last group had finished their zip, I was no closer to figuring out how to break the news to everyone. Keith, as usual, cracked a few jokes while we closed up shop. The easy banter helped lighten my mental load for a while. But once I was back in my truck, heading to meet the others, everything came rushing back. I wasn't looking forward to tonight's conversation, but there was no avoiding it.

My only win today had been Lyra agreeing to go out with me.

I pushed open the door to Last Drop and stepped inside. It wasn't as packed as usual, but I wasn't here for a good time. Scanning the room, I spotted the others sitting at our usual table in the back. They had already ordered a pitcher of beer and were halfway through it by the looks of it.

Great. Just what I needed—a tense, beer-fueled conversation.

As I walked over, Dean glanced up, his expression unreadable. Astrid offered me a small smile, but there was tension in her eyes. Sienna and Ellis said hey, but their stares burned into me as I slid into the chair next to Ellis.

"About time you showed up," Dean said, pouring me a glass from the pitcher. "Thought maybe you'd forgotten where the bar was."

"Yeah, sorry. Work ran late," I muttered, grabbing the glass and taking a long swig. It was cold and tasted fine, but it didn't lessen the knot twisting my stomach.

"So, any updates?" Astrid asked. "Did you find anything out about Maribel?"

I let out a slow breath, already dreading the answer I had to give. "Nothing new. Alma says she knows Maribel, but she's been dragging her feet on telling me where to find her."

Palpable silence fell over everyone, and I squirmed in my seat.

"I get it," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "This whole situation with Xander is a serious threat, but I can't force information out of Alma. She'll talk when she's ready. She's not the kind of woman you push around."

That was an understatement.

Dean set his glass down hard enough to make it rattle. "That's the problem, Waylen. We don't have time to wait until she's ready. Every day that passes, Xander's out there, doing who knows what."

"I'm doing everything I can," I shot back, feeling my frustration rise. "But rushing Alma could make things worse. I can't blow the one lead we have by pushing too hard."

Sienna snorted, swirling her beer in her glass. "That's if Maribel even exists. No offense, but we've been hearing about this mysterious shaman for weeks now, and so far, she's as real as a ghost."

"She exists," Ellis said. "I've told you this already."

"He's right, she does," I insisted. "Alma knows her. She just won't give me anything until I finish with her garden beds. It's a game to her, but I can't exactly walk away now."

"We're running out of time," Dean ground out. "Every day Xander stays possessed makes him more dangerous."

"I know," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "Believe me, I know. But the last thing I want to do is blow it and lose the only chance we have right now of finding Maribel and asking her for help."

Dean sighed, and Astrid placed a hand on his forearm. They shared a look only fated mates would, and then Astrid shifted her gaze to me.

"We understand. We're all just feeling a little frustrated," she said. "Which I'm sure you're feeling too. You're doing all you can right now. We get that."

"Doesn't seem like it," I muttered before taking another swig from my beer.

"I think we're all just scared," she continued. "If we don't stop my brother soon, then we're all at risk. Every shifter in Crescent Creek is."

Her words hit me harder than I expected, and for a moment, all the frustration I'd been holding in deflated. She was right. This wasn't just about me or my inability to get Alma to talk. This was about keeping every shifter in town safe from Xander and the darkness that had taken hold of him.

"I'll keep pushing," I promised, my voice low but firm. "I'll get the information we need soon. I swear."

Dean locked eyes with me, his expression grim. "Here's hoping you do. Because if not, we're all screwed."

No one said anything for a while, the weight of what had already been said pressed down on us all.

I downed the rest of my beer, trying to wash away what I was feeling. It didn't work. The sensation of feeling like I was letting my crew down still stung my insides. But what could I do? I couldn't force Alma to give me Maribel's location. All I could do was wait until she offered it up willingly.

Hopefully, that would be soon.