Cresent Prophecy

had to be.
“Meet me back at the cottage?” I asked.
“Aye,” he replied. “One tabby cat comin’ right up.”
I turned my back as he changed, and once he was done, he rubbed against my leg.
Scooping him up into my arms, I carried him back toward Derrydun, my heart a little lighter.
When I woke the next morning, I found a handsome Irishman in bed next to me.
Rolling over, I studied Boone’s face, memorizing his features. I’d never realized how long his eyelashes were before. They brushed against his cheeks, adding to his boyish charm. He needed to shave badly, his stubble was out of control, but he always did. Maybe the fast beard growth was to do with his shapeshifter metabolism…just like his six-pack was because I never saw him go to the gym. Mainly because there wasn’t one anywhere near Derrydun.
Realizing I was watching him sleep, I sat up and fumbled for my phone. I was totally being a creep.
Despite everything that had happened with Boone and me last night, Alex was still on my mind. Opening up my social media app—that I’d hardly even looked at since arriving in Ireland—I scrolled through my paltry friends list and found his profile. Tapping on his name, my eyes widened as I saw he’d marked himself in a relationship and tagged a woman who I’d never heard of before. Being a total stalker, I opened her profile and checked her out. She was blonde, skinny, tanned, and the total opposite of me. Even her teeth were perfect.
He’d gone from being single to in a relationship in the space of five months, but so had I. That little pang I felt? Totally an overreaction considering I killed his potential body double yesterday.
Sighing, I went back to Alex’s timeline and checked out his most recent posts. His last one was time stamped during the night, alleviating some of the guilt I felt at choking fae-Alex to death with Crescent magic. I would have to call him, but it looked to me the real Alex was alive and well back in Australia where I’d left him…all moved on and shacking up with another woman. Glancing at Boone, I smirked.
“What’re you smilin’ at?” he asked sleepily.
“Your eyes are closed,” I declared. “How do you know I’m even looking at you, huh?”
“Then it was an amazin’ guess.”
Flopping back down in bed, I snuggled against him, still holding my phone.
“What’s that?” he asked, kissing my shoulder and wrapping his arm around my waist.
“A phone.”
“Very funny.”
“I just… I wanted to look up Alex and make sure he…” I felt my cheeks reddening, and I turned my face away.
“You wanted to make sure he was still alive?”
“Yeah.” I lifted my phone and stared at the screen. “It wasn’t really him. That thing…it must’ve taken his face and memories.”
Boone’s eyes narrowed, and I rolled mine.
“He’s not coming here anytime soon,” I declared. “He’s moved on, and so have I.”
“Good.”
“We had sex in a ditch, you do realize that?”
Boone laughed and held me tighter.
“I don’t get naked in the middle of nature for just anyone.” I pouted.
“Then I feel blessed.”
“What are we going to tell everyone?”
“About the ditch?” He raised an eyebrow. “Nothin’.”
“No, about us.” I pinched him on the ass. “I went into Molly McCreedy’s last night looking for you, and everyone was discussing territory.”
“Territory?” he asked. “What does that mean?”
“Like Irish Moon is Skye territory. Molly McCreedy’s is neutral. Roy’s farm is Boone territory.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. Roy’s also got a bee in his bonnet about a fox that’s been hanging around the sheep. Know anything about that?”
“I’m dedicated to me work,” he said with a pout.
“I figured it was you.” I made a face. “You didn’t get hungry for lamb chops?”
“Nay. It didn’t get that far.”
“I hope not because that’s kinda gross.”
He chuckled and leaned over me to check the time on the alarm clock. “Speakin’ of Roy, I better get up. I’ve got some patchin’ up to do.”
“Sure.”
He kissed me on the lips, his hand tightening on my waist.
“I’ll see you later?”
“Ditch or cottage, your pick,” I quipped.
“Very funny.”
Listening to him potter about in the bathroom, I smiled. This was how I pictured things after our battle with the craglorn. The easy conversation, the ‘I love yous,’ and the sex. Oh, the sex… My toes curled, and I stretched, remembering the punch line.
I didn’t even care that I had a bruise on my ass from rolling down that hill in the dark.
Well, maybe I cared a little when I sat down…
When I finally dragged myself around the corner to Irish Moon, Lucy was waiting for me.
“Hey,” she said. “Did you get everythin’ sorted yesterday?”
“Yeah,” I said, fishing the keys out of my pocket. “The mini crisis was averted.”
Unlocking the door, I let us inside. The air felt different in here today. Usually, Irish Moon was full of a warm energy that had everything to do with the abundance of crystals packed into every nook and cranny, but in the last week, things had been slightly off-kilter. That morning, things seemed to be back to normal, so I gathered it must've had something to do with Fae-Alex and his funny business. Whatever magical trickery seeds he’d been sewing must’ve died the moment he carked it.
Okay, saying he ‘carked it’ was a little insensitive, but since he turned out to be a fae with a penchant for identity theft, then maybe it wasn’t as callous as it sounded.
I watched Lucy cross the shop floor and disappear out the back. A moment later, the lights flicked on, and she reappeared, taking the initiative to get to work on her own.
Thinking about how I’d seen her arguing with Fae-Alex the other day, I narrowed my eyes. She must’ve said something gnarly because he’d seemed nervous around her. Why?
“What did you say to Alex?” I asked. “The other day when I saw you talking to him outside. What did you say?”
“Nothin’,” she replied with a shrug. “I just told him to get