Six months at the diner-ten months since leaving the pack-and nearly every day he learned more about life among humans. With an irritated huff, West stuck his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders, starting on the long walk home. The tides moved under his skin like blood.ĭammit. Should he not have mentioned the moon? Were moon phases something non-lycans knew? West couldn’t help but know. He shook his head and wiped his hands on his jeans again, nervous. “See you next time,” West said belatedly. They left without saying anything more, though they both glanced over their shoulders at West before getting in their car. “Is that right?” Double Double raised her eyebrows, curious gaze turning distracted as a man in a suit came to join her. The moon isn’t full yet,” West said, aiming to reassure her. It’s a full moon tonight, and that brings the weird from the woodwork!” “Said I felt that one in my bones,” she repeated. West grimaced through one last stretch and turned to find Double Double Eggs Benedict, an older woman with immaculate nails, watching him. At least he’d finished one more, since the trash had been his final task and he was free to go home. As much as he enjoyed the diner, the end of his shifts seemed to get further away every time. Six months of working at Joe’s Diner had tested his fitness. He let the dumpster lid swing closed and wiped his hands on his jeans, sighing as his back cracked when he stretched. West doubted his ability to sway the hothead a second time. If Joe saw any of them, he’d start talking about poison again. Little menaces were getting bold, creeping about in the stretching days of spring, hoping for scraps. WEST tossed the sack of trash into the dumpster behind the diner, flashing his fangs at an interested raccoon and making it scamper into the evening. West thought again about the beautiful people on billboards and how he’d never expected to see anyone like that in real life. We’ll have the time.”Ĭolquhoun grinned widely. “What do you mean, help each other?” he asked, glancing at Colquhoun through his lashes. But as they dodge meddling cousins, jealous rivals, and an insidious drug, it becomes clear that their lives are entwined in ways they never imagined-and they’re in greater danger than they thought possible.

West and Julian can help each other, and at first they don’t want anything further. But his inheritance comes with a stipulation: he has to be married before he can collect. Julian is part of a wealthy and ancient family, and one day, his legacy will include his mother’s vast library of spell books-and the knowledge he needs to correct his past mistakes. West is on the run from his werewolf pack, but if he cannot renew his magical defenses, he won’t get far. Can they find the magic in a practical union ?

Mage of Inconvenience by Parker Foye