Page 10 of Son of a Witch

His smile faded as fast as it flickered on his face. “There are people worse off than me. People who can’t feel anything. Can’t move their heads. I’m fortunate.”

Glad he came to that conclusion, I rubbed his arm in agreement. “Yes, you are. Cliché as this sounds, and as much as it might make you want to punch me, focus on the positives.”

Tor rolled his head back and laughed. “I only punch you in training, Supergal, and only because I have to.”

True. Damn Knoxe, the drill sergeant. I built up a tolerance for pain. Still hurt, though. The boys went easy on me, and I was grateful.

Little fireworks went off that I got my man to smile and laugh.

I hiccup-laughed. “Stop it. You’re terrible.”

“Incorrigible?” He quirked a sexy brow at me.

I played along. “Atrocious.”

“A bad influence?”

“Definitely.” I grinned back at him. “I knew you were trouble the moment I laid eyes on you.”

“Like the Taylor Swift song, huh?”

“Worse.” I leaned down to kiss him, ignoring the gurney arm digging into my chest. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

CHAPTER4

Knoxe

Dread hunglike thick clouds in the air. The remaining thirty or so prisoners were gathered in Cell Ward A for an announcement. Confused and nervous gazes darted about, asking why we were summoned. Chunks of stone, broken furniture, and mangled steel littered the floor. Something told me we were going to be ordered to clean that shit up.

I kept my team tight. Astra on my left, her hand in mine, features tight, attention on Tor, her hand clamped on his shoulder. Tor on her right, slumped in his wheelchair, hair disheveled, eyes lifeless and dull, gaze distant. Pascal on my right, just as worse for wear, his mind elsewhere, warring with blame for the mistake that cost Tor his legs.

No, buddy.

That one was on me.I let Pascal leave the Guardians when he wasn’t fit to be on a mission. I’d live with that guilt for the rest of my goddamn life. Pascal’s headache and drug withdrawal had cost him the seconds he needed to restrain Styx, and the vampire caught Tor and tossed him through the air. The sound of Tor’s back cracking haunted me ever since.

The team felt fragmented, meaningless without our fifth member, and beloved brother. I missed my buddy, my closest confidant.

After Jaz died, Raze stepped up to take second in command, kept me cool under pressure, and reminded me to back the fuck off when necessary. I trusted his judgment and tracking implicitly. We’d lost a valuable member, friend, and lover, and I felt more than drained and empty at his absence.

The loss hit Astra the hardest, and I’d tried my best to comfort her, hold her at night, soothe her when she cried in our cell, whisper in her ear, and promise to protect her always.

Things would never be the same without him. We felt his loss more than we did Jaz’s, knowing Raze was out there, alone, without a family, a pack, a tribe. And for how long before the Guardians hunted him too? That shit sat heavy on my mind, and I couldn’t relax.

As team leader—fuck … correction, demoted team leader—I bore the brunt of that responsibility to protect my team. Although Raze wasn’t on our team any longer, he was still one of us, and I’d do anything for my brother.

Heavy steel doors rolled back, snapping me out of my gloomy thoughts. The warden, flanked by sentries and some stiff in a suit I didn’t recognize, marched into the cell block.

Vartros climbed the makeshift podium to make a statement. Events from today had aged him a hundred years at least. Haggard lines crossed his brow, stretched his eyes, and drew brackets along the corner of his mouth. He looked more unwell than in recent weeks. Heart medication was no match for stress.

The crowd shifted forward.

Pascal grabbed the handles of Tor’s wheelchair and pushed him forward.

“I can do it, buddy.” Tor’s growl was dampened by the murmuring crows, but still detectable, and Pascal shrank back.

Later, I’d have words to them both. Warn Pascal to cool it and back off. Tell Tor to be patient with him. Order Astra not to coddle them.

Vartros tugged at his tie, loosened it, and cleared his throat. “Thanks all for coming.” He cast an uncertain glance at the suit below him. “I called you all here to announce that the Guardians will be conducting an investigation into the incursion two days ago.”

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