Page 112 of Son of a Witch

“You’ll get your turn, Songbird.” I spanked her behind the way the others did, earning a loving smile.

Four more men emerged from the back room of the building, probably drawn by the sound of gunfire.

“Guardians! Get em’!” One motioned for the others to fire.

Blasts of stun guns flew past us in a flurry, guiding us to duck and take cover behind the smoking furniture. I shielded her body with mine and made sure nothing hit her.

“Your turn to shine, Songbird.” I threw an arm in the air and rotated a finger to signal to Knoxe, who took cover behind a makeshift kitchenette stripped of everything but the shelving.

Astra pulled the pin on her grenade, waited five seconds, then lobbed it over the back of the sofa. Smoke hissed as the vapor released. Men coughed.

“What the fuck is that?” one groaned.

Three bodies hit the floor. A fourth remained conscious.

Knoxe signaled for us to wait and four seconds later, another body hit the concrete. He climbed to his feet. “Come here, my brilliant baby.”

Astra ran into his arms for a quick kiss.

“I’m glad to have you on my team,” he murmured, staring into her eyes, and I missed being able to read the emotion between them.

He set her down and moved to the doorway to bind the fugitives with Guardian versions of zip ties.

“Selena, come in,” Knoxe paged through to Selena. “We’ve captured six men.”

“Excellent work, Knoxe.” There was a brief pause. “We’ll meet you there. I’ll call another team to collect the prisoners.”

This felt too easy. We rarely had this little resistance. This few men guarding such an important target. Some battles with gantii lasted hours to days.

Tor’s theory started to gain traction in my melody, and the nerves in the pit of my stomach heightened into a desperate gallop. Why did I have t terrible feeling that we hadn’t met the worst of this ambush yet?

CHAPTER37

Raze

Three days.Three damn days. Long enough for the underground traffickers to catch my scent and clear out the trading den of all their stock. What I would have done if I were in charge of the operation.

I sat on the kitchen counter stool and bounced my knee. Coffee spilled over the edge of my mug.

“Munyara.” I wiped it up with a superwipe and tossed the wet material in the sink.

Footsteps tracked along the ground to my cabin, and my beast ceased pacing in my chest and took notice. We sniffed and detected the sweet scent of Luna, the fiery, smoky scent of Blaze, metallic, oily scent of mechanical genius Cole, stony, earthy scent of Talon, and a new scent. Herbs, candles, incense, and the shadow of dark magick.

“Come in,” I growled as the five of them climbed the stairs.

Blaze twisted the handle and threw the door open, waiting for his mate and companions to bundle into my cramped cabin, closing it behind him.

Five bodies. Thirteen by ten foot space. Barely an inch of carpet left in my living room.

Luna tugged the carry bag sagging down her shoulder back up. Cute with her green glasses, chestnut hair, hazel eyes, and curvy in her Guild tunic and pants.

“Hi, big guy,” she greeted me, coming up to me and offering me a warm, comforting hug that made my chest clench, missing the softness and earthy scent of my mate.

“Who’s this?” I stared at the smaller-framed man. Lean, muscular, cocky with his dark smile and ear-length wavy hair. Jeans, button-up shirt, leather jacket, and boots. An outsider like me who didn’t play by the Guild’s rules. For that, I liked him instantly.

“This is Gable, my fourth boyfriend.” Luna waved him over and he negotiated the crowd, nudging them out of the way.

“Thanks, love.” He gave her a quick kiss and threw out a hand at me.

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