Page 25 of Son of a Witch

“Ten babies? Oh my God, my poor vagina!” I hiccup-laughed again, glad for the reprieve in neck tension haunting me the last two weeks.

“That’s a small pack,” Raze teased, and I wished he wouldn’t use the p-word in case anyone listened to this call afterward. “I’d expand it to twenty if I had my way, and that’s just my little ones.”

“You’re all on a strict one baby limit,” I shot back. “Then you’re each getting the snip. And babies are not happening until I’m at least thirty-five.”

God, I couldn’t believe we were talking babies. I hadn’t even thought that far ahead. But Raze was part werewolf, part pack animal, and he’d been very close with his mother and tribe before they’d rejected him. Now I was his world, the team his family, and I hated that we were apart and not there for him.

Raze. My wild wolf. Man of nature. Voice of reason in the team. Mediator in times of conflict. I understood why Knoxe chose him as his second in command. He certainly had a way of soothing my uneasy, restless soul, filling me with hope that he saw a future even if I was locked up in here for God knew how much longer.

“Your doctors are not coming anywhere near my dick or balls, thank you.” Raze gave me a warning growl.

I laughed. It was like he’d never been gone. Like old times. The hole he’d left in my heart when he departed felt smaller and less hollow. I wished I could call him whenever I wanted, instead of being on the prison’s damn schedule. Freedom drifted further away with this new mission to track the escaped prisoners.

“Please, little … One.” The conversation suddenly turned serious, and I knew Raze was going to ask me something important. “Don’t let this come between you and Knoxe. He loves you.So much.I see it in the way he looks at you. The way he touches you. His scent changes when you’re around. His heart beats faster.”

Right then my heart decided to chime in and remind me of Knoxe’s confession of love, like a fucking arrow to the heart.I fucking love you, Astra. I have from the moment I threw you to the ground and saved you from that blast of magic. I’ve fought it ever since.Now the words stung with betrayal.

If he loved me, then why would he hurt me?

“Don’t break up the pack.” Raze’s plea dug the arrow in deeper. “Forgive him. He was just trying to protect you. Move on. There are more important monsters to fight.”

The fiery heat wavered back to life, desperate to pick a fight, tell Knoxe what a hypocrite he was if he was behind this.

“I mean it, Little One.” No fair. Raze had deployed my nickname in that sexy growl. Well, an amended one. He did that when he could tell I was getting angry, upset, and confused. “You lied to Knoxe and covered up my secret even after he gave you the chance to come clean. It’s not like you haven’t hurt him. Haven’t hurt each other.”

“That’s fucked up,” I sobbed down the line. We were both as bad as each other. What kind of twisted relationship was this?

“Yes, it is,” my mate soothed, trying to quell my fiery goanna spirit. “But you’re in unusual circumstances.”

“I’m not sure I’m ready to forgive him yet. I have to find out why.”

“Then will you forgive him?” Raze pressed. “You both promised to move past your differences.”

“That was different,” I snapped. “You were on your deathbed!”

“That’s my fiery little goanna,” he praised, making it difficult to stay angry.

I jerked my hiked shoulders back, remembering the painting he’d made me to represent my spirit, the one he said would protect me.

“Goannas are fierce mothers and will savage any predator that dares threaten their young.” There was always a deeper meaning behind his stories, if I was ready to hear it. “Channel that anger into protecting our pack. Uplift Tor out of his misery, haul Pascal out of blame, and support Knoxe to get you free. Then come and be with your mate.”

I lost it at that. Fuck, he was right, and I hated that he was. I wanted to kick, scream and thump my fists on Knoxe’s chest, and tell him what a selfish bastard he was if he was behind this. Hell, beat at Raze’s massive chest too, for being right.

“Promise me, Little One, that if he did that to you, thenyou will forgive him.” Damn Raze and his promises.

If only it were that easy. This wasn’t something I could just let slide. Knoxe had hurt me. I’d hurt him. We needed to get past this somehow and trust each other. But that would take time. If it would ease my wolf’s mind, I would promise him, just in my own time.

“When I’m ready, I promise will forgive Knoxe.”

CHAPTER9

Pascal

Peace and quiet for once.Fifty less inmates in the cafeteria to hound my senses, leaving about ten in Cell Ward A. More upstairs in the other two wards, thirty in total. Not many left from the raid as the sentries took a worse hit, reduced by over sixty percent.

Every guard on duty followed us everywhere, leaving key places undefended and vulnerable. The Sorcerers had been called in to block off certain areas with magick to restrict access to prisoners.

Tor sat opposite Astra and me at the cafeteria table, beside Knoxe, barely eating. He hadn’t eaten much since his accident. His skin looked pale, dull, and his eyes had lost their cheeky sparkle.

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