Page 45 of Son of a Witch

Astra

It startedout a pretty boring day until Ben’s phone rang and he took the call.

“Yeah? Aha. Got it.” He came over to me, interrupting my riveting scour of news stories for any supernatural, shoving his cell phone in my grill.

When I didn’t respond—because, hello, in the zone—he almost took out my eye to get my attention.

“Ben, do you mind?” I pushed him away. “I’m about to find out why some weirdo kept his father’s dead body in his freeze so he could talk to him.”

“Glad to see you’re doing work,” Knoxe muttered, sipping at his coffee, his lips curled into a semi-smile. Part joke. Part reminder to stay focused on the task of tracking down the veil distortion technology and any reports of fugitives.

“Yeah, Supergal, what sort of sick, twisted shit do you read?” Tor flashed his megawatt cheeky smile transforming my mild annoyance at Ben for breaking my concentration into little popping bubbles.

“It’s probably a dark romance.” Even Pascal teased me. Hmm. I liked the old him better.

“I feel ganged up on.” I flashed them a smart-assed smile and buried my attention back on the article. Sometimes I needed a palate cleanser on everythingmonster.

Ben cleared his throat and wriggled his cell at me. “It’s for you.”

Huh? No one called me. Prisoners were denied private calls unless they negotiated one through a hand or blow job. Otherwise, we had to wait for our weekly communication privileges.

“Me?” I hesitantly accepted the cell and pressed it to my ear expecting the warden or someone secretive on the other end. “Hello?” Fuck. I even whispered like a guilty bitch. Secret calls to a sentry’s cell felt clandestine enough to go low.

Luckily, Selena and Loco were taking a meeting with the warden to discuss the findings of our mission. I didn’t need my new leader ratting on me to the warden, earning another infraction on my quickly building list.

“Never make me wait again, Little Wolf.” The gruff cadence almost made me drop the phone. “I missed you.” Three words broke the longing only he could banish.

I wanted to say his name. Scream it. Jump up and dance. Lose myself in his gritty voice. Caution to protect him prevented me from speaking his name, and I glanced at the stony gargoyle outside guarding and spying on us.

“Missed you even more, my wolf.” At the mention of his nickname, Tor and Knoxe shared a look that said they knew something about this.

Raze rumbled on the other end, “What are you up to?” as if he had every right to commandeer Ben’s phone for his personal use.

One look at Ben gave me the answer. He didn’t mind allowing small favors like this. Chats with him over the space of months indicated his disagreement with the severe sentences lumped on prisoners. Pity prompted him to give simple liberties to inmates he trusted wouldn’t abuse his boundaries. That included our team. An extra thirty minutes in the yard or gym. Double phone call privileges. Longer showers… oh God… they made a difference to wake a girl up in the morning after a sleepless night filled with lots of sex.

Knoxe blew air out his rounded lips, glanced my jaw with his knuckle, and got out of his seat. The rest of my team exchanged knowing smirks and departed with Ben lagging behind them. Little devils set this up.

“Little Wolf?” Raze’s voice dropped even lower.

“Sorry, I’m here.” I squeezed the phone tight enough to cramp, pretending I physically held my mate in my palm and opening my fingers might release him.

The door clicked behind Ben and my men gave me winks as they chatted and stretched outside in the hall. The sentry took out a packet of cigarettes and lit one, offering my men one. Tor accepted one and lit up, earning my reproachful frown and glare. Bad boy until the end. No kisses for him.

I shook my head and got back to Raze. “The rest of the team cleared out of the Watch Tower and now I’m suspicious they were in on this.”

“Research huh?” Raze didn’t let on how he got Ben’s number or negotiated this call. “You must be in your element.” His rumble relaxed my body and I slumped into my chair.

“You’d be itching to get outside or back to training if you were here.” I reminisced on old times.

“Don’t have that problem anymore,” he teased, and my chest contracted.

I stroked the side of the phone with my pinky finger as if I connected with my mate. “I bet you’re getting naked and running wild at every chance.”

Raze’s deep chuckle shot a spear of longing through my heart and I wanted to be tucked into his arm and completely enveloped by his huge, warm body. “There you go with the naked again. Pervert.”

Laughter bubbled out of my throat. He called me a pervert when I checked out his body after he shifted twice. Once to defend me and chase a vampire. What? He had a spectacular body. Not even a chaste nun could resist admiring him.

“Can’t help it when I have four delicious men,” I shot back, the banter steering my yearning in another direction.

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