Page 90 of Protected By Her Mate

“Anything from your captain?” Lock asks his brother.

Lennox calls his captain and puts the phone on speaker so we can all hear his update. “We haven’t figured out the sixth location yet,” Charlamagne says grimly, “but all other bombs have been disposed of without incident.”

Charlie removes her safety helmet and shoves her wet, clinging hair off her forehead. “We need to go through every building of significance that has anything to do with human-shifter relations.”

“The Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland,” Lennox offers.

“It’s been checked,” Charlamagne replies. “Nothing there.”

“The Vienna monument?” Charlie asks.

“Checked.”

We fall silent, then Lock suggests, “Choeung Ek Stupa in Cambodia.”

“Also checked. Nothing found.”

As the others make suggestions that Lennox’s captain shoots down, I feel somewhat inadequate for this task. I was born and raised in swamps and never paid much attention to the wider world around me.

Then it hits me and I gasp. “Oh my goddess! I know where it is.”

The others look at me. “Where?” asks Charlie.

“Wolf-Haven castle.”

“Fuck!” Lock explodes.

“Fuck,” Lennox echoes. “You’re right. The original human-shifter peace treaties were negotiated at Wolf-Haven.”

Charlie looks desperate. “We have to evacuate the castle.”

Lock’s face is ashen as he shakes his head. “There’s only a few minutes left.” He shoves a hand through his hair. “Sarina and the kids are at the castle.” He goes silent and I know he’s mentally screaming at her to get out.

But there’s no way my sister-in-law will leave the castle until it’s completely evacuated. She’ll send her twins to safety with a nursemaid, but she won’t leave herself.

I look at Charlie. “Are you up for this?”

“Let’s go,” she says without hesitation.

Lennox adjusts her helmet back on her head, and the four of us teleport to Wolf-Haven where I take us straight to the dungeon, assuming the bomb placement will be similar to the others. It takes us a few minutes of diligent searching with several castle guards before we find the first bomb hidden in a shadowy corner of the wine cellar.

Charlie drops to her knees in front of it and gets to work. “Three minutes on the timer,” she shouts.

“This is a load-bearing wall,” Lock says frantically. “Half the castle will come down if this wall goes.”

“C’mon, we need to look for a second bomb,” I say, gripping his arm and yanking. “So far there’s always more than one.”

We find it in less than a minute. Lock jerks the suitcase open while I gasp in outrage. “Charlie said not to do that!”

He doesn’t respond, instead quickly finding the timer. “One minute.”

Tears of frustration rush to my eyes and I swear at every goddess I can think of. “There’s not enough time.”

“There are still people in the castle,” Lock says, anguish lighting his features as he looks up at me from next to the bomb. “Sarina is still inside.”

“Go!” I tell him. “Find her.”

In a flash, he shifts to his wolf, his clothes tearing off in the process. He runs out the door and races down the hall, his leaping bounds eating up the stone floor until he’s gone.

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