Page 33 of Forbidden

Buy a skating rink, adopt a couple of teenagers. Wolf doubted that was on the deed, but if Ira said it was so, it was so.

“What’d the owners say when you guys offered to buy the place?” Ira asked Alex and Luke.

“Oh, they were overjoyed to be rid of it. Wiped out most of the money we’ve made so far in our day jobs, but all things considered, it… was maybe a steal?” Alex said dubiously, looking around.

“Jury’s still out on that,” Luke said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder and leaning back against the half-wall. “Depends on how much work the inspector says it needs.”

“How long has this place been empty?” Wolf asked.

“Seven years,” Alex said. “There’s some rain damage in the back office, but it’s still in pretty good shape, all things considered. The wiring’s all still good, so we were able to get the power turned on. Waiting on him to give us the all-clear for the water pipes next.”

“In the meantime, we’ve got that,” Luke said, gesturing to the drink fridge behind the snack bar, which was packed full with bottled water and sodas. Someone had even brought an old coffeemaker and a package of styrofoam cups.

“Where did that come from?” Wolf asked, pointing at the drink fridge, with its shiny glass door and internal LED lighting. “Was it here already? Surprised it’s in working order, if it was.”

“No, I bought it,” Talon said proudly.

Ira quirked a brow. “They let you buy something?”

Talon snorted. “It’s a housewarming gift, so to speak. Basewarming?” He shook himself. “It cost me pennies, really, and we neededsomethingto keep some things in, given how much time it appears we’ll all be spending here.”

“So,” Ira said to Angela, “you two decided to come back, huh?” He didn’t seem surprised.

“Yeah. We want to help,” she said.

Wolf studied her youthful face skeptically. “You’re like twelve.”

“I’m fifteen,” she said indignantly.

Wolf fought back a smile. “How is that better? What about you?” he asked the boy, who was mid-bite.

“I’m seventeen,” he said with a mulish scowl, as though daring Wolf to argue.

Ira elbowed him. “Be nice to our recruits.”

Wolf couldn’t stop the way his brows rose. “Our what?”

Luke bobbed his head. “The kids say they want to learn to fight.”

“I didn’t know we were recruiting,” Wolf said. “What exactly are we doing here?”

Ira pulled himself up onto the partition wall, swinging his feet. “We can’t ignore what we know about the world, and I can’t just stop having visions. We don’t want to do things the way the guild does, but we all agree that we do want to keep fighting—our own way. That’s what this will be. Not paladins, but something better. Something more understanding of the shades of gray that live in the darkness as well as the light.” He reached out, hooking his fingers in Wolf’s belt and reeling him in. “Not all demons deserve to be hunted down and killed, and not all humans are innately good. We will stand where those two collide, helping those who deserve it, whether they’re demonic or mortal.”

Silence followed his statement. Luke and Alex looked as hopeful as ever. Talon and Malachi’s faces reflected a lot of what Wolf felt. Not wholly doubtful but definitely reserved, if fondly so. They all cared about their humans enough to give this potential future a shot. But was it even what they wanted? And did their opinions even matter in the grand scheme of things? Wolf didn’t sign up to create a new demon-hunting group. Ira’s love made it worth it, sure, but none of this was part of the plan for him. Ira already said it wouldn’t be easy. For the first time, maybe ever, Wolf would just have to havefaiththat things would work out for thebest. He’d never had much faith in anything except the passage of time.

“That sounds… very idealistic of you,” Wolf said carefully, leaning in to press a soft kiss to Ira’s lips.

“I know it seems that way,” Ira said. “Don’t worry. It’ll all shake out how it’s supposed to.”

Wolf smiled. It was so easy to just take him at his word, but he remembered what else Ira had said about their future: ‘…it’ll be… hard. For a while.’ When he’d first said that, ‘hard’ sounded like an understatement. It led Wolf to believe that they would be fighting tooth and nail for a while—and that may be true—but it was easy to forget about that when Ira was looking so soft and hopeful right now, standing in what would be a central piece of their future with a smile on his face and confidence in his soulful eyes.

The building inspector emerged from the back rooms damp with sweat but otherwise unbothered. He was a stocky man with broad shoulders and brown skin darkened by the sun, his dark hair cropped short. Smile lines framed his eyes, crinkling as he laid eyes on Angela and Zachary across the room. A dimple cratered beside his goatee.

“Hey yo Hector, there’s pizza,” Zachary said, his mouth full. “You hungry?”

Hector chuckled, glancing warily around at them all. “No, kid, I’m fine. Your dad know you’re here?”

Zachary’s smile dimmed. “Dad doesn’t care as long as?—”

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