Page 68 of Enchanted with the Orc
“Shedidtell us,” I defended her, “so she’d have every right to.”
“You’re going to spoil her until she’s rotten,” Tasia tsked, running her fingers through the hair on my chest.
The buzz of my phone was quiet from my jeans and I sighed, making tiny adjustments under her so I could reach it without jostling her. I tugged it free and pulled it closer to us, showing her the screen as well.
“Rudgar,” I grunted, opening it, my eyes scanning the words before we both froze. She’d clearly been reading as well.
Hanna’s missing. The coven’s tried scrying for her, but they can’t find her. Call asap.
We were up and off the sofa, dragging on our clothes as quickly as we could. We were both seated next to each other on the sofa in minutes, and Tasia’s hand was trembling as she took the phone from me.
The sound of ringing was loud in the quiet room and I watched my mate’s lower lip start to tremble. I ran my palm down her back, wishing and hoping that nothing was wrong with Hanna. I didn’t know her that well, but she was one of my mate’s beloved sisters and our daughter’s aunt.
“Hey,” Rudgar’s voice was a rough growl as it came over the phone’s speaker. “I have the rest of the coven here—”
“Tasia,” Zara interrupted, before he could finish. “Is she safe?”
“I’m here,” my mate said into the phone, her voice trembling. “I’m safe. Gabbi’s safe.”
The rush of breath from across the phone told me that the others weresighing with relief.
“We don’t know exactly what happened,” Tabitha continued, the voice of reason in a moment when everything seemed to be falling apart. “But she went to the park like she usually did, and she… she didn’t come back.”
“I should have gone with her,” Floria wailed, a little further away from the phone. “She asked if I wanted to go with her and Ishould have.”
“It’s no one’s fault,” Rudgar said, but I saw the guilt in my mate’s eyes, the same way the rest of the coven was probably feeling.
“You don’t know what happened,” I said in a low voice to Tasia, but she was shaking her head.
“It has to be him,” she gasped. “Ithasto be David. He couldn’t get Gabbi and I because we were here, but if he was watching us, he knows who my sisters are.”
Tears were flooding her eyes and I had her in my arms in the next moment. “We’ll find her,” I told her, pressing a kiss to her hair. “I’ll get her back for you.”
“No,” she insisted, shaking her head before speaking into the phone. “I’m the one he wants.”
“And it’s reckless for you to go after them without support then,” Rudgar insisted, and I was so grateful for his words that if he were in the room with us I would have spun him around in a hug. “We need to think this through. We have to narrow down the locations he could be. I’ll start tracking her through the cameras. We just wanted to make sure you were okay first.”
“Yes, that’s a great idea,” I told him. “I’ll get Gabbi and take her to Darak. Then we can head back home—”
He reached out, putting the phone on the table and then gripping my arms while he searched my face. I knew immediatelywhat he was going to say and I shook my head with vehemence.
“No, Enka.No,” I insisted. “He’s after me, so I’m not going to let everyone put themselves in danger while I sit here protected.”
“You need to take care of our Gruk-ir,” he explained, pressing a lingering kiss to my forehead. “I promise I’ll handle this for you. I’ll take care of our family.”
Chapter Thirty-eight
Tasia
The words were like a shock to my system.Our family.We weren’t so far into our relationship that I fully understood him, but this male was loyal without fault. He’d lay his life down for the ones he loved andthat’swhat terrified me.
“No,no,” Zara was saying on the phone. “We have to go together. Thecoven is stronger when we’re all there.”
“We can handle this,” Rudgar was explaining to her.
“We can help!” Tabitha insisted, and then everyone was speaking over each other, the entire coven fighting to be part of the rescue mission.
I gave a tremulous smile, reaching out to take the phone in my shaking hand. “What do you think would be best, Rud?” I asked, my voice low and worried.
