Page 11 of Witch's Rebirth
I went into the kitchen in search of an icy cold glass of water. The wolf and fox immediately shifted into human form once they entered the house. Astrid grabbed my arms, her wild red hair practically vibrating as her blue eyes searched mine.
"Your mate," she breathed barely above a whisper. "Is he...?"
I pulled her into a hug. "He's fine. He's weak and resting but he'll be alright."
She squealed as she returned my hug with equal force.
"I'm so happy to hear that! You were so sad in the woods yesterday, even my cold little heart was breaking for you."
"Y'all gave us quite the body count to deal with." Orion gave a teasing grin as he leaned against the counter.
"Yeah, sorry about that," I winced. "The people we were running from, they found us a lot faster than we thought."
"Don't worry about the bodies. We're used to making folks disappear, remember?" Astrid cupped my face and her bright blue eyes burned into mine. "Are you and your mates in trouble? Will more be coming for you?"
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I nodded slowly. "The worst is still to come," I admitted. "My grandmother wants me dead for good, meaning no more reincarnations. She's somehow borrowed magic from angels and wants to wipe out demons and me along with them. She probably wouldn't hesitate to kill shifters, too." Guilt welled up fiercely inside me. "I'm so sorry to bring them right to your home base. You guys should go lie low somewhere--"
"Deja darlin', we ain't goin' nowhere." Orion came up and draped his arm across Astrid's shoulders. "And we sure as shit ain't leavin' our friends when they need backup."
"No way!" I protested. "This is my issue to deal with. I can't have you guys getting caught in the crossfire."
"Can't get rid of us that easy." Astrid grinned as she affectionately scratched Orion's salt and pepper stubble. "We've already called in reinforcements all over the country. Shifter movement is slow these days so we can have fewer outposts manned to beef up security up here. Just to give you guys extra eyes, noses, and ears for miles in every direction."
My heart swelled up until it felt nearly suffocated by my rib cage.
"I don't know what to say," I breathed. "I can't thank you enough. And please, please know we'd do the same for you in a heartbeat. Just say the word."
"We know." Orion kissed Astrid's forehead. "We feel y'all are an extended part of our pack. After you and Sal broke bread with us the other night, we knew y'all were trustworthy."
"Thank you," I said sincerely. "We felt the same about you, and vouched for you to my other two mates as soon as we were all together."
"Who's that dreamboat who answered the door?" Astrid teased with a smirk. "Did you get yourself a fourth?"
"No," I answered quickly. Too quickly. "He was hunted by the same people and is staying here for safety. That's all."
"Does he shift? 'Cause if you don't want him, I'll take him."
She looked up at Orion, waggling her eyebrows suggestively, who rolled his eyes at her in return. Her giggle proved she was joking.
"He doesn't shift to my knowledge," I forced out a laugh, biting back the jealousy rearing up like a snake. "But if you want to take him off my hands, please do!" The words fought so hard to come out of my mouth, I practically spat them out.
"Nah. I think he only has eyes for you, honey." Astrid winked and nothing could stop the heat rising in my cheeks. She pulled me into another hug and I hoped she didn't see my red face. "We'll have shifters pouring in over the next few days so don't be alarmed if you see a few extra critters slinking around."
"Thank you," I whispered, hugging her tighter. Her red curls tickled my nose. "Seriously, I can't thank you enough. We won't let any shifters get hurt, I promise."
"We're used to that, hun," she answered softly. "What we're not used to is other kinds sticking up for us. Treating us like real people. We're here for you as long as you're there for us."
"Absolutely," I promised.
We said our goodbyes and I promised them another visit when Raum was in better shape. The house's silence seemed to press in on me once I closed the front door. I hated it being this quiet, it felt so tense. Like we were on edge just waiting for the next attack. Was that really the best move? Just sit and wait for Diana to come, if she ever did? Or would she just send more lambs to sacrifice while she remained safe and tucked away in San Francisco?
I rummaged through the kitchen to make another cup of tea, so lost in my thoughts that I didn't see Seth until a shadow moved in the corner of my eye.
"Fuck!" I shrieked, dropping my tea cup and shattering it all over the floor.
"Oops," Seth said flatly, as if he were a cat whose favorite pastime was knocking things off the counter.
"Jesus, you're stealthier than Sal." I dropped to the floor to pick up the jagged ceramic pieces. "Don't do that. It's fucking creepy."
