Page 1 of A Witch Out of Time
Chapter 1
Nox
Ishould have fucking known the Facility would track us down. We must have missed a security camera during our ambush on the truck, the guards we killed were wearing body cams. For all I knew, the men in those trucks were being sent out like sacrificial lambs, luring us to strike and slip up. To be honest, I couldn’t even be mad about how it went down, knowing who we were up against.
Only my father could find four people in the middle-of-fucking-nowhere Siberia.
I quickly buried the sharp pang that ripped through me at the thought of my missing brothers. Schooling my expression into a mask of indifference, I casually glanced toward where Vasi was seated diagonally from me on the opposite bench in the transport helicopter. As expected, she was pointedly ignoring the numerous guns trained on her while running her concerned gaze over my injuries.
I attempted to scowl at her in return but ended up wincing in pain instead. When we’d emerged from the crater, I’d immediately put up a fight with the guards surrounding us. This was partially to direct any brute force in my direction but also to show Vasi what would happen if she resisted. The Facility bred us to be mean motherfuckers, and it wouldn’t matter that she was a woman. If they saw her as a threat, they would beat her until she was a bloodied pile of pulp.
Which is probably what I look like right about now.
Noticing my discomfort, Vasi frowned, the tiny wrinkle between her aquamarine eyes threatening to distract me, as usual. I shook my head imperceptibly, trying to convey that we shouldn’t reveal too much about the connection between us and how deep that connection ran.
Crazy shit had been coming at us so fast that I hadn’t had a minute to process how I felt about this witch, regardless of invisible tethers and epic destiny. However, I did know that being forced to listen to her fuck Tan and Asa’s brains out last night in the next tent over was a special kind of torture. And then Tan had to make it worse by bringing his sex stank over to my tent to sleep.
Of course, I had no one to blame but myself for the blue balls I was experiencing. Vasi had thrown me enough hints that I could take her to bed—that it was supposedly my fate as one of her “Riders” to do so. But I knew the instant I slid my dick into her so-called magic pussy, I would lose the last bit of myself that was mine. As tempting as it was, right now, I needed to stay sharp to face my father and whatever punishment was coming my way.
Vasi cleared her throat, causing the guards closest to her to flinch. Despite how fucked our situation was, I couldn’t help myself from enjoying how the other men in the transport seemed to giveVasia wider berth than me. As dumb as some of them were, they instinctively knew this tiny witch was ten times more dangerous than I was.
“What’s the matter? Are yousvolochsafraid of an old woman?” I casually drawled, keeping the guards focused on me while also confirming they only saw the disguise of the Yaga.
If they knew how Vasi truly looked—like mouthwatering, curvy perfection—well, I didn’t even want to think about what might happen to her once we got back to base. Luckily, none of the guards even acknowledged my words, and I released a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. If they all saw her as the monstrous hag Baba Yaga, then I didn’t have to worry about anyone getting too handsy.
Not that it meant she was safe from harm.
My father and the other higher-ups at the Facility were well aware of supernaturals and clearly had an end game with these creatures. Thanks to the grunt work of us recruits—without our knowledge or consent—they’d been tracking and tagging shifters for god knows how long. The whole reason we’d attacked his convoy was that Anthia told us her fellow shifters were being tranquilized and brought back to base, which was news to us. And now the swan shifter had also been captured.
I just hope they aren’t also interested in folklore witches.
I glanced at Vasi again. She was obediently staring straight ahead now, doing her best to hide the emotions coursing through her. Sensations I was well-aware of thanks to this inescapable tether between us. The glimpses into her emotional state were always faint, but they affected me in a way even my own feelings didn’t. Picking up on the pleasure she experienced at the hands of the guys was aggravating, but the taste of anxiety radiating from her at the moment was making me see red.
I need to chill before I Hulk out at the first idiot who looks at her funny.
What was most concerning was howlistlessVasi appeared. I was used to this witch giving zero fucks, throwing her sass around as if the constant attitude didn’t make me hard as a rock. But right now, she looked defeated—not that I was surprised. Veles essentiallykilledTan to take him to the Nav and then Koschei swooped in with his whirlwind to kidnap Asa a few minutes later. After this happened, she’d entered an almost catatonic state until I somehow brought her back to me. And while this demure version of Vasi could work to our advantage until we knew more about my father’s plans for us, I also needed to know she was okay.
The helicopter suddenly began its descent, signaling we were nearing our destination, which I could only assume was the Facility. I actually hadn’t seen my father since he taunted us from the edge of the crater. He’d conveniently disappeared just as my beatdown began, and for all I knew, he was leaving me to the wolves. Closing my eyes, I used the training I’d received since entering this life at age 12 to clear my mind of any emotions that would make me weak. Vasi’s incoming feedback was making it more difficult than usual, but I did what I could. Then, almost hesitantly, I tried to “send” her the forced calm I was imposing on myself, hoping I was utilizing our connection correctly.
Since I’m now a person who sends witchy transmissions via invisible tether…
The instant we touched down, I felt a gun roughly jab me in the ribs, causing my eyes to snap open in anger. “Stand up, asshole,” a voice growled in my ear, and I complied, if only to address the rage I could feel emanating from Vasi.
I met her gaze, silently pleading with her to keep that bratty mouth of hers shut for a bit longer. Instead, she glared in reply, and the return of her saltiness made me happier than I cared to admit.
Refocusing, I mentally went over the story I would give my father, triple-checking that it would pass his expert scrutiny. Besides convincing him I was still working for the Facility, the most important thing would be to keep Vasi in my sight. No matter what, I couldn’t let them separate us and take her to join the captured shifters.
Another sharp jab had me hissing in pain, the gun inexplicably aimed for my ass this time. I turned to glare at the offender, using my size to tower imposingly over the man behind me, recognizing him as one of themudaksfrom my former unit. An American. Evan...no,Ethan.
Emboldened by his newfound position of power and the dozens of other guns aimed at me, Ethan grinned idiotically. “Thought you might enjoy taking it from behind, since you only hang out with cocksuckers. Your friends must’ve tapped that sweet ass of yours at some point, amiright?”
Why the fuck do homophobes always sound like they wish they were gay?
“I’m curious as to why you are roughing up my son?”My father’s commanding tone caused every recruit, including me, to immediately straighten to attention. You could practically hear the nutsacks retreating in fear as he strode toward us, all six feet seven inches of him radiating danger. I willed myself to not look at Vasi—to not give away a fucking thing—as he stopped in front of me, his sharp eyes somehow staring into my very soul.
“Welcome home, Nox,” he darkly chuckled, “I’m looking forward to catching up with you in my office.” He spun on his heel and exited the helicopter while I prayed to any god who was listening that his face wouldn’t be the last thing I saw before I died.
Chapter 2
