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"You never saw anything, did you?" Mark said.

"Nothing at all," Jake said. "But let's take a look at the footage. When did you say you went out again?"

"This morning. I spotted the tracks around 9 a.m."

Each word spoken was like releasing a tiny bit of pressure from a balloon on the verge of popping. Ever since that morning when he spotted the goblin just outside his territory, he'd been running on full drive, thinking of every possible security measure that he'd already taken to protect the mansion, his treasure, and anyone inside.

And then again, what else he might still be able to do—anything he overlooked.

The goblins wouldn't be able to get close to the house without activating the defense turrets, the ones designed to blast holes into anything Mark labeled aggressive. But goblins were tricky bastards. If they had any clue what was in store for them, they might find a way around it.

That was part of why Mark had so many redundancies and alternative forms of protection. Just in case. But now it wasn't just his life on the line if he failed, or if they weren't well enough prepared.

Jake went back to the security camera footage from that morning, zooming in on the area Mark had been investigating earlier and saw signs of the treasure goblins.

He reversed the footage until Mark came into view, and then kept going, and then ...

"There," Mark said, pointing at a bronze-colored blob on the screen.

Jake paused the footage so they could get a better look at the creature's face. Its red eyes glowed even on camera, and its ugly, wart-covered face was round and misshapen, just like its body.

"That's a treasure goblin all right," Jake confirmed. "Never seen one with red eyes, though."

From Mark's memories all of them looked that way. They reversed the footage some more, bringing the recording back enough to show more than a dozen of them cross the screen, sniffling about in search of a way through the wall of trees. Several of them clawed at the trees, but to no success.

It was only a matter of time.

"Looks like you have a pest problem." Jake tilted his head. "Still ... never heard of treasure goblins with red eyes, though. That's super creepy. Is it possible they are cursed too?"

Mark looked closer at the footage. He knew if they kept going back, they would find more glimpses of them on the cameras around the border. This had to be the first time they came so close, otherwise Mark would have smelled them before. "It's possible, I never thought about that before. But I don't think it makes a difference—they're still coming for me, and we have to be ready."

"Yep, yep. What's the plan? I already looked over all the weapons and defenses, everything looks good; you've kept it all well-maintained since you put them up. I learned how to control the technology up here, too, thanks to this big guy." Jake pattedthe massive, thousand-page instruction manual that Mark had tossed at him to look at on the first day he started working as Mark's security. Asking him to read it had half been a joke, but now he was glad that Jake took his suggestion seriously—they might need it.

"We can't let them get inside, which means I think our best option is to lure them into a trap," Mark said. "The only trouble is, treasure goblins are smart. It will have to be a really convincing lure."

"If these treasure goblins are as dangerous as you say they are, I doubt Marhan will be safe until we can get rid of them. I'll do whatever I can to help. Luring, fighting them, whatever you need."

Mark nodded, appreciative of his friend's willingness to help. "Okay." He leaned in closer. "Here's the plan."

***

Mark and Jake talked and planned their next moves in the security room over the following three hours. It wasn't until their stomachs started growling that they finally put an end to their planning and scheming.

It was after dinner already, so Mark grabbed some leftovers from the kitchen, nodding and thanking Maria, one of the elven women he hired for cooking and cleaning. He once considered hiring shifters to help him out, but decided against it because he didn't want anyone getting any ideas about him becoming an Alpha again. That part of his life was over ... and now he just wanted to live out the next part with Jennifer.

He wondered where she was. After hours of worrying about goblin attacks, he just wanted to fall into her arms again,letting the world around them melt away in their embrace. Mark needed a distraction, and the woman he loved was the best kind there was.

After stuffing himself with leftover lasagna, he wandered upstairs in search of her. He pushed open the door to the bedroom. "Jen? You in here?"

She was lying on their king-sized bed, naked except for a transparent, black nightie. He had an excellent view of her round breasts and the curve of her hip, suggestive of so much more.

"I was wondering when you'd finally come up here," Jennifer said, her voice low and seductive. "You look like you could use a way to de-stress."

He drank in the sight of her. In the low light, her skin shimmered, and her eyes were dark with desire. Warmth stirred inside Mark, dipping down his groin into his cock. Fuck, he wanted her. With so much going on since he brought Arabelle back, he and Jennifer hadn't had as much time together.

Mark wanted to fuck her. He wanted to make love to her. He wanted to make her scream and sigh and moan his name ... and he was going to make it all happen. He hardened and flexed against his pants, eager to break free.

"Yeah, I could ..." Mark murmured as he closed the door and crossed the room toward her.