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20

KINGSTON

The kick hit me in the side with brutal force, but I welcomed the contact. I didn’t wait to answer with a hit of my own, my gloved fist landing on Brix’s rib cage. He let out a hiss, but I knew he felt the same relief and release I did, only for different reasons.

The only touch Brix could handle was the painful kind—sparring or the bite of a tattoo gun. But I guessed that was what happened when your entire family was murdered, and you were almost killed along with them. It twisted your mind.

The most comfort Brix could handle was from pack runs or sparring like this. And we gave him that. Let him be whoever he needed to be.

Brix tried to level a blow to my jaw, but I was too quick. I ducked, using his momentum to take him to the mat. In a matter of seconds, I had him in an armbar. He snarled in frustration but finally tapped out .

I sprang to my feet but didn’t offer him a hand. I knew he wouldn’t take it. Brix pushed up and extended his gloved hands. We tapped knuckles where the material covered our skin.

“You’re looking sharp,” I said, depositing my mouthguard in its case and grabbing my water.

Brix did the same, taking the bottle Ender offered. “Need to be. I’ve got a feeling this mage business isn’t over.”

A twitchy feeling skated over my skin, making me feel like I needed to spar all over again. Because my gut was screaming the same thing.

Crescent Kingdom Security worked many different jobs, which was why we’d become known as mercenaries. People thought we’d do anything for a price, but that wasn’t true. We were very selective about the cases we took, and it was usually in a pattern: one for the bank account, and one for us—to make the world a better place.

This last job had been to keep us rolling in the green. But it didn’t hurt that the dark mage coven we’d broken up had been up to some seriously fucked-up shit—human sacrifice fucked up. They had an entire network created to sell their dark services and products.

It took us weeks to infiltrate, and even when we did, we couldn’t get them all. We simply didn’t have the manpower. But we’d gotten enough to destroy their network paths. Even if they did rebuild, it would take years, and we had people in place who’d be watching so we could step in again if necessary.

Ender shoved off the side of the ring. “Has Locke picked up any movement?”

I shook my head, ducking between the ropes and climbing down. “Nothing.”

“It’s too quiet,” Brix ground out.

Ender and I shared a look. He might be right, but we also knew that Brix being on edge wasn’t good for anyone.

“You need an ink session?” Ender asked .

Ender was the only one Brix trusted to do his tattoo work. And those sessions were one of the few things that helped keep him in check.

Brix’s jaw worked back and forth. “No.”

Alrighty, then.

Before I could suggest going on a pack run, the gym doors swung open, revealing a seriously pissed-off Puck and a confused Locke trailing behind him. Puck’s expression instantly had me on alert. “What happened?”

I knew if it were something seriously dire, he would’ve reached out through our mind link, but the fact that he looked this angry set my wolf on edge.

Puck quickly glanced around the gym. There were only a handful of people present. Still, he dipped his voice low. “It’s Wren. She has scars all over her back. Like someone beat her, tortured her repeatedly.”

A series of growls lit the air, mine included. Fury pulsed through me so fast and fierce that my nails lengthened into claws.

One of the guys on the treadmills glanced in our direction, the growls clearly making it to his ears. Even Clyde, whose hearing was shit, looked around for the source of the sound from his spot at the punching bags.

“Quiet,” I ordered through our mind link. “I don’t think any of us wants the gym to know what we are.”

I watched as each of the guys tried to battle their beasts into submission, everyone but Ender, who simply had an annoyed look on his face. It was clear that we all felt a pull toward Wren, even him, despite his accusations against her. We all felt protective. She might not be our fated mate, but maybe, somehow, she was still destined to be ours.

I looked at Puck and dropped my voice even more. “Tell us what happened.”

His back teeth ground together as he struggled for control. “ Cressida and her friends came into Arcane. Cress was a bitch to Wren.”

“Shocker,” Ender muttered. He had no patience for games like that. The ones he preferred were darker.

Puck cast him a look that would’ve had most men pissing themselves, but Ender just grinned at him. Puck turned back to me. “Cress spilled a drink on Wren, so I took her to my office to get her a dry shirt.”

“Dry shirt, my ass,” Ender clipped.

Puck charged him this time, but I was quicker, using my slight alpha edge to grab Puck’s shirt and haul him back. “Don’t,” I ground out.

Puck’s nostrils flared. “Get him under control, or I will give him a few new piercings.”

My gaze met Ender’s. “Enough. You aren’t helping the situation.”

A muscle in his jaw fluttered, but his head dipped a fraction, a sign of submission and acquiescence.

I slowly released my hold on Puck’s shirt, waiting to make sure he didn’t go for Ender again. I wouldn’t have blamed him if he had.

Puck rolled his shoulders back, trying to release tension, but nothing seemed to loosen the muscles. “When she was changing into the fresh shirt, I saw her back for a second.”

Ender let out a sound, but Brix elbowed him hard in the gut, shutting him right up.

Pain streaked across Puck’s eyes. “There were too many to count. Scars from cuts, whips, burns.”

“Maybe that’s what she’s into,” Ender cut in. “Maybe she gets off on it.”

One second, he was standing there. The next, Brix’s fist collided with his nose in a satisfying crunch. We all moved instantly. I grabbed Brix’s tee, careful not to touch him in any way, and tugged him back while Locke and Puck grabbed Ender .

“What the fuck? You broke my goddamn nose,” Ender yelled, but his voice was garbled.

“You deserve worse,” Brix snarled.

“Breathe,” I ordered. “I’ll deal with him.”

Ender’s eyes widened as I stalked toward him. “I was just pointing out a possibility.”

“The hell you were. I know you don’t trust a soul other than the four of us, and that’s your choice. But I won’t let you poison the reputation of a good woman just because you don’t like her.”

Ender gritted his teeth. “You don’t know she’s good.”

But I did. I couldn’t explain it, but I knew it in my bones. It was the same way I trusted my pack. “I do. And you won’t disparage her in front of me.”

My hand lashed out, fingers gripping Ender’s nose. “Hold still.” I snapped his nose back into place, and he let out a howl of pain. “Wouldn’t want to risk your pretty face by letting it set crooked.”

I knew we were getting looks now. I was sure the few fighters in the space thought we had completely lost it, but I couldn’t find it in me to care. “Get him some ice,” I ordered Brix.

He scowled but stalked off toward the machine. Puck snagged a towel from the ropes and tossed it to Ender. “Clean yourself up. You’re bleeding everywhere.”

Ender scowled at him but took the towel, gently dabbing at his nose. The bones and cartilage would heal in a matter of hours, but it would still probably hurt like hell for the next thirty minutes or so.

“Did she share anything about what or who might’ve caused the injuries?” I asked Puck.

He shook his head. “I didn’t let on that I saw them. Didn’t want to make her uncomfortable or scare her into bolting.”

“Smart play. We need to hope she’ll open up with time. I can’t think of any other way to find out what she’s running from,” I said, squeezing the back of my neck.

“I could find out,” Ender said sulkily.

My gaze zeroed in on the assassin. There was a reason he was known as The Archer outside of the fact that his weapon of choice was bow and arrow. He was the kind of killer who stalked his prey for weeks before ending their lives. They never knew they were in the crosshairs until it was too late.

“Ender,” Puck growled.

“I won’t kill her,” he snapped. But he sounded like not killing Wren was the equivalent of getting coal in his stocking on Christmas Day.

I sighed. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“Do you have a better one?” Ender challenged. “Web boy came up with zilch.”

Locke glared at him. “Remember this the next time you’re begging me to hack more Candy Crush lives for you.”

Ender winced, realizing his misstep. Locke could destroy any of our lives with just a few keystrokes.

“Here,” Brix said, throwing a bag of ice at Ender.

End caught it one-handed but scowled. “I just meant that following her might give us the answers we need.”

“Stalking her, you mean,” Puck accused.

“Potato, poh-tah-toh,” Ender said, pressing the ice to his nose with a wince. “Shit, Brix. Did you get metal injected into your knuckles or something?”

Brix extended his hands, examining them. “No, but that’s not a bad idea.”

Jesus.

“Don’t do it,” Locke said, his voice low. “If she finds out any of us is tracking her, she’s gone.” His gaze dipped to the floor. “I don’t want her to leave.”

Just thinking about the possibility had an ache taking root in my chest. I didn’t want that either.

Footsteps sounded, making us all look up. There was the woman of the hour. She looked just as beautiful as ever. Her dark hair hung around her face in loose waves, and her olive-toned skin only made those turquoise eyes stand out more. Even the scar on her face somehow managed to look beautiful.

Wren’s gaze moved to Ender, her eyes flaring. “What the hell happened to you? Did a priest try to exorcise the devil out of you?” She held up two fingers in a makeshift cross. “I just say no to projectile green puke.”