I leaned over the hospital bed and smoothed a hand over Seth’s velvety fur.
He was sound asleep. Yelena watched over my shoulder.
I wasn’t sure what to make of her, only that she sounded like a better alternative than some of the other Protectors.
She was obviously used to power and had no problem wielding it to make others yield.
She was beautiful, but also intimidating as all hell and my body had decided that intimidating was similar enough to scary.
Goddamn fear kink.
I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye.
Her thick curls framed her face in a halo, like a wild angel.
Her dress showed off a lot of skin, dipping down to just below her belly button in a vaguely Grecian style.
The burgundy fabric made her tawny skin glow, and while I was wary, I could still enjoy looking at her.
“Come.”
I turned to her and she was already walking to the couches.
Caden and I followed after her and returned to our original spots on the ottoman.
He tucked close to my side, not that it would be much protection if anything happened.
We needed to stay long enough for Seth to recover and that meant playing by the nest rules.
The other shifter in the room slid into my field of vision and I bit my tongue because holy did they paint a picture.
They were easily as beautiful as Yelena, but in a totally different way, with sleek black hair that hung past their shoulders and a swirling expanse of tattoos—plants, animals, magic symbols and scripts—decorating most of their arms and torso that was visible outside of the robe.
A vicious scar marked the entire front of their throat.
It turned my stomach to think of how bad the wound must have been to leave a scar like that on a shifter. Was it something they’d gotten here?
“Darlings, this is Haru. They’re my companion and attendant,” Yelena said as she sprawled comfortably. Haru nestled against her side. “They’ll be able to answer any questions you might have about life in the nest as a companion.”
Haru watched us intently, their eyes flickering between dark brown and gold. Their gaze swept over me, hot and focused, before turning to Caden, looking him over with the same interested heat.
I promise to be very educational . Haru’s voice filled my head and I suppressed a shiver. Between the two of them and this whole damn situation, I was going to be an entire mess. And, before you ask too many questions, because I saw you staring, I didn’t get that scar from anyone here.
One of the many knots in my stomach unraveled at the declaration even though my cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to stare.”
Haru shrugged. There’s a lot to see. I’m not going to complain about you wanting to look at me. Also my gender is as fluid as my shape, so use whatever pronouns you want when speaking about me, but be respectful or I might decide to bite .
Yelena cupped their cheek and pulled Haru in to press her lips there. “Unfortunately Haru suffered a rather grievous injury before making his way to me. If I ever find the one who hurt them, I’ll rip their own throat out and make sure they feel every drop of blood that drains away.”
“Oh…that’s, um, visceral.” I glanced between Yelena and Haru, wondering if I’d be just as vicious if someone had hurt Caden or Seth like that.
“I protect what’s mine, and if I cannot protect, then I will seek vengeance.” Yelena put her arm around Haru. “Now, tell me what brought you to the nest.”
“So,” I began, “your wards. Do you think they could keep something that eats magic out?”
Yelena’s eyes widened. “ What? ”
“An entity followed us all the way from New York State,” said Caden. “There were multiple attacks before it got to us. We gleaned along the way that it consumes magic, but we’re not exactly sure what it is or how it works.”
“You’re leading something that eats magic to a nest full of shifters that’s protected by magic?”
I shrank away. “We didn’t have a choice. Seth needs help. We couldn’t keep running.”
Yelena looked ready to bite my face off, but Haru set a palm on her leg. I’m not certain what words passed between them, but whatever it was seemed to calm her down.
“Haru’s right. You’re here for a reason.
Hopefully that reason isn’t to wipe us all out.
” She let out a sharp laugh. “In any case. There is a dual layer to the wards and the outer one blocks magic to keep us hidden. I have no idea if that would protect us or not, though. We’ll have to prepare for an emergency evacuation. ”
“But Seth…”
“I didn’t say we were leaving, I said we were preparing.” Yelena rose from her spot. “If the wards fail, we need everyone ready. How far behind you was it?”
“Not nearly far enough,” I conceded.
Yelena nodded. “Wait one moment.” She walked to the door and pushed a button on the panel. “Attention all residents. Prepare yourselves for evacuation immediately. Cease your activities, acquire your evacuation kits, and report to muster.”
An alarm pinged beyond the door as she turned back to us.
“What should we do?” I asked. I didn’t want to run again, not with Seth so fragile, but maybe we wouldn’t have a choice.
“Come with Haru and me. Seth will have to remain. If we need to run, he likely won’t survive on the road in his condition.”
The words tore me open and I let out a feral sound. “I’m not leaving him.”
“You will follow orders,” Yelena snapped. “If I have to hogtie you and carry you over my shoulder, I will do so.”
I dashed over to Seth and put my hand on his chest, praying to any god that would listen to keep him safe. “We’ll be back soon, okay?” I kissed his head and then Haru’s hand wrapped around my arm.
Don’t struggle. Haru pulled me away and it took every ounce of strength not to punch them and stay with Seth. Caden scooped me into his arms and glared at Haru until their hand released.
“Lead the way,” Caden bit out.
Table of Contents
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