“It’s just routine, Journey. You have nothing to worry about. I’ve done this hundreds of times.”
Journey kept her lips pressed into a thin line and nodded. She didn’t like it, but she didn’t have a choice. I had to keep her and other humans safe.
We knew that a fae was holding humans hostage, and it wasn’t like the royal council would do anything, anyway. Especially if a bunch of rogues reported it.
As we entered the bar, it was a pre-celebration party. Only members and those that worked here were eating, drinking, and playing cards.
Bear strode up—the senior member that would stay behind.
“Journey.” He nodded his head to her. “I’m your personal bodyguard, so I ask you to stay close.”
Journey blew an exaggerated breath. “Grim?”
I chuckled, squeezing her ass, and pushed her forward. “Be a good little mate and stay put. We will be back in a few hours. I trust Bear. He’s the muscle despite all that hair.”
Bear was indeed a bear, even by human standards. He was twice my size, hairy all over, and had a thick, trimmed beard that scared our human staff. The only people that seemed not so scared of the big fuzz ball were my mate and Delilah.
Now that my mate was almost a wolf, I didn’t worry so much about other species of shifters. A wolf and a bear just weren’t compatible, so Bear was the right choice to look over my mate.
“Do you think the man you are after is a fae, too?” Journey asked.
“Fae work solely with each other. I wouldn’t doubt it,” Bear answered. “They are like fucking bees. They follow a female, like a queen bee, but since this is a male, I worry that there is more to this.”
I nodded, wrapping my arm around Journey. “It will be alright. With the goddess helping us, and the plans she has. I’ll come back to you safe.” I kissed her forehead and let her go before she could argue.
“Come on.” Bear motioned for Journey to follow. He kept his arms to himself as he led her to the table where Tajah sat.
She waved, shooing me out the door.
Leif whimpered as we backed toward the door, watching her as she hugged the witch. My jaw tensed, not enjoying leaving her one bit. But the bar was far more secure than our den. Switch would remain here, bars would cover the windows once activated, and the glass was bulletproof, leaving her here would be for the best.
“She’s safe,” I whispered.
“Bye, mate!” Journey called through the link. “We can do some butt stuff when you come back!”
My eyebrows rose, and my face reddened. Tajah was laughing, slapping the table with her hand. Witches could infiltrate a link, but only if they were healthy enough after turning rogue. She indeed looked healthier, and a sparkle in her eye had returned.
“Behave, little mate,” I growled sensually. I turned to walk out the door and take care of the bastards who’d touched my mate.
We traveled swiftly to the same warehouse where we found Journey. They were either unexplainably stupid to choose the same spot or insanely smart, thinking no one would return here. Either way, we were ready.
Beretta flashed a small red dot on the door, signaling the surrounding area was clear. Locke waved her off, throwing up a hand gesture to ask her to keep us posted. He tapped his head piece three times and waved us all to follow.
Locke, normally in a joking mood on a raid, was not all smiles today. Since I’d found Journey, since I’d found a mate, his mood was more dangerous.
He feared death, instead of welcoming it.
I gripped the knives on my belt. They were there as a constant reminder of how I used to be. Once helpless, wolfless, like a human that could be killed in an instant—scarred with silver and poisoned with wolfsbane.
Now, I was unstoppable. That was why I needed to come. I needed to protect my brothers, the rogues that were rejected for the wrong reasons and who deserved a second chance. That was my calling, to be the warrior to a priestess.
As we entered the warehouse, the fae greeter didn’t stop us. Which signaled to us this was indeed a trap and our plans had changed.
The members spread out, some taking stairs, while others crept forward into the darkened room. The dark was intentional, because none of the members should be able to see the creeping faes in the darkness. Only they didn’t think of the night vision goggles that Switch had supplied.
As we entered, enemies were knocked out swiftly by snipers from the outside. Their vision enhanced by their scopes. You could hear thumps along the rafters as more of the enemy filtered in. Small gasps of surprise continued as more of our men entered open windows from the outside.
The only beam of light fell on a lone red chair in the middle of the warehouse with a table beside it with a glass and a bottle of scotch on it.
