How long have you been fucking Yelena’s wolf?
None of your fucking business.
Does Yelena know or are you trying to take them in retaliation for Yelena keeping your panthers?
Logan growled at me, her eyes glowing.Who I fuck and why is none of your business.
If you’re going to create conflict between the Protectors, itismy business.
“Stop goading me!” Logan hissed.
“Stop making it so easy.” I probably shouldn’t be stirring the pot quite this much, but if she was going to let me rile her up, she’d have to learn to temper herself.
“Why can’t we just have a nice training session?”
“Sorry I can’t fill your time with fucking and pastries like the others. You’ll have to settle for actually accomplishing something.”
The glow in her eyes flickered and her infuriatingly delicious scent grew stronger. Two out of five Protectors had already played with her, maybe more, though I only knew Yelena had and that Velda had kissed her in front of me. Calliope was obsessively loyal to Murdoch, and so far as I knew, Shakti wasn’t into women. Maybe it had primed the witch into thinking that would be par for the course with all of us.
No one was keeping me particularly informed on anything to do with Logan despite the fact that she was a Protector now. Yelena had taunted me with how Logan’s power was boosted, and her eyes had glowed then, but I couldn’t be sure whether the light meant she was turned on or simply having a power flare. I doubted she would tell me if I asked.
Do you need a boost, witchling? Run out of power already?
I’m never going to need a boost from you.
My body tightened. Of course. Gods forbid I develop a debilitating crush on someone who actuallylikedme.
Do you know how to fight with your power?
Logan reared back, leaping to her feet, frustration seeping from every pore. “I don’t know how to do fuckinganythingwith it. I’m trying so hard and so many people are relying on me, and I?—”
I rose up and pulled her into a hug before she could protest. She struggled once my arms were around her, but I held tight.Take the comfort, witch.
“No.” She squirmed harder.
I know you don’t have anyone else to act like this with.
Logan stilled, her doe eyes peeking up at me. “What do you mean?”
I’m the easy target to dump everything on. You can’t panic to the others because they believe the sun shines out your ass and you don’t want to disappoint them. You can fight with me because they don’t like me and you’ve decided you don’t either. You need an enemy you feel comfortable tackling, and that’s not the monster keeping us in here. It’s me.
She tucked her head down. The scent of saltwater reached my nose and I held her tighter. At least I wasn’t totally out to lunch with my assessment. I could appreciate how difficult this was for her, feeling the weight of every life here on her shoulders. If she needed a verbal punching bag to stay sane, well, it wasn’t the first time I’d filled that role.
I’m sorry. I’m not normally like this. I swear I’m usually more put together.
Running for your life makes a mess of us all.I breathed in her sweet jasmine and forest scent, still tinged with salt. “Did training drain your magic?”
She shrugged stiffly. “A bit. I could use a nap.”
A sound like thunder rolled through the air, the pounding of some primal drum beating through us. My survival instincts screamed at me. The wards overhead wavered like a mirage andthe shriek of the monster had panic fizzing in every cell of my body.
“What’s happening?” Logan asked, her muscles taut in my grip.
“The wards are breaking.”
Panic was so thick in my throat I could hardly breathe.
I wasn’t ready.
