“He was too evil.The ones the earth took were evil, too.The judgment was just and righteous.If they were beyond redemption, too dark and corrupted, the earth took her vengeance,” Kaeli said.
“What about this guy?”Adam asked, looking at the bloodied male on his knees.
“Not fully corrupt,” she said.
“Then he’ll happily tell us where Foley is.Because he sure as hell wasn’t here,” Adam said, cracking his knuckles.
“I’m going to get Kaeli to the truck before she passes out,” Solan said.
“I won’t pass out until we’re back home,” she said, her chin jutting in determination.
“It’s okay if you do,” he said.He swung her up in his arms.Leo joined him, Mira dirty but seemingly unharmed.“You two okay?”
“I thought the damn warehouse was going to come down on us for a minute there.But hell yes, we’re okay.Right, baby?”Leo asked.
“I’m safe with you.Yes,” Mira said.“And Kaeli wasn’t going to let the warehouse come down on us.Her magic protects those who need it.”
“Damn straight,” Kaeli said.She rested her head on Solan’s shoulder, and he let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.
“I could have lost you,” he said.He opened the passenger door and set her on the seat as Leo got into the back seat with Mira.
“You didn’t,” she said.Her eyes were back to the beautiful green he adored.She put her hands on his cheeks, and he felt a surge of power, healing the minor aches he had from battle.“Baby, don’t waste your energy on me.You did so much already; a few cuts and bruises are worth it to keep you safe.”
“You saved me,” she said.“That dart was coming right for me.But without you, my powers couldn’t have done what they did.Thank you for being my mate and the light of my life.My anchor.”
“I would stand in front of any danger for you, Kaeli.MyNightling.”
He kissed her forehead and breathed in her sweet scent, then stepped back while she healed Mira and Leo, before she finally passed out.
“Thank you for fighting with me,” Leo said.“Both of you.”
“I’ll tell her when she wakes up,” Solan said, smiling.“But we’re family, Leo.I would fight by your side any time.”
“Me too.”
They bumped fists, and Solan shut the door on his sleeping mate, then waited for Adam to interrogate the male and hopefully find out where Foley was holed up.He was the last dangerous thing the wolves were facing, and for the good of the pack, he needed to go.
He glanced at Kaeli asleep in the truck, thankful she was safe.
ChapterSixteen
Brent Foley was no fool.He’d had a feeling in his gut that things would go tits-up when Hawthorne abducted the gryphon girl.If he’d witnessed anything over the last year in trying to take out the shifters in Northern Ohio, it was that the male beasts were particularly psychotic when it came to the safety and well-being of their women, whether they were human or beasts or something else.
He’d attempted to warn Hawthorne, but the man was as unhinged as they came and wanted the huge, seven-figure payout riding on his ability to deliver a living gryphon.In essence, money had trumped good sense.
All Brent really wanted was to kill all shifters and make cities safe for humans.Was that too much to ask?He sure as hell didn’t think so.
He stared at the monitors in the dining room, watching the security feed that one of Hawthorne’s mercs had hacked into at the decrepit warehouse district along the riverfront.Hawthorne had chosen the location because it was remote.
Brent watched on the grainy footage as Hawthorne and his thugs returned to the warehouse with the unconscious gryphon woman and chained her to a pole.Maybe the bastard was going to get away without being discovered by the beasts, and Brent was wrong.
Ah.Nope.
The wolves showed up in force, and as Brent watched, a seriously crazy battle took place with a witch throwing fire around like dodgeballs.
“Doug!”Brent bellowed, calling for one of the lackeys who’d been with him for years.The man had a knack for getting out of dodge quickly.
“Yeah, boss?”Doug asked as he skidded to a stop in the dining room.
