Page 31 of Hybrid Heroics

Briggs chuckled. “Sometimes they’re English Mastiffs or wolves... Or puppies or mice or pigs.”

“One time they were kittens,” Stone added with a smirk.

“And one time she turned them into snapping turtles,” Palmer said, teasing Vaughn. “How’d that go for you, Fae?”

“Fuck you all,” he voiced, his middle finger saluting us. “Those things hurt.”

Tuesday, June 23rd

Late Evening

Murphy had done a damn good job cleaning the dark magic from Talia’s and Latharian’s minds. But he was exhausted, so Sterling showed him to a bedroom where he could rest.

Something was brewing between those two, or beginning to... Though I was firmly staying in my own fucking lane. I had interfered enough with Miller and only made matters worse until Sloane stepped in. This was different. Sterling could kick Murphy’s ass, and I’d probably cheer her on or help hold him down.

While the bedroom thing was happening, I decided we were moving Sloane somewhere that all of us could see her... And there had been no objections. Briggs just wandered away, coming back with our unresponsive mate in his arms. She could be mad if she wanted, but until it was safe, we were simply carrying her around from room to room with us.

Briggs placed her on the couch and sank to the floor beside her. His wolf was on the edge. We were one more accident, or attempt on her life, away from dealing with the animal until she awoke. Not that I blamed him.

I was feeling protective, too.

So I did what I should have done when she went into this stasis.

I propped myself on the arm of the sofa and used my index finger to draw runes on her forehead. My magic flared across her skin, glowing orange before it faded into nothing. But the spell would linger until she woke up. And it would alert me and the guys if anyone touched her who wasn’t us. This wasn’t a fix-all sort of spell, though it was enough to keep us from being caught off guard. Again.

When we were finally home, I wanted to add these protections to the wards around the estate. That would take time and planning with the amount of people who were allowed to come onto the property. I wasn’t sure how I would explain it to the lawn care company Sloane used. Although a simple handshake would get me the material I needed to work with.

I hadn’t really explored the power growth I had gone through. Maybe I wouldn’t even need to include everyone in a ward... Maybe I could build it with inclusions. Sloane had almost everyone’s magical signatures right on her feet. Other than parents and Franklin, we should be covered. But I knew, other than us, the only people who ever came to her house were Jack and Grim.

I also suspected that would change.

Miller and Murphy loved my mate. She was delusional if she thought the Atlantic Ocean would keep them from popping in whenever they fancied a visit. Blaire and Baylor would visit often, too. Probably not quite as often as Jack, but who knew…

Everyone was attracted to Sloane’s energy, so I doubted they would stay away once this saving the world shit was over.

I tapped my fingers against my thigh before standing to pace. I had this idea bubbling in the back of my mind, but I was struggling to work it out. Something was bothering me about all this mess.

“What’s eating you?” Stone asked, his brows raised as his eyes tracked me.

“Everything,” I confessed. “It’s like a math problem—”

“No math,” Novak snapped.

I rolled my eyes. “It’s like a puzzle that doesn’t have all the pieces.”

“Sloane has mentioned something like that a few times.” Stone considered his words before admitting, “But she told me it wasn’t a puzzle at all. It was a mosaic, and she only needed to work out the bigger picture. Her thinking was... If she could put the pieces in order, it didn’t matter if they actually fit. Something went between them that she hadn’t figured out.”

“A mosaic?” I repeated, speeding up as I paced back and forth.

“What are you thinking?” Vaughn inquired.

Novak groaned, squeezing his temples. “His mind is whirling. It’s hard to keep up.”

I stopped and glanced around the room. There were bookshelves and pictures, a fireplace and odd knickknacks... Everything that you would expect in a well-lived-in home. But I suddenly felt incredibly uncomfortable. Paranoid even.

“Briggs?”

“Yeah?”