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“Look, I’m not questioning your ability to care for her—”

“Sure sounded like you were.”

Fuck, they were arguing again, and Bruiser hadn’t even tried to start anything this time. But he wasn’t going to show his soft underbelly in front of the other alpha. “Fine, see it that way. Go ahead, huff and puff and blow my—”

“I swear, if you turn that into some dirty joke—”

“Your mind is in the gutter,” Bruiser said.

“We’re landing,” Uriel said, dropping them into the trees.

Just like that, they were back to mission mode.

Bruiser stretched out his hearing to make sure they were alone in the forest. “We’re clear.”

Uriel nodded and flew them closer to the trafficking facility. At the tall concrete wall that surrounded the compound, Uriel slowed down, peeking over it. “No hostiles in sight.”

“Get us over the wall,” Bruiser said. “I hear a bunch of heartbeats from over there. Some shouting but no movement. Seems to me the victims are anxious but still alive.”

Uriel flew them over the wall, depositing Bruiser on the ground. “Hand me your gun.”

Bruiser wouldn’t, usually, but they had a shared goal, and Bruiser trusted Uriel on a mission. He handed it over.

Uriel drew a shimmering gold spell on its barrel; the runes sank into the steel and disappeared.

“Silenced,” Uriel said, handing it back.

Okay, that was pretty handy.

“Thanks,” Bruiser muttered, watching both his surroundings and the ground—Uriel had traced an outline in the dirt to show where the freezing spell ended.

Past the illusion-perfect buildings, Bruiser found the truck. The passengers were quiet in the cargo hold; there were a few crying babies. Some of the victims tried to hush them.

Two kidnappers sat in the cab of the truck, visibly struggling against the freezing spell. When they saw him, they began to yell. “Help! Someone got us!”

“Don’t like it so much when you’re the ones trapped, huh?” Uriel muttered behind Bruiser.

Bruiser raised his gun and took two shots through the truck windows, killing them both.

“Thanks,” Uriel said.

Bruiser looked curiously at him. “Don’t want to get your hands dirty?”

Uriel’s lips tilted up, but his smile was mirthless. “I don’t want to lose focus. The omegas are more important.”

Bruiser nodded and turned back to the truck. The freezing spell was still in place, so neither he nor Uriel went any closer.

“Can anyone hear us in there?” Bruiser called.

“Who’s talking?” someone asked warily.

“We’re friendlies. Here to rescue you. I’ve just taken down the truck drivers. Is there a kidnapper in there with you? We don’t want to release the freezing spell, only for a hostile to turn on you guys.”

A pause. “No, none of them are in here with us.”

With a sigh, Uriel released the spell. The tension in the air vanished, and Bruiser jogged over to the back of the truck. Uriel was next to him, unlocking the cargo hold with magic.

When they opened the door, several pale faces turned toward them. Bruiser waved. “Hey. My name is Bruiser. I’m a firefighter, and I’m getting you out of here.”