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“Does anyone know how to use this?” Ferol asks, stepping up to the screen. “I haven’t been around new technology in years.”

“Maybe Tate will know.” Bram shrugs.

“Tate this, Tate that,” she mutters, throwing him a glare. “Is she your new favourite?” Jealousy slides through us, and he perks up with a grin.

“I like that feeling, though I don’t like to make you angry.” His smile fades to a frown. “Tate is happily mated, as am I, little beastie. I simply respect her, and you will too. In fact, you’ll be friends.”

“Damn it, Bram, spoiler alert,” Raiden grumbles.

“Bram, what have we talked about when discussing the future?” Kitt sighs.

Emrys surprises us all when he nudges Ferol out of the way with a kiss on her cheek and loads up the computer. Within seconds, he has a list on the screen. “I can email it to us as well.”

“Email . . . I don’t even remember what mine was,” Ferol admits, making him grin.

“Let’s just leave it for Tate⁠—”

There’s a shift in the air, and we all turn, instantly on alert as a knock comes at the non-existent door. A pink-haired female grins at us through the doorway. “Hi there. The Tate you speak of is here.”

“Baby, what have I told you about going in first?” the voice from the phone grumbles, and then a short-haired woman in leather steps into view, her eyes sweeping around before landing on us. “I guess you have been busy. I’m Tate. You must be Ferol.”

“That’s me.” Ferol nods. “I like your hair.”

“I like yours too.” Tate grins, cuffing the pink-haired woman’s neck and dragging her behind her. “May we come in?”

“Sure.” We step back, allowing them entry, and six men slip inside. They are careful to stay near the door, but they don’t seem bothered as Tate, who is clearly their mate, wanders over, which makes us think she can handle herself.

“We heard some rumours about bad things happening with mages. I guess we were right,” Tate begins, an air of authority wrapping around her. “Why don’t you tell me what happened?”

Ferol obviously trusts her somewhat, or Bram, because she launches into the story. It’s the condensed version, but when she’s done, Tate sighs, glances at her mates, and then returns her focus to us. “We can help. We have a network of people, and most are supes. We’ll find them good homes to be raised in. That is the list of the others who were taken and sold?”

Ferol nods, and Tate checks it out. “I can send it to you,” Emrys begins.

“No need, Addeus will grab it from the system.” We all look at the big man she indicates, who has metal protruding from his face.

“Done.”

“Okay, Ferol, we’ll take it from here. I promise we will protect them.” She eyes us. “But I’ll admit these men look very familiar.”

Emrys’s hand drifts to his gun, and Ferol steps in front of us.

“I mean no harm,” Tate says with her hands held up, a smile curling her lips as she watches us with interest. “We recently found a compound used by a person who was called the collector. It was empty and destroyed, a real mess, but we found files on all these men in their systems. Another thing you have been busy with?”

“They are mine,” Ferol snaps, “and she deserved to die.”

“From what we could see, I have no doubt she did. The only problem is that there are a lot of monsters now on the loose from that place, and we already have reports coming in of the destruction they have caused. I cannot handle both them and these girls. I have a new tracing team to help me track down the missing girls, but it will still be a lot of work. I have no right to ask this, but from what I have seen there and here, you are a good person who wants to help others. You freed those monsters. I’m not asking for you to kill them or even capture them again, but please help them find peace so this world doesn’t suffer.” She looks at us. “I’m offering you a new job. I hear you are in the market.”

“How did you know that?” Kitt asks.

“We all have our ways.” Tate grins. “Feel free to talk amongst yourselves.”

Feral meets our eyes before turning her back to them. It’s a show of strength and trust as we huddle together.

Well? Ferol asks. We kind of don’t have a plan. Do we take her up on it?

We did set them free, Emrys points out.

I wanted to relax on a beach, I grumble.