Authors: AJ Jarrett
Quinn walked over and sat next to Astrid. “You’re not alone, my young witch. If you’re a friend of Miles’s, then you’re a friend of ours.” Ben nodded when Quinn looked at him. “I want to invite you back to our home with us.”
“Will I be able to stay with Miles?” Fear and panic laced his words.
Ben looked up. “Yes, Astrid.” He lifted Miles up into his arms. “I want this house burned to the ground. Leave no survivors.”
“That fucker got away.”
Ben swung around. “Who?” The one person he wanted dead was dead, so he couldn’t possible think who Cason was referring to.
“Lucian.” Cason stood with his hands on hips. “Once you dropped Malcolm over there”—he nodded his chin toward the headless corpse—“He took off. The twins and I couldn’t catch him.”
“Oh god, no.”
Astrid ran and huddled in the corner. The witch’s skin paled to an ash white. His fear was evident in his uncontrollable shaking, and Ben took a guess on who gave the poor man all those marks.
Still carrying Miles, he walked over and held a hand out to Astrid. “Come now, Astrid. I will not let him hurt you again.”
The witch’s hand shook as he clasped onto Ben’s. Ben tugged gently, pulling Astrid to his feet. He gave the small man a reassuring smile.
Once everyone was safely out of the house, Abner and Jace lit the matches and let them fall to the floor. Ben cradled Miles close as he watched the house start to burn. So much sadness and death lingered in the air it made his stomach turn. All he had gained and all he stood to lose was due to one evil man who knew no limits on the pain he caused. Ben turned away from the fire and started back toward the SUVs.
“Has anyone seen Finn?”
“Didn’t he shift when we stormed the house?” Quinn asked as he kept walking.
“Yeah, but no one’s seen him since.”
As they came around the corner to the clearing in the woods, Ben saw Finn. His heart hurt a little less at seeing the rattlesnake shifter.
“Where the fuck have you been?” Quinn shouted to the man.
“Had a bit of an issue come up,” Finn said as he brought his hand up to scratch at the back of his head.
Ben opened the passenger door for Astrid to climb in then laid Miles across the seat. Filled with concern for Miles, he let his second-in-command handle the problem.
“What kind of issue?” Quinn asked.
Finn stepped over to the passenger door of the car he stood next to and opened the door. “This kind of issue.”
“Holy fuck, is that a human?”
Ben turned around. “Astrid, I’ll be right back. Keep an eye on Miles.” Astrid smiled at him, and he gave a quick nod.
“What the hell is going on here?” Ben asked as he moved to the front of the crowd surrounding the other car.
What he saw was a young man, who, by all appearances was asleep. But it didn’t answer why he was in the car and why he was with Finn.
“Explain,” Ben snapped at the shifter.
“Well.” Finn ran a hand through his hair. “I kind of bit him.”
Could the night get any worse? Ben looked heavenward, begging for a break. Taking a deep breath, he looked back to Finn. “Why?”
“He’s my mate.”
Well, fuck it all. What could Ben say to that? He of all people knew the importance of finding a mate and keeping them safe. But with everything going on, Finn’s story would have to wait.
“Okay then.” Ben looked at the awestruck crowd behind him. “Let’s move out.”
When no one moved, Ben clapped his hands together. That seemed to wake the shocked group of men. They all filed into the vehicles. He climbed into the car and picked Miles up and set the man in his lap. Astrid scooted closer, and Ben didn’t mind. He knew what it felt like to be alone and afraid of the unknown.
Chapter Fourteen
Back at the house, Ben took Miles to their room. The need to wash the blood and filth off his mate seemed the most important thing for him to do.
Trevor took it upon himself to help with Astrid. After hearing the heart-wrenching story of the life Astrid had lived for the past hundred years under Malcolm’s care, there was no way anyone could hate the frightened witch.
Ben laid Miles on the bed and very carefully removed his clothes. The blood had dried to an ugly brown and covered the upper part of Miles’s body. Every time Ben saw the crusted, rust-colored skin, his heart broke a little more with every beat. To know his mate was willing to end his own life to save him and his men spoke volumes at what kind of man Miles was. He gave so much of himself no matter the cost to his own well-being.
Ben filled the tub with warm water. Once it was half-f he took off his own clothes and cradled Miles in his arms as he sank into the water. Using the washcloth, he slowly washed Miles’s skin, trying his best to wash away the memories one swipe at a time. After he shampooed and rinsed Miles’s hair, he just sat there and held him close, doing his best to comfort his mate the best he could. He wanted to beg for forgiveness for not being there to protect him from that terrible fate.
He hated thinking of what Miles had gone through. To know Malcolm had mated Miles tore at his soul and piqued his anger to unimaginable lengths. No one should ever be forced to mate, and casting a spell to make a person think they wanted it didn’t count. Magic took a person’s free will away from them. All Malcolm did was rape Miles, raped him with the help of magic.
The anger he felt was in no way toward Astrid. The poor man had been held prisoner, beaten, and raped by that bastard, Lucian. Astrid was untrained and only knew how to do the spells Malcolm showed him. Astrid was just as much a victim as Miles was.
It inflamed him to know Lucian got away. But karma had a way of giving back tenfold, and Ben couldn’t wait for Lucian to get his. The man deserved to die for what he did to Astrid and to Trevor.
The water began to cool and Miles’s skin pebbled with goose bumps. Ben lifted Miles from the tub and carried him to the bed. He had a towel laid out and placed Miles on top of it. Ben gently dried his mate off then tucked him under the comforter.
“Come back to me, my love.” Ben traced the side of Miles’s face with a fingertip. “Please.”
Ben jerked in surprise when Miles nuzzled into his touch. He kept his hand still as his mate rubbed his cheek against it.
“Miles?” He waited. Nothing happened. He said a little louder, “Miles.”
Miles slept on. He should be happy knowing Miles was breathing freely and he was showing signs of life. The hard part would be waiting for him to wake up. He would give anything to see Miles’s deep-brown eyes gazing up at him. With a heavy sigh, Ben stood up. He had to contact his father in regards to all that had happened and about Malcolm’s death.
The stress was taking its toll on Ben. His body ached, and his bones creaked with every movement he made. He needed to feed, but he couldn’t think of doing that until Miles woke up. The only blood he craved was that of his handsome mate. One last look to Miles and he slipped out the door.
“How is he?”
Ben finished shutting the door and turned to look at Quinn. “His color is back but still not awake.”
Quinn placed his hand on Ben’s shoulder, giving the only comfort he could. “He’ll wake up. I just know he will.”
“Me, too, my friend. Me, too.” Ben squeezed Quinn’s hand then started down the hall. “So what’s been going on while I’ve been attending to my mate?” When Quinn frowned, he was almost afraid he asked.
“Your father called. I didn’t tell him anything, and that really seemed to piss him off, but I thought it was your place to tell him what happened.”
Ben nodded. “You did the right thing. It’s for the best I explained what took place.” His steps faltered. “Where is Astrid?” The last thing Malcolm said still lingered in his head. Maybe the young witch knew what that madman was talking about.
“Yeah, he’s with Trevor in the kitchen. That poor kid has never had ice cream.” Quinn’s face mirrored his own shock. “So Trevor is down there getting Astrid familiar with all kinds of junk food.”
“I want to speak to him before I call my father,” Ben said as he took the steps down to the kitchen.
He walked into the large kitchen to see Trevor and a freshly showered Astrid sitting at the table. Cookies, soda, chips, and five different flavors of ice cream covered the table. A smile spread across his face at seeing Astrid having fun and laughing with Trevor. Hopefully Malcolm didn’t kill the poor guy’s spirit completely.
“Astrid, can I ask you a question?” Astrid looked up as he took the seat next to him.
“Sure, Ben. If I can help with anything, I want to.”
After all he’d learned, it would be a long shot if Astrid knew anything valuable.
“Before I killed Malcolm, he said that he had information my father would want. Do you happen to know what that information would be?”
Astrid’s brow creased in thought as he nibbled on his lower lip. “I’m sorry. I don’t know. Malcolm never told me anything. I really don’t think he liked me too much.”
It was sad to listen to Astrid talk. He sounded so dejected. Malcolm had really done a number on this witch. If Astrid only knew how powerful he could one day become, he wouldn’t be so downtrodden.
“It’s okay, Astrid. I was just curious to know if you had overheard anything.” Ben patted Astrid on the shoulder and stood to leave.
“Wait a minute.” Ben turned to look back at Astrid. “Malcolm never told me anything, but Lucian said some stuff.” Astrid’s voice lowered to just above a whisper, and Ben wanted to find that sick bastard and kill him for causing so much fear in Astrid.
Kneeling down to eye level with Astrid, Ben grabbed his hands and held them softly. “You don’t have to be afraid anymore, Astrid. I will not allow Lucian to hurt you anymore. I promise you that.”
Astrid gave a quick nod and took a deep breath. “One night when he came to my room, he was upset, ranting about how much he hated Malcolm.” Ben found that interesting. “He said that Malcolm should team up with this head vampire guy who had loads of power and take the Warriors of the Light out all at once.” Astrid’s eyes went wide as he talked.
“Did Lucian say who this vampire was?” Ben had a sneaking suspicion who this unnamed vamp might be.
Astrid shook his head. “No, just said he was one of the originals.”
This bit of info was extremely interesting. He needed to contact his father immediately.
“Thank you, Astrid. You did good.” Ben mussed Astrid’s hair with his hand as he stood up. Astrid smiled wide as he shoved a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth.
Ben got to the hallway and turned to face Quinn. “I need to speak to my father, now.” He rushed down to the new war room they had set up. “Something isn’t adding up. Why would my father care where this original vamp is? He told us the mission from day one was finding witches who use their magic for evil purposes and other paranormals causing trouble in the world.”
“What do you think Benedict is up to?” Quinn followed fast on his heels.
“I don’t know, but let’s find out.” Ben walked into the office, pulled out a chair, and took a seat. He flipped open his laptop and connected to his father’s Skype account.
“It’s about time you called to give an update, Son. I thought I was going to have to send out the cavalry to find you.”
“If you were so worried, why didn’t you call me?”
“Well, Son, there are other missions going on besides this one involving Malcolm.” His father cleared his throat. “So I’m assuming you captured him?”