Page 151 of Short, Lethal & Claimed

“And I appreciate that,” Jill said, deciding that this would be the perfect moment to lose it and start crying uncontrollably and, thankfully, her sister seemed to be on board with that plan.

CHAPTER 70

Cedar Hollow, Pennsylvania

“Tell me what she wanted with you again,” Joshua said as he slowly took in the dead shifters and humans scattered around the pool before his gaze briefly landed on the trail of blood that led to the brick tunnel and slowly inhaled.

“She wanted us to bless the pool water,” one of the priests said as Joshua absently nodded, taking in the lingering scents permeating the room until he found the one that he was looking for.

“You turned the pool into holy water?” Joshua asked as he shifted his gaze back to the pool and took in the metal cage that had been ripped open at the bottom of the pool.

“That’s what we were asked to do,” another priest answered while Joshua stood there, slowly nodding as his gaze flickered from the small cage at the bottom of the pool, barely big enough for a small child, to the one on the patio with the key still in its lock.

“Tell me something,” Joshua said as he slowly made his way around the pool, taking in the drops of blood letting him know just how badly they’d fuck up. “Did you know that they were on my list?” he asked, glancing at the priests to find them shifting nervously as they shared a look.

“No,” the third priest said after a slight hesitation.

“You didn’t know the children belonged to Magnus?” Joshua asked as his gaze locked on the metal cage at the bottom of the pool.

“We didn’t know that they were the children that Magnus was searching for,” came the lie that doomed their fate.

“And the vampire couple?” Logan asked, glancing up to find the priests eying the nearest exit before their gazes landed on the armed men surrounding him.

“We were told that the couple was on the Sentinel’s list and that we would be rewarded for their deaths.”

“Were you told that they planned on drowning the children?” Joshua asked as he moved past the priests, taking in the scent of their fear as it began to permeate the air.

“They were marked,” came the answer that had Joshua absently nodding as he began making his way around the pool again.

“I see,” Joshua murmured as he came to a stop across from them as his gaze once again locked on the small droplets of blood staining the tile beneath his feet. “Did you know that she was pregnant with a Pyte?” he asked, allowing his eyes to turn red as he looked up and watched the priests’ mouths work soundlessly.

Gesturing lazily towards the priests, Joshua said, “Kill them and burn the house down,” on a bored sigh as he made his way to the door while he tried to decide how he wanted to handle the next name on his list.

“Magnus promised that we were safe. He-”

“He lied.”

EPILOGUE

One Month Later…

It was finally over, Logan thought as he stood there, slowly exhaling as he closed his eyes and-

“She’s going to rip your throat out,” came the softly whispered warning that had him going still as he glanced to his left to find a pair of angry red eyes watching his every move.

Swallowing hard, Logan moved to finish fixing his tie only to rethink that decision when Madison’s eyes narrowed dangerously on the move. Deciding against making any sudden movements, he slowly dropped his hands away, noting the way the Pyte watched the move.

When she was satisfied that he wasn’t going to do anything to mess with the tuxedo that had taken her two weeks to find, Madison released a satisfied sigh as she adjusted the bouquet of white roses in her arms and took in the rest of the large dining hall they’d turned into a wedding chapel, ensuring that everything was perfect.

For the past month, Logan had been waiting for this moment, desperate to finally have his mate back in his armsafter her father demanded that they do this right, which apparently meant sleeping in the twin’s room and having his every move watched until they were married. Every time he tried to sneak out of his room to see her, Ephraim and Chris were waiting for him with anticipatory smiles. They couldn’t beat the shit out of him without hurting Jill, but that didn’t stop them from doing whatever it took to annoy the shit out of him.

He’d eventually resigned himself to stolen kisses throughout the day while he kept himself busy trying to find Tomas and making sure that his family was safe. He spent most of his time with his children, helping them with their schoolwork, giving them extra cookies to go tell their mother how much he loved her, building a nursery with Kale’s help, and annoying the shit out of her father and brother every chance he got.

And Jill…

Christ, he’d never seen her happier than he had over the past month. Every day, she smiled and laughed more, teasing her brothers, spending time with Madison and with all the children in the house. She was so good with the children. She was…

The love of his life.

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