Page 13 of Frostbite, Lovebite

"You'll pay for this," Wright said, but even a child could tell that the threat had no teeth.

When the door had closed behind him, Match pushed back his chair, stood, and turned his full attention to Luna. "Why in thehellwould you think my wards could just be handed off to you?"

"That's what Mr. Wright and my mother said could be done," she said sulkily. "That's what my mother always does when she hires people to help or, or is hired to help others."

"You don't even have proper tattoos that I can see," Match said. "You're not properly trained or licensed. Magic isn't a game. Not knowing what you're doing could get people killed."

She flipped her hair over her shoulder. "My mother is a witch."

"Your mother is a sloppy, lazy jackass who's probably gotten people killed. I'll deal with her, never fear. For now I'm dealing with you." He pulled out a match, struck it, and lit his left arm aflame. Sucking on the burnt end, he touched the needed castings, twelve of them total, forming the spell in his hand, holding it close—then slammed his hand against her sternum, casting the spell. It sank into her, spread like blood in water, leaving her shrieking and reeling back in shock—and then screaming.

As she was sitting on the ground whimpering, he asked, "Where did you and your mother get the jack frosts? Because I think it's safe to assume you brought them here and released them, part of the scheme to get me thrown out and replace me."

Luna looked as though she was going to refuse to answer for a moment, but then sagged in defeat. "I don't know where my mom got them. I wasn't involved in all the planning and stuff. My job was to transport them, release them, and then take your job. Wright promised it was mine."

"Thank you." Match used another spell to put her to sleep.

Ronan whistled. "What did you do?" he asked, coming to take her and set her gently down in a chair.

"Sealed her magic, and after I've gotten some rest, I'll return her to her mother and deal with her as well. After I deal with them, I'm going to find whoever licensed them and remove their skin." He raked his hands through his hair. "I'm tired."

Benny grunted. "Come eat some more while I deal with the last group of clowns, and then we'll all go back to my house to sleep. Have a big ass catered breakfast in the morning."

Match looked at the shame-faced group staring anywhere but at him, sighed, then did as Benny said, filling a new plate as he went.

"So he threatened to take away your shops and restaurants, do I have that right?" Benny asked. "Yank your license, bribe health inspectors, all of that?" There was no reply, but Benny continued talking so they must have nodded or something. "You could have come to me. This town isn't a police state, he didn't have cameras and goons watching you. He doesn't have your phones tapped. I understand you feared for your safety and livelihoods, but you had options.

"Nothing stopped you from sending a text, or an email, or sending a fucking letter through the mail. Nothing justifies the way you abandoned not only a friend, but a Guard who was asking for help in a time of crisis. People could havediedbecause you cared more about a building than actual lives. I'm not some fucking duke or whatever, and being a selfish asshole isn't a crime, but you've lost faith and goodwill with every single one of us. We're sworn to protect you, and we'll do that without hesitation, but that's about all you can expect for a very long time."

"We're sorry," Maddy whispered.

"Sorry isn't good enough when I begged you for snowdrops to activate the wards and you told me to get out. When I was forced to finally steal. When I asked for a cup of coffee because I was dizzy with exhaustion," Match replied. "Just leave."

They left, some of them crying quietly, but as much as he hated that he'd hurt them, people he'd called his friends all these years, he couldn't forget the hurt they'd caused him eitherand when he had most needed them. Maybe after he was rested and settled in his new house and not so stressed he'd feel more forgiving. He didn't know. Whatever happened, he wouldn't be able to trust them again for a long fucking time.

Benny handed Luna over to a couple of summoned officers, who'd take her to a warded hotel room where she'd stay until he could take her home and deal with her and her worthless mother.

Food finished, he pushed away the empty plates. "Thank you, all of you, for doing so much for me. I don't think it's really sunk in that I have a house and a real paycheck now. I never thought I'd get either of those things."

"I'm sorry we were clueless, oblivious dumbasses for so long," Traci said. "You deserved better, and you should have punched all of us a long time ago. Thanks for sticking with us anyway. We all know you could get hired onto a Guard anywhere in the country with your skills."

"I like it here, and I don't want to work with any other Guard. Anyway, my boyfriend might cry if he had to drive his car long distance to see me."

Ronan rolled his eyes. "On that note, I would like someone to drive us to where I can sleep for at least eighteen hours."

The van that had brought them, according to Jeannette, was still waiting to take them home. Thankfully, the jack frost-induced snow had faded down to something far more typical for that time of year. In a couple of days, when he had properly recovered, he'd have to go shut down the special wards. Thankfully, there was no rush. The wards kept out dangerous creatures, in particular right now dangerous winter-oriented creatures, so having them up wouldn't impede anything.

Despite all they'd just eaten, they all piled into the kitchen for snacks before finally going to their separate rooms.

Though he was exhausted to the fucking bone, Match dragged himself into the shower. He might not be all that dirty physically, but fuck did he need the cleansing mentally and emotionally.

When he was out of the shower, Ronan was lying in bed still warm and flushed from his own shower, burrowed beneath the blankets half-heartedly messing around on his phone. He tossed it aside as Match climbed into bed, and put out the light on the nightstand. "Long fucking day."

"Finally over, though," Match said with a sigh. "I still can't believe it all. Never had so much change in one day. Gonna help me decorate my new house?"

"I know better than to get in the path of a hedge witch with plans, but I'll build, haul, and move whatever you want."

Match smiled against his chest before lifting his head. "I definitely think we should at least pick out a new bed together."

---