Page 47 of Prey

“Well, I guess we have everything we need from you then, if you don’t have anything else to say.” I stand up all the way and move back. Laken grabs the sides of his head as if to twist his neck.

“Wait! Wait. I know where the next meeting is. It’s being held tomorrow. It’s at the Devil's Gate Hotel. Only half of them will be there though. They never meet up all at the same time for security reasons.” He blurts out. I can see his heart beat through his throat. It’s beating in fear and beads of sweat run down his face.

As he does, his body starts to smoke. Well shit, I’ve seen this before.

“Laken, get back now!” I shout. As he steps back Michael’s body begins to melt. We all start coughing. This room is too small and I rush over and grab Shasta, pushing her up the stairs. Everyone else follows behind me as we rush up the stairs trying to get away from the smell.

Gods dammit. Every time we get one of these fools to question them, someone pulling their strings kills them. I don’t think they have access to what is said, but they definitely know when they are in enemy hands somehow. Though I don’t know what took them so long to figure it out this time. Unless…

“Shasta, is there a way they could be figuring out when one of them is close to you in general?” I ask her.

She thinks for a moment. “They could be using a triggering spell. So, if they have something of mine, which is entirely possible if they’ve been to the shop, they could use it to make a spell that triggers if I’m within a certain distance of them. Why?”

“It’s just weird to me that when we pulled the hoodie guy into the shop, he melted. This one has been here all this time withLaken and Joaquin, but shortly after you get here, he melts too. It made me think there must be a way they’re figuring out that you’re nearby and covering their tracks.” I scratch my chin.

These fuckers are going to keep upping their game. But at least now we know where their meetup is. I don’t care if they aren’t all going to be there. Even taking out some of them will put a big damper on their plans.

“We’ll let that clear out a bit and then I’ll go down and clean it up. I want it to be somewhat calm here when they get home with my dad. But I do want to go home and shower first,” she says.

Ethan and I nod. Joaquin walks over and wraps Shasta in a big hug. “I’m so glad your dad is going to be okay and you have him back. Thank you for trusting me to go with you.”

Her eyes tear up as she hugs him back. “Thank you all for going with me. I’ll try to get used to letting you all handle things more.”

Laken takes Joaquin’s hand and they walk out the front door to leave, closing it softly behind them. Ethan claps his hands. “Okay, so clean up, and then go home to shower and change. You’re going to eat something too. I know you said you weren’t using as much power as you normally do, but you still used some and I know you need to refuel. We can come back here after and get your dad settled and then tomorrow we can go to the Clubhouse and make a plan for the raid on the hotel meeting.”

“Sounds like a plan to me. Off we go for cleanup.” Shasta waves us back down the steps and we follow her down, holding our noses as we go.

Chapter twenty-five

Pasta & Pussy Cats

SHASTA

The cleanup for Michael was disgusting. It’s easy being able to just wave my hand and make it magically go away butseeing and smelling that before it disappears is just gross. What a hell of a way to die. Next item on the agenda, blocking them from tracking me and triggering their people to kill themselves, or be killed from a distance.

We’re back at my place and I’m currently in the shower scrubbing myself clean. I can smell food coming from the kitchen so I’m assuming at least one of the guys is done and is making us some food. My tummy chooses that exact moment to growl.

I really don’t feel any drain from my new powers though which is so odd. The amount of magic I used when we were saving my dad would have laid me out for a while before. Now, I just feel a little bit hungry.

I step out and dry off. Wrapping a towel around me I go to my dresser and pull out another pair of leggings and a hoodie this time. All black. If we decide to scope things out at the hotel I want to be ready to go. I pull my damp hair up into a messy bun and slip on some Chucks.

Following the smell of something delicious, I walk into the kitchen to see Kadi cooking this time. Ethan is nowhere to be found so I’m assuming he is still showering.

“Mmmmmm, it smells good.” Leaning around him, I see that he’s boiling noodles and making a creamy white sauce. Alfredo is actually one of my favorites. These two continue to surprise me.

Kadi smirks and points to the loaf of bread in the package on the counter. “You wanna cut that up and put it in the oven?”

“Putting me to work already?” I laugh and walk over, grabbing the cutting board out of the drawer and a knife from the block on the counter. I slice about half the loaf and then wrap the rest. Taking the butter out of the fridge I slather a little on, add some garlic powder and then pop it in the oven.

Ethan chooses that moment to walk out. He is pulling on a t-shirt as he walks in, and my mouth goes dry. There isn’t a placeon either of these two that I don’t want to thoroughly lick. They are both tall, strong, and made just for me. At five foot six, I’m not tiny. Just average. But they are both so large that I feel tiny.

Laying in bed with both of them this morning was pretty damn nice. I can definitely get used to waking up surrounded by lion shifters every single day. Though, I think we are going to have to get a bigger bed.

Ethan walks over and sticks his finger in the sauce and licks it off, watching me from under his lashes. He’s a terrible flirt now that he’s mostly gotten over our issues. I smirk at him and stretch, lifting my arms above my head until my shirt rises just a bit, showing a little of my stomach. Two can play this game. We don’t have time for anything else right now except food, but that doesn’t mean we can’t build the tension for later.

He stalks over to me and snatches me up. I squeal as he throws me down onto the couch and then crouches over the top of me, bracing his hands on either side of my head. I feel a little breathless as he watches me with his gaze so intent.

Raising my hand, I cup his cheek and his eyes soften. He closes them and leans into my touch and purrs a little bit. Holy shit, that went straight to my pussy. Squirming, I try to adjust my legs to cover my scent but I should have known it wouldn’t do any good when I hear an answering growl from the kitchen.

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