Page 33 of Guarded By the Orc

“No, you’ll both be staying here. Pen, you have to protect the baby and Becca can protect you both,” I explained. Becca perked right up, nodding.

“I’ve got her,” she said, smashing her fist into her other palm as if to show she was very strong—which she wasn’t.

“Zara said they’ll be starting the protection spell as soon as they can, but—” I trailed off, my eyes widening as swirls of light started entering the room. I backed up toward Pen and Becca, holding my hands out in case, but the magick didn’t stop, rushing over us and surrounding us with comfort and warmth.

“Oh,” I exclaimed, as it continued on its way, outward and upward. “This might be it.”

Dristan, who’d jumped to his feet, taking an aggressive stance in front of Pen rolled his eyes and gave a low growl. “A bit of warning would have been nice.”

“My female isn’t the warning type,” I explained and Rok gave a laugh from where he’d taken a similar stance in front of Becca.

“That’s very true,” he said. “She jumps right in.”

“With both feet,” I agreed, shaking my head, a grin on my lips.

My female’s one of a kind.

When the swirling light died down, I pulled up the video feed on my phone and watched as the coven left the biggest apartment, making their way outside the building and then leaving little items at the corners of the building and then in fourother spots. I waved at my family before making my way down to the ground floor to meet her.

My mate was just making her way around the corner of the building and I grinned at her. Joy filled her expression and it was a punch to my heart.

She’s happy to see me.

I’d always wanted that, and now, thank the Gods, I finally had it. Holding my arms out to her, I watched with a grin as she hurried toward me, her luscious breasts jiggling and I wassureher ass would be moving for me too. I snatched her up, spinning her in my arms and pressing a kiss to her lips. She met me with enthusiasm, a fervent kiss that I felt to my toes.

“You’ve been apart for an hour, by the way,” Tabitha said as she passed us, rolling her eyes but patting my shoulder.

“Less than that,” Floria sighed, shaking her head.

“I think it’s cute,” Hanna said with a tentative smile before looking away from me.

“It’s kind of gag-worthy, really,” Tasia added with a wink before my mate swatted at her and she laughed.

She pulled away to cup my cheeks. “We did the protection spell. So now I can do magick and not worry,” she enthused with a squeal, kicking her legs up behind her while I held her around her waist off of the floor.

“That’s great,” I told her with another smacking kiss. “But that means that you have to stay inside, right?”

She scowled, but nodded. “Yeah, I guess.”

I let her down and she took my hand in hers, leading me toward the front door.

Gods, I can get used to this.

“Do we need to do anything else to protect her?” I askedTabitha once we’d moved back inside the large apartment she and Floria would be sharing. Tasia and Gabbi had their own and Hanna had a smaller one for herself as well.

All of the witches looked drained except for Zara. She was still her usual bubbly self, making hot chocolate for everyone, but they were slumped in their chairs, seeming like they needed naps.

“I was going to seek help from another coven,” Tabitha said, smothering a huge yawn, “for helping her focus her powers. But I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’ll have to do some more digging, but I’m sure there’s another way.”

“It’s smart to not get anyone else involved,” I agreed. “The less people who know where she is, the better.”

They nodded at me, and I saw more yawns make their way around the circle.

“Well, I’ll take Zara with me and leave you ladies. We’ll provide compensation for the spell, of course,” I told them and when Tabitha opened her mouth to protest, I shook my head, holding up a hand. “No, none of that. You’re helping the building, and you deserve to be paid for that.”

Her eyes softened and she mouthed the wordsThank you.

“No, thankyou,” I told them, making sure I made eye contact with every female so they could know I was being sincere. “For protecting her and for protecting us.”

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