Page 67 of Guarded By the Orc

“I’ll take care of her,” Becca said, smiling from the sofa opposite her, where she sat on her mate’s lap. Rok was behind her, his gaze dark with trepidation.

“There’s nothing at all to worry about. I’ve read all about Papa Bois,” she explained, and I thanked every God I could think of that she was a librarian who made good use of her access to books. “He protects the forest and the animals. He’d never let anything hurt us,” she assured her mate, running her lips along his jaw.

“That’s true,” Zara agreed, smiling over at her. “And you’ll have the protection of The Grove too. The trees are ancient and powerful. I’m sure you’ll all be safe.”

“Are you ready?” I asked them, and they nodded. I dropped a kiss to the top of Zara’s head while she worked, tugging her wand from between her breasts—a trick that I wasveryintrigued with, and holding it out in front of her, waving it in a circle. With it, a sparkling purple circle began to form, widening to show a lush green forest in front of us. It was everything I could do to stop myself from wiping at my eyes in disbelief.

My mate is so powerful.

Pride and determination to protect her roared in my chest. When she finished, forming a portal big enough that I wouldn’t even have to duck inside, she pulled away, her eyes widening.

“Look at that,” she breathed, grinning. “The edges don’t even look like they’re going to blow up or anything.”

I tilted my head at the portal, confused. “Was that something you had to worry about before?” I asked her and she shrugged.

“Maybe,” she hedged, but waved at where, on the other side ofthe portal, Papa Bois had appeared, stroking a hand through the leaves stuck in his beard.

“Bonjour, vieux Papa,” she said in a respectful tone. He smiled, and if I wasn’t wrong, the twinkle in his eyes meant that he was fond of her.

“I’ll take the ones you need me to protect,” he told Zara and she lowered her head in a bow.

“You don’t have to worry about them,” he added, gesturing back to where I could see the copse of rowan trees that we had seen before.

The magickal trees that seemed to have a life of their own.

“Nothing will get past us,” he assured me, his teeth bared in a small, feral grin.

I nodded and Becca reached out for Gabbi, but Tasia squeezed her close, pressing another kiss to her hair for a long moment before she handed her over. Becca smiled at her, keeping Gabbi tucked against her. Pen stepped close, putting her arm around Becca, giving her a reassuring look.

“I’ll protect her too, Tasia. Don’t worry,” she said, and the female nodded before stepping back, her eyes never leaving her baby.

“I’ll send them back to you when I sense that the battle is over,” Papa Bois said, the silver gleam back in his eyes. “And things are set to right again.”

Tasia swallowed hard, her lower lip trembling as Becca and Pen stepped through the portal holding Gabbi. Brow furrowed, I shook my head.

“She should stay with her daughter,” I leaned down to whisper to Zara and she looked up at me, her eyes wide.

“Do you need a potions witch for the battle?” I asked, and she shook her head, her lips twisting slightly to the side.

“No, but the full strength of the coven lies in us all being there,” she whispered.

I nodded, understanding, just as Tasia turned to Zara, taking a deep breath and tipping her chin up.

“Okay, I’m ready. Let’s do this.” Her voice was firm, and her gaze strayed to her daughter one last time. “Close the portal.”

Zara glanced at me one more time. “Did you want to stay with her?” she asked Tasia, moving closer to her so the words wouldn’t be overheard. “I know—”

“No, I’m going to protect her,” Tasia said, giving her a smile and shaking her head. She swiped a finger under her eyes. “I’m not going to be a coward ever again.”

Whatever the hell that meant. Zara understood, nodding to her and lifting her wand again, closing the portal. Papa Bois gave us one last wink before they disappeared.

CHAPTER 34

Rudgar

“This isnotwhat I thought you meant when you said you had somewhere we could go,” Zara told me, spinning in a circle. It had taken us a few hours to drive to the site that Dristan and I had set aside for building our clan-homes.

At the time, it hadn’t even been a real consideration. It was just land that my father had left for us, telling us that when we met our mates, we’d understand. I’d always thought that I would want to stay in the city—in the midst of our businesses and the frenetic energy that pumped through the streets like a wildfire.

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