Page 73 of Home to the Hollow

“I don’t allow companions in the lesson rooms, Britannia. I kicked them out of my space and I had every right to do so. Why I choose that rule is not something I have to explain to you, no matter what you think you’re owed in life.”

Ha! Eat that, you rude pre-pubescent Regina in training.

She sniffs and packs up her supplies before standing with her drawing. I open the door to allow her access to the back room, rubbing my shoulder when she bumps into me like a fucking pro. Goddamnit, did OJ teach her ALL of her assholery or is it in their DNA?

“Hey! That hurt Britannia. You can’t just attack people you don’t like because someone told you they were bad.”

Her expression is one of pure disdain as she looks over her shoulder. “Clean up the mess. Employees should be seen and not heard.”

White rage floods my entire body and I feel the worst possible thing coming over me—it’s going to go black and I’m alone with a weird box and bitchy teenager. This can’t happen right now; it just can’t.

“Britannia! That behavior isunacceptablefor a young lady from your family. Apologize to Miss Whitleyimmediately!”

The voice that booms out from the doorway is familiar and the mere knowledge that he’s here seems to push the blackness from my mind a little. “Teddy?”

Britannia shoots me a look full of venom as my sharply dressed lover comes rushing across the room. He cups my face in his hands, murmuring low as he looks into my eyes. “You were going to go down; I could feel it. Hell, Tilly, I could see it on your face.”

I nod, putting my hands on his chest as I murmur, “Too much in one day. Just tired, I think.”

His growl is an argument, and I dip my chin. He’s not wrong, but I can’t show weakness to Britannia anymore than I could her mother. It would diminish what little authority I have left and I have an entire year of this girl to contend with. Edgar drops his hands, tucks me against his side, and gives her the same fierce glare he used on his players that first day.

“You will take your companions and leave once you’ve apologized. Your mother is waiting outside, and if you think I won’t be addressing this outrageous behavior with her, you’re delusional. Nowgo!”

My thighs clench as he orders the tween around like she’s not worth his time, and I realize Imighthave a wee damsel fantasy that I’ve never allowed myself to voice. Every time one of these guys steps in and tells people to fuck off, my vagina flutters like butterfly wings. It’s baffling and hot at the same time.

Not that I’m ever going totellthem that.

“Whatever, Coach. Sorry, Jolene,” the girl mutters as she hangs up her artwork. She scoops up her supplies with a sneer at me, and heads for the hills, not bothering to do the cleanup needed in the lesson room.

I sigh, knowing it was on purpose and now I’m stuck being her maid, just like she wanted. “You didn’t have to do that, Teddy.”

He grins and leans down to give me a soft kiss. “Of course I did, Tilly. Kids need boundaries and she was way the fuck over hers. Let me help you clean up the mess she left while we wait for Prez and the pup. They can’t wait to figure out if you’ve been teaching in a building rigged to blow.”

“Christ. You guys need to stop watching so many crime shows. It’s just a creepy box, and it probably doesn’t even have a head in it.”

His laugh rumbles over me like a big cat. “You say that now, but when it leaks rancid people juice on your new floor, don’t expect me not to say I told you so.”

Who would ever expect that?

Here’s to Never Growing Up

Not telling her what we know was hard as fuck.

When Wolfie and I arrived, we had his portable x-ray in tow. Boone was worried about the escalation from outdoor spying to direct attacks, and though I didn’t believe that big ass treasure chest was booby-trapped, I agreed we should approach it with caution. There are plenty of ways to harm someone that don’t go boom, and since Magpie rolled into town, the hornets’ nest has been stirred.

The x-ray showed a trove of books and papers, but no wiring or mechanisms to rig the lid or anywhere else. We hauled the thing back to the house and examine the contents piece by piece instead of pulling it out in the studio, only to cart it home afterward. Magpie wanted to dig in, but sharing the results from the blood work was more pressing, so we stowed it in her garage for safekeeping.

That was two weeks and what feels like a lifetime of bullshit ago.

Jolene was furious that the blood we drew showed signs they were dosed. To keep it simple, I had my lab rat ex-girlfriend dummy up a report showing that it was Rohypnol. Unfortunately, I had to add a lie to the pile to avoid questions; it wasn’t my first choice, but once I showed the guys the real one, we agreed it had to go to the Society.

The drug they were given isn’t one we’ve ever seen before. It was powerful enough to take out four Guardians, so it’s dangerous. They confiscated all the samples and paperwork from my source so they can analyze it further. Whoever made it—human or supe—knows enough about our physiology to tailor make a knock out liquid to transcend species-specific resistances.

Someone isn’t just dosing college girls to get laid or targeting Jolene because of her work overseas; this was a well planned, coordinated test run. The clubs Seer took magpie to are extranormals only, and it’s impossible to know if they hit her group on purpose or at random. What we know is that there is an enemy looking to do harm to supes.

And they know where our girl lives.

Boone damn near lost his mind. He called his father and his mother—a miracle—and the mayor. After they promised to look into it with their contacts in DC and abroad, he spent hours looking at the lab reports as if his degree was going to magically change from law to biomedical engineering. His supe sides have been in overdrive so badly that Prez gave him some of the suppressant they give the kids until puberty.

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