Page 56 of Witches Be Damned

I sat up and brushed his sagging shoulder.

“All right.” His back tensed. “See you tomorrow.”

The stiff beep as the call ended brought to life a block of concrete in my gut. “That was Luna, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah.” He scrubbed his face with both hands. “Her team rounded up the last of the vamps and they’re transporting them to the Guardians tomorrow.”

I swallowed and couldn’t voice my next question.

I didn’t need to. Raze fed me the information I’d been dreading for days. “They’ve got to take you back tomorrow.”

All good things came to an end, didn’t they?

CHAPTER 19 - ASTRA

“It’s not goodbye, Little Wolf.” Raze cupped my cheek, his fingers twitching, his glare shooting to Luna and Talon, who waited on his doorstep, ready to collect me. “It’s goodbye for now, and I’ll see you very shortly.” The tremble in his voice almost brought me to my knees.

I hoped he was right, because my heart couldn’t take it when it felt like a steamroller rolled over it three times. My voice locked up, and I couldn’t get out a word. Instead, I showed him with my body how I felt, squeezing him as hard as I could, until my fingers ached, and my muscles quaked. He tucked me under his arms, a broken bird about to fly away from her nest for the first time.

Last night, he held me while I cried, and when I fell asleep, he slipped out of the cabin to howl at the moon. I crept outside and found him in Lycan form and stroked his fur until he shifted back.

The strain in his shoulders and torso said my wolf wanted to throw me on his back and run away into the forest to live in a cave for the rest of our lives. Not my ideal choice for a future. A girl liked comfort—pillows, soft mattresses, soft cotton sheets, fireplaces, her eBook device, a phone to listen to her raunchy audiobooks, and posters to liven up her room. Plus, she wanted to be free with all my men to do as she pleased, when she pleased.

I released him and withdrew, because if I didn’t, Talon was going to have to pry Raze and me apart with a crowbar. My wolf reached for me, but I stepped back, shaking my head. If he touched me, I’d lose it, and I couldn’t. Raze would shift, howl, and tear up my friends to protect me. I focused on steadying my breathing and stuffing my tears down deep, trying to work free the goodbye he deserved.

The cabin flyscreen creaked as Talon pried it open, nudging Luna aside, protecting her from any show of force.

“Hey, babe.” My bestie greeted me with a warm but conciliatory smile when I braved meeting her hazel gaze. She didn’t want to send me back any more than I wanted to go back. “You got all your things?”

Things? I didn’t need anything beside the bloody Guardians uniform I wore. Pointless when security confiscated it prior to forcing me through the scans. Upon entry to the prison, a jerk sentry broke some of my collectibles as a special welcome to the new prisoner. And I wasn’t hiding anything up a certain hole, if you know what I mean, when Knoxe tried it and was busted.

“Yep, got everything,” I croaked, my throat burning.

Two months ago, my friend and her men worked hard to get me a pardon for my sentence at the Guardians. The first ray of hope in a year and a half. I stayed to remain with my men, only to have Raze torn from me moments later. In hindsight, I probably should have gone with him, but I didn’t want to leave Tor in such a vulnerable situation with his broken spine. A chance I might not get again. The sacrifices we made for love.

I tried to break free of Raze’s hand on my arm, my back flush to his chest, and slide past her and descend the cabin’s stairs. Winter descended in my heart at leaving him alone again.

I summoned a formidable voice and said, “You have to let go, my wolf.”

His grip relaxed, and I pivoted slowly, clasping his face, hopefully not for the last time. A tear threatened to fall, and I swiped that bitch away. I wanted to say so much. How much I loved him. How much I would miss him. How badly I wanted to be with him. How much I wanted us all to be together. How my heart shattered into thousands of pieces at the thought of countless years of potential separation.

The only thing that came out was, “See you soon.”

I made a break for it, bursting out the doorway, pushing past my friend, storming down the stairs before Raze made a scene. Fuck, before I made a scene. The sobs came hard and fast, a torrent of destruction, longing to wash the world away for making me leave.

“No, Little Wolf.” Scuffles and grunts sounded behind me, my mate fighting to get past a Guild soldier to get me back in his arms.

I didn’t break my step or glance back. I couldn’t. One look at him, and I’d never leave.

“No, man,” Talon warned. “She has to go back or they’ll come for her. They’ve already got hunters searching for her.”

Raze let out a pitiful whimper, and I had to seize control of my legs before my brain ordered them to march back up the stairs and kiss him one last time.

Tears burned tracks of lava down my cheeks, solidifying into rock.

Luna jogged to catch up and claim my hand, squeezing tightly, letting me know I wasn’t alone. I let it all out, my shoulders shuddering, my nose running, hiccupping from deep in my chest.

“Oh, babe, come here.” She stopped to throw her arms around me and pull me close.

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