Page 61 of Witches Be Damned

Of all my men, he was the least I worried about. Tor’s antics and Knoxe’s lady ball busting gave me heartburn.

“Nice to meet you, sir.” Pascal nodded, and my heart swooned at his adorable manners and respect. “I’m a retired soldier and I compose music for movie and game soundtracks. Though, I haven’t done that in a while.” He met my father’s gaze briefly before shifting his brilliant emerald eyes to me.

“This place breaks a lot of dreams.” My father clapped Pascal’s arm and also glanced at me, sending another round of ice shards through my heart for all the Christmases, birthdays, Father’s Days, and anniversaries he missed.

The moment broke when he cleared his throat and moved onto the last man standing, his gaze darkening like that of a wolf wanting to tear into a competitor.

Please don’t kill him.

I rubbed my sternum and cut to the chase. “This is my third boyfriend, Knoxe.”

Knoxe extended a palm when my dad didn’t make a move to greet him in the same fashion as the others. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

My father’s good mood went up in flames. “You ever sabotage my daughter’s appeal again, and I’ll slice your throat.”

Oh, shit! Alert. Alert.Where the hell did he get that detail from? Vartros?

Wary of any shanks suddenly appearing to scar Knoxe’s face on the opposite cheek, I got between them, pressing my palms to their chests to prevent the outbreak of war.

To his credit, Knoxe remained calm. “I did it to protect her, since the gangs have contacts outside of the prison. My instinct proved right, sir.”

Loco huffed and curled his lip. “I’ll reserve my judgment on you, boy, until you prove yourself.”

Shank alert. Clear out!

No such weapon appeared, and Knoxe went on with a level voice and expression. “I’m not as smart as Tor or as gifted as Pascal. I don’t have a college degree or training in any field. I’m just a soldier and damn good at what I do. And I’ll protect and love your daughter until my last breath.”

That seemed to calm my father’s lethal glare.

It also made my heart flutter.Move over, Luna, there’s a new princess in town with her dark knights!

“Good.” He lifted two pronged fingers to his eyes. “I’ll forgive this for now, but I’ve still have my eye on you.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” Knoxe stood his ground, and I didn’t dare take a breath, ready to de-escalate if necessary.

“Nice to meet you, son.” Dad sealed his earlier promise by offering his palm, and Knoxe accepted it, earning an even harder crack of tendons.

Phew. Hatchet buried. Shank firmly in the pocket. For now…

My father sighed and released him, glancing at me, and smiling. “I’ll see you at dinner, kiddo.”

The spark in my chest ignited into a flame at his kind gesture to leave me with my boyfriends—alive and breathing.

“See you then, Dad.” He stopped at the name, glanced over his shoulders, flashing one of his crazy smiles, then striding off with a proud step.

“That went better than expected,” I said on a rush of air from my lungs.

My men reforged their previous alignment, wrapping around me, pulling me close, squeezing me, and I breathed for the first time in an hour.

“I’ve missed you, Songbird,” Pascal whispered into my temple, his palm cradling my head, and I banded my arms around him so tightly I probably made his breathing hard.

He didn’t twitch, didn’t retreat, his entire focus was on me, and nothing other than holding me mattered.

“I missed you all so much.” I fisted the collar of his uniform, my hands shaking with gratitude.

Missed mine and Pascal’s nightly music sessions, dinners, comic book breakdowns and geeky science chats. The same went for Tor, minus the music. And I missed laying back with Knoxe, or playing cards or chess to wind down after a long day of training.

Grief trickled through my veins at the team and my heart being incomplete without Raze. I decided to turn my heartache around and channel it into reuniting our pack permanently.

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