Page 146 of Shrouded in the Dark
“Wait. Did you take a shower together and I didn’t get to watch?” I pointed at him. “That’s rude!”
Ever since that night we’d all been together, Wyn had opened up more to the other men. Especially with Cody. He hadn’t taken it all the way with him, yet, but their make out sessions were hot as hell. Plus, Cody really had fun messing with him. I think it was getting spanked that spurred him on.
“Aw.” Cody bounced over to kiss me. “Don’t worry, fair maiden. You can watch next time.”
If I could stop time, this is where I’d do it. I knew that as the days went by, we got closer to the big fight, but I was happy with my pack right now. I’d even spent a few hours yesterday with Axel and Jasper as we reached out to the school. We were pushing classes out and took the semester off. I didn’t want to quit school, but this was more important right now.
* * *
When Gary called later that evening to let us know that they’d be moving in on the compound tomorrow night with the resistance and Tarragon, I became scared. I tried to hide it.
After all, this had been my idea. I’d insisted that we help them do this, but that still didn’t stop me from worrying about Gary and what could happen to all of us if something didn’t go right.
I should have known my mates would see through me, though. Axel sat next to me on the couch, turned to me with his arms open for a hug, and didn't say anything. He just waited for me. I practically dove into his arms, as I settled into his lap. His large hands stroked my back as I buried my face in his neck.
“It’s going to be fine.” His nose brushed behind my ear. “None of us are going inside, except for Wyn, and that’s only a possibility.”
I didn’t answer as I watched the others. Seth was on the phone with Gary and Wyn on speaker. Jasper was listening as Cody sat on the ground in front of Axel, leaning against his legs.
“It should be pretty straight forward,” Gary’s voice was strained. Seth had put him on speaker. “There’s more than enough of us to handle this. Lario is in charge of the frontal assault with his people.” My step-father sighed. “The plan is to take hostages. We aren’t killing anyone if we can help it.”
“There will be casualties, Gary. We both know that my family would never allow anyone to take them alive,” Wyn grunted. “If the curse works as intended, though, it will cut those numbers by half.”
“We’ll meet you at the specified location I emailed to you at eight p.m. Be safe until that time. Becca, your mother sends her love and told me to tell you to remember to brush your teeth.” He choked. “And to use protection.”
I burst out laughing as he hung up. I could only imagine his face as he said that. The guys all looked uncomfortable, which just cracked me up further. I wondered if Gary knew that I couldn’t get pregnant until my animal and I decided to. I wasn’t going to tell him, though.
Axel gripped my hips, bringing my attention back to him. His kind, brown eyes melted me from the inside. I could feel his bear reaching out to send his own feelings. I tilted my head just enough so that I could kiss him gently. He’d offered his comfort and calmed me down.
“We’ll get this over with and begin our lives together. As a pack.” I firmly believed that. Nothing would stop us.
Chapter 36
Becca
The hoodie Seth gave me fell to my butt. We were all wearing black, which I thought was a little silly, but considering what was about to happen, it made sense to try to blend as much as we could against the dark. I pulled my hair into the hood.
I’d been worried about Cody on the drive over, but he’d seemed fine. Calm. He was keeping his word.
As we arrived at the meeting spot, it looked like the people from the meeting were already there, including Tarragon. The Fae watched all of us silently as we approached them. I didn’t like the look in his eyes.
Gary stood next to Lario, who was wearing a black suit. He was pretty easy on the eyes now that I actually looked and wasn’t so pissed off at the resistance. He was the first to move to meet us. He shook the guy’s hands in greetings while nodding at me. “Good to see you again, Wyn.”
“Lario. Gary.” Wyn had been mostly quiet since this morning. His expression now was cut off and detached. “What’s the plan?”
“I’m going in with my people. The goal is to incapacitate the guards as quickly as possible. Our people inside report that no suspicions have been raised, which works in our favor.” Lario gestured for us to follow him. He led us to the other two leaders of the resistance and Tarragon. He introduced them to my mates.
“One of the last tiger shifters.” Tarragon eyed Seth, making the hairs on the back of my neck raise. “Fascinating. Your species was one of the strongest shifters created.”
Seth didn’t look impressed. In fact, he looked downright bored as he stared down the Fae. “Fascinating.” His obvious sarcastic reply wasn’t missed by anyone.
“Right.” Gary cleared his throat. “Wyn, I’m going in with Lario so that I can deal with whatever they have cooking up in the lab. I’d appreciate it if you were with me.” He offered me an apologetic wince. “I need someone familiar with the area and I trust.”
“If my alpha agrees, I’ll help.” Wyn surprised all of us by referring back to Seth.
My heart started to pound. It really was happening. My claws started to grow and I clenched my fists together to hide it. Freaking out wasn’t going to help anyone at this point. With one deep breath, my animal helped center me. We had this.
“I’ll be going with you.” Seth held his hand up when I opened my mouth. “I’m not letting Wyn go in alone. The rest of you will stay out here and offer support as you can, but no engagement unless necessary. Yeah?” His power tugged on the connection between us, offering strength.
