Page 47 of His Whispered Witch

“I don’t know!” She burst out laughing, and he could barely breathe at the joy of it. “Go get the trailer!”

Reluctantly, he stepped away from her. He wanted to spend the rest of the day in her arms, but they had little time.

He had even fewer clothes than when he came because he wore his clothes until they fell apart on him. He stuffed onebag into the back of his truck. The only thing he valued was his collection of cookbooks, and he stashed those in the bench seat in the back of the cab of his truck. Other than that, there wasn’t anything he wanted.

As Penn herded the donkeys into his horse trailer, he doused the stove, stirring and stirring the ashes to make sure they were completely out. Without his help, he knew it would run out of fuel and cool down, but he didn’t want to risk a fire on his way out.

He jogged out of the house to see her transferring her suitcases into his truck.

“You can drive behind me!”

“The axle’s broken,” she said without emotion.

“What?”

She shrugged and kept moving. Now that they’d made the decision, she seemed remarkably calm about it, or maybe it was just her turn to be numb. He remembered that she’d already left everything once, as he had. Were they both just getting used to this?

Hopefully, they’d never have to get used to it again.

He was tossing whatever perishable food he found in the pantry into the bushes for the mice when he heard an unearthly shriek from the woods. He stilled. They were too late.

The donkeys reared and wheeled in the trailer, but she held out her hands, the air changed, and they quieted.

“What the hell was that?” Penn asked.

“Perimeter alarm.”

“What?”

“Nothing is left of the wards. Anybody can walk right across them, but the warning still works.”

He frowned. It hadn’t gone off when she crossed it anytime except for the first. Since the moment she’d touched him, his wards had stayed silent. Lord, did even Malcolm’smagic recognize her? He’d have to talk to his alpha before he introduced them, lest there were any crazy declarations. Malcolm had returned home and unilaterally declared Quinn was his fated mate. He wasn’t wrong. They were blissfully in love now, but it hadn’t been a great start to the relationship. Asher certainly wasn’t going to explain that even before they were anything to each other, the family wards knew who she was.

The alarm cut off.

She froze for a second, her hands outstretched toward the end of the horse trailer. “We’re too late.”

He laughed. At any time in the last decade before today, if he’d been told that a coven bearing crossbows was heading right for him, he probably would’ve just welcomed them as a convenient way to end it all. Now that he had something to live for, he was a bit upset about it.

“Do you know the tactic they’ll use?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I know I was going to get slotted into the rotation, but they weren’t telling me anything yet. I don’t even know the talents all of them have. I do know they have more active talents than not.”

He took a deep breath. “You’re gonna have to drive.”

“Why do I have to drive?”

He leaped into the back of the truck, shoved her belongings to the front of the cab so he would have space, and unbuttoned his shirt.

“What are you doing?”

“As far as I know, I’m the only defense we have.”

He was going to willingly shift, and he wasn’t even worried about it.

“Dammit, no you’re not. Just hold on.”

She closed her eyes, and he felt the air shift.

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