Shadow Watcher (Darkness #6)(26)

He seemed to think babies wore scarves…

“You got problems,” Jonas shot back. “Took you long enough to find us. What’d you do, track with your fingers?”

“Nah. I saw you headed this way so thought I might grab some breakfast first. I knew the Boss was with her.”

Jonas face turned red as he stared at Charles.

“No fighting in front of pregnant females, bro.” Charles grinned.

A vein pulsed in Jonas’ jaw.

Smiling, Charles stepped forward and rubbed my belly. “Anyway, what’s up for today?”

I let Stefan answer as I cherished the last minutes of the day. My magic rolled along the ground to expand my reach, feeling nature throb within the elements. I flicked and twisted off a couple spells creating colorful bubbles of light just for a way to interact. As the shadows swallowed up the ground, I did one hard pulse to reach that little farther before getting ready to pull it all back in. Spreading my magical awareness out so far was draining, but Toa said I should constantly push to improve my overall reach.

As I opened my eyes to lead the way back to the Mansion, I felt it. That magic. The shifter magic I’d felt four months ago.

Tim had been searching, and since Stefan found out he was going to be a dad, he’d been looking, too. No one had turned up any results. It was as if the guy knew he was being sought by the entire magical community, which was why he took off.

This guy was every bit as smart and trained as Tim and Stefan feared. Not to mention cunning and harboring some sort of agenda that had been devised out of town. He obviously had business here, because I knew for a fact that it was him. He was back. On our property.

“It’s that shifter,” I said in a hush.

Jonas and Stefan fell silent. Charles froze mid-rub.

“He’s here. Way on the outskirts of our property.” I focused my magic in that area, feeling his wisps of magic.

“The shifter who followed you?” Stefan growled. Jonas already had his phone to his ear.

“Yeah. He’s sitting in one spot.” I worked the elements for a cage to trap him, but with the distance I couldn’t be sure where exactly he was. It was like a blind man feeling the edges of a telephone. The guy would feel me poking and prodding him with magic. I said as much.

“Then don’t. Keep track of him.” Stefan put a possessive hand on my shoulder as Jameson came sprinting through the trees already dressed in battle garb. These men could get ready like firemen.

“Did you alert the Watch?” Stefan asked Jameson.

Jameson only had eyes for me. “Yes. They are getting ready and will be getting in position on all sides of that varmint. What do we do with her? Take her to the Farm?”

“These are shifters—strange shifters. They won’t give a crap about the truce with our own kind and pregnant females.” Charles still had a hold of my belly. “Tim even asked why they weren’t protected. He doesn’t get it even though he respects it. If we take Sasha there, we’ll need to take an arsenal.”

I felt movement. A slow, purposeful movement toward the Mansion. Night had fallen, now concealing a black cat like nothing else would. “He’s coming this way.”

“If we surround him, he’s still a cat. On four legs. He’s bound to be fast and agile.” I got the familiar tingle of battle coming, and a wave of unfamiliar vulnerability. I could run and leap and fight, not caring what happened to me, but now I had someone else to think about. Someone hitching a ride.

“This is terrible timing,” I muttered.

“Call Tim,” Stefan barked.

“On it,” Jonas responded.

“Get her into the Mansion,” Stefan said with a savagery I’d rarely heard. “Get some vicious members of the Watch around her. Get Paulie, too. She’ll need his power for a link, and he’s expressed that he owes her for giving him a sort of family. A loyalty bond is strong with street humans—use it.”

“Should I stay with her, Boss?” Charles asked, one hand on my back, one still on my belly.

“Yes. Jonas, with me. I can feel him now. He must be coming closer. I want to trap him. Tim can have his day, but if he fails, I’m taking over.”

A shiver went up my back as Charles gently pushed me back toward the Mansion. “C’mon, mama. We have to find Paulie then get you settled. That freaking male is trying to show me up in the prowess department. Did I tell you that? He’s got a ways to go, though. He might have magical sperm, but I can still make the girls scream louder.”

“Oh, good. I’m going to be hidden away from a stalker with you. What a wonderful start to my night.”

“I can hear the sarcasm, Sasha.”

“Well, good, because I was laying it on pretty thick.”

I had an unnatural fear that something would happen to Stefan. That this panther wasn’t what he seemed, and my mate would be in danger.

Chapter Eight

Paulie slid his palm up Selene’s perfect form. He felt her perky breast and tweaked a nipple. Her moan made him reach behind her neck and pull her forward, smashing their lips together. With one hand, he guided her toned body over him so he could position his tip at her opening. He guided her body down onto his shaft, plunging deep into her wetness.

“Hmm, yes,” she sighed with eyes closed.

She moved her hips in a figure eight, working his dick in a way he’d never experienced before. Not even with other women in this Mansion. He moved within her, a glorious friction along his sensitive shaft tightening his stomach. He thrust upward, banging into her as she sat down on him, hard and fast.