Wild and Free (The Three #3)(171)

He returned it.

Then I poured my coffee, sat back with mug in hand, and while the world continued to hang in the balance, I shot the shit with my friends.

*

I moved through the grass toward the wolves doing what they’d been doing for days and days.

And I did it enjoying what I saw.

Callum was an incredibly handsome wolf, Ryon, Calder, and Caleb weren’t slouches either, but Abel was glorious. Big. Beautiful. And his fur was amazing. I’d touched it and it was thick and soft. Seeing him as wolf, I hoped one day I’d have a chance (or many of them) to go out with my mate while he roamed.

Abel sensed me, separated from the pack, and leaped to man.

Okay, more glorious.

I turned, walking backward, giving them all time to do the same and get decent before I made it to them.

“We’re good, Lilah,” Abel called, and I turned back.

“Sorry to interrupt,” I said loudly since I still wasn’t that close, “but Gregor’s chat with Gastineau is done. He reported to us girls and I’m here to report to you.”

“Leah go to Lucien?” Callum asked.

“Yes. And Sonia’s with the witches,” I told him, now close enough to stop so I did. “We decided to ask them if they could give Gastineau and the immortals that Gregor is sending to him a protection spell.”

“So Gregor is giving him reinforcements,” Ryon said, and I nodded.

“Etienne wasn’t where they’re holding Serena,” I shared. “It’s in a bunker, three stories down under a vampire-owned skyscraper, apparently where an old Feast used to be held. Hard to breach. They’re gonna try again anyway.”

The men had no response to this.

“Gastineau is, um…antsy,” I told them. “The second attempt is gonna happen soon.”

“He should wait,” Ryon muttered.

“Maybe, but a second attempt done quickly after so many losses were sustained would be unexpected,” Callum replied. “Perhaps that will aid their cause.”

Abel got close and curled a hand around my neck.

I looked up to him.

“You good?” he asked softly.

Two days of him safe, The Three safe, my friends and family safe, before we started to take risks in order to save the world?

I knew it made me chicken, but I was good.

“Yeah, honey,” I replied.

He studied me like he was attempting to see if I was fibbing, must have got the correct answer (since I wasn’t), and slid his arm along my shoulders.

“Think I’m done,” he told Callum.

Callum lifted his chin.

Abel looked down at me. “Let’s go see what the witches had to say.”

It was an unnecessary errand. They’d do whatever we asked. They might hate vampires, but they dug us. Not to mention, they kinda liked the world as it was.

Even knowing this, and knowing Abel knew it too, I replied, “Yeah, let’s go see.”

With waves to the others (from me, Abel did a chin lift), we walked to the house.

And when we got to the witches, we found we were right.

*

Late that night, everyone was crowded in Gregor’s office. Most people were lounging in the copious seating available (he had a serious big office), including me. I was sitting in Abel’s lap.

Aurora was up and pacing.

Although she was the only one pacing, the air in the room was thick with tension.

Suddenly, Aurora stopped pacing, looked to her mother, and asked, “Did we do all we could do?”

“Yes, sweetheart,” Barb answered. “With the time given and the distance between us, we did all we could do.”

“Teona ain’t no newbie,” Ruby put in. “She’s got serious mojo. We gave it to them good.”

This loosened a bit of the tightness I felt in my chest and I looked to Teona. When she felt my eyes and looked to me, I smiled.

She winked.

I totally liked Abel’s sister-in-law.

“The operation began three hours ago,” Abel declared, eyes to Callum before they moved to Lucien. “Your gut, what does it mean that we haven’t heard anything?”

Callum looked to Lucien before both men scanned the room, their gaze stopping with meaning on any woman it touched.

There you had it. Protective vampires and wolves.

I rolled my eyes.

“Give it to us straight, darling,” Leah encouraged Lucien. “We can take it.”

“As you wish, my pet,” he replied, then looked to Abel. “It could mean they were successful, but just barely, and are currently securing a safe place in which to hide and see to Serena if, and this is a good possibility, she’s been harmed.”

That wasn’t great, the good possibility of Serena being harmed, but the possible outcome was, so I relaxed against my man.

“Or, it could mean The True decimated them and there’s no one to report back,” Lucien finished.

“Fuck,” I whispered, not relaxed anymore at all.

“We cannot know until we know,” Jian-Li pointed out the obvious. “So there is no need to waste negative energy on lamenting loss when we aren’t certain we’ve sustained one. And as positive energy sustains these beings, gives them their light, their lives, it’s crucial we honor them by staying as positive as we can.”