I hear a hushed curse as magic quickly prickles my skin, but it’s gone just as fast as it came.
The door from the garage to the mudroom opens and the alarm beeps like it’s supposed to. Relief floods me. He doesn’t need to be tipped off before we know where the fae are. Buttons are pressed to silence the alarm, then a shadow passes by me. Tall, broad, I have no doubt muscular as well. He’s a shifter after all. We typically don’t grow small.
Thay uses his magic before every mission to rid us of any scents of soap, cologne, laundry detergent, whatever. Shifters have a strong sense of smell. Not as good in their human form but still heightened.
Keys drop on the counter. The refrigerator door opens and shuts. Magic is once again ripe in the air. It can’t be Thay. He wouldn’t use it in front of the target yet.
The male quickly moves through the house. Curses are muttered under his breath. The slight creak of a stair is heard, letting me know the male is going to the second floor.
We have a silent understanding that Thay is the one to communicate via telepathy once we’re close with the target. We don’t want our locations compromised by whispering. If Thay is taken down, then it’s game on, just as it is if any one of us is hurt.
Thay and I move out from our hiding places and start our trek upstairs as Des and Austin emerge from the basement. Magic gets thicker the closer we get to the top. Echo comes out of hiding and motions toward a door at the far end of the hall. It’s open and there are stairs leading up to another floor. One I don’t think anyone checked.
One by one, we file up the stairs, leaving Austin at the bottom as another lookout. We can never be too cautious not knowing who this male has in his pocket or who is in the attic space above us. A vampire can appear out of nowhere. Another reason we have silver bullets in our guns. No, it won’t completely take down a shifter or a fae, but it will cause them to pause. A perfect shot on a vampire will kill them instantly.
As for our current situation, there’s only one male we have to worry about in this house. If my intuition is correct, that magic we felt is coming from the fae he’s holding against their will.
Near the top of the steps, Thay ducks down. The magic in the air is so strong it causes the hair on the back of my neck to stand on end.
A loud growl reverberates around the room then a sickening crunch followed by a sharp cry. Thay doesn’t hesitate to move into the room. If we think anyone is in imminent danger of dying, we advance.
I come in behind Thay and find a body on the ground with blood seeping out. The neck is broken and the head is partially severed. There’s no coming back from that. We weren’t alone in being tipped off to what was going on here.
A massive wolf is in the center of the room with blood dripping from its jowls. He widens his stance and lowers his head. But he’s not what holds my gaze. No, it’s the large cell to my right with four males inside. They’re standing in the very center of the area as magic swirls around them.
Each of us on the team has a job going into every mission. We rotate so it’s never the same ones always dealing final blows or handling the freeing of the captives. Tonight, I’m on point for the captives with anyone else helping if they can. Echo comes up to my side. Des, Thay and Sawyer face off with the male.
I move toward the cell, trying to figure out how to set them free. I’m going to need Thay’s magic to do it. I can’t get in there by the looks of it. The bars are thick and it appears spelled by the various colors that dance over it. The four teenagers inside are still able to use their magic but it’s contained to the cell. I’m sure if they could have broken out, they would have.
The teenagers’ eyes widen at the same time as one of them points behind us. It’s then I realize we made a critical error. Both Echo and I put our backs