allowed to speak to about it is Yvonne, and the room she has in the house is completely warded for privacy. They can share what they went through with anyone. It’s just details of the rescue that have to remain secret. Some say they ran and broke free. Others say authorities, who happen to be paranormal, local to where they were being held helped. There are a lot of made-up stories to protect the team.
“We just want to go home,” one female states.
I move forward to release them of the handcuffs.
The female grips the other’s hand beside her. “This is my mate and the ones behind us are our children. We were taken while we were out shopping. They cornered us in a part of the store where the cameras didn’t reach. It happened so fast.” Tears begin sliding down her cheeks.
Her mate pulls her into her arms and faces us. “Can we leave?”
I nod. “We’d like to ask you to contact us so we can get any details about the ones who took you. We don’t know if they are part of a bigger operation. We want to take them all down. There’s no time limit. You can reach out when you’re ready.”
Aries steps over and hands me a card. There’s nothing on it but his name and a phone number. No name of the team or the pack. Nothing more descriptive. I give it to one of the females.
“Thank you,” she says. “I think we’re still in shock that we’re finally free. We lost track of how many days we’ve been down here for.”
“We’re glad we found you.”
She gives me a small, sad smile then she opens a portal to take herself and her family out of the room, hopefully to heal and never have something like that happen to them again.
17
Camden
Instead of coming back with the rest of the team, Whit opens a portal from where we are and we step through into his bedroom along with Sevan and Sawyer. Des and Aries are going to go through the portal Thay opens for them. Sevan and Sawyer say goodnight and great work to both Whit and me before they leave to go to their rooms. It’s still dark out. No one should be out walking the halls. Even if they are, Whit can easily make something up as to why they were in here and why he used magic. Now that the pack knows he’s fae, they’re getting used to feeling it in the air.
I take Whit’s hand in mine and lead him into the bathroom where I strip us both of our clothes and turn the shower on to a comfortable heat. I tug Whit inside and spend careful minutes washing every part of him as our bond flares to life with every touch. There’s nothing sexual about it. I want to care for him, and he lets me.
Halfway through the shower, Whit takes the washcloth from me. I open my mouth to object, but he shakes his head. Maybe he needs to care for me as badly as I have to for him.
Caiden said a lot. He also held Whit against his will. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get that image out of my head. There was nothing I could do. No way to stop Caid from hurting Whit. I was helpless.
Whit pours more bodywash on the cloth. The scent isn’t strong, just enough to give it something pleasant. It’s a scent I’ve come to associate with Whit. I love him washing it all over me.
We rinse together then dry off. I don’t have any clothes here, so I wrap the towel around my waist and start to step around him. A gentle hand to my chest stops me. Whit uses his magic to get rid of both of the towels and cover our lower halves in soft, cotton sleep pants.
“You don’t use your magic often,” I say quietly.
He walks over to the bed and turns down the comforter. “I had to hide it for so long that it doesn’t come naturally to me to use it. Sure, I’ll call upon it in a situation where someone could be hurt or someone is trying to hurt me, but daily life is different. For years, I had to suppress it. Using my magic casually is an adjustment.”
He gets on the bed and lies down on his side, pulling the blankets up to his waist. I do the same and face him. We’re inches apart, yet