Oracles' Light

PUP Squad Alpha 8

Oracles’ Light Kristen Haynes wasn’t supposed to be an ordinary human. All of the other women born on her birthday showed extraordinary talents, but she has none. Even though she’s been targeted by assassins, she feels guilty for being protected when it’s merely a case of mistaken identity. Angus McPherson worked for Deeks Security for many years, but a recent tragedy reminded him how short life really is. Kristen is supposed to be his last assignment before he resigns, but when it seems like the whole paranormal world is trying to kill her, it might be his last assignment permanently. Dyson James loves his job. As a two-hundred-year-old fire demon and member of PUP Squad Alpha, he’s used to getting what he wants, but can he and Angus use their very different skills to protect Kristen and convince their seemingly ordinary human that between them is exactly where she belongs? Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal Length: 45,082 words

ORACLES’ LIGHT PUP Squad Alpha 8

Abby Blake

MENAGE EVERLASTING

Siren Publishing, Inc. www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting ORACLES’ LIGHT Copyright © 2012 by Abby Blake E-book ISBN: 978-1-62241-101-6 First E-book Publication: August 2012 Cover design by Les Byerley All art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission. All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER Siren Publishing, Inc. www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers Dear Readers, If you have purchased this copy of Oracles’ Light by Abby Blake from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

Regarding E-book Piracy This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book. The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment. This is Abby Blake’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Blake’s right to earn a living from her work. Amanda Hilton, Publisher www.SirenPublishing.com www.BookStrand.com

DEDICATION For Courtney & DB for their enthusiasm, encouragement, and vigilant attention to detail. Thanks.

ORACLES’ LIGHT PUP Squad Alpha 8 ABBY BLAKE Copyright © 2012

Prologue “Working late again?” Cassandra Lipton glanced up at the Judiciary standing just outside her office door. She smiled. Tory had been her biggest supporter since Cassandra had gotten this promotion. The job had been a very steep learning curve, so she’d gratefully accepted the guidance from someone who understood the inner workings of the Ruling Body. “Afraid so,” Cassandra answered with a half smile. “My computer died this morning, and it took the IT guy hours to rebuild my files from the backups.” She glanced at the pile of things sitting in her inbox and knew she’d be here for hours yet. She shook her head at the mess. “It doesn’t seem to matter how computerized things get, there always seems to be more paperwork.” Tory laughed softly. “That is so very true, but since I’m old enough to remember the ink bottle and quill, I do have to say humans have been good for a couple of things this past century.” “Is that why you’re fighting so hard to protect the Oracle’s receptacles?” Tory gave her a sad smile. “I suppose that’s part of it, but I’m fighting for them mainly because it’s the right thing to do. Those poor

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little humans are completely innocent. They didn’t ask to be dragged into a world of paranormal politics and backstabbing.” Cassandra gave the woman a sympathetic look. While working in the administration area of the Ruling Body, Cassandra had never truly appreciated how many decisions were made in the back rooms. Her promotion had given her more access to the inner workings of the Ruling Body, and quite frankly, she’d been a little shocked. By the time all thirteen Judiciaries stepped into the conference room to “discuss” a situation, allegiances and deals had already been struck. The formality of the official meeting was basically a carefully presented stage play to convince the members of the paranormal worlds they represented that their system worked. Cassandra supposed it was very much like the politics and politicians of human worlds, except that Judiciaries often stayed on the Ruling Body for centuries rather than a handful of years. Thankfully, Tory had helped Cassandra to understand that the political maneuvering and deal making was an integral part of running any organization. Sometimes it was necessary to give a little to get a lot. “Did you have any luck getting them to cancel the PLA’s contract?” “Not yet,” Tory said with a worried frown. “We can’t even pinpoint who is paying for it. The latest order seems to have come from the pixie king himself, so even if the Ruling Body does agree to overrule the pixie king’s decision, they may have a hard time enforcing it. Dex DeKardoin isn’t known for backing down. I’ve heard suggestions that even his wife is involved in this contract somehow. Her absence from official functions has the rumor mill working overtime.” Tory stepped into the room and sat on the leather sofa in front of Cassandra’s desk. The woman looked tired. “Of course, it doesn’t seem to concern any of them that our best PUP squad is liable to get caught in the cross fire. And only a few of the Judiciaries are even listening when it comes to preserving the

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information the humans possess.” She shook her head slowly. “Most of them seem blinded by the fact that the humans have somehow developed telekinesis. It’s one little side effect. If we assassinate humans because they have skills we can’t control, where do we draw the line? Would warlocks and witches be next? They’re often mistaken for human.” Cassandra nodded. She’d given that quite a bit of thought in recent days. If they allowed this blind hatred to continue, who would be next? Human-paranormal half-breeds? Most likely. Witches, warlocks, and any other species capable of procreating with humans? Possibly. Where would the hatred end? Half-breed offspring were often left without any paranormal skills anyway, but would that stop a mob of angry full-blood paranormals from tearing them apart? Did the witches and warlocks not realize they could become victims of a war they themselves were starting? “I still can’t believe that Jason turned on his own squad,” Cassandra said quietly, feeling ill to her stomach about it. The man had worked and fought beside the men of Alpha squad for fifty years, yet he’d abandoned that simply because the warlocks and witches had decided they didn’t want their history being collected by humans. The bigotry and raw hatred some witches and warlocks held for humans, though not entirely unexpected, was still astounding in its vehemence. Few Oracles were ever identified publicly—some never even revealed it to those closest to them—but they were always of a different species than the one of the history they recorded. Surely the witches and warlocks understood the way it worked. If their Oracle had been revealed as any other species, would they still be ready to start a war to get their own way? The worst part was that Jason had contacted Cassandra claiming that the commanding officer of PUP Squad Alpha was keeping information from her and the Ruling Body. Jason had even suggested that three of the Oracle’s receptacles believed to be dead were

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actually still alive. He’d claimed they were being protected by PUP Squad Alpha and some private contractors from Deeks Security. Cassandra couldn’t trust the man, not after the way he’d betrayed the men and women who trusted him, but for the first time in her life, she’d bent the rules and not put his visit into her report. She was a play-by-the-rules type of person, so the omission weighed heavily on her conscience, but reporting Jason’s visit to her private home would likely paint a great big target on her back. The last thing she needed was to give some of Tory’s opposition the power to bring hers and Tory’s loyalty to the Ruling Body into question. “Tomorrow is another day,” Tory said, obviously trying to put a positive spin on what seemed to be a losing battle. “Hopefully, I can talk some sense into Gordanna before her meeting with Craiges. If I can get her to take our side in this, she might be able to persuade the others to at least call off the assassins until we can work out what will be lost. With only three of the Oracle’s receptacles still alive I already suspect that more than half of the information they held is now gone.” Tory looked genuinely upset. For a woman who held herself so regally when dealing with the vicious world of paranormal politics, the small hint of vulnerability was something Cassandra saw rarely. She also had the feeling that she was the only person Tory ever let see that side of her. It made Cassandra want to work even harder to help the woman. “Oh, by the way,” Cassandra said, finally remembering the one good thing she and the IT guy had stumbled across earlier today. “Remember the e-mail PUP Squad Alpha got a few months back warning them of the serial killer?” As Tory nodded, Cassandra tried not to shudder at the memory of being told her former boss had been a murderous imposter. As awful as it sounded, she’d been quite relieved to learn the vampire had been killed by Benjamin and Samuel as they protected two women Higgins had been about to kill. The thought of being dragged into a hearing to

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discuss her boss’s capital punishment still gave her nightmares. It had been bad enough answering questions about him posthumously. “It looks like the e-mail was sent from this very office. Maybe Higgins was trying to get caught. Maybe he didn’t want to kill those women but knew the only way to stop himself was for PUP Squad Alpha to catch him. Maybe he wasn’t the bad guy he seemed after all.” Cassandra looked up in time to see Tory quickly hide a smirk. She must have realized that she’d been caught, because she smiled wryly and breathed out a deep breath. “You’re an amazing woman, Cassandra Lipton. There aren’t many people who would even bother to try and see the good in a killer as vicious as Higgins was.” She was quiet for a moment, but then stood up and headed for the door. She glanced around the empty hallways and sighed. “Tomorrow will hopefully bring better news. I’ll see you in the morning,” she said with a soft smile. “Don’t stay all night.” “I won’t,” Cassandra said, even though she intended to do just that. But as she watched the woman walk away tiredly, guilt tore at Cassandra’s insides. She still didn’t want to put into a report what she knew from Jason, but it was probably something that would help the Judiciary to find the strength to keep fighting. She trusted Tory. The woman might even be able to advise her on what to do with the information. Cassandra lifted out of her chair and called to the Judiciary from her office doorway. Tory raised an eyebrow in question, not actually stepping away from the portal that would take her home. Cassandra took a deep breath, shored up her courage, and spoke clearly. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

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PART ONE Chapter One Five weeks earlier… Kristen Haynes took one last look at the desk she’d sat at for the past six years. She’d received the notice ten days ago, so she’d known this day was coming, but now that the moment was here she didn’t quite know what to do next. Being let go from a boring, mind-numbing, repetitive job probably should have made her happy, but it was the complete lack of notice from the people around her that hurt the most. It seemed almost comical. She’d spent six years working diligently, not rocking the boat, making certain nobody had anything to complain about her or her quality of work, just quietly and efficiently getting her job done. But it seemed that it was that very ability to stay off the radar that had led to her current situation. Not only was she no longer employed, apparently she wasn’t even going to be missed. She glanced around the empty office and wondered how she’d managed to make herself so invisible. Tears threatened as she reached into the bottom drawer of her desk and pulled out her purse for the final time. She vowed to hold herself together at least until she got home, but it was the light being switched off that did her in. A quiet sob tore from her throat as footsteps started to move away down the hallway. “Is someone…” a female voice said as the light was switched back on. “Oh, sorry.” It was her supervisor, Debbie. “Didn’t see you there.”

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“That’s okay,” Kristen managed to force out in a rough voice. “I was just going.” “Oh, well, in that case have a great weekend. I’ll see you Mon—” Debbie cut off her words, obviously realizing that she wouldn’t see Kristen on Monday. She shuffled awkwardly in the doorway, and for the first time in her life, Kristen didn’t want to make the woman feel comfortable. She wasn’t going to give in to her natural reaction to help the people around her. She worked harder than anyone else in this office, yet she’d never once been given a pay raise, a promotion, or one scrap of recognition. She stared the woman down, waiting for her to say something to try and extricate herself from the uncomfortable situation. “I…um…do you have anoth—” But again she cut herself off, perhaps this time not wanting to hear the answer. No, Kristen didn’t have another job to go to, but it wasn’t something she was about to admit to a woman who basically knew nothing about her. She’d been the supervisor in this section for a little over a year, but Kristen was fairly certain the woman hadn’t addressed her directly more than once. And if she remembered correctly, Debbie had gotten her name wrong anyway. She’d called her Jocelyn or Pauline or something else that wasn’t even close to Kristen. But as always, Kristen hadn’t pointed out the woman’s mistake. She’d smiled, nodded, and then gone to do the work her boss had asked her to do. But right now, Debbie squirmed in the doorway, obviously uncomfortable and desperately seeking a way out of the awkward conversation. She glanced at her watch, pretended to be surprised by the time, and gave Kristen an unconvincing regretful smile. “I have to run, but it’s been great working with you. Good luck in whatever you…” But her words faded out as the woman practically ran down the hallway to the elevator. Kristen sighed, gathered her bag, and took a last look around an area that she hoped to somehow forget. She’d never really liked the way this place made her feel, but she’d always done her best to do her work properly. She hadn’t taken

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a sick day in all the years she’d been here. Hell, she’d barely even taken her holidays. Why on Earth was she the one to get retrenched? It didn’t make any sense. By the time she reached her car in the parking lot, Kristen was angry. More angry than she could ever remember being in her life. She was a good girl, she worked hard, played by the rules, always tried to be nice to everyone around her. When the hell was she going to get the karma people talked about? Treat others as you’d like to be treated? Sure, that really worked. Not. She climbed into her sensible, economical-to-run, environmentally sensitive car and slammed the door hard. She closed her eyes as she turned the key and started the engine. It made that “whizz” sound she’d once thought was cute, but now just annoyed the hell out of her. She wanted fast, she wanted loud, she wanted something, anything. She wanted different. And she wanted it now. When she got to the parking lot exit, she turned right, heading away from her home, turning away from every sensible decision she’d ever made. She’d always wanted to go on a road trip. This time she was damn well doing it! **** Dyson James stood in the living area of the safe house where Hannah was being protected and tried to stop his jaw from dropping to the floor. Ronan had just informed the gathered agents that they believed the women they’d been searching for were actually heading to Sugarvale. Without knowing what was going on, the Oracle’s receptacles were unconsciously seeking each other out. But the most amazing part was that sweet, quietly spoken Hannah had blushed, mentioned the others by name even though no one had told her, and then rattled off the coordinates of their current locations.

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Stunned silence was followed by a flurry of activity as Benjamin gave them their orders and they moved to comply. Brody opened a dragon vortex, and Adam and Thomas stepped through. Dyson and Angus followed using individual slip paths. “Now what?” Angus asked as they turned toward the road. If they’d calculated correctly, Kristen Haynes would be driving past this very spot in a matter of moments. The trouble was they had no idea what the woman looked like, what she was driving, or how she would react to being pulled over on a disused roadway in the middle of nowhere. They’d tried unsuccessfully to contact Kristen Haynes at both her registered workplace and the building in which she supposedly lived. Neither place had ever heard of the woman. In fact, the owner of the transport company had been shocked to realize he had the woman on his payroll. He’d sworn he knew every one of his staff by name and not one of them was named Kristen. They’d shown him the poorly lit, out-of-focus photograph of the woman’s driver’s license, and he’d simply shaken his head, showing absolutely no hint of recognition. The doorman of her building had been the same. It was pretty obvious that neither man was trying to protect her. They truly had no idea who Kristen Haynes was. The only good news had been that if PUP Squad Alpha couldn’t find the woman, chances were the assassins couldn’t, either. Finally, a car—hopefully the one they were waiting for—came into sight. It was the only vehicle for miles and seemed to be puttering along, rather than driving directly to a destination. It wasn’t even doing anywhere near the speed limit. This particular road had been replaced by a highway a long time ago. If the driver was in a hurry to get to Sugarvale, she’d certainly chosen the wrong route. “Let’s see if we can flag her down first,” Thomas said with a broad smile that usually had women falling at his feet. “Agreed,” Brody said with a nod. “There’s no reason to frighten the driver. Especially if she’s not Kristen.”

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“Are we sure we’ll even recognize Kristen? The one and only photo we have is kind of crappy,” Angus said with a short bark of laughter. Dyson tried not to react to the man’s poorly timed humor. He’d known Angus for years—he often worked with PUP Squad Alpha as a contractor—but they’d never truly been friends. The man’s jovial attitude was grating at times and certainly in stark contrast to the quiet and watchful attitude of Dyson’s usual squad partner, Jason. All those times Dyson had wished for the young warlock to be more outgoing and less shy had certainly come back to bite him on the ass. Considering how much Angus annoyed him, there was definitely an argument for being careful what you wish for. Right now he found himself hoping that whatever family issue Jason needed to take leave for would be sorted out quickly, very, very quickly. As the car approached, Thomas and Dyson stepped onto the road to try and get the driver to pull over. Dyson saw the woman’s worried frown, but she slowed the car to a stop and rolled her window down an inch or so. “Can I help you?” she asked with a nervous smile. “Well, that all depends,” Thomas said with that confident grin that usually had women swooning. “Are you Kristen Haynes?” Dyson saw panic flash across the woman’s face before she shook her head and plastered on a polite smile. “Sorry,” she said with a shake of her head. “Did you need something?” The woman grimaced and appeared to silently berate herself for what seemed to be an automatic inclination to help those around her. It was obvious that Thomas scented her fear, but he was also smart enough to realize it wasn’t just the normal fear of a woman alone on a deserted road. His next words confirmed he’d noticed the reaction the woman had tried to hide. She was Kristen Haynes. She just didn’t want to admit it. Quite frankly, it wasn’t that hard to believe that she would lie. Nobody ever expected to be pulled over in the middle of nowhere and be addressed by name.

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“Sweetheart,” Thomas said with the full power of his ladies’-man personality, “Kristen is in grave danger. We need to find her quickly so that we can protect her.” “P–Protect her? What from?” “We have a serial killer targeting women born twelfth of January,” Dyson said, going with the cover story they’d agreed upon. All five of them on this mission looked human, so it wasn’t necessary to freak the woman out until they actually had to. “Sweetheart,” Thomas said again. His natural charm usually had women gazing at him as if he were the last man on Earth. Not so this one. She watched him closely, her suspicion obvious, as he explained. “All of the victims were twenty-seven. We need to find Kristen Haynes before the serial killer does.” “H–How would he find m—” She cut her words off, glancing fearfully at the men. “How would he find Kristen if she was…” She let her words trail away, perhaps realizing that she wasn’t fooling anyone. “Kristen,” Dyson said, his concern for the woman making his voice husky, “we can protect you. I promise we’ll keep you safe.” She glanced from Dyson to Thomas and back again, her car window still only opened the smallest crack necessary for her to hear them. Her eyes widened when the others came up behind him and Thomas. It seemed introductions were definitely called for now. “I’m Dyson,” he said, pressing a hand over his chest and then pointing to each of the others. “This is Thomas, Adam, Brody, and Angus. I promise, Kristen. We’re here to help you.” “O–Okay,” she said as she wound her window down a fraction farther. “Should I…um…follow you or something?” “How about I come with you?” Dyson suggested, wondering how they were going to explain the fact that they were in the middle of nowhere without a vehicle. Cover stories were all well and good, but the devil was in the details. “The others will meet us at the nearest safe house.”

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She nodded again, hesitated one more moment, and then flipped the car locks open. **** Angus McPherson watched his temporary squad partner, Dyson James, drive away in Kristen’s car and had to admire the man’s smooth moves. It wasn’t often that Thomas didn’t get the girl, so Dyson probably had reason to be a little smug. Although, come to think of it, Thomas had been rather quiet lately, especially when it came to the ladies. In fact, he hadn’t really seemed his usual cocky self since the issue with Skye and her sister, Jennifer, several months ago. “Who’s with me, then?” Angus asked, already knowing what the answer would be. Slip travel was uncomfortable for most creatures, except for the demons born to it, but he’d been told on numerous occasions that his particular form of travel was not only nauseating but freeze-ya-tits-off cold as well. Personally, he found the temperature quite refreshing, but judging by Thomas’s and Adam’s quick negative replies, it was too cold for pretty-boy werewolves. “I’ll transport Adam and Thomas directly to the safe house. You follow Dyson and Kristen, and they’ll meet you there.” “Not a problem,” he said with a wide grin. He didn’t need to ask what Brody would be doing. The man would be going back to protect Ava. It was as clear and as simple as that. The woman might be off the assassin’s radar thanks to the fake death they’d arranged, but she was never without at least one of her husbands. Angus watched Kristen’s small car climb a slight rise in the distance and decided it would be best to get himself moving. He’d slip travel ahead of the vehicle, wait for Dyson and Kristen to drive past and almost out of sight and then slip travel ahead once more. It would be quite nice to be able to stop every mile or so. With slip travel taking him directly from one point to the other, it wasn’t often that he

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got to slow down and appreciate the scenery. This assignment might actually start out rather pleasant. **** Three days of quiet, surrounded by deliciously handsome men who not only acknowledged her existence but also cared about her comfort didn’t really prepare Kristen for the realities of being a serial killer’s target. She’d never been the center of attention before and was a little bit embarrassed by how much she liked it. Of course, that didn’t stop her imagination from taking things one step further. She was well into her latest fantasy about Angus and Dyson taking turns at making love to her when an awful screeching sound filled the air. Dyson was beside her almost instantly, his warm arms wrapped around her, holding her close as the other three men moved to investigate. “Damn,” Angus said in a soft whisper, “we have at least two out the front.” “Two more out back,” Adam said as he came into the living area, Thomas right behind him. “Time to follow the ‘live to fight another day’ rule and retreat.” All four men nodded in agreement. Kristen held her breath, panic stealing through her. If they were surrounded, how were they supposed to retreat? “Get her to Brody. We’ll follow with Dyson,” Thomas said decisively a moment before Kristen’s understanding of the world changed forever. **** Angus held Kristen close. He knew that slip travel was very uncomfortable for humans, but he’d been hoping that Kristen wouldn’t have to learn about their unusual skills the hard way. It had seemed easier just to take things one day at a time. Learning that she

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was an Oracle’s receptacle and currently surrounded by paranormals was something they’d decided to ease her into. Of course, that had been when they believed the safe house to be safe. Kristen clung to him as her knees wobbled. He held her closer with one hand as he dialed his cell phone with the other. “Brody, emergency evac,” he said as soon as the dragon-shifter answered the phone. “On it.” A dragon vortex appeared beside them a moment later. Brody stepped through, quickly closed that jump vortex, and opened another. Angus lifted Kristen into his arms and followed the dragonshifter. He ground his teeth together as nausea gripped him. He might have no effects from his own type of travel, but he wasn’t immune to the side effects that a dragon vortex had on nondragons. Kristen moaned and lost consciousness as he stepped into the bright sunshine in front of the alternate safe house they had set up. Brody left and was back a few moments later with a fire demon who was unsteady on his feet and two men who morphed into wolves as soon as they hit the ground. Adam and Thomas wriggled out of what was left of their clothes and then paced the area checking for unexpected scents. They changed back immediately as all five men’s cell phones began ringing at the same time. Benjamin’s news was horrifying. His orders succinct. Go off the grid. They had a traitor in their midst, and they had no idea who they could trust.

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Chapter Two Angus held Kristen close as he watched the four agents with them. Brody, Dyson, Thomas, and Adam had all worked with PUP Squad Alpha for the past fifty years. Surely they could trust each other. Judging by the seemingly silent communication going on, as the only Deeks Security employee here, Angus was the one they didn’t trust. “Let’s get her inside,” Dyson said casually as he held his arms out to take Kristen from him. “No,” Angus said, tightening his grip on Kristen. She was shivering from the cold of traveling through his slip path, but was thankfully still unconscious. “You heard Benjamin. We need to go off the grid. Brody, you need to get back to Ava. We’ll protect Kristen, but if there is a traitor in our ranks, he’ll know that Ava isn’t dead.” Brody glanced at the other three men, nodded once, and was gone. “The pixies can’t follow the dragon vortex path,” Dyson said, “so we should be safe for a few minutes. Give me your cell phone.” Angus complied, wincing as Dyson melted the plastic and metal into a gooey mess. It was obvious that Dyson didn’t trust him, but they were also evenly matched. If Angus stepped through a slip path, Dyson would be able to follow easily. If Dyson attacked with fire, Angus could counter with ice and vice versa. If nothing else, it meant that neither of them would have the upper hand and Kristen would be safe as long as the three of them were together. Dyson melted all of the phones, and Adam dug a hole under the tree, buried the mess and covered it over with dead leaves. If pixies or the traitor did visit this particular safe house, they wouldn’t find any evidence that Kristen had been there.

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“We don’t want to leave a traceable slip path,” Thomas said. “We’ll get to a heavily populated area before the next slip. That’ll make our trail harder for anyone to find.” He glanced at his fellow werewolf. “Adam is going to go borrow a vehicle, but in the meanwhile, we should probably put as much distance between us and this ‘safe’ house as possible.” Angus nodded, lifted Kristen higher against his chest and started walking toward the highway. Dyson looked ready to wrestle the unconscious woman from Angus’s arms, but Thomas gave him a small shake of his head, and the man backed down. Fifteen minutes later, the five of them climbed into a car that seemed to have more rust than actual metal and headed toward the nearest town. **** Dyson sat in the backseat with Angus. Kristen was strapped into the seat belt between them, but they both held on to her. It was obvious that the combination of slip travel followed quickly by a trip through a dragon vortex had seriously upset the woman’s equilibrium. He was actually considering finding a human doctor for her when she finally woke up. “Welcome back, sleepyhead,” Angus said affectionately. He touched her face with his fingertips and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Either the woman had become important to the ice demon in the past three days or Angus was the world’s best actor. Dyson grimaced at that thought. In some ways, he was glad that Jason was on leave. To have the same suspicions about his usual mission partner—a man he’d worked closely with for fifty years—just seemed wrong. But Angus seemed to genuinely care for the woman between them, and it went a long way to calming the suspicion that Benjamin’s announcement had evoked. Dyson knew that part of his conclusion was coming from wishful thinking. He didn’t want to believe that any of the men he’d worked with were capable of betraying the very

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ideals they’d sworn to protect, but it truly didn’t seem possible that Angus was trying to hurt Kristen. Of course, that didn’t mean Dyson was going to give the ice demon, or anyone else, the chance to hurt her. “Kristen, are you okay, sweetheart?” “Terrific.” Her tone of voice sounded mildly sarcastic, but in a humorous sort of way. Dyson laughed softly as he entwined their fingers together. It wasn’t really necessary to hold her while the car was moving, but just like Angus, Dyson seemed to have fallen for the woman’s sweet personality. “What happened?” she asked quietly. “That’s probably an explanation that can wait until after you recover from the headache,” Angus said with a worried glance at Dyson. Maybe they should have gotten around to explaining the whole paranormal thing sooner. She cracked open one eye and peered at Angus tiredly. “How did I end up with a headache? Am I sick?” “No, sweetheart. It’s a side effect. Kind of like travel sickness.” She opened her mouth as if she planned to say something else, but closed it as the small amount of color she’d had in her face drained away once more. It was obvious that the woman was suffering, but it was also obvious that she didn’t want to bother anyone by pointing it out. “Look for a motel,” Angus said, apparently noticing the same things that Dyson did. There was no way Kristen would be up to another slip travel today. She needed rest. She needed food. And she needed explanations. They should have told her who they were from the beginning, but now they would just have to deal with the situation and explain as best as possible. A few minutes later, they pulled into the parking space out front of a cheap motel. It wasn’t classy by any means, but it was off the main road and backed onto a woodland area thick with trees. It was a viable escape route if they needed it. Thomas nodded to Adam, who quickly disappeared into the brush. A few moments later, a soft wolf’s

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howl filled the air as he reported the all clear to the occupants of the car. Thomas turned to peer at them from the driver’s seat. “Get her settled. I want both of you to stay with her at all times. Understood?” Dyson and Angus nodded and then turned to help Kristen from her seat belt. It was clear that none of them knew who to trust, but as long as they only had one traitor, then protecting the Oracle’s receptacles in pairs was the wisest choice. The idea of there being more than one teammate betraying them wasn’t something Dyson wanted to think about. Not knowing who he could trust left him feeling ill in ways he couldn’t describe. He’d worked with the men in PUP Squad Alpha for five decades and for years on and off with many of the operatives from Deeks Security. They’d survived countless dangerous missions together and had always watched each other’s backs. Learning that there was one among them he could no longer trust was damn near soul destroying. But the one thing he knew for certain was that he wasn’t a traitor. If he could only rely on himself for this mission, then that’s what he’d do. He pressed a kiss to Kristen’s temple and silently vowed to protect her from anyone meaning her harm—no matter who that person was. Somewhere between the highway and the motel she’d lost consciousness once more. She was still quite pale, but at least she seemed to be sleeping comfortably this time. Trying not to wake her, Dyson half lifted, half dragged her across the backseat. Angus followed her out, his hand never letting go of Kristen’s. They followed Thomas to the door of the room. He unlocked it, did a quick visual sweep of the small space, and then stood back to let them enter. **** Angus tried to stay out of the way, without actually letting go of her hand, while Dyson placed Kristen in the middle of the king-size bed. Considering their current orders—to be close to her at all

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times—it was a relief to at least have space enough to stretch out. He was unlikely to get a lot of sleep over the next few days, but at least by lying down comfortably he’d be able to get a measure of rest. Kristen moaned quietly as she woke, and both he and Dyson moved to comfort her. Dyson’s actions certainly didn’t seem to be the behavior of a man with something to hide. If he’d truly meant the woman harm, he’d had ample opportunity to hurt her over the past three days. They all had. He was probably going with gut feeling on this one, but it seemed unlikely that any of them who’d been on assignment could have somehow organized apparently simultaneous attacks on all three “safe” houses at the same time. In fact, Angus hadn’t even known where Amber had been housed at the time of the attacks. “Thomas,” he said as the man walked back into the room, “Benjamin definitely said the attacks were on ‘safe’ houses, didn’t he?” Thomas nodded and Dyson lifted into a sitting position to watch him more closely. “Who would have known the location of all three? I mean, I knew where Hannah was being protected—we all did—but who knew where Amber was?” “Only a handful,” Thomas said, rubbing his head like he had a headache. It couldn’t be easy for the guy. He’d been second in charge of PUP Squad Alpha for the past fifty years. To have any doubts about the loyalty of the men he’d worked and fought side by side with for so long must have felt awful. In some ways, Angus had it a lot easier. Yes, he’d worked with most of the squad at one time or another over the past decade, but it wasn’t like he’d made any lasting friendships. If anything, he was the guy most likely to be able to see the actions of a traitor simply because he had very little history or emotional memories of these men to fall back on. “It narrows it down,” Adam said as he stepped in through the doorway. “With the wards on at the safe house there was no way to get messages to or from anyone other than by cell phone. And no way

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to turn off the wards without alerting the others. Cell phone records are fairly easy to trace, so we should at least be able to eliminate some suspects.” He gave them a half smile and added, “That’s of course assuming that we’re dealing with only one traitor.” “You think there might be more than one?” Dyson asked in a voice that made it obvious he was struggling to hide the shock. Adam shrugged. “It makes sense. PUP operatives usually work in pairs and Deeks Security follows similar mission protocols. What are the chances of someone you’ve worked that closely with for years being able to betray us without their partner noticing?” “You’ve got a point,” Dyson said with a slow nod of his head, “but if that’s the case, it makes things even more complicated.” “Maybe not,” Angus said as he glanced at the men around him. “Seems to me there have been quite a few changes within PUP Squad Alpha in the past few months.” “That’s true,” Thomas said, looking thoughtful. “So it is possible that we are only dealing with one traitor.” He glanced at Kristen sleeping between Angus and Dyson. “Now we just have to hope that the traitor isn’t one of us.”

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Chapter Three Kristen woke lying on an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room. The only things she actually recognized were the men lying either side of her. “Good morning, sweetheart,” Dyson said as she snuggled closer to the man behind her. The arm around her middle tightened, pulling her closer before she realized what she was doing. She’d spent three days with these men within arm’s reach, but this was the first time she’d actually found herself in such a compromising position. Whatever had happened to bring them here must have been serious. Vague half memories of loud sirens and nausea filled her brain, and for a moment, she felt the discomfort she’d suffered from earlier. “What happened?” “Assassins found us, so we had to move quickly. How’s your head? Do you need some aspirin?” “My head is fi—” She cut her words off as the beginning of that sentence sank in. “Did you say ‘assassins’ as in more than one? I thought you said I was the target of a serial killer?” “Kristen, there’s a lot of stuff we need to explain, but it might be better if we grab some coffee first.” Kristen started to nod, but then that anger that she’d felt the day she’d been retrenched from her job started to burn low in her belly. All her life she’d waited patiently for her turn, putting the needs of others first, doing everything she could to make certain the people around her didn’t feel uncomfortable. And where had it gotten her? Unemployed and on the run from assassins? What the hell had she done to deserve this? She wriggled until Dyson let her sit up. She

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rested her back against the headboard as she gave both men the most annoyed expression she could muster. “Explain it to me now,” she said in a tone of voice she hoped conveyed her mood accurately. “You said ‘serial killer.’ Why did you lie?” Angus leaned over, touched her face with his hand, and shook his head slightly. “We didn’t really lie. The assassins who came after you are being paid by someone who is targeting women born the same day as you.” “H–How did they find us?” Both men looked uncomfortable at that question, and for a second, she didn’t think they were going to answer. Finally, Dyson glanced at Angus before turning his attention back to her. “We don’t know,” Dyson said with a hint of vulnerability that tore at her heart. It was clear that he prided himself on his work and his ability to control the circumstances of her protection. “I trust you,” she said impulsively. “I know I can trust all four of you to keep me safe.” It was probably wishful thinking, and really when it came down to it, she didn’t know any of them well enough to make that assumption, but she was willing to go on faith on this one. The alternative—trust nobody—was too frightening to consider. “Good to know,” Angus said with a grin that made her feel glad that she’d spoken her mind. Dyson seemed relieved as well. Hell, maybe that had been her problem all along. If she didn’t say what she felt, how would the people around her ever know? It was probably something she could work on improving—starting now. “Okay, time for coffee,” she said, shimmying toward the edge of the bed, “and then you can tell me the rest of what’s going on.” “Of course,” Dyson said with a mischievous grin a moment before he rolled off the bed and took her with him. She was practically on her feet before she could blink. In fact, it gave her a similar type of dizziness she’d experienced yesterday.

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“Is that how I got the headache?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. He gave her a happy smile, threaded his fingers through hers, and led her into the corner that held supplies for instant coffee. “Not exactly,” Angus answered as he took a seat at the tiny circular table squished into the corner of the motel room. “The thing we didn’t tell you is that…” His words trailed off as he looked to Dyson for some sort of assistance. “We’re paranormals,” Dyson said, his fingers tightening around hers momentarily as they both seemed to hold their breath. “Paranormals? I don’t understand what you mean. Is that like a paratrooper? You’re military?” Both men seemed confused by her confusion. Maybe they should have had their coffee before starting this conversation. “No,” Angus said slowly, almost like he was expecting her to flee. “Paranormal as in not human. Belonging to a different species.” “Oh,” she said as she waited for the punch line. Surely they were joking. When neither man seemed ready to elaborate, she wracked her brain for the definition of “paranormal.” She’d always been a bit of a sci-fi fan, but it wasn’t a word she’d come across often. “Paranormal as in vampires and…uh…werewolves and ghosts and stuff?” “And demons, angels, shifters, warlocks, and witches.” Dyson’s hand tightened around hers as he spoke, and she finally realized both men were bracing for her rejection. She squeezed Dyson’s hand in what she hoped was a reassuring manner, and then tried to understand what they were telling her. “So you two are?” “We’re both demons, but not in the human religious sense of the word. We’re not from a hell dimension or anything like that. We’re just nonhuman people born into the same world as you.” Both men looked, sounded, and acted human. Maybe being paranormal was more of a geographical thing, like being born in a different country or something. “Is the person who’s trying to kill me paranormal also?”

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“We’re not sure who is hiring the assassins, but the assassins who came for you yesterday were pixies.” “Pixies?” She immediately placed a hand over her mouth. She hadn’t meant to react quite so loudly, but it wasn’t every day that mythical creatures tried to kill her. She was actually beginning to wonder if maybe she was still asleep. She pinched her arm really hard and regretted it instantly. Damn, that hurt! And, unfortunately, proved she wasn’t dreaming. Dyson pulled her into his embrace, his warm arms wrapping around her, holding her close, holding her safe. “I know this is a lot to take in all at once, but I promise you that we will protect you with our lives.” “Absolutely,” Angus said as he took over making coffee and let Dyson lead her to the table. He sat on the chair and pulled her onto his lap. She’d never been coddled like this before, and as much as her internal, independent female voice yelled at her, she ignored it in favor of the feeling that being close to these men evoked. It was quite nice to just be able to let someone else worry about the details for a change. She didn’t really want to disturb the peaceful feeling with a lot of questions, but it was probably appropriate for her to ask for at least a few details. “How does my headache yesterday fit in with the pixie assassins and you two being demons? It was yesterday, wasn’t it? I feel like I slept a long time, but it was only one night, I think.” Angus placed two coffees in front of her and smiled. “Yes, it was only yesterday.” He took the only other seat at the tiny table and glanced at Dyson again before continuing. “Dyson and I have a way to get to different places almost instantly. We call it slip travel. We basically step from one point to another through a type of dimensional doorway. It can be very uncomfortable for humans.” He glanced at Dyson. “How did Kali describe it?” “Like she’d been put in a paint shaker,” Dyson answered.

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Angus smiled and nodded. “Most of the time, the feeling passes quickly, but yesterday, in order to hide our trail from the pixies, we also went through a dragon jump vortex.” He reached over and placed his hand against her cheek. “We’ll avoid doing that in the future. The combination of the two is what made you so sick. If it’s necessary, we’ll call a warlock for an emergency evacuation. Their form of travel doesn’t seem to affect humans at all.” “Oh, okay,” Kristen said, trying to take in the concept of traveling in the blink of an eye. “We’ll stick to human-style transport for a while,” Angus assured her. “That’ll make Thomas very happy,” Dyson said with a deep chuckle. “He still looks green from yesterday’s car ride.” “Remind me again why I haven’t fired you yet,” Thomas said as he came through the connecting door between the motel rooms. It was obvious he was joking, but she was thoroughly distracted by the delicious smell coming from the tray of coffee cups in Thomas’s hands. “Real coffee?” she asked as she noticed he carried five cups and a big box of donuts. “Yes, my sweet, real coffee.” She felt Dyson tense at the endearment, but the delivery had felt more brotherly than Dyson apparently interpreted it. Kristen took the coffee that Thomas handed her, but politely refused a donut. After years of eating a granola bar for breakfast, the idea of that much fat and sugar this early in the morning made her feel queasy. “So have these two explained what’s going on yet?” Adam asked as he grabbed his own coffee and a huge chocolate donut covered in raspberry sprinkles. “About demons and stuff?” she asked with a small smile. She was half expecting them all to have a good laugh and then explain what was really going on.

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Thomas smiled. “So you’re not going to run screaming when you realize you’re being protected by an ice demon, a fire demon, and two werewolves then?” “You’re a w–werewolf?” “You almost said it without stuttering,” Thomas said with a wide grin. He gave her a wink, leaned against the cabinet, crossed his arms, and then turned serious. “I know it’s a lot to take in, but you’ll get used to it. I’m afraid it does mean that life as you knew it is over. Even if we figure out who is trying to kill you, it’s very unlikely that you’ll ever get back to living your normal life.” He gave her a sympathetic look so she tried to hide the relief that she was feeling. Not going back to being invisible was about the best news she’d gotten all week. She was leaving very little behind—she was currently unemployed, had no living family and apparently no friends. Starting over with a clean slate was definitely her idea of a good thing, even with the demons and werewolves part. “Anyway,” Thomas said, “we’re planning to stay on the move so that we’re harder to find. Do you have any preferences on accommodation?” She was about to shake her head and follow her instincts to not make demands, but this was her new life now and she was a whole new person. She refused to make the same mistakes twice. “I would prefer somewhere with cooking facilities if that’s possible. Takeout is fine for a little while, but home-cooked meals are better.” She bit back the urge to add, “Unless it’s too much bother.” Thomas smiled. “I reckon that could be arranged.” He turned to leave the room, but stopped and looked over his shoulder. “As long as you don’t plan on cooking vegetarian.” His words were said in jest. It was obvious he’d grumble good-naturedly if she said she actually was planning vegetarian meals, but she figured with him being a werewolf—she was still a little stunned by that revelation—he would prefer plenty of meat.

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She couldn’t help teasing him just a little. “Vegetables, yes, but…lots of meat to go with them.” “In that case, you better make me a shopping list,” Thomas said with another of those charming smiles that she somehow understood wasn’t really meant for her. He was acting more like a big brother than a potential suitor, but judging by the arm that tightened around her middle, Dyson didn’t realize the difference. It felt ridiculously wonderful to have someone notice her enough to act a little jealous. Thomas reached into his pocket, seemed to realize he didn’t have his phone on him, and so glanced at the wall clock instead. “We move out in an hour. Dyson, you remember that portable ward generator you were working on last year? Any chance we could rig one up?” “With the right equipment,” Dyson said, sounding all business. “I can give you a list, but it’s probably wise to collect the pieces over several different places. We don’t want to alert anyone to what we’re building or leave a traceable shopping trail behind us.” Thomas nodded in agreement. Dyson quickly scribbled a list of stuff, most of which Kristen had never even heard of before, and then handed her the pen. She added the ingredients for steak, potatoes in the jacket, and salad, and then remembering how much food these men could actually eat, quickly doubled the portions and handed the list to Thomas. “Perfect,” he said as he glanced at her ingredients. The safe house had been filled with long-life type foods, mainly canned and freezedried stuff that could be easily reheated. If that’s how they usually ate on assignment, then freshly prepared meals were probably rare. She’d always enjoyed cooking, and it would be a lot more interesting creating meals for more than one.

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Chapter Four Dyson watched Kristen put the finishing touches on an evening meal that smelled delicious. She was a talented cook, and his mouth watered just at the sight of the food, but it didn’t stop him from getting pissed off. For the past two weeks, the woman they were protecting had cooked three meals a day for them, almost running herself ragged making certain they were all fed. It just didn’t sit well with him. She wasn’t here as their housemaid. They were supposed to be taking care of her. Not the other way around. “You know you don’t have to cook,” Dyson said as he helped her carry the plates to the dining table of the cabin they were renting. “I like cooking,” she said, managing to avoid his gaze as if she didn’t truly believe her own words. It was just one more reason for him to worry that she felt she owed them somehow. “But you don’t have to. We’re quite capable of feeding ourselves and you.” He glanced at the annoyed looks worn by all three of his teammates. It was true that Kristen cooked better than all of them, but it still didn’t mean she should. “I know,” she said, still avoiding looking him in the eyes. “I suppose I can…um…” She seemed to hesitate, and he felt like an asshole for upsetting her. Angus even looked angry enough to test the assumption that they were evenly matched in a fight. Dyson raised his hands, willing to back away, but as he opened his mouth to apologize, Kristen took a deep breath and did that thing that he’d noticed her do over the past couple weeks. It was almost as if she was fighting her own nature. Her instinct seemed to be to apologize, yet each time she

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took a moment, seemed to gather her courage, and then would say the exact opposite of what he’d been expecting. In this instance, her words were very vehement. “I like cooking. I enjoy being busy, and I am damn well going to do it. If you’ve got a problem with that, you can just get over it.” She nodded once, a visual signal that in her opinion the conversation was over, and then took a seat at the table beside Angus. The ice demon seemed quite amused by Kristen’s response, but for the first time in a long time showed enough restraint not to open his mouth and make an awkward situation worse. Adam and Thomas, who had seemed unusually subdued in the past few days, grinned at him but thankfully didn’t say anything, either. The meal was rather awkward in a silent sort of way, but as always his squadmates were quick to compliment Kristen on her wonderful cooking. When the meal was finished, she stood up to gather their plates as usual, but this time Dyson was right beside her. “You cooked. We’ll clean. It’s only fair.” He watched her closely. Again he saw her immediate instinct to be polite, but then she took the deep breath, glared at him, and took the plate from his hands. “I will do as I damn well please,” she said in a tone of voice not nearly as confident as her words. “At least let me help,” he said, trying for a compromise. He wasn’t certain why she was reacting this way, but even after a short acquaintance he would swear that it was out of character for her. “Fine.” The way she huffed the word out through clenched teeth suggested that it wasn’t really fine at all. He gathered the rest of the dishes and followed her into the small kitchen. She worked efficiently, filling the dishwasher and then scrubbing the pots in hot, sudsy water. The task was finished in only a few minutes, and for the most part Dyson just stayed out of her way. He did dry the pots as she washed them, but since he had no idea where they belonged spent most of his time searching for the correct cupboard.

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“Thank you,” she said quietly as she turned on the dishwasher and went to leave the room. Without really thinking about it, Dyson reached for her, grasping her wrist before she could escape through the door. “I’m sorry,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “I didn’t mean to upset you.” Again she did that deep-breath thing, but this time she seemed to change her mind and go with her first instinct. Instead of fighting him, Kristen relaxed into his embrace instead. “I know you were just trying to help, but I…I feel…I don’t know…strange….out of sorts, maybe. I’m not sure I can describe it. I just know that…” She blushed, turned her face into his shoulder, and let out an embarrassed laugh. Dyson hooked his fingers under her chin and looked into her eyes. “You just know what?” He didn’t think she was going to answer, but then she closed her eyes and breathed out a deep breath. “I just know that I like cooking for you guys. It’s nice to be appreciated.” He watched her closely again, wanting very much to strangle whoever had made her feel that her efforts had gone unnoticed. “Who didn’t appreciate you?” She laughed a brief, sarcastic sound and gave him a crooked smile. “Most recently my boss. After six years of working for the same transport company at the same desk for the same pay I suddenly found myself retrenched. Considering that my supervisor couldn’t even get my name right, I was almost surprised to find it spelled correctly on my termination letter.” “Wait, you worked for a transport company?” She nodded. “Rhode’s Overnight Transport?” She looked a little surprised, but nodded again. “We went there several weeks ago trying to find you. They said they’d never heard of you.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wanted to kick himself. She’d just told him her supervisor

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had never gotten her name correct. Fuck, they were probably the reason she’d gotten retrenched. The owner of the transport company had sworn black and blue that he’d had no idea who she was or why she was on the payroll. Her employment had probably been terminated before they’d left the damn building. Kristen went to pull out of his arms, perhaps having come to the same conclusion that he had. He held her tighter, pressing her face against his chest as he wondered what the hell he could say to make this better. The fact that she would have needed to give up her job to go into protective custody didn’t really make up for getting the woman fired. “It’s okay,” she said quietly, her effort to comfort him making him feel even more miserable. “It wasn’t much of a job anyway.” She pushed against his chest, and this time he let her move away slightly. She felt too good in his arms for him to let her get too far away. “I don’t know what I’ll do once this is over, but it’s unlikely I would have gone back there anyway.” “I’m still sorry we got you fired.” She gave him a sad smile and pulled away from his arms. “I think I’ll go to bed early. Is it yours or Angus’s turn tonight?” **** Kristen winced at her poorly chosen words. As much as she’d fantasized about both men, she hadn’t meant to sound like that was some sort of come-on. Although, considering that every instinct she’d ever followed before in her life had proven to be wrong, perhaps being more bold would get her what she wanted. Before she could overthink it, Kristen stepped back into Dyson’s embrace, lifted onto her toes, and brushed her lips over his. She nearly sighed in relief when his arms closed around her, pulling her closer as he deepened the contact and kissed her like she was the most desirable woman in the world.

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He lifted her onto the countertop, wedged his hips between her thighs, and then went back to kissing her like she’d never been kissed before. She was practically breathless by the time he lifted away. He grinned down at her, but froze when he realized someone had entered the kitchen behind him. “Don’t mind me,” Angus said in his usual jovial tone. “Heard my name. Came a-runnin’.” He stepped closer, almost elbowing Dyson out of the way to press a finger against Kristen’s kiss-swollen lips. “You look very beautiful like this, baby girl. Are you ready for bed, then?” “Um.” She glanced at Dyson, unsure how she was supposed to handle this situation. Yes, she was attracted to both of them. No, she didn’t want to choose between them, so the sensible solution would be to walk away from the whole thing. But instead of the jealous reaction she expected from Dyson, the man merely winked. “Sorry, Kristen,” he said when he finally registered her confusion. “Sometimes I forget that you’re human.” He glanced at Angus beside him, then turned back to her and cupped her cheek in his warm hand. “Demon males outnumber demon females three to one. Sharing is in our nature, but if that freaks you out, I’m certain we can come to a compromise.” “Absolutely,” Angus said with a wide grin. “Of course we’re all certain she’s going to pick me. Don’t you have some paperwork to do, Dyson?” “No,” Dyson ground out through clenched teeth, obviously not enjoying Angus’s teasing. It seemed that even though sharing was in their nature, waiting patiently for a female to choose was not. Kristen bit her lip, worry gnawing at her gut as she tried to find the courage to ask for what she wanted. “I…um…can I…um…” She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and prayed she wasn’t making a fool of herself. “Can I choose just you two?”

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“Just us?” Angus asked with a neutral expression. She had no idea what the man was thinking. Hell, what she wouldn’t give for a little more worldly experience about now. She wasn’t a virgin, but asking two men to make love to her was definitely new territory. “Y–You said three to one, but I don’t know any other demons— unless werewolves coun—” “They don’t,” Dyson said, cutting off her worried words. “Just us, baby girl,” Angus whispered as he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips. “The big question is do you want one at a time or both together?” “Huh?” Okay, now would be a really good time for her to confess her small amount of experience ran along the lines of missionary position in a dark room under the bedcovers. Considering how quickly the relationship had fizzled, she wasn’t even certain it could be called actual experience. She might not be a virgin, but she wasn’t actually practiced in these matters. “We’ll take it slowly,” Dyson said as he lifted her into his arms and carried her through the main area and into the bedroom designated as hers. “We’re going to bed,” Angus said to Adam and Thomas as they strode past the two werewolves watching television. “See you in the morning.” “Good night, Kristen. Sleep well,” Adam said with a grin that suggested he knew exactly what the three of them planned to do behind the closed door. Now if somebody could just tell her. For the past week, Dyson and Angus had taken turns lying beside her while she slept, but they’d both stayed firmly above the covers. Considering the fact that Dyson placed her on her feet and immediately lifted the shirt over her head and then unsnapped her bra, she was fairly certain they had something else in mind for tonight. She moaned as Angus dropped to his knees in front of her, capturing the hard peak of her nipple in his mouth. He used his tongue

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to flick over the hard nub as Dyson undid her jeans and pushed them and her underwear to the ground. She tried to step out of the material, but Angus wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her as if she weighed nothing. He continued tormenting her nipple even as he got to his feet and carried her toward the bed. Kristen was nearly rambling incoherently when he laid her gently in the middle of the mattress and then slid lower to press kisses to her belly, her hips, her inner thighs. She moaned as he pushed her legs wide, his cool hands and warm tongue touching her intimately. She squirmed as need overrode embarrassment, her breath catching as Angus pushed thick fingers into her pussy and sucked her clit into his mouth. She arched off the bed, the incredible sensation taking her by surprise. Never had she imagined anything like this. Kristen panted, her body shivering all over, her moans no longer under her control, as Angus fucked her with his fingers and drove her arousal sky-high. “I think our girl likes that,” Dyson said as he stretched out on the mattress beside her. He was naked, his cock thick and hard as he leaned over her and pressed a kiss to her lips. He ran a hand over her forehead, the touch gentle, tender, endearing. “Come for us, sweetheart.” “What?” she asked, not entirely sure what they were expecting. But then, almost as if her body had a mind of its own, heat burst in her midsection and swelled outward. She gasped, trembling, shivering as bright lights swirled in her mind and every muscle shook uncontrollably. She moaned low and long as the shaking, rocking roller-coaster ride seemed to go on and on and on. She panted, finally heaving a great lungful of air into her body, trying to slow her heart rate as a feeling of deep contentment, of completion, seeped into her soul. Was this the thing she’d read about? Had she never truly experienced orgasm in her life? After that revelation she was starting to think that the gentle clenching and

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releasing of the muscles in her pussy that she’d assumed was an orgasm before today was definitely not even close. A soft touch on her face made her realize that both men were watching her. **** Angus glanced at Dyson and saw his own emotions reflected on the man’s face. Surprise. Delight. Mind-numbing fear. It was obvious by her reaction that Kristen didn’t have much experience, but it left them with a question that needed an answer right now. “Are you a virgin, Kristen?” Dyson asked, clearly following the same thought process as Angus. She blushed prettily but shook her head. Her mumbled “not really” was confusing. “Define ‘not really,’” Angus ordered, wishing that he could somehow ease her embarrassment but also knowing this conversation was necessary. She took a deep breath and finally said, “‘Not really’ as in only one relationship, a dozen or so fumbled times in the dark.” She lifted her gaze and smiled at them both shyly. “And not once did I ever feel like that.” “Well, then,” Dyson said with a wide grin, “we have a lot to teach you.” Even if he lived another six hundred years, Angus would never forget the expression of relief that crossed her face. Had she really thought they’d reject her because of her inexperience? He leaned over, pressed a kiss to her lips, and then moved her so that she was kneeling over the top of Dyson, straddling his hips. “Ride him, baby,” Angus said as Dyson fit his hard cock against her slick pussy and then let her control the pace. She slid slowly onto his cock, the expression of wonder on her face truly beautiful to see. She took him all, rocking slightly when Dyson held her still.

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But then she made a panicked sound and tried to lift away, the word “condom” on her lips. “Shhh, it’s okay Kristen. He’s wearing one.” He leaned over to touch her face so that he could be certain she was listening. “Demons and humans aren’t supposed to be compatible in a genetic sense, but there’s no way we’d put you in danger. We’ll protect you from assassins and unplanned pregnancies. I promise.” “Okay,” she said with a shy nod. It didn’t seem the appropriate time to tell her what had happened to Ava, but Brody had explained that the Oracle’s receptacles seemed to be different. It was amazing, really. Angus had never even considered getting married and making babies, but with Kristen, ideas like that kept popping into his head. He could almost visualize her swollen with his and Dyson’s babies. But it was a random thought that caught him by surprise. If they hadn’t known the Oracle’s receptacles were capable of interbreeding they might not have used condoms and could right now be creating a new life. It was strange how a thought that would have terrified him merely weeks ago seemed so appealing now. Angus leaned over, caressed Kristen’s spine as she and Dyson slowly started to move, and tried not to think about the future just now. **** Dyson was really glad that he’d thought to grab a condom. He hated the damn things but the pleasure on Kristen’s face had made it all worthwhile. He wasn’t entirely convinced that the Oracle’s receptacles could breed with demons, but he was willing to protect Kristen regardless. She moved slowly, lifting off his cock and then sliding back down, the wonder on her face confirming that she’d never experienced this position before. Had her previous lover been so selfcentered that he hadn’t noticed the sensual woman underneath the shy

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demeanor? Dyson trapped her hips in his hands, holding her suspended above him. He thrust his cock up into her pussy, slamming into her over and over, watching the pleasure on her face multiply as her orgasm drew near once more. She was panting, writhing in his hold, begging with her body for more when Angus pulled her away from him. She squeaked in surprise as Angus arranged her on her hands and knees, her breasts swinging over Dyson’s face as Angus thrust into her from behind. Dyson latched on to her breast, sucking the hard tip into his mouth and tormenting the tumescent flesh with his tongue. He slid a hand across her belly, slipping lower until he found the soft curls covering her mons and the hard nub of her clit. She groaned as he slid his fingers over the swollen little bud, sucking harder against her breast as Angus fucked her faster. **** Kristen screamed as her climax burst, her arms and legs shaking violently, barely able to hold her up. Her pussy clenched and throbbed around Angus’s thick cock, and he held still, grinding his pelvis against her ass as he pushed his cock as deeply as it would go into her body. She could feel him pulsing inside her, a feeling of feminine power winding through her as he groaned out his own release. He slid his hands around her, lifting her upper body against his, the arm around her waist a more possessive embrace than anything she’d ever known. He held her close as her orgasm subsided and her skin became oversensitive. She jolted several times, his soft touch sending waves of heat flowing through her entire body. Dyson rolled to his knees, his touch against the side of her face amazingly affectionate. “You look very beautiful like this.” Dyson ran a finger over her mouth, pressing against her bottom lip until her mouth fell open. “One day soon I want to slide my cock into your mouth while Angus fucks

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you just like this.” He leaned up to run his tongue over the surprised smile on her lips. She’d read about oral sex, but until this very moment she’d never understood the appeal. “But first I need to fuck you.” Before she could react, Angus had slipped from her body and Dyson had arranged her on her back. A small sliver of disappointment wound through her when she recognized the missionary position, but she wasn’t about to reject the man or complain when everything they’d done so far had felt so wonderful. But when Dyson hooked his fingers around her ankles and encouraged her to draw her knees to her chest, she realized that this was definitely not going to be anything she’d experienced before. His cock felt huge as he slid into her slick and swollen channel. “Goddess,” Dyson said on an exhaled breath. “Don’t move.” He closed his eyes, a look of pain crossing his features. Panicked, she glanced at Angus. Was she doing something wrong? Angus must have read her expression because he lay down beside them, and propped his head up with his hand. He smiled as he reached over and caressed her breasts gently. “Don’t move, baby girl. Dyson needs a moment to pull himself together.” Dyson opened his eyes, glared at Angus, but didn’t deny it. After a moment of complete stillness, he breathed out heavily and finally started to move inside her. With exquisite care, he slid into her pussy, watching her eyes as he pulled away and then slid in again. Soon his gentle loving wasn’t enough. She needed more, she needed harder, she needed faster, deeper, stronger. Again her men read her correctly. Angus squeezed her nipples, scraping his nails over the hard peaks, the soft sting incredibly arousing. Dyson began to speed up, moving more forcefully, holding her down, slamming into her pussy. She jolted when Dyson slid his hand to her clit, his finger and thumb squeezing the swollen nub to the point of pain.

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She gasped, unable to believe the incredible sensations. Her body was on fire, her nerve endings snapping and buzzing as her arousal climbed even higher. Dyson groaned, thrusting harder, taking her, making her theirs, ruining her for any other lover. The pressure inside her grew, couldn’t be contained. Orgasm exploded through her, taking her by surprise, her pussy and ass both throbbing as Dyson slammed into her again and again and again. Angus watched her, his smile widening as he did something with his fingers that sent heated lightning streaking through her once more. “Fuck,” Dyson mumbled as he lost control, dug his fingers into her hips, and fucked her like a wild man. He grunted, stilling inside her as his cock throbbed. He held himself over her, supporting his weight on his hands as he stared into her eyes. Neither man said a word, but both kissed her reverently before Dyson moved away and Angus lifted her into his arms. He carried her to the bathroom, stepped into the shower, and slowly lowered her to her feet. Her knees wobbled so badly that she was very grateful for the hard arm wrapped around her waist. Angus washed her down quickly, and then handed her to Dyson, who managed to dry her off and tuck her under the covers. He stayed with her, holding her close until Angus came out of the bathroom, before heading into the shower himself. She managed to stay awake only long enough to know that Dyson returned from his shower and slid under the covers to hold her close. **** Angus slid out of the bed as soon as Dyson had Kristen in his arms. They hadn’t had any trouble with assassins since they’d gone off the grid, but it wouldn’t be very good for all three of them to be naked if they needed to make a fast escape. He dragged on his clothes as he watched Dyson watch the woman in his arms.

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It was true that he didn’t know his mission partner as well as he would have liked, but they’d worked together enough for him to know that the attraction Dyson was feeling for the pretty human was unusual. Just like Thomas and Alex, Dyson had been known as a bit of a “ladies’ man.” It was well known that he dated humans when they weren’t on assignment, but Angus was fairly certain that Kristen was the first human woman Dyson had felt an emotional attachment to. The others had been a diversion, a way to pass the downtime and relax, but Angus was willing to bet a whole lot of money on his guess that none of them had affected Dyson the way Kristen had. “She’s special, isn’t she?” Angus asked quietly enough not to wake the woman. “She’s an Oracle’s receptacle. Of course she’s special,” Dyson said in a rough voice. Angus smirked. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.” Dyson rolled his eyes and fell back on his own patented brand of sarcasm. “Don’t go decorating the church just yet, asshole. We barely know the woman.” He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head belligerently. “And besides, waking up in bed with you is not something I’m sure I can live with. Not even for a short human lifetime.” As soon as the words left Dyson’s mouth, it was obvious he regretted them. It was true that demons outlived humans by hundreds of years. Hell, both of them were already decades older than the oldest living human, yet they’d barely reached one quarter of the average life expectancy for demons. Even if Kristen lived into her nineties, their time together would be brief by comparison. It was a surprisingly depressing thought. It wasn’t like him to make life-changing plans after sleeping with a woman once, but that seemed to be exactly what he was doing. “This is supposed to be my last assignment,” Angus said. Only Ronan knew of his resignation, but somehow he felt he owed it to Dyson to let him know where his own life was headed. Dyson simply

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raised his eyebrow and waited for an explanation. Angus shrugged. “Not much to tell really. I’ve grown tired of living out of a suitcase. I spent seventy years with PUP Squad Echo and the last ten with Deeks Security. I just felt like I needed a change.” “So the fact that you survived an explosion that killed three of your coworkers didn’t factor into it?” Angus grimaced. He supposed he should have been ready for that. It wasn’t like the death of three security agents would go unnoticed by the men who worked in the same industry. “Maybe a little,” he said, trying to verbalize the thoughts that swirled in his head. “Intellectually, I know it wasn’t my fault. They were taken by surprise, at least one of them didn’t follow protocol, but there’s still a part of me that feels guilty for surviving.” “But you protected your client.” “Yeah,” Angus said, trying not to grind his teeth. Instead of being grateful for Angus’s quick thinking, the client had bleated long and loud about how his team’s unprofessionalism had almost gotten him killed. He hadn’t even batted an eyelid when he’d been told the other three agents had died. In some ways, the lion-shifter had been typical of the clients Angus had been assigned to protect over the years—an endless line of selfish, self-centered people who thought nothing of others risking their lives to protect them. The only thing that had convinced him to take on this one last assignment had been Ava. His boss’s new wife was sweet and caring, intelligent and loving, and owned an emotional strength that defied description. It seemed almost too good to be true that Kristen had turned out to be a similar type of personality. Granted, Kristen was a lot more shy than Ava, but she also had that core strength running through her—even if she didn’t fully see it herself. “So what were your plans for retirement?” Angus noticed Dyson’s use of the past tense. He was correct in his assumption that Kristen had changed Angus’s plans.

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“I was going to head home. My family owns several businesses in Alaska, and it would finally make my mother happy to have me ‘settle down’ and maybe find her a daughter-in-law.” “How’s she going to react to Kristen?” Angus laughed softly. It was quite a conversational leap, especially considering Dyson’s words just moments ago. But it was true. They’d only just met Kristen. Hell, they had only slept with her once, but there was no denying that they both wanted to explore the relationship more fully. “I don’t know. My mother is open-minded enough to accept whomever I chose for a mate, but she’d be very disappointed if I didn’t give her grandchildren.” “Same with my mother,” Dyson said on a quiet laugh. “Do you think the Oracle’s receptacles are all the same in that way? Ava is pregnant by Brody, and Kali has assured Alex that it’s possible for her to have his children. It would make things a lot easier if Kristen has the same trait.” Angus nodded. He wasn’t really certain where this conversation was headed. In fact, it was starting to feel a bit weird discussing babies with his lover’s lover when they’d barely discussed anything with Kristen. It was probably costing them some serious macho points, too. They should be discussing tactics or weapons or defensive strategies, not rainbows and unicorns. Fuck. “Let’s just get this assignment finished. We can make decisions after that.” Dyson grinned like he knew exactly why Angus was shutting down the conversation, but he just nodded once and then closed his eyes. Within moments, Dyson was sound asleep, which left Angus alone with his own thoughts. It was going to be a long night.

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Chapter Five Kristen smiled sleepily as Dyson held her close and led her into the main space of the holiday apartment. She’d never felt quite so relaxed in her life. Hell, if she’d realized the therapeutic effects of orgasm, she might have done a bit of self-exploring a long time ago. She almost couldn’t wait long enough to make breakfast before wanting to explore more of what they’d shared last night. She tried to smile as they walked past Thomas, but it took a few more moments to realize something wasn’t quite right with the man. “Kristen?” he asked, looking a lot less calm than he usually did, “do you know who the traitor is?” “The what?” Traitor? Nobody had said anything about a traitor. How the hell had she gotten involved in this? Her life was a series of boring nonevents. It seemed nearly impossible that she would be dragged into a paranormal world, hunted by assassins, protected by werewolves, and physically loved by demons. Yet, somehow, here she was. She grinned at the fire demon beside her, but his focus was on Thomas, and he looked angry enough to throw a few punches. “I’m sorry,” Thomas said to her quickly, seeming to ignore the man beside her. “It’s just that the other women the squad is protecting, the ones who share your birthday, all seem to have a skill they describe as ‘knowing’ stuff they have no memory of learning.” Kristen shook her head, but pursed her lips a moment in thought. None of that made sense. They’d told her the other women they were protecting shared her birthday—day, month, and year—but that they

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were all human. “How would they know stuff they haven’t been taught?” “We’re not sure,” Dyson said, sending a glare in Thomas’s direction that suggested he was very close to flattening the man, “but we suspect it’s something the Oracle passed on before she died. It’s not important now. Thomas shouldn’t have brought it up.” Kristen gave Thomas a hard stare before turning her attention to Dyson. “Thomas wouldn’t have brought it up if it wasn’t important. Do all of the others have this skill?” It was obvious that Dyson didn’t want to answer that question, but after a moment, when she feared he would lie to her, he finally nodded. “Do they have any other skills?” Kristen asked, her gaze bouncing between the two men. A niggling fear was growing at the back of her brain. Despite the danger, the fact that something exciting was finally happening in her life was now being overshadowed by the worry that she wasn’t the woman they’d been looking for. If all the others had skills, then what did that mean for her? “Yes,” Thomas eventually replied. He eyed Dyson warily as he elaborated. “Kali and Ava are telekinetic. I believe Hannah was, too.” “Hannah was?” Kristen asked quickly, too quickly, judging by the anger now coming off Dyson in waves. Fear streaked through her like a lightning bolt. She mustn’t have done a very good job of hiding it, or maybe Dyson knew her better than she realized, because this time he really did lose his temper. He punched Thomas in the nose. Strangely, it seemed that Thomas saw the hit coming but didn’t bother to get out of the way. The fight that followed was fast, vicious, and brutal. Never, in a million years, would Kristen want to come up against men as dangerous as these ones. If these were the men sent to protect her, then the assassins after her must be even more dangerous. How much of the situation were they holding back from her? “Enough already,” Angus said as he broke them apart. “You’re scaring Kristen.” He turned to her, and she tried to convey that she

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was more concerned than scared. Yes, frightened that she wasn’t the woman they thought she was, but not intimidated by men she believed would never hurt her, no matter how much damage they were inflicting on each other. Before she could say anything to calm the situation, Angus reached over and hauled her into his embrace. “Sorry, sweetheart, it’s been a long few weeks. Obviously, these knuckleheads need a break.” He turned his attention to Thomas. “Or they need to cool down.” Thomas nodded, slowly raising his hands in a show of surrender. His eye was already swelling, but from the little they’d told her about werewolves he would heal quickly. “We’ve got this,” Dyson said in a clear indication that he wanted Thomas to leave. As Kristen understood it, Thomas was the lead agent on this assignment. She had no idea why he backed down, but Adam simply nodded in agreement to Dyson’s demand and indicated for Thomas to follow him out the door. A moment later, she was pressed between her men. “Are you okay, baby?” Angus asked, touching her face in a way that had quickly become achingly familiar. She closed her eyes against the tears that threatened. “What happened to Hannah?” “She was murdered the same day pixie assassins came after you. Her protectors failed, but it was because of the traitor. We still don’t know who the traitor is, but you’re completely safe with us. Nobody knows where we are. Not even our boss.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I promise you, baby, we’ll keep you safe.” “I know,” she said, truly believing it. She had no doubt in her mind that all four men protecting her would lay down their lives to keep her safe. But she was beginning to suspect that they were protecting the wrong woman. “You said there were nine of these Oracle’s receptacles, is that right?”

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“As far as we know,” Angus said, looking confused by her question. “Is it possible I’m not one of them?” “No, it isn’t possible,” Dyson said quickly. “Of the three women who were murdered before Hannah, one was born before you and two after. You are definitely in the middle of the group.” “But if all the women possess skills that I don’t, how can I be one of them?” Kristen pulled out of their arms, wanting to see their faces. She had the distinct impression that her words were affecting them far more than their verbal responses suggested. “Sweetheart,” Dyson said as he grabbed her hand and led her to the sofa, “we don’t know anything for certain. Our squadmates found Amber the same day we found you, but we know nothing about her. It’s possible that she isn’t showing any skills, either.” “It’s also possible that she is.” Kristen rubbed at the ache starting to grip her heart. All her life she’d been the odd one out, the person nobody noticed, but when Angus and Dyson had explained what was going on, as weird as it sounded, it had felt good to be a part of something—even if it was deadly. For the first time in her life, she’d actually had a feeling of belonging. Even without meeting the other women she’d felt part of a group, a someone, not just the invisible person using the desk at the back of the room. “I think I might go lie back down for a while,” she said, trying to ease away from the sofa. Both men rose to go with her, but she held her hand up in a signal for them to stop. “I…um…you don’t have to come. I’d actually prefer to be alone if that’s okay with you.” “Sorry, sweetheart, that’s not okay with us,” Dyson said, searching her face before glancing at Angus. “We still need to be close in case we’re attacked.” She didn’t really want to argue with them, but the idea of falling asleep in their arms like she’d done so many nights recently now just seemed so wrong. They’d held her and protected her when they

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thought she was one of the Oracle’s receptacles, but it was becoming pretty obvious that hers was simply a case of mistaken identity. She felt like a fraud. “I…um…” “No arguments, baby. No matter what the future holds, right here, right now, we are in charge of protecting you. If you’re not in the mood to have sex this morning, that’s not a problem, but we will do our jobs regardless.” She could barely look at Angus without her eyes filling with tears, but she somehow managed to hold them back and nod her capitulation. As dishonest as it made her feel, she’d soak up every moment of their attention while she had it, because when the truth was revealed and she was found to be no one special it would take all of her memories to get her through the rest of her life. **** Dyson lay on the bed, his arms curled around Kristen, her back pressed to his front. For the past three nights she’d had been the most energetic lover he’d ever known. Even between the two of them, he and Angus were struggling to keep up. It was rather surprising considering the way she’d tried to push them aside after the fight with Thomas a few days ago. Angus was flat on his back, staring at the ceiling as if he was too exhausted to move. Considering that Dyson felt the same way, it wasn’t really surprising. Unfortunately, it was also Dyson’s turn to contact head office. He didn’t want to get out of bed, but just like other situations in his last fifty years working with PUP Squad Alpha, he didn’t have to like it, he just had to do it. “Sorry, sweetheart,” he said as he nuzzled the back of Kristen’s neck, “but duty calls.”

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Angus reached over, snagged Kristen from Dyson’s grasp, and cuddled her close. Reluctantly, Dyson rolled off the bed and onto his feet. He dragged his clothes on quickly, nodded at the huge wolf sitting by the entry, and then headed outside to the nearest pay phone. “Hello,” Benjamin said casually as he answered the phone. There was no indication that Dyson had just rung the commanding officer of PUP Squad Alpha. “It’s Dyson,” he said quickly, fully expecting the usual “no change in the situation” response they’d been getting for the past three weeks. But Benjamin’s hesitation brought him to full alert. “I need you to come in. I’ll meet you at the border.” Dyson knew exactly where Benjamin was asking to meet him. He just had no idea why. And he sure as hell wasn’t comfortable with it. “Why?” he asked, not really wanting to defy a direct order but unwilling to put Kristen at any sort of risk. “Because we know who the traitor is.” “So tell me,” Dyson said as acid churned in his stomach. Benjamin’s demeanor suggested that it wasn’t somebody from Deeks Security, but someone far closer to them all. Dyson took a deep breath and steeled himself for bad news. In the end, it didn’t matter who the traitor was. That person’s betrayal was going to hurt all of them for a very long time. It had already damaged their trust in each other. “Dyson,” Benjamin said in a sad voice. “I’d really prefer to discuss this face-to-face.” And like a lightning bolt, it finally struck Dyson who Benjamin was talking about. “Jason,” he said as pain lanced through him. “Jason,” Benjamin confirmed quietly. “I’m sorry, Dy—” “Are you certain?” Dyson asked, cutting his commanding officer off even though he knew his boss would never lie to him. That was probably the most concerning part—that he would believe Benjamin over the man he’d worked most closely with for the past fifty years. Dyson had spent a good part of the past three weeks trying to avoid thinking too deeply on who might have been their traitor. In some

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very small place inside him, he’d suspected Jason all along. The timing of his family crisis had been suspicious, and it was no secret that warlocks, for the most part, had little time for humans. “We’re positive. Amber identified him when he opened a bounce tunnel into the middle of the PLA headquarters. If Wilson had stepped through…” Benjamin left the thought unfinished, but it was obvious what the outcome would have been. Landing in the middle of the Pixie League of Assassins was the very last place any of the Oracle’s receptacles needed to be. “The evidence is overwhelming,” Benjamin said in a tight voice. “We can go over it when you get here, maybe talk to Darian and Wilson, but it’s unfortunately not going to change anything. Once Jason realized Amber was onto him, he tried to force her and Wilson into the bounce tunnel. When that failed, he dived through it himself.” “So Amber has the same ‘knowing’ skill as the others?” Benjamin hesitated for a moment, perhaps trying to understand Dyson’s quick change of topic. “Yes, Amber had some skills, but since meeting Kali, Ava, and Hannah, she has developed many more.” “Hannah’s alive? You lied to us?” Benjamin cleared his throat. “It was necessary to protect her.” Inside his head, Dyson understood Benjamin’s reasons why. He would have done exactly the same thing under the circumstances, but it didn’t change the fact that the man he’d assumed mere moments ago would never lie to him, had lied to him. Fortunately, before Dyson could say something he’d regret later, Benjamin cut him off and started giving him orders. It wasn’t often that Benjamin actually gave orders—mostly, he trusted his team to do what they do best— but today Dyson sought comfort in following his boss’s directives. If nothing else, it gave him a chance to keep moving when a part of him just wanted to stop and sit still. It didn’t seem possible that a man he knew better than a brother would betray them all, but at the same time it almost seemed like Dyson had been waiting for this exact news.

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At least by following orders, he didn’t have to think about what that meant just now. Benjamin wanted them all to return to Sugarvale because recent happenings had proven that the Oracle’s receptacles were safer together than separately. Dyson considered explaining Kristen’s lack of skills, but decided to wait until he was face to face with the man. They were going to Sugarvale via slip travel, so it would be less than an hour anyway. But at the mention of Thomas and Adam, Dyson decided to share his observations on that subject. It was obvious that something was going on. Both men had gotten more on edge the closer their travels took them to Skye’s sister’s hometown. Dyson remembered how the wolves had acted the night Skye and Jennifer had been attacked by their old boss, and he knew enough about werewolf mating to suspect that at least one—maybe both of them—was mate to Skye’s sister, Jennifer. Benjamin laughed softly. “I always knew Thomas was going to fall hard when the right woman came along. Tell him and Adam they have twenty-four hours to grab their mate and get back here.” Dyson could almost feel the relief coming through the phone line. Obviously, he wasn’t the only one who’d noticed Adam and Thomas noticing Jennifer. “We’ll expect you, Angus, and Kristen in one hour. In the meantime, I’ll try not to tell my wife that her sister’s probably coming for a visit.”

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Chapter Six Angus heard Dyson come back into the apartment and listened closely as he filled the others in on the news that he’d been given. It wasn’t until Adam asked, “Jason’s the traitor?” for about the hundredth time that Angus finally realized they were talking about Dyson’s usual squad partner. Hell, of all the men in PUP Squad Alpha, Dyson had been the one closest to Jason. It didn’t make any sense that Jason would work and fight side by side for the past fifty years and suddenly turn on them, but at the moment, it would seem that was exactly what he’d done. Angus knew enough about warlocks to understand that most detested being mistaken for human, but not usually enough to want the humans dead. “I don’t know what to tell you,” Dyson said, sounding annoyed. “Benjamin said it. Wilson, Darian, Amber, and Jed confirmed it. The evidence is apparently overwhelming.” Angus slid out of bed slowly, careful not to wake Kristen, and quietly opened the bedroom door. He didn’t say a word. He simply nodded that he’d heard, gave them all a concerned look, and went back to guarding Kristen. “The good news is that they’ve discovered that the Oracle’s receptacles are safer as a group. Benjamin has ordered me and Angus to transport Kristen to just outside of Sugarvale via slip travel in a little under one hour. They have a house already set up and waiting for her.” “So the assignment is complete?” Angus stopped listening to the rest of the conversation as he slid back onto the bed and pulled Kristen into his embrace. With their

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assignment complete—sort of—they would have a chance to fully explore the relationship that was building between them. But there was also a part of him that realized that this could be the beginning of the end. Relationships built under the stress of a life-or-death situation usually fizzled out once the threat was removed. Was it weird that he was happy that the threat against Kristen wasn’t completely removed? Yes, he was definitely relieved that they’d identified the traitor. And he was very glad that Kristen was in less danger than she’d been in the past three weeks, but he was also grateful that she couldn’t just return home in the same way many of his protection assignments ended. At least by having her in Sugarvale he and Dyson would have a chance to get to know the woman better under relatively more normal circumstances. He watched Kristen as she slept, his mind partially focused on the conversation still going on in the living area, the rest of him wondering if what Alex had told him about minimizing the effects of slip travel on humans was actually true. It had certainly sounded like a far more pleasant experience for the humans involved. Dyson came into the room a few moments later. “Asleep?” he asked in a whisper as he started moving around the room. They didn’t have much stuff with them, so it wouldn’t take him long to pack it up. “Awake,” Kristen mumbled, sounding far from actually being conscious. “Good morning, sweetheart,” Dyson said as he crouched beside the bed and looked at Kristen. “We move out in less than an hour. Would you like to grab a shower?” “Move out? Where are we going?” “Sugarvale,” Dyson said as he lifted Kristen out of the bed and into his arms. She snuggled against him for a moment longer before their destination registered. “Isn’t that the town where your headquarters is located? Isn’t that kind of dangerous?” As her own sleepy words filled the air, Kristen

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seemed to become more alert. “I mean…um…sorry, that was rude. You guys are the experts. As long as I have a kitchen, I’m happy.” “Good to know,” Angus said before he thought to stifle the impulse to tease Dyson yet again. After the news he’d just been given, Dyson wasn’t liable to appreciate his usual argumentative demeanor. But when Dyson rolled his eyes and reacted exactly as he’d done the past three weeks, Angus realized that his instinct to tiptoe around his mission partner was probably the last thing the fire demon wanted. “Of course, moving means we need to have a celebratory breakfast. I’m thinking five courses at least.” “And I’m thinking you can damn well cook yourself some toast. She’s not your personal chef,” Dyson said gruffly as he carried their woman into the small bathroom. Once they were out of sight, Angus thought he heard Kristen try to say something, but her words cut off quickly. He couldn’t help but smile as he dragged on some clothes and went to find Adam and Thomas. **** Kristen wanted to referee what was becoming a rather regular argument between her two demons, but then Dyson started kissing her and every other thought flew out of her head. She squeezed her thighs together, still deliciously sore from their sexcapades of the past few days. Dyson lifted her onto the cold vanity, pushed her legs open, and wedged his hips in between her thighs. He kissed her again, his tongue sweeping into her mouth, his hand in her hair holding her still for his attentions. His other hand smoothed down her stomach, his fingers pressing gently against her swollen folds. He caressed her slowly, his now-familiar touch awakening every nerve ending in her body.

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“Are you sore?” he asked quietly. She had no doubt he would pull away if she said yes, but she needed him as much as he needed her. “Please,” she begged, softly trying to wriggle forward so that she could rub against his hard shaft. “Answer the question, sweetheart.” It was an order, pure and simple, but it was the caring that lay behind it that had her answering honestly. “Maybe just a little.” She held on to him, terrified that he would pull away. He lifted his head, smiled, and then went back to kissing her. His fingers slid gently over her clit, her body’s natural lubricant coating his fingers as he expertly brought her to the edge of climax. She whimpered, needing him inside her, any discomfort forgotten as he pressed the latex-covered head of his cock against her vaginal opening. He entered her slowly, easing in an inch or so before retreating and then easing forward once more. Dyson watched her face, his movements sure but tender, controlled yet also controlling. He held her to him, a hand on her lower spine keeping her still as she shook in reaction. This wasn’t fucking. This wasn’t the fun they’d been having over the past few days. Dyson was making love to her. Truly, emotionally, genuinely making love to her. She closed her eyes, frightened of the need that coursed through her. This connection, the spiritual melding, terrified her more than anything else in her entire life. Knowing this side of him, being a part of something special, was going to make her loss even greater when they realized she wasn’t the woman they should be protecting. She wasn’t one of them. She wasn’t an Oracle’s receptacle. She wasn’t the person Dyson thought she was. A single tear slipped from her closed eye. She quickly swiped it away, but not before Dyson noticed. His movement faltered, his hips stilling as he reached up to touch her face. “Open your eyes, Kristen.” She shook her head, embarrassed by her weakness. “Am I hurting you?”

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“No,” she managed to force out of her mouth without sobbing. “Please, I need you.” “I need you, too, sweetheart,” he said a moment before taking her mouth in a devastating kiss. He didn’t move his body, just held her impaled on his cock as he kissed her over and over and over. “I lo—” But Kristen cut him off. She kissed him again, dragging him close, trying to practically inhale the words he would have spoken. She couldn’t let him say it, couldn’t hear the words that would make leaving him impossible, even when she knew it was the right thing to do. She tightened the muscles in her vaginal wall, squeezing and releasing, dragging her own orgasm closer, desperately trying to take him with her. Finally, his control snapped. He thrust his tongue into her mouth, his large hands grabbing her hips, his movement forcing more of his cock deeper into her pussy. She slid forward, offering her body, giving him what he needed, nearly screaming when his fingers grabbed her clit and squeezed tight. Heat exploded over her, her orgasm intense, violent, heart pounding. He fucked her harder, slamming into her pussy like a man possessed, his cock throbbing as his orgasm gripped him and he pumped his cum deep into her body. He continued to kiss her, his movements less frantic, his touch no longer meant to arouse but to soothe instead. She clung to him, her breathing finally evening out, but her heart aching with all that she knew she would lose. She may have stopped him saying the words out loud, but she felt his love in every gentle stroke, every soft kiss, every heartbeat. But it wasn’t hers to keep. She was the wrong woman, and sooner or later Dyson and Angus were going to figure it out.

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Chapter Seven Sugarvale was a truly beautiful place. Some of the original houses had been lovingly restored and some had been built from scratch, but they all blended perfectly with the surrounding area. Angus glanced around the town and wondered how such an amazing place could also be the setting for the failure of the relationship that had begun with such promise. With the town heavily protected by magical wards, Kristen had insisted on sleeping in her own room, in her own bed, alone. He had no idea what Dyson had done to fuck things up the day their assignment had brought them to Sugarvale, but it had somehow affected Angus’s relationship with Kristen as well. Being a demon, he didn’t mind sharing, but he sure as hell didn’t appreciate being punished for someone else’s mistakes. It didn’t help that Dyson had withdrawn into his own misery thanks to the betrayal of his ex–squad partner. The two days they’d been living in Sugarvale had been the most confusing and miserable of Angus’s entire life. Kristen hadn’t even cooked since they’d arrived. It wasn’t that he expected her to feed them every day—he and Dyson were decent enough cooks themselves—but it had seemed to give her such joy when they’d been on the run. The fact that she didn’t want to cook now was probably more concerning than her request to sleep alone. He knew enough to recognize depression when he saw it. Angus was still lost in thought when Dyson came in the front door.

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“She’s still in her room?” he asked as he walked past Angus and headed into the kitchen. “Yes,” Angus replied. He didn’t want to make things worse for Dyson, but he needed to know what had gone on between them. One minute their relationship with Kristen had been fun and amazing, and the next it wasn’t. “What happened that morning?” Dyson seemed to not want to answer, but then he shrugged as if it were no big deal and mumbled, “I told her I loved her. Apparently, it was something she didn’t want to hear.” “Did anyone ever tell you your timing sucks?” “The thought has occurred to me,” Dyson said with a selfdeprecating laugh. He leaned against the bench, crossed his legs at the ankles, and rubbed his eyes tiredly. “But she was pulling away from both of us before then. I know you felt it, too.” “I did,” Angus admitted. Somehow it had been easier to blame Dyson than to look at the situation more objectively. It couldn’t have been easy for Dyson to deal with Kristen’s rejection on the same day that his best friend had been revealed as the traitor, but Dyson had continued protecting Kristen and doing his job. Somehow the man had found the strength to keep putting one foot in front of the other as his whole world fell apart around him. “Do you love her?” Considering the timing of Dyson’s declaration, it was very possible it had been a knee-jerk reaction to Jason’s betrayal. Again, Dyson rubbed his eyes before answering. “I think I do, but there’s also a part of me that thinks maybe we don’t know the woman as well as we thought we did. Did you know we got her fired?” “How?” They hadn’t even been able to track down where she was actually working. How the hell could they have managed to get her fired? “The transport company where we went looking for her. It turns out she worked there for six years.”

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“But the boss and several other employees denied knowing her. Were they protecting her?” “No,” Dyson said, shaking his head as if he couldn’t quite believe what had happened. “They literally had no idea who she was. It’s like she was invisible. None of them ever noticed her.” “Do you think that’s why she often seems to do the exact opposite of what her instincts tell her?” “That’s my guess,” Dyson said, glancing up at the ceiling as if he could somehow see into the bedroom upstairs. “She probably lived in the apartment we had listed for her as well. She just somehow never made an impression on anyone.” “How is that possible?” Angus asked as he tried to imagine going through life without anyone noticing he was there. “She’s an amazing woman with an incredible heart. How the fuck didn’t anyone notice?” “I think maybe she’s been going against her nature ever since she met us. You know the way she is when she cooks? She just gets in and does the job. She doesn’t ask for thanks, or expect help, or even think she deserves it. She just does it and then goes on to the next task. I think that’s who she really is. The argumentative, stand-up-forherself woman that we’ve seen is her trying to break out of that biddable personality that basically left her invisible to others.” “So what changed? Surely you telling her you loved her shouldn’t have caused this sort of reaction.” “I’m not sure it did.” He laughed again in that self-deprecating sound that suggested nothing about this situation was funny. “My timing could have been better, but I think it was learning that the other Oracle’s receptacles had extraordinary powers that she doesn’t have that changed everything.” “I guess that makes sense. Being one of the six women we’d been searching for made her special, a part of something, part of a group. Learning that she didn’t share their skills must have felt like she was invisible once more.” “Exactly.”

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“So the fact that she wants her own room…” “Is her pulling away from us.” Now Angus could feel a headache forming behind his eyes. When he’d thought the problem was just a disagreement between Dyson and Kristen, he’d felt confident there would be a resolution soon. But if what Dyson surmised was actually true, then they were faced with something far more difficult to fix. Suddenly, the vague rosy future he’d been planning for the three of them seemed far less certain. “If you figured all of this out, why haven’t you done anything about it?” Anger flared briefly in Dyson’s eyes, the flames of his demon heritage dancing in his irises, but he quickly locked the emotion away. “Because nothing we can say or do will fix it. She doesn’t have the skills of the others. We can’t make her feel a part of something that she isn’t really a part of, and we can’t expect her to change to suit us. If she’d stayed in the quiet, mousy personality, chances are neither of us would have noticed her any more than we’ve noticed any of our other assignments. If she hadn’t argued with us and stood up for herself, she would have been as invisible to us as she was to everyone else.” Angus didn’t know whether to laugh or tear the man in two. He settled for words, since unexplained humor and uncontrolled violence wouldn’t do either of them any good. “For a smart man you really are an idiot sometimes.” Dyson looked stunned by Angus’s announcement rather than insulted. “It doesn’t matter what personality trait first caught our attention. The only question is do we love the woman underneath? Did you feel she was playing some sort of acting part in bed with us? Do you think she was only pretending to like the sex?” Dyson shook his head, either in denial of his questions or from complete and utter confusion. Whatever the fire demon meant by his response, Angus decided to push on.

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“Simple fact is that we both love her because of the woman underneath. Not the outward behavior but the true, loving personality underneath. She cares for us. I know she does. If she’s pulling away like you suggest, then it’s because she’s worried we love the illusion she created, not the shy, devoted, sweet woman underneath.” “Then why are we standing here talking about it when we could be upstairs proving it to our woman?” Angus laughed softly, nodded his approval, and then followed Dyson upstairs.

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Chapter Eight Her bedroom door flew open, nearly scaring the life out of her. She sat up in bed, her hand pressed against her heart, as she stared at the men who came into her room. “What’s happened?” she asked quickly. Surely they would have knocked if it was anything less than an emergency. “We’ve decided,” Angus said, with a grin that could only be described as determined, “that you’ve had enough time wallowing in self-pity.” “Wallowing?” she asked in a nearly breathless voice. The accusation stung, even if it was a little bit true. “Yes, baby girl, wallowing.” Both men stood at the end of the bed, arms crossed over their muscular chests, their eyes watching her every expression. “Did you think we would let you go just because you don’t have the same skills as the others?” “But I don’t,” she said quietly, the shock of being confronted this way making her voice stronger than she’d intended. “I’m not one of them. I’m not a part of this…this…war or whatever it is that I somehow found myself in. I’m a plain-old ordinary human in the middle of a bunch of extraordinary beings. I’m not special. I’m no one. I don’t belong here.” And then under her breath she added, “I don’t belong anywhere.” Her voice cracked on the last word, and she closed her eyes against the fear that this was really the end. They’d finally realize that she was no one special and then go on with their own lives. She felt the bed dip on either side of her, and she opened her eyes in confusion.

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“You belong right here, baby girl,” Angus said as he slid an arm around her waist. “You’re special to us. You belong with us. We don’t want to live without you,” Dyson said and then leaned in to kiss her lips softly. “I love you, Kristen.” “Same here,” Angus said, squeezing her waist just a little tighter. “I love you, baby. Please give the three of us a chance to build a life together. Don’t turn away from us.” Her heart was beating so hard she was liable to break a rib. “You still love me even though I’m no one?” Before she could comprehend what was happening, she found herself facedown over Dyson’s lap. His warm hand rubbed her bottom through the thin material of her pajama pants. “Say that one more time and I’m going to smack your ass. Are we clear?” She was so distracted by the unexpected sexual arousal from her helpless position that she almost didn’t comprehend the question. “Is that clear, Kristen?” Angus asked as he knelt down so that he could see her face. “If I call myself a…um…nobody again, I’m going to get spanked?” “Correct,” Dyson said, his hand still rubbing over her ass. “And if I…um…actually want to be…um…” She couldn’t force the words past her lips. It seemed so wrong to be this turned-on by something that was essentially an act of violence. A part of her doubted that Dyson would smack her even if she did call herself a no one again. This was really just his way of getting her attention, but the sexual arousal it was causing was off the charts. She didn’t know whether to shrink away in embarrassment or beg for him to help her understand why she wanted this. Hell, would either man even understand an urge she herself couldn’t explain?

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“Holy fuck,” Angus said, gripping her chin roughly and lifting her face to his. “You actually want to be spanked.” She could feel a hot blush creeping over her skin, but Angus smiled and kissed her hard. “Don’t be embarrassed, baby girl. There is nothing I would enjoy more than covering your beautiful ass with my handprint.” Kristen moaned when she felt Dyson tug at the material of her pajama pants. He had them to her knees before she even thought to stop him. But then Angus grabbed her hands, trapping them in his own as liquid excitement trickled through every inch of her. Both men groaned as the musky scent of her arousal filled the air and her pussy pulsed in anticipation. “We’ll start slowly,” Angus said in a voice that she figured wasn’t just meant for her. “Slow is good,” Dyson agreed as he tapped her bottom a couple of times. She hardly felt the slight sting and wiggled her hips, hoping for more. Both men laughed softly, but then Dyson’s hand smacked her harder, and she forgot everything else except the exquisite feeling of being surrounded by her men once more. The next slap was even harder, the sharp sting going straight to her throbbing clit. She gasped, wriggling in their combined hold, and discovered that she had no control. Arousal flooded all of her senses, her skin tingling, her muscles shaking, her every nerve ending flaring to excited life. She moaned as the hits came faster, the combination of pleasure and pain sending her spiraling out of control. As her orgasm hit, thick fingers pushed into her pussy, forcing her wider as Dyson’s thumb pressed against her anus. She gasped at the unexpected sensation but couldn’t deny the intense pleasure. Every muscle was shaking, her orgasm bursting again as Dyson pushed his thumb deep into her ass. He held it still, groaning as her muscles squeezed around him and her climax pulsed on and on. She lay across his knees, panting hard, her eyes closed as sensation flowed over her like never-ending waves of hot lava scorching her from the inside out.

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As her orgasm finally slowed and she managed to catch her breath, she still couldn’t find the energy to actually move. She probably made a rather strange sight—rumpled pajama pants around her knees, bottom glowing from her spanking, Dyson’s thumb still in her ass. She moaned as he slowly pulled the thick digit from her anus. “Where’s the lube?” “What?” she squeaked before she could control her fear. She knew neither of these men would ever hurt her, but she’d never even considered anal play before. “It’s okay, baby,” Angus said as he leaned over to press a kiss against the warm flesh of her ass. “I promise you’ll enjoy this, but if it’s not what you want, all you have to do is say ‘no.’” “O–Okay,” she said, trying to control her fear. She trusted them with her life. She knew she could trust them not to hurt her. The sound of some sort of liquid being squirted from a tube had her asshole clenching in nervous anticipation. “Relax, baby. Take a deep breath and then let it out slowly.” She did as Angus ordered, trying to let the anxiety flow away as Dyson’s slippery fingers smoothed over her anus. “Good girl,” he said as he slipped a finger into her back passage. He wiggled it, pushing in an out of her ass very slowly, very carefully. She heard the sound of more lube being squeezed from its container and then shivered slightly as the cold liquid rolled between her ass cheeks and Dyson worked it into her back passage. Soon he added a second finger, the uncomfortable stretch offset by the incredible heat as nerve endings she’d never known buzzed to life. She gasped, unconsciously pushing back against his fingers, demanding more, begging with her body for something she’d never even imagined asking for. She barely noticed Angus leave the bed, but the sound of him slicking up his cock caught her full attention. Just the thought of having his thick, hard rod up her ass sent a nervous shiver up and down her spine.

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“We’ll take it nice and easy, baby,” Angus said as Dyson eased his fingers from her ass and Angus replaced them with his cock. “Just like before, I want you to take a deep breath and then let it out slowly.” She did as he asked, forcing herself to continue breathing out, keeping her muscles relaxed as he pushed the head of his cock against her tight ring of muscle. A voice in her head urged her to squirm away, but Dyson held her trapped, one hand pushing her upper body lower, forcing her ass higher in the air, the other underneath her, caressing her clit as Angus slid farther into her ass. “Good girl,” Angus said breathlessly as he sank into her body as far as he could go. He held still for a moment, and then his large hands curled around her hips and lifted her slightly higher. He groaned as he pushed deeper, holding her hard against him. “How’re you doing, sweetheart?” Dyson asked as he squeezed her clit tighter. Seriously? Did they really think she could answer rationally with a massive cock in her ass, clever fingers at her clit, and her orgasm ready to explode? “Fuck me,” she managed to order breathlessly. Angus chuckled. “Yes, ma’am.” And then her world tilted off its axis. Angus started thrusting into her ass, slowly building the speed, the depth, the force of each entry. Dyson rubbed her clit, the slippery friction tipping her arousal into the stratosphere. She screamed, orgasm exploding over her, every muscle shaking violently, every nerve ending vibrating with delight. Angus growled, his hands gripping her tighter, pulling her against him harder and harder as wave after wave after wave of heat washed over her entire body. He dragged her away from Dyson’s lap, lifting her onto the bed on her hands and knees. “Suck him,” Angus ordered as Dyson rushed to undress and then slid onto the bed in front of her. She hesitated a moment—she’d never given a blow job before—but Angus’s slap on her thigh had her doing

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exactly what he asked. She opened her mouth over Dyson’s hard cock, moaning as the slightly salty flavor burst over her taste buds. “Holy shit,” Dyson exclaimed as he threaded his hands through her hair and controlled her movements. Angus laughed slightly, and then started moving in her ass once more. “That’s it, baby,” he said, pulling her closer as he found her clit and squeezed the swollen bud once more. “Come again.” She gasped as her body did exactly what Angus demanded. Liquid heat drenched her as she sucked harder against Dyson’s cock and tried not to scream. Her arms shook violently, barely holding her up as both men started to move into her in unison. Angus thrust deep into her ass, Dyson pushing to the back of her throat, as they took her harder and faster. Angus slammed into her one last time, grinding his pelvis against her ass as his own climax began. He grunted, jolting against her several times before holding her still. Dyson dragged against her hair, forcing his cock to the back of her throat as his orgasm began. She swallowed convulsively, the taste of his cum surprisingly appealing. Finally, he stilled as well, his cock slowly softening in her mouth as she laved her tongue over the silky-feeling flesh. “Fuck,” Angus said as he gently pulled his cock from her ass. “Baby girl, that was one hell of a ride.” “Ditto,” Dyson said breathlessly. Dyson reached down and dragged her up the mattress and into his embrace. Angus moved to lie down behind her. They held her close for so long she was starting to wonder if they’d fallen asleep, but then Angus pressed a kiss to the back of her neck and said, “Never doubt that we love you, Kristen. It doesn’t matter that you’re not an Oracle’s receptacle. You’re very special to both of us.” “You’re special to me, too,” she confessed quietly. “And I do love you both, but it might take some time for me to break the habits of a lifetime. I spent a long time being almost invisible, so I may need reminding now and then that you two see me differently.”

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Angus laughed as he caressed her bottom. “Not a problem, baby. Dyson and I both promise to spank your ass anytime you forget. We’ll make certain you remember who loves you every time you sit down.” She moaned as everything they just shared replayed in her memory. If that was how she would feel every time she sat down, she had an awful lot to look forward to.

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Chapter Nine Dyson sat staring at the computer screen and wondered what the hell to do now. He hadn’t really expected to find anything, so the message Jason had left him was more than a little disturbing. Years ago, they’d set up e-mail addresses under the guise of gamers’ accounts. Anybody reading the e-mails would simply assume they were trash-talking each other’s skills from a particular online game. Ironically, that was actually what most of the e-mails were about. The game had been a pleasant distraction over the years, but as far as Dyson knew, neither of them had played online for quite a while now. But sitting there in black and white was an e-mail that sent a chill down Dyson’s spine. “My mage army has new weapons and will easily destroy your castle. Time for you to flee, ugly troll.” He was still staring at the screen when Angus and Kristen came into the room. They both noticed his tension immediately. “What is it?” Kristen asked as she came to stand beside him. He tried to force a smile, grabbed her around the waist, and pulled her onto his lap. She let him kiss her, but it didn’t deter her from getting an answer to her question. “Just an e-mail,” he finally answered, trying not to put too much emphasis on the importance of it. “A friend and I used to play an online game a while ago. It’s just some gamer trash talk.” “Uh-huh,” she said, obviously unconvinced by the half-truth. “If that was true, you wouldn’t be staring at it as if it were a live snake. Would this friend happen to be Jason?”

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Apparently, he’d told them way too much about his ex–squad partner. Over the past week, both of them had helped him work through the feelings about Jason and his actions. Dyson had never been one for touchy-feely emotional crap—he hated the yearly psyche evaluation necessary to stay on the PUP squads—but he’d never really had to deal with something like this before. To say Jason’s actions had undermined everything he believed in was a total understatement, but somehow the three of them were supporting each other as they dealt with the changes in their lives. Kristen was becoming more confident and relaxed, no longer overeager to please but capable of expressing what she wanted. Angus had talked about his decision to retire, his anger toward some of the people he’d protected over the years, and his change in plans about going back to his hometown. It was kind of weird. After spending his entire adult life holding his emotions inside, explaining his feelings to Kristen and Angus seemed perfectly natural. With these two people he felt like he had a family. But that didn’t mean he wanted to worry Kristen unnecessarily. She was still his to protect. “Is it Jason?” Kristen asked again. He glanced at Angus and finally nodded. “Does it mean anything?” Angus asked as he read the e-mail over Dyson’s shoulder. “It’s dated three hours ago. Do you think maybe this is meant as a warning? Is he trying to tell us that Sugarvale is about to be attacked?” “I’m not sure,” Dyson answered honestly, “but I think Benjamin needs to see it.” “The wards are still active,” Angus said out loud for Kristen’s benefit. Dyson could feel the wards that stopped slip, bounce, and vortex travel, but he didn’t miss Angus’s subtle suggestion that the attack would likely come from nonmagical weapons. “Why don’t you go speak to Benjamin while Kristen and I explore the cellar?” Kristen wrinkled her nose at the word “cellar” but didn’t protest.

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“I’ll be back quickly,” Dyson said as he lifted Kristen to her feet. He gave her a smile, kissed her quickly, and then headed for the front door. He was halfway across the road when the first explosion sounded. **** Angus tried to act like everything was normal, but the sound of something exploding meant that he literally swept Kristen off her feet and used his superior speed to get them into the cellar fast. Thankfully, it was stone lined and seemed to be of very sturdy construction. Angus had explored this area of the house quite thoroughly and had been pleased to find several underground storage rooms. They weren’t exactly comfortable, but he’d brought enough gear down here that the three of them could stay several days underground if required. “Dyson?” Kristen asked worriedly. “Dyson is a well-trained soldier. He’ll be fine.” Angus understood Kristen’s fear, but he’d been working this kind of job long enough to know that you had to trust the people around you to be able to do their jobs. Another explosion sounded, but it seemed to be quite a distance from the center of town. Apparently, Jed’s protection spells were managing to keep their attackers from entering the area. Any entry by a paranormal being would have set off the alarms. Whoever was attacking them—and from Jason’s e-mail it seemed to be warlocks and perhaps witches—was shooting from a distance and not entering the town limits. Ten long minutes passed as a couple more explosive rounds detonated, but then everything went quiet once more. Kristen clung to him, but stayed calm and quiet. Angus heard the front door of the house open, and then Dyson’s familiar footsteps turn toward to the cellar.

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“Warlocks,” he said as he opened his arms and Kristen stepped into his embrace. She was visibly shaking but otherwise showed no outward signs of panic. The woman truly was extraordinary. “We managed to apprehend two of them, but the rest escaped via bounce tunnels. Ronan thinks they underestimated the size of the wards or the range of their weapons. Either way, we were lucky this time, but we’re certain they’ll be back.” “And they won’t make the same mistakes twice,” Angus said grimly. So much for being safe in Sugarvale. “When do we move out?” “We’ve probably got a day or two, but sooner would be better.” “Agreed.” “I’ll go start packing,” Kristen said quietly. “Do we need to travel light?” Before he could answer, Dyson’s cell phone started ringing. He glanced at the caller ID. “It’s Benjamin.” He pressed the screen to open the line. “Dyson,” he said, and then listened intently. Five seconds later he said, “Yes, sir,” and then hung up. “Benjamin wants us to sit tight for a little while. Hannah believes the Oracle’s receptacles can build some sort of barrier, a sort of shield that will be able to withstand physical attack. He’ll let us know in a few minutes if it worked.” **** Kristen couldn’t help but feel out of place. She was technically the only useless human in the whole town. Everyone else was either an Oracle’s receptacle, a highly trained soldier, or a paranormal of some kind. It seemed rather ironic that no matter how much her life had changed, some things simply stayed the same. She didn’t belong here anymore than she had at her job at the transport company. Kristen cuddled closer to Dyson, taking comfort from the fact that at least she

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wasn’t invisible. These two men loved her. That would have to be enough. The all clear came a few minutes later. The Oracle’s receptacles had been able to create a shield that would bounce any weapons back at the shooter. Hopefully, the people attacking them would learn that without killing themselves. Benjamin had cautioned against using their human-style weapons inside the shield for the same reason. It left them without magic or weapons, but considering that the shield also formed a physical barrier against living beings that shouldn’t create any problems. “I need to go get a situation report. It could take a while. Why don’t you and Angus get some rest? I’ll wake you when I get in.” Kristen nodded, wishing he didn’t have to go, but understanding the reason for it. **** It took way longer than expected, but Kristen was still staring at the ceiling when Dyson came into the bedroom. He started stripping off his clothes silently, but he laughed softly when he realized she and Angus were both wide awake. Kristen rolled onto her side, propping her head on her bent arm. Angus did the same, his other arm resting loosely over her middle. “Hannah has invited us over for dinner Friday night.” It seemed such an out-of-place comment that Kristen almost forgot her standard “I’ll meet them another day” line. They were very literally living in a town under siege. It seemed a rather strange time to be organizing group dinners. She shook her head, trying to form words polite enough to call Hannah completely crazy without actually calling the woman completely crazy. But the look Dyson gave her suggested he knew the exact reason why she was hesitating.

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The simple fact was that she didn’t want to meet the women who represented yet another group that she was sort of, but not quite, a part of. The only thing she had in common with them was that they were all being targeted by assassins. But, unlike the Oracle’s receptacles, Kristen wasn’t able to use telekinesis, or shield bubbles, or whatever other skills the women had developed, to hold her attackers off. “I…um…” “You have to meet them sometime, sweetheart. They’re all eager to meet you.” “Why?” The bewildered question was out of her mouth before she could stop it. Angus slapped her bottom so hard it stung even through the wool blanket. “We discussed this,” he said in a warning tone. “Sorry,” she said, rubbing her offended skin. She shrugged. “Old habits die hard.” “So dinner?” Dyson’s tone suggested that there was only one right answer. She sighed, glanced at Angus over her shoulder, saw his determination, and tried to give in gracefully. “I suppose we still have to eat.” “Good girl,” Dyson said. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, patted her bottom in the same place Angus had slapped it, and then turned his attention to Angus. “I spoke to Benjamin about Jason’s e-mail. We’ve sent a cryptic reply that warns him of the shield the Oracle’s receptacles created.” “Why warn him?” Angus asked curiously. He didn’t seem upset, just intrigued at the thinking behind Benjamin’s request. “Technically, he did tip us off to the warlock’s attack. Benjamin thinks he might be trying to determine whether I’m loyal to PUP Squad Alpha on this assignment or not. He could see me as the weakest link, or he could be trying to contact me for a whole different reason. Whatever is going on, Benjamin doesn’t want to miss this opportunity.”

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“So you’re going to pretend to think the same way Jason does?” Angus asked. “I’m not sure that’s possible. Jason knows me pretty well. He’d know that I’d never support anything that requires the death of innocent people.” “So why bother?” Kristen asked quietly, her concern for him leaking into her words. Jason’s betrayal had hurt the man more than he was willing to admit, and she feared this was Dyson giving his ex– squad partner a chance to prove he really wasn’t a traitor. “Because it might give us a chance to figure out who Victoria is. We know she’s behind the drugs used on the pixie assassins. Eric says that all of the miniature pixies currently in custody are suffering fireweed withdrawal symptoms. He can’t even understand how a species capable of regenerating from incineration can be drugged in the first place. Emmallina assures him it’s possible, but human medical science can’t explain any of it. Judging by the severity of Connistanterina’s withdrawals, he suspects she was drugged without her knowledge for years, maybe even decades.” Dyson sat on the edge of the bed and reached over to touch Kristen’s face with the back of his knuckles. “If we can figure out how Victoria fits into the big picture, we might be able to identify who is trying to kill the Oracle’s receptacles and why.” “It seemed pretty obvious that it was warlocks trying to kill them earlier today,” Angus said. “You don’t think they hired the pixie assassins?” “Benjamin doesn’t think so. Jed and Darian both confirm that humans are mostly disliked by warlocks and witches, but they feel it is someone manipulating the mob into reacting to the existence of humans with extrasensory skills rather than the controlled sort of hit pixie assassins would usually perform.” “Any news from the pixie side of the problem?” Dyson shook his head slightly. “Emmallina knows her daughter was taking orders from Victoria, but the woman isn’t known to her

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and is not part of the PLA. We need to find out who she is and how she managed to order hits that went against official PLA business and bypassed the pixie king’s approval.” Kristen nodded slowly. It seemed strange that after so many weeks of partial information, and only being told what she needed to know when she needed to know it, that Dyson would suddenly be filling in the blanks now. “Why are you telling me all of this?” “Because, sweetheart, I want you to understand why I have to leave.” “You’re what?” she screeched in a tone of voice she would swear had never once left her mouth before. Dyson slid farther onto the bed and pulled her into his embrace, but this time she couldn’t relax against him. “I’m our best chance to find out why Jason did this. It’s doubtful he’ll try to contact anyone else from PUP Squad Alpha. But if he thinks he can trust me, if he thinks I believe whatever it is he believes, then we might be able to figure out what the fuck…sorry…what the heck is going on before someone else dies.” “But I don’t want you to go.” “Believe me, this is one assignment I’d be happy to pass on. I’d much rather be here with you, but I can’t ignore the fact that I have a chance to figure this all out.” She’d known all along that sooner or later Dyson and Angus would have to move on to other assignments—they couldn’t protect her forever. She’d just hoped she’d have more time with them. She nodded, trying to hide the tears that prickled at the back of her eyes. “When do you leave?” He smiled, leaned forward to press a kiss to her lips, and whispered, “Not until Jason replies to my e-mail. I’ve got a suggestion or two on how we can fill the time.” She kissed him, pouring all of her emotion into the contact, trying to imprint every moment with her men in her memory. She tried to remind herself that he’d come back to her. He said he loved her, but

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that insecure woman inside of her wondered how long she could hold his and Angus’s attention. She was plain-old ordinary human. Dyson and Angus were extraordinarily talented soldiers who did incredibly important work. Was it even fair of her to want to hold them close? “You are definitely thinking too hard,” Dyson said as he broke the kiss. “Do I need to remind you how special you are to me and Angus?” Her pussy clenched at the sensual threat. She was certain a therapist would have a field day with it, but somehow being spanked to climax by these men had—at least in her head—become a physical symbol of their love for her. Of course it helped that the orgasms were incredible and the sex afterward completely mind-blowing. “Perhaps you need to remind me,” she said in a voice husky with her arousal. “That can be arranged,” Dyson said with a laugh. He dragged her out from under the covers, arranged her facedown over his lap, and smacked her hard. **** Dyson really couldn’t explain why spanking Kristen seemed so natural, but even fully clothed his cock was steel-rod hard. He watched her closely as he peppered her soft skin with stinging little slaps. She flushed all over, her skin glowing with her arousal, the scent of her filling the room as her pussy clenched and released, her orgasm so incredibly close that he could almost feel it himself. He eased off, willing to draw this out, willing to wait, willing to give Kristen everything she needed before slamming into her dripping pussy. Kristen gripped his lower legs with her hands, her arms shaking violently as her body shook all over. He smacked her hard one last time. “Come for me, sweetheart.”

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She did exactly what he asked, a low moan escaping her as she undulated against his legs. He pushed his thumb into her pussy, pushing deeper as her pussy walls fluttered around the invasion. As she finally relaxed, he pushed his slippery thumb against her anus. She jolted at the intimate touch but moaned when he pushed the digit inside. She was already clenching and releasing her anal muscles instinctively, dragging against him, begging with her body, when Angus handed him the lube. “I love you, Kristen,” Dyson said as he squeezed lube onto her ass and worked it into her back passage, gently loosening the muscles. “Angus and I are going to show you how much.” He glanced at Angus, who nodded, apparently already anticipating what Dyson had in mind. He moved to sit at the end of the bed, his legs dangling over the edge. Dyson worked three fingers into Kristen’s ass, groaning as she began to shake again with her building orgasm. He fucked her gently for a few moments and then pulled his fingers away. She moaned so loudly in protest that he smacked her bottom one more time. “Behave, sweetheart, or I won’t let you ride Angus.” She laughed softly. “I think Angus might want to have a say in that.” “Very true,” Angus said as he reached over to grip Kristen’s hair. “Come here, baby.” Dyson helped her to move over Angus’s cock, holding her up as she tried to slide down. She whimpered her need and sighed her approval when he finally let her lower onto Angus’s hard rod. Angus placed his hands on her ass, pushing her down, stuffing her with his cock, before spreading her ass cheeks in invitation. Unable to resist the need coursing through him, Dyson moved quickly to get rid of his clothes, and then reached for the lube to slick up his cock. ****

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Kristen wanted to move, but Angus held her down, his big hands on her ass cheeks finally tipping her off to what they planned to do. She tried to hide it, but a nervous shiver worked through her system. Both of her men noticed. Dyson’s warm hands and Angus’s cool ones all caressed over her back and bottom in soothing, sweeping motions. “That’s it, baby girl,” Angus said, “relax. We’ll never do anything to hurt you. Relax and let us take care of you.” A cool hand slid between her body and Angus’s, unerringly finding her swollen clit and toying with it gently. She moaned, the shiver going through her this time having nothing to do with fear. “Perfect,” Dyson said as he slid his slippery cock against the crease of her ass. She tensed slightly as she felt the head of his cock press against her anus, but Angus increased the pressure against her clit, completely distracting her from everything except her own need. Dyson groaned as the head of his cock popped through the tight ring of muscle. “Holy shit, sweetheart, you feel absolutely amazing.” She wanted to push back against him, wanted to take him deeper, but he placed a hand between her shoulder blades, pushing her harder against Angus, holding her trapped as he worked his way deep into her back passage. Finally, with both of her men inside her, thrust to the hilt, her pussy and ass throbbing around them, Kristen felt complete. This was where she belonged. This was the feeling of acceptance that she’d craved all her life. With her men surrounding her, she finally felt whole. And then they started moving, and everything Kristen thought she knew about love and life was rewritten. Dyson pulled out of her ass, slowly pushing back in as Angus pulled away. They moved slowly at first, getting their rhythm perfect, one in, one out, her ass or pussy always filled with cock, her men never leaving her empty. But then Dyson stilled, his body shaking over her as he gripped her hips in his warm hands and pulled her back against him.

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“Goddess,” he murmured a moment before pushing her fully onto Angus’s cock, trapping her against him, and then thrusting harder and harder into her ass. The incredible feeling of holding Angus inside her while Dyson fucked her swirled through her mind, her pussy gripping and releasing, her ass throbbing in counterpoint. “Come,” Dyson growled, moving faster, the heat, the speed, the friction of his possession tossing her over the edge and into orgasm. Angus started moving under her, his cock barely leaving her pussy before slamming back in. Dyson slapped her ass, riding her harder as her orgasm went on and on. She screeched, the intensity of release burning through her, shaking her violently, throwing her mind into the abyss of pure pleasure. She felt them both come, their jerking movements and low groans accompanied by their cocks throbbing inside her. Dyson leaned over her, pressing his weight against her momentarily as he placed a kiss at the back of her ear. He ground his pelvis against her ass, the movement pushing her harder against Angus’s hand still trapped against her clit. She gasped, the unexpected orgasm spilling through her like hot lava poured into her veins. Over and over, heated waves flowed through her, bouncing back and then over her again, the ripples of her orgasm finally slowing to an incredible feeling of exhaustion, of love, and of belonging. “I love you,” she whispered to both of them a moment before sleep claimed her.

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PART TWO Chapter Ten Emmallina DeKardoin, former Queen of the Pixies and now a target for assassination, read the extract from Bethany’s journal over and over again. Oracles couldn’t predict the future. As an Oracle herself, Emmallina knew this to be a fact, but it didn’t explain the human woman’s uncanny insight into problems that she should have known nothing about. Bethany was supposed to have held the history of witches and warlocks, not information on how to cure a miniature pixie suffering drug-withdrawal symptoms. But there it was, written in black and white, a direct translation from Bethany’s journal that not only warned of the fireweed addiction that had crept insidiously through the assassins working for the PLA, but also listed the cause, the delivery, the effects, and the cure. The most incredible part was that, unlike other parts of the partially decoded journal entries, this passage was neither vague nor difficult to interpret. It detailed exactly how a witch or warlock could slip the effects of fireweed into a pixie’s DNA. It explained how even after several incinerations and recoveries why Emmallina’s daughter, Connistanterina, could be suffering from withdrawal symptoms of a drug that should have been burned out of her system. If she hadn’t been reduced to miniature size, they wouldn’t have been able to identify her addiction at all. “Can I come in?” Dr. Eric Johansen asked in a quiet voice from the doorway.

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Emmallina nodded and marveled yet again at the bear-shifter’s ability to make her feel somehow less frantic. Being the Oracle for humans and vampires, Emmallina had known of the pediatrician from his work with human children. His skills and bedside manner were impressive, but it was the man himself who seemed to exude some sort of calming influence over her. When Eric was in the room, she simply felt more hopeful that they’d find a way to save her daughter from dying. “I just got the results back from the DNA tests. They confirm what Bethany’s journal told us. The effects of fireweed have very literally been written into your daughter’s DNA. We found the same markers on all of the other pixies that Ronan currently has in his care.” “His care” was a very polite euphemism for “being held prisoner,” but considering the fact that Ronan Deeks, his protection teams, and the members of PUP Squad Alpha were working tirelessly to find a cure for pixies who’d tried to kill them, Emmallina was very grateful, no matter what label they gave it. “If Bethany was right about the cause, could she also be right about the cure?” “It’s hard to say,” Eric said with an apologetic smile. “I’ve never had to deal with a species that can recover from incineration before. The fact that you can rebuild healthy cells from the ashes of the old is simply astounding. Every scrap of research into DNA suggests that it’s not possible.” He reached for her hand, holding it in both of his in a gesture of comfort. She had so many memories of him doing this for human parents that they all blended together, but the outcome was still the same. With Dr. Eric Johansen working to save her daughter’s life, Emmallina didn’t feel quite so alone. “Even if it will work, I doubt I’ll be able to contact my other daughters without tipping off the assassins to my location, and I don’t want to risk making them look like traitors. If my husband was capable of signing the assassination order against me after three

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centuries of marriage, I’m not sure he would hesitate when it came to his own offspring.” “What about the way you contacted Jennifer? What did you call it? Dreamwalking?” “My family doesn’t know that I have that skill. Even if I did enter their dreams, they are unlikely to believe that it’s anything more than their imagination.” “So tell them something that only you could know, but that they can verify.” It sounded so simple, but if she knew anything about the man she married, it was that he could be a stubborn, disbelieving jackass when he chose. There was no guarantee he would believe anything he learned in a dream. Hell, he probably wouldn’t even bother to check the information she gave him. He would literally dismiss the dream as his own overactive imagination or perhaps guilty conscience. She’d had long enough to think through why he would have signed an assassination order against her, and the only thing that made sense was that he was protecting his kingdom from civil war. If she’d been painted as a traitor to her people, he would have had no way of refusing to sign the order without causing serious unrest in the pixie community. “I’ll give it a try,” she said quietly. At the very least she could maybe learn what evidence he’d been given to force his hand. Eric nodded, checked Connistanterina’s vitals, and left the room quietly. Emmallina closed her eyes and concentrated on her husband. **** Dyson had a very bad feeling. He’d been watching the location for hours and had seen no paranormal activity at all. Either Jason wasn’t coming or he was being as cautious as Dyson. Considering how well Jason knew him, it was likely the latter.

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Deciding to go on a little faith—he’d come alone because he at least trusted that Jason wouldn’t want to kill him—Dyson stepped into the crowded marketplace full of unsuspecting humans and waited to see if his ex–squad partner would do the same. After ten long, tension-filled minutes, Dyson was ready to give up. He turned to leave, annoyed at failing but also eager to get back to Kristen. He knew she was in safe hands with Angus watching over her, but he’d always been an advocate of the saying “two demons are better than one.” Dyson managed not to swear at the old man who succeeded in whacking his ankle with his cane, but it was the sly wink from a familiar—yet far older looking face—that had him scrambling to act normally. Whatever the hell was going on, Jason was making certain nobody recognized him. “Parking lot, level four, space twelve, three minutes,” he mumbled in a voice that could have been an old man rambling to himself and then wandered away as if he’d never even noticed Dyson. Dyson checked his watch, scanned the area once more as if he were still looking for someone, and then left the area quickly. He was careful to watch for anyone who might follow, but after climbing several sets of stairs without incident, he used his natural talents to slip travel to a different point and continued his journey to the upper parking levels. The parking space was filled with a huge old Cadillac, the type that collectors spent years rebuilding and restoring. As he approached the vehicle, the passenger door opened. “Get in,” Jason’s disembodied voice said just loud enough for Dyson to hear. He did as he was told, wondering if he was being completely foolish. For the past fifty years he would have sworn he knew this man, but his recent actions suggested Dyson didn’t really know him at all. Following the man’s directions could very well get him killed.

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As he slid into the passenger’s seat and then pulled the door closed, he realized that the inside of the car didn’t match the outside. Inside seemed to belong to a much smaller car. “Did you come alone?” Jason asked, no longer looking like an old man. “Did you?” Dyson countered. Jason nodded. “It wasn’t easy. I’m being watched by a lot of different people. It seems very few people are able to believe a member of PUP Squad Alpha is willing to turn on his own team.” “I’m getting there,” Dyson said gruffly. But it wasn’t really true. It didn’t matter how much evidence was stacked against him, something inside Dyson wanted to believe Jason had an explanation for everything he’d done. “Why did you come?” Jason asked. It was the first time Dyson got a good look at his ex–squad partner’s face. He looked tired—the type of bone-deep weariness that came from working a case around the clock without backup. Dyson had only been on two assignments that left him alone and without help, but he recognized the haunted look as easily on Jason’s face as he had on his own. “Because I was worried about you.” Benjamin had suggested that Dyson play out this meeting anyway he saw fit. If he needed to convince Jason he was on his side, he would, but if he could get some answers without lying he’d do that instead. “Thanks,” Jason said, pinching the bridge of his nose as if he was trying to hold back tears. “I can’t tell you how hard this assignment has been.” “Assignment?” “I’ve been trying to calm the situation without blowing my cover, but there’s so much anger and fear within the warlocks’ and witches’ councils that decisions are being made on pure emotion. They think the Oracle’s receptacles have been given the history of warlocks and witches so that they can annihilate them all. They think they’re going to be victims of genocide.” Dyson watched his ex–squad partner

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closely, but all he saw was an exhausted soldier, not a man trying to manipulate him. Either Jason’s acting skills had improved exponentially, or he truly believed he was on some sort of secret mission. “So they’re planning to annihilate the Oracle’s receptacles before they can annihilate them.” Jason nodded tiredly. “That’s the reason why the first Oracle was killed. Twenty-seven years ago, the warlocks’ council was told that the Oracle for witches and warlocks intended to pass her information to humans. They tried to hire the PLA to assassinate her, but the pixie king turned down the hit. The Ruling Body stepped in and overruled him. The Oracle died and the information was thought to have been lost.” “But it went to humans instead.” “One human. Tory believes the information went to only one human—Bethany Childes. It was Bethany’s death that set everything else in motion and created the exact situation they’d been trying to avoid.” Dyson desperately wanted to ask who Tory was, but he didn’t want to interrupt the flow of information. Whatever Jason’s reasons were for sharing what he knew, Dyson didn’t want to tip the man off to the fact that he might be sharing more than he intended. “How did the pixie assassin who killed the original Oracle discover Bethany had the knowledge?” Jason scrubbed a hand down his face. “It took a lot of digging, but I found a news article on the Internet that tells of how a female, workaholic lawyer managed to save a bus full of schoolchildren from certain death. Apparently, she ‘heard’ something inside the engine of the bus, climbed onboard, evacuated the driver and the children about thirty seconds or so before the engine caught fire and the bus filled with smoke. Later, it was discovered that the emergency exit at the rear had been faulty. If they hadn’t gotten off the bus before the fire

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started, the driver and all of the children would have died from suffocation.” Dyson nodded. Bethany hearing a noise seemed a plausible enough explanation to humans who didn’t believe in paranormal skills such as the gift of precognition, but it would have attracted attention from paranormals. It wouldn’t have taken much for the pixie assassin to learn Bethany was born on the same day the Oracle died. “If Bethany could see into the future,” Dyson asked, deliberately omitting the fact that thanks to her journal he already knew she could, “why didn’t she see the assassination coming?” “I think she did,” Jason said, rubbing the bridge of his nose again. “I think she knew she was going to die, but that she also knew it would pass her power on to the others. I think she saw the future and knew there was a reason for the Oracle’s receptacles to need that power.” He closed his eyes, tilted his head back against the headrest, and shook his head slowly. “I think she saw something coming and knew that Kali, Ava, Hannah, Amber, Kristen, and Lilly were the only ones who would be able to stop it.” “Maybe,” Dyson said, wondering if he should correct him about Kristen. If Jason knew Kristen had no special powers, would the pixies and warlocks stop targeting the woman Dyson loved? He almost opened his mouth to say something, but then realized it was really just a false hope. Any angry mob willing to kill because of rumor and unsubstantiated fear wouldn’t worry about the collateral damage of an innocent woman. Even if they knew Kristen wasn’t involved, it was unlikely to save her. **** Dex DeKardoin, King of the Pixies and grieving husband, lay awake, staring at the ceiling. Everything about the last couple of days seemed surreal. Never in his long lifetime would he have thought things would go like this. He could still see the malicious glee on

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Cantor Robinson’s face as the head of the Pixie League of Assassins had forced him into signing an assassination order against his own wife. He would never have believed Emmallina’s treachery if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes. The fact that the woman had gone to his enemies for protection simply proved she’d been playing him all along. But it didn’t make any sense. They’d been together for three hundred years. Surely she’d not been plotting against him that entire time. He rolled over, punched his pillow, and closed his eyes tiredly. “Dex,” she said as she stepped out of the nothingness of his sleep and into a single spotlight in his dream. “Why did you do it?” he asked wearily. He knew this was just a dream, but he had to know, he had to ask the question, even if the answer only came from his subconscious mind. “I didn’t betray you, Dex.” He knew his dream wife was only telling him what he wanted to hear, but he was desperate to hold her in his arms and pretend that everything was okay. But he’d been a king long enough to know that even in his dreams he had to be strong. Any sign of weakness would bring his kingdom to its knees. He couldn’t afford even the momentary relief of make-believe. “The evidence is very clear. You left the palace exactly as he said you would. You contacted PUP Squad Alpha for help as if you’d known them all along. You cannot hide your betrayal behind pretty lies this time.” “Who said I would leave the palace that night?” “Cantor Robinson,” he said angrily. “He told me you went back and spoke to the fire demon. Our daughter is dead. You should have trusted me on that. Even if your actions were innocent that night, Cantor had already amassed enough evidence to have you hanged.” Dex flinched even as he said the word. Hanging wouldn’t kill a pixie. It was a horrible and torturous punishment that could literally go on for years. Eventually, the pixie would starve, the body would

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desiccate, and only once it was completely reduced to dust could the pixie re-form and recover. It was usually reserved for the most heinous of crimes and even then the pixie was often pardoned long before they starved. The dream image of his wife shuddered as if she saw the thoughts playing in his mind. “What evidence?” she asked in a tone so unlike her usual calm demeanor that he began to wonder if his memory was faulty. “The PLA have been tracking you for some time now. They claim it was for your protection, but when you started acting suspiciously, they began keeping a file. How long did you think you could wander the globe making contact with our enemies before someone noticed?” “What enemies? Dex, you’re not making any sense. I’ve never been in contact with our enemies. You told me yourself that the pixies had no enemies. We have peace treaties with every race on the planet.” “Except humans!” he yelled angrily. A part of him knew that this wasn’t real, that he was only dreaming his wife’s denials, but he wanted answers and the frustration boiled over. “You’ve traveled the world, slipping from one human city to another, watching, observing, interfering. You’re the reason these human Oracles exist in the first place. Cantor’s evidence proves it!” Instead of remaining calm and discussing the situation like his wife would have in real life, the dream image of her exploded in temper. “I am not! I travel the world to observe. I have never interfered. The Oracle’s receptacles exist because the PLA assassinated a fire demon named Prianna twenty-seven years ago. But it wasn’t an ordinary hit. It was bloody and drawn out and infinitely painful.” Emmallina’s voice cracked with emotion. “What our daughter did to her was unspeakable.” His wife wrapped her arms around her middle, hugging herself in a gesture he’d never seen from the woman before. She suddenly seemed more vulnerable than he’d ever known her to

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be. He reached for her, dragging her into his embrace as she cried out her heartache. He held her close as she slowly regained her composure. “Dex,” she said in a hoarse voice, “someone was controlling Conni. We think a witch named Victoria altered her DNA to give the same effect as a fireweed addiction. Conni told us that Victoria is the Oracle for pixies and demons, so the only pixie she couldn’t trace was me.” “Why you?” Dex asked, feeling totally bewildered. He knew he was still dreaming, but it felt too real to be his imagination. “Because I’m the Oracle for vampires and humans. The only person an Oracle can’t sense is another Oracle. She couldn’t track me on her own, so she sent the PLA to do it for her.” “You’re an Oracle? Why did you never tell me?” He closed his eyes and tried to convince himself this was just a dream, only a dream. “Because Oracles collect history and knowledge. There are many willing to kill to have access to that. It is essential that we work in secret. The information I collect is irrelevant to the pixie kingdom so it was not necessary for you to know.” “You’ve been lying to me for centuries?” “No, Dex, I’ve been protecting you.”

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Chapter Eleven “He thinks he’s on an assignment that you gave him.” Dyson wanted to head straight home, gather Kristen in his arms, and hold her tight, but first he had to explain to his commanding officer what he’d learned from his meeting with Jason. “I gave him?” Benjamin asked, looking concerned. “How did he come by these orders?” “One of the Judiciaries, a witch named Tory, contacted him directly. Told him you needed him to go deep undercover—that’s what his family emergency was all about. Ben, he’s not betraying us. He truly believes that you know what he’s doing.” “Is it possible you’re coming to these conclusions because you don’t want to see the truth?” Benjamin asked quietly. It was a possibility Dyson had wondered himself as he’d headed back to Sugarvale, but unless Jason had spent the past fifty years setting up his cover story so that he could betray them now, Dyson had to believe Jason was being genuine. “How did he explain the bounce tunnel directly into the PLA? He even used his magic to try and push Wilson and Amber through it.” “He claims that Tory was at the PLA headquarters that day and was ready to transport Amber out of there the moment she and Wilson arrived. It was her way to convince the warlocks’ council that Jason really had defected. Even though he didn’t get Amber, it gave Jason credibility in the council’s eyes.” “So what is he doing now?” “Basically watching, observing, reporting back to Tory when he can. I let him believe that his reports are making it to you.” Dyson

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rubbed the back of his neck, hoping he didn’t sound like a fool for trusting Jason’s story. “Ben, I truly believe he is innocent in all of this. He even tried to contact Cassandra once. He thought as our PUP squad supervisor she would know where he was and why, but instead she completely freaked out on him. He’s not sure why Cass is being left out of the loop, but Jason said it seemed obvious that she believed him to be a traitor.” “Does he know what the warlocks are planning?” “He confirmed what we suspected. They’re gathering an even bigger arsenal. Some are even talking about nukes. Jason is trying to convince them that such devastating human weapons would draw attention from the human governments. Fortunately, the only thing warlocks and witches fear more than the Oracle’s receptacles is exposure to humans. They honestly believe that humans would hunt them down and destroy them all, so there are at least a few voices trying to dissuade them from that course of action.” “Rather ironic that they’re doing to a group of humans exactly what they fear humans would do to them.” “Very little of it seems rational. Jason reckons someone is feeding their fears. A couple of the senior council members—previously peaceful men—are now calling for blood.” “You think they’ve been infected by fireweed as well?” Benjamin asked. He was looking more and more disturbed as the conversation went on. Dyson knew exactly how he felt. Until recently, their missions had been rather straightforward—protect the paranormal communities from human discovery. The sort of conspiracy they were now dealing with was nearly beyond comprehension. “It’s possible fireweed is a part of it. They wouldn’t even need to write it into a warlock’s DNA the way they did with the pixies. A small capsule inserted under the skin could affect a warlock for weeks, maybe months.” Benjamin looked as tired as Dyson felt. “I don’t think things could get any more complicated.”

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As if the universe was out to prove him wrong, the phone at his elbow started ringing. Considering it was the middle of the night, it didn’t bode well. “It’s Cassandra,” he said as he read the caller ID. **** “Hang up the phone,” Dex said as he stepped closer to the administrative supervisor for PUP Squad Alpha. Cassandra had grabbed for the phone the moment he entered her office, but he didn’t give her a chance to call for help. She paled considerably but did as she was told. He heard the vampire’s voice answer at the other end just before she cut the connection. “W–What do you want?” “I want answers,” Dex said angrily as he stalked toward her. “I want to know where my wife is!” “I don’t know where your wife is,” Cassandra said, her eyes darting around the room as if she could find someone to help her. The building was completely deserted. He knew that for a fact. “PUP Squad Alpha is protecting her.” Cassandra shook her head. “No, they’re not. I’d know if they were protecting the pixie queen. They’re…they’re required to report all of their movements to me.” Dex watched the witch closely, but all he saw was a frightened woman. She didn’t try to use magic to make him leave. Hell, she could almost pass as human. “But they haven’t been doing that, have they, Cassandra? In fact, even the CO of Alpha Squad doesn’t know where half of his team is.” “Th–that was n–necessary, but it’s fixed now. Tory said it didn’t matter. That it was fixed now so we wouldn’t need to bring Benjamin up on charges.” Dex watched the woman shake like a leaf in a hurricane. It didn’t make any sense. The supervisors of PUP squads were usually retired

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operatives, or at the very least ball-breaking, overconfident assholes. Cassandra didn’t seem to have the skills, confidence, or abilities required to do this job at all. He decided to try and take a different approach. He might actually get more information from her if he tried to help her figure out what was going on. **** Dyson waited for Benjamin to answer the phone, but as he said hello, the line disconnected. He glanced at his watch. “It’s two in the morning, should we be worried?” Benjamin stared at the phone as if willing it to ring again. “To be honest, I’m not sure. Cassandra doesn’t seem to be coping with the job very well. She’s been ringing me at all hours. Maybe she noticed the time and decided to call me at a more appropriate hour.” “Maybe,” Dyson agreed with a grimace. He’d been pleased for Cassandra when he’d heard about her promotion, but rather surprised by the news. They’d dated for a little while a long time ago, so he didn’t claim to know her all that well, but she’d never struck him as the type to want to be in charge. Benjamin shrugged his shoulders and gave Dyson a forced half smile. “I guess she’ll call back if she decides it’s urgent.” **** “Cassandra,” Dex said, dropping the aggression and aiming for sympathetic, “I’m just trying to find out what happened to my wife. She went to PUP Squad Alpha for help and hasn’t been seen or heard from since. I know your job isn’t easy, but I really need your help.” “I can…um…try,” Cassandra said with a sympathetic smile. The woman really was a soft touch. She fiddled with her pen for a moment

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before looking at him. “A lot of what I do is…classified, but I’ll try to help you find your wife.” They began with Cassandra skimming through report after report. At first she tried to hide what she was reading from him, but eventually, she relaxed and let him help her. It seemed that with Dex acting like a friend, Cassandra forgot the meaning of the word “classified.” If that didn’t prove she was out of her depth, he didn’t know what would. “How long have you been a supervisor here?” He already knew the answer, but he wanted to see how much she was willing to tell him. “Just over three months,” she said with a tired smile. “Trust me when I say it’s been a steep learning curve.” “A steep learning curve? How come? Didn’t you want the job?” “Hell, no,” she said on a deep exhalation of breath. “I was more than happy working in the secretarial pool. I’m not even sure why they promoted me.” Dex was beginning to suspect exactly why Cassandra had been promoted. She was underqualified, lacked the self-confidence and decision-making skills necessary to do her job properly, and was very easily manipulated. Whoever had moved her into this position had wanted someone they could control. “What happened to the last supervisor?” She shuddered before answering. “Turns out he was a serial killer and an imposter. Fortunately, he sent an anonymous e-mail to PUP Squad Alpha tipping them off. It seemed he wanted to get caught after all.” Or somebody wanted him caught so they could move this sweet, but clueless witch into the supervisor’s position. “That must have made it difficult to step into his position,” Dex said with a sympathetic smile. “Have you had any help adjusting to your new duties?”

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“Oh, yes,” she said with a bright smile. “Tory has been amazing. She’s been so busy trying to protect the Oracle’s receptacles, yet she’s always made time to help me out.” Oracle’s receptacles? That was the same description Emmallina had used in his earlier dream. He couldn’t remember hearing the expression anywhere before. His wife had also mentioned a witch named Victoria. But that had just been a dream, hadn’t it? “Tory’s one of the Judiciaries, isn’t she?” “Yes,” Cassandra said as she finally looked away from the computer screen. “She’s been working tirelessly to find the Oracle’s receptacles. She’s grieved the death of each and every one of them. I’m so glad I was able to tell her that they weren’t—” Cassandra cut off her words as if she just realized how much information she was spilling to a man who’d entered her office with the intention of torturing the information from her if necessary. Fortunately, Dex was starting to see the big picture, and this poor excuse for a supervisor had probably just outlived her usefulness. “Call Benjamin. Tell him to meet us at these coordinates.” He scribbled the longitude and latitude on a piece of paper and shoved it into her hand. “Do it now!” **** Dyson sighed as the phone interrupted their conversation yet again. Benjamin let it ring two extra times, but this time Cassandra didn’t change her mind. “Good morning, Cassandra,” he said, apparently hoping that she would get the hint that it was past midnight. Dyson was able to hear the conversation clearly even though Benjamin didn’t bother to put the call on loudspeaker. “Benjamin, oh thank the goddess. I need help. There’s a man here. He says we have to meet you at these coordinates.” She rattled off the numbers quickly,

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repeating them three times and asking him to read them back as if he were some junior office clerk. “Who is the man?” Benjamin asked urgently. “Should I tell them who you are?” she asked in a whispered voice that came through loud and clear to the fire demon and vampire listening on this end. A moment later, a voice Benjamin apparently recognized came on the line. “I’m afraid your administrative supervisor has found herself in the middle of some trouble. I suggest you meet us at the coordinates she gave you as quickly as you can. We have much to discuss.” “Okay,” Benjamin said in a tone of voice that suggested he was only doing what the man asked because it suited him to do so. “But if you hurt her, Dex, I will find a way to hurt you back. Are we clear on that?” “Crystal,” the man said sarcastically, “but unfortunately, I’m not the one you should be worrying about. You have three minutes.” Three minutes didn’t give them enough time. Even driving at reckless speeds they wouldn’t reach the edge of the magical wards that inhibited slip travel. The only way to move inside the wards was via blink travel. Benjamin closed the line and then dialed another number. “Jed,” he said as soon as the warlock answered, “we need an urgent lift to the edge of town. I’m sorry to ask, but can you wake Lilly, please?” Jed grumbled a few words, but less than twenty seconds later he, Devlin, and Lilly appeared in Benjamin’s office. “Thanks, Lilly,” Dyson said, smiling at the two men who’d obviously insisted on coming with her. They made it to the coordinates Cassandra had given them with almost half a minute to spare. Thankfully, Dex and Cassandra stepped out from behind a tree a moment later. Cassandra didn’t seem to be harmed in any way, but she was pale enough to glow in the dark. “What happened?” Dyson asked before his boss could say a word.

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“I’m not sure,” Cassandra said with a shake of her head, “but Dex thinks I’m in danger from Tory. I’m not sure that Tory is behind it all, but he insisted on bringing me to you.” The pixie king was very obviously annoyed at the conversation going on around him, but he managed to keep his mouth closed long enough for Cassandra to tell Benjamin everything that had happened in her office tonight. Dyson found himself agreeing with the pixie king’s hypothesis. The woman was in serious danger, especially if whoever had maneuvered her into the promotion realized that she was no longer quite so clueless. “I want to speak to my wife,” Dex said, cutting off anything else Cassandra was going to say. “Afraid I can’t help you with that,” Benjamin said with a sneer. “Last I heard, you’d signed an assassination order against her. Maybe the PLA can tell you if they accomplished their mission, yet.” “I know you know where she is. She came to you for help. You wouldn’t have turned her away.” Benjamin shrugged. “You’re right, if she’d made it to us, we would have helped, but since she didn’t, you’ll just have to go look for her elsewhere.” “It’s okay, Benjamin,” Emmallina said, stepping from her slip path and into the middle of the conversation. “I need to speak to my husband.” “Are you certain?” Benjamin asked, apparently not as surprised by the woman’s presence as Dyson felt. Emmallina gave him an unemotional nod and stepped closer to her husband. **** “Why are you looking for me?” Emmallina asked as she wondered if she was doing the right thing. She’d just confirmed that PUP Squad Alpha was helping her. If she was wrong about her

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husband’s intentions, she’d probably just brought the attention of one more person likely to try and kill the people protecting her. “Because I need answers. Why did you betray me?” “I already explained that in your dream, Dex.” Her husband flinched at her words but didn’t deny knowing what she was talking about. “Do you think the Victoria who poisoned our daughter and the Judiciary who is a threat to Cassandra are the same person?” “It’s a very real possibility. I believe that Tory influenced the situation to get someone she could manipulate into an administrative position.” Emmallina glanced over at the witch currently sobbing in Dyson’s arms and couldn’t disagree. Cassandra didn’t seem capable of doing the job she’d been given. “Dex, I need you to look into the evidence against me. Someone set me up. The question is why? Were they trying to destabilize the pixie kingdom, or am I caught up in the conspiracy to kill the Oracle’s receptacles?” “Why did you leave that night? You did exactly what Cantor said you would do. If you’re innocent, how was he able to predict what you would do?” Emmallina shook her head sadly. She knew in her heart that her husband still loved her, but as the king his first loyalty would always be to his people. It was what made him such a good leader. “Cantor knows how much I worry for my children. If he’d had someone watching me, he would have known I would do anything to help Conni.” She stepped forward, placed her hand against her husband’s cheek, and gave him a sad smile. “Conni is alive, but she’s very sick. We believe Victoria used a spell to insert the effects of fireweed into her DNA. It would never have shown up if she hadn’t been reduced to miniature size.” “Miniature?” Dex asked angrily. “Who did that to her?” “Someone who was protecting an innocent human,” Emmallina said quietly. Ronan had been protecting the woman he loved from a crazed assassin, so Emmallina felt no anger toward him for the

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outcome. She blamed only one person—whoever had drugged her daughter in the first place. “Dex, she’s dying. In her miniature form she can’t cope with the fireweed withdrawal. We’ve found a possible cure, but I need your help.” “What do you need?” he asked without hesitation. Yes, he would always put the welfare of pixie kingdom first, but Emmallina knew he would find a way to help his family at the same time. “I need to gather every female relative willing to help.” **** Dyson watched the pixie king and queen talking, but unfortunately couldn’t hear the conversation over the wailing woman in his arms. Cassandra might have been an old girlfriend, but her over-the-top response to the situation was grating on his nerves. It didn’t help that she was wearing a boatload of perfume sickly sweet enough to make him want to gag. He tried to ease her away from his chest. Maybe if he could get her literally standing on her own two feet, she might manage to do it emotionally as well. But despite his superior strength, she clung tighter, crying louder as he tried to move her away without bruising her. Benjamin gave him a sympathetic look but didn’t offer to take over. “Take her back to headquarters,” Benjamin said as they watched the king and queen of pixies hug each other and then continue talking. “I’ll wait for Emmallina and join you there shortly.” Dyson really wanted to refuse his commanding officer’s order— from memory Cassandra didn’t travel well via slip—but he really didn’t have any other choice. It wasn’t until he reached the outskirts of Sugarvale, with Cassandra moaning and retching thanks to her extreme travel sickness, that he realized he wouldn’t be able to take Cassandra through the Oracle’s receptacles’ barrier until one, or

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maybe all, of them allowed for it. He grabbed his cell phone, dialed West’s number, and hoped the bear-shifter was in a good mood. Unfortunately, West wasn’t just in a good mood, he also thought Dyson’s predicament quite hilarious. At least he did until Hannah invited Cassandra to stay with them. Relieved to be able to hand the woman over to somebody else, Dyson cleaned up as best he could, and then waited at headquarters for Benjamin and Emmallina’s return. As one hour rolled into two, he started to worry that Benjamin had made a tactical error in sending him away. When Lilly blinked Devlin, Benjamin, Emmallina, and at least eight other pixies into the room, Dyson wasn’t certain whether to laugh or reach for a weapon. Ever the soldier, he did the latter, but Benjamin shook his head and smiled as he introduced Emmallina’s three other daughters, her mother, mother-in-law, and three sisters. “They’re here to try and save Connistanterina,” Benjamin said by way of explanation. He turned to the pixie queen. “If you need anything…” “I will call you,” Emmallina said, looking hopeful for the first time since Dyson had met the woman. “Do you think Eric would mind being dragged from his bed in the middle of the night? I’d really like to get started straightaway.” “Eric won’t mind. I’ll call him and let him know what’s happening.” “Thank you, Benjamin,” she said with an emotional croak in her voice. “Whatever happens, I want you and the rest of PUP Squad Alpha to know that you will always have my respect, and my gratitude.” Benjamin nodded in understanding, and then the group of pixies followed Emmallina out the door. “Thanks, Lilly,” Benjamin said a moment before Devlin wrapped his arms around her, and they blinked out of the room. He turned to Dyson. “Where’s Cassandra?” “Fortunately, Hannah offered her a place to stay.”

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Benjamin smiled briefly. If the situation wasn’t so damn serious, it would almost be funny. It was impossible to remember what had attracted Dyson to Cassandra in the first place, but he remembered very clearly why they’d broken up several decades ago. Around him, the woman had no emotional fortitude. In the brief time they’d been together, Cassandra had taken to crying whenever she had a situation she couldn’t handle. For months, Dyson had stepped in and taken over, dealing with anything and everything that came Cassandra’s way. In the end, he’d left her in the hopes that she’d learn to behave like an adult, rather than the clinging child she’d acted. Despite nearly being as old as Dyson, their relationship hadn’t even progressed in a physical way because he’d ended up taking on the role of big brother rather than partner and lover. In fact, their history together could barely be considered a relationship at all. When she’d been promoted, he’d actually thought she’d found her backbone and grown into a confident woman. Judging by the way things had worked out, that hadn’t been the case at all. “Go home to your family,” Benjamin said in a tone that made it clear that wasn’t a suggestion. Dyson nodded and turned to the door. “Oh and, Dyson, nice work today.” Dyson nodded again. It wasn’t often that Benjamin offered praise. They were all well-trained, experienced soldiers who knew their own worth, but occasionally, it was good to get an acknowledgement of a job well done. Considering the emotional toll the night had taken on him, Dyson was grateful for Benjamin’s brief words. He let himself in the front door of his, Kristen’s, and Angus’s home and breathed in the unique scent of his woman. Dyson wasn’t the least bit surprised to find Angus lying wide awake with Kristen asleep in his arms. “Welcome home,” Angus whispered with a grin. But his smile faltered when the smell of Cassandra’s perfume caught his attention. “Please tell me you weren’t required to go that far undercover.”

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His words were spoken with a half smile, but Dyson could sense the hostility behind them. He had no intentions of cheating on Kristen—not ever—not even as part of an assignment. “No,” he said, shaking his head, grateful for Angus’s willingness to at least let him explain. “Cassandra Lipton ran into some trouble. It seems she held herself together long enough to find me and dissolve into tears.” “I suggest you go have a shower before you wake up Kristen,” Angus whispered quietly. “Too late,” their woman said sleepily. “But Angus is right about the shower. That perfume really doesn’t suit you.” “Hi, sweetheart,” Dyson said without stepping closer. “I promise you, it’s not what it seems.” Kristen woke up fully, her eyes zeroing in on his even in the dimly lit room. “Dyson,” she said as she climbed out of bed and stepped into his arms. She hugged him hard for a moment before leaning back to look at his face. “I know that your job occasionally involves rescuing damsels in distress, and I know that both you and Angus will do what you need to get the job done. But I also trust you to know where that line is drawn. I know you love me and that you won’t hurt me like that.” Dyson held his woman close and marveled at her amazing heart. This was why he’d fallen in love with her. She was his perfect match and he vowed to never do anything that would hurt her. He cuddled her for a moment longer, content to be home after such a tumultuous assignment. When she started to laugh softly, he tilted backward to try and see her face. “I’m sorry, but that perfume really is awful. Do you think if I stepped into the shower, you might follow me?” He grinned as his love for this woman grew exponentially. “Always,” he whispered. “Always.” ****

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Dex DeKardoin returned to his palace chambers and wondered if the PLA were following his movements, too. It seemed unlikely, but it probably wasn’t worth taking any chances. He needed to act quickly and decisively. He needed to find the people who’d set his wife up, and then he needed to shut them down. He could feel the wards surrounding the PLA building, so he slipped to Cantor Robinson’s home and decided to do a little investigative work of his own. “Get up,” he growled menacingly. Cantor roused slightly— certainly not the reaction Dex had expected from a trained assassin— and cracked his eyes open just a bit. “What do you want?” he asked tiredly. “I want to know what’s going on.” It seemed even more urgent now than it did just a few minutes ago. The man who ran the PLA should have been more alert, even this time of the night. He hadn’t even engaged the wards on his own home before he’d fallen asleep. “Can you come back tomorrow?” the man asked as he rolled onto his stomach and seemed to go back to sleep. Bewildered by Cantor’s complete lack of self-protective instincts, Dex took a step back and reassessed the situation. Emmallina had told him that all of the assassins who’d been captured and miniaturized were suffering from the withdrawal symptoms of fireweed. A fullsized pixie wouldn’t suffer the same symptoms, but they would show other signs of fireweed addiction—one of which was extremes in mood. When a pixie was taking fireweed, they were bursting with energy during the day, but slept like the dead at night, and their moods were greatly enhanced—happy was ecstatic and sad was suicidal. Considering the fact that Cantor had barely been able to contain his glee when Dex had signed the assassination order against his own wife, Dex was fairly certain the man was on the stuff. Whether it was voluntarily or not remained to be seen.

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Dex dragged the man from his bed, dumping him unceremoniously on the ground. “Get up!” he yelled, tapping his foot in annoyance. The man moved angrily, but his energy level barely let him move into a sitting position. “What is her name?” “Vict—” Cantor started to say, but cut himself off quickly. “Is she the one who ordered that my wife be followed?’ The man shrugged. “Not really,” he mumbled sleepily. “It was my order.” He lifted a hand to rub at his eyes the way a sleepy young child would do. “But she was right to suggest it. The queen is a traitor to her people. She deserves to die.” It took all of Dex’s control not to kick the man, but beating on someone clearly incapable of defending himself wasn’t really Dex’s style. “Where is Victoria now?” Dex asked. “Why would I know that? She comes and goes as she pleases. It’s not like we’re married.” “You’re sleeping with her?” Dex asked, unable to keep the surprise from his voice. He heard the gun discharge and felt the demon shot hit him between the shoulder blades almost at the same time. The white-hot burn spread outward rapidly, heat scorching his insides as he tried not to lose consciousness. “Yes, he’s sleeping with me,” a female voice said from behind Dex. “And you, little king, have outlived your usefulness.” He managed to get a look at the woman’s face as his knees gave out. He had no doubt that Victoria would know how to kill a pixie, but he had to try and escape. He fell through a slip path, his hope fading as his body started to collapse into ashes and the heat reached his brain. If the witch was able to follow his slip path, he knew these were his last moments.

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Chapter Twelve Angus stood back from the table in the conference room and did a quick head count. All five Oracle’s receptacles were here, each with both of their husbands. Add that to the three werewolves, three vampires, and the teenage dragon-shifter sitting in the corner wearing headphones, and he literally stood in a room with twenty-three of the twenty-five current residents of Sugarvale. The only two people missing were Kristen and Dyson. They were still lying in bed. Angus had no doubt Dyson was awake at this very moment, guarding their woman, but after the situation report Benjamin had just given them, Angus knew the man needed sleep. He wanted this meeting to be over quickly. “You think Victoria and Tory are the same person?” Kali asked even as she shook her head. “Somehow, that just doesn’t feel right.” “It’s the only explanation that fits,” Ava said, tilting her head the way she and the other Oracle’s receptacles seemed to do when they were trying to interpret things that they “knew.” “But Kali’s right,” Lilly said, looking confused. “They are the same person, but they’re not. I’m not sure how to explain it.” “Tory is the only one who could manipulate the Ruling Body into promoting Cassandra. Anyone who’s met Cassandra would know she’s not capable of doing the job,” West said. “I spoke to the witch for quite a while before I came here. She admitted that many of her ‘orders’ had been suggestions from Tory. The problem is that even Tory’s orders contradicted one another.”

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“So what are we dealing with?” Ronan asked the entire group. He turned to Eric. “Can witches develop a split personality disorder the way some humans do?” “I’ve never heard of it,” Eric said on his usual considered tone, “but it’s not necessarily out of the realms of possibility. Some of the magic witches and warlocks use taps into the darkest parts of their psyche, but it’s more likely that they would go insane, maybe even homicidal, rather than develop the complexity of a split personality disorder.” Darian and Jed, the two warlocks in the room, nodded their agreement. Eric was about to say something else, but he was interrupted by Lilly. “Shit!” she exclaimed. “Drop the shield.” The other women nodded, and a moment later Lilly grabbed ahold of Devlin and Jed and blinked out of the room. “Where?” Benjamin began to ask the remaining Oracle’s receptacles, but the three people reappeared a moment later. This time with a pile of ashes at their feet. “Did you get them all?” Devlin asked as everybody moved back just a little. Considering how crowded the meeting room was, they didn’t go far. “Who is it?” Angus asked, recognizing the ashes of a pixie recently incinerated by a demon shot. “Dex DeKardoin,” Kali said. “I’ll go get Emmallina.” Kali blinked from the room alone, much to the annoyance of both of her husbands. Angus tried not to chuckle. At least with Kristen being completely human, he would never have to worry about her putting herself at risk. She was his and Dyson’s to protect, and protect her they would. Dex was already well on his way to re-forming when Lilly and Emmallina blinked into the room. The pixie queen looked momentarily unsettled by the human version of slip travel, but quickly moved to her husband’s side.

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“Lil,” Jed said very quietly. “It’s not that I disagree with saving the pixie king, but is it really wise to keep bringing pixies inside the town limits? I’m starting to get a kind of Trojan-horse feeling.” “It’s okay,” Lilly replied just as quietly. “Dex and Emmallina are allies.” **** Dex wasn’t really prepared to re-form in the middle of a room full of people he’d once thought of as his enemies. It certainly didn’t help that he was naked. He accepted the coat someone handed him, and then tried to maintain his dignity as the waistband touched the floor and the sleeves swallowed his arms completely. He took a deep breath, smiling gratefully as Emmallina appeared in the room and ran into his embrace. Being royalty, they didn’t ordinarily show affection in public, but this wasn’t exactly an ordinary situation. “How did I get here?” he asked, trying to moderate his voice so that it showed only mild curiosity and not the freaked-out feeling behind it. “It doesn’t matter,” Benjamin said dismissively. It was obvious he would protect his operatives even from the people they rescued. “What matters is how the king of the pixies ended up a pile of dust in need of rescue.” He wanted to bristle at the suggestion that he’d needed rescuing, but since it was essentially the truth, he decided to not draw attention to it. “Victoria,” he said simply. It went against every instinctive behavior he’d learned over the centuries, but Dex knew he needed to start trusting someone. Emmallina trusted these people—being the Oracle for humans and vampires meant she was uniquely qualified to make that call—so he would, too. “I went to the home of the head of the PLA. Victoria arrived as I was interrogating the man who is clearly under the influence of fireweed. She fired off a demon shot before I had time to react.”

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“Did you see her face?” Benjamin asked. “I did,” Dex said with a nod. “It was very quick but enough to confirm that Tory and Victoria are the same person. I’ve dealt with the Judiciaries often enough to know what Tory looks like.” Emmallina shook her head quickly. “No more,” she said urgently. “Connistanterina said Victoria was the Oracle for pixies and demons. She knows everything you say and do, where you go, who you talk to.” Dex went to open his mouth, but Emmallina shook her head again. “Jennifer,” Emmallina said, suddenly sounding very casual. “Is there a place where my husband and I can rest? Regenerating from incineration can be very tiring.” “Of course,” Jennifer said as she led them from the meeting room and into what seemed to be a type of day-sleeping area one might find in a busy human hospital or fire station. She indicated for them to take any bed they wanted, and then turned to leave. “I hope you have pleasant dreams.” As the young werewolf closed the door, Dex finally understood what Emmallina was planning. With a sigh of relief, he climbed onto the bed, gathered his wife close, and tried to go to sleep quickly. **** “Jason,” Angus said quickly as the implications of Emmallina’s words sank in. The Oracle for pixies and demons would know all about the conversation Dyson had shared with Jason. Victoria had been brazen enough to try and kill the king of the pixies. She wouldn’t think twice about murdering a PUP squad operative who thought he was following orders. Jason trusted the woman. There was no way he would see a hit coming. Benjamin shook his head slightly, but the look he gave Angus suggested that there was something neither he nor Dyson knew. Hopefully, that meant Jason was safe. From everything Dyson had

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told him, the young warlock was as much a victim of Victoria’s machinations as everyone else. “Oh, crap. The fucking idiots went and did it.” Kali’s exclamation had all eyes turning to her. “Nukes?” Ronan asked his wife urgently. “Yes,” Ava confirmed. “Why would they think they need two?” “We need to evacuate the town,” Angus said, his mind already turning to think over the safest locations to hide Kristen. “No,” Hannah said in her usual calm voice. “This ends here.” “How?” several of the men asked at once. “First we need to disable those nukes and then we need to reduce the size of the shield. Angus, can you bring Dyson and Kristen into this building, please?” Angus was half out the door before Kali finished speaking. He ran to their home, his heart pounding as fear pulsed through his veins. He’d never really minded the possibility that he could die in the line of duty, but to lose Kristen in a war that she had nothing to do with was completely unthinkable. He didn’t slow down as he approached the front door, practically ramming it with his shoulder when he didn’t turn the handle quickly enough. Dyson was there in an instant, Kristen held tightly behind him. “We need to go,” Angus said quickly as Dyson lifted Kristen in his arms and followed without question. He led them into the meeting room, unwilling to leave Kristen even only a room away. She’d avoided the other women living in Sugarvale, but she was about to get to meet them whether she wanted to or not. Kali, Ava, Hannah, Amber, and Lilly all turned in their direction and smiled at Kristen. Clearly embarrassed, Kristen gave them all a half wave and asked Dyson to put her down. But the moment he placed her on her feet, her knees gave out, and he lifted her back into his arms. The room suddenly filled with angry curses, and it took a moment to realize that all of the Oracle’s receptacles had lost consciousness the same time as Kristen had.

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Chapter Thirteen Dex held his wife close in both his dream and in real life. After the heartache of thinking he’d lost her, it felt miraculous to be this content. Even with everything else going on, the one unassailable truth was that he loved his wife and she loved him. Whatever evidence the PLA had supposedly amassed against her didn’t mean a damn thing in the light of that revelation. He held her for what felt like hours in the dreamscape but was probably less than a few minutes in real life. At first he put it down to the virtual world they inhabited, but it bothered him enough that he finally had to ask. “Are you shorter inside your dreams?” “Actually,” Emmallina said with a nervous sort of laugh, “I’m shorter in real life now as well.” “How? Why?” “Remember the cure I told you about for Conni? It worked, but every female in your immediate family is now a few inches shorter.” “But Conni is okay?” “She will be,” Emmallina said, her determination to make it so very clear in her voice. “Dr. Eric is working with the warlocks from PUP Squad Alpha to find a way to remove the fireweed effect from her DNA permanently, but for the moment, she is out of danger of dying. Now that she is no longer miniature in size, she is not suffering withdrawals from the fireweed.” “But she’s essentially back on the drug now?” “Unfortunately, yes, but hopefully not for long. Benjamin provided handcuffs that will stop her from traveling via her own slip

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path. Your mother is sitting with her. If there is an emergency, she will slip back to the palace and take care of her until we join her.” “How did my mother take it? She couldn’t really afford to get any shorter. She’s already the shortest person I know.” Dex knew his mother’s generous heart would have overruled any concern over her own welfare, but it wasn’t something he wanted any of the women in his life going through again. “Dex,” Emmallina said with tears in her eyes, “they were all amazing. Not one of them hesitated to say yes. Even knowing that they would need to be reduced to ashes to enable the transfer of organic material, not one of them complained.” The tears rolled down her face freely as she gave him a watery smile. “We are truly blessed to have such an amazing family.” “That we are,” Dex said, vowing to never lose sight of that truth ever again. **** “Is the shield down?” Benjamin asked urgently as he checked the panels that controlled the magical wards. Angus knew the Oracle’s receptacles’ shield didn’t show up on what was essentially the electronic version of a magical enchantment, but if they couldn’t tell, they needed to assume it was down. “Nathan, give me three seconds and then shut off the wards. Everyone be prepared to travel by whatever means possible the moment they’re down.” Dyson moved closer to Jennifer, Thomas, and Adam in a clear indication that he would take them through his slip path as well. Darian and Brody also moved closer to the people in the room unable to travel unaided via slip path, bounce tunnel, or vortex jump. Benjamin, Samuel, and their wife, Skye, moved from the room at vampiric speed, hopefully going to warn Cassandra, Dex, Emmallina, and the rest of the pixies in the building of the imminent threat.

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Nathan counted to three out loud and then hit the release code to switch off the protection wards. The moment they were down a witch’s bounce tunnel opened into the room. “Go!” Angus yelled at Dyson and the rest of the people in the room. Dyson nodded and immediately stepped through a slip path carrying their unconscious woman away from danger. Relieved to see them escape, Angus turned his attention back to the woman who’d stepped into the room. She watched as two bounce tunnels and a dragon vortex closed behind the others. “Well, that’s not exactly the welcome I was expecting.” “What do you want?” Angus asked aggressively. She seemed surprised by his anger, but took a deep breath and managed to remain polite in spite of his hostility. “I was hoping you could tell me where Cassandra is. She went missing from the Ruling Body’s headquarters sometime last night. There is evidence of a slip path into and out of her office, but since she doesn’t have that particular skill, we’re working on the theory that she’s been abducted.” Angus shook his head and tried to think clearly. The longer he could distract the woman, the more time Dyson and the others had of masking their travel signatures. “So who am I dealing with? Tory or Victoria?” he asked, trying to keep the anger out of his voice. “I don’t understand,” the witch said with a bewildered look on her face. “They’re both my name. I mean, most people know me as Tory, but my full name is Victoria.” She glanced around the empty room, the disarray proving that many people had left here in a hurry. “Forgive me—it’s been a long night—but I don’t understand your hostility. I’m trying to find the administrative supervisor for PUP Squad Alpha. I figured this would be the best place to start.” “We won’t let you hurt her.” “Hurt her?” the woman exclaimed in an affronted-sounding voice. “Why would you think I’d hurt the woman?”

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Angus shrugged. “Probably because you tried to kill the pixie king less than an hour ago.” “I what? I did nothing of the sort. I’ve been going through Cassandra’s office for the past several hours trying to figure out what happened to the woman.” “Can anybody prove that? Got any witnesses?” Tory rolled her eyes. “I have an entire office full of witnesses. Three of the Judiciaries are still in the building.” “And you’d have no objections to me verifying that?” he asked as Lilly’s words came back to replay in his mind. They are the same person, but they’re not. I’m not sure how to explain it. **** Dyson carried Kristen as he led Jennifer, Thomas, and Adam into the home Jed had once lived in. Despite their obvious nausea, Thomas and Adam immediately moved to check that the rooms were free of unexpected surprises. They gave the all clear, and then Adam stepped outside. “He’ll just do a quick perimeter sweep, but it seems to be undisturbed since the last time we were here,” Thomas said as he came back into the main area of the cabin and pressed a quick kiss to his mate’s lips. “What happened?” Jennifer asked as she grabbed a cloth from the cupboard, wet it down with cool water, and handed it to Dyson. “I don’t know,” he said, watching the woman in his arms. She seemed simply asleep. There was no sign of a fever or illness, nothing to indicate why she would be unconscious. If the Oracle’s receptacles hadn’t collapsed at the same time, he would just have thought Kristen had been overwhelmed with fear. It wasn’t every day that warlocks arrived with stolen nuclear weapons to try and kill a handful of humans. It certainly had him shaking with dread.

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He silently prayed that the warlocks hadn’t been stupid enough to fire the damn things. Such exposure could very well herald the beginning of the end for paranormals everywhere. Once humans knew of their existence, it would become a kill-or-be-killed scenario. It wasn’t a future Dyson wanted to contemplate. Kristen woke suddenly, jolting so hard in his arms that he nearly dropped her. She glanced around the unfamiliar room, her manner agitated, uptight, upset. She stared at him and said the last words he wanted to hear. “We have to go back.” **** Angus stepped through his slip path directly into Cassandra’s office. The three people inside turned hostile looks his way until Tory stepped through her bounce tunnel and introduced him. “Ah, the ice demon from Deeks Security,” one of the women said with an arrogant sniff. “Any idea what happened to the silly twit who used to sit at this desk?” Hell, he wanted to grab the arrogant fire demon and shake her. Obviously, she considered her species superior to all others. No wonder the Ruling Body struggled to make even the most simple of decisions. If they all had attitudes like that, it was a miracle anything had ever gotten done. “We believe she was abducted,” Angus said, using the line Tory had given him. “Have you been able to learn anything else?” “Only that she seems to have read through almost every report filed over the past two months. Her computer logs suggest she was searching for something, but we haven’t been able to determine what.”

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“The only thing we know so far is that the slip path belonged to a pixie. We have no idea where it went or who it belonged to, but the trail is most definitely cold.” Angus turned his attention to the fire demon female who seemed to dislike everybody. “When was Cassandra Lipton promoted?” He glanced around the room and tried to gauge everyone’s reactions. “Every member of PUP Squad Alpha took six months’ leave after Higgins’s death. There was no need for a supervisor until we were recalled three months early to track down the human women believed to be the Oracle’s receptacles.” “That sounds about right,” the fire demon said with a sarcastic laugh. “Put off hiring somebody to fill Higgins’s shoes long enough that we had to drag the little twit out of the secretarial pool.” “Gordanna, please,” Tory said tiredly. “I didn’t agree with her promotion either, but Cassandra is a sweet woman who was trying her best.” “But you were the one who pushed for her promotion,” the bearshifter said from his position at the computer. “I distinctly remember you talking her up just before we voted on her promotion. Since she ended up being the only applicant, the meeting was pretty much a waste of time.” “Cassandra applied for the position?” Angus asked, trying to hide his incredulity. From everything Dyson had told him, Cassandra was definitely not the type to reach for responsibility when someone else was willing to shoulder it for her. He turned to Tory, his suspicions from earlier returning in a rush. “Why would you recommend her?” “I wasn’t even here the day they voted. I assure you I did nothing of the sort,” Tory said, sounding genuinely shocked. Angus tried to ignore her tone. Anyone who could pull off the kind of double life it seemed Victoria had been living would be a very convincing actress. “Then why did the pixie king identify you as his attacker earlier today?”

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“I’ve already told you I wasn’t anywhere near the pixie king. I’ve never even stepped foot in his realm. I wouldn’t even know where to find him.” “But it would be easy for the Oracle of pixies and demons to find him any time she wanted.” “Oracle? What on Earth? You’re accusing me of attempted murder and being an Oracle?” “When was the pixie king attacked?” Gordanna asked with a malicious smile on her face. Clearly, the woman wasn’t interested in making friends. “Less than two hours ago,” Angus said, checking the time on the computer’s clock. Gordanna looked disappointed. The bear-shifter explained with a relieved-sounding noise. “Tory has been in this office with me and Gordanna for the past four hours searching for clues on Cassandra’s whereabouts. The only time she was out of my sight is less than twenty minutes ago when she left to visit PUP Squad Alpha headquarters.” Gordanna scowled at the news but begrudgingly nodded her agreement. “Okay,” Angus said, wondering what the hell to do now, “so we have a killer wearing your face and using your name, one who is most likely an Oracle. Any suggestions on who she might be or where we might find her?” **** Dyson started to shake his head in denial, but almost lost his balance when he realized they were back in the meeting room at their headquarters in Sugarvale. He glanced around and realized all five of the Oracle’s receptacles had returned as well. “How?” he started to ask as Kristen indicated for him to put her down.

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“I’ll explain later,” she said quietly. She looked disturbed, but it didn’t stop her from stepping into the circle the other five women had created. “Can we separate the parts of the bomb without it exploding?” “I don’t think so,” Kali said with a quick shake of her head. “We can hide it,” Ava said. “Will that be enough for now?” “It’ll have to be,” Hannah said grimly. “But it won’t stop them attacking. They’re still going to hit us with everything else they’ve got.” “Can we hide all of it?” “Probably,” Kali said, “but maybe we shouldn’t. As long as they think we’re alive, they’re going to keep coming after us.” “Okay, we hide the nukes and let the witches and warlocks destroy the town,” Hannah said decisively. “Jed, are you and Darian able to create the illusion of a destroyed town and our dead bodies?” “How many bodies?” “Everyone.” Kristen’s voice was quiet voice. “They need to believe they killed everyone or they’ll never stop.” “Shouldn’t be a problem,” Jed said in his usual cocky tone, but the confidence didn’t quite reach his eyes. “What will you lovely ladies be doing in the meantime?” “We have a hole to dig.”

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Chapter Fourteen Angus paced the small office, trying to figure out theories in his head. “Tory, do you have a sister? A cousin? Someone who looks like you in the family?” “I’m an only child,” she said with a shake of her head. “No female cousins that I know of.” “Maybe an enemy using a glamor to look like you?” “You don’t get to be a Judiciary without making a few enemies, but it seems a rather inefficient way to discredit me.” “It does seem rather personal,” the bear-shifter said in agreement, “but this woman has gone to a lot of trouble to make you look like a killer.” “Actually, that’s not entirely true. The pixie king had an incredible amount of luck.” Angus wasn’t about to explain to the Judiciaries the extent of the Oracle’s receptacles’ power while there was still a deadly argument over how to deal with them. He turned to the bear-shifter, instinctively knowing that of the three Judiciaries in the room, he was the most reasonable. “Without that luck, Dex DeKardoin would have simply disappeared. He recently signed an assassination order against his own wife, so his political enemies would have simply written him off as having gone insane and abandoned his kingdom. Nobody would have known that Tory’s doppelganger had killed him.” “So why kill him at all?” “I think he got too close to something. We already knew that Victoria was the one who poisoned the pixie assassins’ DNA with a change that resembles the effects of fireweed.”

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“Was that in a report?” Gordanna asked, sounding annoyed. Considering that Benjamin had been holding back a lot of information from Cassandra, Angus was walking a fine line. He had no idea how much the Judiciaries knew. “It was in last week’s report,” the bear-shifter said, growling irritably. “If you spent more time doing your job and less time gossiping, you might know what the hell is going on.” Gordanna seemed ready to launch a scathing reply, but Tory stepped in between them, essentially refocusing their attention. “So if she’s ‘drugging’ assassins, she must be using them for a purpose,” Tory offered, glaring at both of the Judiciaries who’d gone back to glaring at each other. “Do we know for how long?” “At least twenty-eight years,” Angus said, watching the three of them closely, hoping to see some spark of recognition, or inspiration, or something that would help them pinpoint why Victoria was doing this. “The pixie king’s youngest daughter, Connistanterina, was the worst affected. Judging by the details of the Oracle’s assassination twenty-seven years ago, she was probably the first to be drugged.” “All three of us were on the jury that approved that assassination. The Oracle had planned to pass her information to humans. We couldn’t let that happen,” Gordanna said with an arrogant sniff. “But none of us approved of the assassin’s method.” “None of this is getting us any closer to figuring out why I seem to have a doppelganger stalker!” Victoria said with a growl of frustration. “We believe this Victoria is the Oracle for pixies and demons. It is very likely that she knows everything that you are discussing with me.” “Then why are you here?” Gordanna asked with disdain dripping from every word. “Because everyone else is trying to protect the Oracle’s receptacles from the warlocks’ nuclear attack.”

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“Nuclear?” Gordanna exclaimed. “Their actions will expose paranormals to humans like never before in our history. A nuclear strike will put everything the Ruling Body stands for in jeopardy. We have to stop them.” “Easier said than done,” Angus said, annoyed as hell by the fire demon who seemed intent on stating the fucking obvious. “Gordanna, contact the others,” the bear-shifter said. “I think only a personal visit from the Judiciaries will stop them now.” Within moments, nine of the thirteen currently sitting Judiciaries entered the room. Tory nodded to Angus. “We’ll follow you.” Angus nodded and stepped through a slip path to the outskirts of Sugarvale where he’d last seen the warlock army gathering. The camp was filled with celebrating warlocks. The Judiciaries pushed through the cheering throng. His heart pounding with regret, Angus turned toward the middle of town and watched the building burning in the distance. At least the place had been empty. He glanced around, saw the Judiciaries berating the warlocks for their reckless behavior, and decided to try and save as much of the town as he could. He stepped through a slip path into the middle of the main street, intending to use his ice blast to put out the fires. The charred and twisted remains of every Oracle’s receptacle and their husbands horrified and confused him, but it was the woman’s body that he lifted into his arms that brought him to his knees. Kristen.

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Chapter Fifteen Dyson felt Kristen stiffen in his embrace. It was already creepy enough to be hiding in a building that had somehow been swallowed by the ground. The last thing he needed was the women who’d put it here getting more bad news. “Angus,” Kristen whispered brokenly. “Kristen, no,” Hannah said as she came over and reached for Kristen’s hand. “If you leave now, everything will be for naught. I know how hard it is to watch him suffer, but he will understand why.” Kristen nodded and turned her face into Dyson’s shoulder as she began to sob quietly. Dyson looked to Hannah for an explanation. “Angus is on the surface. He can see the projection Darian and Jed are creating. He thinks he’s holding Kristen’s lifeless body.” Dyson nodded, pulled Kristen closer, and honestly tried not cry with her. He couldn’t imagine a more horrific scenario than finding the lifeless body of the woman he loved. “We need to wait until the warlocks disperse before we can raise the building back to ground level,” Ava said as she also came over to comfort Kristen. Considering that Kristen had believed she didn’t belong here, it seemed she’d been easily accepted. “I don’t understand where Kristen’s powers came from,” Eric said as he stepped closer to his wife. “Until a few hours ago, she was an ordinary human.” “There was never anything ordinary about Kristen,” Hannah said in a voice that would have soothed even the most frightened child when she’d worked as a pediatric nurse. “She was the decoder,” Ava said with a soft smile.

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“The decoder?” Dyson asked in disbelief. “The ‘decoder’ as in the code breaker? The figurative key that opens the figurative lock?” “Pretty much,” Ava said with a smile. “With the knowledge Kristen gave us, we can all access our full powers. I know where to look for information in my head now. No more sifting through gigabytes of irrelevant data to find what we need. It’s like I finally have an index.” “Exactly,” Kali said softly as she glanced at Kristen still crying quietly in his embrace. “But I suppose none of that helps Angus at the moment.” “He’ll understand,” West said with the confidence of a man who’d been through something similar. “Although, this time Jed might get more than a punch in the jaw for his troubles. I’ve only been on the receiving end of one ice blast, but I can assure you it’s not a pleasant experience. You might want to get the hot water bottles lined up for him, Lilly.” It was obvious that West was joking, but it helped to calm Kristen just a little. Dyson pulled her closer, trying to get comfortable as they all settled down and waited for the paranormals who’d attacked them to disperse. **** Angus let the houses burn around him. It didn’t matter anymore. Nothing mattered without Kristen. When they’d first connected, he’d worried that she wouldn’t live long in comparison to his own life. He’d had no idea she’d be stolen from him so quickly. He didn’t even hear Benjamin approach until he placed a hand on his shoulder. “Do we know what happened?” Angus shook his head. The last he’d known they’d already escaped the area. He had no idea why Dyson would bring her back, but his decision had cost both their lives. He glanced around the dead

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bodies and ached for the loss of such amazing and talented women. He almost envied their husbands. They had at least died trying to save their women. They wouldn’t have to spend the rest of their lives wondering if they could have done something differently, moved faster, thought more clearly, been better, figured things out sooner. “We could use your help putting out the fires,” Benjamin said in a tone that suggested it was an order of sorts. Angus knew what he was doing. The CO of PUP Squad Alpha was trying to keep him moving, get him working on practical things, achieving things that were in his control to achieve. In other words, get him off his knees. Angus nodded, keeping his eyes on the woman who’d shone so briefly in his life as he placed her limp body on the ground. “I’m sorry,” he whispered as he turned away. But as he halfheartedly shot an icy blast from his fingertips, the building faded from sight. Confused, he turned back to the space where he’d left Kristen’s body and found nothing but bare dirt. All around him the ground had been disturbed by the impact of explosive rounds, but there were no flaming houses or debris in the area at all. In the distance, Angus noticed several trees alight and moved to put them out. The last thing they needed was the surrounding forest to burn as well. When he turned back to where the tiny town of Sugarvale had once been, he watched in utter confusion as the ground opened up and literally unswallowed the buildings. But it was the woman who appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye that had him doubting his sanity. “I’m so sorry,” she said as she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her face against his chest. “I wanted to come and get you earlier, but with the warlocks and witches still watching it wasn’t possible.” “How was any of it possible?” he asked as he looked up and realized Dyson was behind Kristen, except that now they were back in the meeting room of the PUP Squad Alpha headquarters.

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“We’ll save the explanation for that for later,” Dyson said with a smile, “but it turns out our girl isn’t quite as ordinary as she led us to believe.” “Is that so?” he asked, feeling the first genuine smile to cross his features that day. But then what they knew about Victoria being an Oracle and being able to trace everything he said and did hit him squarely between the eyes. “The Oracle knows. She can see everything Dyson and I see. You need to get away from us. All of you.” “Actually,” the pixie queen said as she stepped into the room, “that’s no longer true.” Angus shook his head, not because he didn’t believe her, but because he wasn’t sure how much more information he could absorb. It had been one hell of a long day. “The Oracle’s receptacles have created a type of dampening field around you all. I can no longer sense the vampires or humans in your group.” She smiled at Ronan. “You’ve been invisible to me for years. It was only a matter of time before you passed that skill to the Oracle’s receptacles.” She turned back to Angus. “Were you able to identify Victoria?” He shook his head. “The only thing I was able to discern is that Tory and Victoria are different women. Victoria has been impersonating Tory when it suited her. I suspect she’s the one who gave Jason his ‘assignment’ and the person who made sure Cassandra was the only applicant for the promotion.” “So what happens now?” Eric asked. “According to the paranormal world, almost everyone inside this room is dead.” “Not me,” Skye said with a wide grin. Benjamin and Samuel pulled the young vampire into an embrace between them and laughed. “Me neither,” Emmallina said a little more seriously, “but I’d appreciate your hospitality at least until Dex is able to rescind the assassination order.” “You will always be welcome in our home,” Jennifer said as she and her mates came into the room. “Technically, we’re not dead,

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either. The only bodies Jed and Darian projected onto the illusion were those of the Oracle’s receptacles and their partners. According to the rest of the paranormal community, the threat from the ‘human Oracles’ has been dealt with.” “Will it stop all the fighting?” Kristen asked in a voice that spoke very loudly of her care for others. It didn’t matter to her that the very people she was concerned about were the same ones who’d been trying to kill her. “We still don’t understand why Victoria set it all in motion in the first place, but things should settle down now that everyone thinks you’re dead.” Benjamin turned to Ava. “How do people outside of Sugarvale see this area at the moment?” “Basically, they see death and destruction still. All of the buildings, the streets, and what we could protect of the rest of the town are heavily shielded, but it would take a powerful mage to see through the illusion.” “As powerful as Jed?” Angus asked hopefully. Jed was the most powerful warlock he’d ever met. “Actually,” Jed said with a wry smile. “Whatever the ladies have done since bringing the buildings back from underground is way out of my league. I doubt there is anyone currently alive who is capable of seeing through the illusion they’ve created.” “So we’re safe here?” Jennifer asked with a broad smile. “We are,” Ava said with a confident smile. “Although, we could always try plan B.” “Plan B?” Ronan asked with a crooked smile. “Plan B would be moving the buildings to the far border of Ronan’s land. About fifty miles south of here. That way we could eventually drop the illusion here and the forest will reclaim this area.” Hannah nodded. “We’re not sure of the limit to our powers just yet, so it would be a better option.” Ronan was already nodding when he asked, “You can really do that?”

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“Yes,” Ava said as she smiled at the other Oracle’s receptacles. “In fact, it’s already done.” Everyone in the room seemed lost for words. “Angus,” Kristen said quietly as all of the Oracle’s receptacles turned to face him, “there’s one more thing we need you to do.”

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Chapter Sixteen His mission briefing was short and to the point. Apprehend Victoria. It wasn’t until he found himself standing in front of the woman— pushed there by blink travel—that he realized that the Oracle’s receptacles had not only known where to find the woman but had somehow stripped the witch of her powers. “What the hell?” the woman screeched as she tried and failed to use her magic to attack him. “It’s over, Victoria.” “What the fuck would you know?” she asked in an arrogant tone as she pulled a human weapon from behind her and fired several times directly at him. The demon-shot bullets fell to the ground when they hit his defensive ice blast. She tried her magic again, growled when it didn’t work, and then stomped her foot like a recalcitrant child. She threw the empty gun at his head. He easily ducked the poorly aimed projectile. “What have you done to me?” she whined like a sulky teenager. He frowned. “You should probably be more concerned with what I’m about to do.” Angus crossed the room quickly, placed a hand on the witch’s arm, and dragged her through his slip path. She fell to her knees, obviously nauseated, as they stepped into Cassandra’s office in the Ruling Body’s headquarters. “What the hell?” Gordanna asked angrily as she slopped coffee over her hand. “Where the fuck did she come from?” Tory stared at the woman as if she was seeing a ghost.

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“Tory, meet Victoria, the witch who has been impersonating you.” Everyone in the room had taken a defensive stance, so Angus lifted the woman off the ground and placed her in a chair. Her quiet sobs filled the room, but it wasn’t enough to make him feel sympathy. A lot of people had died because of her. “Who are you?” Tory asked, the shell-shocked expression on her face probably mirroring his own. The woman was a perfect doppelganger. Victoria laughed hysterically, the sound ugly and disturbing. “I’m you.” **** Kristen glanced at the other women in the room and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. For so long she’d wanted to be a somebody, not an invisible nobody, but when she’d finally come to terms with the nobody she actually was, somebody went and flipped her world on its head. In her mind, she followed the confrontation between Victoria and Tory, very grateful for the skill that let her know Angus was okay. But as the tense confrontation fizzled out and the authorities took Victoria into custody, Kristen realized that she could also sense the emotions of everyone else—not just in this room but in every corner of the globe. She actually “knew” what every single one of them was thinking—including the men she loved. Having lived her whole life keeping to herself and quite happily hiding her emotions from others, it felt very intrusive to have such a skill. “You’ll get used to it,” Kali said, rubbing her head as if she had a headache. “I think.” “I don’t know if we should,” Kristen said glancing over at Dyson and the other women’s husbands. “Knowing everything all the time is

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going to make it very difficult to have any sort of normal relationship with anyone.” “I agree,” Lilly said with a sad smile. “I can see, hear, and feel everything my husbands have ever said and done. It doesn’t feel fair to have information I have no right to.” The others all nodded in agreement. “So what can we do about it?” Ava asked. “We were given this knowledge for a reason. Bethany gave up her life to be certain that we inherited this gift. We can’t just set it aside.” “I doubt this is what she meant,” Kali said, still rubbing her head. “In fact, we know this isn’t what she meant.” “We can’t function with this much knowledge. God, it’s why Victoria exists. Her mother…” Amber let her words trail away. It wasn’t necessary for them to speak out loud. They very literally possessed the knowledge of the universe—everything and everyone who’d come before them and everything that had ever been said and done, and was being done, by every species on the planet. Bethany had been an extraordinary woman. Not only had she been born with the gift of foresight—something Kristen had believed impossible for a human up till now—but she’d found a way to merge that with the Oracle’s gifts Prianna had given her. She’d willingly passed these gifts to Kristen and her fellow Oracle’s receptacles because she’d seen them helping countless others in one possible future. Their destinies were in no way set, but with the skills they now owned they had a chance to help others for many, many years to come. In fact, many more years than they would have had as ordinary humans. Bethany had trusted them to do the right thing. Kristen knew that none of them wanted to let the woman down. She smiled as she felt Angus step into the room, his mission complete. She could feel his concern for her, his pride in her finding her abilities, and even his small, mostly unacknowledged doubt that

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he would ever be strong enough to protect her. It wasn’t right to know so much about the person she loved. “A font?” Kali asked with a wide smile on her face. “Perfect,” Hannah and Ava said at the same time. “We need a fail-safe,” Amber warned. They all nodded. Kristen smiled. The solution was perfect. **** “What is it?” Dyson wasn’t the only confused person in the room. He was just the first to ask the Oracle’s receptacles to explain the sudden presence of a huge water fountain in the middle of it. “It’s the font of all knowledge,” Kristen said with a smile. “How is a water fountain a font of knowledge?” “Every Oracle collects the history of a species. As the Oracle’s receptacles, we seemed to be collecting even more than that. Before we created the fountain we could sense the thoughts, motivations, and emotions for every person on the planet. It’s not really a skill that we need to help us accomplish what Bethany wanted.” Everyone in the room seemed uncomfortable with that information. “The good news,” Hannah said, glancing at her husbands, “is that all of the information is now being recorded on the water and we are no longer collecting it in our heads.” Just about everyone in the room sighed with relief. It was very disconcerting to feel like his thoughts weren’t private. From what Dyson understood from the pixie queen, Oracles only collected knowledge of events and the people involved, not the motivations or emotions behind it. Theirs was simply an accurate recording of history. What the Oracle’s receptacles had just described was well beyond that.

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“What is the liquid?” Skye asked as she walked around the large stone design. “Plain-old ordinary water,” Kristen confirmed. “How can you store information on water?” Dyson asked. He wasn’t really sure he wanted to know the answer. “Ironically, we got the idea from the human brain. It’s mostly water, but has an incredible storage capacity.” “So the history of the world is being recorded onto this fountain of knowledge?” Angus asked with a wide grin. “Yup,” Lilly said with a bright smile. “But how do you ‘read’ it?” Jennifer asked curiously as she joined her sister at the edge of the stone construction. “We just have to dip a hand into the water.” Dyson frowned at that explanation—it seemed like a huge security risk—but Ava explained before he could voice his concerns. “Only the Oracle’s receptacles can read it. To anyone else it just seems like water.” “But what about evaporation? Or if someone drinks from it?” Benjamin asked, obviously thinking along the same security lines as Dyson. “The information is copied hundreds of times. If information is lost, the fountain will simply reproduce it.” “It sounds like an automatic diagnostic system on a computer,” Jennifer said. “In many ways, it is,” Kali confirmed. “The fountain is constantly checking information and recording new stuff just like the computers of the world’s banks. If it finds a problem, it self-corrects.” “You mentioned a fail-safe,” Benjamin said, apparently not yet convinced. “We’ve set up a type of diagnostic algorithm. Each of us will check the fountain once a day. It will alert us to potential problems and help us identify when people need our help.”

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“We can do what Bethany wanted us to do without going insane,” Kali said with a wide grin. “What did she want you to do?” Dyson asked, worried that he already knew the answer. “She wants us to save the world.” “How?” he asked. Kristen might be an Oracle’s receptacle now, with skills he could barely imagine, but it didn’t stop him from worrying about her. She was in his heart and he couldn’t imagine going on with his life without her by his side. “In lots of little ways,” Kristen said as she stepped into his arms. “We can help nudge things in the right direction.” “The fountain contains all of Bethany’s knowledge, too,” Hannah said as she moved to cuddle up to West, who looked as concerned as Dyson felt. “She saw the future. She understood what caused the disaster, and she sent us the knowledge we will need to change it.” “As history is written, we have a chance to alter certain events, and we have the opportunity to share our gifts with others,” Ava said quietly. “When is this disaster supposed to happen?” Alex asked without the slightest hint of emotion. Dyson knew him well enough to know the guy was about to crack his back teeth from holding his jaw so tightly. “In about three hundred years,” Amber said with a soft smile. “So it’s a task you’ll pass on to our children?” Darian asked with a hint of anger. Dyson shared the emotion. It didn’t seem fair to burden their offspring with such a huge task. “Actually,” Ava said rubbing a hand over her belly, “we’ve already changed the future just by existing. But, even if it hasn’t changed the future Bethany saw we should still be around. Part of the gift Bethany gave us increases our life expectancy considerably.” Kali stepped into the embrace of her human husband, Ronan. She leaned up to kiss his jaw as his arms tightened around her.

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“It also changed that in the people around us. Sorry, Ronan,” she said with a laugh, “but you don’t get away from me that easily.” **** Angus wasn’t certain his heart could take any more surprises. This morning he’d woken with his arms around an ordinary human. This afternoon he’d believed her dead, and now she was an Oracle’s receptacle, with skills never even heard of before, and a life expectancy that could very well match his own. It seemed that his whole world had changed in the blink of an eye. But then Kristen moved into his arms and he realized that on the important subjects he was still very certain. He loved this woman with all his heart. “Take me home,” she said tiredly. “I think we’ve all had enough fun for one day.” “Fun?” Dyson asked incredulously. “You think today was fun?” He sounded so affronted that Angus couldn’t help but smile. “What would you call it?” Kristen challenged. “At the end of a PUP squad assignment, when you’ve caught the bad guys, averted discovery of paranormals by humans, and nobody got injured, what would you call it?” Nearly every person in the room laughed quietly. Every member of PUP Squad Alpha and Deeks Security knew the emotional high of a successfully completed mission. “I wouldn’t exactly call it fun,” Dyson admitted grudgingly, “but I suppose I can understand the sentiment.” “Good,” she said with a sharp nod, as if that somehow ended the discussion. They bid farewell to the others, watched as most of them left via blink travel, and then turned to Kristen. Despite the fact that slip travel made Kristen violently ill—or at least that had been true this

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morning—with the town relocated and probably switched around they had no idea where home actually was. Angus raised an eyebrow, waiting for Kristen to blink them home. She shrugged. “I thought it would be nice to walk.” “But then it’s just that much longer before we make it to our bedroom,” he said in a voice that he hoped suggested endless pleasure was in their near future. “True,” she said with a laugh. “In that case, I think we better run.” She took off out the door, leaving both Dyson and Angus staring after her. “Life is never going to be dull,” Dyson said, shaking his head and laughing softly. A moment later, they both started running after her. As they managed to catch her not far from headquarters—proving that even in times of great commotion some things stayed the same— Angus realized that it didn’t matter what changes had come or what challenges the future might bring. What mattered most was that they truly loved each other. A long paranormal lifetime filled with happiness and laughter, change and compromise, hope and love—that was the greatest adventure anyone could ever ask for.

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Chapter Seventeen Angus couldn’t help but smile as he stepped into the front foyer of their home. Five months ago, when the Oracle’s receptacles had moved the town, they’d renamed it Sugarville so that it wouldn’t be confused by passing warlocks with the town that had supposedly been destroyed. Somehow the Oracle’s receptacles had managed to alter every human record of the building, planning, layout, and historical ownership of the houses that they’d moved from their original location. Only someone very familiar with the homes in Sugarvale would recognize the buildings, and since they were all laid out differently and on official records were credited to the same builders, it would not have mattered if they had. Officially speaking, Sugarville had been here all along. It even showed up on historical satellite images. If nothing else, it proved how truly powerful the Oracle’s receptacles had become. “Honey, I’m home,” he yelled as he stepped in the door. Thanks to his demon senses, he already knew where his wife was, but it was very gratifying that she blinked to his location and stepped into his arms every time. Of course, “stepped into” was a relative term since her belly had swollen to huge proportions thanks to her unexpected, but joyfully accepted, pregnancy. “How are my favorite people doing today?” “You mean apart from the fact that the triplets seem to have taken up professional wrestling?” He smiled as he felt one of the babies roll in her belly. “Yes, I mean apart from that?”

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“In that case, just peachy,” she said with a genuine smile. It was obvious that the pregnancy was tiring her out, but it was also plain to see that she was enjoying every moment of it. Demon pregnancies usually only lasted four months, but as with the other Oracle’s receptacles and their pregnancies, no one really knew what to expect. Although, considering how large Kristen’s belly had grown, both he and Dyson were hoping that their children would be born very soon. “Is Dyson around?” Angus asked. “Of course I am,” Dyson said as he stepped from out of the kitchen. They were currently using Kristen’s pregnancy as an excuse not to leave her alone, but even after the babies were born, they’d arranged to continue job sharing for Deeks Security. That way they got to enjoy the best of both worlds, still doing the work they both loved and able to live with and love the woman who made life worthwhile. “How did it go?” “As well as can be expected. You would have quite liked it, I think.” Dyson grimaced. “I don’t know. Attending a memorial for my own death in the line of duty doesn’t sound like something I would enjoy.” “Maybe not,” Angus said as he tried to hide how much the ceremony had affected him. Essentially, Benjamin, Samuel, Thomas, Adam, and Jason, as the only known surviving members of PUP Squad Alpha, had been forced to sit through a symbolic retirement of the “Alpha” title. Angus, as an independent contractor, had been invited as a courtesy. With Jason the only operative to remain with the PUP squads— everyone else now worked for Deeks Security, including those the Ruling Body thought were dead—retiring the “Alpha” title had been a gesture of respect from the Ruling Body. Never again would the name “PUP Squad Alpha” be used for any other PUP team. “How’s Jason doing?” Dyson asked. It was obvious that Dyson still wondered if he could have done more to protect his former squad

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partner from Victoria’s machinations. Fortunately, the answer to Dyson’s question was good news. “Really well,” Angus answered with a smile. “He’s been transferred to PUP Squad Echo and seems to be really happy.” Fortunately, Jason had been cleared of all charges once the full story of Victoria’s involvement had come to light. But even before that, Benjamin had trusted Dyson’s judgment enough to urgently track Jason down and recall him from Victoria’s phony assignment. Jason knew they were all alive, but had decided to stay away from Sugarville for the time being. After the accusations of being a traitor, he didn’t want to accidentally give the impression he had something to hide. It was a rather ironic outcome considering everything that had happened to the man. “Was Cassandra okay?” Kristen asked, showing again just what an incredible woman she was. Angus nodded. “She resigned with dignity, her head held high, despite what was essentially a complete failure of her supervision. I’m glad that she doesn’t know everyone survived. She never seemed capable of keeping a secret.” “Did she say what she’s going to do now?” “She refused the offer of getting her old job back and has decided to move on. I’m not sure what her plans are, but I got the impression she was going to be okay.” Kristen hugged him tighter, staying quiet, obviously understanding his and Dyson’s need to take a moment to let the significance of the day sink in. It was more of a political stunt than any real acknowledgement of the achievements PUP Squad Alpha had made over the years, but it was still nice to be recognized as having contributed something worth remembering. “Any news on Victoria?” Dyson finally asked. “Actually, yes.” It was such a relief to be able to close this case that a part of him didn’t want to answer any more questions. Dyson and Kristen wouldn’t let him get away with anything less than a full

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explanation so he guided their wife onto the sofa, and held her close as Dyson lifted her legs onto his lap and started massaging her feet gently. “So?” Kristen asked encouragingly. Once they’d transferred the Oracle’s flow of information into the fountain, Kristen only retained the memories she’d specifically thought of that day. Essentially, she had memories of the memories she’d used, but no further details. In an emergency, she could recall details from the fountain, but with Victoria in custody and their unexpected family on the way, Kristen and the other Oracle’s receptacles had decided to try and do at least some things the “human” way. Since the Ruling Body believed all of the Oracle’s receptacles deceased, they wouldn’t have been able to do much with the information anyway. They weren’t going to risk exposing their survival—at least not yet. As it was, he was now faced with a woman who always wanted to know all about his day. In fact, her enthusiasm made it quite nice to come home. “It turns out that Tory’s grandmother was an Oracle. She spent most of her life concentrating on the images inside her head so her own children felt like they never knew her. When Tory’s mother realized that her only daughter was an Oracle and likely to end up as distracted and as disconnected as her own mother, she performed a spell to strip her of the Oracle’s gift.” Angus shook his head sadly as the worst of the story replayed in his mind. He understood a parent trying to protect their children, but what Tory’s mother had done when the spell didn’t work as expected still confused him. “Anyway, the spell ended up splitting the four-year-old Tory into two people. Tory’s mother locked Victoria away and then pretty much ignored her existence and never actually told anyone about her, not even Tory.” “So Victoria was old enough to know her mother’s love, only to have it withdrawn when she became the Oracle half of the original

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Tory?” Tears were already rolling down Kristen’s face. “That’s truly horrible. How could anyone do that to an innocent child?” “I don’t know, baby,” Angus said, hugging her closer. “I can only promise you that all of our children will be loved by all of their parents.” She nodded, wiping at her eyes as she smiled at him and Dyson. “According to what we’ve been able to piece together, Victoria watched from afar as Tory succeeded in everything, eventually becoming a Judiciary and winning more of her mother’s love and devotion. Somehow, in her twisted mind, Victoria decided that if Tory were an Oracle as well, that their mother would have to love them equally. She identified the fire demon, Prianna, as an Oracle simply because she had no knowledge of her.” “That makes sense,” Dyson said quietly. “With Victoria holding the history of both pixies and demons it would have been easy for her to identify Prianna and Emmallina as Oracles.” “Exactly. Twenty-seven years ago, Victoria basically whispered in the right warlock ears and created enough hysteria for them to hire the PLA to kill Prianna. When the pixie king refused the contract, she impersonated Tory and overruled him. She knew that Connistanterina was a professional assassin who wouldn’t kill the woman slowly enough for her to pass her Oracle gift to the closest paranormal, so she drugged her and gave her explicit instructions on how to do it. We believe that Victoria chose the location for Prianna’s murder because Tory was the only paranormal in the area at the time.” “But she wasn’t expecting Prianna to be able to pass the information to human babies,” Kristen finished for him. “And when the assassin realized what had happened, she tried to clean up the mess without Victoria knowing about it.” “Except that being the Oracle for pixies and demons, Victoria knew what was happening the moment the assassin did.” Angus nodded. “We believe that she’d already begun planning for Emmallina’s murder. Dex DeKardoin suspects Higgins getting caught was a part of that.” He smiled as if a thought had just occurred to him.

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“Considering that he has an accurate source of vampire information I’m fairly confident that translates to he knows Higgins didn’t send the email. We’re not really sure what Victoria intended to do to Emmallina at that point. We think she changed her plans when she discovered the Oracle’s receptacles existed. With Higgins dead and PUP Squad Alpha on leave, it was pretty easy to move Cassandra into the administrative supervisor’s position. It meant that Victoria could follow everything that PUP Squad Alpha did. We already know she arranged Jason’s assignment to make him look like a traitor so that she could follow everything happening inside the warlocks’ council.” “Does Victoria realize now that it’s impossible to steal an Oracle’s knowledge?” Kristen asked quietly. “It’s a gift freely given.” “I really don’t know if she understands anything. She is blinded by her need to make Tory like her. I don’t think she even comprehends that what she’s done is wrong,” Angus said honestly. “The Ruling Body has her in custody, but they’re still deciding on what to do. We’ve discovered that Tory and Victoria are symbiotic. If one dies so does the other. Thankfully, the Judiciaries are hesitating on an execution order because it will also kill Tory. She’s essentially an innocent in all of this.” He gave them both a crooked frown. “It was suggested that the two halves be integrated back into one whole, but Tory is understandably uncomfortable with absorbing the memories and behaviors of a conscienceless murderer.” “God, that must be so hard for her.” “It is,” Angus agreed. He knew Tory was feeling responsible for something she’d had absolutely no control over. The Ruling Body was looking to punish Tory and Victoria’s mother, not only for the spell she’d performed but also for the way she’d raised Victoria. By her actions she’d essentially created a serial killer. At least Victoria knew nothing of the Oracle’s receptacles’ survival, and thankfully nothing about the demons or pixies that knew them. According to all records held by the Ruling Body, the death of the Oracle’s receptacles was now merely a footnote in history, a

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situation they were relieved not to be called on to deal with. Officially, they condemned the warlocks for their actions. Privately, they agreed with the outcome. The only people who knew the Oracle’s receptacles still existed lived in this tiny little town called Sugarville. And quite frankly it suited the residents just fine. The Oracle’s receptacles had shared their skills with the humans in their group, extending their life expectancies considerably in the process. Everyone living here was now expected to live a very long paranormal lifetime. “So what should we do now?” Dyson asked. “Um…” Kristen said as she wriggled to get to a more comfortable position. She went to say something but all that came out was a deep groan. Angus froze as he waited for his wife to tell them what was happening. Dyson slid onto the floor in front of her, kneeling at her feet as he watched her face. “What is it, sweetheart?” he asked, sounding way calmer than Angus felt. “That question you asked. The one about what we should do now…” She took a deep breath, relaxing a little as she let it out slowly. “I think the babies just made the decision for us.”

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Epilogue Emmallina sat on the covered veranda of Jennifer, Thomas, and Adam’s home and watched her grandchildren play with the offspring of the Oracle’s receptacles. There had been so many new additions to the group in the past ten years that Emmallina could barely keep up. The backyard was filled with children’s laughter, the happy sound floating through the air as the adults stood in groups talking. In what Emmallina had always thought of as typically human behavior, the men had gathered around the barbecue talking and laughing as they swapped stories of the biggest fish they’d ever caught. Emmallina smiled at the ever-increasing size of the fish that supposedly got away. Benjamin and Samuel held Skye between them, laughing as the stories got more and more outrageous. Eventually, the conversation turned to the matter at hand as Alex and Brody argued over the best way to cook steaks. Ronan and Nathan watched, occasionally throwing in a comment to egg on the good-natured argument. Thomas and Adam played tag with the older kids, their wolf forms and doggy antics eliciting shrieks of laughter. Jennifer watched indulgently as she cuddled their newborn son. Devlin chuckled softly at the chorus of disappointed young voices when he finally landed on solid ground and let his wings disappear. He’d taken every child in the yard flying twice today, much to the delight of his adoring fans. What was it about flying that fascinated paranormal children? Perhaps it was just a skill different to the ones they knew. Devlin grinned widely as Angus handed him an ice-cold beer and dragged him back to the barbecue for some grown-up time.

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Brody laughed as the children turned to him in the hopes of getting a ride on the dragon. As always, he declined. He’d once confided that with his scales so slippery he didn’t feel comfortable taking on passengers. He’d only made one exception—when he’d saved his wife and her other husband from a burning building. Jed smiled as their attention inevitably turned to him. He used his magic to manipulate and animate the paper cups and plates, his puppet-style rendition of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” capturing the children’s attention for a little while. Kristen sat with her youngest daughter asleep on her lap. Her triplets—all boys—were still climbing all over the gym equipment. Dyson stepped through a slip path just in time to catch their youngest son as he fell trying to keep up with his brothers. West, Eric, and Hannah came into the yard carrying enough fruit salad to feed a small army. Considering how bear-shifters felt about fresh fruit, it wasn’t really surprising. But as always, Eric saw Emmallina, excused himself, and came to check how Connistanterina was doing. Emmallina knew that her daughter was doing as well as could be expected under the circumstances. Even after ten years she still blamed herself for what had happened. It was unlikely that she would ever feel differently, but the fact that she’d been cleared of any wrongdoing by three different investigative committees would hopefully one day help her come to terms with having so many years of her life stolen from her. Thankfully, Eric had found a way to permanently remove the “fireweed” markers that Victoria had inserted into many of the PLA operatives’ DNA. All of the miniaturized pixies had been cured thanks to the information they’d found in Bethany’s journal. Eric squeezed Emmallina’s hand, told her again to call him any time, and then headed back to his wife’s side. “It’s hard to imagine what it was like before,” Brody’s niece, Keira, said as she took a seat beside Emmallina. “I barely remember

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life before Uncle Brody, Nate, and Ava took me in. I’m so lucky that they found me.” “They’re good people,” Emmallina said, remembering everything she’d ever known about the two humans before they’d become invisible to her Oracle skills. “Your Uncle Brody is one of the most amazing people I’ve ever known. Despite what he’d been taught growing up, he found his way to love and acceptance of all species. Growing past ingrained behaviors is never easy, but your Uncle Brody made it look that way.” “He did,” Keira said with obvious pride in her voice. In many ways, the young woman had been just as extraordinary. She’d also let go of the prejudices and hatred she’d been raised with and embraced the peaceful life she’d been offered. They sat together for a while, watching many of the children playing in what had probably once been built as a children’s jungle gym, but now more closely resembled an army training ground. Jennifer had confided that it had been the only way to get her twin boys to sleep. The young werewolves had more energy than even their fathers could keep up with. They’d considered moving back to Xavier’s pack land so that the boys had a safe place to roam and expend their youthful energy, but in the end had found a compromise. As much as they loved their pack, they had an extended family right here with the Oracle’s receptacles and their offspring. Emmallina laughed softly as she watched Alex lift Kali into his arms, place her on a chair at a table with Ava and Lilly, and order her to stay. Kali smiled as Ronan scooped up their young girls just as they all decided to sit on their mother’s lap at the same time. Considering that she was heavily pregnant with their little brother, it was unlikely any of them would have found a place to sit anyway. Ava and Lilly smiled at the children’s antics as they each held a sleeping infant and enjoyed the party. “I’m really going to miss this place,” Keira said quietly. She’d been so happy when she’d received the acceptance to her college of

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choice that it had probably taken a while for the reality to sink in. Moving away from the people she loved was going to be hard, but Emmallina had no doubt that the young dragon-shifter would find her way. “Sorry we’re late,” Amber said as she stepped onto the back porch, each of her husbands carrying a young child. Wilson’s son was almost an identical replica of his daddy. Even though he was barely five, he’d already shown many of the skills ordinarily attributed to vampires. He was fast, very fast, and way stronger than any of the other children in the backyard, but he was also the sweetest, shyest little boy Emmallina had ever met. And, to his mother’s never-ending thankfulness, able to play in the sunshine and hadn’t yet shown a need to drink human blood. It was a possibility that would change when he reached puberty, but for now, for the most part, he was simply an adorable five-year-old child. “You’re not late,” Keira said with a watery smile. “You’re just on time to catch me dissolving into tears.” “Oh, sweetie,” Amber said as she moved to give the young woman a hug. “We will only ever be a phone call away. You just call any one of us and we’ll blink you home in an instant.” Emmallina smiled at Amber’s assurance. As a fully grown dragon-shifter, Keira was more than capable of bringing herself home in an instant. Her hesitation today was only caused by a fear of the unknown. Once Keira began making friends and getting involved in her college courses, her visits home would inevitably become less frequent. Right now she was standing on the precipice of her independent adult life, but there was no doubt she had the love and support of everyone in Sugarville if she needed it. Darian winked at Keira, grabbed his wife, and guided her toward the table filled with the rest of the women of Sugarville before she could become emotional and start trying to talk Keira out of leaving again. Amber wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Every woman in town—Kali, Hannah, Amber, Lilly, Kristen, Skye, Jennifer, and

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Keira’s surrogate mother, Ava—had tried to talk her into waiting a few years more before striking out on her own. Fortunately, Keira was a sensible, well-adjusted young woman with the world at her feet and the sky her only limit. She knew when the time was right for her to start living her own life. And that time was now. Perhaps her leaving home affected everyone more than they wanted to admit. Together they’d built a happy life for their families. Keira leaving was a reminder that life always changed, that there were good times and bad, happy times and periods of grief and heartache. But it was all a part of life. Right now they had love and laughter, joy and happiness, family and good friends. It was understandable that they’d want to keep it that way as long as possible. The final entry in Bethany’s journal came to mind. For in my life I cannot hope to bring the peace the others offer, so I give my gift to them freely. With their love, compassion, empathy, and strength they will bring with them a new world—an Oracles’ light that shines always and brings hope to those who need it. Clearly, Bethany had been a woman beyond measure, her selflessness and insight truly inspiring. Emmallina only regretted that she’d never known her, but prayed the woman had found peace and the rewards she deserved in the afterlife. Emmallina reached for her husband’s hand and watched her grandchildren play with the offspring of the people living in Sugarville. Happiness and gratitude for everything they’d done for her and her family filled her heart. Every day the Oracle’s receptacles and their partners helped someone else, their skills, compassion, and understanding bringing peace and hope to many more people than perhaps even Bethany had foreseen. And they did it all under the cover of anonymity, never asking for, nor expecting, gratitude or thanks from anyone. They were an amazing group of people and Emmallina thanked the goddess, and Bethany, that she’d been given the chance to know them.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Abby Blake writes erotic romance exclusively for Siren Publishing. She has MFM, FMMM, and FMMMMMMMM stories currently published with paranormal, contemporary, sci-fi, and BDSM themes. At the moment she has three completed series available and many more planned.

For all titles by Abby Blake, please visit http://www.bookstrand.com/abby-blake

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