CHAPTER 33
Rudgar
I ’d never thought I would ever be the kind of male who would fall to pieces at the sight of their mates in any kind of maternal display, but just the sight of her holding that child against her when she was still covered in my scent… it was everything that I wanted with my entire heart.
She looked over at me, her eyes glowing with joy as Gabbi smacked a kiss to her cheek.
Yep. I’m knocking her up as soon as she’s ready.
“We have to make sure that Gabbi, Pen and Becca are safe before we go to battle,” Tabitha said from where she’d been looking on with a smile. “They’ll already know you’re empowered Zara. They’ll be able to sense your power now.”
“Even with the protection spell?” I asked, and Floria nodded.
“She’s too strong. He’ll sense her. He’s tied to her,” she told us with a small wince.
Zara sighed, handing Gabbi back to her mother. “You’re right. But after we get them to safety, where should we go to face the warlocks?” she asked, looking at all the females to see if they knew a place.
“I have somewhere,” I told them, nuzzling my face against her cheek, ensuring that she was marked with my scent. Just the thought of her facing off against that smug prick Veron was sending me up a possessive wall. “You can feel safe that no one will be around. If I show you a picture, can you open a portal there?”
She bit her lip, looking up at me. “Fully empowered? You just have to think about it and I can take you there.”
My eyebrows swept up, but I leaned down to rub my nose against hers. “That’s kind of hot,” I told her.
She snorted out a laugh, turning to look at Tasia. “Let’s get Gabbi to Papa Bois. He’ll take care of her,” she told her, squeezing her hand in reassurance.
Tasia nodded, lifting her daughter to press her face into her hair, taking a deep breath. “Okay,” she murmured, “but we’re leaving her with Pen and Becca, right? Because if she sees any animals there she will chase them, and I don’t know if I can deal with the repercussions.”
I snorted out a laugh until I saw Zara’s worried expression. “Wait, what?” I asked, but Tasia shrugged.
“She’s not… gentle,” she explained, wincing, just as Gabbi grabbed a tuft of her hair, tugging it into her mouth and chomping on it before she settled against the crook of her neck with closed eyes, ready for a nap.
“Well this is perfect timing then. Hopefully she can spend most of the time sleeping,” I whispered, trying to keep my tone low and the child asleep.
She nodded at the rest of the coven as she headed out the door with us, toward Dristan’s apartment. I knocked on the door, and my brother opened it at once, as if he’d been waiting.
He narrowed his eyes at Zara—and I was sure he could smell my scent all over her—before he turned back to me and gave me a small smile.
“They’re waiting for you. Pen refuses to take precautions, but there’s nothing I can do—” he said, but Pen called out from somewhere inside the room.
“Wearing a pillow strapped around my stomach is not a precaution. It’s stupid .”
“It’s a precaution when you have to go trampling around the woods,” Dristan called back to her, the growl in his voice obvious.
Pen wasn’t one to be affected by his moods. She snarked right back. “I’m literally going to be sitting in the forest waiting for you to come back. You’re the one facing off against warlocks! Where are your precautions?”
“Zara,” he explained, as if that said it all, gesturing toward my mate. My brow dropped into a frown and I looked from Zara to Dristan and then back.
“Wait a minute—” I started, but Zara agreed, hurrying inside to where Pen was sitting on the sofa, her feet elevated. She smiled at us when we entered, but Zara was in a hurry to reassure her.
“I will take precautions, Pen. You don’t have to worry. I wouldn’t ever ask Dristan to face Veron. He’s too dangerous,” she explained.
“I can handle dangerous,” Dristan groused, but Pen let out a relieved breath.
“Thank you,” she said, and she moved as if she was going to stand, but Dristan barked,
“No, you stay right there. We don’t know if you have to walk or stand in the woods. I want to make sure you’re rested,” he explained.
Pen rolled her eyes, standing. “Damn it, Dristan, I’m pregnant, not infirm,” she growled, and it sounded so similar to my brother’s that I was taken aback.
I turned a smug smile his way, and he rolled his eyes at me. “Yeah, as if yours is a walk in the park,” he huffed, tilting his head at Zara.
“I’ll take care of her,” Becca said, smiling from the sofa opposite her, where she sat on her mate’s lap. Rok was behind her, his gaze dark with trepidation.
“There’s nothing at all to worry about. I’ve read all about Papa Bois,” she explained, and I thanked every God I could think of that she was a librarian who made good use of her access to books. “He protects the forest and the animals. He’d never let anything hurt us,” she assured her mate, running her lips along his jaw.
“That’s true,” Zara agreed, smiling over at her. “And you’ll have the protection of The Grove too. The trees are ancient and powerful. I’m sure you’ll all be safe.”
“Are you ready?” I asked them, and they nodded. I dropped a kiss to the top of Zara’s head while she worked, tugging her wand from between her breasts—a trick that I was very intrigued with, and holding it out in front of her, waving it in a circle. With it, a sparkling purple circle began to form, widening to show a lush green forest in front of us. It was everything I could do to stop myself from wiping at my eyes in disbelief.
My mate is so powerful.
Pride and determination to protect her roared in my chest. When she finished, forming a portal big enough that I wouldn’t even have to duck inside, she pulled away, her eyes widening.
“Look at that,” she breathed, grinning. “The edges don’t even look like they’re going to blow up or anything.”
I tilted my head at the portal, confused. “Was that something you had to worry about before?” I asked her and she shrugged.
“Maybe,” she hedged, but waved at where, on the other side of the portal, Papa Bois had appeared, stroking a hand through the leaves stuck in his beard.
“Bonjour, vieux Papa,” she said in a respectful tone. He smiled, and if I wasn’t wrong, the twinkle in his eyes meant that he was fond of her.
“I’ll take the ones you need me to protect,” he told Zara and she lowered her head in a bow.
“You don’t have to worry about them,” he added, gesturing back to where I could see the copse of rowan trees that we had seen before.
The magickal trees that seemed to have a life of their own.
“Nothing will get past us,” he assured me, his teeth bared in a small, feral grin.
I nodded and Becca reached out for Gabbi, but Tasia squeezed her close, pressing another kiss to her hair for a long moment before she handed her over. Becca smiled at her, keeping Gabbi tucked against her. Pen stepped close, putting her arm around Becca, giving her a reassuring look.
“I’ll protect her too, Tasia. Don’t worry,” she said, and the female nodded before stepping back, her eyes never leaving her baby.
“I’ll send them back to you when I sense that the battle is over,” Papa Bois said, the silver gleam back in his eyes. “And things are set to right again.”
Tasia swallowed hard, her lower lip trembling as Becca and Pen stepped through the portal holding Gabbi. Brow furrowed, I shook my head.
“She should stay with her daughter,” I leaned down to whisper to Zara and she looked up at me, her eyes wide.
“Do you need a potions witch for the battle?” I asked, and she shook her head, her lips twisting slightly to the side.
“No, but the full strength of the coven lies in us all being there,” she whispered.
I nodded, understanding, just as Tasia turned to Zara, taking a deep breath and tipping her chin up.
“Okay, I’m ready. Let’s do this.” Her voice was firm, and her gaze strayed to her daughter one last time. “Close the portal.”
Zara glanced at me one more time. “Did you want to stay with her?” she asked Tasia, moving closer to her so the words wouldn’t be overheard. “I know—”
“No, I’m going to protect her,” Tasia said, giving her a smile and shaking her head. She swiped a finger under her eyes. “I’m not going to be a coward ever again.”
Whatever the hell that meant. Zara understood, nodding to her and lifting her wand again, closing the portal. Papa Bois gave us one last wink before they disappeared.