by Ivy Asher
I want to punch Mave in the boob and ask her why she didn’t warn me that I’d need to do a whole speech thing. I take a deep breath and look around at my Chosen.
“I love you, each of you, and I will live every day making sure all of you know and feel that. I vow to honor and protect you,” I start, repeating the vow each of them made to me. “I vow to guide you and to be guided by you. I vow to keep our bond strong and to be there for all of you, no matter what. I vow to laugh with you, cry with you, fight for you and beside you. I vow to choose you today and everyday forever. You are mine and I am yours, and nothing will change that, ever. When we die, I’m tracking you fuckers down. There’s no escape now,” I tease, and my voice cracks with emotion. “We are unbreakable. What we have together is unbreakable, and we will fuck anyone up who tries to mess with that.”
My Chosen laugh, and so does everyone around us.
“Do we get to make out now?” I whisper to Torrez, and he chortles and shakes his head.
“No, we get to party now,” he shouts out into the crowd gathered around us, and everyone starts to cheer.
Torrez sweeps me up in a hug, and I’m promptly stolen from him and wrapped up in Siah’s arms. I’m stolen and passed around until I’ve hugged and declared my I love yous to each of my guys.
“So was that it?” I ask Sabin as he sets me back down on my feet and plants a way too quick kiss on my lips.
“Well, normally there’s the magic stuff that goes down after that, and then we’d all be expected to go to our designated bonding house and finalize the bonds the magic started to put into place, but we’re already connected, so we’re going to skip that part and celebrate with everyone else,” he tells me, his smile contagious.
“So you’re telling me that we could be off fucking right now, but instead, we’re going to mingle and macarena instead?” I ask.
Sabin’s features become horrified. “Of course not...we would never macarena, Vinna. That’s not how Sentinels roll,” he deadpans, and I pinch his nipple.
Sabin hops back away from me with a wide grin, and I glare at him. Ryker watches the exchange and laughs.
“What’s wrong, Squeaks? We thought group sex freaked you out?” he asks innocently, but the amused twinkle in his eyes gives him away.
“We were just looking out for you, Witch,” Torrez teases, and somewhere behind us music starts up.
“Mi Gente” by J Balvin and Willy William starts up, and Torrez’s eyes flash with excitement.
“That’s my jam,” he declares and reaches for my hand. “Come grind on me, Witch,” he tells me and starts pulling me toward the area that’s slowly gathering dancers.
“Don’t worry, Vinna,” Knox calls out to me. “We have big plans to ravage you as a group after the party!”
My tummy flip flops inside of me, and my vagina and clit high-five each other. My hips start working it to the rhythm of the music, and Torrez gives me an appreciative growl. I spot Tok and Marn talking with a few of Knox’s dads. I just catch Trace asking Tok if he is team Edward or Team Jacob as Torrez and I pass by, and I lose it.
I shout out, “Team Jacob,” and then throw my head back and howl. Once again all the shifters and a good number of the casters join me, and I point to the rising howls in the air as proof that Knox’s dad’s love for sparkly vampires is misplaced.
He points at me and gives an outraged laugh. “How can you still claim Team Jacob when you have a lamia for a mate also?” he questions.
I look over at Siah and give him a wink. “My lamia could kick your Edward’s ass any day of the week,” I challenge playfully.
Trace gasps and presses his palm to his chest like he’s clutching his pearls in indignant shock. “Sumo!” he demands, and I laugh even harder.
“If you think I’m letting my mate cover that gorgeous dress and body up with a sumo suit, you’re crazier than Edward Cullen was for leaving Bella,” Knox scolds his dad as he sweeps in and rescues me.
“My hero,” I coo to him as both he and Torrez pull me closer to the dance floor.
“That fool probably has those suits in the trunk of his car. Just wait, somebody’s going to be sumo-ing by the end of the night,” Knox declares, and I laugh hard because he’s probably right.
“Ooooh, let’s make Elder Cleary sumo someone,” I announce, and Valen fist bumps me.
“Vinna!” Mave calls out to me. I look around and find her holding up a shot glass. “Moonshine!” she shouts out, and I chuckle and make my fingers an X.
“Oh hell no! I learned my lesson last time,” I shout back, and she laughs.
“Here’s to my future harem,” she toasts, and when she goes to bring the shot glass to her lips, Pebble comes out of nowhere and plucks it from her hand. He downs the shot and then throws Mave over his shoulder. She laughs and looks up from his back.
“This is not the last you’ve seen of me,” she declares like some B movie villain.
Pebble slaps her ass and carries her out of view. I laugh and shake my head and continue to move toward the dance floor, ready to get my grind on. I spot Aydin’s big ass moving through the crowd, and I shout for him to come join us. He has a phone in his hand and a serious look on his face that instantly makes me pause. Our eyes connect, and I see relief and…guilt?
Why do I see guilt?
“What’s wrong?” I ask him as he and Evrin make their way over to us.
“Shit, I’m sorry, Vinna, but I just got a call from an Alpha Vorenno. He heads a large pack over in Montana, and he’s had several females go missing in the last couple months,” Aydin tells us, shouting over the loud music and the partying going on all around us.
“He just had another female go missing, and he’s called us to see if we can help figure out what’s going on,” Aydin finishes, and shock surges through me.
“He called us...as in Sentinel us?” I ask, needing to wrap my mind around what he’s saying.
“Yes,” Evrin shouts out so he can be heard over all the noise.
“I’m really sorry, Vinna, I know this is all of your big night, but he sounded desperate. This will be the fifth female that’s gone missing from his pack. He’s not getting any cooperation from the other packs, and his relationship with the casters in the area is not good,” Aydin tells me.
I turn to the guys, excitement and shock on my face. “Holy shit, we have a job, guys.”
They all beam back at me, the same surprised excitement written all over their faces.
I pat Aydin’s shoulder. “Don’t be sorry, someone is asking us for help; that’s a good fucking thing,” I reassure him.
“Well, fuck. Okay then. Let’s go,” I announce, and we start to move away from the dance floor.
I spot my dads and wave them over to us.
“I have the plane on standby and ready to go when you are. I also have clothes ready in the SUVs. Your Tok and Marn brought a ton more of that Narwagh armor you guys like, so I have kits with all of your clothes in all of your vehicles. I’ll stock up the plane too when we head out,” Evrin tells us.
“You guys are the best,” I tell them, and we all pick up the pace and move in the direction Aydin leads us.
“Okay, Aydin, fill us in on what we need to know,” Sabin orders.
“The most recent female taken was a ward of the Alpha. I’m not clear on all the details, but his raising this female is what created an issue between him and the local casters. All the other females taken were all in their mid-twenties, all dark hair, all disappeared in the middle of the night. Alpha Vorenno had the last two females under guard when they disappeared, and they can’t find any trace of how it happened. No scent of magic or other shifters,” Aydin explains.
“Any bodies show up?” Valen asks.
“No, but the third female who was taken, trackers found a lot of her blood about twenty miles away. They have no idea what it means, and scenes like that haven’t been discovered for any of the others,” Evrin tells us.
“Shit. This sounds li
ke a fucking doozy of a case,” Torrez observes, and I nod.
“It is, that’s why they’re calling you,” Aydin states, his eyes radiating his faith in us.
Nerves and excitement flash through me.
Our first job.
Our dream of taking cases and helping just became a reality.
What we’re walking into is daunting, but I’ve never felt surer that this is what we were made for. I take a deep breath and put my game face on.
Let’s fucking do this.
The End
Thank you so fucking much for reading!!!
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Also by Ivy Asher
Shadowed Wings Series
The Hidden
Book 2 coming soon
Standalones
April’s Fools
The Lost Sentinel Series
The Lost and the Chosen
Awakened and Betrayed
The Marked and the Broken
Found and Forged
About the Author
Ivy Asher is addicted to chai, swearing, and laughing a lot—but not in a creepy, laughing alone kind of way. She loves the snow, books, and her family of two humans, and three fur-babies. She has worlds and characters just floating around in her head, and she’s lucky enough to be surrounded by amazing people who support that kind of crazy.