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TOMORROW WAS THE DAY RUNE AND HIS MATES PLANNED TO STORM THE MAYWEATHER’S HOUSE.
To calm his nerves, Rune slipped outside and tended to the wards he had planted around the property line. He walked from ward to ward, taking his time as he sat down with each of them and recharged their energy. The task itself wasn't draining to Rune, but it took more time when he was being discreet about it.
With humans bustling about in their own backyards, Rune couldn't go out waving his wand around. He would draw too much attention. And with everything that had occurred in the neighborhood lately, attention was the last thing he wanted.
Magic didn't come cheaply to Rune. With the upcoming battle, he needed every bit he could spare beyond the wards. Erasing the memories of the humans who lived in the surrounding houses was a waste of that precious resource. So Rune sat on the ground, pretending to tend to the flowerbeds while funneling his magic into the surrounding wards.
"What are you up to?" Aries called out from behind.
His voice alerted an older woman who was trimming the hedges along her fence. She peeked over the top and stared at them. Though, to her, they weren’t even there. The wards kept them from being seen.
He raised his finger to his lips and retrieved his wand. With a flick of the powerful, slender rod, he startled a nearby bird’s nest hiding within her bushes. The birds squawked and flew out at the woman, causing her to flee into her home.
"Tending to the flowers and scaring your neighbors," he answered once the nosy woman left.
Aries laughed. "How bold. I never could gather the guts to tell Mrs. Roberts to mind her own yard. She trims her hedges this time of year as an excuse to look at my yard.. Guess from here it just seems like a burnt mess."
"I doubt she'll bother you anymore, though," Rune chuckled.
"So what are you really doing?" he asked, bending down next to him.
"Refueling the wards. I want to make sure our home is well-protected before... tomorrow."
They sat still for a few minutes, watching a ward as it blinked its way to a full charge. Once it was fully lit up, Rune moved on to the next and continued down the flowerbed until he tended to all of them.
"Are you nervous about it?" Aries asked him suddenly. "Tomorrow, I mean."
Rune shrugged. "A little. What about you?"
Aries turned his gaze upward and watched a cloud cover the sun. "After everything they've done, I think I'm going to enjoy seeing them suffer a little...”
The comment threw Rune off balance. It eerily reminded him of the wicked whispers that often crept into his thoughts if he wasn't too careful...
"Aries... Do you know what darkness feeds off of?"
"The light?" he guessed.
Rune shook his head. "No—darkness feeds off of negativity. Light is its natural remedy. But when it comes to the darkness, hatred and the desire for revenge are some of the tastiest emotions you can give it."
"Sounds like something Shen told me once," he muttered.
"What's that?"
Aries put on his best Shen voice impression and said, "it's like swallowing fox fire.”
The Magi cracked a smile. "He's right, you know."
His mate smiled at him, but Rune wondered if his words (or Shen's, for that matter) had reached him. The dark aura that had only grown larger after Rae and Brava were attacked was in full swing as Aries straightened and stretched his arms up over his head. "Thanks for the pep talk, Rune. Have fun charging the wards."
"Oh, I will," Rune teased, rolling his eyes.
He watched Aries as he walked back into the house and sighed. Turning back to the wards, he settled back down and began redirecting the flow of his magic into another one. After a moment, Rune thought he felt someone watching him. He turned and looked over his shoulder, but no
one was there.
Shaking his head, he put the thought out of his mind for now. He had other things to worry about.
––––––––
RUNE WOKE LATER THAT night to the sound of the stairs creaking beneath someone’s feet.
He opened his eyes and waited for his vision to adjust to the darkness. Then, as quietly as he could, he slipped out from beneath the sheets and tiptoed out into the hallway. At the top of the stairs, he saw a dark figure creeping down into the foyer where it bent down and put on a pair of shoes.
He watched them as they opened the door moments later and slipped out into the night. At first, Rune thought perhaps Brava had went out for a midnight run.
But when he flipped on the lights and stepped out onto the porch, he saw none other than Aries hurrying across the front yard.
“Aries!” Rune called out, keeping his voice low so as not to wake the neighbors.
But his mate did not respond.
Rune cursed under his breath and ran after him.
He stopped a house away from the Mayweather’s and watched as Aries strode up to the front door and knocked.
The door swung open, and an arm yanked him inside.
Horrified, Rune ran back to the house to wake the others.
For the four-man task force, “tomorrow” arrived early—and with a precious mate’s life on the line, they had no time to waste.