I sighed. The no fanfare and no party of my crowning didn’t help this issue, even though I had appreciated not being made a spectacle of. “I’m Queen Ruckler. Sent to find the next Prodigy.” I growled low, letting my wolf take voice, the Com woman’s eyes flying wide at hearing the evidence I was, in fact, Mystical. I was done playing nice. I was about ready to drop in exhaustion. “Get your ass down here where I can see you.” I let my command unleash.
I heard him grunt, then a tawny-haired brute of a man appeared in the corner of my eye, where he had trekked halfway down the stairs, jerking from the command. He looked thirty-five in Com years, so he had been around for the last war. He knew better than to hide in a place this filled with Coms. I growled in irritation, but he still had the gun in his hand, so I didn’t make any sudden movements.
My eyes flashed. “Set the gun down gently.”
He did so, even if fighting my command, his eyes narrowed, his hate at being manipulated clear.
“Tell the Com to turn the fuck around so I can disarm her.”
“Do it, Mac,” he stated instantly. “She’s telling the truth. She’s not here to harm us.”
Beautifully, the Com turned and placed her hands on the door. I moved swiftly, disarming her. Not only did she have a gun at the back of her waistband, but she also had one strapped to her leg. I grunted in approval, even if she wasn’t using silver bullets, thinking her only attack would come from Coms when everyone knew the Beasts were out there. “Are you going to behave, Mac?”
Instantly, she nodded.
“Aloud, Mac.” I smacked the back of her head. “Are you going to behave?”
Instant. “Yes.”
Only partial truth.
I heard the owner sigh even as I quickly debated my option…then I hit her over the head with the butt end of her own gun. I caught her falling form one-armed, my gun instantly altering to the owner. “She was a loose end I don’t have time for.”
His jaw was clenched. “She’s loyal, so please don’t kill her.”
“I wasn’t planning on it.” Laying her on the floor, I listened to her heartbeat and felt her head. She had a bit of a goose egg already starting, but she was fine. I sighed, straightening, and rested back against the door, not holstering my weapon because there were other lingering Com scents in the house. “You have a son?” It was a simply asked question, no command in my tone.
He rolled his shoulders, crossing his arms while assessing me. “You don’t look like Lily Ruckler.” His head cocked at my duffle. “And you’ve got a live lion in that bag.”
My shoulders slumped. I was done playing this game. I took my fake glasses off and pulled the hoodie I was wearing down. I pointed at my brown hair. “It’s spelled.” I unzipped my bag and pulled Bonnie out from where she had been hiding the majority of the time in the cab. “This is Bonnie. My Vizoac.” Hooking her under one arm so I still had my shooting hand free, I explained at his wide gaze as he scented the air. “She’s also spelled to look different.”
I jostled her. “Speak, Bonnie.” She growled, sounding very much like a lion even though it came out of a poodle’s mouth. I jostled her again. “Good girl.” I cracked my neck. “Now, do you have a son?”
He blinked. “Twins. A son and a daughter.”
“Perfect,” I grumbled. That meant possibly two brats to cart along on our trip. “Let’s see them.”
He nodded, gesturing up the stairs, his eyes traveling over my face. “I’m so sorry for—”
“Look, I’m exhausted.” I shook my head. “I don’t want to hear apologies. All I want to do is my job, and then get us all the fuck out of this Com-infested city.” I eyed him as we walked down a thin hallway. “What the hell are you thinking, living here with kids?”
He had stiffened when I had said ‘get us all out’, and now he straightened even more. “I made it through the last war living in a damn sewer. I won’t live like that again.” King Cave isn’t a sewer, but it isn’t this place, and he sure as hell will be living there. “I have Coms that I trust bring food and supplies in and out.”
“There’s stubborn,” I stated. “Then there’s stupid stubborn. Do you know which category I would place you in?”
He chuckled, relaxing a little. “I can imagine.” He opened a door at the end of the hallway. “They’re both in here, taking naps.”
Before entering, I sniffed the air and listened. All I heard were two tiny heartbeats, steady breathing, and the ticking of a clock. But I scented… “The room’s spelled.” My gaze slammed to his.
Cautiously, he nodded. “If you mean them no harm, you can pass.”
My nostrils flared, and I nodded, smelling only truth on him. I carefully stepped through the doorway, not getting killed with the spell, which was probably how it was concocted. The lion Shifter followed me in, and I realized I hadn’t asked his name, so I did in a whisper.
“Lynn Johnson.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr Johnson. I only wish it was during better times.”