He did look like he’d been ravaged. That bruise under his cheek was impressive. It surrounded the bottom of his eye and was coloured in shades of black, purple and red.
“Huh?” Vee said, his mouth dropped in confusion. His eyes widened as the penny dropped. “Oh, shit. You guys like itrough.”
“Rough?” Wilder huffed. “This guy’s an animal.”
I winked at Wilder. “And you wouldn’t have it any other way, baby.”
Vee rolled his bottom lip between his teeth. “Don’t suppose you guys ever live stream that shit?”
I dropped the guy I was holding and threw a deadly look at the wendigo. “No. Wilder is mine.”
There was no way I was letting anyone else see Wilder like that. Maybe Bishop, but that was only if Wilder was comfortable with that.
Vee threw his hands up. “Okay, jeez. I was only asking.”
“I think I preferred you when you were emaciated.” He was getting mouthier the healthier he was getting.
“Rude,” Vee said as he bent down to grab the legs of the guy I’d found for Wilder.
“Are you sure this guy is a bad guy?” Wilder asked as I dumped the man in the chair, securing his wrists and ankles in the manacles.
When I’d made sure he wasn’t going anywhere, I walked over to Wilder and took his hands in mine. He’d been tugging at the frayed hem of his jumper like he was determined to pull it apart.“Yes. I have a wonderful file full of shitty people and known associates of targets I’ve already taken down. This man is part of a trafficking ring, and no one will miss him.”
His violet eyes held mine, full of trust and belief. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
“Wait, explain to me why I’m here,” Vee piped up from the back of the room.
I chucked him a smirk over my shoulder. “It’s not exactly on the books so I’m not sure if Damyr will be happy about his whole thing. So, if this goes horribly wrong, you can have a feast.”
“Cool, I’m good with that,” he replied and leaned himself casually against the wall to watch the show.
I turned away from the wendigo and back to our victim. He really was a piece of shit. He helped move trafficked girls around the country and held their passports hostage so they couldn’t escape. I’d taken out a few of the key players in the trafficking ring already and it had collapsed last year but there were still a few names left on the list to take down. Cameron Crawley was one of them.
I settled into a chair and pulled Wilder in between my legs, settling his back against my chest. “Now, open the tether and let your magic flow.”
Wilder pulled my hand and settled it onto his chest. His heart beat a little fast beneath my fingers, and I pushed some calm through our bond.
“How are you so good at this?” Wilder huffed.
I kissed the soft spot behind his ear. “I know what you need, and I understand trial and error. I know that I can calm you down through the tether and that’s my focus right now. I know I can keep you grounded so the first thing we should do is set the tether so you can let your magic fly. After that, it’s purely theoreticalbutI believe that the tether will let me know whatyou need when. It works both ways, baby. I feel you through the tether. Your magic, your fear and your joy. I feel everything.”
He nodded along with my words, digesting them slowly. I felt the moment he pushed his magic into the tether to strengthen it. Wilder’s emotions of dread and worry flurried through my mind like a shard of ice, and I conjured up the image of the beach that he’d found soothing previously.
Wilder released a soft hum and settled his weight more firmly into my embrace. He was ready.
“Now, just reach out with your magic and see what you can find. Just remember, this is about trying. Not succeeding.”
“Is it weird that I’m finding the way you're talking really hot?”
I nipped his earlobe and sucked it into my mouth. “No. I find everything about you hot.”
“Ew, you guys are too much,” Vee groaned from behind us.
I threw him a death stare over my shoulder. “You don’t need to watch. I could always deliver your snack to your room.”
His pale eyebrow arched dangerously. “But where’s the fun in that?”
This guy was turning out to be way more fun than I originally thought. But this moment was about Wilder, so I tuned the wendigo out and focussed on him.