“I’ve asked myself that about a dozen times.”
Fergus whistled. “Your woman has power.” He smiled. “Almost as much as Mary.”
Warren wanted to protest that Kiara wasn’t his woman, but Fergus moved the conversation along swiftly. “You should stay put for the time being. Alessandro called and said Julio’s spies are still in place. In fact, our friend added another contingent to the north of the compound.”
“Julio’s not being subtle.”
“No. He’s not.” He looked Warren up and down. “I see you got your gear okay.”
“I did and you can thank Mary for me.”
Fergus grinned. “Women think about these things more than we do.”
Since at that moment Kiara was directing the rescued wolves into the house, Warren could only agree. “There’s something you should know. I’m developing warlock attributes that I can’t explain.”
“Any more than I could tell you why I could build a dreamglide when I first began connecting with Mary, but I could. So, I get it.” His warriors, now free of their charges, began moving in Fergus’s direction. “Where do we go from here, Warren? I’m thinking we should talk about an offensive. Whatever Julio has planned, he means business. We might be wise to cut him off as soon as we can.”
“I agree.” He glanced toward the house and thought about Kiara, the role she’d played, how critically important she’d become in the equation. She’d been the key to saving lives at the station the night before and now with Ralph’s wolves.
He’d lived in Five Bridges long enough to understand the importance of what was happening between them, however temporary it might prove to be. Kiara wasn’t just an asset, she’d become a critical component to the emerging war Julio had set in motion.
But he was also deeply unsettled as to what their future should be, even the rest of the night. He also needed to talk to her, to make sure she was handling the difficulties of the rescue as well as to explain about Tonya. Right now, this seemed more important than setting a strategy even though Fergus was right. They needed to plan an offensive.
He came to a decision and turned his gaze back to Fergus. But Fergus wore a wry smile. “She has alpha-mate capacity, doesn’t she?”
“It’s a nightmare. She’s a witch.”
Fergus ran his gaze over Warren’s face. “And a witch did this to you, so you’re not exactly inclined toward the species.”
“I hate the secrecy and the duplicity.”
“But Kiara’s a good woman. Anyone with half a brain can see that. She’s a witch who rescues wolves.”
Fergus was not helping him in his dilemma. But he still wasn’t ready to hammer out a new strategy. “Give me a couple of hours. I need some time with Kiara. She was just in a battle and that’s not something she’s used to.”
“No problem. Again, I get it. All of it.”
“I’ll call you then we can figure out what we should do next.”
Fergus clapped him on the shoulder. He’d never appeared more serious. “I know it won’t be easy, the next few hours or nights or whatever. But try to stay open. Even though she’s witch, Kiara’s good people. She might be exactly what you need.”
Warren sighed heavily, but he nodded.
When Kiara appeared in the doorway, she called out to Fergus. “Are you ready to leave? I’ll need to clear the spell for you as you depart.”
“We are.”
She levitated toward him then rose to a height of about forty feet and waited.
Fergus pivoted toward his men, lifted his arm straight up then waved it in a circle. With the discipline of years, his wolves rose into the air with him, following in a clean line based on pack rank as they flew into the air.
As Fergus drew near Kiara’s position, Warren watched Kiara part the spell. The men slipped through then disappeared heading east toward the Gordion compound. He noticed that monsoon clouds were piling up in the north again. He sniffed the air. It would rain soon, within the next twenty minutes or so.
Kiara sealed up the security spell. Warren was amazed that he could see a web of gold and violet form then finally expand to a solid shape. The colors then melted away with nothing but starry night sky visible beyond.
Kiara slowly descended in his direction.
It was time to talk about his earlier slip.