Free Wild Darkness (A Bound By Magick Novel) by Lauren Dane Page A

coming up. He got interrupted by his aide many times over. The times he spoke to Delilah they were in a group and it wasn’t the right place to ask.
    And by the time they landed he was so tired his eyes burned and all he could think about was a hot shower and a good night’s sleep. Still, he’d made a decision to move forward and, that done, he rarely lost sight of something he’d set his mind to do. Within the next two days he would ask Delilah over for a drink. He could do this. It was long past time.
    •   •   •
    THE plane touched down and Helena managed to get everyone into a car and safely delivered to their Washington, DC, homes, where they all had personal security, and she and Faine joined the rest of the Others at a huge house owned by the National Pack.
    “You should go to sleep.” Faine shouldered her bag once they’d entered the front gates and she let him. Too tired to refuse.
    “I’m surprised there aren’t any protesters.”
    “I suppose they may not know this location is Other-owned yet. Are you even listening? You’re dead on your feet. As usual. You should rest.”
    She grinned at the agitation in his voice, for some reason cheered by needling him. Stupid, really, to poke at a giant beast wearing a man’s skin. But she liked to live dangerously. “No. Come on. I’m hungry.”
    He frowned at her, but followed her into the house where the magick of all the Others inside greeted his senses, easing his tension.
    “It’s so nice to be in a friendly space.” He watched as the frown lines around her eyes eased back and that made him feel better.
    “I was just thinking that.”
    Molly got up as they entered the main living room. “Hello, you two. Glad you got in all right. Come on upstairs. I’ll show you your rooms and you can put your bags down.”
    They followed her up the stairs and down a long hallway to the end. Molly turned to Helena. “I put you facing the courtyard. The plants out there make me feel better. I figured you’d think so as well.”
    The room was nice sized and had an en suite bathroom.
    “Faine is on the other side.”
    He nodded. “Thank you, Molly.” He turned to Helena. “I’ll be back in a moment and then you and I are eating some dinner.”
    “There’s a huge kitchen here. Cade Warden sent a chef down so there’s a lot of food as well. Are you all right?”
    “It’s been a challenging day,” Faine said as he came back into Helena’s bedroom. “We were chosen for an enhanced search at the airport. There was a fight between three security people, one of whom was an asshole but the other two, also human, were not. Sato had to intervene and make calls to get it moved along. The plane trip was long, but thankfully, as we took up the entire first-class cabin, we didn’t have to deal with much animosity.”
    Molly looked to Helena. “But you felt it.”
    Helena nodded, pressing her fingers to her temples.
    “You can feel it?” He pushed his anger that she hadn’t said so down as far as he could. She wasn’t a natural sharer, this one, but he wanted her to lighten her damned load with him sometimes just the same.
    It was Molly who spoke to explain. “A lot of negative energy, especially when it’s aimed at you and you’re in a confined space, is toxic. Planes tend to amplify our magick as well, so it’s a one-two punch.” Molly took Helena’s hands. “Why don’t you go out into the courtyard for a recharge? I’ll let the chef know you’ll be eating in a few minutes. But clear out all that bad energy, you’ll feel better and the food will go down easier too.”
    Faine wanted to scoop her up and cosset her. He had no idea all the dirty looks and nasty comments people made under their breath would affect her like that.
    “Is it all right if I come along?”
    Helena shrugged. “Sure.”
    Molly took them down a back staircase—slowly and carefully in her walking cast—and showed them through large French doors into an enclosed