Four-Letter Words by Evans, Gabrielle (top 10 books of all time .txt) 📗

“Sure.” The radiance never dimmed, and Thane bounded out of bed like a little boy on Christmas morning. “Don’t worry. You’ll remember.”

Zasha wished he could be as confident, but he didn’t even know what he was supposed to be remembering. Instead of arguing, however, he grinned and rolled off the mattress to join his mate. It was too hard to fight against Thane’s optimism. Besides, if what he’d experienced was the surfacing of repressed memories, it was a lot less terrifying than the idea he was losing his damn mind.

“I hope you’re right, Thane.” Everything he stood to lose flashed before him on a speed reel, and an involuntary shudder seized him. “I really hope you’re right.”

Chapter Eight

“Reliable sources have verified that the circle we’re looking for is currently hiding out in Nevada.” Torren tapped his finger on the map spread over the desk. “It’s a large circle, and we’re seriously outnumbered. We’re stronger, but even with all of us, it’ll be dangerous.”

“Absolutely not.”

Thane closed his eyes and groaned at Zasha’s interruption. He should have expected it, but he’d hoped they were past all of this unnecessary worry. In the three days since he’d claimed his mate, however, nothing had changed.

Zasha was still getting flashes of memories from their past life together, but unfortunately, the poor guy thought he was going crazy. For some unknown reason, he could see these pieces of time, but he didn’t recall them as memories. From what Zasha described, they were more like hallucinations brought on by PTSD. The events were very real to him, but each one was a new experience in his present world, not recollections of days gone by.

“I’m not fond of the idea, either,” October agreed as he placed a hand on Raith’s thigh. “We can’t ignore this threat, though.”

Taking his mate’s hand, Thane brought it to his lips and kissed the knuckles. “You know I love you.” He didn’t think he imagined the slight wince at the declaration, but he decided to ignore it. “My body still needs a bit of work, but my magic is firing on all cylinders.” He paused, knowing his next words wouldn’t win him his lover’s favor. “I’m going, Zash. I’m going to help my family.”

To his utter surprise, a cunning smile stretched across Zasha’s face, and he bobbed his head slowly. “Yeah, I figured that’s what you’d say. That’s why I’m going with you.”

“We all are,” October corrected, indicating himself, Zasha, and Lynk’s mate, Kieran. “Kaito is going to spend some quality time with his cousin until we return.”

Thane wrinkled his nose and arched both eyebrows. “That’s great. Did you miss the part where we’re going to the desert? Last time I checked, there’s a lot of sun associated with the desert.”

“Then I suppose it’s good news that your brother is a Council member and can get us a vampire-friendly private jet.” Leaning back in his chair, Zasha folded his arms over his chest and cocked his head to the side. “Surely you don’t plan to go hunting witches in the middle of the day.”

“I don’t see why not.” He wasn’t sure if Zasha was trying to pick a fight with him, but Thane definitely felt his blood pressure rising at the taunting tone and self-satisfied smirk. Gods, he didn’t know why they couldn’t get through one goddamn day without all the bullshit. “People are naturally more cautious at night. They expect bad things to happen. It actually makes more sense for us to go during the daylight hours.”

Thane had nothing against Zasha joining them on this assignment. Naturally, he worried about his mate’s safety, but Zasha wasn’t a child. He was strong and capable and could handle himself in a fight. Plus, Thane would be right there with him if anything went wrong.

However, he also wasn’t stupid. Zasha’s desire to accompany him on this journey echoed with all of their previous arguments. Though he hadn’t come right out and said it, the implication that his dear mate felt Thane needed a protector came across loud and clear.

“Actually,” Torren began with a sympathetic nod in Thane’s direction, “we stand a better chance if we attack at night.”

“Yeah, I know.” Sighing into his hands, Thane scrubbed both palms over his face and then pushed his fingers through his hair in frustration. “The witching hour.” The witching hour—the sixty minutes after midnight—was when their magic was most powerful.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Lynk asked. He was the smallest man in the room, even smaller than Zasha, and yet, no one felt the need to convince him to sit this one out. “Yes, we’ll be stronger, but so will the witches we’re up against.”

“True.” Torren bobbed his head with a thoughtful frown on his lips. “I still think it’s our best option. We’re already outnumbered. We need to be at our strongest magically.”

“Even if these fuckers are a bit stronger during the witching hour,” Raith added, “with our full, combined power, we should be able to crush them like ants.”

“Overconfidence will get you killed,” October reprimanded with a stern glare that gave a hard edge to his features.

The disapproval in his voice made Thane chuckle, but he quickly turned it into a cough when his brother glared at him. He’d never known anyone to speak to Raith like that and get away with it, and it humored him that the asshole had finally met his match.

“Great!” Zasha clapped his hands together and rose from his seat. “Then it’s settled. When do we leave?”

“At sunset tomorrow night,” Torren answered at once. “I’ll run the plan through the appropriate channels and get approval for a Council jet. October, I think Aslan had some questions for you about Kaito.” He waited for October’s nod of understanding before turning to the werewolf, Kieran. “I hate to take Enforcers away from Haven right now, but we could use all the help we can get. I know your brothers aren’t big Braddock fans, but can