Flawless Evans, Gabrielle (ebook smartphone .txt) 📖

over him, Kieran’s mind went completely blank and his beast took over, demanding vengeance. The next few seconds passed in a blur of growling, biting, ripping, and clawing at any part of Axton he could reach. When Kieran finally returned to his senses, he had Lynk in his arms once more, and Axton was splayed on the ground, his sightless eyes staring up at the moon as blood pooled in the grass beneath his lifeless body.

Lynk looked a little green around the gills, and he was shaking as he clung to Kieran. So, when he finally spoke, his words were so unexpected that Kieran actually chuffed in laughter.

“Well, good thing that I really do know where Zasha is.”

* * * *

Lynk hadn’t personally known where Zasha was, but Thane did.

Though they hadn’t been bonded, their connection was there, allowing Thane to feel his mate’s presence. They’d speculated on it quite a bit, but it was kind of liberating to know that he’d been correct in his assumption as to why Zasha had been so obsessed with him.

It hadn’t taken long to find the vampire beneath a trapdoor in the far left windmill. He’d been drugged and bound, but was a little groggy on the details of how exactly Axton had gotten the drop on 140 Gabrielle

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him. While Zasha’s behavior had seemed suspicious when he’d led them to the well, he really had just been worried for Thane and in a rush to get to him. Lynk could understand that single-minded pursuit when it came to the safety of the people who mattered most to him.

Raith was spitting mad, snarling and bitching about Axton drugging him as well. Once he’d learned that the asshole vampire had been the one to push Lynk into the well—as well as the horrors of what he’d put Thane through—Lynk imagined Axton should be glad he was already dead. What Kieran had done to him would probably seem like child’s play compared to Raith’s fury.

It really hadn’t been a very well thought out or executed plan.

Clearly, Axton hadn’t been very bright, rest his soul. Part of Lynk mourned the loss of life, but the rational part of him understood that it couldn’t have been avoided. Even if Axton hadn’t died at Kieran’s hands, The Council would have ordered his execution almost immediately.

He just wished there had to been time for them to discover the name of the circle of witches he had been working with. On the other hand, he supposed they had enough clues to lead them in the right direction. It had to be a local coven, one with ties in Belgium.

There was also the strong likelihood that it was the same group that had attacked them on Halloween. It wouldn’t exactly be easy to identify them, but Lynk had confidence that they’d find them eventually.

There would be more as well. All over the world, covens, packs, circles, and all types of paranormals were searching out the Braddocks, desperate to have a key to the Book of the Banished. For now, however, the book was safe, and Lynk and his brothers had survived once again. They’d found one of their missing brethren, their family was slowly being reunited, and Lynk had his Infinity.

As things went, he figured he was a pretty lucky guy.

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Chapter Sixteen

“I want to see my mate,” Zasha demanded.

“No,” Torren countered. “I have some questions for you, plus Thane is in no condition to be getting worked up right now.” Lynk was having a hard time picking a side on this one. While he wanted some answers and certainly wanted to protect his brother, he’d be a snarling, spitting mess if someone tried to keep him away from Kieran.

“I’ll answer your questions.” Zasha slumped back against the cushions of the sofa where they all gathered in the living room of the house Lynk shared with his brothers and mate. “I’m not going to hurt him. I just need to see him.”

The vampire sounded drained, but he’d refused to leave Thane. So while Leader Tuesday cleaned up the mess in his coven, Zasha had traveled back to Casper with them. No one would let him near Thane, though, and Lynk felt a little guilty about that. Still, Torren said it was for the best until Thane could recover from his ordeal, and for once, Lynk agreed.

Thane was barely more than skin and bones, covered in bruises, bite marks, cuts, and angry-looking sores. It was a miracle that he was even still alive after what he’d endured.

“How did Axton get Thane into the country?” Torren asked, leaning forward in his chair and clasping his hands together between his knees as he stared at Zasha unblinkingly.

“I don’t think he did.” There was a moment of silence while Zasha apparently tried to gather his thoughts. “Axton doesn’t have any family, and he never really fit in at Snake River. I guess I felt sorry 142 Gabrielle

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for him.” He sighed heavily, but kept his head up and his shoulders back. “I always go home to Belgium to visit my family in the spring.

A few years ago, I asked Axton to come with me.”

“You asked him? Not the other way around?” Lynk didn’t know why the distinction was important, but he trusted Torren to get the information they needed.

“Yes.” Zasha bobbed his head. “It was just after he’d come to our coven, and he was still having problems making friends and settling in. I thought it would do him some good to get away for a while. That was the first time I took him with me. It just kind of became an annual thing after that.”

“How did he meet these witches in Belgium?” Shifting around in his recliner, Kieran spread his thighs and held out a hand for Lynk to come to him while he spoke to Zasha.

Uncaring of what any of the men in the room thought, Lynk rose from the