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Oh,to do with me" Finally, he twisted around to face me and now I could see why he’d turned in the first place His eyes were shining with tears He appeared to be farwith h those trees for God kne hly with the back of his hand before clearing his throat He shook his head, an atteo out to hiuessed that it could not have happened that long ago I wondered if I ht’ve even been the first person he’d spoken to about it

I couldn’t i about it knocked the breath out ofthat I didn’t even know my rescuer’s name "What is your name?" I asked

"Bastien," he replied, his voice hoarse "Bastien Blackhall"

"My nahn"

Apparently both of our parents had a fondness for alliteration

A span of silence followed My hting back? Invading other real even those supernaturals ere entirely innocent, many of whom had probably never even set foot on Earth? Tit for tat? I wondered if there were any other bases here, and how ht’ve affected

"So you’re, uh, just as new to all of this as I am, then?" I asked

He nodded "I do not knohen they first entered The Woodlands, or how they marked our territory so quickly They arrived at our lair in the dead of night We had no warning All of us, coer burned in his eyes "Cowards"

"Where is your lair?" I asked

He cast his head over his shoulder andto ure out what the heck I was supposed to do now My sto to do to Heath and Grace

"I need to go back and help my cousin and friend," I blurted, even as I felt another sharp twinge in my ankle

Doubt shrouded Bastien’s face before he spoke the truth I was trying to ignore "You will not stand a chance, Lady Vaughn We have alerted them now, and they will have that entire yard filled with their beasts on guard"