Page 70 of Assisting the Alpha
At first, I’m not sure whether that’s a good response or not, but as time ticks on and he gets that adorable wrinkle in his noseas the scent of his magic gets stronger and stronger, I figure he’s getting somewhere.
It takes ten agonising minutes before he picks up the grimoire, takes the few steps to get to me, and hands it through the ward. He gets to work on the next one while Raj and I only manage not to fidget through hard-won experience.
I know we can’t rush Ayo, but knowing there are eleven grimoires? I really don’t want to be here for two more hours. The sun rises so early this time of year that there’s a risk someone will wake up and discover us on our way out.
Fortunately, the second only takes five minutes, and the third, two minutes. In a little over half an hour, Raj and I have eleven grimoires between us and Ayo looks ready to drop.
I juggle the grimoires I’m carrying into one arm. The moment Ayo crosses back through the ward, I use my free arm to pull him in close. “Well done, sweet thing. That was amazing. Now, do you feel able to head back out there so we can return the keys?”
We can leave Nyoka’s keys somewhere in the manor if need be, but I’d much rather return them and have our activities go unnoticed for as long as possible. Or we could take the keys with us and really piss him off.
Hmm, that’s not a bad idea…
Ayo nods, but he’s leaning against me heavily. My wolf whines, nudging me to care for our mate. Yeah, we’re definitely abandoning the plan to return the keys to Nyoka’s desk.
I tap my earbud to activate it. “Sierra two-four, Sierra three-seven, over.”
Jet’s voice in my ear is a relief since I wasn’t sure if it would work through these walls. “Sierra three-seven, go ahead, over.”
“Request immediate backup at Indigo Papa two, over.”
“Roger that, over and out.”
“What…?” Ayo asks, his voice slurred. Shit, I think he’s close to passing out.
“Backup is on the way. Let’s move.” The sooner we get out of here, the better.
I support Ayo while he sluggishly locks the door to the grimoire room. Raj listens at the bookcase, then presses the stone in the wall that Ayo used to close the secret door in the first place. Raj leads us through and before we can even ask, Ayo points to a particular book on the nearest bookcase—not the original one since that’s hidden at the moment. Raj presses it and the door slides back into place.
Jet and Kit rush around the corner, looking ready to do battle. I probably should have made my message clearer.
Oh well.
“Kit, here.” I hand him the grimoires I’m carrying and immediately lift Ayo into my arms, more concerned than ever when my sorcerer comes without protest. “Let’s get out of here. Jet, take point.”
“Wait,” Ayo mumbles, then holds up the keys, which weirdly jangle together without making a sound. He must have cast a silencing spell on them.
“You don’t have the energy to return them through that ward, sweet thing.”
“Kitchens,” he murmurs.
Since that’s one of our possible ways out, then as long as the lady from before isn’t still wandering around, it isn’t a detour. Fortunately she isn’t, although why Ayo insists on putting the keys inside a jar in the huge fridge, I have no idea.
Keys wiped of prints and ditched, we make a run for it.
Chapter Twenty
AYO
I close another grimoire and set it aside before rubbing my eyes and wondering what I did to deserve ancestors with such awful handwriting. My dad also never mentioned that he was telling me stories from grimoires written entirely in Latin. It’s a good thing I paid attention to Latin in school, but jeez, it’s hard going.
Two large hands land on my shoulders and start massaging gently. “Time to take a break, sweet thing.”
I let my head fall forward and enjoy the massage. “I just need a minute, then I can get started on this next one.”
I whimper when Ethan’s hands stop. He gently turns me on the stool so I reluctantly open my eyes. Concerned blue eyes look down at me.
“Ayo, you need a proper break. You’ve been at this for hours, and you barely slept after we got back. Your magic hasn’t recovered yet.”
