He consulted his phone, which was buzzing with text after text. “We did it. All of the women and children across all of the cities have been freed. The corrupted leaders of the societies are gone too.”
The relief that crashed through me was so sudden that a strangled cry ripped from my lips. Liv’s arms wrapped around me, and we both held on to each other.
Liv pulled back from me finally and looked up at me. “What now?”
“Now we rebuild it better than before,” I told her.
There was nothing wrong with wanting to fight evil and protect the innocent, but we needed to rebuild the society in a way that was transparent. In a way that Maz never could. We needed the truth, no matter how painful it was.
Chapter Fifteen
The phone rangand I ran across the office with super vampire speed to pick it up. “Supernatural Protectors Guild, this is Aspen.”
Ruby and Liv gave me a thumbs-up from where they sat at their desks and I put our first phone call on speaker. “Hi, I’m in need of some protection. I’ve got a really psycho fey ex-boyfriend who’s stalking me.”
I nodded. “Okay, why don’t you set up a time to come down to our office and we can map out a plan to keep you safe.”
“That would be great,” she said.
“I’ll forward you to our appointment line,” I told her, and pushed the button to pass her off to Liv.
Liv’s phone rang and she picked it up with a grin. Holly, Anthony, Valerie, and all the House of Thorns hunters were here too. They stood by excitedly, suited up for work.
I gave a silent whoop in the air and the main line rang again. “Supernatural Protectors Guild, this is Aspen.”
“Woman, you better not be late to our wedding,” Luka growled.
I grinned. “We’re leaving in an hour! I’ll be there on time.” My hair was already done and the dress was in the break room. When Ruby, Liv, and I got the idea to open our own supernatural hunter guild here in Vampire City, Luka gave us the barn that the House of Thorns’ hunters had been staying in. It only took a few weeks to convert it to an office, and we’d accidently made opening day the same day as my wedding.
“Love you.” Luka’s dreamy voice came over the line.
“Love you too.” I hung up and the phone rang again.
When I answered, it was an older werewolf woman who needed security for a big party she was having on her farm. I patched the call through to Ruby and smiled. It wasn’t vampire hunting, we weren’t taking down the big bads in the human world, but it was a start. All of the houses sort of crumbled after they learned the truth that the vampires and supernaturals in their area weren’t all bad, and most of them hadn’t committed any crimes.
I knew they needed time, like I had. They would find their way to something that made sense, like the SPG did for us.
We were part hired security and part private detectives. It soothed the ache that was caused by all of Maz’s lies. And it was safe enough for me to let my lil’ half-sister Maple get involved. When she walked in with my mom, she was wearing an SPG t-shirt with logo. A walkie-talkie was hooked onto her belt, next to a can of pepper spray. She took the new jobveryseriously.
She stepped up to me and saluted. “Reporting for duty.”
I grinned. “Big day today. You sure you would rather do this than be my bridesmaid?”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course! Lead security for the biggest wedding in Vampire City. It’s an honor,” she told me.
I grinned. I didn’t expect anything to happen at the wedding, and if it did we had Luka’s royal guard, but my little sis wanted to feel important, and if this helped do that, then so be it.
“Just don’t mace anyone unless they really deserve it,” I told her.
She pulled her walkie out and pressed a button. “Copy that.” She winked and the corresponding walkie on my mom’s hip squawked.
We all laughed, and then my mom walked over to me and pulled a stray hair from where it was stuck to my forehead. “You look beautiful. I never thought I would see the day that you—” Her voice gave out and I pulled her in for a hug.
“You’re the best thing that came out of all this,” I told her as we held each other tightly.
“Okay, now we really need to get you in your dress!” Liv called out behind us, and my mom and I broke away wiping our eyes. Ruby’s team stepped in to take over the phones as we all moved to the employee break room to get ready for my wedding.
Once my make-up was done, I was just slipping into my dress when there was a knock on the little office break room door.
