The Burning Claw

by Quinn Loftis

  Costin whispered in her ear as his body moved over hers. “I adore you, I desire you, and I love you, Sally Miklos.”

  Chapter 23

  “So there wasn’t a big battle scene this time. Just Costin ripping a man apart with his bare hands. That was pretty freaking awesome. Though Sally and Costin are safe and sound, their fight isn’t over. The Order of the Burning Claw is still out there. And they’re begging for an ass kicking. Lucky them, I pass out ass kickings for free.” ~Jen

  Vasile looked around at the carnage Costin had left behind. It was bad—not unjustified, but messy.

  “You okay?” Decebel asked him.

  He must have looked pretty shaken. And truth be told, he was shaken. The entire situation was obscene. Who does this to a young woman? They knew she had a mate. Didn’t they care about what it would do to her if and when she found out? He shouldn’t be surprised, but sometimes the depths of evil inherent in some still shocked even him.

  “I’ll be better when this place is burned to the ground.”

  “I’ll take care of it as soon as we are done searching the office in the back,” Peri told him.

  “What caused Costin to kill the others? Why didn’t he even give them time to explain themselves?” Vasile ask the other two. The pinched look on Decebel’s face made it clear that the reason sickened him.

  “He saw in Sally’s thoughts that Jericho used a seduction spell on her last night.” Decebel paused; he didn’t want to say the rest.

  “He mated with her?” Vasile asked, sparing him.

  Decebel nodded.

  “No wonder he lost it,” Vasile said softly. “Would you mind having Jen check on them later? Costin isn’t going to want any males near her, of course, at least for a little while.”

  “I can do that,” Decebel agreed.

  Peri stood with the rest of the pack, watching from across the street as The Doghouse burned to the ground. She made sure the fire didn’t touch anything around the building. She thought she would have some satisfaction seeing it fall, but the memories of Sally’s broken face and Costin’s burning rage had torn a hole in her heart. Everything just felt wrong.

  “Come to me, beloved. Let me make it right,” Lucian said gently as he pushed his feelings of love and adoration to her.

  “Let me debrief and then I’m all yours,” she told him, feeling a little better just because she could feel her mate through their bond.

  Peri wordlessly held out her arms for everyone to touch her somewhere so that she could flash them away from the fire and the heartbreak and death that happened there.

  Once they were all in Vasile’s office, the Alpha turned to everyone in the room. He looked tired as if the fate of their pack and of the rest of the world balanced precariously on his shoulders.

  “Everyone needs to get some sleep and process what we witnessed today. Lean on your mate for comfort. The Great Luna gave us our true mates for such a time as this. We’ve had to watch one of our own be violated mentally and physically. We’ve had to see her mate deteriorate as the darkness and grief consumed him. We’ve watched that same male get his justice in a most violent manner. We’ve also watched the reunion of those mates and the incredible pain that they are both feeling. They have a very long road ahead of them. They are going to need the support of their pack, or maybe I should say packs.” He glanced at Decebel who bent his head slightly forward.

  “We will meet back here tomorrow evening at seven,” Vasile said with finality.

  The room began to disperse and Peri watched as Decebel pulled Jen close, tears already streaming down her face. Jacque was in a similar position with Fane and he was whispering to her, his own face one of torment. Even Cypher, the king, looked subdued. He was no doubt going to find his own mate, who was somewhere in the mansion babysitting Slate. Peri was just about to flash when she saw Alina rush into the room. The female Alpha stopped the minute she saw her mate. The only way to describe the look in her eyes was utter, complete, intense, love. She pulled herself together and walked to her mate as the controlled and regal Alpha female that she was.

  As soon as she was before him, Vasile was on his knees. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his forehead into her stomach. Alina folded herself over him. Peri’s breath caught at the incredible devotion she could feel pouring off of each of them.

  Sally’s ordeal had really shaken Vasile up. She knew every male was imaging what they would have done had it been their mate. Being so close to tragedy often causes people to realize what they have and how precious it is.

  She flashed, leaving the Alphas to their private moment. She reappeared in the suite she shared with Lucian. Peri hadn’t been standing there for longer than ten seconds when a massive form swooped in lifting her off her feet. She was lying on her back in a matter of moments with her mate over her.

  Lucian looked down at her with a hunger that took her breath away. She understood exactly how he felt.

  “You know that I try to be understanding and give you your space, but female I cannot go a week without seeing you. The turmoil I was feeling inside of you today was driving me mad. You were in so much pain and you still are.”

  “Lucian, it was awful. I’ve never seen such pain in two people’s eyes. I honestly don’t know if Sally can handle this. I’m scared it’s going to eat her alive until there is nothing left but a shell.” Peri closed her eyes as tears slipped down her cheeks.

  “I can’t fix this,” Lucian growled. “And that is unbelievably frustrating. I can’t fix it, but I can make you forget for just a little while,” he finished his words in a whisper next to her ear.

  She shivered at his warm breath and confident touch.

  “Let me take care of you, beloved mate. Let me bathe you, feed you, and then love you.” He said all of that while pressing kisses to the mark he had put upon her.

  “I’m all yours, wolf. Do your worst,” Peri told him. She thanked the Great Luna as her mate took care of her that night. Peri had never wanted a mate or a significant other. She’d have been a fool if she had not accepted Lucian as hers.

  “I would have followed you around until you gave in,” Lucian teased, having heard her thoughts.

  “I don’t doubt you for a minute.”

  “Shhh, baby. You’re scaring me,” Decebel whispered against his mate’s hair. She was curled up in his lap, weeping, and had been for a half hour. She was killing him. He understood what she was feeling, he could feel it pulsing through their bond. And he also felt nearly the same way. “Though I hurt for Sally and Costin, all my wolf and I can think is what if that had been our mate?” He pulled her closer and moved her hair over her shoulder so that he could press his lips to her neck. He sighed. Her skin against his was what he and his wolf craved.

  “Dec, you didn’t feel her as we held her in that bar. She shook so violently that I thought she might be having a seizure. Something broke in her when she realized that Costin was going to know about what she and Jericho did. I know Sally. She will want to take full responsibility for everything that happened.” She shuddered in his arms as her eyes become unfocused. She was remembering. “Nobody can handle that kind of guilt. Why?” she yelled suddenly.

  Jennifer pulled out of his arms and began pacing as she ranted. “WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE HER? Out of all of us it should have been ME!” she roared.

  Decebel was on his feet towering over her in a heartbeat. “Never say that again. Costin is young. Sixty years without your mate is hard but two centuries without you, I would have lost it, Jennifer. There would have been a hell of a lot more deaths I can promise you that. I know you’re hurting for your friend, but never wish something like that on yourself. Think about me.” He slammed his hand against his chest. “Think about our daughter.”

  Her shoulders fell as the fight left her. “It’s just… it’s—” She stumbled over her words. “It’s Sally. Sweet, forgiving, gentle Sally. It sucks. It sucks so freaking much.”

  “Vasile asked me if I would ha
ve you check on her. Would that help?” he asked her tentatively.

  Jennifer’s forehead scrunched together as she bit her bottom lip. Finally, she nodded.

  Jen made a stop at Jacque’s room and had to pull rank on Fane in order to let Jacque leave with her. It just didn’t feel right going without the third part of the trio.

  “You holding it together?” she asked Jacque.

  “I’m sick. I’m sick and no I’m not. It’s Sally, Jen. The look on her face when she realized she had a mate and that mate was not Jericho…I never want to see such anguish, guilt, and despair on her face ever again.”

  When they reached the door to the Miklos suite, Jen held up her hand to knock but stopped when she heard Costin’s voice. She motioned Jacque to come closer.

  “I want you, I adore you, I love you. You’re mine and I’m yours.” Costin’s voice was tender and genuine.

  “Again,” Sally said, her voice rough. From crying no doubt.

  “You’re beautiful, I need you, I want you, you’re mine.”

  There was a pause and then a choked sound as Sally spoke again. “Again, please.”

  “Sally mine, I’m lost without you. I crave you, the sound of your voice, the scent of your body, the touch of your hands. Please, Brown Eyes,”

  “No, no, no, NO!” Sally screamed, sobbing at the same time. “Don’t call me that. Don’t ever call me that.”

  “Okay, okay, beautiful. I won’t ever call you that again. Will you please come back and sit down?” Costin sounded so patient and loving.

  Jen felt Jacque take her hand and looked at her friend to see she was crying just as much as Jen was.

  “If you won’t let me touch you, at least tell me what changed? Earlier you let me touch you all over. What happened to make you not want my touch?”

  “The dream,” Sally said so softly that they had to press their ears against the door.

  “Everyone was telling me that I didn’t deserve you. Jen and Jacque were asking me how I could have betrayed you in the worst possible way. They stood there shouting at me that you should never have to touch me again, not after I’d given that privilege to another male. They’re right,” she muttered.

  “Love, it was a dream. You know none of us, especially your best friends, think those things. You know I don’t think those things. You can feel it. You can see it in my mind. If you’d let me touch you, you’d know the truth of what I think. I’m on my knees begging you to let me touch you. Please, Sally. You aren’t the only one hurting here, beautiful.”

  Sally sucked in a breath. “Why are you hurting, Costin? Because your mate SLEPT WITH ANOTHER MAN? BECAUSE SHE’S NO LONGER INNOCENT?” Sally screamed at him.

  Jen slid down to her knees, her legs unable to hold her as she realized the depth of suffering her friend was experiencing. Something crashed against the door causing it to shutter, and Jen’s legs decided to work again as she jumped up, intending to storm in there and check on Sally. But a short, redhead got between her and the door. Jacque shook her head and mouthed, “He won’t hurt her.”

  Jen knew that, but she didn’t like Costin throwing things. Not that her own mate didn’t throw things now and then.

  They pressed their ears back to the door, not that it was necessary with the roar coming out of Costin.

  “I’M HURTING BECAUSE YOU ARE HURTING. THE ONLY REASON THAT I CARE THAT HE TOUCHED YOU IS BECAUSE IT’S DESTROYING YOU. YOU, Sally, you are all I care about. This has nothing to do with how I feel about what happened. It only matters because you are hurting as a result of what he did. Don’t you get it?” Costin’s voice had deflated as he tried to reason with this mate.

  “Get what?” Sally hiccupped.

  “Get that you will always be more important to me than anything else. You, your safety, your health, your pain, your joy—all of that is more important than him. He is dead now. He doesn’t matter. I dealt with my own feelings when I tore him apart. Now it’s about you.” He was breathing hard by the time he was done pouring himself out to her.

  “Costin,” Sally said.

  “Yes, beautiful?”

  “I want your touch.”

  “Bloody hell, thank you.”

  Jen made a motion for them to step away and Jacque nodded and followed.

  When they were far enough away, they stopped, both wiping their faces.

  “Well, that was painful as hell,” Jen rasped.

  Jacque nodded. “Costin is good for her. He’s the perfect mate to deal with this. It’s going to take time, probably a long time, but that man will never let her go through it alone.”

  “Thank the Great Luna for that,” Jen muttered.

  “Sorry I dragged you away from Fane,” Jen said as she shifted from foot to foot and looked down at her nails.

  “I would have been mad if you’d gone without me,” Jacque told her and then pulled her into a hug.

  When they stepped back from each other, Jen motioned with her head toward Jacque’s suite. “Go calm the beast. You know he’s in there pacing like a mad man.”

  “Well, you did give him an Alpha command not to leave the suite. That took balls.”

  Jen laughed. “Sometimes it pays to be head bitch.” She winked at Jacque and then went to her own suite and her mate who she desperately needed.

  Jacque was dragging her feet on the way back to her suite. And since Fane was all up in her business through the bond, he knew she was stalling. Her emotions were still running high and Fane was a little less than happy with her for avoiding him for so long.

  She took a deep breath as she finally arrived outside their door. She reached for the knob but stopped when she heard his voice in her mind.

  “Are you nervous, Luna?”

  She was afraid to answer.

  “If you’re not, you should be.”

  Okay, so that just went all over her. How dare he try to intimidate her. Jacque turned the knob and practically threw the door open. She sort of hoped he’d be right on the other side so it would smack him in the face.

  “Such harsh thoughts, love,” Fane said as he stood from the couch and walked toward her.

  “What the crap, Fane? Why should I be nervous?” she barked.

  “Because I’m not happy with you. In fact, I’m quite angry.”

  “HA! You’re quite angry? Is that right? Well, guess what, wolf-boy, I’m beyond quite angry. I have crossed into the city limits of pissed the hell off.”

  Fane clucked his tongue at her. “Language, Jacquelyn.”

  She was going to kill him. She was seriously going to murder the father of her child. Jacque turned to head to the bedroom but only made it four steps before an arm was wrapped around her waist, pulling her tightly against a muscular chest.

  “We aren’t done talking,” he whispered in her ear.

  Jacque was determined not to give him the satisfaction of knowing what he did to her. Unfortunately, what he did, he did really, really well.

  His teeth scraped across his mark on her neck and she bit her bottom lip to keep from making a sound.

  “I say we are done talking,” she finally bit out and pulled out of his hold. Jacque was just about to be home free as she started to close the bathroom door and lock it when Fane pushed his foot into the doorway.

  “Jacquelyn,” he growled. “We need to talk.”

  “Fine. I’ll talk to you if you’ll let me close the door.”

  He was taken off guard by her comment and nearly pulled his foot back. “You don’t want to look at me while we talk?”

  “Nope.”

  “You don’t want me to touch you while we talk?” he asked.

  Jacque rolled her eyes. “When you say it like that it sounds so freaky.”

  Fane grinned. “We could make it freaky. I still want you even when we’re fighting.”

  Jacque shrugged. “Good to know. Now move your foot.”

  “Nope,” he mimicked her early word.

  Jacque decided she was going to have to fight dirt
y. She leaned forward a little and motioned with her finger for him to come closer. When he leaned close enough for her to whisper in his ear, she bit down, hard. Fane yelped and instinctively backed away which gave her the time she needed to get the door closed and locked.

  Jacque began getting ready for a much-needed shower and was just about to step under the spray when the door was suddenly kicked open. Wood splintered from the door frame and the walls shook. Fane stepped in looking like a bull who’d been kicked in his boy parts. He turned to look at her and his eye were bright blue.

  “Oops,” she whispered. Apparently Fane wasn’t the only one ticked off, his wolf looked pretty ticked too.

  “It has been two months since I have held you, kissed you, spent time with you, listened to your voice, or held you while you slept, and you dare keep a door between us?” His voice was cool and stiff.

  “I dare?” Jacque growled. “I am a grown woman. If I want a damn continent between us then that is what will happen.”

  “You are my woman,” he snapped back.

  Jacque pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a breath. “Sally needed me, Fa—”

  “I NEEDED YOU. YOUR SON NEEDED YOU.” he roared.

  Oh, he did not just pull the mommy card. Jacque growled as her wolf perked up at the insinuation that she hadn’t cared for their pup properly. “It would be wise of you, mate, to go until we are ready to speak.” It wasn’t Jacque’s voice that came out of her. It was her wolf and she was pissed.

  Fane’s head turned as his eyes glowed brighter. “You are mine.”

  “Yours to protect, love, provide for, and respect—not command,” her wolf snarled back. “We do not take orders from you. We do not walk a pace behind you. We do not turn belly up to you. We do not take the lead. We stand beside you as your equal.” Jacque felt her wolf give her back control. When she spoke it was her own voice. “Please let me take a shower and then we will talk.” He didn’t move. Jacque knew part of it was that he didn’t want her out of his sight. Stupid, possessive wolf.