by Quinn Loftis
“After all this time?” Decebel asked. “Where has he been?”
“I asked him that very question,” Vasile said then went on to relay his conversation with Skender. When he told them Skender had known about Sally being kidnapped, Costin snarled and then cursed in several languages.
“Why didn’t he contact us with the information?” Costin growled. “We are his pack. He knew what was happening, and he didn’t do a damn thing to stop it or let us know?”
“He claimed he had to be careful because he was being closely watched,” Vasile said. “He also said he didn’t want to do anything that might get him separated from his true mate.”
“Then why is he coming back now?” Fane asked. “Is he bringing this supposed true mate with him?”
“Yes, he is bringing the female,” Vasile answered.
“No male would leave his mate with the Order, regardless of whether she was a member.”
“Agreed,” Fane said.
Costin was pacing, looking like a bull getting ready to charge. Decebel didn’t blame him. He’d be just as enraged if he was in the younger wolf’s shoes. In fact, if he were Costin, Decebel might just kill Skender the moment he saw him.
“Do you trust him?” Decebel asked Vasile.
Vasile shook his head. “Something about him seemed off. He sounded different. Skender said he wanted to come back because he needed to talk to me and he couldn’t do it over the phone. I want him to come back so I can look him in the eyes while he tells me whatever it is he needs to say. I will know if he’s lying to me then.”
“What are you going to do with him and his female when they get here?” Costin asked, still pacing rapidly.
“I’m not going to let them roam free, if that’s what you’re asking,” Vasile said. “Nor can I allow you to kill him or her. At least not before I’ve spoken to them.”
Costin’s eyes were glowing so brightly it was a wonder he hadn’t phased. Decebel pushed away from the wall, wanting to be ready if Costin flipped his lid and attacked Vasile. When it came to Sally and what she’d gone through, Costin was anything but rational. If his wolf took over with the need to avenge his mate, even attacking his Alpha wasn’t off the table.
“But killing him is a plausible outcome?” Costin asked.
“If he has lied and betrayed this pack, then the punishment will be death. It would only be appropriate that I sanction a challenge for you. For the honor of your mate, you may fight him to the death,” Vasile said.
Costin’s eyes dimmed slightly, but the fire remained.
Vasile looked at Decebel when he spoke again. “When Skender arrives, I want him and his mate taken to a cage. They are not to interact with anyone other than you or me.”
Decebel nodded. “I’ll make sure of it.”
“Costin,” Vasile said. “You can decide what Sally needs to know. She’s your mate, yours to protect.”
Costin nodded and apparently took that as the end of the meeting as he stalked to the door and out into the hall.
“He’s going to kill Skender no matter what, you know that, right?” Fane asked his father.
“He has the right,” Decebel said. “Regardless of anything Skender has to say, he admitted to knowing of the situation with Sally, and he didn’t immediately call me or Vasile. That is betrayal. And it was betrayal against a gypsy healer and mated female. His penalty is death, and Costin has the right to be the one to deliver the blow. If he’s bonded with his female, then it will be her fate as well.”
Vasile’s eyes narrowed as they lit with a soft glow. “Skender sealed his fate when he chose to remain silent. But I could not tell Costin he had the clear to kill Skender because he would do it the minute Skender entered the mansion.”
A thought occurred to Decebel, and he quickly pulled out his phone and hit Sally’s number. It rang once before she picked it up.
“Block your thoughts. Is your mate with you?” Decebel said in quick succession.
“Okay and no,” Sally answered.
“It’s not my place to tell you why. Your mate will do that when he feels it’s time. Until then, keep Costin with you. He’s going to need your reassurance. He’s had a blow and he’s not handling it well,” Decebel explained.
“He just walked in,” Sally said and without another word ended the call.
“That was wise,” Vasile said, his words full of approval.
“Hopefully, Sally will be able to contain him,” Decebel said.
“Let’s assign guard duty to the front of the mansion,” Vasile said. “I want to know the minute Skender and his mate arrive.”
“I’ll take first watch,” Fane said, heading out the door.
Decebel was right on his heels. “Vasile, I’ll line up the guard duty,” he said before pausing in the doorway. He turned to look at the man who had been a father figure and friend to him for so long. “I realize that I can lead a pack. I’ve proven it. But it’s never truly been my heart’s desire to be Alpha. Doing this”—he motioned between them—“making a plan and being the one to delegate and oversee gives my wolf purpose without taking on all the responsibilities of the Alpha. Does that make me weak?”
Vasile held Decebel’s eyes as he spoke. The younger wolf could tell it was not with a need to dominate, but to ensure Decebel understood what he was saying. “The Great Luna created her wolves, each with their own purpose and place in this life. Where you fit is between you and her. No one else can tell you where you need to be. That’s not to say they can’t help guide you, but ultimately, it is your decision. Wherever your place may be, you can take pride in it because you know that your Creator equipped you for that specific position. There is nothing weak about doing what you were designed to do. You’re an excellent Alpha, Decebel, and you’re an excellent Beta. I am honored to have you working with me in either capacity.”
“Then we merge,” Decebel said, his voice ringing with finality. And it felt right. An immediate peace filled him as he finally made his decision.
“You good?” his mate asked, her husky voice making his wolf sit up and take notice.
“I am. You?”
“A little shocked. Not with the whole Beta thing. You know I’ll support whatever decision you make, even if it means I have to give up my awesome alpha powers. I’m shocked about Skender.”
Decebel felt her distress for Sally and growled, wishing Skender was in front of him so he could take a chunk of flesh from the turncoat with his own teeth. Anyone who upset his mate deserved to be bitten. In fact, it was his new motto. Upset my female and feel my canines. He’d have to work on the wording. Maybe he’d ask Jennifer, since she was good at coming up with catchy sayings. And he realized in that moment it was a testament to her influence on him that he was even attempting to come up with a catchy slogan for a motto about biting people. Decebel sighed when he heard his mate’s laughter in his mind. At least he’d succeeded in cheering her up, if only for a little while.
“I’ll see you in a bit. I need to set up a guard rotation.”
“Don’t hurry on my account. Mini-me and I are going to meet up with Jacque and Sally for hot chocolate and cookies. Costin will probably be tagging along.”
Decebel harrumphed. “I suppose now that Sally has returned this will be a regular occurrence?” It wasn’t that he minded her spending time with her friends, but she tended to get into more trouble when they spent time together unsupervised.
“I heard that.” She growled.
“Wasn’t trying to keep you from hearing it.” He growled back.
“I have to keep you on your toes, old man. I can’t have you getting bored, or boring me, for that matter. Consider my mischief as a gift to you.” Her voice was full of mirth, which caused him to smile, despite the topic.
“Maybe you could be a little less generous with your gifting in this area,” he suggested.
“And maybe you should hold your breath until that happens. Love you. See you later.” She slipped out of his mind before he
could respond. Jennifer knew he hated when she did that.
Wondering what his mate would come up with in order to “keep him on his toes,” he headed to the training yard where he knew he’d find the majority of the pack.
“While the boys are otherwise engaged with Vasile, I need to talk to you two,” Sally said as she met Jen and Jacque in the hall just outside her suite. Jen was holding a cooing Thia, and Jacque held Slate, who was sleeping peacefully. “Titus is inside playing. Can we go in here and talk?”
“Lead the way, Sally-Sue,” Jen said as she poked Thia’s nose and smiled when the little beauty giggled. “Is it just me or is my kid the cutest?”
“Every parent thinks their kid is the cutest,” Jacque pointed out.
“What if their kid is butt ugly?” Jen asked.
Sally shut the door behind them as she laughed. “Parents are blind to butt ugly when it’s their own child. I mean, could you ever think Thia was ugly?”
Jen looked appalled. “Of course not, because she isn’t. I mean look at that bone structure and those perfect lips. Women pay thousands for lips like those.”
Jacque sighed, taking a seat on the couch. She smiled down at Titus, who was playing with some toy cars on the coffee table. “Hi, Titus,” she said.
“Hi, Aunt Jacque,” he said and then looked over to Jen. “Thia is pretty,” he told her.
Jen winked at him. “See, Titus is a genius, and if he says my daughter is pretty then it’s true.”
“Okay, as of right now you have the most beautiful little girl. But only until Jacque or I or someone else has a girl in the pack. Then we’ll have to compare them,” Sally said.
Jen snorted. “Please. As if there would be any sort of competition.”
“Alright, as fascinating and no doubt life changing as this conversation is, could we please get to what Sally wanted to talk about?”
“As soon as the males are done with their meeting they will come hunt us down like the dogs they are,” Jacque said.
"Don't you mean they would hunt us down like the dogs we are?" Jen asked.
Jacque frowned. "No. That doesn't make sense. They'd be hunting us, like a dog hunts its prey."
Jen pursed her lips. "Then why do people say 'hunt you like a dog'?"
"Who is 'they'? Who are these random people that you claim to get info from?" Sally asked.
Jen spread her arms out wide. "They, them, everyone. I mean, seriously, haven't you heard someone say 'hunt you down like the dog you are?'”
"Hmm, no, no, I can't say that I've had they, them, everyone say that to me," Jacque answered.
Jen frowned at her two best friends. "I swear, y'all have some boring brass lives. Random people talk to me all the time."
"The voices in your head don't count as random people, Jen," Sally said dryly. "And what is boring brass exactly?"
"It's sort of like boring ass, but without me saying ass, because of the little ears."
"But you just said ass," Jacque pointed out.
"Yeah, well so did you. Way to be that positive influence that our youths need, Red." Jen clapped her hands, which in turn made Thia clap hers.
"You could just say a boring donkey, Aunt Jen," Titus piped in. "A donkey is an ass. But that's not the same thing as a mule. A mule is the baby of an ass and a horse."
"And there you have it people." Jen laughed. "Tomorrow's leaders already know the difference between who's an ass and who isn't."
Sally pressed her hand to her forehead and groaned. "Holy donkey babies."
"Those wouldn't be asses," Jacque pointed out.
"WOULD YOU STOP SAYING THAT WORD?" Sally screeched.
"Didn't you have something you wanted to tell us?" Jen asked.
"It's okay, Mommy," Titus said, looking up at a frazzled Sally. "I won't tell Daddy that Aunt Jacque and Aunt Jen said ass five times."
"Hey!" Jen huffed "You said it three times. Don't be pointing fingers Teeto."
"Aunt Jen, my name is Titus."
"Not if you're keeping count of my indiscretions. Then your name becomes Teeto, or Tagert, or some other hideous T-word name."
"Okay, seriously. Quit picking on my kid and focus," Sally said, pointing a finger first at Jen and then at Jacque.
"We are focused. Focused on the fact that Tonto is counting our profane words. I am watching you." Jen pointed two fingers at her eyes and then pointed those fingers at Titus. "Don't think because you're cute and smart and I might want you to be Thia's husband that I won't take you out."
"Jacque," Sally started.
"I'm on it," Jacque said and then reached over and smacked Jen hard on the forehead.
"OW, snap, Jacque!"
Jacque smiled and winked at her. "Tough love, Jennifer, tough love."
"I've decided I want you to love me less."
Jen sat down in the floor with her legs spread out and sat Thia down in the middle of them. Titus brought his cars over and began to show the little girl how to push them and make them roll.
“I need to talk to you about what I found out while I was visiting my parents,” Sally said. She remained standing and was fighting the urge to pace. She’d been debating whether or not she should bring it up but couldn’t stand having any secrets from her best friends. Before she continued, she held up a hand and pulled out her cell phone. She sent off a text and waited. When her phone rang she answered it and put it on speaker.
“Hello?” Lilly’s voice came through the speaker.
“Mom?” Jacque said looking up at Sally in question.
“Hey, Ms. P,” Sally said, calling Lilly by the name she and Jen had always called her despite the fact that she was now mated to the warlock king.
“Hi Jacque, Sally. I assume Jen is with you all too?”
“You know it,” Jen called out. “Someone has to keep these two from becoming boring old croons.”
“I’m sorry to bother you,” Sally spoke up. “But I can’t keep this from them any longer. But I want to give you a chance to tell Jacque first.”
“Tell me what?” Jacque asked, her eyes narrowed on the phone Sally held.
Lilly let out a sigh. “I should have come and spoken with her sooner. I would really rather not do this over the phone. Let me contact Nissa. Peri gave me her contact information and said the fae would be happy to help us with travel. I will be there as quick as I can.” The phone call ended, but no one other than Titus and Thia made a sound.
Jen spoke first. “What the crap is going on, Sally? And please don’t tell me that while you were in Texas you met another sadistic psychopath who wants to take over the world and make the rest of us into footrests.”
“Surely there can’t be another one,” Jacque said. “Especially when Peri is dealing with Volcan and his desire to have all the gypsy healers at his beck and call to make a witch army.”
Sally looked at Jacque, her head tilted slightly.
Jacque shrugged. “What? I hear things.”
Sally was about to open her mouth but snapped it closed when Nissa and Lilly appeared.
“Thank you, Nissa,” Lilly said.
“I am happy to help. You know how to get in touch with me when you are ready to leave.” The fae flashed out, and Lilly was left standing there looking at them.
“Is someone going to tell us what this big secret is?” Jacque asked, look from her mom to Sally.
Lilly took a deep breath and let it out slow. “Whoa, this is a lot harder than I thought it would be.”
Sally gave her an encouraging smile. “Just tell her like you told me.”
Lilly took a seat in one of the chairs next to the couch and met Jacque’s eyes. “Since I’ve been with Cypher, I’ve had access to a lot of records, both of the warlocks and other races. I came across information about sprites.”
“I’m sorry,” Jen interrupted. “Did you just say sprites?”
Lilly nodded.
Jen looked at Jacque. “Do you think our mates know about sprites?”
Jacque�
��s eyes narrowed. “Do you want to carry the bat or the taser?”
“Guys, focus,” Sally said.
“Right, sorry,” Jacque said, looking back at her mom. “You were saying.”
“The information I found was interesting and explained who I really am, what I am, and if there was anyone else like me. Peri thought I was simply a seer, and I am, but I am more than that. In some of the records I went through I found two names that are important to me. Lillianna Nyx and Cindira Nyx, both of the forest sprite clans. These two sprites went missing long ago.”
Sally was watching her friends, Jacque in particular, closely and could see the wheels turning in her best friend’s mind.
“Nicks,” Jen spoke up. “That’s your mom’s maiden name,” she said, looking at Sally.
Sally nodded.
“Sooo, you’re saying you and Sally’s mom are the missing sprites and have the same last name? Are you sisters?” Jacque asked.
“Yes, we are the missing sprites. No, we aren’t sisters. Our last name is the surname from the clan we were born into,” Lilly explained.
“I’m assuming you and Cindy have talked about this?” Jacque asked.
“Yes. I actually called her once I found the information. As you can imagine, it was an interesting conversation. Cindy knew what I was before I did. She’s known since the day she met me. But she never confronted me about it because she thought I was trying to live a human life just like her. She left the supernatural world to get away from the dangers that came with being a part of it.”
“Even though we look about the same age, Cindy is much older than me in sprite years. She was an adult when she left our clan. I was a small child. You okay?” Lilly asked.
“Shocked,” Jacque said. “But at the same time not. You know? I mean, we knew you weren’t normal, no offense.”
Lilly smiled. “None taken.”
“Just wasn’t expecting a sprite. Not that I really know what I was expecting.”
Their attention was momentarily distracted as Thia clapped, copying Titus as he showed her how to do the patty cake song. Too cute not to watch.
