by Quinn Loftis
Dalton landed in a heap, unable to move. From his position on the ground, he could only stare back at the giant hole his body had left in the building. He began to hear something happening in the room he’d just come flying out of, such as things crashing around and Peri yelling, “Jewel, stop!” A few moments later, he heard Gustavo scream, “Anna, what are you doing?”
Then, with a blinding flash, Jewel and Anna came flying backward out of the building to land next to him.
“Dalton…” Jewel’s voice was a warning.
“You don’t understand, Little Dove.” His growl softened to a rasp.
“No, you don’t understand, Dalton,” she replied, her tone sharp. “These guys protected us.”
“Dalton’s right.” The oily voice whispered in Jewel’s mind. “Those warlocks never had your best interest at heart. They were just trying to gain your trust, waiting for the right opportunity to strike.”
Jewel frowned and shook her. “No,” she muttered as her hands balled into tight fists. “That’s not true. Get out of my head.” She looked back at Dalton, who, along with Gustavo, had Sly and Z pinned up against the wall.
Her resistance to Volcan’s magic crumbled a little. A breach in her hull, and Jewel’s heart picked up speed when she saw her mental walls spring a leak.
“And your mate’s just the same.” Instead of a hint of his voice, it was as if he spoke right in her ear, low and sultry.
“Stop.” Jewel tensed her muscles to reinforce her mental walls. Volcan had been too close for comfort in her mind, but like a crack in a vessel, his magic was trickling into her. “Leave him out of this.”
“You think he really wants you?” Volcan’s ghostly hands rubbed down her arms as she flicked her eyes to her mate. Her mind forced the memory of last night through the gelatin of Volcan’s power. Whispering those very words while she lay in Dalton’s tight grasp, she had slept like the dead.
“He does,” she replied.
“Maybe once, but not now. Not now that he knows what you’ve done. Not now that he knows you belong to me. That I’ve marked you.” A breath shuddered in her ear. “We are one, Jewel. How would you feel if he was united to a woman the way you and I are connected?”
Jewel pushed her hands against her temples and growled. His magic pooled around her knees, stroking up her legs. The ship of her sanity was sinking, and no one was coming to rescue her.
“And do you really want him?” Ruby viscous fluid flowed over her hips. She couldn’t run from Volcan now if she wanted to.
“Yes.” She whimpered. Fear held her shaking as her arms dipped into the blood magic. Warmth spread over her body, but without comfort, like a French fry in a vat of boiling oil.
“He’s a murderer, Jewel. A predator. He cannot change. Once a killer, always a killer. Is that who you really want to be with? With me, you can have knowledge, power. With him, you’ll probably be dead before your next birthday. Or worse.”
Her breaths raced in and out of her chest as the warmth traveled up. Tilting her face up, she gritted her teeth. “Shut up,” Jewel said out loud. She trembled as she watched Peri speaking with the warlocks.
“Very good.” Peri’s voice caught her attention. “Now, to put this issue to rest once and for all.” She watched Peri approach Dalton and speak to him. The fae began stretching her limbs.
“She’s going to kill your mate,” said the slimy voice in Jewel’s head. Fear sputtered into anger as the sanguine liquid lapped the underside of her jaw, begging for entrance.
“She won’t,” said Jewel. “Peri is our protector.”
The voice in Jewel’s head cackled. “Protector? Perizada of the fae cares about protecting only one thing, her own ego. You don’t get to be that powerful by protecting others. You get that powerful by seizing opportunities when they arise. And that’s exactly what she’s doing with you healers.” His magic seeped into her mouth, choking out of her voice, galvanizing her anger. “I won’t subjugate you like Peri will, Jewel. I will rule alongside you.” Power boiled the liquid into her very bones as the idea of being squished under the boot heel of the pale fae solidified in her mind. “Now, you should probably stop Peri before she kills your mate. Or don’t. It would probably be for the best anyway. I don’t think you’re safe with him.”
The last thing Jewel saw before her vision went red was Peri striking Dalton in the face and her mate flying through a wall. The fae stood with her back to Jewel, facing the newly created hole in the back of the Little Shop of Horrors. Then, the witch-healer simply reacted. Jewel leaped toward Peri, swinging her fist at the fae with all her might.
Anna watched Dalton and Gustavo accost Sly and Z. She needed to intervene, but she didn’t want to say anything to make matters worse. Gustavo had already proven he’d go to the ends of the earth, even into the pixie realm, to be with her. She had no doubt he would kill the warlocks if he thought anything inappropriate had happened between her and them. It hadn’t, though she and Jewel had been through quite a bit with the warlocks. Anna wasn’t sure anything she would say would calm Gustavo, so she stayed silent. Anna tried to look at the situation from her mate’s point of view. How would she feel if he was somewhere far away with two strange women? The thought made her stomach churn.
She considered reaching her mate through their bond when a voice entered her mind. It wasn’t Gustavo’s. Instead, it was a voice with which she was all too familiar. A voice that made her skin crawl. “You’ll never be alone again, Anna.” The voice was low and sinister, wrapping around her stomach like a slithering bandage.
“I know,” Anna replied defiantly. “I have Gustavo now. He will always be with me.” Despite her irritation at the renewal of the fight with the warlocks, Gustavo’s strong profile captivated her. He didn’t hesitate to stand between her and danger.
“Always, mi amor,” Gustavo responded in his never-ending patience. “I will take care of you. I will treasure you. But who are you talking to?”
The mate bond shut down like a muscle with a cramp before she could alert Gustavo. She shivered in response.
The voice laughed. “No, foolish girl. He will not. He will betray you. Men always betray.” The fleece slithered around her chest, not constricting, but with warmth.
“But he’s diff—”
“Don’t be an idiot,” said the voice. “When has a man ever been faithful to you? Faithful to your mother?”
“But…” The softness of the fleece worked under her arms and angled over her shoulders trapping any words of descent to rise. Her fight, like a sleepy child, was lulled by soft warmth.
“Jewel is faithful,” said the voice. The material slid around her upper arms.
“Jewel is my friend,” replied Anna. “Of course, she is faithful.” The warmth relaxed her in the confidence of her words.
“What’s going on, Anna?” came Gustavo’s muffled voice. The relaxed state of her mind opened the bond a tad, but the fleece tightened around her body swaddling her like a child. “You’re pushing me away.” With another small painless squeeze, the fleece closed the bond in the process.
“She’s more than a friend,” said the evil voice. The comfortable warmth increased in temperature as if the fleece blanket was electric and someone plugged it in. “She’s your sister. You and Jewel share a bond that Gustavo will never understand.”
Anna didn’t respond. She knew the voice was right, but she didn’t know what it wanted from her.
“Your sister needs you,” said the voice, answering her unasked question. The fleece wrapped its red material around her throat, triggering her heart to beat out of her chest. Squeezing slowly, the wave of heat seeped into her mouth and down her throat.
“What do you mean?” Anna asked. Her voice sounded muffled to her own ears as the red material started to cover her eyes.
“Look for yourself.”
Anna looked up to see a huge wolf flying through the back wall of her mother’s store. Peri, faint
ly glowing with power, stared after it. The fae took a step toward the opening in the wall and looked outward. Then a redheaded blur smashed into Peri with the force of a speeding dump truck. Jewel attacked the fae with a ferocity of which Anna didn’t know the healer was capable. She was punching Peri like a professional fighter, and her fists were connecting. The blows weren’t just bouncing off, which is what Anna would have expected to happen when anyone tried to hit the powerful fae. Instead, they were connecting with force, and Peri was being battered. It looked as if the fae was already bleeding from a cut cheek.
“Jewel, stop!” Anna heard Peri yell. Anna didn’t have time to process what was happening, and she didn’t need to. She could feel the rage burning inside Jewel as if Anna was feeling it herself. Anna knew only one thing. She had to help her friend kill the fae called Perizada.
Peri sighed as she watched Dalton fly through the back wall of Jezebel’s shop. She hoped this would teach the wolf once and for all. They didn’t have time for petty jealousies. The stakes were just too high now. If he didn’t learn his lesson, well … Peri didn’t want to think about what would happen next. She was just about to walk out to the alley and give the wolf a lecture when she felt something she hadn’t felt in a very, very long time—pain. Something that felt like an iron bar struck the back of her head.
Lucian’s voice slammed into in her mind with a growl. “Peri, what’s going on? Why are you in pain?”
“Not now, babe,” she grunted back at him.
Peri stumbled forward before righting herself and spinning, ready to end some poor fool’s life for good, but she had no idea who would have been dumb enough to attack her from behind. What she saw was not what she expected.
Jewel was screaming an unintelligible battle cry and charging directly at her. The healer’s eyes were entirely blood red. No sign of a pupil or their normal emerald green could be seen. The healer was slavering at the mouth as she ran, bringing a fist back and launching it at Peri’s face. Peri brought up a hand to block the strike, but it was too late. Jewel moved with a supernatural speed Peri had never before seen. The blow connected with Peri’s cheek, and she went down on one knee.
What the—? The thought was cut off as Jewel came crashing down on top of her, her hands reaching for Peri’s neck. Peri threw all her weight backward and brought her knees up under Jewel, thrusting upward. The healer’s momentum threw her forward, and she went crashing into a shelf full of plastic shrunken heads.
“Peri!” Lucian’s voice was a panicky howl in her mind. Pushing his alpha power through the bond, he searched her for signs of injury.
“Don’t distract me right now, Lucian,” she mentally yelled back. He didn’t respond, but she could still feel his fear coming through the bond.
Peri rose to her feet and faced the healer who was doing the same.
“Jewel, stop!” she commanded with her hand raised. But the girl did not stop. Jewel didn’t even acknowledge the fae’s words as she charged. Perizada raised the other hand to freeze Jewel mid-motion, but the healer plowed through the simple spell with all of the finesse of a bull through a matador. Jewel was in front of her before she could conjure a shield, so she did the only thing she could think of.
She punched Jewel square in the face.
The high fae still understood that Jewel was in her care and it was Peri’s job to protect her, no matter what was happening at the moment. Because of this, Peri didn’t put all of her force into the blow. Had she done so, Jewel would have made a hole in the opposite wall of the store to match her mate’s as she flew out into the alley. But Peri only struck Jewel at half strength, which she knew would still be enough to incapacitate the healer.
Had Perizada been thinking clearly, she might have simply cast a spell to stop Jewel or placed a shield around herself. Instead, she was still too stunned at what was happening. So, Perizada did the only thing she could think of. But Peri wasn’t so shocked as to forget she didn’t want to seriously injure the girl.
She was wrong.
Peri’s hand bounced off Jewel’s face as if the fae had struck an oncoming car. Jewel continued on and barreled straight into Peri, tackling the fae like a linebacker smashing a defenseless quarterback. Peri went down with Jewel on top of her once again. Jewel straddled Peri’s chest and began raining down punches. Peri placed her hands up to defend herself as Jewel brought blow after blow down upon her. Peri managed to get hold of Jewel’s long red locks and she wrenched her head back, slowing the healer’s onslaught somewhat as she tried to strike Jewel with her free hand. At the same time, Peri kicked with her legs, trying to shake the witch/healer off. Then something even more surprising happened. Peri felt Anna jump on top of her. She was adding her weight to Jewel’s, helping the healer pin Peri in place.
“Anna, what are you doing?” Peri heard Gustavo scream. The male grabbed Anna around the waist, but stopped when she hissed at him like a cat. Taking a couple of steps back, Gustavo stared dumfounded.
“Get off me,” Peri yelled at them. But the two healers kept attacking.
The fae realized she wasn’t going to be able to fight them off with supernatural strength alone. Again, trying not to injure the two healers, Peri drew in her power and released it. With a flash of light, the two healers went flying through the air, zooming out the hole in the wall made by Dalton.
Before they could recover, Peri scrambled to her feet and ran out after them. She threw her hands out, and the girls froze as they were trying to rise, but a force pushed against her power. The strain of energy going in two different directions whipped the women’s hair around their faces and fluttered their clothes. Both Jewel and Anna were hissing and snarling, fighting against Peri’s power, hell-bent on tearing the fae limb from limb.
Peri’s eyes widened as Jewel took a step toward her. It was a small step, just a couple of inches, but it shouldn’t have been possible.
Peri’s blood ran cold as she realized what was happening. Volcan had taken over both healers’ minds. Lucian’s surprise radiated over hers through the bond. With a growl he pushed his alpha power to fortify her strength.
Gustavo sped past Peri toward his mate only to skid to a stop right in front of Anna. Red-eyed and snarling, Anna’s growl sounded unearthly.
“Gustavo,” yelled Peri. “I need your help, bud.” She turned to the wolf and saw panic in his eyes.
“What’s going on?” he asked her frantically.
“It’s Volcan.” She growled through gritted teeth. “He’s controlling them. He must be using the blood connection, pouring his power into them. I don’t know how much longer I can hold them.” Using the mate bond, she could feel Lucian standing at her back to brace her and keep her upright. Leaning into his strength, an idea sparked in her mind.
“Lucian.” She grunted through the bond.
“Yes.” His voice sounded strained, but Peri didn’t have time to reassure him.
“You’re about to feel a big drain through the pack bonds, Lucian. It’s Gustavo. I need you to respond to it. Send him all the Alpha power you’ve got.”
“I can’t risk diverting any from you,” he replied.
“No,” she snapped. “It has to be Gustavo. He needs it to help Anna.”
“Will do,” Lucian replied. She could tell he wasn’t about it, but she could feel his trust of her coming through the bond.
“What can I do?” Gustavo asked, tearing at his hair.
“You’ve got to get through to Anna. Use the bond to help her fight Volcan’s influence. If we can get her back, she can help us stop Jewel.” With a growl worthy of a lioness, Jewel flexed her shoulders. The surge of power was miniscule but enough to jerk Peri’s hands. Exerting the limits of her control, Peri’s face turned red, and she knew the vein Lucian teased her about was poking out of the center of her forehead.
“How?” Gustavo asked.
I don’t know,” Peri said.
“Just do something!”
Gustavo reached for his mate’s mind and immediately recoiled. Gone was his lovely, sweet Criña. Gone was the kindness, and gone was her soft spirit. In its place was only anguish. He barely recognized her voice as he heard it hissing. “Kill the fae! Kill the fae!”
“Anna, it’s me,” he said through their bond. Gustavo felt as if his words rebounded off a chain-link fence. The fence gave way for a second, only to throw his mind backward through the bond. It was as if he could see his Anna on the other side of that fence, straining in rage and pain like she couldn’t breathe, but he couldn’t get to her.
“She’s blocking me,” he yelled to Peri.
“Well, make her unblock you,” she replied.
Gustavo stared at his mate. Every day he had a chance to look at her he was blessed, but the blood-red eyes stabbed into the old wound. Even by his side, he still couldn’t protect his mate. Snarling the wolf lunged toward its mate and the unseen enemy torturing her. My mate. The man barely leashed the animal as he renewed his purpose. Our mate, Gustavo agreed.
Gustavo went at Anna’s mind again. “Anna, please, let me in.” Again, the fence repelled him. He pressed his forehead against the invisible barrier to better see her. The once hazel eyes, now red with power that wasn’t her own, met his and the fear and pain in them tore at his heart. Her dark hair lashed around in an emphasized and pained shake of her head, denying him. Anna’s pain could only have one response from him. He couldn’t leave her to face this on her own. He wouldn’t.
