by Quinn Loftis
“You will.”
Jewel just shook her head. Dalton ground his teeth. He wanted so badly to take the taint of Volcan from his mate’s veins. He wanted to find the evil fae and rip him limb from limb. But he couldn’t. All he could do was sit there, useless, powerless. Dalton hated feeling powerless. It reminded him of sitting chained in the dungeon all those years ago when his villagers had murdered his parents and kept him locked in a dungeon. But then he’d been alone.
Now, Dalton had his Little Dove with him. He had to be strong for her. If Dalton couldn’t kill Volcan, at least he could try to be a good mate. If nothing else, he could do that.
“If it hadn’t been for Anna, all would be lost now. Peri’d be gone, and there’d be no one to stop Volcan,” Jewel continued.
Dalton looked at her and spoke. “Tell me about it, Jewel. What were you feeling? Why did you do it? Help me better understand, then maybe I can help you next time.” He knew what she was going to say wouldn’t be easy to hear. The thought of Volcan having any sort of control over his mate was almost unbearable.
Jewel’s face contorted. “I don’t know. It was like I was no longer in my own mind. Somehow, I was outside looking in. Volcan was there, directing my mind what to think and my body what to do. He was talking to me and I was responding to him, agreeing with everything he was saying. He was telling me Peri was trying to kill you and that I better kill her first.”
A low growl came from Dalton’s chest. “He used our relationship against you. First, he destroys our bond and now he does this?”
“I’m so sorry, Dalton.” Jewel began to cry. She spoke through the sobs. “Another part of me was screaming at myself to stop, but I couldn’t. I just couldn’t, no matter how hard I tried.”
He pulled her back into his arms. “Shh, female, no. It wasn’t your fault. Don’t be upset.”
“What are we going to do, Dalton?” she said.
“Why did you come back to your senses?” he asked, calmly ignoring her statement.
“When I heard Anna speaking to me, some good part of me woke up. I think it was the gypsy healer part. According to everyone else, healers are supposed to be all light and goodness and stuff. I don’t really feel that way about myself, but, apparently, something inside of me decided it would at least make an attempt to stand up to Volcan’s darkness. I can’t imagine what else it could be.”
“I’m glad it did.”
“Me, too,” she agreed.
“If it makes you feel any better, I appreciate you coming to my defense.”
She looked at him sideways and narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“You only attacked Peri because you thought she was trying to kill me. I appreciate that.”
“But she wasn’t trying to kill you,” argued Jewel.
“Doesn’t matter,” said Dalton. “What matters is you thought she was. I’ve been alone for a long time, Jewel. To have someone jump in and fight for me when I’m laying on the ground helpless? Well, that’s never happened before. It makes me feel … many different things, I guess. Loved, most of all.”
“I do love you,” she said.
“I know. But seeing that love in action…” He shook his head as he tried to find the right words. “My wolf loves that you would go to battle for us. It tells us that despite the lack of the mate bond you are ours and ours alone. It angers us both that we couldn’t protect you. We should have been the one fighting Peri, not you.”
She smiled sweetly. “I guess that’s what this is all about, helping one another in times of weakness. Even the mighty Dalton, a giant among Canis lupus, is helpless sometimes.”
Dalton growled at the thought. “I can’t be helpless. I have to protect you.”
“I know what you’ve been through, my love,” said Jewel, quieting him. “You’ve had to endure so much in your long life. And I thank you that you thought me special enough to share your past with, spending all that time with me when I was in a coma. But you have to learn from those experiences. Dillon was able to keep you in check for a long time, but he’s not here anymore. And you’re Beta of the Colorado pack, Dillon’s representative. Despite how your instincts drive you when it comes to me, you have to start acting like it. You’re powerful enough to be an Alpha in most any other pack if you wanted to.”
“Power was never the issue.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” said Jewel. “I don’t need Dalton, the powerful, though we may all need him before this whole messed-up situation is said and done. I need Dalton, the understanding, Dalton, the patient, Dalton, the thoughtful, Dalton, the lover of my soul.”
Now, it was Dalton’s turn to shed a few tears. He’d been such an idiot when it came to his Little Dove. He’d vowed to fight the darkness within Jewel and to keep all external threats away from her. But he’d forgotten that somewhere within that miasma of darkness inside Jewel, his mate was battered, bruised, and cut. She’d been tortured time and again by Volcan, both physically and mentally. Though in some ways, Jewel was tough as nails, deep inside, his mate was fragile. Dalton couldn’t be the mate he needed to be unless he recognized that and started treating her like the delicate cargo she was. Whatever that took, he would do it. He had to. If he failed, his mate would end up being the most powerful evil witch the world had ever seen.
“I need to kiss you,” he whispered as he pulled her into his arms. “I need five minutes alone with you to just feel you.”
“We have to be careful, Dalton. The spell that Volcan put on us…”
“I haven’t forgotten that I can’t corrupt you.” He chuckled. “This isn’t about lust. It’s about reassurance. Let me kiss you, Little Dove.”
She sighed and then tilted her head up. Dalton didn’t wait for her to change her mind. He took her lips as if he owned them, and perhaps, in his mind, he did. Just as she owned his. She owned all of him. Dalton cupped her face and tilted her head back, deepening the kiss. The instance their tongues touched and her taste filled him, he wanted nothing more than to take her somewhere private and reassure himself that more than just her mouth was fully functioning.
Dalton felt a sharp pain in his mind and the air pulled from his lungs. Jewel gasped and pulled away.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, sounding as out of breath as he felt.
“I might have gotten a little carried away,” he admitted as he pressed his hand to his chest. He could feel the darkness inside of him attempting to gain ground.
“Dalton!” She huffed as she smacked him in the stomach. “No lusting.”
He grinned. “Is this a bad time to mention that your red hair is like gas to fire when it comes to my attraction for you?”
“Yes. It is a horrible time. Please, I don’t want you hurt. I need you to be safe,” she pleaded.
“Calm down, sweetheart,” he said as he caressed her cheek in an effort to help her relax. “I’m fine. I’m under control. But, I don’t regret it even a little. I am so hungry for you. All bets are off when this is all said and done. I’m finding the nearest church and marrying you, and then I’m going to sequester us away somewhere for a month.”
Her brow rose. “A month? Feeling ambitious?”
He knew his smile was pure sin. “Oh no, baby, it’s not ambition. It’s pure fact. Once I have you, it’s going to be a while until I work the edge off.”
She visibly swallowed and Dalton took pleasure in the fact that he could see the desire in her eyes. She wanted him; she was just much better at hiding it than he was.
“Something to look forward to,” she practically whispered.
“Damn straight, Little Dove. Damn straight.”
***
Peri stood in the hallway outside of the healers’ room and watched the three wolves stomp away. She’d found them sitting in the hall across from the room where their mates slept. She wasn’t sure if she was impressed or not that none of them, including the ancient Ciro, looked the least bit ash
amed.
As they disappeared down the stairs, Peri sighed and tried to prepare herself to face the three healers who were bound and determined to try her patience until she finally just fell over and died. She was, perhaps, being dramatic but she had a feeling this was going to end badly. The fae knew it in her gut. Wolves, especially unmated ones, could not be trusted after they’d found their true mates. They were exceedingly stupid at the best of times. But during the period of time after they found their mates and the Blood Rites had yet to be performed, well, their stupidity graduated to an entirely new level. Peri had seen it so many times before. Hell, she’d even seen it in her own mate, and there wasn’t a Canis lupus alive more mature or patient than Lucian. Ciro had a bit of sense. Perhaps he could keep his inner beast in check, but Nick and Kale? No chance.
Dammit. This was a bad idea.
If she couldn’t count on the wolves to act responsibly, then Peri would have to rely on the girls to keep the beasts in line. One girl was a blind nympho, one girl had been abused by her father, and one girl, with no family whatsoever, had been raised in foster care. And these three teenage healers, who’d never experienced genuine love before, had to repel three men who looked like Greek gods and continually declared their undying devotion for them at every turn. What could go wrong?
And if the girls can’t control themselves, then the spell couldn’t be performed because there would be no pure healers and no werewolf sacrifices, as the mate bond would kill the girls along with the males when they sacrificed themselves. And without good witches to oppose him, Volcan’s evil army would take over the entire world. No biggie.
Dammit. This was a really bad idea.
Peri ground her teeth when she heard laughing and giggling coming from within the room. The world is on the brink of destruction. What the hell could they possibly be giggling about? Quickly, the fae pushed open the door. What she found reminded her so much of Jacque, Jen, and Sally, Peri’s stomach dropped to her knees.
Heather stood at the mirror with Kara behind her, brandishing a blow dryer and a bottle of hair spray. “Hold still,” she told the blind healer, which was met with a grunt from Heather. Stella stood next to them, carefully applying mascara. The perfume was so thick Peri didn’t so much as inhale it as absorb it.
“I guess I had no reason to be concerned,” she said coughing. “The males won’t be able to get near you with all this perfume. They’ll suffocate first.”
All three girls turned to face her, and the three grins that met Peri’s gaze were so wide they would have made the Cheshire cat jealous.
“That’s Kara’s fault,” said Heather. “She trying to poison us. She wants all three males to herself.”
“I can’t help it if I wanted to smell nice for Nick.”
“He’s a biker,” said Stella. “His idea of a nice smell is probably motor oil. If you really want to turn him on, you should spray transmission fluid all over yourself.”
“Or antifreeze,” said Heather. “That actually might work. Antifreeze smells really good. It’s sweet.”
“You’ve smelled antifreeze?” asked Stella.
“I smell everything. It’s a blessing and a curse.”
“I’m not rubbing any automotive fluids on my body. That’s just gross,” said Kara.
“No grosser than cockroach sex,” said Stella.
Peri tilted her head. “Cockroach sex? What the heck are you talking about, Stella?”
“Ask her,” she replied, indicating Heather. “She’s the one who’s been having fantasies about bumping antennae with Kale.”
“Eww,” said Kara, “I thought we agreed no cockroach talk.”
“You know what?” said Peri. “I don’t even want to know. Forget I asked. I can see, now, we have much bigger problems than I thought.”
“What problems?” asked Heather.
“The problem of you three getting all gussied up like a bunch of junior high girls about to head off to winter formal. One of you is going to end up losing your virginity in the bed of a beat-up pickup truck parked behind the grocery store.”
“There’s a reason the trucks have beds, Peri. We’d just be using the bed for its intended purpose,” said Heather.
“Good one, Heather,” said Stella.
“‘And gussied is a bit strong, don’t you think?” asked Kara.
“Not at all,” said Peri. “There’s definite gussying going on up in here.”
“I don’t think gussying is a word,” said Stella.
“It is and it’s exactly what you all are doing. Have you three forgotten what I told you about not allowing your wolves to bite or defile you in any way?”
“Ciro would never defile me,” said Stella. “He respects me entirely too much. He’s told me he will not push me to move forward in our relationship until I’m ready, and I believe him.”
“Well, la-di-freaking-da,” said Peri. “Aren’t you two the picture of maturity?” Stella shrugged. “Just remember wolves run on instinct. His instinct is going to be to mark you. In his mind, it will mean you are protected.”
“Kale better defile me, or why am I bothering to get all gussied up?” said Heather. “By the way, that reminds me, Peri, do you have a washing machine around here? I think I could stand to do a little laundry.”
“No offense, Helen, but I’m not just dealing with you newly mated pairs, Volcan, healers turned witches, a sulking djinn, and a crazy pixie. I’m also dealing with the crap happening in America with a supernatural extremist group who want to enslave all of humanity and rule the world, and yadda, yadda, yadda. So, forgive me if I don’t give a unicorn’s butt hair about your clothes.”
“All I asked was if you had a washer,” Heather said dryly. “You haven’t been around much to magic the clothes clean, and considering my sense of smell is nearly as good as a wolf’s, I don’t like my clothes to be more than a week worn.”
“Actually,” said Peri, “you’re onto something there. A new wardrobe is exactly what all three of you need. Because your old clothes are covered with days and days worth of your scent. You don’t have to be a wolf to notice that. Not even Kara’s perfume can cover it up. And the stronger your scent is, the more the wolves within your mates are likely to try something stupid with no adult supervision around. I’ll magic you up something.”
“Oooh, a new wardrobe! That’s so exciting,” said Kara, clapping her hands and jumping up and down.
“Calm down, Little Orphan Annie. It’s just clothes,” said Peri.
“Do you know how many times I got new clothes living in foster care? Let me give you a hint. Never. Donations and hand-me-downs. And I wasn’t supposed to get picked on at school wearing that garbage? Give me a break.” She gave another little excited hop. “Being besties with a high fae is going to be awesome.”
“We’re not besties,” said Peri. “I have no besties. Never say that again.”
Kara’s face fell. “Sorry. Who peed in your Cheerios?”
“It’s not my Cheerios I’m worried about getting peed on. It’s you three little fire hydrants. Now…” She tapped her chin. “We need something functional that you can move around in, in case you need to fight them off, but with many layers, so as to give you plenty of warning if they start trying to undress you.”
“Don’t you think you’re taking this a little too seriously, Peri?” Heather asked. “We will only be sitting and talking. It’s not like we’re going to a hotel that rents by the hour.”
“Says the girl who just said she wanted to be ravaged,” offered Stella.
“In the bed of a pickup truck, no less,” added Kara.
“I was only joking. I know how important this is, Peri. We all do. Don’t worry about us. As you said, you have tons more important things going on right now to worry about. We can take care of ourselves.”
“We’ll see. You all line up out in the bedroom. Kara, drop the hair spray. You’ve done enough damage.”
&nb
sp; “Line up?” asked Stella. “What is this? Some kind of inspection?”
“Kind of,” replied Peri. “Just do it. Otherwise, I’ll reinstate the spell Lucian put in place earlier, except in reverse. You’ll be able to hear your mates but not talk to them.” She scratched her chin. “Silent healers. That’s not a bad idea.”
“No, no,” said Heather, holding up her hands. “We’re cooperating. I’m already blind. I don’t want to be mute, too.”
With sour faces, the healers left the bathroom and lined up in the large bedroom. Peri stared at them for several seconds. She tilted her head this way and that. Then she snapped her fingers. “Got it.” She waved her hands, and each of the girls flinched when the shorts and T-shirts they were wearing were replaced with thick, industrial safety coveralls, complete with reflective fluorescent stripes.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” said Stella.
Kara stamped a foot. “Peri, no! I wanted a biker chick look, black spaghetti strap top, ripped-up jeans, and a black leather jacket, not … whatever this is.” She motioned to the coveralls and glared at the material as though it had somehow personally offended her.
“Someone, please tell me what’s going,” said Heather. “I’m guessing by the sound of your voices Peri has placed us in something less than flattering.”
“That’s an understatement,” said Stella. “She’s decked us out in industrial blue coveralls … complete with work boots.”
“Not really sure what blue is, but I can tell by your tone we aren’t the sexiest three chicks in the hen house. The material feels heavy.” Heather tugged at the sleeve and rubbed it between her fingers. “Are we expecting some sort of chemical spill while we’re spending time with our men? Or perhaps she really is concerned they will pee on us. Are these waterproof?”
“I look like I work for the highway department,” said Kara.
“We look ridiculous,” added Stella.
“Not at all,” said Peri. “You look very responsible. Plus, I hear industrial safety garments are all the rage with the girls your age now. I think it’s called occupational chic.”
