by Quinn Loftis
“I don’t want to leave her.”
“Take a number at the back of the, I don’t give a flying flip what you want, line, and then go and do what I told you to anyway. You aren’t making the clock move any faster. You’re making the other wolves edgy, which in turn is making my wolf edgy, and if there is one thing I can’t stand worse than werewolves, it’s edgy werewolves.”
Dalton glared at the fae for several minutes before finally turning toward the window. He pushed it open and jumped through it landing soundlessly on the ground. As he turned to tell Peri to keep the other males away, he was met with the window slamming shut in his face.
“One of these days, fairy,” he growled low under his breath as he headed towards the forest, phasing in midstride allowing his clothes to tear away from his body. He hated to admit that she was right. He needed to run―needed to kill something. The waiting, wondering if when she finally turned eighteen their bond would snap into place, was enough to drive even a sane wolf over the edge and he was far from sane. Sanity was a ship that had sailed past him in the dead of night, and his second chance at catching it was lying unconscious and beyond his reach.
Dalton ran, allowing the cool, fall air to cleanse his lungs as he took in deep breaths. It rippled through his fur stroking his skin as it separated the strands. It felt as those it had been months since he had communed with the forest, but it had only been days. He hated to leave Jewel’s side, but he needed to collect himself. He usually had much better control of his emotions, and it was driving him a little bit crazy that he couldn’t seem to get a handle on himself.
He had no idea how long he had been running or how far he had gone when a thought that was not his own entered his mind.
“He’s gone. He said he wouldn’t leave and yet I can’t feel him.”
Dalton’s steps faltered as the feminine voice caressed his soul. He felt her presence all the way to his marrow, and for the first time since his parent’s death he didn’t feel empty. He phased back into his human form as his knees crashed into the hard ground. Rocks and dirt bit into his bare skin but he ignored it. His mind was too focused on the fact that he could feel his true mate. He could sense everything about her. He knew she had a headache. He could feel her heart racing as she struggled with her need to be close to him.
“Jewel,” he whispered hoping not to frighten her.
There was a pause and then her voice was back. “Dalton?”
“Yes. You know who I am?”
“Where’d you go?” she asked, ignoring his own question.
“I needed to stretch my legs,” he told her. Not wanting to admit that he was nearly clawing the walls like a deranged cat waiting to see if their bond would open. “How do you feel?”
“A little confused and a lot scared, and oddly enough what stands out above those two emotions is frustration.”
“I’m on my way back.”
“Good,” was all she said in response.
Dalton stood and took off at a dead run, once again phasing into his wolf. He felt a howl rising in his throat as his wolf raged to get back to her. Dalton knew he was going to have to get control of himself before he entered her room or the combination of her scent and their bond being open would push him over the edge to claim her.
When he reached her window he half expected to see her sitting up on the side of her bed. Her voice in his mind was so full of life that he had nearly forgotten that she was still unconscious. But as he peered in, simultaneously, throwing on the clothes Peri had no doubt left for him—the shirt was pink and the sweat pants were an awful teal color—he saw that she was lying just as still as ever.
Dalton pushed the window open and climbed silently through. Her pear scent washed over him and his wolf purred in satisfaction. Ours, he thought and Dalton agreed, yes she is ours.
“Dalton?”
His eyes snapped to her face at the sound of her voice in his mind. Her flawless skin called out to him. He wanted to touch her, to feel how soft she looked, and to let her warmth seep into the cold places inside of him.
“I’m here,” he told her as he pulled his usual chair up next to her bed. “I keep expecting you to suddenly sit up and open your eyes,” he admitted.
“I don’t know if that will ever happen.” The doubt in her voice had his insides twisting. He felt helpless, unable to take care of his mate, to give her what she needed. “How long have I been this way?”
“Over two months now.”
“You have been with me the whole time.” It wasn’t a question.
“Not the whole time.” Dalton felt the guilt of his unwillingness to claim her knocking on the door of his conscious not for the first time.
“What does it mean that I am your true mate?” Jewel asked him. “Sally has been talking about it but I want to hear it from you.”
He drew in a deep breath and took one of her hands and entwined their fingers. It still baffled him that he longed for her touch. He craved it like a starving man craved a morsel of food and his wolf would not be denied.
“I am a Canis lupis, a grey wolf.”
“A werewolf?”
“Yes. I, along with others in my species, was created by the Great Luna.” Dalton explained how the Great Luna decided to join the spirit of man and wolf together to create their race. He told her of how important family was to their Creator and how she had preordained each of them to have a true mate. “You are the light to my darkness,” he told her gently. “I have lived over three centuries and never found any who complete me the way you do, and I could live for three thousand centuries and still never find another such as you. Jewel Stone, you were created for me, and I was created for you.”
“You have no choice in the matter?” she asked.
“Who is the clay to question the potter?
“But you did question,” she challenged him.
Dalton couldn’t help the small smile that played on his lips. Jewel was right; he had questioned the Great Luna. He had wondered why she would give him a mate at all, especially one so innocent.
“Can you blame me?” he asked her.
Jewel could feel the heat from Dalton’s hand in hers and wished that she could command her own hand to flex and grab onto him so that he could feel how badly she wanted him to never question his Creator again. She wanted him to understand that he had value and that his past did not dictate his worth. Though she had only known Dalton a short time and in that short time their conversations had all been one-sided, something deep inside of her knew that he was hers. It felt so primitive and animalistic and yet it also felt completely natural.
“Do you feel like I belong to you― like I am yours?” she finally asked him after several moments of silence.
“Yes, but I do not expect you to understand that since you are human.”
“Do you want me to be yours?” She needed to know if he truly wanted her, or was he just accepting his fate?
She heard him chuckle and when he spoke, it was out loud. “I didn’t think that I would ever want a true mate. Not after…,” he paused.
“Gwen,” she finished for him.
“Yes.” His whispered word in her mind was painful even for her. “You heard everything didn’t you?” He asked her and she knew he was referring to all of the horrific things he had endured and done.
“Yes.”
This time he spoke to her mind. “As you can imagine, my past has left deep scars on me. I didn’t know if I would ever be able to truly move on.”
“And now?”
“I still don’t know.”
They were both quiet for a time after that. Jewel simply took comfort in the feel of his hand in hers and the presence of him in her mind. Having this bond or whatever it was between them helped her to not feel so alone.
“You will never be alone again,” his voice broke through her thoughts.
“Do you hear all my thoughts?”
“Yes, but I will try to give you your privacy. It’s just hard becaus
e the only way for me to know if you are okay is to stay in your mind.”
“It should bother me, but I’m so tired of being all alone in here,” she confided. Jewel felt his hand tighten and then felt his lips on her forehead. “I’ve never been kissed before,” she admitted as she felt herself drifting off to sleep. Though she had slept off and on, this was the first time she hadn’t minded.
Dalton knew it was foolish to feel so relieved over the fact that his true mate, who was in a coma-like state because of the violence committed against her, had just admitted that no other male had ever kissed her. The wolf in him wanted to howl his victory into the night, but he settled for simply smiling at his now sleeping mate. He had felt how tired she was, and though all he wanted to do was talk to her, to hear her voice in his mind, he was also driven to care for her needs and what she needed then was rest.
The door opened behind him but he didn’t bother to turn. His Alpha’s scent filled the room before his voice did.
“Based on the fact that you aren’t pacing like a caged animal, I take it to mean that the bond opened?” Dillon asked as he stepped up on the opposite side of Jewel’s bed.
“It did,” Dalton confirmed.
“How did she respond?”
For a moment the question threw him because he hadn’t considered the fact that Jewel hadn’t been freaking out over being able to speak to each other through their minds. Most humans would have found that more than a little odd. But then, Jewel was no longer just human. She had recently found out she was of gypsy healer decent, werewolves existed, and a dark sorcerer was determined to drain all of the blood from her body. So maybe speaking mind to mind with a male who claimed to be her mate wasn’t exactly shocking.
“She didn’t act like it was anything out of the ordinary,” Dalton told him.
“It might be a relief to her,” Dillon said as he looked down at her.
“What do you mean?”
“She’s been laying there for two months only able to communicate with herself and even that is limited. I imagine she can tell her hands to move all day long, and yet still they lay there limp and useless. So now having you to talk to, it’s probably quite comforting.”
He hadn’t considered that. How horrible it must feel to be trapped inside your own mind. She can think and can reason, and yet she can’t get her own body to obey her. His wolf would probably be driven mad if they were in such a state.
“Sally wants to talk to you,” Dillon said interrupting his thoughts.
“I’m not stopping her from coming in,” he told his Alpha, though he still didn’t take his eyes off of Jewel.
“She doesn’t want to disturb Jewel’s rest.” Dalton’s head snapped up at his Alpha’s words. What he knew Dillon was really saying was that Sally didn’t want to talk within Jewel’s hearing. He gave a curt nod and then leaned over Jewel placing another soft kiss to her hair.
“I will stay with her,” Dillon told him. “She will be safe.”
Dalton nodded as he met his Alpha’s eyes briefly before he turned and left the room. He found Sally in the living room of Peri’s home. It was the first time he had left Jewel’s room using something other than the window since he first arrived. He appreciated the fact that none of the other wolves were around. He wished that he had more control, but the fact was that until Jewel bore his mark his control would be sorely lacking.
“Dillon said you wanted to speak to me.” He took a seat across from the healer just as Costin came in and sat down next to his mate. Dalton gave Costin a brief nod but then focused back on Sally.
“So, you are true mates?” she asked with a small smile. It was the first time she had smiled at him.
“We are,” he answered.
“Not to rush things, but have you been able to look into her mind and maybe get an idea as to why she won’t pull back away from the oblivion she seems hell bent on slipping into?”
Dalton shook his head. “I didn’t really get that far. We talked briefly and then she fell asleep. She is tired.”
“I would imagine so. Finding out that you are true mates with a werewolf and that you each have open access to each other’s minds can be quiet overwhelming,” Sally said as she leaned into Costin. He wrapped an arm around his mate and pressed a kiss to her neck, right where his mark was. Dalton felt a twinge of jealousy. He wanted Jewel to have his mark, wanted her to bear the evidence that she was taken, branded on her. The need was so strong that Dalton had to force himself to remain seated.
“She took all of the information rather well,” Dalton told her.
Sally nodded. “I’m happy for you, Dalton.”
His brow rose as he met Sally’s brown eyes. “Really?”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Just because I was pissed at you for being a stubborn, flea infested fur ball doesn’t mean I don’t want the best for you. I’m a healer. Even when I may not like it very much, caring for the wolves is my job, and that includes you.”
“Thank you.” He paused. “I think.”
She laughed as she stood up pulling her mate with her. “You men of few words are so weird. I know you need to be gentle with Jewel. Her mind is fragile whether she realizes it or not, but I need you to see if you can find out why she is resisting or why her soul is resisting. I keep trying to draw her back but she keeps just enough space between us that I can’t bring her back to consciousness.”
“I had hoped that the bond opening would be enough,” Dalton told her, but his eyes met Costin’s.
“The need to be everything for your mate can be overwhelming,” Costin said, obviously having understood Dalton’s frustration. “You will have to come to terms with the fact that you will not always be enough.”
With that they left him sitting in the empty living room surrounded by every male Canis lupis’s nightmare―to not be enough for his female, to not be able to fix her.
Chapter 7
“The greatest power evil has over the world is the silly notion that evil can only go where it is invited. That is like saying a termite has to be invited to devour the wood of your home when really all that is necessary to let him in is a tiny opening.” ~ Volcan
The power that flooded his blood was all the confirmation Volcan needed to know that his plan had worked. Jewel Stone was his. The bond that existed between true mates was open, and that meant that he too had access to her. He had been patient and once again that patience had paid off.
“We will be together soon, Jewel, or should I call you Little Dove?” Volcan closed his eyes and pushed his essence into the bond, seeking out the depths of the healer’s mind. She was strong, powerful, but she was also human which meant she would be easily manipulated by her emotions. All he had to do was find a weakness, one area to exploit, and she would be his.
~
Peri tried to keep a straight face. She knew that she needed to be the mature one, the diplomatic one. But when she flashed into the pixie realm to find Heather bent forward with her shirt unbuttoned, holding it so that nothing could be seen, she just lost it. The others around her― Adam, Elle, Crina, even Sorin― were laughing so hard she was sure at any moment she was going to see pee flowing down their legs.
“What is she doing?” Peri leaned in close to Anna who was wiping her eyes.
“Oh crap! Peri, you scared me.” Anna jumped as she turned to look at her.
“You’re watching a blind chick bend over the ground with her shirt held open while she mutters, 'Where is that blasted button?' And I’m what scares you?”
This only brought another round of laughter from the human girl. Peri crossed her arms as she waited for the healer to gain her composure and then raised a brow at her as if to say I’m waiting.
“The pixies think that one of Heather’s lovers had a spell cast on her to take her eyes,” she finally told her.
Peri’s eyes narrowed as she looked from Anna to the blind woman in question and then back to Anna. After several more moments a wide smile spread across her fa
ce. She remembered what Elle had told her had happened to the king’s brother, and it dawned on her why the pixies would have drawn this conclusion with Heather.
“And where did they think her lover has put her eyes?” Peri asked.
Anna was biting her lips so hard that Peri was sure at any moment there would be a hole where part of her lip should be. “In her chest,” she finally busted out and into a fit of giggles.
Peri felt a nudge from her other side and turned away from the giggling Anna. Elle was standing there with a wide, Cheshire cat grin. “Tell me that isn’t hilarious?” she said and nodded toward Heather.
“So I take it all these pixies watching seem to think Heather is looking for her button with her breasts?”
Elle snorted and nodded. “Oh come on, you know it’s a riot.”
“What would be hilarious is if Heather suddenly stood up and directed her chest at one of those male pixies over there and covered up one breast and said this is me winking at you.” Peri had to steady herself as Elle leaned on her grabbing her stomach as she laughed. So maybe she should have been a bit more mature in handling it, but then a blind chick acting like she was using her breasts as her eyes was pretty freaking hilarious.
Peri shook her head at the group and grabbed Elle’s hand and flashed them to a different, quieter section of the realm. When Elle finally collected herself she stood up straight and let out a long breath. “So, any news?”
Peri chuckled. “Aside from the fact that we have a healer with winking breasts?”
“Nope, that is exactly the news I was talking about. There can’t possibly be anything more important than a blind gypsy healer who can see using her excreters.”
“Her what?” Peri choked, trying to swallow at the same time she spoke.
“Apparently that is what the pixie call the female chest.”
