by Quinn Loftis
Cypher flinched at the sarcasm in her words. He couldn’t deny any of her accusations, but he wouldn’t give her up either.
“I’ve had one of the helpers here prepare breakfast. I would like for you to join me.”
Lilly swung her legs over the side of the bed, not caring that all she was in shorts and a tank top.
“All right, but let me get cleaned up and dressed, please.”
He gave a formal bow and closed the door behind him.
Lilly walked over to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror.
“What on earth have you gotten yourself in to?”
She sighed. She was going to have to ask Cypher if there was a phone she could use. Somehow the wicked witch of the west had fried hers, the sneaky bitch. Jacque would have chastised her for that, but frankly the witch was a bitch. And now she was making rhymes. If she kept at it, she could give Dr. Seuss a run for his money.
She washed her face and combed through her hair, then went ahead and brushed her teeth even though she would be eating. Who likes to walk around with morning breath?
Once she had changed clothes she once again stood in front of the mirror. She was wearing jeans, a long-sleeved fitted tee, and her New Balance running shoes, not that she did any running. But seeing as how the last couple of days had gone, she figured she might be taking up the sport of running just to get away from the things that went bump in the night.
“That’s as good as it’s going to get, kid,” she told the image in the mirror. “Time to face the music, or in this case, the tall and handsome warlock King.” She paused. “I've got to stop calling him that.”
Once Lilly was down the stairs she followed her nose. It smelled of bacon and her stomach growled. Mentally she told her stomach to take a chill pill because she was going to try to get in touch with her daughter before she did anything else.
When she rounded the corner and found the kitchen, she stopped abruptly. Cypher was standing in front of a large window. The morning light was shining in, caressing his tall form, and his pitch black hair glistened and shone. He truly was breathtaking. She quickly snapped her mouth shut when he turned to look at her.
“Good morning, Lilly,” he told her with a quirk of his lips that told her he had caught her drooling over him.
Lilly decided the best defense was a good offense. “I need to use your phone,” she told him, without acknowledging his smirk.
His eyes seemed to dance with humor. He knew the effect he was having on her and it was sort of ticking her off.
“I need to check on my daughter. If you will allow me this I promise to cooperate.”
Cypher let out a loud laugh.
“Might I ask what your idea of not cooperating would look like, little one?”
Lilly ignored the lurch to her heart that the endearment seemed to cause.
“Let’s just say it’s not pretty.” She gave him her best glare. It usually worked on her employees – not so much on a warlock King.
Cypher pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and held it out.
She raised a single eyebrow, “You have a cell phone?” she asked incredulously.
He chuckled. “Even warlock Kings have to keep up with the times,” he told her with a wink.
Lilly took the phone from him and dialed Jacque’s phone number. When there was no answer, she told herself not to panic and called Vasile. Long ago she had made sure to memorize Vasile, Alina, and Fane’s cell numbers.
On the fourth ring the call was answered.
“Vasile,” his voice came through loud and clear.
“Vasile, it’s Lilly Pierce.”
Vasile was quiet for a minute. “Lilly, I do not recognize this number, but I do know it is not an American number. Where are you?”
Lilly had decided that if Jacque was alright she wasn’t going to let them know just then what she had gotten herself into.
“Is Jacque alright?” she asked, skirting around his question.
Again he was silent. Blasted man knows how to make someone squirm, she thought to herself.
“Jacque is fine.”
Lilly could tell there was something off in his voice, something he didn’t want to tell her.
“You’re sure, Vasile? She is safe?” she asked, careful not to provoke him.
“I am sure. My real concern is, are you safe?”
Lilly could practically see Vasile trying to use his Alpha mojo on her. Thankfully, she was human.
“I’m great, but I gotta run. I will call to check on Jacque again, alright?”
“Alright, Lilly. Please know that if you need us, we are here for you. Please call if you are caught in any sort of trouble.”
Lilly did not miss the play on words. She didn’t want to get them involved if she didn’t have to. Now, she wasn’t sure what Mona the witch had up her sleeve, but Lilly wasn’t stupid. If she had brought her, the mother of a mated female, all the way to Romania, then the wolves were definitely involved. She just needed to figure out how they fit into the puzzle.
“I hear ya loud and clear, Vasile. I can’t talk just now, but I will call again.” Before he could say anything more she ended the call.
“Everything alright?” Cypher asked, much closer behind her than he had been when she started the call.
She turned around to find him less than a foot away from her. Her breath caught and she found herself drowning in his beautiful, warm, yellow eyes.
Lilly closed her eyes and shook herself, trying to clear her head.
“Yeah, Jacque is fine,” she said out loud and then thought to herself, That’s one thing off my mind. Now I just need to eat and then find out why you are hell bent on keeping me.
Cypher continued to look into her eyes. She felt like he was looking into her soul and she was afraid that he would be able to see how her affected her. Come on, Lilly, she told herself, who falls for someone who has abducted them?
She broke eye contact and let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding.
“So I smell bacon,” she told him as she skirted around him.
Cypher’s lips quirked up in a crooked smile, as if he knew that she was trying to keep him from seeing her real feelings.
“Yes, there is bacon and an omelet,” he told her.
“You make omelets?” she asked him, obviously surprised.
He sat down on a stool at the island in the middle of the kitchen.
“Believe it or not, we have internet and know how to use it,” he teased.
Lilly picked up the plateful of food that he had left on the counter for her and blushed. “Right, internet. I knew that.” She took the stool across from him.
She took a bite and smiled. “OMG, Cypher this is good. Like really good.”
Cypher did the whole crooked smile thing again.
“Internet, Lilly. I even know how to read.”
“I’m sorry. I’m not trying to imply that you aren’t capable of learning new things or, ya know, stuff,” she told him, another blush creeping up her neck.
They sat in silence as Lilly finished her breakfast. She found it much easier to eat now that she knew that Jacque was safe. Now she just had to get to the bottom of what Cypher and the wicked bitch were up to.
She wiped her mouth with the napkin he handed her.
“Thank you. That was really good.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. I like feeding you,” he told her with unabashed honesty.
Lilly decided that she was going to have a permanent blush on her face as long as he kept saying things like that.
“So how about we get down to business,” she told him boldly.
“What business would that be?” he asked.
“What are you and Mona up to? Why did she want me?”
Cypher looked away from her. She could see he was battling something inside. He wanted to tell her the truth, but maybe not all of it.
“My race is dying,” Cypher told her. He still didn't look at her. “The Fa
e have retreated from the realm and taken the magic with them, thus those of us made primarily of magic are slowly growing weaker. There is one thing that all the supernatural races have in common – the males are stronger with a mate. I’m old, Lilly. I don’t even know my exact age, but I’ve seen more than millennia, all of that time I have been without a mate. My race, unlike others, can take a mate that is not of our kind. We very rarely have contact with humans so I’ve never looked for a human mate. Then I met you.”
Lilly coughed out a laugh. “You didn’t really meet me, Cypher, you kidnapped me.”
“A technicality.”
This time Lilly laughed unencumbered. “A technicality – nice, as my daughter would say. Anyway, what does Mona want from you that she went to all the trouble to find you a mate?”
This time Cypher actually turned away from her.
Uh oh, she thought. It must be bad if he can’t even look me in the face.
“I know you can’t possibly understand the responsibility I have to my people.”
“Try me,” Lilly shot back.
His head whipped around at the snap in her voice. His eyes met hers and his lips quirked slightly at the challenge he saw in her eyes.
“They look to me to take care of them, to make sure we continue on.”
“I get that. You’re kind of like the Alpha of a wolf pack,” she told him.
He growled, “Not even close. There is only one of me. There are many packs and many Alphas to care for each. I am the King of my people. There is no one who shares this burden, no one to take care of them if something happens to me.”
“Look, I may not be the queen of some race, but I’m a mom. I know what it’s like to be responsible for another.”
Cypher scoffed. “You are a mere human. You cannot possibly know of the burden I speak of.”
Lilly stood up, pushing her stool back so that it nearly toppled over. Cypher moved faster than she had ever seen someone move and caught the stool before it could fall.
“Who the hell are you to tell me what I understand? A mere human? Please, I’m a single mother. I’ve dealt with crap you can’t even imagine. Have you ever had a daughter go through puberty? Huh? Have you?” Lilly was snarling, she was shaking with anger. How dare he tell her that she couldn’t understand his responsibility? Then it hit her.
“Wait, are you trying to justify what you are helping Mona with by saying you are saving your people?” she asked him incredulously, her voice cutting through him like a knife. “So you would rather infect your heart and your people with the taint of evil?”
Lilly saw him flinch. She had hit home. Before she could say anything else, Cypher stormed out of the kitchen. She heard a door slam and jumped as the walls rattled.
“Well,” she said into the empty room, “that went well.”
Chapter 19
“I keep telling myself that in order for there to be light there has to be darkness. But the darkness that is creeping over us seems impenetrable. I can’t imagine a light bright enough to push through the opaqueness. It crawls across the land, withering everything it touches. What will be left when it’s over? Will it ever be over?” ~ Sally
Sally watched the guys load all their stuff into the van once again, preparing for the long journey to the Carpathian Mountains. Jen had told her what Vasile had told Decebel the night before. She was mad that Jen hadn’t immediately come and told her, but understood her reasoning. Watching Jen, she could tell something wasn’t right, but when Sally tried to ask Jen if she was alright, Jen just spouted off at the mouth in typical Jen fashion.
The weirdest thing was that Jen seemed to be avoiding being touched and wouldn’t make eye contact with her mate. In fact, she had hardly spoken to Decebel, which was really strange. Usually they were attached at the hip. Well, she would just continue to watch and listen. Maybe she would be able to come up with an answer, and if that didn’t work she would just bug Jen until she finally 'fessed up to whatever the hell was going on.
Once they were finally on the road, Decebel broke down exactly what had happened and let the males know they needed to be alert for anything.
“It seems Mona has been busy, more so than we originally thought.”
Peri let out a snort. “Busy doesn’t even begin to describe what that heifer has been up to.”
Jen put her fist in the air and hollered, “Word!”
Sally grinned – that was more like her friend. Maybe she had just been tired this morning.
“How you doing?” Costin asked as he put his arm around Sally and pulled her close. She snuggled into him, enjoying the new intimacy between them.
Sally couldn’t help but feel more confident in their relationship. They had done the blood rites. It was a done deal. He wasn’t getting out of it now.
His chest shook as he chuckled. “As if I would ever want out.”
“Nosy much?” Sally poked him in the chest, chastising him.
“How can it be nosy if I have a right to the information?”
Jen snorted from the front of the van.
“Did I just hear you right, furry C? Surely you did not just say you had a right to my girl’s thoughts. Surely I heard you wrong.” Jen had turned in her seat and was giving Costin the famous glare that many a man had crumbled under.
“Alpha, reign your woman in.”
Then everything began to move in slow motion.
In a violent reaction to Costin's teasingly misogynistic comment, Jen yelled, “OH, HELL NO!” She had her seat belt off in a flash and began to lunge at him.
Decebel, in an expert move, had the van on the side of the road, in park, and his arm around his mate's waist before a breath could be expelled. Jen’s eyes were glowing.
“Damn,” Sally muttered.
If Costin had been in wolf form, his hackles would have risen at the threat he recognized Jen to be. Even though she was the female Alpha, he saw her as a potential threat to his mate, who was human and fragile.
“Jennifer,” Decebel snarled.
After several moments, when everyone seemed frozen, Jen finally held her hands up in surrender.
“I’m done.” Jen’s head hung in defeat as Decebel let her go, and she climbed back down to her seat.
The whole van seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Disaster averted – for now.
“Costin, cool it. No harm to yours,” Decebel told him through the rear view mirror. Costin held his Alpha’s eyes for a heartbeat and then dropped them.
Sally looked at her mate and watched as he struggled with his need to protect her and his need to obey his Alpha. She took a page from Jacque’s book and reached up under Costin’s shirt, placing her hand against his chest. Flesh to flesh. She watched as he visibly relaxed. His trademark grin, dimples and all, stretched across his face.
“Thank you,” he told her. Sincerity shone in his eyes.
“Anytime.” She smiled back.
“What the heck was that about anyway?” he whispered to her.
Sally shrugged. “Something is up with her.”
Cynthia turned in her seat and looked back at Sally.
“Can I try to talk with her first?”
Sally nodded. “Sure. Do you think you know what’s going on with her?” Her eyebrows rose in question.
Cynthia shrugged noncommittally. “Sometimes people will talk to a doctor because they feel there is some anonymity to it. I’ll give it a go. The worst she can do is tell me to get bent.”
Sally snorted. “That is something she would say.”
The van was quiet for hours. They slept off and on and stopped occasionally for food or to use the restroom. Sally continued to watch her friend and grew more and more worried. Something was definitely wrong.
They switched drivers periodically so that they wouldn’t have to stop. They drove the thirteen plus hours straight through. As they grew closer to the forest, there seemed to be an undercurrent of stress rippling through the van. When Decebel pulled to a stop on what seemed t
o be a back road, he held up his hand to keep anyone from climbing out of the van.
“It’s after midnight, but we're going to have to walk for an hour and then make camp. Vasile and I planned for this possibility so I made sure to bring provisions. Remember, this forest is not our friend. Be aware of your surroundings at all times. Stay in pairs, no wondering off on your own. The males will rotate a night watch.” With that, he climbed out of the van and everyone else followed.
Decebel walked over to Jennifer and pulled her into his arms. He pressed his nose into her hair and breathed as deeply as he could, taking in her unique scent.
“Why won’t you talk to me?” he whispered. He didn’t try to use their bond because she had kept it locked up tight since she'd awoken from her nightmare.
Jen squeezed her eyes shut at the sound of pain in his voice. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed; she clung to him as if her life depended on him.
After several minutes of silence, he finally let her go. He tilted her face up to look at him and brushed a finger softly against her lips. She was beautiful and she was his, but she wouldn’t let him in and it was killing him.
He dropped his hand and turned to help the others unload the van. He didn’t see the pain that flashed in her eyes as he turned from her – he didn’t hear the catch in her breathing as she tried not to reach out and grab him to pour her soul out, to beg him for his forgiveness. Jen had been so focused on Decebel that she hadn’t realized Cynthia was standing next to her.
“Take a walk with me?” Cynthia asked gently.
Jen stared at her a moment, then nodded.
Cynthia called out to Decebel. “Alpha, we need to use the little girls' room. Jen and I are going together and privacy would be appreciated.”
Decebel began to step toward them.
“I can go with her.”
Cynthia held up her hand. “It’s me who needs to pee and I don’t really want you or any of our males going with me.”
It was obvious that Decebel didn’t like the idea of them going off in the dark by themselves, but it wasn't not like he could force them to pee with a male around.
