by Quinn Loftis
“Mommy,” Titus said, pulling her from her thoughts.
“Yes, little man?”
“You can stop worrying. I’m not tramatatized,” he said gently.
“You mean traumatized?” Sally asked.
“Yes. That. Daddy just did what needed to be done. Uncle Gavril said werewolves are the good guys. So those men were bad guys.”
“We just want to protect you, sweetie. You’ve been through so much already,” Sally explained, hoping he would understand that she would worry about him no matter how necessary the violence.
“But bad things make us stronger.” As usual her son’s wisdom at his young age astounded her.
“You’re not wrong.” She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. “You’re going to be the strongest wolf around one of these days.”
Titus smiled and then went back to drawing. She looked up at Costin, whose eyes she could feel on her. “He’s going to be fine,” Costin assured her.
“I know. I just wish he could be a kid and do kid things instead of watching vampires die. Do you think he’s in shock because he’s around the vampires again?” she asked, realizing that this whole thing had to be a whole lot more terrifying than Titus was letting on.
“No. I think our son has a unique ability to compartmentalize his emotions and see things from a very unique and mature view. I think he’s going to be fine, and if he isn’t, we will do whatever we need to in order to make that happen.”
Sally appreciated Costin’s conviction because, at the moment, she wasn’t sure of anything. She felt so out of control, and it reminded her of how she felt when she’d first been rescued. She wasn’t going to allow herself to sink into that dark place. Drawing on the confidence she felt through the mate bond, Sally took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Things looked like an absolute mess right now, but it wouldn’t be that way forever. They would defeat their enemy and keep humans and supernaturals safe. They would survive to fight another battle when it showed up at their door. They would not give in, give up, or give evil what it wanted.
Feeling better, she focused on Titus, enjoying her time with him despite the circumstances, and waited for the elf king to come while her mate continued his vigilant watch of the door. Jen had been quiet on her side of the wall ever since Sally had declared they were going to come up with a plan to escape. She imagined her friend was going over every military movie she’d ever watched, searching for inspiration or seeking some impossible feat that would free them.
She looked up at Costin and saw his calm demeanor but wasn’t fooled by it. He was poised to move at a moment's notice. Sally had no doubt that her mate would stand there keeping them safe until he collapsed from exhaustion. She’d have to force him to sleep.
“I can hear you,” Costin rumbled.
“Good, then we won’t have to have a conversation about it.” Sally winked at him.
“Minx,” he said through their bond and then turned his attention back to the door.
Titus let out a tired sigh and curled up in her lap. Sally leaned her back against the wall and held him tight. She closed her eyes, letting herself drift to sleep because she might as well get some much-needed rest, too.
“I will watch over you both,” her mate said.
“I know. I’ve never doubted you and never will.”
Chapter 14
“There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die…” ~Human Bible. The Word of the Creator of humankind.
Nissa held a fae blade in one hand while using her other to wield her power. She and the other warriors left at the Keep were trying to repel Alston’s army, which showed no signs of withdrawing its assault on the stronghold. She couldn’t believe the sheer number of warriors Alston and Ludcarab were able to recruit. When she’d shown up on the battlefield in Arizona, she’d been surprised at how large it had been, and the army they were battling now was every bit as big, possibly more so.
Just as a fae warrior lunged for her, she heard the unmistakable whistle of arrows. You’ve got to be kidding me..
“How could you be so stupid to choose to turn on your own race?” Nissa asked the male as their weapons hit with a satisfying clang. She fully expected to be impaled by an arrow at any moment but didn’t have time to look up.
“What could possibly be stupid about not wanting to live in the shadows any longer?” He shot a bolt of magic at her.
Nissa noticed that his magic was no longer white but instead was completely black. How did I not notice that in Arizona? The slice of a blade way too close to her ear caused her to forget the question. It didn’t really matter. His soul had obviously been consumed by the poison that Alston was feeding him and those who followed the traitorous high fae. “I’m not going to dignify that question with an answer.” Nissa turned and knocked him in the back with her elbow. He stumbled. As he righted himself, she leaped in and placed the tip of her blade at his throat.
“You would kill your own kind?” The warrior glared at her, eyes so full of hate that if he were able, he would have killed her by his stare alone.
“You are a traitor. That means you are no longer one of my kind,” Nissa growled. Though she was high fae and normally quite calm, especially compared to Perizada, she was a warrior in her own right. “I have no problem killing a traitor. You’re not my first, and you won’t be my last. May the goddess have mercy on you,” she said and then ran her blade straight through his trachea.
She pulled her blade out just as quickly and didn’t bother to watch as his body hit the ground to join the fallen. She remembered the sound of the arrows, and her head snapped up. There were definitely arrows, but they were suspended in midair about eight feet above their heads. She glanced around and saw Jareth, the djinn, staring very hard at the arrows, apparently holding them in place. Surrounding him was a group of wolves who’d phased into their fur forms and were protecting him while he not only lit up the battlefield but also kept them all from being hit by the soaring weapons. She didn’t have time to marvel at his power as suddenly there was a vampire in her face.
Nissa shoved her hand against the vampire’s chest and shot a pulse of power into him, disintegrating his heart. She stumbled forward a good ten feet and turned to see that a warlock had slammed into her back. Nissa narrowed her eyes on the large female. “That was not smart.”
The woman didn’t respond, just ran straight for her.
Nissa grunted as her sword sunk into the warlock's stomach. The warlock’s brute strength was one of their strongest fighting qualities, and Nissa found they were actually a tougher opponent than a vampire.
Nissa turned and saw Alina battling two traitorous fae. She began to run in the alpha female’s direction when a loud bellow stopped her in her tracks. She turned at the sound and saw Drake, one of Vasile’s males and the mate to Bethany, fall to the ground. An elf male stood over him with his dagger sunk into his stomach to the hilt. Nissa changed course, sprinting toward the fallen wolf, but Vasile was there before she had even taken two steps. He swung his own blade up over his head around in an arc and sliced it straight through the elf’s neck. The elf’s head went flying as his body fell to the ground.
Nissa watched the whole thing as she ran to the other side of Drake and knelt across from Vasile. She looked up and saw Thalion and Cyn fighting around them, protecting them as they tended to their fallen.
“Rachel,” Nissa called out as she saw the she-wolf who was also one of the Romania pack healers, fighting just past Cyn.
Rachel dispatched the vampire and then turned at the sound of her name. Her eyes widened as she recognized Drake on the ground. She hurried over and pushed in beside Nissa. When she saw the elf blade deeply embedded in Drake’s stomach, her face paled.
“This is beyond what I can heal,” Rachel said, her voice trembling. Her hands shook as she ripped the bottom of her shirt and wrapped it around the hilt that was touching Drake’s abdomen. “Hold t
he blade steady and apply pressure.” The healer looked at Vasile. Then she turned to Nissa. There were tears streaming down Rachel’s face. “Bethany,” she practically whispered. “Their baby.” Those two words came out more like a plea.
Nissa could think of only one thing that might be able to save Drake’s life: a sprite. But since it hadn’t been until recently that they’d actually had any contact with them, the sprites weren’t a resource she would have ever considered in the past.
Nissa nodded. “Stay with him,” she told Rachel. Then she stood and looked at Cyn, “I will be right back. Your mate and Gavril can protect them. You need to find Perizada and her mate. Now. I don’t care what you have to do, or where you have to go, but you bring them here as quickly as you can.”
Cyn nodded. The swords in her hands suddenly disappeared. “I’m on it. Go. Get Drake and Bethany help.” She flashed from the battlefield.
Nissa glanced around, checking on their army—people who had come to mean very much to her simply because she respected their desire to help those who needed it and because they didn’t give in to the pull of darkness that unbridled power offered them. They didn’t allow themselves to be motivated by what they could gain for themselves, but instead were willing to sacrifice their very lives for others. They were still fighting valiantly, but the battle was too evenly matched, and they weren’t necessarily winning. She saw that Alina had apparently killed her two vamps and now was facing off with two warlocks. “Dammit,” Nissa growled. She’d only faced one warlock, and that had been bad enough. But Alina was powerful. She was a warrior and knew how to fight.
“Nissa!” Vasile snarled.
She saw Alina kick one of the warlocks in the face, and it went flying. Yes, she will be fine. Nissa flashed to the sprite realm.
The queen of the sprites paced the great hall. As soon as Nissa appeared, the woman turned to face her. The look on Nissa’s face must have conveyed the seriousness of the situation.
“What do you need?” Andora asked without preamble.
Lucian paced in his mate’s living room. Not her living room, he thought. Our living room. They were mates. What was his was hers, and what was hers was his. He nearly grinned at what she would say to him if he told her that. He wasn’t surprised she hadn’t heard the thought through their bond. She’d been restless for the past few hours, and he knew she was ready to check on things with the Romania pack but also felt beholden to the five healers who’d recently been through hell.
Peri was worried because things had not gone as planned at the Arizona battle. First, they’d showed up to surprise the Order, and instead, they’d been the ones surprised. Then, Peri had been unable to stay and help them. Her first priority had been to the healers that the Great Luna had placed in her care.
Now, they’d defeated Volcan, but that didn’t mean everything was finished. The females were facing a new future. They had mates and would be going all over the world to take their place in their new packs. It was a lot to take in. They’d spent the last months just trying to survive. But now their focus was the fact that they essentially had husbands and were going to be joining families they’d never met. They were still relatively new to the supernatural world, and Peri was worried how they might accept these new realities.
He turned the minute he felt her presence in the room. As usual, she was stunning. She never failed to take his breath away and knew she never would. Her eyes were filled with unspoken confusion as she battled with what to do.
“How can I help?” He could give his counsel, but he would not make the decision for her. If he disagreed, he would give his input. That’s what partners did. They discussed, and they weighed all the options and possible outcomes, and they supported one another even if they didn’t always agree.
“Figure out a way to give me world peace and then take me on a very long, very relaxing vacation,” she said, her voice teasing but tired.
“I would give you anything if it was in my power to do so,” he promised.
“I know, wolf. I know.”
Elle walked into the room, her hands were closing into fists and then opening again, and her head was tilted in a defiant way that Peri knew all too well. “You’ve got new information you’re not sharing with us.” She spoke up from where she stood next to her mate, Sorin, who was leaning against the wall next to the front door. “You’ve not been yourself since you returned from the human realm. Even after defeating Volcan, you’ve been off.” Elle narrowed her eyes on Peri. “I’ve known you a very long time, comrade. What aren’t you saying?”
Peri opened her mouth to respond, but in the same instance Cyn suddenly appeared in the room, covered in blood and breathing as if she’d just run fifty miles. She stunk of dark magic, blood magic, and death.
Lucian’s instincts kicked in, and he stepped slightly in front of Peri. He would never quell the need to protect her, no matter how powerful she was. She was his mate first and a high fae second.
Peri’s stomach dropped to the floor like a ton of bricks as she looked at her long-time friend. “What the hell has happened? And why do you have blood magic coating you?”
“The Order attacked the Keep,” Cyn breathed out and then added, “Is still attacking the Keep. I tried to contact you a few days ago but couldn't even feel you. Alston used an absence of light spell. The fool didn’t consider that some of us fae are powerful enough to light ourselves up. And we have a djinn who seems to have a penchant for tossing out thousands of tiny glowing orbs.”
“What Alston didn’t consider was the light that we produce will always break through the darkness that evil produces. He didn’t forget about some of our abilities. His vanity just made him overconfident.” She frowned as she remembered what Cyn had said about not sensing her. “We were in the draheim realm. That’s why you couldn’t feel me,” Peri said. “Volcan gave us a run for our money, though I still didn’t look as bad as you afterward. But I’ve been here for days. Why didn’t you try again?”
Cyn’s eyes narrowed. “I did, dammit. I don’t know why it didn’t work. But that’s not the bloody point right now. Right now the point is, even with a djinn and glowing fae, we aren’t winning. Drake has been stabbed. It’s a mortal wound, and as you know, he has a pregnant mate. Nissa has gone to the sprites to see if their healers can do something, and she told me to find you no matter how I had to go about doing it. Thankfully, this is the first place I decided to check, despite the fact that I haven’t been able to feel you. We need you and Lucian.”
Peri turned to Lucian. “Can you gather everyone? It's time to send them to their respective homes.” He nodded and strode out of the room.
Lucian returned a minute later with the healers and their mates in tow. They filed in and made a semicircle around Peri and Cyn. All of them appeared shocked at the fae warrior’s appearance.
Adam rushed over, took Cyn’s chin in his hand, and turned her face to look at him. They’d been friends a very long time, and Peri wasn’t surprised to see the worried look on his face. “Are you okay?” he asked her.
Cyn nodded. “None of the blood is mine. But time is of the essence. We need to get this done.”
“Get what done?” Ciro asked.
Peri turned to look at the group, and her heart squeezed tightly in her chest. These girls had relied on her for some time, and now she felt like she was just throwing them to the wolves, literally. But they had to stand on their own two feet at some point. They’d faced Volcan bravely, and they’d made huge sacrifices. They would be fine, and their mates would make sure of it.
“It’s time you all returned to your packs,” she told Italy’s alpha. “The Order of the Burning Claw has attacked the Romania pack Keep.”
“That’s not all,” Cyn added.
Peri’s head snapped around to her. She knew that whatever the warrior was about to say, it was going to piss her off.
“They took the pups. Alston and Skender, during the Arizona battle. You’d already left. Jen, Jacque, Sal
ly, and Costin were also taken.”
Peri felt her mate’s hand on her back as he steadied her. Peri closed her eyes and focused on keeping her power from flowing out of her and possibly hurting those in the room. After she was under control, she opened her eyes. “They’ve had them captured for a week?”
Cyn gave a single, sharp nod.
The room erupted into chatter as male voices demanded to join them and assist the Romania pack. Peri couldn’t even think clearly at the moment. All she could see was little Slate, Thia, and Titus. She imagined the rage on Jen’s face and the anguish on Jacque’s. Then her mind went to Sally, and Peri wanted to vomit. The evil ones who had harmed her so deeply now had her mate and child, too.
Lucian held up his hand, silencing the group. “There is no time to argue. Ciro, Gustavo, Kale, Dalton, and Nick,” he said, looking at each of the males. “your packs have been without you for long enough.”
“Nick, Kale, and Dalton, you may not be the alphas of your packs, but you are betas for a reason, and there’s no doubt that your alphas need your support now. It is important that you get home, take care of your mates, and make sure they feel at home in their new packs. Prepare for what is coming. This battle will not be like the skirmishes we have faced in the past. This will be global. It will not be quick, and more than likely, it will lead to the humans becoming aware of the supernatural world. Go home and ready yourselves and your packs.”
Peri looked around the room as her mate took control, for which she was grateful. Antonio, Spain’s beta, had already returned to his pack, by order of Gustavo. So had Aimo, Italy’s beta. Both of their alphas had decided that, with all that was happening with The Order of the Burning Claw, their packs needed more than just their third dominant males in leadership.
“Adam, Elle…” Lucian turned his attention to the two fae. “Would you please assist in getting them each to their packs? As you can see”—he motioned to Cyn—“there is no time to dally.”
