Authors: Quinn Loftis
“We too had hoped that perhaps,” Peri continued despite the level of animosity now filling the room from all of the males present, “it was an isolated problem, that maybe only that particular coven had begun committing such atrocities. Tonight proved us wrong. Vasile, Alina, and I discovered a home that they had raided, but it wasn’t the only place that they had struck.”
“How many more?” Alina asked, her own wolf peering out at them from her eyes.
Peri’s jaw clenched before she finally answered. “Six.”
“Six more children?” Vasile asked.
The high fae shook her head and made a noise halfway between a snort and a huff. “They struck in six more cities.”
“How. Many. Children?” Alina asked again. Decebel wasn’t surprised to see Vasile holding onto his mate’s wrist because Alina looked ready to tackle Peri to the ground.
“Eighteen. Three in each city. All triplets. All under the age of eight.”
“How do you know this?” Fane spoke up, his voice hoarse with emotion.
“Spies. I’ve been working with the pixies. I had the pixie king put three of his warriors in each of the cities where I believed there to be covens.”
“How did you know where to look?” Fane pressed.
“It wasn’t hard once I started checking police reports for missing children.”
Vasile pinched the bridge of his nose. “Eighteen in one night.”
“What are we going to do?” Fane asked his father.
It was Alina who answered. Her voice was cold as ice when she met each of their gazes. “We’re going to kill them.”
“All of them?” Costin asked.
“Every. Last. One,” Decebel growled.
“I knew there was a reason I continued to put up with you wolves,” Peri told them with a smile that didn’t meet her eyes. “I can always count on you to be ready to make chew toys out of our enemies.” She turned to Vasile. “Cyn will be coming to assist you. I’ll be here when I can. Tonight my people are working on cleaning up the mess the vamps have made. Alston, a couple of the other high fae, and Cyn are working on the other victims’ homes. I’m not even going to get into why Adam and Elle can’t help. Let’s just say my plate is officially off limits for any added courses.”
“Thank you, Peri.” Alina took the fae’s hand. “We know you make a lot of sacrifices for our race and we are thankful.”
“Don’t be thankful, just kick some vampire ass and we’ll call it even.” She flashed away leaving them in Vasile’s office feeling as though the weight of the world had been dropped on their chests.
“What now?” Cypher asked.
“Now we get some sleep,” Vasile told them. “We will meet back here tomorrow evening. I’m giving you all day tomorrow to get your things in order. Put capable wolves in charge of your packs.” He glanced at Decebel and then at Cypher.
“What about our mates?” Costin spoke up. “What are we supposed to tell them now that we’ve been blocking them from our minds for an hour?”
“For now, tell them I ordered you to block them because of some sensitive information that is only for the warriors. I know that our females think of themselves as warriors and, in their own right, they are.” Vasile reached over and took Alina’s hands. “But they are still to be protected, even if they don’t like it.”
“If your females get upset, have them call me,” Alina offered.
“You’re joking right?” Fane chuckled at his mom. “Upset is what happens when Jacque’s hair doesn’t do what she wants it to. Me blocking her from my thoughts, yeah Mom, that’s way past upset.”
“Can’t we just tell them” —Costin tapped his mind indicating the use of the mate bond— “that you sent us on a mission. That way we don’t have to see them tonight?”
“Chicken,” Decebel rumbled.
All of the males’ heads turned to face him. “What?” he asked.
“You, of all of us, should be terrified. Jen’s going to rip you a new one,” Costin laughed.
“Yes, but I know several ways to soften my mate’s temper.” Decebel smiled a wolfish smile at them revealing long canines.
“Do whatever you have to in order to survive the night and day, gentlemen,” Vasile told them. “But do not reveal what Peri has shared with us this night. I have a feeling life is about to get very messy. Let’s give your mates one more night of normal.”
“Sally and I have decided that putting up with Jen is a small price to pay for the entertainment value she and her mate provide. Need a laugh, just sit in on one of their fights. Need to get all hot and bothered, just sit in on one of their fights. Need a good cry, just sit in on one of their fights, and then you might have to cry over the good brain scrubbing you will need. Yep, those two are a regular lineup of prime time T.V.” ~Jacque
“
S
he’s blind? And another one is a stripper?” Jen’s voice carried from the bathroom. She, Jacque, and Sally had gathered in Sally and Costin’s suite. “The Great Luna must be having to scrape the bottom of the barrel for healers if she’s resorting to blind chicks and strippers.”
“Jen, technically you could be classified as a stripper,” Jacque hollered back from the room where she and Sally sat. “You just never require money to take it off.”
“Actually, Jen’s more of a stripper than Stella. Stella doesn’t take off her clothes. She just dances,” Sally pointed out. She leaned back on the couch and let out a contented sigh. It was good to be home.
Jacque gave her gypsy healer friend a nod. “Good point. Jen’s clothes never stay on when she dances.” Both she and Sally’s heads turned as Jen came sauntering out of the bathroom.
“Hey, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, nobody asked for your sideline commentary. I was simply pointing out that these news chicas, you’ve been telling us about, seem to have a lot of baggage. No judgment,” she said holding up her hands defensively, “considering I’m barely nineteen, married, and have a kid.”
“They do have a lot of baggage,” Sally agreed. “But, they’re really great. You guys are going to like them.”
Jacque reached over and patted her knee. “Miss them already?”
She gave her a small smile and shrugged. “They’ve been through a lot and are going to go through much more before it’s all said and done. I guess I’m like a mama hen. I worry about my chicks.”
Jen plopped down next to Sally on the couch and gave her brown hair a slight tug. “Yeah, well, listen up, Mother Goose. You are
our
best friend. I’m not saying I won’t like the new little chickadees, but just remember who claimed you first. So no crying over spilled healers, or whatever.”
“What she means,” Jacque chimed in as Jen proceeded to look over her fingernails intently, “is that she really missed you. Both of us did.”
Sally leaned over and wrapped Jen in a hug. “I promise no one could ever take your place, Jen. You put the
fun
in dysfunctional.”
“You put the
we
, in weird,” Jacque joined in as she climbed over to the other couch and wrapped her arms around her two best friends.
“You put the
poss
in possible,” Sally continued.
“That isn’t even a thing,” Jen growled though she was hugging them back.
“True, but if there were, you would be the poss,” Jacque agreed.
Jen was smiling when she shoved them away. “Enough sap, and enough about the new gyps. I want to hear about the new males.” Jen stopped midsentence and frowned. “Is it just me or are your men blocking you two as well?” she asked them.
Sally felt the walls in Costin’s mind go up. She immediately tried to get through his defenses, but the more she pushed, the stronger he made them in response. “Costin’s not letting me in.”
Jacque nodded. “Fane isn’t either.”
Sally’s eyes narrowed. “Costin mentioned,” —she tapped her head indicating that he’d shared the information via the bond— “just a little while ago, that he was going to speak with Vasile.”
“So did Decebel,” Jen growled.
Jacque’s jaw clenched. She hated it when Fane blocked her. It brought back the painful memories of just a couple of months earlier when he wouldn’t let her in because of his struggles with what she’d endured at the hands of the witch, Desdemona. “Wolf boy better have a damn good reason for blocking me,” she practically snarled.
“Whoa, baby mamma’s got claws.” Jen grinned, momentarily forgetting her irritation with her own mate.
“And she called him wolf boy, not wolf man like she usually does,” Sally pointed out.
“The hormones are starting to get to you, aren’t they?” asked Jen.
Jacque pinched the bridge of her nose. “One minute I’m fine and the next I really, really want to throw something at someone.”
“Okay…well, sitting here wondering about what team fur ball is meeting about, heavy emphasis on the
ball
part, isn’t going to help keep prego calm. So back to these new wolves that were brought in to help with the new healers. Any of ’em hot?” Jen asked as she waggled her eyebrows at Sally.
Jacque slapped Jen with a pillow just as the door to the suite opened.
“Any of who hot?” Decebel growled as he prowled into the room, his eyes focused on his mate.
“Do you have a radar that tells you when to walk in on me talking about inappropriate things?” Jen asked as she narrowed her eyes on Decebel.
“Considering you are always talking about inappropriate things, I don’t really need a radar. It’s pretty much a given that when I walk into a room you will have just said, or be in the middle of saying, an inappropriate comment.”
“Oh, good one,” Jacque cooed as Sally reached out her fist to her friend.
“Agreed.” Sally nodded.
Jen’s head snapped to the side as she pinned her two best friends with a glare. “Nobody asked for commentary from the peanut gallery.”
“I would like to think we are less peanut and more awesomesauce gallery,” Sally said as she glanced at Jacque. “Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Totally agree.”
Jen gave up giving them the death glare, considering it wasn’t working, and turned back to face her mate. “What’s up, B? Maybe you’ve come to tell us why you superior males have kicked us out?” She tapped her head at the same time she tried to breach his mental block.
He gave her his best wolfish smile, which he knew made her all gooey inside.
Damn wolf
, she thought to herself.
“Perhaps, I’m just blocking you because of my own inappropriate things that may or may not include something or someone hot.”
Sally and Jacque pushed themselves back further on the couch as Jen stood up slowly. “If you’re thinking about something hot, it had better be a freaking desert or South Texas in August.”
“And if it’s not?” Decebel asked as he took a step toward her, his eyes flashing to the glowing amber of his wolf before going back to their usual color.
Jen let out a low growl.
“Oh dear,” Sally muttered.
“We should video their fights. It’s so much better than anything the CW has,” Jacque murmured attempting not to attract the attention of their seething friend.
“Then tell me, B, what it is that you might be thinking about that is hot? What is it that you are thinking about that is so inappropriate that you have to block your mate from your mind?”
“I don’t understand why you are getting so upset, Jennifer.”
“He’s using that freaking soothing calm voice. I hate it when they do that,” Sally huffed quietly.
“Totally hate it,” Jacque agreed as she bit her nails and watched her friend and her mate intently.
Decebel continued as Jen took a step toward him. “I have to deal with you checking out other males, discussing other males, and purring over other males.”
“Oh, that last one was said with a little bite,” Sally chuckled.
“He totally wants to give her a little bite,” Jacque added and the two snickered as quietly as they could.
“I. DO. NOT. PURR,” Jen bit out through clenched teeth.
“Wanna bet?” Decebel’s voice dropped low as his eyes began to glow again with his wolf. This time they didn’t stop glowing.
“Okay, that even turned me on,” Sally continued her commentary.
“Totally hot and bothered,” Jacque said fanning herself.
“We are not discussing whether or not
you
make me purr. I may notice attractive people—”
Decebel let out a snort of laughter. “Notice, good one.”
Jen ignored him. “But I do not purr over them. And considering you have access to my thoughts, because
I
don’t block them from
you
, you should know that the only thing that I think about that’s hot is you. I may talk a lot of smack, but you know better than anyone who I really am. Am I a mate who sits around pondering about the six pack abs on another wolf? NO! I’m not. I might notice them, just as you notice attractive females, but it stops there. So, I’ll ask you again, mate,” Jen snapped. “What is it that you are blocking me from? It had better be something like the world is coming to an end tomorrow, because if I find out it’s thoughts of another female, so help me, Decebel, I will cut off your man parts and feed them to the chickens.”
"Chickens?" Decebel asked seemingly taken off guard.
"Yes, chickens, because they will peck the hell out of them before they ever eat them. Double the satisfaction, if I do say so myself."
“Okay, that sounds like she’s given it a little thought. Should we be worried that Jen’s pondered what she would do with her mate’s man parts if she ever removes them?” Sally asked Jacque.
Jacque shook her head. “If she ever comes home with chickens, then we should totally be worried.”
Jen’s head turned slowly to glare at her friends.
“Uh-oh,” Sally sung. “She’s got the look.”
“Totally has the look,” Jacque agreed.
“What’s with you and the word totally?” Sally asked glancing at Jacque from the corner of her eye.
“I don’t know,” Jacque said thoughtfully. “It’s just seemed like the appropriate word for the situation. Decebel has totally gone and gotten himself so deep in smelly crap that Jen might castrate him, and Jen is totally threatening to castrate him and feed some chickens that mess. Totally—as in all encompassing—the situation is dire.”
“Are you two done?” Jen snapped. “Decebel is over here hiding important information from us and y’all are worried about Jacque’s lack of vocabulary?”
“Priorities, Jen,” Sally said curtly. “Jacque is about to bring a precious life into this world. Do we really want her child to be labeled ignorant because her mama can’t teach her a wide variety of words?”
“I’ve got some words for you,” Jacque muttered as she gave Sally’s leg a pinch. Sally yelped but didn’t say anything more when Jen pointed a finger at them both.
“I will deal with you two later.” Jen turned back to Decebel. “You and I are going to have a little talk.
“Is that what you’ve started calling it?” Decebel asked as he grabbed her and slung her over his shoulder.
“Put me down you big, hairy, flea infested, stupid male!”
Decebel smacked her backside as he tilted his head at Jacque and Sally. “Don’t be too hard on your mates,” he told them and then turned to leave. Jen continued spewing expletives at her mate as he carried her from the room.
“Now
she
has a good vocabulary,” Sally nodded as she watched the door close behind the couple.
“She seems a little uptight today,” Jacque said as the door closed behind Decebel and Jen.
“You know she hates it when Decebel keeps things from her.”
Jacque nodded. “True, but she’s never really let it bother her when he’s accused her of being a tad free with her praise of the opposite sex.”
Sally hmm-mmmed her and then patted her legs. “So now that drama mama is gone, what do you want to do?”
“Drama mama,” Jacque laughed. “Classic.” She tapped her chin with her index finger as she thought and then said with a smile. “Take a nap. Since Fane is being a butt and blocking me and I won’t be able to find out why until he shows up, cause goodness knows I’m not about to waddle around looking for his handsome butt, I might as well rest up for the argument that’s bound to happen later.”
Sally groaned. “Ugh you pregnant people are so unexciting.”
“Hey!” Jacque snapped. “I can either be unexciting or bitchy. Which do you really want?”
“Fine, take your nap. I’m going to go see Rachel. She’ll want to hear about the new healers. And then I’m going to find my mate and see if I can figure out what’s going on.”
“Come back and wake me up in an hour, kay?” Jacque yawned as she laid back on the couch.
Sally turned back to look at her friend as she pulled the door open. “You do remember that this is my room, right? The one I share with my mate?”
Jacque waved her off. “Yes, but you’re not as freaky as Jen so I don’t have to worry about waking up to something that could scar my brain for life.”
“Truth,” Sally agreed as she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. Just as she was turning to go down the hall, she walked into a familiar chest.
“I was just coming to see you,” Costin said as he looked down at her. “And I was hoping you’d still be in our room.” He waggled his eyebrows at her.