Out of the Dark (11 page)

"It was kind of rocky at first. Alpha males are extremely possessive and can be pretty intense about their mates. He didn't want to rush things, but everything in him told him to complete the bond and the Blood Rites. After spending
some more
time with Gavril
,
it was clear to me that I loved him. That I was made to love him. We were bonded over 3 centuries ago."

"So it's pretty safe to say that, um, these fur balls don't have commitment issues?" Jen joked.

Rachel laughed, and the musical sound was a pleasant break from the turmoil rolling inside of Jen. The longer she was unable to connect with Decebel
,
the more desperate she was beginning to feel. She took a couple of deep breathes, wincing with each as her abused lungs expanded.
I can do this
she thought to herself even as she felt darkness pushing inside her mind where Decebel should be. She not only
could
do this,
but
she had to. Because not seeing Decebel again after finally having their bond was unacceptable to her.

"You are thinking awfully hard about something." Rachel observed.

"Just hurting," Jen lied, "So what happened that caused you and Gavril to hide?"

Rachel ran her fingers through her hair and once again leaned back in her chair. She let out a deep breath and then continued her tale, "About two years after we bonded there began to be some tension among the surrounding packs. Serbia being the most volatile. The Alpha there was working with a witch."

"I take it
that
she wasn't
the kind of witch that was
married to a dork, and
was
a stay at home mom who wiggled her nose to use her magic?"

Rachel's eyebrow's rose, "Um, no. She was evil, vile, and wicked. It's forbidden for the wolves to work with witches. You see, there is no such thing as a good witch. Their magic comes from darkness and death. When the Serbian Alpha found out that there were two gypsy healers in Romania
,
he declared war. Any packs not willing to help him, were against him
,
and therefore attacked. When they came here, Gavril's pack and the Eastern Romanian pack joined together to fight the Serbia Pack and their witch. My mother was killed in that war, as were many other good people. Gavril was injured badly. I found his body on the edge of the river. I could feel the life slipping from him, because it was slipping from me as well.

"I couldn't lift him, so I laid there and held him and waited for death. I would happily go with him, because there is nothing on this earth for me without him." Rachel took another deep breath and sat up straighter, "But fate decided
that
it wasn't our time. That night
,
a woman came to us. There was a soft glow around her and she looked like she was gliding on the ground instead of walking. Her movements
were
graceful and sure.

She told me 'you cannot die
at this time
healer'. I asked her who she was. 'I am Perizada of the Fae. If you die, the balance of life in the supernatural world will be thrown off. That cannot happen. There
must
be a healer at all times.
You are the only one who knows what and who she is
. The next to come is not for centuries. Though others with your blood may be born, they have not been called. You and your wolf must live'. I told her that as long as my presence was known
,
the Serbian Alpha would seek me out. So she agreed to spread a rumor that we had died. But in
realty
she hid us
away from the other wolves
. There is a spell on our home given by the Fae. If you don't seek me out with a pure heart and pure motives
, then
you cannot see this home.
Any
person
seeking to do us harm
will just walk right past
it
. She also gave me simple Fae magic to cloak myself and Gavril's presence when we are out. So we have lived here, in silence, in hiding. Waiting. Perizada said that when the next healer came
,
the last witch could be destroyed. It's very possible that the very same witch
three
centuries ago that helped the Serbian Alpha, is still helping him
today
."

Jen couldn't believe what she was hearing. Thad had a witch working for him. An honest to goodness witch. A thought donned on her then, "Why does he want a healer so badly?"

"Healers can do several things. They know herbs that can heal. They can look inside a wolf and see what plagues them. They have connections with the Fae, and believe me you do not want
to be an enemy of the Fae. But the most important and most guarded reason
that
an Alpha wants a healer
is that
she can protect a pregnant Canis lupis."

"What do you mean protect?" Jen asked.

"Gypsy healers don't just use herbs. There is magic in what we are, in who we are. Fate made it nearly impossible for Canis lupis to procreate, but it did give them
one advantage—the he
a
l
er
. That's why there has to be a gypsy healer
in existence
at all times. Without one
,
the chances of a female caring a pregnancy to term is much, much, lower. Not saying
that
it doesn't happen, but a healer guarantees a successful pregnancy."

"
H
oooooollllly crap," Jen ground out, "I didn't even pay attention, but there are no children in the Romanian pack. I mean, none, as in zilch, nada, zero, not one iota," Jen stopped when she realized Rachel was looking at her like she had grown a second nose, "Sorry, my vocabulary tends to get out of hand when I'm stressed."

Rachel nodded with raised eyebrows but smiled at Jen.

"So now you know. That's why we are in hiding."

"How did you find me?"  Jen's brow furrowed.

"Gavril was out gathering herbs for me. He heard you, and then he smelled your pain. So he came and got me. We had been watching the area because of the disturbance in the air.

"What kind of disturbance?"

"When you get a group of werewolves together that large,
especially with multiple packs involved, the air becomes electric
. It's been pulsating for the past few days. I knew something was up. There hasn't been a gathering of that size in quite some time."

"So what now?" Jen let out a breath and laid an arm across her face
,
covering
her
eyes.

"I need to ask you, have you been communicating with your mate?"

"I did briefly when Gavril was carrying me. But now," Jen shook her head, her voice full of frustration, "now he's blocking me."

"Maybe something has happened and he's trying to protect you," Rachel offered.

"No, it feels like something is
‘
off
’
inside of him."

"Jen
,
I have to tell you that while you were in that hole, that witch
that
I was telling you about attacked th
e
mansion. She set it on fire."

Jen nearly fell off the table trying to sit up, "WHAT!" Rachel went to help her just as Gavril opened the door.

"Something isn't right out there Luna," Gavril's face was tight with worry, "Something foul and evil laces the wind."

"She searching," Rachel's voice was grim as she looked towards the front door. Her eye
s
bore into it
,
as if
,
if
she stared hard enough
,
she could see straight through it. "We have to be careful. But we need answers Gavril. We need to see her."

Gavril shook his head, "It's too great a risk."

"See who? What risk?" Jen was trying to keep up
,
but the pain from sitting up so abruptly was beginning to make her dizzy.

"Perizada, she will know what is going on. If what you say is true and your friend
really
is a gypsy healer
, t
hen she is the one Perizada spoke of. She is the one who must help me defeat the witch."

"I can honestly say that of all the things
that
I could ever see Sally doing, going toe to toe with the wicked witch
of the west
was not on the top ten list." Jen laid back down closing her eyes once more as Rachel and Gavril looked at her with what
Jen
was sure had to be 'what have we
just
drug into hour house' faces.
Yeah, well my mom asked herself that every
day
,
healer, so it's not a new look to me
.
Jen was laughing at her inner monologue until she felt a light caress across her face bringing in a sharp breath. The she heard his voice as he said her name.

"Jen?"

Chapter 7

Mona's eyes were closed as she stood at the edge of the forest. Night turned into day, and snow had began to fall. The cold mountain air whipped her midnight hair around her face; her body was relaxed, but her focus was relentless. While she had been casting the spells on the Romanian wolves she had felt it. A current of power. Not dark power, not witch power. It had been centuries since she felt the smooth, cool tendrils of Fae magic, but she had felt it early this morning while the moon still shown and the fire roared through the silent sky. She had felt Fae power, and beneath that was something even more subtle. Gypsy. And this wasn't a young, new gypsy like the one in the Romanian pack. This was old blood, powerful magic.

Mona continued to send her will out into the trees and over the snow-covered mountains, over rocks, plants, dirt, and the lives of the wildlife seeking shelter there. As she sought her query,
she thought back to the last time a gypsy healer was known. Three centuries had passed since then, nations had risen and fallen, civilization had grown and evolved, all manner of technology now ruled the world. But even with all those changes, some things remained the same. Gypsy healers would always be where Canis lupis roamed. She knew that Melinda's daughter hadn't died. She had felt when Melinda had been slain, felt the life force drain from her body. But not Rachel.

Mona had searched for decades without so much as a wisp of power. She had come to the conclusion then that the Fae must have helped the gypsy and her mate out. No mere gypsy healer could stand against Mona's power. She was the most powerful witch her coven had ever seen. When the Fae came in and wiped out the covens that were scattered over the Eastern world Mona had done what any smart predator does – she took to ground to bide her time.