Jennifer placed a hand on his knee and squeezed, getting his attention. But she addressed Peri, not her mate.
“Peri, I think you were about to fill us in on all the gritty details of what you discovered in the past twenty-four hours. Oh and why haven’t you introduced your sidekick?”
Peri pursed her lips at her. “Was that before or after your males started peeing on things, including their mates? Stralina, meet the idiots. Idiots meet Stralina.”
“Hello,” Stralina said with a warm smile.
Peri shifted, purposefully drawing attention away from the pixie and back to herself. The air was disturbed by her movement and Decebel’s wolf got a good whiff of their scent.
“You smell,” his wolf snorted, trying to get the scent from their nose.
“Two words that should never begin a conversation when addressing a female, Decebel. I know Jen has raised you better than that,” she purred at him.
Decebel wasn’t sure, but his wolf had detected scents on Peri that contradicted the cool façade she was wearing.
Decebel looked up at her with glowing amber eyes pinning her in place. She may be a powerful high fae, but Alpha wolves such as he and Vasile still should be given their due respect.
“You smell worried, fearful, and unsure,” he began again. “These are not scents that I would ever associate with Perizada of the high fae.”
“First time for everything, wolf.” She was well aware of who she was dealing with and Decebel was glad for it. His wolf was unpredictable right now and he didn’t need Peri poking him and unknowingly provoking his beast.
“You obviously have news,” Vasile interrupted the exchange. “Let us not interrupt you any further. Please, what have you found out?”
Jennifer leaned forward on Decebel’s lap, her eyes glued to the fae. He could feel her hope. She wanted—needed—to hear Peri say that they’d found the healer, her friend. Decebel reached out and ran his fingers through her hair, pulling it close to his face to take in her scent and rid himself of the fae’s agitated smell. The name of his fellow pack mate grabbed his attention and his ears perked up.
“Costin cannot know,” Peri said as she turned slowly and looked at each person. “It is imperative that he not find out—not until it’s time.”
“Know what, dammit,” Jennifer growled as she attempted to slide off his lap. His hands on her hips prevented her from going anywhere. She shot him a glare and his stupid wolf had the nerve to smile. Decebel tried again to take back control but his wolf wasn’t relinquishing.Mine,he growled at the man.Ours,Decebel growled back.I can protect her better,he challenged. Decebel couldn’t argue. His wolf was a natural protector. His emotions didn’t get in the way. So for now, he would let the wolf be, but later the beast was taking a back seat. When he curled around his mate in their bed, it was the man who held her and Decebel wouldn’t give that up.
Jen pinched Decebel’s leg and he snarled silently at her. “Pay attention,” she told him as she motioned to Peri. She needed to keep Decebel’s wolf distracted because, just as Fane had been ready to cart Jacque off to reestablish his claim, Dec’s wolf was getting a little frisky.
“Stralina found Sally,” Peri said. “I’ve confirmed it with my own eyes. I stood less than a foot away from her.” Peri’s voice wavered as the emotions she’d been holding in threatened to break through her cool demeanor.
The room was silent. Jen couldn’t breathe. They’d found her. They’d found Sally and yet for some reason they were sitting on their butts in Vasile’s office talking about it instead of bringing her gypsy rear home.
“Why didn’t you bring her home? Did she see you? Didn’t she want to come with you?” Jen asked in rapid succession. “Why are we sitting here staring at each other in awe and wonder instead of bringing Sally back where she belongs?”
“Because it’s not that simple,” Peri told her.
“Is it ever?” Fane asked dryly.
“Then break it down for us,” Jen bit out. She felt Decebel’s hands give her a gentle squeeze. He was trying to help her keep her cool.Good luck, she thought and heard him chuckle.
“Sally doesn’t remember us.”
Jacque groaned and threw her head back onto Fane’s shoulder. “Again with the memory tampering? Can we not get a villain with some originality every once in a while?”
“And what exactly would you have preferred the villains have done to your friend?” Peri asked.
Jacque rolled her eyes. “Don’t be cute, Peri. It’s not attractive.”
“Isn’t cute sort of the definition of attractive?” the fae retorted.
“What do you mean she doesn’t remember us?” Jen interrupted. “She doesn’t remember you, the supernatural crap, that’s she’s a healer? What?”
“Yes,” Peri answered deadpan.
“Where is her mate? Where’s Costin?” Cyn spoke up. She and Thalion had moved closer to Peri, both looking very confused.
