His paws hit the ground lightly. They were running so fast none of his paws were on the ground for more than a fraction of a second. His wolf was agitated and the exertion was doing him good, though he’d be a lot better if he’d found his mate. He wanted to meet her so badly he could taste it. He wanted to know what she looked like, what she smelled like, and what her voice sounded like. Kale would simply be happy to have her sitting across from him in a room where all he could do was stare at her. That would probably make her nervous. It didn’t really matter how badly he desired that right now, though. The fact of the matter was, she was trapped in the pixie realm, and hewasnot.
Not forever.His wolf growled at him. He was right. She was not lost to them forever. They were closer to having her than they ever had been.Be a patient hunter.Yes, Kale agreed. The best hunters, the most successful hunters, were the ones willing to wait. The ones who struck too soon, or were paralyzed when they needed to move, were the ones who failed to catch their prey. Kale wouldn’t fail, not when it came tohismate.
Ciro had acted rashlywhen he’d agreed to go on the hunt for the pixie realm. He was an old wolf. He’d been around for a very long time, and he knew better than to go running off into the forest like an emotional pup on its first hunt. Now, here they were, two days later, lost as a flock of geese. That’s what listening to their emotions hadgottenthem.
Just want to find her, need to find her.His wolfargued.
You aren’t helping.He growled back at his wolf. Usually, his wolf was the smart hunter, but not this time. This time his beast had been nipping at his heels to do something, anything. He just wanted to be in motion, to feel like he was actively trying to get their mate. But sometimes, motion for its own sake wasn’t the answer. Sometimes, being still was needed. Being still meant being able to focus on whole problem, rather than the single piece that was affecting him. Being still allowed you to separate emotions from facts, so that you didn’t make foolish mistakes and wind up running around in circles for two days. That’s what they needed, to be still andthink.
Lucian stoodat the veil leading from the human realm to Farie. He’d followed the scent of the wolves that had left Peri’s residence without telling him … or anyone. Sorin and Dillon stood beside him looking as grim ashefelt.
“You seem awfully calm,” Dillon, Alpha of the Colorado pack, said. “Aren’t you at all angry that they left without discussing their plans with eitherofus?”
“Some of them are Alphas,” Lucianremarked.
“That’s not the point and youknowit.”
Lucian did know it. He also knew that losing control of his anger or frustration wouldn’t help the situation. There would be consequences for their actions. That was a given, and he had no doubt the wolves knew it. They’d known it when they’d made their decision to leave. They weren’t fools; they understood the pack hierarchy. Whether they liked it or not, Lucian was dominant to all of them. Regardless of their Alpha status, they could not stand up to his wolf. It had to work that way. Wolves could be volatile and territorial beasts, and it was important they all knew their place. It kept thepeace.
“Peri would wipe the floor with them, let them heal, and then do it again,”Dillonsaid.
His words made Lucian smile. “Yes, she would.” His own punishment wouldn’t be quite so violent, but equally as effective. “But I am not sotemperamental.”
“Do we even want to know what you’ve planned?” Sorin asked, speaking for the first time since they’d arrived attheveil.
Lucian kept his eyes on the forest, watching for any movement, listening for any sound, and sniffing for any scent that would indicate the wolves were on their way back. It had been two days. Though their intentions had been noble, they were fools for attempting it ontheirown.
“When their females are finally brought out of the pixie realm, they will be able to see them, hear them, and smell their unique scents. But the men willnotbe able to get near the ladies and they will not be able to speak to them. The wolves will be within reach of what they long for, but unable toattainit.”
Dillon whistled low. “Damn, that’s harsh. I take it you will have your mate issue thatpunishment?”
Lucian shook his head. “This is not fae magic. This is pack magic. Just as the females have the ability to keep their mates from touching them, the Alpha of a pack has the ability to keep unmated males at a distance from their future mates. It is rarely used, for obvious reasons. But, occasionally, it isnecessary.”
“I’ve never heard of it,” Dillonadmitted.
“Nor have I,”Sorinsaid.
“Hence the rarelybeingused.”
Half an hour later, though too soft for human ears, the unmistakable sound of paws hitting the ground met Lucian’s ears. He gathered the power he kept suppressed inside of him and began to let it flow outward. Dillon staggered a bit but righted himself quickly. Sorin hit the ground on his knees but was on his feet in the next breath. Lucian could have warned them, but he found he was getting more irritated as the wolves camecloser.
The group of wolves slowed their pace as they approached. They trotted cautiously now, though none of them cowered or tucked their tails. They wouldn’t, regardless of the fact that they were less dominant than Lucian. All would, however, avert their gaze, but that was about as much submission as they were going to give. It didn’t bother Lucian. He did not require their full submission to stroke his own ego. Lucian knew his own power and was secureinit.
“Shift,” he said, pushing an Alpha command into the word. All of the males were in their human form in a matter ofseconds.
Lucian simply stood there, his eyes moving from face to face, meeting glowing eyes briefly before moving onto the next male. When he’d met each of their gazes in turn, his wolf issued a low growl, asserting his dominance. Apparently, the wolf was not feeling quite as generous astheman.
“What did you hope to accomplish by hunting the pixie realm?” Lucian finallyasked.
Ciro, the most dominant of the group, though not by much in regards to Kale, stepped forward. “We wanted to see if, since the magic that had been used to seal the veil out of Farie had been lifted, it was also removed from the pixie realm. With Peri gone, no one haschecked.”
“Did you stop to think that Adam and Elle, both fae and able to flash, would know if they could leave the pixierealm?”
All of the wolves werequiet.
“So, in your haste to take action, you didn’t stop and consider all of the players and options?” Luciangrowled.
“We just want to get our females to safety,”Nicksaid.
