“I understand that. But what if, in the haste to execute your half-baked plan, Volcan had decided to focus his attention on you?” He motioned to all of them. “What good would you be to your mates if you’re carcasses were littering theground?”
Silenceagain.
“I cannot let this careless, not to mention disrespectful, act go without appropriateconsequences.”
Each of them bowed theirheads.
Lucian walked up to Ciro and laid a hand on his head. “Ciro, Alpha of the Italy pack. You have chosen to disobey my order, and for that, you will endure until I lift this magic. You will see and not touch, you will smell and not taste, you will hear and not answer the one who is to beyours.”
Ciro’s eyes widened, and he bared his teeth at Lucian but could not hold his gaze. “This is how you will punish us?” Hesnarled.
“You punished yourself when you chose to act alone. All wolves must work together now. There can be no lone wolves or rogue packs. We face a danger that will consume us if we are not united. It is important to all of us that you find your mates, but not just for your sakes. Your mates are gypsy healers. They are vital to every pack member, and it is your responsibility to keep them safe. You are given that charge. You cannot do that if you let yourselves get killed. You must understand that going forward. Your hunt was unauthorized. Your mates were your prey. Therefore, they will be withheld from you until the lesson is learned. Perhaps you will think twice before acting in your own self-interest before considering the needs of your pack. We are pack and we must act as such. Without order, we will resort to chaos. Chaos will make us vulnerable to theenemy.”
One by one, Lucian stepped up to each male and spoke the magic over them that would keep them from claiming, or even interacting,with, their true mates. When it was done, he had five very pissed off wolves glaring at him. He shrugged. They could glare all they wanted, but theywouldobey.
As they turned to cross back into Farie, Dillon muttered, “Remind me never to get on your bad side. I always thought Peri was the twisted one. Turns out you might justrivalher.”
Sorin covered his laugh with acough.
Lucian chuckled softly. “Or she’s just rubbing offonme.”
Dalton saton a hill that overlooked the stretch of land between the veil and Peri’s home. He saw the rogue wolves cross through, just behind his Alpha and Lucian. They looked thoroughly chastised, but even more than that, they looked enraged. He wondered what Peri’s mate had done to cause such anger. Whatever it was, it was warranted. They knew better than to disobey an Alpha, or Peri, for thatmatter.
He turned his head back toward the veil. He’d been staring at it for days. Every second, he hoped that he’d see his Jewel walk through it, but every second passed with disappointment. He had no idea if she was okay. He had no idea where she was or what she was doing. He didn’t even have Gustavo to ask, since his mate, Anna, was with Jewel. He just needed something, anything, to tell him she wasunharmed.
Dalton hadn’t slept since the day she’d left. He’d only eaten a few times. He hadn’t bothered to phase back to his human form at all. Dillon had talked to him several times, trying to persuade him to do all three. As Dalton’s Alpha, he could have commanded him, but Dillon respected his right to pine forhismate.
Dalton didn’t know what else to do. He couldn’t hunt her because he had no idea where to begin. He had no mental bond to her, so there was nothing that could even point him in the right direction. She’d promised to come back to him, and he was trying desperately to hold onto thatpromise.
When she’d returned from Volcan, Jewel had been worried the darkness in Dalton would grow because of the spell the dark fae had cast over her. She didn’t understand that being away from her mate would be the thing that actually caused the darkness to increase. It was already pushing at his wolf, urging him to tear into something. He wanted to kill something. Truthfully, he wanted to kill Volcan, but that wasn’t currently an option, and there wasn’t a whole lot to kill in Farie. There was a rabbit here or there, but no large game. What he needed was a massive grizzly bear with which to wrestle. He’d even allow the bear to get a few swipes in before he killed it. The physical pain would be so much more bearable than the emotional pain that wasswampinghim.
Maybe he could persuade Dillon to let him go into the human realm forest to hunt. Maybe that would help him keep the darkness at bay.Maybe. But if it didn’t, then more than grizzlies would need to worry about his teeth andclaws.
He stood up and gave himself a good shake before taking off at a run toward Peri’s home. Dillon was standing outside, leaning against the house and watching him. He looked a little pre-occupied, which told Dalton he was probably communicating with Tanya, his mate who was back in Colorado. Dillon had only seen her a handful of times since all of this had begun. Peri had flashed him to Colorado to give the mated pair some time together. Now that she was mated to a werewolf, she understood the powerful link between mates and how hard it was to be apart for any lengthoftime.
When Dalton was a few feet away, he sat on his haunches and waited. A few minutes later, Dillon straightened and lookedathim.
“Everything okay,Dalton?”
Dalton huffed, annoyed that he’d have to phase in order to talk. “I want to hunt something bigger thanbunnies.”
Dillon narrowed his eyes on him. “You want to go into the humanrealm?”
“Just to hunt something I can wrestle with before Ikillit.”
“What if itkillsyou?”
Dalton wanted to snort. He was pretty sure there was very little that could meet his wrath and survive. His wolf was more enraged than it had ever been, even more so than when the bond had been broken. Then he’d been more scared than angry. Now he was simply seething. “I imagine the world will keep spinning even if I’m notinit.”
“What about Jewel’s world?” Dillon growled. “Do you care what would happen to her world if you weren’tinit?”
Dalton snapped his teeth together. “Yes, I care, but considering she seems able to survive just fine without me at the current moment, I think she’d eventuallybeokay.”
“Don’t start that pity crap,” his Alpha huffed. “It doesn’t suit you. Anyone who has seen the way she looks at you, even without the bond, can tell she adores you. She’s doing what she has to in order to survive and protect those she cares for. Do not belittle her choice by acting as though she doesn’tneedyou.”
Dalton was not in the mood to discuss Jewel. He just wanted to kill something, dammit. Was that too much to ask? “Are we going to hunt or stand here and talk about our feelingsallday?”
Dillon phased, allowing his clothes to be shredded. Dalton phased seconds after him and found himself flat on his back with his Alpha’s teeth sinking into his neck. Not enough to break skin, but enough to remind him of his place. After several heartbeats, Dalton finally turned his head, bearing his neck and submitting. With one final jerk, Dillon released him and waited for him to roll tohisfeet.
