“I vote for option three,” she said matter-of-factly.
“There was no option three, Stevie,” Stellahuffed.
Heather smiled. “I know. But I’m the blind chick. I get to beeccentric.”
“She goes with option two as well, Lucian,”Karasaid.
Elle glanced at Thad. He was kneeling down, engaged in an intense conversation with Adira. Adam had joined them and was nodding his head. As crazy as Adam tended to be, he and Adira would be on the same page for whatever plan of destruction she was cooking up. It would be getting Thad to go along with it that would betough
Her attention was brought back to Lucian when he said her name. “Elle, Adam, once the males are dressed and ready, can you bothtakethem?”
Ellenodded.
“Can do,” Adam said from where he was still kneeling nexttoThad.
Lucian turned to Dillon, Dalton, and Gustavo, who’d just come out of the forest. They weren’t wearing shoes with their clothes, since they’d been huntingaswell.
“You three will be staying here. The healers don’taffectyou.”
“What are you talking about?” Daltonasked.
Elle waved him off. “We’ll explain it later.” She turned to the four unmated males. “If you would please go dress and then meet the rest of us out here.” She released them but used her power to keep them from turning toward thehealers.
Once they were inside, Lucian looked over at Ciro, Nick, and Kale. “Please escort your mates to their room and then get yourselvescleanedup.”
The three males nodded and headed toward thegirls.
Elle watched with a small smile as Kale tucked Heather’s hand in his arm, Nick wrapped an arm around Kara’s neck and pulled her into him, and Ciro walked as close to Stella as he could withouttouchingher.
“Interesting, isn’t it,” Sorin said softly, watching themaswell.
“What?”
“How different each mated pair responds to one another and how each male already knows what it is their mate needs. They’re going to bealright.”
Elle chuckled. “They’re going to be better than alright. Those three are tough, add their mates and they will be a force to bereckonedwith.”
* * *
Lucian stood staringat the group as they formed a semicircle around him. Thad, Adira, Drayden, Bannan, Antonio, Aimo, Elle, Sorin, Adam, and Crina all stared at him,waiting.
“Adira,” Lucian finally spoke. “Tell the males what you were telling usearlier.”
She stepped forward and stood next to Lucian, looking at the group. “I told you all before Thad removed the spell that locked down my realm that the draheim veil was closed tightly, as well and that it was an evil spell that was forcing it closed. Obviously, this was concerning, so I decided to investigate. I don’t know how much you know about magic, but it has a signature, a calling card, if you will, to the supernatural being who wielded it. Some of us are old enough to remember when Volcan went crazy the first time, and his magic has a definite feel to it. It feels almost like oil being poured over your skin. His is the only dark magic I’ve come across that has made me feellikethat.”
“So you’re saying…” Crinaencouraged.
“I’m saying I’m almost positive that Volcan set that spell on the draheim veil. And considering the draheim don’t leave their realm willingly, it’s not like they really need it locked. No one in their right mind goes in there, and thankfully, they never come out. So, the only reason I can think of as to why he might have done that is that he’s hiding in there. Whether he’s made some deal with them, I can’t say. Maybe they don’t even know he’s there. Regardless, getting him out won’t be easy. But that’s not the biggest issue. Well, it’s not the only issue. You see, the pixie realm is the closest realm to the draheim in the supernatural world. To put it in terms you humans might understand, and you wolves that live in the human realm, we’re sort of like next-door neighbors in the supernatural world. It’s not exactly that simple, but that’s the best way I canexplainit.”
“Okay, so what?” askedSorin.
“Well, since big bad Thad here kicked down the magical door to our realm, we’ve been experiencing someproblems.”
“What kind of problems?” Drayden, the Canada Alpha,asked.
“I’ve noticed over the past couple of weeks that some of my kin have been behaving strangely. They’re not themselves. For starters, they were being cruel to one another. I don’t just mean they were in a bad mood. We all have bad moods. I mean they were being harsh without cause. Pixies are a peaceful folk, especially with one another. When I started paying attention to who was having the worst of those symptoms, I found that it was the pixies that lived closest to the veil entrance in our realm. I brought Adam and Crina so they couldobserve.”
Adam nodded. “They were wicked littlebuggers.”
