“I just laid her in here less than twenty minutes ago,” Costin said as he walked further into the room and started looking around and under things.
“She didn’t climb out of the blasted crib and decide to play hide and seek,” Peri snapped at him.
“I know that!” Costin snarled and everyone got quiet. Costin never snarled. “I’m scenting the bloody room, Perizada.”
“Right,” she said, giving a brisk nod.Of course he was scenting the room, you idiot.Already, her own emotions were getting in the way of her ability to think clearly, which she was going to have to do if she wanted to find the missing baby.
Fane began stripping, and it was a testament to how freaked out the girls were that neither of them said a word. He phased into his wolf, and he, too, started sniffing the room.
Peri closed her eyes and began to use her power to search for any magic in the room, of which there was a substantial amount considering Thia herself was a supernatural being, as were her parents. But, also, there was Costin’s magic, Fane’s, Jacque’s, and even Sally’s signature presence. So much magic, so many layers, and yet Peri was missing something important. She could feel it was just beyond her reach.
“Fane said he smells something,” Jacque spoke up. “Or rather, someone,” she corrected.
Peri’s eyes snapped open. “Who?”
“A female,” she answered as she looked at her mate.
“Pack member?” Peri asked.
Fane growled.
“That’s a no,” Jacque answered.
“Actually, that’s a hell no,” Fane said, going from wolf to man in the span of a breath. He pulled on his clothes as he spoke. “I’ve smelled this kind of magic before,” he said and then frowned, “but I thought only fae could flash.”
“The magic you’re smelling isn’t fae?” Peri asked. She herself hadn’t even considered the fact that the only way the person could have gotten out of the room was to flash. Even if someone had been lying in wait in Thia’s room before Costin placed the infant in her bed, they or other pack members would have seen someone leaving the room.
“No,” Fane shook his head. “It feels old. The only other person I remember smelling this type of magic on is Thalion.”
Peri’s eyes narrowed. “The Elf prince would not steal a child ofanysupernatural race, let alone one of the Canis lupus.” As she let Fane’s words sink in, she reached out to Cyn through the bond she shared with her own comrades.“I need you at the suite of Jen and Decebel. Now.”
“Peri, could you please get my father?” Fane asked. “He’s been around a lot longer. Let him scent the room.”
Peri flashed without a word. She appeared in Vasile’s office. He didn’t so much as twitch at her sudden appearance. She had to respect the Alpha; he had nerves of steel. “I need you to come with me,” she said without preamble.
Vasile held up his hand. “One second. Alina is on her way.”
Less than a minute later, his office door opened and in walked his mate.
“Now,” Vasile said as he stood and walked around his desk, taking Alina’s hand, “does this have anything to do with the fact that Jen and Decebel were just here asking for their daughter, who, I might add, is not here?”
Peri placed a hand on his shoulder. “Yes.” She flashed them back to Thia’s nursery. “I need you to scent this room and tell me what you smell.”
Fane started to speak, but Peri held up her finger. “No. Not a word. I want to know whathesmells. Not what you tell him you smell.”
“Everyone, step out please,” Vasile instructed as he began to remove his clothes.
Peri moved to the door but did not leave the room completely. She waited as Vasile’s wolf moved methodically through the room, back and forth, his nose sweeping over every surface.
When the task was completed, he re-phased and re-dressed. Peri stepped aside to let Alina back in the room but then shut the door to keep the other four out. She stared at the Alpha and waited.
“Did Fane ask you to get me?” Vasile asked her.
She nodded. “He wanted you to confirm what he said he scented.”
“I smell elf magic. It is old, but not necessarily the most powerful I’ve ever smelled,” he said. “WhereisThia, Perizada?”
Peri watched the Alpha pair as Alina took Vasile’s hand and stepped closer to him. To them, Thia was as good as a grandchild.Sometimes, it seriously sucks to be me.
