“Let me bare this with you,”a male voice suddenly filled Peri’s mind.
“I’m going to pretend you did not just invade my private thoughts. Sing a happy tune, wolf, if you live to see another day. Stay out of my damn head.”Peri snarled at the male known as Lucian, a.k.a. her freaking werewolf mate, and re-snapped the lid on her mental bond, which, because of the stress of the situation, she must have let slip open a tiny crack.
“Costin said he placed Thia in her bed around a half hour ago now,” Peri explained. “When I arrived to deal with the ridiculous situation they’d gotten themselves into, Thia was no longer in her crib. She’s gone.”
Alina’s free hand raised to cover her mouth as her eyes filled with unshed tears. She was shaking her head slowly as though simply doing so would make Peri’s words untrue.
“Thalion would never authorize something like this,” Vasile said.
“Agreed.” Peri pinched the bridge of her nose, if only to keep from slamming her hands against the wall and screaming at the top of her lungs. She was practically shaking with the cold rage filling her blood. Someone had taken a child, and not just any child, but one under her protection.
“Someone is going to die!”
Peri heard Jen’s raised voice and the slam of the door. “This time, I have to agree with her,” Peri said as she turned and walked into the living area where Jen and Decebel stood staring down their closest friends.
“Somebody needs to hand me my daughter. Now.” Decebel’s voice could have chilled a man in hell.
Peri felt as though everyone was holding their breath and, if anyone moved slightest muscle, the pissed-off father would snap. She knew they were right to feel that way.
“Jen, I’m—” Jacque began but stopped when her mate placed a blue hand on her shoulder.
“Thia isn’t here,” Fane said as he looked at Decebel. “She’s been taken.”
Peri barely had time to wrap her magic around Decebel as he lunged for Fane. The large Alpha was frozen in mid-leap.
Jen placed a hand on her mate’s arm as she stared at Fane. Peri could tell from Jen’s rigid body and flexing fingers it was taking all of Jen’s control to keep from lunging at the man who’d told her Thia had been taken. “Explain everything that has happened from the moment Thia left our suite.”
Jen focused half her attention on Fane, Costin, Sally, and Jacque as they explained everything that had happened, while the other half was focused on her frozen mate. She understood why Peri kept Decebel suspended in midair, because, if he released the angry wolf, he would kill Fane or Costin, or both. Fane had been the one to say Thia had been taken. Therefore, in Decebel’s mind, Fane must be responsible. But Costin had been the last person to hold her and see her since she’d been taken, so that made him responsible, as well. So, they must both die.“No,”Jen said to her mate through their bond because he was literally screaming in his head for the two males to die.
“Make the fae set me free, Jennifer.”Decebel’s wolf snarled at her.
“Go pound sand.”She snarled back and then focused her full attention on Peri, who was now explaining what Fane and Vasile had scented in their wolf forms while in Thia’s room.
“But it’s not Thalion,” Jen said, not phrasing the statement as a question on purpose, because she didn’t believe the elf prince would steal her child any more than she believed Sally was capable of cold-blooded murder.
“No, it’s not,” Vasile agreed. “We are pretty sure the kidnapper is female.”
“A female elf,” Jen mumbled as she tried to think about having ever met a female elf.
Suddenly Peri stood and spoke. Her eyes were wide, but her voice was calm. “Cyn and I are going to look into something,” she said as she stared down at Jen. “I need you to trust me, Jennifer. I need you to believe me when I tell you I will get your daughter back, she will be safe, and I will destroy whoever took her.”
Jen started to speak but Peri cut her off.
“I know you want to help. I know you want to do something, anything. I get that. What I need for you to do is stay with him.” She pointed to Decebel. “I’m going to put him on the couch, and he will be able to move while on the couch, but he won’t be able to leave the couch, and the couch won’t be able to leave this spot on the floor.”
Jen nearly smiled. Look at the clever fae, considering all the options and angles.
“You called?” Cyn appeared next to Peri. Both Jacque and Sally muttered curses.
“I’ll never get used to that,” Jacque said under her breath.
“Can you trust me?” Peri asked Jen, ignoring everyone else. She knelt directly in front of the woman and placed her hand on Jen’s face. “Can you believe me when I say that I will fix this?”
Jen’s knee-jerk reaction, of course, was no. No, she didn’t trust anyone but herself and Decebel with Thia, but that wasn’t true, not really. She trusted her packmates, including her adopted packmate, Perizada. Jen also knew she and Decebel would probably be useless. Their emotions could only process so much anguish at a time, and they were living on survival mode. That sort of attitude might be useful for kicking down doors and tearing open throats, but it wouldn’t help in the type of investigation Peri would be doing.
“I can trust you,” Jen finally answered. “But”—she pressed her own hand to Peri’s cheek and held her stare—“don’t fail me or Thia, Perizada. Bring her home and deal with the one who took her.”
Peri gave a single nod and stood back up. She looked at Cyn, and some sort of silent communication happened. Then the high fae did as she said she would. She moved Decebel to the couch and, as soon as she flashed from the room, he was able to move again.
