Jen went to sit next to him. He didn’t try to stand. He simply looked at everyone, and in a tone as cold as death, he growled, “Get out.”
* * *
Kimily Blankenship thought backover the last hour as she stared at the tiny bundle sleeping in the basinet, which she had taken from the hospital. She was a little confused, okay a lot confused, as to why the little girl was blue but, being a centuries-old elf, there wasn’t a whole lot that surprised her anymore. Speaking of surprises, Perizada of the fae would certainly be surprised that her magic had not worked on Kimily. She remembered everything that had happened at the Romanian pack mansion with the child’s mother. It had been easy to convince the high fae that her spell had worked and Kimily’s memory had been wiped. Having powerful acquaintances had its benefits.
But what did surprise Kimily, actually it amazed her, was that Perizada of the fae would show up, out of the blue, in her office. It was even more amazing that the fae would abduct her and take her to the headquarters of such a powerful werewolf pack.
Only a half hour ago, she’d stood in the same living room and pictured the suite in her mind where Perizada of the fae had taken her. She remembered the layout and pictured one of the opened doors where she’d seen the pink nursery walls. It was into that room that she forced her magic, borrowed though it may have been, to flash herself.
She was taking a big risk by flashing into the couple’s suite, not knowing if they’d be in the room, but it was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up. She’d seen and touched the first child born to the Canis lupus in nearly two decades. Her superiors, well, they would soon be her superiors again, would want to know about this child. But she wanted to do more than tell them the news. Kimily wanted to prove her worth to the organization. Stealing the child of Decebel Anghelesco would definitely show them she was a valuable asset to have on their team.
As the magic answered her call, she felt the pull and knew the instant her body left one plane and traveled through another. It felt as though a fishing hook had been jabbed into her belly button, and the person on the other end had given it a good, hard yank. There was nothingness all around her, and then suddenly, she was in a new place. She looked around her and saw the rocking chair, changing table, crib, and basinet. The infant was sound asleep within, oblivious to her own worth or importance. “Oh, to be so blissfully clueless,” Kimily muttered as she glanced over her shoulder at the sound of the voices just beyond the slightly cracked bedroom door.
She recognized most of them, including, Perizada’s, which caused her to move as quickly and as quietly as possible. She grabbed the diaper bag and a handful of diapers she saw sitting on the changing table, as well as a package of baby wipes. She already had everything she needed including formula and bottles she’d set aside from the hospital when she’d formulated her plan, but having a little more never hurt. Now all that was left was to get the child.
Kimily carefully picked up the sleeping girl and wrapped a blanket around her. She held Thia tightly as she glanced one more time at the cracked door and then flashed back to her apartment.
The entire act had felt a bit anticlimactic to Kimily as she’d stood in her living room. There was no applause or “job well done” because nobodyknewwhat she’d done, at least not yet. She lived alone and didn’t have many human friends. The supernatural friends she had were all so secretive that she didn’t see them very often, and only a few of them would have anything to do with her if they knew anything at all about her history. Kimily’s family had been cast out of the supernatural organization she’d once been a part of as a child, all because her mother had had an affair with the elf king. Kimily understood this was bad, but why hadn’t the elf king been kicked out of the society too? She remembered being so angry at her mom. Her father left as soon as he found out. The moment Kimily was old enough, she left too. She’d disappeared and lived, basically, as a human. She’d gotten a human education, become a nurse, and enjoyed her job. But something was always missing. Kimily always had to hide her supernatural side. She had to move often, so that people didn’t notice she never aged. She couldn’t tell anyone about herself, which made it difficult to make true friends. This was why she wanted back in the organization, because they were going to change things for supernatural beings.
Kimily had found her opportunity to get back in the good graces of the organization through the actions of a high fae. “The ironic thing is, the foolish fae doesn’t even realize what she’s done,” Kimily said as she watched the sleeping infant. “Guess it’s just you and me for now, kiddo, until I get in touch with my friends. But don’t worry, they aren’t going to hurt you. They want to recruit you, even if you are blue. What better way to do that than to raise youwithinthe organization?”
Chapter Ten
“When in doubt, never trust a person who dyes themselves blue. There is no way such a person can be operating on all cylinders. Then again, sometimes having friends who are only half-cylinder operators is exactly what you need. So, ignore what I just said. Totally have friends that dye themselves blue. But be sure and make fun of them for the rest of their lives after they do it.” ~Jen
Decebel stared silentlyat the door to his daughter’s nursery. So many memories filled his mind as he tried to keep from imploding in on himself. She was missing. His three-day-old infant was in the clutches of a person crazy enough to steal a child. Decebel’s heart clenched in his chest, and his wolf let out a soft whine.
“Are you okay?”He heard Jennifer’s voice in his mind.
“Are you?”he countered.
“We aren’t any good to her if we can’t keep our emotions under control and think clearly. I know I haven’t been the best example of that lately, but, for now, I’m thinking with my brain and not my hormones. Why I am suddenly capable of acting like a sane person at a time like this, I have no clue. But I need you to be sane, too.”
Decebel swallowed down his growl.“You’re right, baby. We aren’t any good to Thia if we can’t think. It’s just killing me not knowing if she’s okay.”He felt Jen’s love and comfort flowing through the bond and mentally soaked himself in her emotions. She was his light, but, in that moment, even she couldn’t chase away all of the darkness.
“Oh, Dec, I think we’d know if something bad had happened to her. She’s our blood. She’s a part of us, and I swear now that I’m not with her, I can feel her. Wherever she is, she’s unharmed.”
A thousand anxious thoughts about Thia raced through Decebel’s mind.
Was she being held and kept warm.
Were they, whoever the hell they were, changing Thia’s diaper?
And what about milk? Bloody hell, did her captor even have anything to feed her?
He tucked all these thoughts away so Jennifer wouldn’t hear them. The last thing she needed right now was to be reminded about how her daughter might be mistreated.
Even though he hid these thoughts, his mate seemed to share his concerns.
Costin said Thia’s diaper bag was sitting beside the crib and it was gone too. It had milk in it. She’s going to be okay.”
“I love you, and I love our daughter,”Decebel said, needing her to understand but finding there was no adequate way to show her or tell her just what she and Thia meant to him. He felt horrible for not being the strong one at the moment. His mate—his incredible, sassy, intelligent, eccentric, beautiful mate—who’d just had a baby that was now missing, was holding them together. She was the glue that kept him from shattering. If they lost Thia, he didn’t know how he could go on.
“I know you do,”she assured him.“And you don’t always have to be the strong one, Dec. That’s what having a mate is, having someone to lean on when you can no longer stand. It also means being the one leaned on when the other can’t stand. It’s okay for you to lean on me, baby. It’s okay for me to be the one to reassure you that we’re going to be okay, all of us. Don’t ever feel ashamed for needing me.”
“You bring me to my knees, female,” Decebel whispered.“You absolutely bring me to my knees.”
“I get it wrong most days, but every now and then I do get it right,” she said.
