“Yes. But she got away.”
“How?”
Cain sighed. “The wolves, how do you think? She had a mate and was under the protection of Perizada. Alston failed to mention that Perizada was watching over the healer. The high fae found her, and her mate killed our people and took the healer away.”
“The power circle won’t be complete without the representation of every supernatural species. We have to get a djinn and healer,” Ludcarab said.
“I know that and so does Sincaro and Alston.Wewill worry about that. Your job is to get all the warriors ready for battle,” Cain reminded him.
Ludcarab clenched his jaw, forcing back a retort. Having dissension among their ranks wasn’t going to help the Order achieve its goals. He could hold is tongue until they’d achieved their rightful place in power but then … then he would take the place thathewas due. He would remove anyone who kept him from being the ruler of the human realm, and he wouldn’t share that power with anyone.
Ludcarab knew he wasn’t the only one planning a coup. All the leaders in the Order desired one thing: absolute power. None of them liked to share. He had no doubt Cain, Sincaro, Alston, and the other supernatural leaders were planning their own strategies on how to oust the others. He just needed to make sure his plan was one step ahead of theirs.
Alston closedhis eyes and focused his thoughts on the Skender. The distance between them had been a bit of an issue, even for his magic, but it wasn’t something that a little blood magic couldn’t fix. Alston had been concerned when the Order decided to send Skender on a mission to return to his pack in hopes of retrieving the healer. A wolf’s loyalty to his pack was a strong thing. The high fae wondered if Skender would desire to give up the Order and stay with his old pack.
“Skender,”Alston said when he felt his mind connect with the wolf’s.
“Alston?”
“Why do you sound confused? Did you doubt my power?”
“I’m just surprised,”Skender said.
“Explain your situation. How did Vasile respond to your return and to your mate?”
“He doesn’t trust me. None of them do,”Skender said.“We are currently being held in a cell in the basement.”
“Is there any chance of escape?”Alston asked, his irritation growing with the lack of progress from the two wolves.
“I’m sure they will let us out soon to tend to our personal needs. Would you have me attempt to break free and grab the healer when they do let us out?”His voice sounded skeptical.
“Your assignment was to obtain the healer at any and all costs. One of you gets the healer while the other distracts the pack. You are not to return without her unless you are ready to leave this world.”Alston didn’t give the wolf time to respond. He simply pulled out of his mind and left him.
The high fae was irritated his plan for Sally hadn’t worked out. He had underestimated Peri’s power and, frankly, had thought she’d be distracted with her new mate. Now they needed to come up with a different plan to get the healer. It shouldn’t be so difficult to gain control of one, sort-of-human girl, and yet it had proven to be their biggest challenge.
The door to his study opened and Sincaro walked in. The cold, dead eyes of the vampire met his own and momentarily flashed red—the bloodsucker was in a temper. “We’ve located the djinn veil,” Sincaro said.
“Then why don’t you appear pleased?” Alston asked.
“Because that damn high fae is one move ahead of us. The veil is being guarded by four fae warriors.”
Alston sighed, a much-too-human sound for his liking. “Must I do everything?”
“Perizada is powerful. You don’t have to admit it for it to be true, but you must acknowledge it. You are the only one who can deal with the fae warriors. Take some of the fae warriors here, get rid of the fae guarding the veil, and procure the djinn. We will be that much closer to our goal,” Sincaro said and then turned to leave.
“What will you be doing?” Alston asked before the door closed.
Sincaro’s eyes were red again and his fangs had descended. “Hunting puppies. I think it’s time we start dealing with the wolf packs in the U.S.”
Chapter Fifteen
“Studying history comes with both good and bad elements. It is good to learn from history so that we do not repeat the parts that are harmful. Unfortunately, the bad aspect comes when we are constantly reminded of what we cannot change. For what is in the past has been set in stone.” ~ Wadim
“Why are we so stupid?”Wadim growled as he stared at the many screens in front of him.
“Speak for yourself, history boy,” Jen said as she descended the last few stairs. “Hey, Zara,” she said to his mate, who was sitting in a chair next to him looking through a book that was older than Wadim.
“I’m working as fast as I can,” Wadim told her. “Vasile called me literally fifteen minutes ago. Where does he expect me to pull this information from? Because I’ve tried my ass, and there just isn’t anything there.”
