“How is starving yourself and depriving your body of rest going to do them any good?” he challenged.
“I don’t know,” she bit out. “I feel like I don’t deserve those things. She’s being held captive and yet I get food and a bed.”
“You don’t know that they aren’t giving her food and a bed as well.”
“Really, Cypher?” She rolled her eyes. “Because kidnappers are always so accommodating.”
“The Order took them because they wanted to control us. They have no reason to hurt them unless we don’t do what they want. They haven’t made any demands yet. So until that happens, it stands to reason that they will be safe.” Cypher wasn’t completely sure that what he was saying was a hundred percent accurate, but he wasn’t about to share his doubts with his mate. She was already acting unreasonable. If he even hinted that Jacque and Slate were in a minute amount of danger, she’d be headed straight back to Arizona.
She sighed as her shoulders dropped and the fight left her. “I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to do.”
“Then let me take care of you so you don’t have to make any decisions right now. You know that as soon as we have a plan, you will beat my side, and we will get them all back. But like Vasile said, we have to be smart about it. We can’t just go running into danger and not have a plan, or we will get them and us killed.”
“I guess you’re right,” she growled. “But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
Chapter 7
“Call on me and I will be with you. I may not remove your affliction, but neither will I leave you in your time of need.” ~The Great Luna
The door flew open and slammed into the wall. Costin leaped up and placed himself in front of the bed where Sally and Titus lay resting. Three figures stood in the doorway.
Sally pulled Titus to her and placed him behind her on the bed. She looked at him and put a hand against his cheek. “Stay right here, okay?”
He nodded and didn’t say anything, as if he knew she didn’t want him to draw any attention.
Sally stood and walked over to stand beside her mate. Costin tried to push her behind him. She allowed him to put his left shoulder just a little in front of hers. They’d been through a lot, and his need to protect her was palpable through their bond. She could feel his wolf raging inside. Yet, somehow, he was keeping the beast under control.
“Wrong,”her mate's voice filled her mind.“You are keeping him under control. You and only you.”
Sally looked to the two males and one female who moved just inside the room. They were fae, which meant she and Costin didn’t stand a chance in hell of fighting them with brute strength. Not that she could help that much anyway, but fae had eyes that could be clawed out just like any other supernatural.
“Alston would like to speak with your mate,” the female said.
She was tall and slight, as seemed to be the norm for the fae. Her hair was dull yellow and pulled back into a tight ponytail. Her eyes were a pale green, and her lips, though thin, still managed to look sensual.How is that fair? Unlike the others, the woman’svoice was cordial, and she didn’t appear as if she wanted to zap them, which Sally thought was a good sign.
“Where she goes, we all go,” Costin said, gesturing behind them to Titus.
All three shook their heads at the same time. Creepy. “Only the healer,” the male in the middle, with long, black hair that matched his pitch-black eyes, said.
“That’s not happening,” Costin growled.
Sally placed a hand on his arm. She understood that he didn’t want to be separated from her, any more than she wanted to be separated from him, but they needed to compromise in order to keep Titus safe.
“They aren’t going to hurt me,”she said through their bond.“They need something from me, and hurting me isn’t going to get what they want.”
“They’ve already hurt you,”Costin challenged.
Sally didn’t flinch away from his words or the truth in them.“Let me see if I can find out exactly what they want. Titus needs to be protected. Can we guarantee that outside of this room he will be safe? Your attention would be divided. Please, Costin, keep him here and protect him.”She was pulling the daddy card, and it was cruel, but she had to keep her child safe. If Costin didn’t let Sally go, then the fae would likely take her by force, hurting Costin in the process. If he was injured, he couldn’t protect their son.
Sally could feel the emotions warring inside of her mate. He hated that he couldn’t just save them all. It filled him with rage that she would be facing the man who’d not only taken her memories but also a piece of her that she had not been willing to give. But he could also see Sally’s logic.
“I can’t stand you being away from me,”he said, his eyes still completely focused on the threat across from them.
“I will keep her safe,” the female fae said suddenly. Her eyes met Sally’s, and something flashed in them. It was so fast that Sally wasn’t sure she’d seen it. Was it compassion? Was she trying to tell Sally something without giving herself away?
“You work for Alston,” Costin growled. “Your word is worth less than the dirt beneath my feet.”
“All the same,” the fae said, “I will bring her back to you in the exact condition she is in now.”
