Cyn held out her arms, as did Nissa.Jen and Jacque placed a hand on Cyn while Sally and Costin each placed a hand on Nissa. They flashed and ended up in the playroom. “Don’t let go,” Cyn said, and then they flashed again.
Jen considered for about a second that maybe they should have thought their actions through a little better before chasing after the evil high fae and traitorous wolf, but she dismissed the thought as soon as she pictured Thia’s perfect face in her mind. If there was one hair harmed on her child’s head, Jen would pull Alston apart limb by limb. She’d make Skender watch, so he knew exactly what would happen to him.
When her feet were on solid ground once again, Jen opened her eyes, which she hadn't even realized she’d closed, and gasped as she took in the battle raging around her.
“Do you see them?” Sally asked, her voice full of the urgency that Jen was feeling.
“No,” Jacque said. “Wait, there.” She pointed to the right, and Jen followed the direction. Alston and Skender stood in the middle of the fray, holding the three children in their arms. Alston held Thia, and Skender had Slate and Titus.
Jen’s wolf pushed forward and snarled. “I will end them.” Nissa held out her arm to try to stop her, but Jen was not having it.
“Get in line,” Sally snapped as she and Costin started toward the treacherous wolf and high fae. Jen and Jacque began to run. Jen didn’t know where Cyn or Nissahad gone after she’d stomped past them. But whatever the fae were doing, Jen hoped it helped.
The seconds it took to reach the two males seemed like hours. But when they were finally mere feet away, Jen had to fight her phase. Her wolf wanted free. It needed to rip into the man who held their pup and pull his entrails from his tender stomach. It wanted to wrap them around his neck and strangle him, watching the life fade from his miserable eyes. Thia’s face was red, her eyes puffy from crying and tears rolled down her face. As soon as she saw Jen, she reached out one of her chubby, little hands to her. Jen was so going to disembowel the POS holding her child.
“I’m glad to see you took my warning seriously,” Alston said as he met Jen’s wolf-eyes.
“Give me my pup,” Jen said. Her voice was not her own. The wolf was in full control, and the human could only watch. It took all of Jen’s will to stay in her human form so she could keep speaking.
“Now, now,” Alston cooed. “Let’s not rush things. There is much to discuss. Let me just get everyone’s attention, and then we can talk like reasonable adults.”
“Oh?” Sally’s eyes widened. “And where were you planning on getting these reasonable adults to speak with? Because I don’t see any here. Reasonable adults don’t use hordes of vampires to murder innocent humans. Reasonable adults don’t steal innocent children from their parents. And those parents definitely don’t remain bloody reasonable when their children are in the clutches of psychotic supernaturals!” Sally was screaming by the time she finished, her breaths ragged gasps. It appeared as though she was physically restraining herself from lunging at Skender to get to Titus.
“Wow,” Skender spoke up. “She sure doesn’t act like a gentle healer.”
Jen’s eyes snapped to the male wolf. “You have no right to speak, wolf,” Jen’s inner-beast rumbled. “You are a traitor. A viper in the nest of innocent babes, willing to turn on your own. You’re the lowest of the low, and I will feast on your bones before this is over. Be sure of that. Do not speak of our healer again.”
“Are you really in a position to be making threats, Jen?” The smirk on Skender’s face only enraged her more. “We don’t want to hurt the pups, but we will, if you force our hands.”
“You’ve already hurt them. They’re terrified, you imbecile. Why would you think kidnapping them from their home, their families, wouldn’t hurt them?” Jacque asked. “How could you do this?” Her voice was full of disbelief and horror as she stared at him. “How could you turn on your pack?”
“Because our pack leadership is inept. Vasile is in the wrong. We shouldn’t have to hide. The supernaturals shouldn’t be afraid of the humans,” Skender said. His voice sounded bland, as though he was a terrible actor reading from a script.
“As titillating as this conversation is,” Alston cut in, “there are more important things to talk about. One second.” He held up his free hand, and Jen hoped to hell he didn’t drop her daughter.
Alston’s voice magnified as he spoke in the fae language. She recognized it because Peri had used it many times in the spells she cast. Thunder rumbled and clouds gathered as fog enveloped the circle of the battlefield until it built a wall between them and the rest of the world.
“JENNIFER!” She heard Decebel’s voice in her mind, but she couldn’t answer him or even try to find him in the bloodbath that was happening all around her. All she could focus on was Thia and making sure Alston didn’t hurt her girl.
On and on the battle went, and though it felt like it had been hours, Decebel knew from past experience a fight was never as long as it felt. He was moving forward to help Fane with two fae that were attacking him when suddenly he froze as he felt his mate. She was there. He could feel her through the bond so strongly it was as if she were standing next to him. Decebel’s head turned frantically as he looked for her, hoping like crazy that he was wrong. He also realized the frantic feeling inside of him wasn't his own. It was his mate’s.
“JENNIFER!”He yelled through their bond, but she didn’t answer. All of a sudden the world just stopped. He couldn’t move, and as he shifted his gaze back and forth, he saw that nobody else could either. Even their enemy was frozen in their spots.
Finally, he found her. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a tight braid. She stood rigid, her shoulders back and her hands fisted at her sides. Why was she there? How was she there? It didn’t make sense. Why hadn’t she told him she was coming? The questions rushed through his mind as he continued to fight the magic holding him. If this was Peri’s doing, he was going to bite her, hard.
His mate slowly turned, and a second later their gaze locked on to one another. He drank her in like a man who’d been thirsty for decades. He wanted to go to her, needed to make sure she wasn’t a figment of his imagination. The fear that filled Jen’s eyes made his stomach clench. He’d only ever seen her that scared once before, and that was when she thought Thia was going to die at birth.
“Why the hell are you here?”he asked, reaching out to her through their bond.
She didn’t answer. Instead she stepped to the side. She obviously wasn’t bound by the spell that was working over the battlefield. He looked past her shoulder and saw Alston, and in his arms was Thia, his daughter.
Decebel’s wolf lunged inside so hard that he’d actually managed to move just a little but that was it. Rage rolled through him like the building storm of the sprites as he looked back at Jen and then to his daughter again. His helpless daughter in the arms of a monster. Alston had just made the biggest mistake of his long, long life. He’d unleashed a demon in the form of a wolf, and no matter how long it took, Decebel would eventually destroy the high fae for touching his precious child and for the fear he saw in his mate’s eyes.
Alston’s voice drew Decebel’s attention from his daughter, and he looked at the high fae’s face. The smug look was enough to make Decebel want to chew on the marrow of the man's bones.
“It’s time you retreat and lick your wounds.” Alston’s gaze seemed to roam over the space, looking for someone. His grin widened as though happy he hadn’t found them. “After all, you’re beloved hero, Perizada, has deserted you. She was here. I can feel her magic, and yet I do not see her now. Tell me,” Alston said, his voice sounding smug, “how long did she last before she tucked her tail and ran?” He threw his head back and laughed.
Thia jumped, startled by the sound. Her bottom lip quivered, and Decebel swore for every tear that fell down her cheek, he would cut Alston up slowly. Slice by slice, he would cut the high fae until he was just a pile of bite-size pieces to throw to his cousins, the wild wolves.
