Alston’s laugh died down. “I have to admit I am quite taken aback. I was truly expecting to face the great and mighty Perizada here today. Ludcarab even brought out his pet.” He motioned toward the man sitting on the dragon that hovered in the air about forty feet behind Alston. “We were expecting a more challenging match.” He shook his head as though disappointed.
Decebel’s gaze roamed the battlefield, because he couldn’t move his damn head, only looking away from his mate and child for a second to verify what Alston said. He didn’t see Peri anywhere. Why would she leave? Or was she taken? It wouldn’t be beyond Alston to have done something in order to deceive them.
He tried to move forward again, but he couldn’t budge. It was a binding spell like the one Peri had put on them in the past. In that moment, Decebel despised the fae’s magic.
The thunder still rumbled, but it wasn’t as loud as when the battle had been raging. The lightning was now completely gone,and everything suddenly felt even more dangerous than when his foe had been attacking him with the intent to kill.
“The only thing I’m going to be licking is his blood from my muzzle,” Fane snarled next to Decebel. He apparently wasn’t concerned about Perizada bailing on them, if that was in fact what had happened.
Decebel realized that whatever was holding him must have backed off enough to allow them to speak, though they still couldn’t move their limbs.
“What do you want with the pups, Alston?” Vasile asked.
“The pups serve no other purpose than to control you and your females. There’s no way you will strike against us while we have them.” The high fae smiled, and the evil behind it sent a chill down Decebel’s spine. This was a man who would do anything, kill anyone, even a helpless child, to get what he wanted.
“I knew you were a fool,” Vale, the male fae warrior who had joined them, spoke up. “But even this shocks me. They will have no mercy on you for endangering their children. You know how sacred they are to theCanis lupus.”
“Ahh, Vale,” Alston purred, ignoring his words. “I am shocked that your father would let you out of farie. But I am not surprised he is not here. None of the high fae, save Nissa and Perizada, have what it takes to be warriors. They are cowards. Perhaps there is hope for you yet.”
“You speak of cowardness, and yet you’ve chosen the weak path. It is much easier to follow the wide path of evil than to stay on the narrow path of justice. You might have won this battle,” Vasile said, “but the war is far from finished. We aren’t just going to go away and hide simply because you tell us to.”
“You will do exactly as I tell you or the children die,” Alston snapped. His face had reddened at the alpha’s words. Apparently he didn’t like hearing the truth.
Jen snarled at the man holding her child. The baby was sucking in quiet breaths as tears fell down her cheeks. She put out her little hand to Jen. His mate looked ready to rip out Alston’s throat. Decebel felt his wolf reaching for her through their bond. He didn’t want her to do something that would get her or their pup hurt. Their mate ignored them. He wasn’t surprised.
“We will regroup,” Vasile said. There was a rumble of growls and curses from the warriors around them.
“Vasile,” Tyler, the Missouri pack alpha snapped, his disapproval clear in his glowing eyes.
“We don’t back down,” Jeff Stone, the Coldspring alpha said through gritted teeth.
They didn’t want to back off. Like Decebel, they wanted blood. They needed the children safely out of the enemy’s hands. The tension was thick, and Decebel knew that had Alston not been holding them back, one of them would have moved to do something. And it would have been a foolish decision. Vasile was not backing down because he was afraid or because he thought Alston and his Order was superior. He was backing off because nothing was worth losing the pups. Vasile kept his attention on Alston. “But do not consider for a minute that we are conceding defeat.”
“Whatever you need to tell yourselves to make you feel better. I’ve no doubt we will meet again, but it will be with you on your knees, offering fealty to the Order.”
“If it saves the lives of the pups, then yes, I would do it,” Vasile said, his voice so calm that anyone who didn’t know him wouldn’t realize that he was at his most dangerous state. “Though you would spend the rest of your existence looking over your shoulder because we live a very long time, and I am a patient hunter. Make no mistake, Alston, former high fae, I will hunt you to the ends of the earth. You will never sleep in peace again.”
“No offense, Alpha,” Jen growled, “but I plan to be the one to rip his intestines from his stomach and strangle him with them. You won’t have to go on your hunt.”
There was a collective rumble of growls of approval that rippled across the field.
“Your bravery is commendable,” Alston told her. “Foolish. But commendable.”
Decebel couldn’t take his eyes off his mate as Alston motioned some of his fae warriors over. They each placed a hand on their prisoners and Skender. In the blink of an eye they were gone. Then, in another blink, the rest of the Order warriors, except Ludcarab, disappeared. The elf glared down at them, then without a word, he turned his draheim around and flew toward the large compound.
Decebel stumbled as the binding spell vanished, and he was able to move again. He started forward, but then stopped as he swung his head around, his eyes moving wildly. He knew he wouldn’t see them—they were gone—but that didn’t stop him from looking. Fane was doing the same thing. His blue eyes glowed bright with his wolf. Decebel had no doubt his own eyes would be a bright amber.
“There’s nothing you can do, wolf,” Vale said as he stepped in front of him. “We have to make a plan. You can try busting through the door. It won’t work, and you’ll wind up getting yourself killed, which would kill your mate and leave your pup without parents. Stop and think.”
Vasile spoke up, his eyes on Fane. “That goes for you, too,” he said to his son. “We can’t be rash. If we go in without making a plan, we will just get ourselves and our people killed.”
“We need to go to the Keep and check on our pack,” Vasile said as he turned to look at the warriors waiting on instruction. The other alphas, as well as Cypher, Thalion and Adira, were looking to Vasile for leadership.“Once we check on our respective packs and people, we will meet in the sprite realm.” He paused and looked at Andora.
The sprite queen stepped forward. “That will be fine. We can use the same hall as before. It will hold all of us. We’ve managed to keep our wards strong enough that no other supernatural has breached them for centuries.”
“Is anyone going to address the fact that Peri left us high and dry?” Jeff asked.
“Was she injured?” Dillon asked, his voice thick with emotion. Decebel sometimes forgot that Jacque was his daughter. Of course, he was emotional.His mate, Tanya, stood beside him. Blood streaked her cheeks and neck, but she appeared unharmed. Her hand was clasped in her mate’s and she leaned into him, offering her touch to comfort him. Decebel would give anything to have his mate leaning against him.
