“All of those girls mean a lot to us. One of them is my daughter,” Dillon said.
Jewel’s head snapped back up, obviously having missed it when he’d mentioned Fane’s mate being his daughter. “I’m sorry. You’ve got a ton on your plate, and I had no right to demand. I’m a little out of sorts.”
“That’s understandable,” Dillon said. “Trust your mate to take care of you and know what you need. He knows how much Sally means to you, and I’ve no doubt you will be a valuable asset in assisting us. He will do everything he can to get her back, just as the rest of us will.”
Jewel looked up at Dalton, her eyes full of pain for her friend. “You know what he says is true.”
She nodded. “I do. And I will do whatever I can do to help.”
Dalton leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I know you will, little dove. You’re fierce when it comes to those you love.”
Aidan spoke for the first time. “What’s the short plan?”
“I have a feeling Peri and her mate will be here very soon. Fane is Lucian’s nephew. He will want to check on him. I’ve called her, but she hasn’t answered. I imagine it’s a cluster fu—” He stopped and looked over at Jewel and then changed what he was going to say. “I imagine it’s a mess over there right now.
“So for now, we do what we can to help Fane and Decebel. If that means giving them space, then we do that. If that means giving them an outlet for the emotions, then we get their asses in the sparring field and let them fight our pack members. It would be good training for our younger ones.”
Dalton agreed. He knew that when a wolf felt helpless and was hurting, one of the best things they could do to cope was to battle it out. To wear themselves out to the point of exhaustion so they didn’t do something stupid. Unfortunately, he hadn’t always done that and had wound up doing plenty of stupid things in the recent past. Thankfully, though a hit to his pride, Peri had been there to put him in his place. Damn fae was a menace but usually right.
“Why don’t you take Jewel up to your suite and let her get settled? You both look a little tired. Maybe get some rest. This evening we will introduce her to the pack. Everyone is excited to have a healer among us,” Dillon said.
Dalton nodded and then took Jewel’s hand again. “If you need anything, let me know,” he told his alpha.
“I will. Just rest. I have a feeling, very soon, rest will be a luxury we don’t have.”
Dalton led Jewel from the room and toward the stairs to where the suites were located.
“I’m sorry this is what you’re coming home to,” Dalton told her. “It’s a tough time to join a pack where you don’t know anyone.”
Jewel shrugged. “It’s how I came into this world. It’s nothing new, and I’m not a wilting flower. I can handle it, Dalton.”
“Of that, I have no doubt, I just wish you didn’t have to. It would be nice not to spendallof our time fighting bad guys. A honeymoon would be great.” He grinned down at her, and her face turned a pretty shade of red.
“Well, they tell me I’m immortal now, so apparently, we’ve got time,” she countered.
We only have time if we survive the Order.Dalton didn’t want to mention the chances of that seemed slim considering the group had just taken out such a powerful alpha pair.
* * *
Bethany wasn’tsure what dying was supposed to feel like, but she didn’t think it should be pain free. It seemed like something as horrible as dying would be agonizing. It was the very opposite of what your body was designed to do, which was live. So doing the opposite of breathing should feel horrible. But she felt nothing. It was as if she was simply floating through the air. She couldn’t even feel her body. Maybe that’s because she wasn’t dying at all. Perhaps she was already dead. Would she know if she was dead? Wouldn’t Drake know? He’d be dead, too. Her mind grabbed onto the name of her mate, and she felt frantic.
“DRAKE,” she yelled, or tried to yell, but her mouth didn’t work. So, she simply wound up yelling his name inside of her head. As soon as she thought his name, however, everything came rushing back. She’d been in the war room, and then there’d been a horrible pain in her stomach, where their child was. “Our baby,” she whispered into her mind because, again, her damn mouth wouldn’t work. Nothing worked. She couldn't open her eyes.She was just there. Alone.
Bethany tried to look into her mind and see if she could see the bond that connected her to Drake, but there was only darkness.Why is there only darkness?
“You are not dead, my child.”
Bethany felt warmth fill her, and suddenly there was light. She found herself standing in a field of trees. Next to her stood a beautiful woman. She appeared young, but her eyes were ancient and full of wisdom.
“Goddess.” Bethany fell to her knees. This was the one who’d taken a part in creating her and the child growing in her womb.
“Bethany,” the Great Luna said, her voice so full of love that it made Bethany’s lips tremble with emotion. “Please, stand.”
Bethany rose to her feet and looked up at the goddess. There was such sadness in the white eyes. She could see pain and agony mixed in as well.
“Where are we?” Bethany asked, looking away from the Great Luna because the intensity of gazing at her glory was simply too much to bear.
“This is where your mate fell,” the goddess said.
