“Noted,” she said, and then glanced around at all of the women who had helped heal her. She met each of their eyes, and tears filled her own. “Thank you,” Jacque said. “You all must be exhausted. Thank you for being willing to fight for me.”
“That’s what pack does.” Sally reached over and patted her hand.
Jacque’s eyes widened. She tried to sit up as she turned her hand to grip Sally’s. “Your baby?”
Sally smiled. “Is just fine.”
“You shouldn’t have taken that risk. And I was so selfish not to think of it before.” She would never forgive herself if something happened to Sally’s child because Sally had overexerted herself trying to heal her.
“You’re my best friend, Jacque.”
“I’m right here, you know?” Jen interrupted.
“Yes.” Sally rolled her eyes. “We always know where you are, Jen, because you can’t keep your trap shut.”
There was a pause and then Jen said, “Fair enough. Carry on.”
“Do you think Costin would have let me do this if he thought for a second that it would hurt me or our child?” Sally asked.
The man in question stepped up beside her and smiled a dimpled grin at Jacque. “Glad to see you’re better, Alpha. And you know the answer to that question. But you also know that you females generally do whatever you damn well please. Our job is mainly to try and lessen the damage.”
Jacque blinked, and she made sure her face remained blank of all emotion. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Fane finally relaxed and sat back down on the bed, though closer now to the foot as if he was attempting to resist temptation. He chuckled. “Sure you don’t. You’re also a terrible liar.”
The tension in the room was beginning to evaporate, and Jacque pulled her legs up, folding them, and resting her arms on her knees. She glanced around the room. “I’ve been out of it for three days, correct? That’s what I heard someone say while I was unconscious.”
“That’s correct,” Lilly said. “And speaking of you being out of it, what was happening that caused you so much pain?”
“I felt like I was being burned from the inside out,” she said and then waved her hand at her mom. Lilly’s mouth opened and her eyebrows raised so high they nearly touch her hair line. “But that’s not important.” Jacque turned her head to her mate. “You need to get back to the hunt with Nick and the others.” Then she looked at Jen. “Will you bring me Slate?”
“On it.” Jen nodded. “He’s been with Bethany and Drake. He’s getting a crash course on how to take care of more than one child and keep them alive.”
Jacque’s eyes widened. “That’s not encouraging.”
Jen simply waved over her shoulder as she exited.
Jacque looked around the room until her eyes found Myanin. “I believe, before I became a human barbeque, we were working on figuring out Peri's little riddle. Have you made any progress?”
Myanin blinked several times before she answered. “Did you forget the part where you were burning like a barbecue? There hasn’t been a whole lot going on other than making sure the healers were taken care of while they worked on you. And keeping that blonde psycho from stabbing everyone for, well, any reason she could come up with.”
Jacque bit her lip and then sighed. “Jen can be a little overbearing.”
“She’s psycho,” Myanin said dryly.
“I’m going to have to agree with her.” Heather pointed at Myanin. Though she couldn’t see the djinn, the healer was extremely adroit at knowing where people were based on the sounds they made. “Although I do adore her. It’s hard not to love her crazy just a bit. It’s something to aspire to, ya know?”
Jacque couldn’t help but laugh as everyone said in unison, “No!”
“All right, we’ve wasted enough time,” Jacque said, pulling herself together. “Let’s get to work on this riddle.”
Fane shifted, causing her attention to fall back on him. “Why are you still here? Nick needs you.”
“And I will go help him after you are taken care of.”
Jacque started to speak but snapped her mouth shut when he gave her a stern look.
“You need a shower, you need to eat, and you need to spend some time with Slate. The others can work on the riddle while you do those things. And I need just a little more time with my mate after the three days you’ve endured.” He looked over at the sprite queen. “Do you have a place where I can see to my mate?”
