Nick snorted. “You’re missing out.”
“I’ve experienced it once. That was enough until my next major life crisis,” the fae responded.
Elle appeared out of nowhere. “We’re still pack. Our way of contributing is to offer a different kind of protection than your wolf brothers and sisters. Cyn, Adam, and I have put award around this area. It will alert us if another supernatural being comes within a five-mile radius.”
Drayden bowed his head to the two fae. “Thank you.”
“Thalion said to tell you all to get some rest,” Elle said. “He and his warriors will keep watch.”
“Elle and I will be sleeping on this cold, hard ground, for obvious reasons.” Adam huffed and stared at his mate in her wolf form. There was a teasing glint in his eyes that Nick was jealous of. He wanted Kara there with him so he could tease her. He wished he could hear her smart retort.
Crina’s wolf bared her teeth at Adam. She closed her eyes and laid her head down as if dismissing her mate. Adam simply grinned.
“He’s such a diva.” Elle sat and leaned her back against a tree.
“Let’s get some sleep,” Drayden said and then phased to his wolf.
Nick looked around at the pile of wolves and felt a tiny semblance of peace. He phased and let his beast take over as he pressed in tightly to the warmth surrounding him. For now, he’d let his wolf have control so his human emotions could take a break.“We will find her,”his wolf promised. They would, Nick agreed. He couldn’t live with any other outcome.
ChapterTwo
“I knew there was a reason I never wanted close friends. Not only do they take up too much time, energy, and emotion, it also sucks big draheim balls when they suddenly up and die.” ~Myanin
“Who the hell does she think she is?” Myanin stomped back and forth across the floor of the training room within the warlock mountain. The Romanian pack had delivered the news to Queen Lilly that the Order compound had been reduced to ash. The announcement should have been good news. But not for Myanin. Not when she knew her friend was trapped inside when the buildings were obliterated. And the djinn knew of only one way to handle loss—to fight. She’d beaten the crap out of anyone willing to spar with her. Even without her power, she had no problem putting the warlock warriors on their asses. “I mean, did she think I let her become my friend because Iwantedto worry about her?” Myanin let her hand fly at her current opponent, catching the female warlock in the solar plexus, knocking her back several feet. “Where the hell am I supposed to get cotton candy now? Did she even consider that before she went and let herself get blown up?”
“Uhh,” Lilly began, but it was clear she didn’t know how to respond. Myanin’s mind raced as fast as her fists and feet. And her mouth followed suit.
“We bonded, dammit.” Myanin dropped her body, sweeping out a leg. The warlock female she faced hit the ground on her backside with a hard thud. “I don’t go around bonding with just any rando that happens to walk by.” Myanin flung her hands in the air. “There is only a certain kind of rando that I will even consider as worthy of becoming my friend. And I haven’t had a friend in averylong time because there are some seriously weird-ass supernaturals out there but very few that are the right kind of weird.”
“You don’t say?” The warlock female climbed to her feet. Myanin took a step toward her, but the woman held up her hand. “I’m done.”
Gerick stepped into the sparring circle and held up his own hands, which were attached to punching pads. Myanin took the invitation, happily letting out her anger and frustration on them. Her mate didn’t even budge as she punched and kicked the pads with enough force to drop a water buffalo. Sweat dripped down her forehead and into her eyes, blurring her vision, but the djinn just kept going.
“She should have called.” Myanin grunted with another punch. “If she’d told us what was happening, we could have helped. What the hell was she thinking?”
“She didn’t know what was coming, love.” Gerick shifted so Myanin had to move with him in order to continue to hit her targets.
She narrowed her eyes. “Tenia knew how twisted and insane Alston is. I should have suspected something when that bastard said he wanted to see her. I should have gone back with her.” Myanin’s punches increased in speed, and she felt her knuckles split beneath the protective tape wrappings. With every punch, she growled in frustration. “Did she even consider whatIwanted?” It was a completely irrational question, but that didn’t keep Myanin from asking it.
“I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess”—Lilly stood off to the side, watching the djinn’s tirade—“that perhaps she had no idea she was about to die? And, therefore, it didn’t even cross her mind to call and tell you of her imminent demise.”
Myanin whipped around and pointed her finger at the warlock queen. “She’snotdead.”
“Myanin.” Gerick sounded stern and gentle all at once. “Lilly is not the enemy.”
“I know that,” she growled. She closed her eyes and then looked back at the queen. “I apologize, Lilly. I shouldn’t take my frustrations out on you.”
“But you’re right,” Lilly said. “We don’t know for certain that she is dead. I will be more considerate with my words.”
Myanin’s eyes focused on the floor. She knew there was no way in hell Tenia could have survived the cold fire of a high fae. No one could. But her mind refused to accept the fact that Tenia was gone.She isn’t. She just can't be, dammit!The djinn appeared to deflate like a balloon. “But how could she have survived?” Myanin almost whispered. "How?”
Lilly sighed, drawing Myanin’s attention. The djinn folded her arms in front of her and turned to look at the warlock queen. “Is it possible? Do you think she could have somehow lived through it?” Myanin asked. “Because I’m a hell of a lot older than you, and I’ve never heard of anyone surviving cold fire.”
Lilly frowned, and then her eyes widened. “Thadrick.”
“Dillon,” Myanin shot back.
Lilly rolled her eyes.
