“I love a good challenge,” Heather countered as her mate led her along with the rest of the group.
Jacque waited for Fane to reach her before moving to go inside.
Fane took her hand, lifted it to his mouth, and pressed a kiss to it. “I missed you,” he said softly.
Did she melt a little inside? Yes, yes, she did. And she knew she would continue to melt every time he looked at her with those beautiful blue eyes that filled with adoration when they met her own. “And I you, wolf-man.”
He blew out a breath. “Let’s do this.”
Jacque’s eyes widened when she stepped into the living room of the pack mansion. It looked like a place where broken objects came to die.
“This is a familiar sight.” Jen glanced around the room. “I think your man did something similar to a hospital waiting room if memory serves me correct, Red.” She gave Fane a cheeky wink.
“Have I ever mentioned that since I joined up with this merry band of supernatural nutjobs, I’ve seriously begun to loathe my lack of eyesight?” Heather said. Kale pulled her to his side, and Jacque watched as he leaned down and whispered in her ear. Heather reached up and patted his cheek. He grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm before lowering their joined hands and turning his attention back to the room.
“The information we have is time sensitive.” Peri ignored the commentary and got straight to business.
“How much time?” Fane asked.
“That’s the million-dollar question.” Peri shrugged. “The odds are not in our favor. But then again, it’s not the first time we’ve been in this position.”
Nissa and Disir flashed in with the last of the group from the forest. Jacque took stock of everyone and found all were present, including Thad and Jezebel. She’d wondered if they would come, since his purpose had been to help get the veil open and that was no longer an issue. Jacque had assumed he and Jezebel would return to the djinn realm.
“Kara is important to Anna,” Fane said, keeping his voice soft. “And Anna is important to Jezebel. I imagine they will stick around until Kara is safe.”
Jacque hadn’t considered that. Sometimes it was easy to forget who belonged to who, because they’d all become a pack in many convoluted ways. Through all the trials they’d faced together, and although some of them were on completely different continents, they were still pack.
“My father would be proud to see this,” Fane said, having picked up on her thoughts.
She nodded. “He would. This is his legacy, Fane. He’s gone, but he’s still with us.”
A minute later, Nick stepped into the room from where he’d been deposited to rest in a spare room. Drayden stood at his side, his eyes glowing with his wolf.
“I apologize for the lack of seating,” Drayden began but stopped when new furniture suddenly appeared.
“No offense, Alpha,” Peri said, “but we don’t have time for an explanation of the obvious. If Nick can control his wolf, then we need to get started.”
Nick’s head snapped up, and his obsidian eyes narrowed on the high fae. Jacque sucked in a sharp breath when she realized the blackness in them wasn’t because of their color. Without his mate, the darkness in Nick had taken over.
“Can he be saved?” Jacque asked. “Even if we do get her back?”
“If Kara is brought back alive, then Nick will heal,” said Fane. “If we are too late, I will put him out of his misery myself, unless Drayden claims the right. Regardless, Nick will be too dangerous to be allowed to live.”
Jacque prayed to the Great Luna they wouldn’t be too late. She hoped that whatever information Peri had would allow them to save Kara and, by doing so, save Nick, as well.
Nick’s eyesbore into the high fae. His wolf wanted to rip the female apart. She had information about Kara, and she wasn’t speaking fast enough. But if they killed her now, then he and his wolf wouldn’t get the information they needed to find his beloved. So he forced himself to stand still. “What do you know?” he asked, his voice sounding like a fifty-fifty mix between wolf and man.
“Sorry about this, wolf,” Peri said, “but you will need to be restrained before watching this.”
“I don’t think everyone needs to see it, Peri,” a female fae that Nick didn’t recognize said.
Peri looked around the room and then back at Nick. He’d spent a lot of time with the high fae when they’d been up against Volcan, and he’d only ever seen that look in her eyes one other time: when they thought Jewel had died.
“She’s right,” Peri said. “This is sensitive information. To protect Kara’s”—she paused and cleared her throat—“dignity, we should limit those who see this. When we’ve decided how to move forward, Nick can determine how much you all need to know.”
“You can use my study,” Drayden offered. “Who needs to be present?”
Nick’s heart pounded so hard in his chest he could barely hear Peri’s words. She walked closer to him and said, “This will not be easy, Nick. Pick those you trust to lean on. Myself, Tenia, and Thalion need to be present. I would counsel you to include only enough males to help keep you under control.”
