“Like gypsies,” Jezebel considered. “They have no proper home.”
Boain nodded, his eyes filled with sadness. “Yes. And during our travels, we obviously avoided populated areas. Our beasts needed to run, to hunt, to be in their natural habitat. Not to mention, they roam a lot because they typically want to avoid territory battles. Most rogue packs aren’t large. They don’t have any lives to spare. Every dormant we came across, we found in those locations. We never found any in populated areas.” Boain held up a placating hand and quickly continued. “And before you ask, I didn’t report any of the dormants because none we came across appeared as if they were in need of any help. I didn’t feel it was necessary to disrupt their lives. Looking back now, that was obviously a mistake.”
Fane tilted his head and gave a slight shrug. “You couldn’t have predicted what would eventually happen. There’s no point in worrying about the past. We cannot change it, but instead learn from it.”
“Maybe you only found them in the wild because that’s where you spent most of your time,” Jacque offered. “Jen and I are dormants, and we weren’t in some BFE place.”
“We lived in Coldspring, TX, Red,” Jen smirked. “In case you’ve forgotten, that’s not exactly the bright lights and big city.”
“You both were still juveniles,” Boain pointed out. “Once you’d hit maturity and went out on your own, more than likely you would have been drawn to somewhere with lots of space to run.” He walked over to the map and pointed to the western part of the United States. “Some place with plenty of wilderness in which to hunt.”
Jacque stared at the paper and wondered if he was right. She, Jen, and Sally had talked about where they might go to college, but they’d never really had any long-term goals. But there was an unspoken knowledge that they would stay together. They belonged together. That was a given and didn’t need to be discussed. Questions as to their professions and where those jobs might have taken them had never been at the forefront of their minds.
“They aren’t just taking dormants, though, right? The vamps have to feed, and if Cain is using the dormants for his seriously-messed-up-evil-plan, then he will not want his vampires feeding on the dormants. Perhaps these bigger cities are where they’re getting their food, not their captives.”
Jacque tilted her head at Crina. “Good point.” Crina smiled, appearing pleased that she had offered something helpful. Jacque made a mental note to make sure she was giving her wolves words of affirmation; the way Alina always did. Sometimes it was easy to get caught up in the chaos of simply trying to stay alive, and it was easy to forget to tell her pack members how proud she was to stand at their side.
Crina winked at her. “I know, Jacque,” she said, as if she’d been able to read the alpha’s mind. But that wasn’t it. Fane told Jacque often that she should never play poker, because her emotions always showed clearly on her face. In this case, she was glad.
Fane pointed to the places Boain had mentioned. “Boain, you lead a group to these more remote locations. See if you come across any dormants that haven’t been taken by the vampires. I will take a group to the larger cities. We leave at sunset. Then we will meet back here just before sunrise.” He looked up from the map and narrowed his eyes. “Costin, Sorin, Elle, Thalion, Cyn, and Drake, you will join Boain. Dec, Thad, Jezebel, Adam, Crina, Wadim and Zara, you will be with me and Jacquelyn.” Just as the words were out of Fane’s mouth, the room suddenly filled with fae. At the front of the group, stood Peri, Nissa, and Lucian.
“Whoa,” Jen sputtered, jumping to her feet. “It’s bad enough for you to pop into the room alone, Peri fairy, but maybe a little warning before you bring an entire army into a confined space filled with twitchy supernaturals.”
Adam scoffed. “Speak for yourself, blonde. Fae don’t twitch.”
Jacque bit back the laugh that attempted to bubble up. The statement coming out of Adam’s mouth sounded ridiculous. Yet she had to agree. She’d been in plenty of tight spots with the fae. Never had she seen one twitch.
Jen rolled her eyes. “It’s a figure of speech. I hereby demote you from male BFF status.”
“Not your BFF.” Decebel growled, his hand reaching out to snag his mate’s belt loop. He pulled her around the chair and back until she pressed against him. Jacque wondered if Fane would be able to get his beta to leave his mate’s side.
Peri ignored Jen’s words. She focused only on Fane and Jacque. “Each of these warriors is at your disposal. They have agreed to take orders from you, just as they would from a high fae.”
Fane looked past Peri to the male and female fae. “Thank you,” he told them, sincerity ringing in his voice. “My pack and the other supernaturals represented here appreciate your help.”
Peri’s attention turned to Jacque. “I’ll be in touch as soon as I have something to tell you.”
Jacque pressed her lips together and met the high fae’s eyes. She saw worry and pain there, and the alpha’s feet were moving before she realized it. Jacque wrapped her arms around Peri and pulled her friend into a tight hug. “Whatever it is,” she whispered, “we’re here to help you. You know that, right? You’re not alone. Never.”
Peri’s head nodded against Jacque’s shoulder. “I know.” Peri’s voice was just as soft. “I promise to keep you in the loop.”
Jacque pulled back and looked at Peri’s face, her eyes running over the beautiful female. She gave a sharp nod when she was satisfied that she saw honesty in Peri’s eyes. Then Jacque looked at Lucian. “Keep them out of trouble if you can.”
His brow rose slightly. “The most I can promise is that if they should get into trouble, I will be there to assist in getting them back out of it.”
“Fair enough.” Jacque let out a small laugh. He wasn’t wrong. Peri would do whatever she felt was necessary to get the information she was looking for, which Jacque assumed concerned the mystery behind her and Nissa’s history of being protected as children from cold fire. Jacque understood how hard it was to learn that everything you thought you knew about yourself wasn’t completely true.
When Jacque stepped back, Peri took Lucian’s hand. She and Nissa once again flashed from the room, leaving the small fae army behind.
Jacque heard Fane’s phone vibrate and turned to see him looking at the screen. His eyes moved back and forth, reading a text. Then he looked up at the fae. “I’ve got two wolves and their mates that need travel assistance. Who will go?”
One male stepped forward and bowed his head. “I’m Saffron,” he said, “the captain of this force. I can assign the warriors that I feel best equipped for the situation. If that is acceptable?”
“It’s nice to meet you, Saffron.” Fane stepped forward and held out his arm. The fae wrapped his hand around Fane’s forearm. “I trust you best know your people and their abilities.”
They released each other, and Saffron turned his head. “Tassi.” A female fae stepped forward. She had long pale, yellow hair braided into sections and pulled into a ponytail. Like all fae, she was beautiful in a way that was inhuman. Her bright green eyes were almond-shaped, giving her an exotic look in addition to her supernatural beauty. She had thin, pink lips, sharp cheekbones, and a cute nose. She wore fitted-, black-and-silver clothes.
Saffron spoke again. “Aphid.” This time, a male stepped up. His skin was a flawless, light brown that seemed to glow with vitality. He had long hair, as well, which was braided in rows tightly against his scalp, before it fell down his back. Jacque thought his eyes were surprisingly dark for a fae. They were so black that it was nearly impossible to separate iris from pupil. Aphid’s jaw was stronger than other male fae, giving him a more rugged look, though he was still just as beautiful as the others. “You two will go where Fane assigns you and assist in any way the wolves need.”
