“Umm…” Jen narrowed her eyes at her healer friend. “What else should I come back around to? Bloody battles, blistered hands from fighting with knives, aching feet from running from some psychotic supernatural? I mean, freaking-A, Sal. What could you possibly say is better than having that to look forward to?”
Sally pointed to Titus and then to Hope and then over to behind the couch where Thia sat, and lastly to Slate in his crib.
Jen rolled her eyes. “And how did any of those little curtain-climbing miracles come into existence? From stroking the corn husk. Am I right?”
“Are you sure you want her”—Gavril pointed at Jen and looked at Sally—“training Titus?”
Jen winked at Sally. The healer blew out a breath that caused her cheeks to puff out. “Believe it or not, she’s pretty badass. Crazy? Most definitely. But I’d have her at my back any day. But Jen, please try not to corrupt him too much. I’m begging you.”
Jen held up her hands. “I make no promises. Besides, a little corruption is good for the future libido.”
Crina nearly fell off the couch. She held her stomach and cackled like a freaking witch.
“Never”—Sally glared and pointed a finger at Jen—“mention my son and the word libido in the same sentence again. Ever.”
Jen walked toward the door. “What part of ‘I make no promises,’ don’t you get? Come on Teeter-Totter,” she called back. “We’ve got crap to learn.”
“Don’t worry, Mom.” Titus’s voice was full of confidence that Jen admired in a … five … six-year-old? Well, however old the little dude was. “I already know about the birds and the bees.”
“What?” Sally’s voice rose several notches.
Jen pulled the door open. “Who the heck told you about that? Birds and bees aren’t even compatible. I mean, seriously. I like a little S&M in the bedroom as much as anyone, but beaks and stingers? That sounds dangerous. If someone is going to come up with an analogy for teaching kids about the marriage bed, they should have used a socket and a plug, or a light socket and a bulb. At least that one actually involves screw—”
“JEN!” Jacque yelled.
“Yeah, yeah.” She huffed. “Behave. Got it.” She glanced over her shoulder to make sure Titus was following her. “We’ll be in the sparring room. Do not interrupt us unless it is an emergency.”
“What constitutes an emergency?” Sally called back.
“Thia cutting off an actual limb. And even then, check and see whose limb it belongs to. Still might not constitute an emergency. Also, video it if I can’t get there in time. I’m planning on making a scrapbook of all her firsts.”
“Jacque, about that counseling,” Bethany said just before the door closed, drowning out the alpha female’s response.
“You ready to do this, T?” Jen asked the boy who walked at her side.
She saw him rub his hands together and grin. “Totally. Let’s do this Aunt Josephine.”
Jen grinned back. The kid was seriously growing on her. Dammit.
Chapter
Six
“When I was first cursed with witch powers, I didn’t want to ever voluntarily use them. They were a part of me that felt foreign. I worried that I would lose control and wind up hurting someone—again. It was hard enough to live with the memories of the people whose lives I’d taken. I still woke up sweating and panting from seeing their empty eyes in my nightmares. My only hope at this point was that maybe I could use my powers to do something good. It wouldn’t bring those others back. Nothing could do that. And that was something I would have to live with the rest of my life.” ~Jewel
Jewel paced back and forth in the living room of the Colorado pack mansion. “What if I accidentally kill someone?” Her clothes suddenly felt too tight. The dark jeans and simple, grey scoop-neck shirt were not ill-fitting, yet Jewel was sure they were cutting off her circulation. She rubbed her sweaty palms up and down her thighs as she tried to calm her frazzled nerves. From the moment Dalton had read the text from Nick, her heart had raced.
Her mate sat perched on the arm of one of the large, overstuffed chairs. Big werewolf males meant big furniture. Jewel always felt like a child when she sat in those chairs because her feet didn’t touch the floor. “Just make sure it’s a vampire and you’re golden.”
She kept a wide berth from Dalton because every time she got near him, he tried to snag her around the waist to pull her against him. He liked her close, and usually she liked to be close. But at the moment, Jewel felt like she was going to climb out of her own skin, and being confined, even in the arms of her mate, made her feel even more anxious. “But what if it’s a new vampire? I might have to kill one that hasn’t committed any atrocious acts.” She put her hands on her hips and turned her full attention on him. “I mean, the vampire Dillon talked to said they were turning humans all willy-nilly like. That the people being changed didn’t even have a choice.”
“Little dove,” he said gently. She felt the caress of his fingers down her spine, even though he was on the far side of the room. “You’re not going to inadvertently kill anyone innocent. And even if it was a baby vampire, you’d be doing them a favor. Being a bloodsucker is no kind of life. Think of all the humans you will save that the vamp would eventually kill.”
Jewel tilted her head from side to side and thought about his words. He wasn’t wrong. Who would actually choose to be a leech? Leechy humans. Those kinds of people were already wicked before being turned into vampires. But even leechy humans weren’t just killed outright. There was a process for them to pay for their acts. A judicial system was put in place to help make sure that those who were innocent didn’t get put away with the guilty.
“You can’t compare our battles to the human justice system, Jewel.” Dalton had picked up on her thoughts. He liked to eavesdrop in her mind. At first, it had annoyed the crap out of her, but then she’d realize why he did it, and her ire lessened. After everything they’d been through, how they’d been separated, their bond severed, after they’d just found each other, Dalton and his wolf needed the closeness that the mental bond afforded. He compared it to air, food, and water—all the things necessary for him to live. And because of the mate bond, she could feel the truth and sincerity in his words. He didn’t want to control her or be nosy. He just wanted her. All of her.
“I know.” She sighed. Supernaturals had to be dealt with differently. Their world wasn’t a democracy, especially not in a pack. They’d all experienced firsthand what happened when a powerful supernatural being went to the dark side, so to speak. There wasn’t time for a judge and jury to deliberate and come up with a suitable punishment, because the only punishment for the crimes like Volcan had committed when he used Jewel and the other healers, turning them into witches and using them to do his bidding, was death.
