“Please don’t share this information with Kara or Jewel yet,” Fane added. “Let me speak with my pack first.”
Tenia nodded and then flashed.
When the fae was gone, Fane looked at Jacquelyn. He reached through the pack bonds and called their closest warriors to meet them in the office.
“Sally’s going to want to reach out to her,” Jacquelyn said.
Fane rubbed her arms, and he felt a chill roll through her body. “I know. But I don’t know if that’s wise. We need to discuss it.”
She nodded and leaned her forehead against his chest. Fane ran his hand up her spine and gripped the back of her neck. He pressed a kiss to her head. The door opened, and their pack began to pour in. “We’re going to figure this out, Luna,” he whispered softly. “Trust me.”
“Always, wolf-man.” She looked up at him, and he saw that trust in her eyes. It was her faith in him that gave him the fortitude to turn and face his pack.
“We’ve got a problem,” Fane told the group.
“Yes, we do.” Lilly appeared in the room with Tenia at her side.
“Mom?” Jacquelyn’s voice was filled with alarm, and she saw the same apprehension in Lilly’s eyes.
“I’m thinking you two aren’t talking about the same problem.” Jen looked between the two of them.
“This isn’t about the healer?” Fane asked.
Lilly shook her head. “This is worse.”
Jacque’s eyes went wide. “Then your problem must be really bad. Because our healer almost got killed by a vampire. And she was potentially saved through being turned by the vampire king himself. But we aren’t sure yet if she will live or die because, you know, no one has ever tried to turn a gypsy healer into a vampire before.”
“What?” Jen and Sally said at the same time.
Fane ignored them and stepped toward Lilly. He addressed her as the warlock queen, not as his mother-in-law. Leader to leader. “What is going on?”
“Do you remember what the Nushtonia is?”
“The book of the dead, written by the demons,” Jacquelyn answered.
Lilly nodded.
“I thought it was destroyed.”
The warlock queen shook her head. “Apparently not, Jen.”
Fane pulled Jacquelyn back when Thadrick, Jezebel, and the fae, Aphid, appeared.
Thad looked at Lilly. “Have you told them?”
“I hadn’t reached the punchline yet.”
Jen cursed. “Could someone please finish a complete thought before more people flash into the damn room?”
“My mind is becoming more lucid.” Thad stared at Fane. “Not perfect, but I’m having flashes of clarity. I saw the book, the Nushtonia, in the hands of a sprite.”
“What sprite?” Andora asked from the doorway.
“For the love of pixie dust,” Jen muttered. “Should we put out an APB and make sure every single supernatural is present before we attempt to finish the conversation that keeps getting interrupted?”
“Jen.” Jacquelyn spoke her friend’s name firmly.
Jen held up her hands. “Fine.”
