Sally sighed and shook her head. “I can’t say yes with complete certainty. Apparently, she has genuine feelings for Cain. That complicates things.”
Myanin’s brow drew low. “What’s complicated about having feelings for a narcissistic, bloodsucking ass that would just as soon slurp out all your blood until you’re a husk as he would give you a love bite? Seems pretty cut and dry to me. She should take a note from Kara’s playbook and seduce him, then chop the son of a bitch up.”
Lilly cleared her throat. “Thank you, Myanin, for all the wonderful visuals you just implanted in our heads. I’m sure I won’t need to scrub my brain out more than twice to get rid of them.”
Kara shook her head. “Regardless of her feelings, Alice wants out. We have to trust that she’ll help us if it means freedom. She’ll do the right thing. And she cares about Lizzy and Finn. She won’t do anything to jeopardize their safety.”
Myanin toyed idly with her knife. “And if she betrays us, I’ll liberate her head from her body. Easy peasy.”
“Beheading people ismything.” Jen sat straighter and stared the djinn down. “Poison is yours. Stick to what you know.”
“There will be no beheading potential allies,” Fane said firmly. Myanin just grinned and then winked at Jen.
“We never should have let those two meet,” Sally muttered to Costin. “Two psychos as friends can’t be healthy for anyone near them.”
“They might balance each other out,” Costin offered. “Maybe they’ll be too busy arguing to go on killing sprees.”
“For now, I’ll go with Dillon, Dalton, and…” Fane paused and glanced around the room. “Where’s Dalton and Jewel?” he asked the Colorado pack alpha.
Dillon’s face went blank as he folded his arms in front of him. “They’re dealing with some stuff. So I had him stay behind and keep an eye on the pack. Tanya will be heading back after this meeting to be there with them.” The female alpha nodded, giving her mate a tender smile. Sally wondered what in the world could be going on with Jewel and Dalton. Their relationship had started on rocky ground, but she’d thought all of it had been worked out.
Fane held Dillon’s stare long enough that Sally wondered if they’d developed some way to communicate without words, similar to the way Fane could with members of the Romania pack. Finally, Fane nodded. “I’ll take Dillon, Nick, Gerrick, Myanin, Skender, Tenia and Drake to hunt down Claude.” He turned to Decebel. “You take Costin, Adam, Crina, Jen, Jacque, Cyn, Thalion, Sorin, Elle, and Lilly to hunt down the Nushtonia. That book cannot be in the hands of anyone wanting to get revenge.” Then Fane looked at Thad and Jezebel. “I’m not sending you with them because I need you to figure out a way to get your powers working right again. Maybe the queen of sprites can help?”
Thad nodded. “It’s worth a try.”
“Good.” Fane gave a sharp nod. “Boain and Lorna are still seeking dormants, attempting to get to them before the vampires can.”
“What are Boain and Lorna doing with the dormants when they find them?”
“For now, Crina, they’re bringing them into the sprite realm via another veil, and Andora has been kind enough to provide lodging for them. Lorna, Cindy and Chris Morgan, along with Wadim and Zara”—Fane glanced at Wadim’s true mate, who’d been a dormant held captive by the vampires—“are helping teach them what they are and keeping the situation from becoming one of a bunch of hysterical dormants.”
Sally’s heart warmed in her chest as she listened to Fane break down all the things going on, which was a ton. He was handling it like a boss. His father would have been so proud.
“That he would,”Costin silently agreed.
Fane shifted his stance, and his eyes swept the room. “Get your groups together quickly and get on the move. I’ll check in with the other pack alphas and see how it’s going for them on finding dormants. We will meet back here in two days at 2200 hrs.”
“Totally digging the military time, Alpha,” Jen said with a stupid grin. “I always knew you were secretly a GI Joe fan.”
Sally rolled her eyes as laughter rippled around the room.
The group dispersed to follow their alpha’s orders. Sally stood up and watched as Kara caught Tanya’s arm before she left.
“Hey, I just wanted to thank you again for sharing your story a couple weeks ago,” she said earnestly. “I know it was hard to revisit all that pain. But it made an impact, and I wanted you to know it.”
Tanya smiled warmly. “I appreciate you saying that. Remembering the past is worth it if it helps protect others now.” Her expression sobered. “I meant what I said about choices having far-reaching consequences. That goes for you, too.” Tanya glanced at Sally. “Both of you.”
Kara’s hand drifted to her barely there baby bump. Tanya’s warning was clear: Kara needed to be smart for the sake of the life she now carried.
Sally nodded as Kara spoke. “I’ll remember,” Kara assured her.
“Tanya.” Sally spoke up quickly. “Is Jewel okay?” Sally couldn’t help but worry about one of her fellow healers. They’d become just as important to her as Jacque and Jen.
Tanya’s face softened. “She’s going to be fine, and I’m sure she will call you when she’s ready. Just know I am right there with her. But don’t worry. Okay?”
“Okay, I trust you.” And she did, which kind of surprised Sally, considering the weird circumstances that made Tanya a part of the pack. Some might think she’d be an outcast because of the Dillon/Lilly dynamic, but she fit right in. Thank the Great Luna, because they didnotneed any more drama.
Costin pulled Sally aside as everyone went about getting ready for their tasks. “Please be careful when you …visit”—he used air quotations, the dork—“Alice. You and I both know that putting your consciousness in someone else’s mind can be dangerous.” He was thinking back to when she went into Zara’s mind to help her break the tie she had to the vampire who had abused her.
