Dalton:It’s all good. As soon as I have an inkling of some news, I will let you know.
Tanya:Good enough, for now. You know Dillon is going to come down on you for this.
Dalton: I do.
It was true. Dalton knew his alpha would rip him from one end to the other for not telling them what was going on. They were pack, and that meant when one hurt, they all hurt. Intellectually, Dalton understood that, but it wasn’t always easy to put into practice.
“Everything good?”
Dalton reached his hand out and laid it on Elle’s shoulder. He gave her the image in her mind of the next place he remembered, then they flashed.
As Dalton stared at the establishment, he tried to think back to how it had looked when Jewel had brought him here. But he didn’t remember it having a flashing neon sign.
“You have got to be kidding me.” Anna pointed at the building. The sign illuminated the surrounding night, a beacon in the desolate darkness of the countryside.‘What’s your flavor? We have it.’“Where are they even getting the electricity for that?”
Elle held up her hand, and a ball of light formed.
Anna rolled her eyes. “Oh, right. Okay, dumb question. But can’t this be seen by people? A huge neon light in the middle of nowhere?”
“By whom? The horde of hikers that pass by the area in the middle of the night?” Sorin asked dryly.
“Yeah, but surely someone would see it. A plane passing by or something.”
Elle snapped her fingers, and suddenly she and Sorin were gone. “Now, you see us. Now, you don’t.”
Anna sighed. “You’d think by now I wouldn’t ask so many dumb questions.”
Elle clucked her tongue at the healer as she and Sorin reappeared. “There are no dumb questions, only dumb people.”
Anna huffed a laugh. “You sound like Peri.”
“Or.” Elle held up a finger. “She sounds like me. Ever thought about that?”
“No,” Anna said flatly.
Dalton cleared his throat and focused on the bond between him and Jewel. She still had it locked down tight. The only thing he could feel was pain. And he was the cause of it.
“Why do you suddenly look like someone ripped off a claw?” Elle asked.
Gustavo stepped closer to Dalton, and he felt the alpha power flowing off the male. The interesting thing about an alpha’s power was that it was for more than just putting rowdy wolves in their places or protecting the weak. An alpha was naturally intuitive to those less dominant than himself. And if he was a good alpha, then he would be compelled to help. Whatever emotions he could scent around Dalton, the dominant in Gustavo was drawn to that pain and wanted to comfort him.
“You’re both going to be all right,” he said in that deep, yet gentle, way of his. “Everything feels impossible when you’re in the middle of the storm, and you can’t see the hand in front of your face. But the calm will come, and all will settle. You can make things right then.”
“The things I said,” Dalton admitted. “I don’t know if I can make that right.” The hurt on her beautiful face was of his own making. How could he hurt the person he loved most?
“I’ve heard Jen say some pretty crappy things. And her mate is still sticking it out with her. Whatever is going on between you and Jewel, you will work it out. And any, or all, of us will helpyou two.” Elle let the words hang there for a minute before she nodded to the building with the neon sign. “Anna, you ready?”
The healer clapped her hands together once and then rubbed them. “Absolutely. Let’s get our evil on.”
“You’re going to need to tamp down the excitement on the evil just a little,” Elle told her as she headed toward the building.
“Got it.” Anna gave her a thumbs-up. “Let’s kick evil’s ass.”
Dalton heard Elle sigh. “No wonder Peri’s crazy, having to deal with you flighty gypsy healers. I’d be batshit, too.”
Dalton watched the females disappear beyond the door. Sorin and Gustavo started pacing immediately. Dalton simply folded his arms across his chest and spread his legs, getting in a comfortable stance to wait. He hated waiting.
Seven
