“Thanks, Peri,” Lilly said dryly. “Remind me not to bring you along as my wingwoman when sharing delicate information in the future.”
“How?” Jen’s mother asked. “A whole world inside our own and nobody knows? How do you walk around with eyes like that and no one says anything?”
“I don’t really go places that are predominantly human,” Lilly said. “So, it hasn’t been an issue until, well, now.”
“Oh, and people do know,” Peri said. “Unfortunately, many of the people who know are the bad guys. Your human government sort of sucks.”
Jeffery shook his head, as if trying to deny reality. Then he took a deep breath and slowly released it. “Is this why Jennifer barely contacts us?”
Lilly smiled. “I’m sure she was scared about how you’d react. But she was also trying to protect you. There are some very bad things out there that go bump in the night. She wanted to keep you as far from their radars as possible.”
Michelle chuckled without amusement. “We wouldn’t have believed her.” Her voice was laced with sadness.
“Few people would without proof.” Then Peri disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the room. “That’s called flashing. It’s something my species can do.”
“And you’re a fairy?”
“Fae,” Peri corrected Jeffery. “High fae, to be precise. And so is Gwen.” She motioned to the quiet female.
Gwen smiled and gave a little wave.
“Why are you telling us this now?” Jeffery asked, his brow drawn down into a deep ‘v’. “After all this time, why now?”
“Because the supernatural war is no longer in the shadows,” Peri answered. “The hybrids that have been created have no discretion and don’t care if they’re found out. They have a bloodlust that is insatiable.”
“What she’s trying to say is that the war has come to Coldspring, among other places. The Coldspring Alpha, Jeff, contacted Fane and let him know there are vampires in the vicinity. The pack has been killing them, but we don’t know how many are here. And we don’t know if they’re here because of you and the Henrys, because of Fane’s connection to them, or if they’re here for the pack. But Jen is ours, and by extension, so are you two.” Lilly reached across the coffee table and wrapped her hand around Michelle’s. “We should have shared all of this with you years ago. And as your friend, I’m sorry that I didn’t. I let you worry about your daughter when I could have prevented that.”
“It’s not your fault, Lilly,” Peri interjected sharply.
“It’s our fault,” Michelle mumbled. “Jen and I have always had a rocky relationship. She’s so much like I was, and I made some very poor decisions when I was her age. I just didn’t want her to follow in my footsteps, and that constantly put us at odds. How could she feel safe coming to us with such unbelievable information?”
Lilly wanted to sigh in relief. The couple wasn’t going to fight them on this, throw them out, scream that they’re crazy, or blame Jen and take it out on her. Lilly had expected any of those outcomes as the most likely.
“Is Jen okay?” Jeffery asked earnestly.
“Okay, in the supernatural world, is relative.” Peri returned to her seat. “Currently, she is accompanying a rogue male werewolf and his newly found mate to his rogue pack to fill them in on all that has happened and to let them know they are going to be an official pack under the rule of Fane and Jacque. So that means she’s going to be around a bunch of unknown werewolves, some of which are male and unmated. And Decebel is with her, and he gets a tad territorial?—”
Gwen chuckled. “A tad?”
Peri rolled her eyes. “The males of theCanis lupusspecies are especially protective of their mates. Decebel will ensure nothing happens to her, to the extent he can.”
Michelle’s eyes widened. “To the extent he can?”
Peri shrugged. “Listen, Decebel’s a badass. But in our world, there are even badder asses. You never know what can happen.”
Lilly shook her head. “Encouraging as always.”
“You know I don’t sugarcoat things.”
“Actually, you’ve done a pretty good job of toning down some of the gory details.” Lilly was genuinely surprised at Peri’s level of discretion. It wouldn’t have shocked Lilly if Peri had led with Jen’s newfound love of beheading her enemies and bringing the heads home as trophies.
“I’m growing,” Peri said dryly. “It’s a process.”
Lilly snorted. “Right. A process that’s taken 3,000 years.”
“Hush, Queenie. Nobody asked for your opinion.” Peri pursed her lips.
Lilly turned her attention back to the couple. “Now, do you have any more questions?”
