Jewel leaned heavily against the solid wood of the closed door, her body trembling with exhaustion. With a sigh, she sank to the floor, curling up in a protective ball on her side. Every inch of her ached, drained from using her power just moments ago. Her eyelids drooped heavily as she fought to stay conscious, torn between wanting Peri or Dalton to find her and hoping they wouldn’t. She longed for the comfort of her mate yet feared the consequences of being found. She pulled out her phone, which she most definitely hadn’t left on the bench, and sent a text to Celise, letting her know she had run out of time. They had tomove forward before Peri could bind Jewel’s power and body. Once she hit send, Jewel set the phone down next to her on the floor. She blinked, her eyelids feeling heavy. The room was silent except for the sound of Jewel’s shallow breaths and the steady thump of her racing heart. It felt like an eternity before she finally succumbed to sleep, the darkness consuming her fragile body.
Thirteen
“I’ve been alive for thousands of years. You’d think that I would understand how humans think. You’d think that I’d have a clue about the motivations behind their actions. Sorry, but you’d be wrong. I’m staring at a young woman that I honestly thought I knew, and yet as I meet her eyes, I don’t even recognize her.” ~Peri
Peri paced backand forth in the Colorado pack’s living room, her mind a jumbled mess as she tried to process what had just happened. Dalton had been watching her like a hungry beast since she’d returned, not as aloof toward his mate as he had appeared earlier.
Now, the living room was full of exhausted wolves, fae, two warlocks, two djinn, and a white witch. They had been talking when she entered, but the room fell silent as soon as she stepped in.
“She looked desperate,”Lucian said through their bond, having seen Jewel through Peri’s thoughts.“Like a caged animal.”
Peri appreciated that he didn’t speak out loud, letting her process her encounter with Jewel. Something in her expression must have given away her thoughts, because no one said a word. They simply stared.
“You’re glowing, Beloved,” Lucian told her.
Now she understood why no one was speaking. To them, she looked like she was on the verge of releasing a ton of power. After another five minutes of pacing, Fane spoke.
“Peri, we’ve all debriefed each other on how our missions went while you were meeting with Jewel. I’ll let Lucian fill you in.” His voice was calm but firm, just like his father’s had been. “We all need some serious rest.”
“What the alpha is trying to politely say,” Zara spoke during Fane’s pause, “is bring it down a notch with the glowworm stuff and tell us what the too-smart-for-her-own-good-but-apparently-not-using-her-brain healer said.”
Peri’s frantic pacing came to a halt as she faced Wadim’s mate. Her words caught in her throat as she took in Zara’s appearance. Blood was splattered across her face and clothing, her eyes still glowing with the remnants of her wolf form. Peri noticed the tight grip she had on Wadim’s hand, her knuckles white from the pressure. It wasn’t until Peri looked around the room that she realized they all shared a similar appearance—warriors who had given their all in battle and were now running on fumes.
Her eyes met Fane’s as thoughts besides Jewel started clicking. “Cain?”
“Dead.”
“I ripped out his heart,” Lizzy said, pride in her voice.
“I got his head,” Myanin added, holding up a bag, obviously soaked with liquid.
“Jen is going to be so pissed,” Jacque muttered.
Myanin laughed. “Which makes the trophy even better.”
Peri took a minute to absorb the words. The vampire king was dead. That meant whomever he’d sired who weren’t hybrids would also die. “Good,” she said softly. “That’s good.” Later, when she wasn’t reeling over Jewel, she’d celebrate their victory over Cain, though she knew there was still much to do.
“I can ask one of the seer sprites if they’ve seen anything,” Lilly offered. “I’m getting nothing.”
“You know they can’t tell us,” Peri pointed out. No matter how badly she wanted to break the rules, using a sprite’s premonition had consequences, and they were never worth it.
Lucian met her eyes, and she saw agreement there. They’d both experienced the consequences of breaking rules. Almost always, other people got hurt. Peri wasn’t willing to risk any lives.
Tanya walked into the room, and Peri bit her tongue to keep from ripping into the alpha female. That wouldn’t help anything or anyone. She forced herself to take several deep breaths and stopped pacing.
“How’d it go in Texas?” Tanya asked, looking at Lilly.
“Jen’s parents didn’t die from shock,” Lilly answered. “So that’s a plus. And Jeff is way more competent—not to mention not an ass—than the last Coldspring alpha. He seems to be keeping things under control. So, all in all, it went well.”
The Colorado alpha turned her eyes on Peri. She frowned. “What’s wrong?”
Peri saw the worry on Tanya’s face, which helped bring her irritation down even more. Tanya was not the enemy. “Jewel wasn’t here when I arrived, so I waited in her room for her.”
Tanya’s eyes widened as she took a step toward her. “What?” She breathed out in alarm.
“It wasn’t long before she stumbled in, literally. She looks like she’s on death’s door. What the actual hell, Tanya?” Okay, so she had meant to be calm, but that had apparently goneout the window. This was one of her healers. Peri felt directly responsible for each of them and their welfare. “Her hair is dull, she’s got dark circles under her eyes, she’s too damn thin, and her eyes are haunted by more than the hell she’s already been through. I asked her multiple times what was going on, but she refused to say anything.”
Dalton let out a pained whine, like a wolf who’d been kicked, but he made no move for the stairs. Whatever had gone down between him and Jewel had been bad. Bad enough that he was fighting his wolf’s need to see and touch her.
