“Okay, since all of you have clearly lost your damn minds, am I the only one seeing the portal to hell open with demons tweaking and crap?” Adam asked.
“Finally,” Jewel cried out. “Someone gets it. Why are you here?” She asked them all. “I don’t want you to be here. I don’t want anything to happen to you because of my choices.” Tears welled in her eyes again as anger joined her grief. “This isn’t a damn joke.”
Fane’s piercing blue eyes grabbed her attention as the alpha snarled at her. “No one said it was a joke, Jewel Black. But you don’t get to decide for the pack who matters enough for us to show up and who doesn’t. You are ours. You are mine. You are the Great Luna’s, and that means we show up no matter what, for whatever reason, wherever we need to. Every. Damn. Time.”
Dammit. She was crying again, and the anger had washed away with the tears streaming down her face. The Great Luna had known what she was doing when she put Fane in his position. Jewel gripped her mother’s frail hand tighter as she stared back at the group of people who were here to fight for her.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Celise hold out her hand as she chanted in the guttural language of hell. The air grew thick with malevolence as she called upon ancient forces of evil, bending them to her will through the power of theNushtonia. The open portals erupted with shadowy tendrils, which also emerged from the book and Celise’s hand, snaking toward the large group, who seemed frozen. Jewel saw frustration on their faces and could see that some of the ones with more power—like Fane, Thad, and Peri—were able to shift their shoulders slightly, but that was as far as they managed.
“Anyone else suddenly feel like a bobblehead?” Jacque’s eyes showed more worry than her voice let on.
“What have you done to them?” Jewel asked the sprite.
Celise didn’t answer her. She simply continued chanting. Jewel tried to reach out her hand to Celise but found that she couldn’t move anything but her head. She turned back to look at her family and watched with utter helplessness as the tendrils weaved their way between the group, wrapping around each person and child.
Jewel’s eyes widened as she saw Hope and Slate being ripped from their mother’s arms. Then Titus, Thia, and Torion were also torn from where they stood beside each of their parents. The children were forced together into a group, and though they weren’t frozen, they couldn’t escape the noose of the evil tendrils. Hope screamed a shrill cry as Titus tried to comfort her. Torion was moving his hands and speaking, no doubt trying to use his fae magic, but nothing happened. Then he pulled the group of kids closer to himself as if to shelter them. Slate stood next to Thia, only months younger than the three-year-old she-wolf, and both of them were beating their tiny fists on an invisible barrier. Thia’s face was an angry red, her bright blue eyes glowing with the beast that lived inside her. Her mouth moved, but Jewel couldn’t hear the words. Slate kept glancing at Thia and appeared to be mimicking what she did. Jewel wanted to vomit. Then she wanted to rip Celise to shreds with her bare hands. A fool. That’s what Jewel was—a damn, selfish fool. Her eyes went back to Dalton, and she knew if Celise’s power wasn’t holding her up, Jewel would have collapsed beneath the rage on his face. She didn’t look at anyone else. Only him. She wanted to memorize every detail, even if the last thing she saw was his anger.“I love you,”she told him.“I will love you ’til my dying breath.”Suddenly, the bond was closed, and she hadn’t been the one to close it. She couldn’t feel anything. Her eyes widened as she stared at her mate. He’d shut her out. It was too much. She’d gone past the point of all redemption, and it was written all over his face.
Dalton’s beast roared inside him, beating at the bonds that held him. He couldn’t phase, he couldn’t move—other than his head—and he couldn’t mask the fury he knew his mate could see as he returned her gaze. He saw the thing that was supposed to be Jewel’s mother, and he hurt for his female because this was not what she’d expected when Celise had promised to bring her mother back. But he was also angry because she had been foolish enough to go along with it, even though deep inside, she’d known it couldn’t be possible. Not all his anger was directed at her, but there was definitely anger at her choices and actions. Because of his mate, their entire pack, not to mention all the other supernaturals, were in danger. Fane wasn’t wrong. They would always show up, no matter what, but that didn’t mean there weren’t consequences. He had no idea what Celise planned, and he’d meant to ask Jewel as soon as he responded to her words, but then Jewel had shut the bond down. She was looking at him in horror. Why? Because she knew what was coming and wasn’t telling him? Or because she was too scared to face his anger? She had to know that his love for her would always cover the wrongs between them. Dalton couldn’t guess. He was at a complete loss.
So here they all were, trapped in some sort of spell Celise had woven, unable to defend themselves or their precious children. He watched as his mate’s mouth moved and the words “I love you” formed on her lips. He hesitated, not because he didn’t love her, but because he was so damn confused. If she loved him, then why the hell was she still keeping him out? Hell, he’d just ask, even if he had to yell at her across the distance. But before he could get the words out, a blood-curdling scream filled the air. His head whipped around to see Bethany, eyes wide in shock, tears streaking her face. He followed her gaze and saw that all the children were gone. Vanished into thin air.
Jen stared at the now-empty spot where her brave, angry little warrior had been, pounding on the barrier that surrounded her and the others. Once before her child had been taken from her, but at least then she’d known where she’d gone. Now, she didn’t even know if Thia was alive. For all she knew, Celise’s power had simply vaporized their pups. She could hear Bethany’s screams, Jacque’s raging words, Sally’s broken cries, and Tenia’s shouts, but they all sounded distant, like she was in a tunnel and the only thing she could focus on was the place where her daughter had been just seconds ago.
She turned to look at her mate and saw murder in his gaze. She’d seen that look before, and she knew without a doubt that in that moment, if anybody—friend or foe—tried to keep him from finding Thia, Decebel would kill them. But, just like her, he was helpless to do anything. Jen couldn’t scream and rage like the others because she was pretty sure her lungs had stopped taking in air. Her heart raced in her chest, feeling like it was trying to climb up her throat.
“JENNIFER, BREATHE.” Decebel’s deep, bellowing voice slapped her back to reality, and she sucked in a deep breath. Then she was crying. She hated crying. It helped nothing. But she couldn’t stop. Her baby—the child who had helped make her a better person because parenting had shined the brightest light on the selfishness in her heart—was gone. There would be no more shouts of words she shouldn’t say, no more dolls dismembered, no little fists beating the ground when Titus refused to let her do something that could hurt her. Her little hellion, the reason Jen fought for everything good in the world, was beyond her reach. Never in her life had she felt this level of devastation. This was something she would never recover from if they survived. She would search the world from one side to the other without ceasing. Not until Thia was back in her arms or until she took her last breath.
“I will get her back, Jennifer,” Decebel said, his voice low and deadly. His eyes glowed bright amber with the wolf that loved their daughter as much as the human did. “We will get her back.”
Jen pressed her lips together tightly and pulled herself together, unwilling to give Celise the satisfaction of seeing her fall apart, even though she was coming apart at the seams inside. She gave her mate a sharp nod, her jaw clenching as she ground her teeth. When she knew she could talk without losing control, she slowly turned her head to look at the sprite. “I will be the last thing she sees before I slowly cut her head from her body. The horror and pain she feels will forever be etched on her face as I mount it in the gathering hall of our home.” Celise’s eyes shifted to Jen’s as if the sprite knew she was speaking. A smirk formed on the bitch’s face, and Jen wanted to slap it off. Finally, Jen let her fury loose as she yelled at the top of her lungs. “YOU’RE A DEAD SPRITE WALKING. YOU’D BETTER KILL ME, CELISE, BECAUSE IF YOU DON’T, YOU WILL NEVER STOP LOOKING OVER YOUR SHOULDER. I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN LIKE THE VERMIN YOU ARE AND MAKE YOU SUFFER BEYOND ANYTHING YOU COULD POSSIBLY IMAGINE. THEN I WILL CUT OFF YOUR HEAD AND LET MY CHILD’S WOLF EAT YOUR BODY FOR DINNER.” Jen’s lips curled into what she knew had to be a creepy-as-hell smile. “YOU PICKED THE WRONG SHE-WOLF. YOU SHOULD HAVE FOUND SOMEONE WHO WASN’T CRAZY.”
“Fane. Fane,” Jacque gasped, repeating his name over and over because he was her rock. He was the one who took on everything and everyone, protecting those who couldn’t protect themselves. She was sure they’d figure something out—they always did. Peri had to be cooking up a scheme, or Fane was gathering power. Something! She looked over at him and saw his bright, glowingblue eyes filled with terror, rage, and retribution. Beneath all that, she saw pain. Tear stains streaked his cheeks, and she realized he needed her just as much as she needed him. Jacque tried to move, but her body was as still as stone. “Nooo,” she screamed in frustration at her helplessness.
“Is this how it ends?” she asked her mate, her voice tight with the emotions threatening to choke her. “Have all our battles been for nothing? All the people who have died for our cause, the ones who have put their faith in us, the lives we’ve saved—only for everything to be put in danger again. Is this it?” Her lips trembled, and her eyes blurred with tears.
“No.” Fane’s voice was urgent. “No, Luna. This is not the end. Others will rise. There will always be those who choose the light. Their fight might start with a small flame, but it will grow with the fire that burns inside each of them. Our fight…” He paused as a single tear escaped. “Our fight might be over, but the Great Luna will never abandon those who choose righteousness over evil.”
“Where the hell is she now?” The words were out of Jacque’s mouth before she could stop them. But she wanted to know. Where was the goddess who claimed to love them? Why wasn’t she here protecting the children who were the future of their race?
Fane’s gaze softened. “Beloved, we don’t see the whole picture. We see this moment. We have no idea how our actions or the actions of others might ripple through time. For whatever reason, if this is our end, I still believe she has a plan, and it is always for the good of her creation. There are always sacrifices in the fight against evil.”
“How are you so calm? Why aren’t you scared shitless for our son?” She shook her head at her strong mate, wishing she could pull his strength into herself through their bond.
“Because I have to believe he is okay. Wherever he is, I have to hold on to the hope that he is unharmed. Because if I allow myself to entertain any other thought, I will be useless to him if we survive. I will either go feral and kill anything and anyone in my beast’s rage, or I will search for him endlessly, and if I don’t find him, I will choose the next life, hoping I will see him there.”
Jacque nodded as she reached for every ounce of courage she could find within herself. “He’s safe,” she said, her voice steady. “He will be taken care of until we get him back. And we will never stop searching for him.”
Her mate nodded, his body taking on the glow it did when his power rose. Brighter and brighter, he shined, but it still did not break the hold Celise’s magic had on them. “I love you, Jacquelyn.”
“I lov—” Jacque started, but suddenly Fane disappeared, as if a fae had flashed him away. Her head whipped around, searching for him, and her eyes widened, her stomach twisting in fear as she watched members of her pack vanish one by one. Her eyes collided with Peri’s, and she’d never seen fear like that on the high fae’s face. Tears streamed down Peri’s cheeks. It was the last thing Jacque saw before darkness completely engulfed her.
Peri watched in horror as her friends, her family, were taken from her and from each other. First, the children, and now the entire pack. With every person who disappeared, Peri’s fury grew, but so did her grief. In less than a minute, everyone was gone except her and Lucian. Her mate stood so close that they nearly touched, but the damn dark magic held them in place. She turned to look at Celise, who grinned wickedly as she met Peri’s gaze. The sprite practically hummed with power, her eyesdancing with deranged delight. Never in her life had Peri seen anything so evil.
She felt the binding around her loosen and immediately lifted her arms. Peri reached deep, pulling on every ounce of power within herself and her mate. Light burst from her fingertips, aimed straight at the sprite.
“PERI, STOP!” Lucian yelled, his hand coming down on one of her arms, trying to push it down. “The book is siphoning your magic.”
Peri looked at the streams of her magic, watching as they shot across the clearing. Sure enough, they were flowing straight into the book, which then channeled directly into Celise. How many unsuspecting supernaturals had she siphoned from?
