Page 33 of Broken

Chapter 14

As they circled in to land at the Outlaw Ridge airfield, Cole felt Ireland start to tense up.

“You’ll be fine,” he told her. “The Ridge is one of the safest places on earth for shifters.”

Thanatos had made sure of it; Cole was pretty sure he had protections on that mountain that none of them had ever seen.

“I told you,” she said between her teeth. “I’m not a shifter.” But she had a white-knuckle grip on the edge of the table, so what was she afraid of? Having to admit she really was one?

But he didn’t say anything more, just sat close to her the way he would with Boomer, if he was upset. Wolves liked touch, especially if they were agitated.

They banked around and descended towards the private landing field. It was built on a level plateau about half a mile up the mountain from the main base, with hangar space for the jet, as well as their transport planes and helicopters, plus the mechanics’ shop, radio tower, and guard station.

There would be Jeeps waiting to take the team and their gear down the mountain.

They touched down and rolled to a stop. Everyone waited until Thanatos came out of his private compartment. Cole felt Ireland holding her breath, but he glided by without looking at either of them. After Thanatos deplaned, the rest of the team followed with their gear.

Cole waited with Ireland until they were out of the way, and then rose and picked up their bags. “Come on, Tinkerbell,” he said. “You’ll feel better with your feet on the ground.”

“Sure,” she said, but she didn’t look convinced. Hell, she looked sick. She felt sick—he could sense it through the bracelet.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “Your wound hasn’t opened up again, has it?” She shook her head. “Then we better get on with it. It’s not going to get any easier.”

Ireland watched as Cole shouldered the bags and headed down the aisle. He was walking away with her books, again. She had to follow him. She had to get off the plane.

But it was all she could do to make her legs move. Stop being a wimp, she told herself. Just go. She made it to the doorway just as Cole was descending the stairs.

The air outside was fresh, clean and delicious, smelling like pine and rain. She could feel the raw nature all around them.

And also, the strongest wards against Fae magic she’d ever encountered, outside the Bright Fae High Castle and the borders of the Fae world itself. And there was more than that. A kind of elemental power that seemed to have seeped into the earth, the trees, the very stone of the mountain beneath them.

And yet… it wasn’t what she’d expected of Thanatos. She’d been told that the Dark Fae twisted everything that was bright, beautiful and life-giving, and made it ugly and dead.

This place was… peaceful. A haven for creatures who were broken, or wounded.

Did the wolves know how much power he expended in protecting them? How did he have the energy to do anything else?

She tried to walk down the stairs—and then stopped. She couldn’t go any further. It was like she’d run straight into a wall.

The wards wouldn’t let her through.

Cole had stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned back. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

“I can’t.” The wards were actively repelling her, creating feelings of terror and dread.

Sanchez was also watching her. “What’s the matter?” he said. “She afraid of stairs?”

Fucking wolf. “Don’t be an idiot,” she snapped. She looked back at Cole. “I literally can’t get off the plane. This territory is warded, and I haven’t been invited in.”

Boomer, talking to one of the other wolves, stopped in mid-sentence and swung around, his mouth still open. “Dude,” he breathed. “She’s a vampire. Why didn’t you tell us? That is so cool!”

What? A vampire? “No I’m not,” she said.

“Shut up,” Cole told him absently. “I’d have known. And anyway, Fae can’t be vampires.”

“You don’t know that for sure,” Boomer said. “If a Fae was bitten by a vampire, why couldn’t they be a vampire fairy?”

That immediately started an argument between him and his friend, about whether Fae magic made them immune to vampirism. Cole sighed, and looked back at Ireland. “I invite you into our territory,” he said.