by Quinn Loftis
“Please tell me that’s a figure of speech, and that there aren’t really pissing contests going on,” Skender growled. “We just got new carpet.”
Wadim laughed. “Unfortunately, no. There are no real pissing contests going on, however, Radim, Beta to the Poland pack did have the bright idea to share with Seraph what a shame he thought it was for him that he came from a pack where the Alpha betrayed his own kind.”
Skender rubbed his face with his hands as he shook his head. “Is either one of them dead?”
“No, and no blood was shed either. The Poland Alpha, Artur, has a good head on his shoulders and put his Beta in his place quickly and publicly. That seemed to smooth any rising hackles.”
“Have you heard from the Great Luna again?” Skender asked.
Wadim shook his head. “No, but I’m thinking it might not be a bad idea to see if we get in contact with the Fae council. If my records are correct, and they always are, then the Fae would have been the ones to send out the call.”
“Do you think they are going to finally step out of their safe little bubble and help?” asked Skender.
“The Great Luna set the plan in motion to force them into helping when she made us compatible mates with them, so yeah, I think they are finally going to get off their butts.”
Skender stood staring down at the pack historian as he thought about the idea of being mated to a Fae. It seemed a very strange idea to be mated to one not of their own race. But, then again, he had been waiting to find his mate for so long and the darkness was creeping deeper inside of him. If his mate were a Fae, then he’d take her in a heartbeat.
“So what’s the plan, Skender?” Wadim raised his brow at him.
“I think the next step will be to meet with all the Alpha’s once they arrive.”
Just then, the doors to the library flew open and in strode Dillon Jacobs.
“What the hell is going on and why are we just now hearing about the demise of mankind?” His eyes were glowing and his power filled the room. Dillon was pissed and unless they could get him calmed down, there was a good possibility that heads were going to roll.
Q
Skender stood at the front of the large gathering room and briefly met the eyes of each Alpha. The ten packs from other countries and cities had finally all arrived and with the Romanian pack and Serbian pack already present, that made twelve. All under one roof and they were antsy. The tension among the dominants was tangible and had a human been present, it would have choked them.
“I’ve been on this earth longer than I care to admit and never in that time have we received the call from the Great Luna. Why now?” Drayden, of the Canadian pack, asked.
Wadim took a step forward and began to explain all that had happened from the Gathering until now. He condensed it as much as possible, but made sure not to leave out any vital details. As his story continued on, with every word, the Alpha’s grew more and more tense.
“Why are we just now hearing of this witch that poses such a threat to us all?” Angus, Alpha of the Ireland pack spoke up.
There was a rumble of agreement across the room and Wadim fought the urge to back up a step. Unless he wanted to be chased, he knew better than to back away from these predators.
“You all know Vasile.” Skender stepped forward, taking the pressure off of the less dominant historian. “He cares more deeply for our race than we can imagine. He was trying to prevent a war, and trying to prevent us all from having to be brought together, considering what might happen between our packs. He was not attempting to keep you in the dark, because he wanted to leave you defenseless. If we hadn’t allowed the dominance in us to drive wedges between us, it might not have come to this. If Desdemona had thought that she had to contend with our entire race and not just a single pack, she might not have pursued this ridiculous plan.”
“Are you saying that this is our fault?” Angus growled, with glowing eyes.
Skender held up his hands plaintively and dropped his eyes.
“No, I’m not saying that at all. I’m saying this is a pack problem. It’s all our faults. Whether we like it or not, we are all pack. We may come from different countries, we may speak different, languages and live different lives, but we are all from the same Maker, all of the same blood and that makes us pack. Pack stands together, fights together, and is bound together.” The silence following Skender’s words was soul piercing as the Alpha’s heard, not just listened, but heard what he was saying. If they understood nothing else, they understood the importance of pack. Wolves were not lone creatures. They depended on one another and they needed one another.
Dillon stepped forward and waited for Skender to invite him to stand before the Alphas. Skender gave a slight nod and stepped to the side.
“We might as well put aside petty rivalry and territorial posturing,” he told them. “We all know we are going to stay and fight no matter the consequences. I personally think that the first step would be learning to fight together, as one pack. We need to know how each of us fights, how we move, and what our individual pack strategies are so that we can be effective when we go to battle.” Dillon watched and waited for a response from the pack.
Slowly faces morphed into looks of determination and nods were given.
Dillon clapped his hands together and rubbed them slowly. “Great,” he turned back to look at Skender. “Where’s a good place to do combat training?”
Skender let a slow smile spread across his face as he motioned for the Alpha’s to follow him.
“We have a gym and outdoor grounds we use for our battle training.”
Skender lead them into the large gym and turned to face the group.
“There is only one rule in this gym. Respect your opponent.”
“I think it might be wise to add just one more rule,” Victor spoke up. “Don’t kill your opponent.”
“Good call,” Wadim said with a low chuckle. “It would be a damn shame if the last thing I ever documented for our race was that we were dumb enough to kill each other before the witch got a chance to.”
Q
Thurlok stared at the stone in his hand as a wicked smile crossed his face. He considered the power that he now held and thought how foolish Perizada was to give one such as him an object this powerful. He frowned at the thought. He knew Perizada, knew her to be an intelligent foe. It didn’t make sense that she would barter such a treasure. And, just as he began to wonder what the catch could possibly be, his palm was suddenly empty. A snarl emitted from his chest as he glanced quickly around him. He knew that it was gone, but that didn’t keep him from searching all around the bridge. After several minutes of looking, he finally stopped and closed his eyes. He had been tricked. He did not like being tricked and raged boiled up inside of him as he thought about what a fool he had been to trust the Fae.
“PERIZADA!” He yelled into the night. “You will be sorry,” he promised the emptiness between panting breaths. He would not let her get away with her treachery. He, who had guarded the entrance to the In-Between for so long, would not allow the insult to go unanswered.
Q
Peri felt Thurlok’s rage through the blood bond. She hadn’t known how long the stone would stay in his possession. The Fae stones had a mind of their own and tended to turn up where and when they were needed. She had not worried that he would be able to use the power from the stone, because she knew that he would not have it for very long. She also knew that his wrath would be swift and that he would respond rashly because of it. She would need to be on alert, though she knew that his power was nothing compared to her own.
Costin hadn’t been able to stop touching Sally for even the briefest time since she had found him and he knew that it was probably driving her insane, but he was fighting his wolf every second to keep from grabbing her and fleeing to a safe place. He knew that no such place existed, but his wolf didn’t care. He felt they were vulnerable with so many dominant wolves so close to his mate, his fragile, human mate.
He knew that his emotions were running on overdrive with all the memories of what he had endured in the In-Between and he didn’t know how long they would remain open wounds.
“Stop,” Sally’s soft voice penetrated his thoughts as she gently turned his face to look at her. “I’m not annoyed by your touch. I’m not irritated, nor do I feel smothered, so please quit entertaining those thoughts.” She met his hazel eyes and saw the raw emotion swirling in their depths.
“Being here is driving me insane, Sally,” he told her, honestly.
Sally nodded. “I know, but in case you hadn’t noticed, it’s driving the others crazy as well. Truly, you are more of a threat to each other than to us females. You all are so consumed with the thought of one of us being hurt that you don’t realize that there really is no threat.”
Costin pulled her onto his lap and kissed her neck. “There is no reasoning with me or my wolf, love, not right now.”
Sally rubbed his back gently and let out a slow breath. “Okay,” then repeated, softly, “okay.”
The morning light began to penetrate through the trees as the wolves and the Fae began to stir. Jacque looked around and as she saw the gaunt and tired faces of the males, she knew that none of them had slept. They were on edge and distrustful of one another and it broke her heart. They may have made it out of the In-Between alive, but they had not emerged unscathed.
“Hey,” she felt Fane’s breath on her neck and fought the urge to climb into his arms, pushing away everything else but him. “You alright?”
She leaned back against his chest as his arms came around her. He pulled her tight against him and she felt his chest rumble with satisfaction at his mate’s eagerness to be close to him.
“Yeah, I am just worried about all of you.” She turned her face up to look at him and the slight glow in his blue eyes called to her wolf. She wanted to be alone with her mate, needed to feel his strength surround her and submerge herself in his scent.
“If you don’t stop that line of thinking I’m going to drag you off into the forest and throw my gentlemanly ways to the curb,” Fane growled in her ear.
Jacque shivered at his words and blushed as she saw his thoughts. She slapped his hands that rested on her stomach. “Behave.”
“You first,” he parried.
She turned in his arms and looked up into his handsome face. His skin was lined with worry and fatigue and still he was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she whispered to him.
His eyes softened and he leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.
“Because of you,” he murmured them.
His hands began to slide down her back and just before they reached her butt, she pulled them back up. Her eyes widened in surprise. “Feeling bold?”
He growled at her. “Mine.”
“Yes,” she nodded, “but now is not the time.”
Fane stepped back and grabbed her hand. He began to pull her towards the semi-privacy of the forest. “I can make it the time.” His voice was low and laced with the desire she could feel radiating from him.
Jacque pulled against his hold and he stopped instinctively at her struggle. He looked back at her as his eye narrowed.
“Fane, you know I want you. You can feel it just as I can feel it coming from you, but we are in danger and need to get back to the mansion.”
“Do you have any idea what I have been watching for the past weeks?” His words rang in her mind as he took slow, measured step towards her, stalking her.
“I can’t begin to imagine what you have been through, and I know that you need to know I’m okay, that we’re okay.”
“YOU DON’T KNOW!”
Jacque flinched at the snarl in her mind and the rage behind his words. She knew he was hurting, knew he felt out of control and for that reason she let the disrespect he had just shown her pass. He loomed over her as his body trembled with pent up hurt, anger, desire, and love for the woman standing before him.
“I’m the only one who has the right to touch you. I’m the only one who has the privilege of protecting you. I’m the only one who should know you, and I know it wasn’t real, I know it in here,” he beat his hand on his chest over his heart. “But in here,” he tapped his head, “in here I keep seeing someone else’s hands on you. Sometimes forced, and sometimes invited.”
Jacque gasped as a hand flew to her mouth. She had never considered that he might fear her actually turning to another, cheating on him, allowing another near her. So he hadn’t only watched someone force themselves on her, Fane had watched her invite another to her bed. Her stomach rolled with nausea as she saw his thoughts, saw what he had watched. She turned and ran for the forest barely making it before she began to wretch. The thought of someone else was horrendous; actually seeing herself in the arms of another was too much. She finally understood his need to claim her. In his mind, they needed to consummate their bond again.
Tears streamed down her face as she heaved. Sobs pushed themselves up through her throat and she collapsed to her knees. She shook with revulsion and tried to push the images away. The worst part was the faces of those she had willingly taken; the two men who had taken her, one who had scarred her body and her soul. Trent, the human male she had dated, but never allowed to touch her in such a way. And worst of all, males of her pack, men she considered brothers. Those faces made her vomit more and she fought to keep from passing out.
“Jacquelyn, look at me.” Fane’s voice came from a few feet behind her. He wasn’t touching her, he wasn’t comforting her, and she knew she must revolt him. That thought tore through her soul, ripped right through her and she gasped at the pain.
“Jacquelyn,” he said, more insistently.
He wouldn’t want her any more. Not after seeing that. How could he, even knowing it wasn’t really her, how could he ever move past those images. He would leave her and she would be alone. He would turn to another for his comfort and she would be forced to watch, as he loved another.
“JACQUELYN,” Fane took a step forward as he snarled. His eyes glowed bright blue and his body trembled.
Suddenly Costin and Decebel were standing between him and Jacque. Their bodies were tight with readiness, eager for battle. Fane snarled and felt himself beginning to change. His hands grew long claws and his muscles began to bulge and strain against his clothes. He felt the power of his Alpha roll over him and knew his father was preventing him from changing all the way.
“Back off, Fane,” Decebel growled.
“Who are you to stand between me and mine?” Fane met Decebel’s eyes without blinking, and held them.
Decebel took a menacing step forward and since Fane did not retreat, the two dominants were nearly touching.
“You need to cool off.”
“Get. Out. Of. My. Way.” His clipped words, betrayed the calm he was trying to portray and the shaking of his hands didn’t help either.
“You’re going to wind up hurting her and later, when you have cooled off, you will want to kill yourself for the indiscretion you committed against the one person who doesn’t deserve it.”
Fane’s eyes snapped passed Decebel when he saw movement. He didn’t hear the yell, nor did he feel the arms that attempted to hold him back when he lunged for Costin who was attempting to help his mate stand. All Fane saw were Costin’s hands on his mate, Costin’s skin touching hers and the memories came rushing back.
“Peri, is there anything you can do to keep the neurotic werewolves from killing each other?” Jen asked, dryly as she watched her mate attempt to pull a seething Fane off of Costin. Costin was holding his own, but she knew that he was holding back, because he cared for Fane. He knew that Fane wasn’t in his right mind at the moment. Jen would like to say that she didn’t think Fane would ever hurt Jacque, but she had never seen him look at her the way he had been and, truthfully, it scared her.
“Fane stop this,” Vasile’s words wrapped around his son and pul
led Fane back from Costin. He pulled against his father’s hold, but couldn’t budge. He stared at Costin, challenging him, daring him to touch her again. He would kill him, Fane’s wolf decided, he had touched Jacquelyn, he had been one of the males she had willingly accepted, real or not, and Costin would have to die.
Costin must have seen the determination settle in Fane’s eyes as he took a step away from Jacque.
“Fane, I would never hurt your mate,” Costin told him, firmly.
“You touched her,” Fane’s eyes narrowed, dangerously. “You took her in a way you had no right to. YOU KISSED HER, YOU BEAST,”
“ENOUGH!” Vasile roared, cutting off Fane’s words.
Fane fell to his knees as Vasile’s Alpha command, pushed him to submit. He pulled his head up and his eyes met Jacquelyn’s. Tears streamed down her face and he could see the fear and knew she was on the verge of running.
“Don’t,” he told her urgently. “Don’t leave me.”
“You don’t want me,” she responded, and flinched at her own words.
“I will always want you.”
She shook her head. She knew what she had felt inside him, the revulsion that filled him.
“Not at you,” he answered her thoughts. “At everyone else love, but never you.” He held his arms open to her. “Come to me.”
Jacque fought the urge to rush to him. She feared his rejection and knew that she couldn’t handle it if he pushed her away.
“Jacquelyn, come now.”
“Here we go with the damn dog orders,” muttered Jen as she folded her arms across her chest.
“Let me go,” Fane told his father, never turning away from Jacquelyn. “I’m not going to hurt her,” after a long pause, he added, “or anyone else.”
“Why is that not reassuring to me?” Crina asked, Jen softly.