“Anna.” He breathed out her name as if it was the most precious word he’d ever used. “Anna.”
“I’m here. I need you here with me,” she told him, hoping she would be able to draw him back away from the brink of destruction, where she knew he was headed.
“Are you alright?” he asked, his deep voice a caress to her tired mind.
“I am now. What happened, Gustavo? Why are you so angry?”
“Do you know what I would give to hold you in this instance?” he asked her, ignoring her questions. “Anything.” He answered his own question. “I would give up anything, walk away from anyone, pay any price, sacrifice everything, if I could simply touch you right this minute. I want to know what you smell like. I want to know what your lips taste like. I want to know what you feel like. Most of all, Anna, I want to love you. I want to take away all of your pain and wrap you in the protection of my arms.”
Anna couldn’t breathe. She’d never had anyone say anything to her like that before. She’d certainly never felt the truth in those words through the emotions that Gustavo was so freely sharing with her. She gasped when she felt Gustavo’s hand graze the skin of her stomach. She wanted to recoil, to hide from him. She didn’t want him to see how Volcan had marked her. But his touch continued to whisper across her skin. Then she felt his breath replace his hand, and his lips pressed against the tender flesh of her stomach, right where the carving was located.
“I would take this away for you,” he said gently as she felt another kiss against her.
Tears gathered in her eyes. She hadn’t wanted him to see that her body had been marked, violated. Knowing and seeing, those were two very different things.
“How did you find out?” she asked him, her breath shuddering from both his touch and her own sorrow. She’d told him that she and Jewel were having something carved into their skin, but she hadn’t wanted him to ever see it, even if she didn’t know what it said. She didn’t have a clue how she’d hide it once they eventually met, and they would, but she’d planned on figuring out a way to do it.
“When you sleep, your mind is relaxed. I give you your privacy, Anna, but this time your soul reached for me while you slept. I couldn’t deny you. So I entered your mind, and your soul shared your memories with me. I saw through your eyes what has been happening to you. I wasn’t prepared for how it would affect me or my wolf. To know what you’ve been enduring while I’ve been able to do nothing is eating me alive. I lost it. My wolf took over, and I couldn’t stop him from lashing out. Adam happened to be an easy target.”
“Please tell me you didn’t kill him,” she begged.
“He’s a formidable opponent. I gave him a few scratches, and he returned the favor. He is otherwise uninjured.”
“And you?”
“I am as I’ve never been before, helpless.”
The brokenness in his confession was heartbreaking. “Gustavo, you have helped me. You’ve given me strength and comforted me. You’ve shared yourself with me. I don’t know if I would be able to endure this with my sanity intact if you hadn’t been with me. Please, believe me when I tell you that you have saved me.”
“You wouldn’t think that if you knew what it said,” he told her, and she felt him run a finger across the marks again.
“What?” she asked.
“It’s written in Ancient Greek.”
Anna didn’t know if she really wanted the answer to the next question, but that didn’t stop her from asking, “And what does it say?”
She felt his pain through the bond and felt his arms wrap around her and his face press to her stomach. The feeling was so intense she actually looked down to see if he was really with her, even though she knew he wasn’t.
He spoke the words in their original language before he translated. “It says ‘Tainted’ and then has the letter V using the Ancient Greek lettering.”
Anna felt like she was going to be sick. Volcan had branded them with a reminder of what he’d done to them. He’d taken their pure gypsy-healer blood and defiled it, tainted it. “He said he was using an enchanted blade. What does that mean?”
“It means it’s a fae blade. It’s the only kind of blade that can cause a scar on a supernatural being. No magic can heal it.”
“So it will be there forever?” she asked, her voice a near whisper. Her eyes closed as tears fell. She wept quietly for the loss of a form of innocence. She hated knowing that Volcan’s mark would be on her body, along with Gustavo’s. It was like a slap in the face to the mate bond. She’d heard Sally talk about the markings of true mates and how sacred and private they were. Now her body wouldn’t bear only her mate’s markings. Volcan had robbed her of something pure.
“Criña,” Gustavo called gently to her. “I’m so sorry this has happened to you, but it doesn’t change how incredibly proud I am to know that you will wear my markings. Nothing can taint what the Great Luna has blessed. Not even Volcan. I can’t wait to see my markings on you.”
Anna could feel the truth in his words. It was strange to be able to discern someone’s true motivation, but in a moment where she doubted everything, she was so thankful for their bond. She could feel Gustavo’s adoration, unwavering devotion, and love, and that chased all doubt away.
“Are you alright now?” she asked him.
“I am in control, but no, mí amõr, I will not be alright until you are with me. But you have tamed the beast for now.”
Gustavo wanted to strip off his clothes and phase, but he knew better than to let his wolf take over in his current state of mind. He also didn’t know if Adam’s magic would still keep him from phasing. It had been very wise of him to keep Gustavo in his human skin. If he’d been able to phase, he didn’t know if he’d have been able to regain control. As it was, only Anna calling out to him had caused the fight between the two males to end.
“You need to rest, Criña,” he said. “I can feel how exhausted you are. Please rest.”
“I will if you promise not to flip your lid again.”
“Flip my lid?” He chuckled. “I forget sometimes how young you are.”
“I’m not jail bait,” she teased.
“Thank goodness for small mercies. Rest, mí amõr.”
“Stay in my mind.”
“It would be my honor,” he told her, meaning it with every breath. She was giving him permission to keep their bond fully open. The trust the action evidenced nearly drove him to his knees. It was an incredibly intimate thing to share a mental link with another person. To know that they could see in your mind and feel what you feel was humbling and scary.
“Te necesito, Gustavo.” The words were nearly a whisper as he felt her drift off to sleep. She’d spoken Spanish to him. She’d told him she needed him. It was precious and, if he was being honest, incredibly sexy. One day, he’d tell her that.
“Thank you for distracting me from attacking your mate,” he said as he turned to face Adam. He’d known the fae had been following him, but then he also knew that Adam hadn’t been trying to conceal himself.
“She could hold her own, but damn if that true mate bond doesn’t just make me crazy at the idea of her in danger,” Adam said. “Which is also why I understand why you lost it. I get it, but you need to let me know when it gets so bad that your wolf is ready to lash out at a female.”
“I didn’t know he was to that point. Mostly he felt like she was challenging him. Being so agitated, it wouldn’t let go,” Gustavo explained but knew it was no excuse. He truly hadn’t thought he was so far gone that he’d attack a female.
“How is she?” Adam asked.
“She’s hurt,” he said, his voice low as he tried to hold in the emotions that were threatening to pour out of him. “But she’s alive. And Jewel is, too, though their situation is dire. They are both being tortured by a vampire that Volcan commands.”
“What?” Adam asked, sounding as though the air had been knocked out of him. “A vampire? Torturing them? No wonder you lost it. I’m
surprised you’ve held it together this long.”
“I knew about the torture, but I didn’t know exactly what it was. She’s very ashamed of it so I will not share what it is, but it’s bad. And I am going to rip Volcan’s beating heart from his chest. After I break every bone in his body.” Gustavo’s wolf was salivating at the thought of ripping apart the man who was hurting his mate.
“You’ll have a pack of wolves and a fae lining up to help,” Adam said and then growled as he threw a ball of magic at a tree. “We’ve got to get out of here!”
“I agree,” Gustavo rumbled. “But I don’t know how to make that happen.”
“What the—” Adam said as he froze.
Gustavo turned to face him, but then his eyes shot skyward as thunder and lightning shook the realm. “What’s going on?”
“This isn’t just your run-of-the-mill storm,” Adam yelled over the wind that had picked up and was now whipping through the trees, causing them to sway violently. “There’s magic at work. Come on.” He waved for Gustavo to follow. “We need to get back to the females.”
They’d not gone very far and were back with the ladies within a few moments. When they rushed back into the clearing, they found all four females in a huddle, the three healers each had their head in their hands, their eyes closed tightly as if they were in great pain.
“What it is wrong?” Gustavo asked.
“When the storm began, all three of them grabbed their heads and started moaning,” Crina explained.
Adam walked over and patted Kara’s arm. “Kara, can you tell me what’s going on?”
She opened her eyes but didn’t let go of her head. “I can feel him, his worry, and anger. It’s like boiling water being poured into my mind.”
“I concur with her analysis,” Heather ground out through clinched teeth.
“Why did it start with the storm?” Stella asked.
“The storm is laced with magic,” Adam said. He closed his eyes and held up his hands. He began to mutter under his breath in a language Gustavo didn’t recognize. Light began to glow around the fae but was gone as quickly as it had appeared. “It’s dark magic. But there’s something else in it I don’t understand.”
“You think Volcan is doing this?” Crina asked her mate.
“I don’t know,” Adam asked. “But they’re powerful, whoever it is. I’m talking more-powerful-than-Perizada powerful.”
“Whoa,” Crina said with wide eyes.
There was a huge boom causing all of them to duck, as if they were expecting the sky to fall in on them, but the storm just continued, and then it began to rain.
“You guys ready to go, or do you just want to stand here and admire Thad’s wonder?”
Gustavo and the five others with him turned to find Elle standing there with her hands on her hips, her pink hair thrown up in a messy bun, and a relieved smile on her face.
“Never thought I’d say this Adam, but you are a sight for sore eyes,” she said.
Adam smiled the biggest smile he had in days. “Back at ya, comrade. And did you say Thad? As in the djinn?”
“Yes, and let’s not get into it right now. He’s a whole other level of weirdness,” she said with a sigh. “Well, let’s go.” Elle held out her arms. “My mate is getting antsy with me out of his sight.”
“You don’t have to tell us twice,” Heather said as she, Stella, and Kara made their way over to the fae. Gustavo strode over and wrapped a hand around her small arm as his heart pounded in his chest. They were getting out, which meant he could start his search for his mate. Finally. Finally he could do something other than sitting around wishing he could touch her, see her, smell her, and taste her. “I’m coming for you, Criña.”
Chapter 13
“Nothing can prepare you for meeting the male Canis lupus who is destined to be your true mate, the other half of your soul. One minute, you’re only half a person, and the next, you’re whole. It’s mind blowing and breathtaking and so incredibly indescribable.” ~Heather
Heather grabbed onto the first arm she could reach for when her feet were once again on solid ground. There was a feral growl that caused her to take a step backward, away from the sound.
“Did you want her to fall on her butt?” Elle snapped.
More growling ensued. The wind was still whipping around them like it had been in the pixie realm, and thunder still boomed in the sky.
“What’s going on?” Heather asked as she placed a hand over her chest. The pain was gone. “Are you pain free, too?”
“I’m guessing that has something to do with the males that are standing twenty feet away pacing, glaring, and growling,” Stella whispered. “And I must say, the Great Luna dug deep into her hotness bag when she was creating those specimens.”
“Have I ever mentioned that being blind sometimes really blows?”
“It may blow, but it makes you who you are. If you weren’t blind, who knows, you might have been a boring, insufferable ass. As it is, you are a hilarious, insufferable ass.”
“Woo-hoo, go me,” Heather said dryly.
Stella clapped her on the back. “That’s the spirit.”
“Nick?” Kara’s voice sounded tentative and confused. “Why won’t you speak to me?”
Heather flinched as she heard a massive cracking sound. “What the hell was that?”
“Really?” Elle said, sounding very much put out. “You just had to break a tree in half?”
“What’s going on?” Stella asked. Heather wasn’t sure who she was asking.
“Nick just broke a tree,” Kara said in a stunned voice.
“Ladies.” Lucian’s voice was gentle, and Heather remembered how she appreciated his calm demeanor when she’d first met him. “We are very glad to see you safe. Gustavo, how are you doing?”
Heather wanted to say, “About as well as a caged, feral animal,” but she kept her mouth closed and let the man speak for himself.
“I’ll be better when I have my mate out of the clutches of Volcan,” Gustavo said.
The growling continued, and Heather got the distinct impression that they were being hunted. Though she couldn’t see the predators, she definitely felt like prey.
“Is there a pack of wild dogs around, or is the growling just their normal way of greeting people?” She could hear the movements and breathing of the other group, and for a second she swore she could hear a single heartbeat that didn’t belong to her.
“I think it would be best if we didn’t have this conversation out in the open,” Lucian said. “Elle, Adam, can you get us back to Farie, then we can discuss things further.”
Heather allowed Stella to lead her forward and could tell by smell that Adam was standing next to her. Stella guided her hand to the male fae’s arm, and she wrapped her fingers around it. The growling increased.
“Enough!” Lucian snarled. “Adam is not touching your mates. He’s doing what I’ve asked. If you cannot pull yourselves together, I will have him take you elsewhere and then I’ll allow my mate to deal with you.”
The growling stopped.
“Pulling out the Peri card.” Heather laughed. “That’ll shut up anyone with a brain.”
Once again, the ground felt as though it had been ripped from beneath her feet, and Heather gripped Adam’s arm tighter. She hoped the fae had a high pain tolerance. If he didn’t, he hid it well.
Fifteen minutes later, she was sitting on the steps inside Peri’s home with Kara beside her and Stella one step below her. She couldn’t see a damn thing—nothing new—but she could feel the frustration and rage vibrating in the room.
“Healers,” Lucian said formally. “I would like to introduce you to some of the males of the packs that have come to aid us. I do believe that a few of them are true mates to each of you, though I do not think that is news to you. What will be news to you is the fact that those three wolves are now currently under a pack magic spell, as a result of their lack of obedience. I’m guessing, but I think the reason you
might not be feeling the pull to them is because of the spell.”
“Shouldn’t we be able to do that mind speaking stuff?” Stella asked, not sounding eager to do that mind speaking stuff at all.
Lucian nodded. “Yes, since you’re in each other’s presence you should be able to communicate mentally through the bond. But again, I imagine the spell is preventing it, especially since there has been no exchange of blood by marking one another. Their punishment is this. They see you, but they are not permitted to touch you. They can smell you, but they are not permitted to taste.”
Heather choked on her laughter. “Kinky much?”
Stella reached back and pinched her. “Keep your trap shut, Helen.”
This was followed by a growl. Heather felt as if she was dealing with a new pack of training dogs fresh from the pound. Snarly and angry at the world.
“They can hear but not speak to you,” Lucian continued as if she hadn’t thrown out her two cents. “You can talk to them. You can touch them. You can—”
“If you say taste them I’m pretty sure I’ll laugh like a thirteen-year-old boy, complete with cracking puberty voice,” Heather said, unable to stop herself.
Lucian chuckled. “Fine, you get the point. Touch is extremely important to the Canis lupus,” he explained. “Not just the touch between mates, but also the touch between pack members. A hug, a pat on the back, even the bump of a shoulder. Our wolves find comfort in touch. It brings peace and balance. To deny a male the touch of his mate is tantamount to torture. In fact, a Canis lupus male would choose torture over losing the touch of his mate. I tell you this because it will help you understand why they are growling and pacing like caged animals. If they scare you or make you uncomfortable, please let me know.”
The tension in the room had gone up, if that was possible, as Lucian explained the circumstances. Heather could only focus on one thing: her mate, the male werewolf created for her, was in the same room. Her chest felt tight as she realized that he was seeing her for the first time, seeing that she couldn’t see him in return. Would he want her still? Would he find her defective and weak? In the wild, the weak didn’t survive. Would he see her as a liability?