Dalton clenched his jaw tightly trying with every ounce of self-control he had to keep from growling at Peri. Despite his earlier misstep, he felt like they were wasting valuable time. He needed to be moving forward, if only to have the illusion of getting closer to wherever Volcan was holding Jewel. He knew the others were doing everything they could to find Jewel, but it just didn’t seem like enough. They cared about Jewel and they wouldn’t waste time needlessly. That was the only reason he didn’t roar at the high fae to hurry the hell up.
Dalton and the other males watched as Peri’s power built around her. She was muttering words in a language he didn’t understand, strangely beautiful and haunting at the same time. Kneeling down, she placed her hands on the metal. The cadence of her words began to pick up speed and the light around her grew almost blindingly bright. What seemed like hours later, the light faded and the chanting stopped. Peri stood and stepped away from the cover.
“Whatever witch cast that spell was quite powerful,” Peri admitted. She motioned for Lucian to step forward and her mate moved in his smooth, fluid way, kneeling down and grasping the handle of the manhole. He lifted the solid metal lid with no effort and placed it aside. He glanced back at Dillon and then Dalton before hopping down into the dark hole. Suddenly a high-pitched screeching came rushing up to their ears out of the opening.
Peri tsked her tongue. “Somebody knows that they have uninvited guests and they aren’t too happy about it,” she said nonchalantly as she hopped into the darkness following her mate.
Dillon turned to him. “I know you want her back. I completely understand that your patience has long since evaporated, but you have to hold it together in there,” he pointed to the manhole. “Vampires like to play games. It makes them feel clever and powerful. Don’t challenge them yet. If we play along, it will speed things up.”
Dalton gave a stiff nod as Dillon turned and jumped down the hole. He didn’t hesitate as he followed his Alpha. The darkness engulfed him completely, causing him to look up at the opening and wonder why no light from the street shone down through the hole.
“It’s another spell,” Peri spoke up, apparently anticipating that they would all be wondering the same thing. “They have to keep the light out at all times. But I suspect that they occasionally leave the cover off the hole on purpose, hoping to catch an onlooker who is too curious for his own good. The bloodsuckers play many such games.”
Dalton felt a moment’s sympathy for those who had unknowingly walked into the lair of these particular spiders. But it was gone just as quickly as it had appeared. His mind snapped back to the present. His mate had been snatched by a spider as well. Perhaps, it was a different kind of spider, but a spider nonetheless, and one even more dangerous than these. For the victims of the vampires, it was too late. But he refused to believe that it was too late for Jewel. He would get to her in time; there simply was no other option.
Peri held out her hand and pushed out her magic producing a small ball of white light. The darkness seemed to shrink away from the glowing orb as though the light was causing it physical pain. She felt the filth of the vampires the minute Lucian had removed the manhole covering. But as soon as she had entered the tunnel, she felt saturated in it. “Bleach,” she muttered under her breath. “I’m going to need lots and lots of bleach.”
Peri looked right and then left down each side of the tunnel and decided to follow her nose. She turned to the right and made a motion with her hand. “Let’s go, gentlemen.” She glanced back at Dillon who looked about as happy as a cat being baptized. A slow smile slid across her face. “If you want to stay back here and keep watch over the hole, I won’t tell everyone what a pansy you were, maybe just Jacque.” She paused and the smile grew wider. “Who, I’m sure, will tell Jen.”
Dillon shook his head. He knew exactly what kind of trouble Jen, the mate of the Serbia pack Alpha and all around troublemaker, would get him into. “If I was going to stay behind, which I’m not, and Jen was going to find out about it, you might as well put it on social media.”
“My point exactly,” she agreed. Peri turned back around and continued forward. Mentioning Dillon’s daughter, Jacque, and her friend, Jen, caused a small pang in the fae’s heart. They were best friends to Sally, and both mated to Alpha males. Jacque was mated to the Prince of the Romanian wolves, Fane Lupei, and Jen was mated to Decebel, the Alpha of the Serbia pack. She had grown close to them over the past months as they too faced some very challenging foes. For the moment, they seemed to have a reprieve, which was a good thing since she couldn’t be there to save their heroic butts. Peri could only imagine how they would complain about not getting to be a part of rescuing Jewel, and Jen was going to whine about not getting to be around to tease the healers about finding their true mates. Yep, she missed those crazy hussies, but she would never let them know that. They would never let her live it down.
Low growls from beside and behind her pushed Peri’s thoughts of her friends aside. Lucian reached an arm out in front of her, stopping her progress. She tried very hard not to roll her eyes. She understood all too well that it was ingrained in his very fiber to protect her, regardless of the fact that she was one of the most powerful supernaturals alive. Oftentimes, she simply humored him and he knew it; he had access to her thoughts after all, but for some reason, it didn’t seem to bother him.
“Only a male not confident in himself would be threatened by a female such as you.” Lucian’s voice was warm inside her mind.
“And what kind of female am I, wolf?”
“A powerful, beautiful, caring one.”
“And…?” she prompted, knowing her mate had a subtle sense of humor that often caught her off guard but delighted her like few things did anymore.
“And, a bit obstinate, bossy, perhaps, a tad conceded, sometimes.”
“Okay, I think you’ve made your point,” she interrupted him. Her words were clipped but she knew he felt her humor.
“Okay, the suspense is killing me,” Peri said out loud. “Would one of you walking rugs tell me what you’re obviously sensing that I can’t?”
“Blood and death,” Lucian growled.
“Not to undermine your intelligence, love, but they are vampires. It’s not like we expected to find juice boxes and cotton candy.”
“Either this coven is hundreds strong, or they are simply just killing in large numbers,” Dillon added.
“It’s young,” Dalton said quietly.
Peri turned to look at him. “What’s young?” She watched as his eyes grew brighter with his wolf.
“The blood,” he answered. “It is young and full of innocence.”
Peri’s stomach dropped to her feet as his words registered. Young blood, innocent blood, meant children. Children were sacred to the Canis lupus. Their females did not often bear more than one child in their long life, and if there wasn’t a healer in their pack, it wasn’t uncommon for the female to lose the child. Children were few and far between for the wolves, and she’d watched them over the centuries weep over many a lost little one. If the vampires were targeting children, especially in large numbers, Peri might not be able to keep the wolves at bay. In fact, she had a feeling Dillon would be on the phone with Vasile, the Romanian pack Alpha and most powerful Canis lupus alive, as soon as they were back above ground. When Vasile found out about this, heads would roll ― lots of heads. She wouldn’t put it past the Alpha to try to eradicate the world of vampires once and for all.
Peri turned to face all of the males. Her eyes narrowed as she saw that all three of them were barely holding their wolves in check. “Let me remind you that we are here for information. If you rip their throats out, we will not get any information. If you tear their heads off, we will not get any information. If you pull their fangs out and relieve them of their tongues, we will not get any information. Do you see a pattern here?”
“So we can break their legs,” Dillon said in a guttural voice.
“And then rip them off,?
?? Dalton snarled.
“Their arms can be next. They don’t need arms to speak,” Lucian added.
Peri pinched the bridge of her nose and clamped her eyes closed. She had known this little visit was going to be a risky maneuver, but she hadn’t realized how risky. Now what she needed to decide, and quickly, was whether or not the risk was worth it.
Hating to do it, she built up a wall in her thoughts, shutting Lucian out of that place. He hated when she used her power on him, but she didn’t see any other way to get through the coming encounter without the wolves bathing in vampire blood. She’d done many things in the past to keep the wolves under control when she deemed it necessary, and it never made them happy. Granted, by the time she released them from her spells, she was usually long gone. She wasn’t stupid, but now she was beginning to question her sense of self-preservation.
“What are you up to, Perizada?” her mate’s voice rumbled in her head. She heard the disapproval and suspicion in his tone. She couldn’t let the fact that she really didn’t like disappointing him get in the way of keeping him safe. Lucian might be possessive and protective of her, but she was every bit as possessive and protective of him.
The intimacy of their bond tested her resolve so she answered him out loud, “Nothing you need to be concerned about.”
“Perizada,” he drew her name out in low warning.
She huffed. “Ugh, fine. I’m not up to anything. I was just thinking.”
“About?” he prompted.
“About children. I guess this” ― she motioned down the tunnel indicating the coming confrontation ― “just has me thinking about crumb catchers and having them with you. And if we have them, how many do we have? Should we have a whole herd, but then I thought no, it wouldn’t be a herd, it would be a pack. And if we had a whole pack does that mean we would become our own pack and call ourselves the Faerie Realm Pack. And then I ended back up at how many of the little dirt magnets should we have?”
Lucian’s eyes had widened gradually as she had barreled forward. She inwardly counted to herself, three, two, one. And there it was, the question she knew he’d ask first.
“You really want a pack of pups?”
“No, not really. But I’ve successfully gotten your mind and wolf thinking about babies and, by default, baby making. Now, let’s go before I have to come up with some other sentimental crap to distract you with.” She turned back in the direction they were headed and started forward.
Peri heard Dillon let out a low whistle. “Brother, you’ve got your hands full,” he chuckled.
“For so long my existence was bleak and dull, as though there was no color in the world. Then The Great Luna gave me Perizada. I will take her tantrums, rude comments, and idle threats to turn me into a handbag because she brought color back into my dull life. I am sure to never be bored again.”
Lucian’s words filled Peri with a warmth and security she’d never even realized she had been lacking until he’d come into her life. She knew she drove him and his wolf bat-shit crazy with worry, but he never tried to change her. Her mate accepted her as she was, and because of that, Peri was able to be vulnerable with him. Lucian was the only person that would see her crumble when it all got too heavy. He would be the only shoulder she would lean on, the only hand allowed to comfort her, and the only wolf that could make her feel safe.
Even with all of those feelings running through her, she didn’t change her plan. If she had to bind her wolf, and the others, in order to get them out of the coven, she would do it in a heartbeat. Dillon had asked why she didn’t just flash them directly to the vampires’ location. She’d pointed out that when something surprised a predator, that something often didn’t live.
Peri felt Lucian’s presence before she saw him join her from the corner of her eye. He reached over and took her hand and his love immediately enveloped her. She would realize later that his action had allowed her to keep him from charging forward when they rounded a sharp corner and stepped into a large circular room.
Peri immediately threw out her other hand and cast an invisible barrier at the same time Dillon, Dalton, and Lucian lunged forward. They bounced off of the shield, snarling, and cursing. But instead of staying away from the invisible wall, they began punching at the offending obstacle. All three males were being controlled by their beasts. The need of the dominant wolves to protect the innocent had completely benched their human halves as they took over. Peri understood their rage. She herself was fighting back the need to destroy every filthy life drainer in front of her. The red splashes across the walls and floor looked as though an artist had dipped a large brush in red paint and recklessly slung it around. There was no pattern to the stains. They were spread out all over the chamber, large and small splatters, covering every surface. Movement to her right had her eyes focusing on the beings in the room instead of the evidence of their carnage.
There were at least forty vampires, some lounging lazily looking like overstuffed cats. Others were standing rigid staring at them, their lips pulled back in snarls, with large fangs visible even from where she stood. Peri wasn’t impressed. Suddenly all of their heads turned in unison as though they were connected by an invisible string that had been tugged. Peri’s gaze followed the vampires and she watched as a man and woman stepped out of the shadows of another opening. Their skin was pale and waxy in appearance and dark circles cradled their bloodshot eyes. From the stance they took, shoulders back, chins up, haughty expressions attempting to intimidate, she guessed that these must be the leaders of the coven.
Peri had brought the wolves to this particular coven because of rumors ― whispered rumors ― in the supernatural world about these two. Apparently, these two had become aggressive in their leadership; the coven had become more and more bloodthirsty under their watch. Their hunts were getting out of control. She figured they could kill two vamps with one stone and remind them that they were far from being at the top of the supernatural food chain. In the process she could see what they knew about Volcan, if anything. Peri held their hostile stares with one of her own, and when a smirk emerged on the male’s lips, she felt her gut tighten. He looked like a cat with his paws clamped over a little bird enjoying the victory of his hunt before devouring it. It was a look she loathed on anyone’s face.
He turned and motioned for whoever was behind him to come forward and then pointed to the center of the room. As they stepped out of the shadows, obeying his silent command, Peri felt bile rise in her throat. Her heart hammered painfully in her chest, and her power surged in response to her emotions. She would have fallen to the ground had Lucian not caught her.
“No. No, no, no.” The words were breathless as she spoke as though they were being pulled out of her. She wanted to close her eyes, wishing she could un-see what was before them, but she also couldn’t look away. Peri felt the tears on her cheeks but she didn’t attempt to wipe them away. She let them fall, dedicating each one to those who had fallen victim to the monsters.
The next words were resolute. She’d like to say that it was an out of control reaction. That would be a lie. This was calm, cold, and calculated. There would be no later regrets, remorse, or second thoughts.
She didn’t speak the words out loud because she didn’t know if her voice would even work. So instead she opened the bond fully and implored her mate. “Kill them. Rip them limb from limb and make their throat the last thing you take so that they feel the entire assault. Then rip out their fangs. The vampires have overstayed their time on earth. We are going to send a message to all of their kind. No mercy, no exceptions. They have pissed off the wrong fae.”
Jewel knew that it was probably essential for her survival to humor Volcan, and that had been her plan, but as she stared at the wild gleam in the evil fae’s eyes, she second-guessed her decision. She took several deep breaths as she stood up from the bed. Her mind began to do what it did best and search out the facts. She tried to remember what she’d read about psychopaths and sociopaths
. She remembered reading an article that explained the common misconception among most people that they were the same mental disorder. The article said that even many experts use the terms interchangeably when, in fact, there are clear differences.
A sociopath isn’t born with a mental disorder, but rather becomes unstable based upon childhood experiences ― commonly including a lack of love and nurture. A psychopath, on the other hand, actually has an underdevelopment in the area of the brain where emotions originate. Sociopaths are usually uneducated, anti-social, and poor. Meanwhile, psychopaths are often very educated, successful, and able to mimic emotions so well that they lead regular lives never arousing suspicions as to their true nature.
Jewel looked at Volcan and wondered if a fae, a supernatural being, could be a psychopath. He definitely wasn’t antisocial or uneducated, so sociopath was out. As he walked over to her, she fought the urge to step back from him. He reached up and trailed a finger down her cheek. His eyes were dancing with eagerness and his mouth was pulled up into a wicked grin. Definitely a psychopath, she decided.
His hand dropped from her face and landed on her shoulder. Slowly he trailed it down her arm and then moved it to her stomach. Jewel tensed. She’d never been touched by a man, well, other than Dalton, but his touch wasn’t slimy feeling like this. Volcan’s hand on her was nausea inducing. He muttered something under his breath and she felt his hand began to warm. She sucked in a deep breath.
“What are you doing?” she asked, attempting to keep the tremble from her voice.
He let out a curse when he finally released her. The excitement had dimmed a bit as he looked down at her. “You humans and your cycles,” he grumbled. “When was your last blood?”
Jewel recognized the antiquated reference to a woman’s menstrual cycle. She’d seen it called the same thing in old books. While reading it, the reference didn’t seem offensive, but coming from Volcan’s mouth, it sounded vulgar. She decided the best way to handle this, and not fall prey to her emotions, was from a matter of fact, medical point of view.