“Make the fae set me free, Jennifer.” Decebel’s wolf snarled at her.
“Go pound sand.” She snarled back and then focused her full attention on Peri, who was now explaining what Fane and Vasile had scented in their wolf forms while in Thia’s room.
“But it’s not Thalion,” Jen said, not phrasing the statement as a question on purpose, because she didn’t believe the elf prince would steal her child any more than she believed Sally was capable of cold-blooded murder.
“No, it’s not,” Vasile agreed. “We are pretty sure the kidnapper is female.”
“A female elf,” Jen mumbled as she tried to think about having ever met a female elf.
Suddenly Peri stood and spoke. Her eyes were wide, but her voice was calm. “Cyn and I are going to look into something,” she said as she stared down at Jen. “I need you to trust me, Jennifer. I need you to believe me when I tell you I will get your daughter back, she will be safe, and I will destroy whoever took her.”
Jen started to speak but Peri cut her off.
“I know you want to help. I know you want to do something, anything. I get that. What I need for you to do is stay with him.” She pointed to Decebel. “I’m going to put him on the couch, and he will be able to move while on the couch, but he won’t be able to leave the couch, and the couch won’t be able to leave this spot on the floor.”
Jen nearly smiled. Look at the clever fae, considering all the options and angles.
“You called?” Cyn appeared next to Peri. Both Jacque and Sally muttered curses.
“I’ll never get used to that,” Jacque said under her breath.
“Can you trust me?” Peri asked Jen, ignoring everyone else. She knelt directly in front of the woman and placed her hand on Jen’s face. “Can you believe me when I say that I will fix this?”
Jen’s knee-jerk reaction, of course, was no. No, she didn’t trust anyone but herself and Decebel with Thia, but that wasn’t true, not really. She trusted her packmates, including her adopted packmate, Perizada. Jen also knew she and Decebel would probably be useless. Their emotions could only process so much anguish at a time, and they were living on survival mode. That sort of attitude might be useful for kicking down doors and tearing open throats, but it wouldn’t help in the type of investigation Peri would be doing.
“I can trust you,” Jen finally answered. “But”—she pressed her own hand to Peri’s cheek and held her stare—“don’t fail me or Thia, Perizada. Bring her home and deal with the one who took her.”
Peri gave a single nod and stood back up. She looked at Cyn, and some sort of silent communication happened. Then the high fae did as she said she would. She moved Decebel to the couch and, as soon as she flashed from the room, he was able to move again.
Jen went to sit next to him. He didn’t try to stand. He simply looked at everyone, and in a tone as cold as death, he growled, “Get out.”
Kimily Blankenship thought back over the last hour as she stared at the tiny bundle sleeping in the basinet, which she had taken from the hospital. She was a little confused, okay a lot confused, as to why the little girl was blue but, being a centuries-old elf, there wasn’t a whole lot that surprised her anymore. Speaking of surprises, Perizada of the fae would certainly be surprised that her magic had not worked on Kimily. She remembered everything that had happened at the Romanian pack mansion with the child’s mother. It had been easy to convince the high fae that her spell had worked and Kimily’s memory had been wiped. Having powerful acquaintances had its benefits.
But what did surprise Kimily, actually it amazed her, was that Perizada of the fae would show up, out of the blue, in her office. It was even more amazing that the fae would abduct her and take her to the headquarters of such a powerful werewolf pack.
Only a half hour ago, she’d stood in the same living room and pictured the suite in her mind where Perizada of the fae had taken her. She remembered the layout and pictured one of the opened doors where she’d seen the pink nursery walls. It was into that room that she forced her magic, borrowed though it may have been, to flash herself.
She was taking a big risk by flashing into the couple’s suite, not knowing if they’d be in the room, but it was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up. She’d seen and touched the first child born to the Canis lupus in nearly two decades. Her superiors, well, they would soon be her superiors again, would want to know about this child. But she wanted to do more than tell them the news. Kimily wanted to prove her worth to the organization. Stealing the child of Decebel Anghelesco would definitely show them she was a valuable asset to have on their team.
As the magic answered her call, she felt the pull and knew the instant her body left one plane and traveled through another. It felt as though a fishing hook had been jabbed into her belly button, and the person on the other end had given it a good, hard yank. There was nothingness all around her, and then suddenly, she was in a new place. She looked around her and saw the rocking chair, changing table, crib, and basinet. The infant was sound asleep within, oblivious to her own worth or importance. “Oh, to be so blissfully clueless,” Kimily muttered as she glanced over her shoulder at the sound of the voices just beyond the slightly cracked bedroom door.
She recognized most of them, including, Perizada’s, which caused her to move as quickly and as quietly as possible. She grabbed the diaper bag and a handful of diapers she saw sitting on the changing table, as well as a package of baby wipes. She already had everything she needed including formula and bottles she’d set aside from the hospital when she’d formulated her plan, but having a little more never hurt. Now all that was left was to get the child.
Kimily carefully picked up the sleeping girl and wrapped a blanket around her. She held Thia tightly as she glanced one more time at the cracked door and then flashed back to her apartment.
The entire act had felt a bit anticlimactic to Kimily as she’d stood in her living room. There was no applause or “job well done” because nobody knew what she’d done, at least not yet. She lived alone and didn’t have many human friends. The supernatural friends she had were all so secretive that she didn’t see them very often, and only a few of them would have anything to do with her if they knew anything at all about her history. Kimily’s family had been cast out of the supernatural organization she’d once been a part of as a child, all because her mother had had an affair with the elf king. Kimily understood this was bad, but why hadn’t the elf king been kicked out of the society too? She remembered being so angry at her mom. Her father left as soon as he found out. The moment Kimily was old enough, she left too. She’d disappeared and lived, basically, as a human. She’d gotten a human education, become a nurse, and enjoyed her job. But something was always missing. Kimily always had to hide her supernatural side. She had to move often, so that people didn’t notice she never aged. She couldn’t tell anyone about herself, which made it difficult to make true friends. This was why she wanted back in the organization, because they were going to change things for supernatural beings.
Kimily had found her opportunity to get back in the good graces of the organization through the actions of a high fae. “The ironic thing is, the foolish fae doesn’t even realize what she’s done,” Kimily said as she watched the sleeping infant. “Guess it’s just you and me for now, kiddo, until I get in touch with my friends. But don’t worry, they aren’t going to hurt you. They want to recruit you, even if you are blue. What better way to do that than to raise you within the organization?”
Chapter Ten
“When in doubt, never trust a person who dyes themselves blue. There is no way such a person can be operating on all cylinders. Then again, sometimes having friends who are only half-cylinder operators is exactly what you need. So, ignore what I just said. Totally have friends that dye themselves blue. But be sure and make fun of them for the rest of their lives after they do it.” ~Jen
Decebel stared silently at the door to his daughter’s nursery. So many memories filled his min
d as he tried to keep from imploding in on himself. She was missing. His three-day-old infant was in the clutches of a person crazy enough to steal a child. Decebel’s heart clenched in his chest, and his wolf let out a soft whine.
“Are you okay?” He heard Jennifer’s voice in his mind.
“Are you?” he countered.
“We aren’t any good to her if we can’t keep our emotions under control and think clearly. I know I haven’t been the best example of that lately, but, for now, I’m thinking with my brain and not my hormones. Why I am suddenly capable of acting like a sane person at a time like this, I have no clue. But I need you to be sane, too.”
Decebel swallowed down his growl. “You’re right, baby. We aren’t any good to Thia if we can’t think. It’s just killing me not knowing if she’s okay.” He felt Jen’s love and comfort flowing through the bond and mentally soaked himself in her emotions. She was his light, but, in that moment, even she couldn’t chase away all of the darkness.
“Oh, Dec, I think we’d know if something bad had happened to her. She’s our blood. She’s a part of us, and I swear now that I’m not with her, I can feel her. Wherever she is, she’s unharmed.”
A thousand anxious thoughts about Thia raced through Decebel’s mind.
Was she being held and kept warm.
Were they, whoever the hell they were, changing Thia’s diaper?
And what about milk? Bloody hell, did her captor even have anything to feed her?
He tucked all these thoughts away so Jennifer wouldn’t hear them. The last thing she needed right now was to be reminded about how her daughter might be mistreated.
Even though he hid these thoughts, his mate seemed to share his concerns.
Costin said Thia’s diaper bag was sitting beside the crib and it was gone too. It had milk in it. She’s going to be okay.”
“I love you, and I love our daughter,” Decebel said, needing her to understand but finding there was no adequate way to show her or tell her just what she and Thia meant to him. He felt horrible for not being the strong one at the moment. His mate—his incredible, sassy, intelligent, eccentric, beautiful mate—who’d just had a baby that was now missing, was holding them together. She was the glue that kept him from shattering. If they lost Thia, he didn’t know how he could go on.
“I know you do,” she assured him. “And you don’t always have to be the strong one, Dec. That’s what having a mate is, having someone to lean on when you can no longer stand. It also means being the one leaned on when the other can’t stand. It’s okay for you to lean on me, baby. It’s okay for me to be the one to reassure you that we’re going to be okay, all of us. Don’t ever feel ashamed for needing me.”
“You bring me to my knees, female,” Decebel whispered. “You absolutely bring me to my knees.”
“I get it wrong most days, but every now and then I do get it right,” she said.
“You don’t give yourself enough credit, Jennifer.”
They sat in silence as Decebel pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her. There had been only a handful of times in his life that he’d felt well and truly helpless, and yet this was the worst of them all. If they didn’t get Thia back, Decebel didn’t know how either of them would survive such a loss.
Decebel lost track of time as he sat there brooding. Eventually, the door to their suite opened and Fane, Jacque, Costin, and Sally walked in. His wolf wanted to lunge at the intruders, but he couldn’t move, so he simply glared at them.
“Jen,” Jacque said softly as they moved further into the room. “I’m so sorry. I know, I mean, I realize…” Jacque paused, took a deep breath, and tried again. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have taken Thia from her bed without asking you first. If I’d have just left her, then she’d still be here, and Decebel wouldn’t want to kill Fane and Costin, and you wouldn’t be so calm.”
“What’s wrong with me being calm?” Jen asked as she lifted her head from his shoulder.
Sally was staring at Decebel’s mate like she’d lost her mind. “Your baby is missing! You were threatening people before she was missing and acting like a crazed lunatic. But now she’s gone. Why aren’t you threatening to kill everything in sight? Why aren’t any of you wolves out of control?”
“GET OUT,” Decebel roared at the healer, uncaring that it would no doubt piss her mate off.
“Now that”—Sally pointed to Decebel—“that’s how a wolf is supposed to react when one of their pups goes missing.”
Jen held up a hand to stop Sally, or Decebel, or maybe both. “Thia is my daughter.”
“Well then raise those damn hackles and get fierce, she-wolf,” Sally yelled.
“I CAN’T,” Jen screamed back, nearly coming up out of her mate’s lap. But Decebel kept an arm around her, needing her close. “I can’t just lose it! If I give in to the need to tear everything and anything apart because of my anger and fear, then I will do things and say things that I won’t be able to take back. I am a lot of things, and have been a lot of things these past few days, but I won’t be useless to Thia. And if I give in to my emotions, that is exactly what I will be to her, useless. So don’t you dare tell me how to handle losing my child. Until you have a baby that you’ve carried inside of you for nine months, birthed, nursed, held, cried over, laughed over, and then lost … until then, you keep your damn gypsy healer mouth shut.”
The room was completely silent as Jen attempted to control her anger. She knew she had just done the opposite of what she’d said. She’d lost it and taken it out on Sally. But the healer’s words made Jen feel as if the others thought she didn’t care about her daughter. That hurt. But snapping at her friend’s wouldn’t accomplish anything? It wouldn’t bring Thia back any faster.
“You’re right,” Sally said gently. “I’m sorry. I don’t know…” Sally’s words trailed off as Costin wrapped an arm around her and pulled her tightly to his body.
Jen closed her eyes, let out a deep breath, and then nodded. “Okay,” she said finally. “We don’t blame you guys.” Jen looked at her two best friends and then their mates. “It’s not your fault she was taken. It isn’t as if you set her down in the mall and walked off. Okay?” She pinched Decebel’s leg. “Tell them you don’t blame them,” she growled through their bond.
“I try not to lie, especially to those I’m planning to maim.”
“I think your mate blames us,” Jacque said.
“No, I don’t,” Decebel finally spoke.
Jen let out a sigh.
“I blame them,” he motioned toward Costin and Fane.
Sigh retracted, Jen thought as she glared at her mate.
“Why do you blame them and not us?” Sally asked.
“Because they have balls I can rip off. If you really want me to blame you, go grow a pair and come back.”
“Remind me when this is all over that you talked about grabbing Fane and Costin’s junk,” Jen said through their bond as she stared at the shocked faces of her best friends.
“While we’re off growing balls, can we get you anything?” Jacque asked. “Hot chocolate?”
Jen shook her head. “No, but thank you. I think we, and when I say we, I mean him”—she pointed to her mate—“just need some quiet time.”
“So, duct tape?” Jacque offered.
“You know me so well, Red.” Jen smiled, though she knew it didn’t reach her eyes. Just as the four of them were turning back toward the door, Jen spoke again. “Wait. Just because I’m a glutton for punishment, I have to ask, why are Costin and Fane’s hands and forearms blue? I mean, you mentioned Costin’s blue body paint fetish, but I’m not sure how Fane factors in. Unless you two are a lot freakier than I originally thought.”
“Are you really sure you want to know?” Costin asked.
“Seeing as how I got nothing but worrying and time on my hands, adding a little bit of ridiculousness, which I’m sure this is bound to be, seems completely appropriate.”
“Might as
well take a seat,” Jacque said as she moved back toward the love seat.
“Does anyone want to know if I want them to stay?” Decebel asked, his voice a gravelly form of pissed-the-hell-off.
Jen patted his leg. “I think we know where you stand, and we’re choosing to ignore you.” She looked back at Costin and Fane and pursed her lips. “Now, end my curiosity. Blue hands. Go.”
As Jacque listened to her mate and Costin tell the events of the day, and explain how they ended up with blue appendages, she had to agree with Jen, it was ridiculous. All of it. The fact that she and Sally had foolishly thought taking their best friend’s three-day-old baby without saying a word would be okay was ridiculous. The fact that Fane and Costin subsequently stole the baby from them was ridiculous. The fact that Fane and Costin attempted to bathe the baby with an unknown chemical in a laboratory was ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. Isn’t it interesting how snap decisions that seem rational at the time can sometimes seem so foolish in hindsight?
When the guys were finally done telling their tale, with Sally and Jacque intermittently adding their own commentary, Decebel looked legitimately horrified, and Jen looked surprisingly amused. If nothing else, at least it distracted her for a bit.
“So, not only was my daughter taken, she was also dyed blue?” Jen asked.
“Unfortunately, yes,” Fane answered.
There was a knock at the door and then Alina’s head poked in. Her eyes were red and puffy. Jacque knew that Alina and Vasile saw Thia as a surrogate granddaughter, and it had to be just as frustrating for them to be unable to help.
“I just wanted to check and see if Jen and Decebel needed anything,” Alina said as she stepped into the suite.