by Quinn Loftis
Sally took in a sharp breath. "Yours?"
Costin closed his eyes for a moment, cursing himself at the slip. "The pack's. But I'm here, I'm pack, and I will protect you even from one of our own."
Sally gently laid her hand on his arm. "Thank you. Decebel isn't going to hurt me. I need to see if I can figure out what's going on."
Costin nodded but stayed where he was.
"Um, Costin." Sally raised her eyebrows at the handsome – yet exasperating – wolf in front of her. "That means I'll need to get close to Decebel."
When Costin didn't move, Sally stood up with a huff and mumbled, "Jen was totally right. Damn stubborn, bossy fur balls."
Cynthia snickered as Costin's eyes widened at the gentle healer showing her claws.
Sally took a seat next to Decebel, "Can I touch you?"
A low growl from across the fire.
"Costin," Cynthia warned. Costin didn't acknowledge her, but he did stop growling.
Decebel nodded to Sally that it was okay. Sally laid her hand upon his chest and closed her eyes. She felt so ignorant when she tried to use this so-called “gift”. She didn't understand how it worked. All she could do was open her mind and let whatever magic that seemed to be inside her do its thing.
Sally felt energy flowing into Decebel as she sought out the bond that he'd spoken of. She felt like an intruder knowing that the bond between mates, from what Jacque had explained, was very intimate. Her mind searched through his, finding the connection the Beta had to his Alpha and to the pack, an intricate web. Finally she came upon what looked like a gold cord, strong and glowing. Following its path, she nearly pulled back when she saw the severed end. It looked frayed, like a rope that was unraveling at the ends. Sally noticed that the end and several inches of the cord were no longer gold, but blackened, dead. She reached toward the darkened part. As soon as her consciousness touched it she felt herself being thrown out of Decebel's mind and back into the present.
Sally was gasping for breath. She opened her eyes to see Decebel's face covered in sweat, his mouth tight in pain, and the agony that was so obvious on the inside was bleeding out through his glowing amber eyes.
"Sally," Costin spoke with a low growl, "move away from him."
Sally ignored him and instead moved around until she was kneeling right in front of Decebel.
"Your bond with her has been severed. It's dying."
Decebel closed his eyes, squeezing them tight. Maybe if he closed them tight enough and long enough the healer's words wouldn't be true. He didn't remember Jennifer; he didn't remember her scent, her touch, or the beautiful face he had seen in the pictures on Sally's phone. But he wanted to. He wanted to have the chance to know her again, to love her again.
"How?" His voice came out hoarsely.
"I'm not really sure, but it feels like magic. Not dark, though. Not like the witch's magic."
"What did Jen tell you, back when you were able to speak with her?" Cynthia asked.
Decebel realized then that Cynthia didn't know about Rachel having Jennifer. He looked up at her, remembering the night in her office with Vasile and Alina. Sitting there, listening to her read about a dormant named Rachel. He couldn't remember why she was telling him about the dormant, but he felt like it must be important.
"She told me that Rachel and her mate Gavril rescued her from the cavern."
Cynthia jumped to her feet. "What! How is that possible?"
"You said yourself when you were reading the history on them that their bodies were never discovered. Apparently, they lived."
Cynthia continued to look at Decebel like he was speaking a foreign language and she was searching desperately for the translation in her mind.
"Did she say where they are, or where they have been for the past three centuries?" Her tone was somewhat sarcastic.
"She wouldn’t tell me anything about them. She was protecting them."
"From what?" Sally asked before Cynthia got the words out.
"I don’t know," Decebel growled. "She refused to tell me. She refused to submit to her mate."
Costin tried to disguise the laugh that forced its way from his chest with a cough, but was unsuccessful. Decebel glared at him. "What are you laughing at, pup?"
Costin flashed that heart-stopping grin and winked at Sally as he answered Decebel, "These American women do not submit, Beta. You might want to get used to the idea."
"Then how are we to protect them? How are we to keep them from doing asinine things?"
"Well, you are mated to Jen." Sally chuckled. "Her middle name changes from day to day. Her staples are “nympho”, “impetuous”, “too smart for her own good”, “smart-ass”, and all too often, “asinine”. You've got your work cut out for you."
"So you don't think it's dark magic?" Decebel asked, changing the subject.
"No, definitely not. But it is magic." Sally looked over to Cynthia. "You said this Rachel is a healer? Could she have worked some sort of magic?"
"Honestly, Sally, I don't know. I don't know enough about healers and the magic that they invoke." Cynthia thought for a moment. "It might be Fae. If this Perizada is what Vasile says, she might know Rachel, might have helped her do this."
Sally was up, pacing. Costin watched her every move.
"Why would Rachel sever the bond if she's one of the good guys?" Sally was thinking out loud, trying to reason through the possibilities.
"Maybe they've been in hiding," Costin suggested.
"That would explain why no one has heard from them in centuries," Cynthia agreed.
Sally continued to walk around the fire, her mind turning over and over. "If they were in hiding, they would probably worry about Jen being able to tell Decebel things that might reveal their location." She looked at Cynthia, who nodded her agreement.
"Surely she would understand that there are consequences to severing the bond of true mates." Cynthia shook her head in disbelief. "Unless she thinks that it won't affect them a lot, or even at all, since they haven't completed the Blood Rites."
"Whatever the reason, we need to find this Peri character," Sally huffed. "If what I felt happening to Decebel is happening to Jen, then they are both in trouble."
Decebel's head snapped up. "Jen could be feeling this?"
"More than likely she is enduring the same thing. Your bond with Jen is unusual, from what I understand, for an un-bonded pair. You both are so intense. We need to try to move fast tomorrow. "
Each of them laid their blankets close to the fire. Costin and Decebel agreed to take turns keeping watch. Decebel took the first. He was in too much pain to sleep anyway. And knowing that Jennifer was possibly feeling this as well made his gut clench. His wolf was restless and angry. Decebel kept getting the feeling that his wolf remembered their mate. If his wolf did, why didn't he? Whatever the reason, until he was reunited with Jennifer, his wolf was dangerous. He was dangerous.
Chapter 11
Jen laid on the bed, tears slowly leaking from her eyes. She felt the wetness trail down the side of her face, across her ears, and onto the pillow. She couldn't explain why she was crying. She was Jennifer-freaking-Adams, she didn't cry.
Yeah, well think again, She-Rah. Apparently you do, she thought. She was hurting. Her body was sore and aching, but she had always been able to handle physical pain. These tears were caused by something un-named, undefined. She thought back to Rachel and Gavril's words about the consequences of the bond being broken between her and Decebel. They'd explained that they had gone and talked to this Perizada character and had agreed that, at this point, it was best if Decebel and the others didn't know the things Jen already did. Jen's response naturally was why the hell not? Rachel wasn't used to such crassness and kept giving Jen looks that said she thought she needed her mouth washed out with soap. Rachel had told her that Perizada, who was a powerful Fae, said that it had to happen this way, the fates deemed it necessary for Sally and the others to come see her first – something about not wanting Sal
ly to know about healers and werewolves just yet. Jen still felt like Rachel and Gavril were batting for the home team, but that didn't mean she wasn’t upset about them interfering with her and Decebel, especially when her mate didn't even remember her.
Night had fallen and the house was quiet. Jen closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the night, calming her mind. She could hear the howl of the wind outside, the occasional hoot of an owl, and even once the howl of a wolf, which brought goose bumps to her skin. She clenched her jaw as another round of pain ran through her and her mind reached out for something, something that wasn't there any longer. She felt something in her stir, something in her growl. Jen clamped her mouth shut, refusing to let loose the snarl that threatened to come out.
"I will not lose it," she said into the darkness. "I'm in pain, yes; I'm scared, yes. I want to see my friends and my mate. YES! But I will not lose it. So put on your big girl panties, Jennifer, and pull it together!" Jen was grinding her teeth by the end of her little pep talk. She let out a deep breath and closed her eyes. She'd won the battle. Tonight. But the war wasn't over and she had a feeling this was just a skirmish compared to what was coming. Her eyes closed and darkness poured over her. She tried to open her eyelids, but they were heavy. She felt herself being pulled under, her last thoughts about battles, wars, and love.
"Is she awake yet?" A gruff voice rumbled as Jen began to wake from the deep sleep she had finally drifted off into late last night.
"It's been a week since we saw Peri." It was Rachel speaking now. "And every day she looks weaker, paler. I'm doing everything I can for her injuries, Gav. It's not working. She isn't getting better."
Gavril walked over to the girl who lay in their kitchen. Her face was pale even as it glistened with sweat. He pressed his hand to her forehead and watched her eyes squeeze in pain. Did his touch hurt her?
"She's responding to touch," he told Rachel.
Rachel stood next to her mate and watched as Jen's face grimaced. Suddenly Jen rolled over, a loud groan escaping her throat. She flung her head over the side of the bed, vomiting violently. Rachel rushed forward and pulled Jen's hair out of the way.
"Gavril! Get some cool wet towels, please." Rachel's tone was firm and in control.
Jen felt Rachel rub her back gently, murmuring in some language that she was pretty sure wasn't Romanian. The heaving finally stopped and she was able to catch her breath, but that was too good to last. Just as Rachel started to help her back up the nausea rushed through her again. Jen doubled over as something metallic filled her mouth. Her eyes widened as she watched bright red liquid hit the floor. Blood.
Rachel's gut tightened as she watched the blood pour from Jen's mouth. She closed her eyes and laid her hands on Jen's stomach while Gavril held Jen's hair back and held her steady. Rachel reached into Jen's body, seeking out the source of the sickness. She could feel the pain that flowed through her very veins. She reached into Jen's mind and gasped as she felt what Jen did. Her veins felt like they were on fire, like the very blood that flowed through them boiled. She tried to find what it was that was causing it. Infection from her injuries, some sort of bacteria somewhere, but she found nothing. Blackness was reaching into Jen's mind, a dark void cloaking her, and nothing Rachel did could cause it to recede.
Rachel pulled her hands back and opened her eyes. She looked up at Gavril, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Rachel, Luna, what's wrong?" Gavril's voice was gentle as he watched his mate.
Rachel shook her head. "She's dying and it's my fault."
Jen finally stopped vomiting and Rachel took the moist towels Gavril had brought her and wiped her mouth and face.
"What do you mean she's dying?" he asked her.
Rachel looked deep into her mate's eyes. "You know how the darkness was beginning to consume you before you met me?"
"The darkness begins to consume all males without their true mate," he answered.
"I broke their bond."
"What does that have to do with it?" Gavril stepped around Jen's bed. He put his fingers on his mate's chin and gently raised her head so he could see her azure eyes.
"There is darkness in her, consuming her. The kind of darkness I found in unmated males anytime I had to heal them. It's killing her. There's no balance in her without him and somehow when I severed the bond, it's like the darkness in him, the darkness she would keep at bay, somehow seeped into her. I don't know how to describe it."
"It sounds like dark magic." Gavril stroked her face gently watching as his mate's heart broke over the dormant. "You were only protecting us," he whispered gently.
Rachel's head snapped back as if he had slapped her. "It's my job to protect her, to protect others! I'm a HEALER!" Rachel was shaking – so angry with herself, with the Fae, with everything. As a healer, it broke her heart to think she had hurt another. If Jen was going through this, what was her mate enduring?
"Peri said that her mate had been cursed by the witch. Maybe that is why the bond being severed has caused this reaction in her. It may not have anything to do with you."
"Regardless, you and I both know we should have risked whatever we needed to get her back to her mate."
Gavril lowered his eyes, something an Alpha rarely did. Rachel reached up and touched his cheek. He pulled her into his arms. "If I was her mate I would kill me." His voice was soft and deep. "You're right, love. If someone kept you from me, if someone took our bond, I wouldn't be able to stand it." He stepped back and raised her chin once again. "We will fix this."
Rachel nodded once and looked down at Jen. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was labored. She propped a pillow under her to raise her chest up. She took a seat next to the bed and held Jen's hand. "We have to."
Decebel fell to his knees as he doubled over in pain. He felt nausea rolling through him, but nothing came up. His head hung and sweat dripped from his brow despite the cold air. Sally, Cynthia, and Costin surrounded him but didn't touch him.
"This is the sixth time today," Cynthia spoke quietly to Sally. "It's been a week since we started off. He gets worse every day. Pretty soon he isn't going to be able to walk."
Sally took a deep breath and pushed it out through her teeth. Frustration threatened to overwhelm her as she watched the powerful wolf fight an invisible enemy.
Sally growled in frustration. "ARGH! We've been wandering all over this cold freaking mountain for a week! Where is this fairy? What are we supposed to do, drag a half-dead, huge werewolf through the mountains shouting, 'Here fairy, fairy. Come help the poor whittle healer.'"
Costin walked over to Sally. She looked up at him and snarled. Costin lifted a lip in a return and tapped her on the nose. "Calm yourself."
Sally's jaw nearly hit the ground at his audacity. Did he just tap me on the nose? Calm myself? What the -
"Calm myself?" Sally's voice was low as she looked up at the handsome wolf.
"I know you're frustrated, I get that. I know you're scared, I get that too." Costin stepped closer to her and laid his warm hand against her cold face. "But you don't get to lose it right now. You don't have that luxury, okay? You will pull yourself together and we will get Decebel through this. We will find Peri."
Sally tried really hard not to close her eyes and lean her face into his large warm hand, honestly she did. When she opened her eyes Costin's eyes were glowing. Crap, she thought.
She took a step back and nodded once. "Pull it together. Got it. I'm good now, I just needed to have a freak out moment. I've had it, I'm good to go."
Costin smiled that breath-taking smile. "Excellent." Then he stepped over to Decebel and knelt down. "How are you doing, Beta?"
A low growl emitted from Decebel. "Something is very wrong."
"Can you walk?"
He nodded once and struggled to his feet. Cynthia stood on his left, ready to help if necessary. Finally he stood, and Costin and Cynthia backed off.
Decebel's glowing eyes met Sally's. "We really need to find th
at fairy."
Sally nodded. "I know, Decebel. And aside from screaming at the top of my lungs I don't know what else to do."
"We just keep walking," Cynthia said firmly.
Costin nodded his agreement. He looked at Decebel. "Let's keep going until it gets dark. Can you handle that?" Costin knew the challenge would spur the Beta on.
Decebel growled.
Costin chuckled. "Good. Let's go, then." He turned to Sally. "You coming, healer?"
Sally stuck her tongue out at Costin as he waited for her to pass him. He simply chuckled at her, making her want to stomp on his foot – childish…maybe. And although she really wanted to slap him for his earlier Alpha-wolf show, she had needed someone to snap her out of it. If it had been Jen, Jen would have slapped her and told her to pull it together. So maybe having a hot wolf like Costin tell her that instead wasn't as bad as she thought.
The four continued on a non-existent path, Cynthia leading, Decebel, Sally, and Costin bringing up the rear. So it had been for the past week. As they walked and the day dragged on, Sally began to feel like they were being watched. She paused as they topped another long hill.
"Is it just me or does it feel like the trees have eyes?" she asked wearily.
"No, I've been feeling like we are being watched as well." Decebel's voice was raspy with pain.
Costin took a protective step in front of Sally as they each peered into the darkening forest. The sun began to set and the temperature continued to drop. Finally, after standing there for several moments feeling like they were in a standoff, Sally yelled, "Show yourself! We know you're there!"
They each let out a breath they didn't realize they had been holding. Then a voice came from up ahead.
"You have to be one of the bravest, mouthiest healers I have met in some time."
Decebel stepped forward, placing himself in front of their group. Costin stepped up beside him, blocking both Sally and Cynthia.