“How long did it take you to find the vampires?” Lucian crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. It was the pose Peri had come to think of as his listening pose.

  “We’d only been here a couple of hours when we came across our first coven. They were young.”

  “How young?” Lucian asked.

  “By their scent, I’d say less than a week.”

  “Where exactly was this, Boain?” Peri asked.

  Boain lifted up a hand and then jogged over to the SUV, which now sported a large dent in the hood. He grabbed a pack from inside and jogged back. Boain held out his cell phone for Peri and Lucian to see. “Started here in this small community of Indian Springs. We took out our first coven there,” he explained. “Then we followed the news reports into Las Vegas and took out ten vampires there, but five got away.” He ran his finger along a yellow line. “We followed them on highway 15. Found covens in each of these communities. These places aren’t really large enough to be considered towns. And we’ve taken out three more along highway 15.”

  Peri’s jaw ticked. She let her eyes travel the highway on the small map on the mobile device. “There have been covens in each place?”

  Boain nodded.

  “Any humans left?” Lucian asked before she could.

  Lorna’s eyes dropped, and Peri noted the she-wolf’s fists clenched tightly.

  “None,” Boain said. “We found no bodies, though, so they’re taking them somewhere. And I don’t know how they managed to get them cleared out before Lorna and I arrived.”

  “Likely the vamps that escaped were the lookouts.” Lucian narrowed his eyes. “They were moving ahead, warning the other covens.”

  Peri nodded. “Several small communities have been cleaned out. That should look to the humans as if these places have been abandoned. Has anything about that been reported on the news?”

  Lorna shook her head. “As of today, there’s been nothing more about a sudden uptick of missing persons. It’s like it never even happened. Suddenly, all the humans want to discuss on the news is the heat wave that is hitting the country so early in March and supposed terrorist activity.” Peri didn’t miss the rage that filled Boain’s mate’s voice.

  Peri pursed her lips. “But there were missing persons’ reports yesterday, and the news is buried today? That has the distinct aroma of a cover-up.”

  “By whom?” Lorna’s eyes snapped up to meet Peri’s. “And to what end?”

  “Humans, I’m sure,” Peri replied. “And a thirst for power. That is always the end game. As different as they are, humans and supernaturals share that much in common.”

  The she-wolf’s brow dropped low, and her fists fell open. “What humans? How would they even know…” Her words died off as her eyes seemed to glaze over while her mind caught up to her questions.

  “You think the humans know about the vampires?” Boain asked.

  Peri sighed. “Some do. There have always been humans in strategic positions of leadership that have known about the supernatural world.”

  “But it has been a very long time since the two have interacted on an official level,” Lucian offered as he met her eyes. “And they’ve never worked with vampires.”

  Peri tilted her head at her mate. “True. But it’s been a very long time since even the high fae have worked with any human governments. And much has changed since last we did.”

  Lorna pursed her lips. “Like what?”

  “Like the fact that vampires are depicted as sexy movie stars now, and not monsters that just want to drink humans dry like a juice box,” Lucian deadpanned.

  Boain scoffed. “You really think humans are that dumb? You think the entertainment industry is going to affect the educated minds of government leaders? Men and women put in place to keep their people safe?”

  Peri threw her head back and laughed, the sound echoing around them. When no one joined her, she snapped her mouth closed and then looked at him. “Oh, you were being serious?”

  Boain lifted a brow at her.

  “Fine, jeez.” Peri waved him off. “Yes. I absolutely think the entertainment industry can affect people that much, even educated people who are supposedly put in place to look after their people. The humans alive today, even those that are aware of its existence, have no idea as to the true nature of the supernatural world. Their ancestors did. They understood what the monsters were and what they were capable of. Those people did everything they could to keep them away, which is why supernaturals have lived in hiding since the beginning of time. Now, a supernatural movie comes out and millions of people go see it on opening weekend. A new vampire show debuts on a streaming service and millions of mindless humans binge every episode in two days.”

  Lorna shook her head. “And so you believe there are human governments working with the vampires for some kind of power grab. And they are too dumb to figure out the vampires are the bad guys.”

  “You’ve got a sharp one here, Boain.” Peri pointed at Lorna. “Best keep her around since you seem to be a French fry short of a kids’ meal.”

  “Or,” Lucian added, “they don’t care if they are the bad guys.”

  “Holy crap.” Lorna breathed out. “They’d actually work with murderers?”

  “It doesn’t help that vampires are the only supernatural beings that can ‘share’”—Peri made air quotes around the word share—“their power with humans. And obviously by share I mean turn them into blood sucking monsters. But humans won’t see it that way. Again, their race has been romanticized.”

  “That’s insane.” Lorna frowned.

  Peri looked as if she was about to burst out laughing again, but then stifled it. She reached out and patted the female’s hand. “Not to be rude, but what rock have you been living under?”

  “Peri.” Lucian growled.

  “What?” She raised her hands. “That wasn’t rude. Was it?” Her eyes bounced from Boain to Lorna to Lucian. “Was it?”

  Lorna titled her head. “Do you have a problem with being rude or something?”

  “Yes,” Lucian said at the same time Peri said, “No.”

  Boain coughed, and it sounded suspiciously like a laugh.

  “I’m not judging,” Lorna offered.

  “Well, where we’re going, you better shed that too-nice, non-judgy skin and grow alligator hide.” Peri held out her arm toward Boain and Lorna. “Because some of the females you are about to meet make me look like a fairy godmother.”

  Lorna scoffed. “Really?” She pointed at Peri’s black clothes. “Because I’m getting anything but a fairy-godmother vibe.”

  Lucian snorted.

  “Smart and funny.” Peri grinned. “She’s a keeper. Let’s go. Fane needs to hear this before we attack Alston tomorrow.”

  Boain’s eyes went wide. “He’s attacking tomorrow?”

  Lorna followed up with, “I don’t do packs.”

  Peri took the woman’s hand and placed it on her arm. “You do now. So pull up your big, she-wolf panties and throw in a garter belt and thigh-high stockings if that kind of thing floats your boat. It’s time to get past those fears.” She put Boain’s hand next to Lorna’s. “And yes, Boain, he’s attacking tomorrow. I never understand why people feel it necessary to ask a question when they obviously heard the answer the first time. Babe.” She held out her hand to Lucian, and he took it.

  “Play nice, beloved.”

  She blinked innocently. “I am the epitome of niceness. I’ve turned over a new leaf.”

  “Mmm,” Lucian’s cheek lifted slightly causing one eye to squint. “It’s more like you’ve bent over the tiny corner of a new leaf.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Well, if I fixed all my flaws at the same time, I would make others feel inadequate. And that wouldn't be very nice now, would it? Make up your mind, mate. Do you want me to play nice or crush the self-confidence of every individual that comes in contact with my awe-inspiring humble and selfless nature?”

  “Does she know what those words actually mean?” Lorna whispered.

  Lucian lifted a brow at Peri as if waiting.

  She smirked and flashed. “See, I didn’t zap her for that ridiculous question. I’ve practically reached sainthood.”

  Chapter 6

  “That’s it. I refuse to do any more chapter headings. I’m done. You two armchair psychiatrists can handle them all from now on. Take your interventions and toss them on the ground like little plastic building blocks and then do an Irish jig on them.” ~Jen

  “We are in the middle of a complete global crisis—albeit one that humans don’t really know about—and I am still able to focus completely on my own issues, somehow making them the center of my universe. There are other things that are so much more important. What does that say about me?” ~Jen

  “How many times do we have to tell you not to minimalize your feelings?” ~Sally

  “How many times do I have to tell you to quit interrupting my chapter headings. Wait for your own damn chapter headings to bitch at me.” ~Jen

  “You’re right. It’s worse than we realized. It’s time for an intervention. Again.” ~Jacque

  Jen stood in the bathroom, her hands resting on the counter. She lowered her head until her chin nearly touched her chest. Her body trembled. Emotions flooded her body, and she tensed every muscle so tightly she thought they might break through her skin.

  She, Decebel, and Thia had eaten dinner together, just as her mate had wanted. Afterward, Decebel sat on the floor and played with their daughter, making her laugh and tossing her in the air until Jen was sure Thia would puke up her dinner all over her daddy’s face. Then he’d given her a bath, all the while talking to her in Romanian. He did that as much as possible, pointing to objects and using the Romanian term for them. He wanted Thia to be bilingual and to appreciate both sides of her heritage. Jen loved that. She loved that he took so much joy in caring for their child. Even when he was tired and stressed, he didn’t leave it to Jen to do everything.

  The evening should have been enjoyable. Her smiles should have been genuine and her laughter real. But inside, her soul was anything but at peace. The confidence she had in their relationship, which had always been so rock solid, was cracking. The emotions she’d felt coming from Decebel in the hall had been like sharp pebbles flying at a car windshield, causing those little spiderweb cracks that would inevitably grow bigger and bigger until the integrity of the entire glass was compromised and the window needed to be replaced.

  Bile rose in her throat, and she gagged. Would she need to be replaced if she had too many cracks? Could she really expect Decebel to put up with her many faults? “Bloody hell.” She breathed out, trying very hard to keep herself together and failing miserably. She slammed her palms down on the countertop and let the pain radiate up her arms, jarring her teeth. It wasn’t enough. Jen stood up straight and shook out her hands as she paced in a circle. “Get it together, Jennifer,” she muttered. But she couldn’t. The divide that had started between them in the morning when he’d told her she wasn’t going with the pack to take down Alston had grown to an abyss the size of the Grand Canyon, and she didn’t know how to close it. Jen felt as if she stood on the edge of that chasm, and the smallest breeze would send her tumbling into the darkness.

  She grabbed a towel, balled it up, and shoved her face into it. Then she screamed as loud as she could. Jen screamed so hard she felt her blood rising to her face, heating her skin, causing sweat to bead up on her neck. Jen screamed until she was out of breath and then she sucked in another and screamed again. She walked forward until her hands, holding the towel, were against the wall and she could press her face even harder into the material. Jen didn’t know if it would muffle the sound enough that Decebel wouldn’t hear her, but she hoped it would. She’d shut down the bond, even though it felt like a knife to her heart to do so.

  Jen’s shoulders shook, and her feet stomped over and over as every ounce of emotion erupted from her body. If anyone saw her like this, she’d likely throw herself into the abyss instead of falling accidentally. She was Jen-freaking-Anghelescu, control freak, tough chick, and all-around badass. But at the moment, she felt like a fraud. Screaming like a child into a towel and stomping her feet definitely did not denote badassness. Her actions revealed a hurting woman, desperate to fix what she’d destroyed in her marriage. How the hell did she get to this point? Did she get married, mated, whatever, too young? Absolutely. Would she change that? A couple days ago she would have said no. But now? After ripping her mate’s clothes to shreds like a wild animal driven only by her instincts, she now questioned if they should have waited. That thought alone nearly dropped her to her knees. There was no way she could have been around Decebel and not mated him. The hole that had existed inside of her where he belonged would have eaten her from the inside out.

  Another flood of emotions rushed through her like a raging river, making her scream again. What the actual fuck was wrong with her? And did she just use the F word? She never used that word. That was the word she reserved for when the end of the world actually happened and there was no way to save it. Now, as if the apocalypse was suddenly happening in her damn bathroom, the F word flew out of her like a hailstorm. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” To her absolute horror, she pulled her head back and slammed it against her towel in her hands. Then she did it again, and again, and again, all the while cursing uncontrollably.

  She didn’t hear the door open. How the hell could she when she was losing her ever loving mind? And even when Decebel’s firm hands clutched her shoulders and held her still, she didn’t stop screaming. She felt his breath against her ear.

  “Shh, baby,” he whispered. Then he spoke soft words to her in his native tongue. Some she understood, but most she didn’t. His hands released her shoulders, and then his large arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her tightly against him, her back to his chest. Decebel kept his face pressed firmly to her neck and continued to speak to her. “It’s going to be okay, my precious mate. You haven’t destroyed anything. I could never replace you, nor would I ever desire to. Please, baby, open the bond. Let me bear this with you.”

  Jen’s voice cut off abruptly. She dropped the towel and clutched his hands. She leaned her head back and pressed it firmly against him. “Please don’t give up on me,” she said, her voice hoarse from her screams. “I can do better. I can be a better mate, a better wife.”

  He started to release her, and she dug her nails into his arms. “Don’t go. Please, dammit. I’m begging, which has to be a complete and total turnoff, but—”

  “I will never let you go,” he said, his voice a deep rumble. “Even if you left me, I would follow you like the creepy stalker you often call me. And I would have no shame in it.” He pressed his lips to her neck. “I want you to turn and face me. I want to look into your beautiful blue eyes. Let me see you, mate.”

  Shame filled Jen as the silence in the bathroom suddenly made her feel naked. Seconds ago, the space sounded like a tornado was ripping through it because of her. Decebel grabbed her waist and turned her until she faced his chest. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and her eyes immediately latched onto her name that was carved into his skin above his heart with a fae blade. This man who’d dealt with her temper tantrums, her demands, her schemes, and ridiculous antics had her name carved into his flesh. Why?

  He cupped her face and tilted her head back so that she looked at him. “Because without you my heart would cease to beat. Not just because we are true mates and our fates are intertwined. Even if that wasn’t our destiny, if you left this world, I would not survive without you. No matter what faults you have, I have as many or more. No matter what failings you think you have, I have them in equal measure.”

  Jen averted her eyes, but her mate wasn’t having it.

  “Look at me.” This time, it was the wolf who addressed her. When her eyes refocused on him, the amber within was glowing like the stars in the night sky. “This will not be the last time we have an argument. It will not be the last time I say something out of anger, or the last time you will want to hurl things at me or hide from me. We are flawed, Jennifer. But that’s what makes us beautiful.”

  She huffed. “How so?” There was no way he could still consider her beautiful after all she’d put him through.

  “Because if we were already perfect, we couldn’t strive to be so. We wouldn’t be able to work toward better character, selflessness, patience, and love beyond ourselves. Because of our flaws, we have a chance to be better.” His lips turned up in a small smile. “To watch each other grow and applaud one another when we do. And when we fail at it, we encourage each other. I can come and hold you and tell you I love you and forgive you. That makes me grow as a person. Forgiveness isn’t easy.” He said shaking his head as if to emphasize his words. “It takes practice. And when I mess up, you have the chance to forgive me. We become better. Never perfect, but moving forward toward the goal the Great Luna has set before us.”

  Jen wiped the tears from her cheeks and considered his words. She released the hold she’d had on the bond and immediately Decebel’s love flowed into her. His desperation to get to her when she’d been emotionally unavailable, as well as physically locked away in the bathroom, was apparent. Jen let go of the reigns on her own feelings and let her mate have access to everything that had filled her and overtaken her.

  “Oooh, my love.” His voice was so filled with pain that the physical ache reached into her very bones. “I am sorry my words hurt you so deeply. I should have thought before I spoke. I let my frustration rule my actions, and for that, I am truly remorseful. Can you forgive me?”

  His words had hurt her, but if she’d stopped and gathered herself instead of letting her emotions control her, she would have been able to be reasonable. Jen knew Decebel loved her. She knew he wouldn’t intentionally hurt her. “I don’t know that there is anything to forgive.”