Normally, Maxim would be right there with them, eager for any distraction from his increasingly dark thoughts these days. But tonight he wasn’t in the mood.

  “You’re quiet tonight, Alpha,” Alexsey observed, cutting off his tale. “Trouble brewing?”

  Maxim shrugged his broad shoulders. “Just restless. The pull is stronger than ever.”

  Alexsey’s eyebrows shot up. The entire table sobered instantly, focusing on Maxim. His inner turmoil over his still-unknown mate was an open secret among the pack males.

  “Any clues where she might be?” Alexsey asked gently. As Beta, he understood Maxim’s frustration.

  “Only dreams.” Maxim took a long swallow of his beer. “Never full images, just…”

  He struggled to put the impressions into words. A slender hand gripping his … dark hair that he longed to bury his nose in … laughter like bubbling champagne.

  And shadows. A male figure lurking behind his mate, blurry but unmistakably sinister. Growling softly, Maxim shoved the specter from his mind. Just dreams, harmless shadows.

  Alexsey watched him with worried eyes. He clapped a supportive hand on his shoulder before tactfully changing the subject. The conversation moved to lighter topics, but Maxim’s smile was forced.

  The truth was, he was beginning to despair of ever finding his true mate. After over two centuries, shouldn’t their bond have guided them together by now? Maybe she truly was lost to him somehow. The thought hollowed him out inside.

  He was pulled from his brooding when the pub’s front doors blew open. Wind swirled through the interior, kicking up eddies of dust and debris. The lights flickered wildly.

  Every wolf was on their feet in an instant, hackles raised. Magic was palpable in the air, tickling the fine hairs on Maxim’s nape. Something powerful was in their midst.

  Two cloaked figures strode through the chaos, with seemingly no concern for the surrounding wolves. As they reached the center of the room, the smaller figure flung back her hood.

  Maxim’s breath left him in a rush. A high fae, but not just any high fae. Perizada. Regardless of her small stature, she seemed to fill the room. Her unearthly beauty and angular features were classic fae features, as were those ancient, piercing eyes. Her taller companion, however, was not fae. In fact, Maxim could smell the wolf on him.

  The wolf pushed his hood back, and Maxim saw the face of Lucian Lupei, Perizada’s mate, and brother to the most powerful alpha in history, or at least until his son took the mantle.

  Every one of Maxim’s wolves jumped to their feet. Some crouched, ready to attack if he should command it. He gave a subtle shake of his head as he waited to see what this visit was all about.

  “We seek the alpha of this ragtag, unofficial-as-hell rogue pack.” Perizada sounded bored. “We’ve been sent on behalf of the Great Luna herself, so please don’t waste our time.”

  Pulse thundering, Maxim found his voice. “I am Maxim, alpha of this pack. Why do you seek me?”

  Perizada tilted her head as if listening to some silent voice. Her next words shattered Maxim’s world.

  “Your true mate is knocking on death’s door in the clutches of a vampire. And she will die without you.”

  Lucian cursed under his breath as he looked down at Perizada. “You couldn’t have lessened the blow a bit, Beloved?”

  The high fae shrugged. “Why? He either cares or he doesn’t.”

  Maxim forgot to breathe. It was real. She was real. His mate was waiting for him somewhere right now. The dreams, the pull… All of it was real.

  His daze broke when Perizada turned on her heel, her mate doing the same, clearly expecting Maxim to follow. Snapping back to himself, he leapt after the pair. He felt Alexsey a step behind him. He didn’t bother to tell his beta to stay behind. Alexsey would be in charge while the alpha was gone, but Maxim must know more.

  Perizada and Lucian strode ahead at a brisk pace, forcing Maxim into a near jog to keep up as he peppered the fae with urgent questions.

  “Her name?”

  “Alice,” Perizada answered without slowing.

  The name wrapped around Maxim’s mind, both foreign and intimately familiar. He pressed for more. “How did she come to be with a vampire?” He spat the last word like a curse.

  Peri said nothing at first. She and Lucian only forged ahead. They finally stopped when they reached the parking lot of a pub. “I can only tell you what our Creator has shared. Her father works for the American government. She wasn’t given a choice. Cain, the vampire king, is working with the human government to build an army of hybrids.” Perizada’s tone remained flippant, despite the shocking information she was sharing.

  “That’s why the vampires are hunting down dormants?” Maxim asked as comprehension dawned.

  “Yes,” Lucian answered. “Cain has captured many. To our knowledge, he’s only managed to make one hybrid.”

  “Turns out your mate’s blood was the key ingredient to making it happen,” Perizada continued.

  Maxim’s wolf perked up even more. “Why is her blood necessary?”

  “Because she’s a gypsy healer.” Perizada’s words were a tad gentler, but it still felt like he’d been punched in the gut.

  His mate was a healer. “By the goddess,” he muttered as he rested his hands on his hips. “And she’s in the clutches of the vampire king?” The words came out in a growl as his fur rippled across his skin before he got his beast under control.

  “‘In the clutches’ isn’t exactly how I would describe her predicament.” Perizada hesitated. She pushed her long, white-blonde hair over her shoulder as she glanced at Lucian.

  “What does that mean?” Maxim wasn’t really sure if he wanted the answer.

  “I don’t know details,” Peri began, “but the other healers that are currently keeping her tethered to this world have told me that she and Cain have a connection.”

  “She has a connection to a vampire? How the hell does a gypsy healer have a connection to a vampire?” Maxim’s breathing was harsh as his hands fisted at his sides.

  “She was bitten by a vampire named Claude. Fane is currently hunting that son of a leech, but afterward, Cain saved her life by giving Alice his blood. So that is most likely what has caused this romantic interest.”

  Maxim’s heart pounded painfully in his chest. “Romantic?” What the actual hell? He let out a slew of cuss words in his native tongue as he ran a hand through his shoulder-length hair. “I’d thought my mate must have died. It’s been so long. I’ve been fighting the damn darkness for so long. And now I find out that she’s shacked up with a vampire?” Rage simmered beneath his skin at the idea of his mate enthralled with a leech. His wolf snarled and strained against its bonds.

  Lucian must have sensed the turbulence in Maxim as he speared Maxim with glowing wolf eyes until the wolf reluctantly quieted, and he dropped his gaze.

  “The girl did not choose her path,” the fae said. “At least not in the beginning. She wasn’t given a choice in the matter of helping Cain. And again, I only know what I’ve been told. She found out what she was once she started working for Cain. Before that, she didn’t even know of the supernatural world. Then she got kicked in her lady parts again by Claude. Cain came to her rescue. “So, perhaps—Perizada raised a hand—“she’s got Stockholm Syndrome. Whatever it is, it won’t matter in a day or so because she will be dead. Is that what you want, Maxim Rurik?” Her brow rose as she narrowed her eyes. “Do you want a chance to figure things out with her, the one female the Great Luna made for you, or do you want her to die, which will then eventually make you go feral? At which point, my mate will hunt you to put you down like a mangy dog. Because those are your choices.”

  Maxim inhaled slowly, mastering his roiling emotions through sheer force of will. “Where is she?”

  “Area 51,” Lucian answered. “The government’s not-so-secret bunker.”

  “How do you know that she’s ill?”

  “The gypsy healers have the ability to communicate with one another using their own bond,” Perizada explained. “Right now, there’s six of them using their light to keep her body from killing itself because of the foreign blood in her system. Their essences are with her, not their physical forms.

  “We haven’t yet been able to breach Cain’s defenses. He still has fae on his payroll, and they’ve got a barrier around the perimeter. No flashing in,” the high fae told him, shutting down his demand for her to take him to Alice right that second.

  Maxim growled. “How am I supposed to help her if I can’t get to her?”

  “We’re still working that part out,” Lucian said. “Now that you know of her…”

  “I’ve been feeling the pull for a while and having dreams of her,” Maxim told the other wolf. “And there was a shadowed man as well.”

  “Ouch, that had to suck,” Perizada muttered.

  “I didn’t understand.” Maxim sat down. “I certainly didn’t imagine he could possibly be her lover.” The word tasted like acid on his tongue, and he once again wanted to tear something, anything, apart.

  “For now, we will take you to the sprite realm,” Lucian offered. “That’s where Fane has set up a safe place for us. Originally, it was a haven from the Order. But they’ve been disbanded. Now the threat is Cain and this hybrid army he’s been creating supposedly for the United States government.”

  Maxim’s head was still spinning from the torrent of revelations, but he forced himself to focus. He turned to find that his beta was standing ten feet away. He looked as shocked as Maxim felt. “Alexsey, you’re in charge while I’m away. Contact me if anything changes. Mind the vampires that are hunting dormants. Kill them on sight. Now that we know why, there’s no mercy.”

  His beta nodded. “We’ll be ready when you return with your mate.”

  Mate. The word sent a fierce surge of possessiveness through Maxim’s gut. No matter Alice’s history with Cain, Maxim would remind her body and soul of who she belonged to.

  He turned back to Perizada and Lucian. “Take me to the sprite realm. I’m ready.”

  “Sally and the other healers have done their bond thing and connected with Alice,” Costin said as they sat crouched outside a known supernatural hangout.

  Decebel’s eyes remained focused on the door to the building. “Do you need to go back?”

  “No.” Costin sighed. “She needs to do this without me constantly hovering over her. Even if my wolf is raging to get back to her.”

  “Sally’s pregnant, not an invalid,” Jen said from the other side of her mate. “You know, if she needs you, she will tell you in a heartbeat.”

  Costin knew Jen was right, but that didn’t make it any easier to be away from his mate. Especially when he knew she was doing something so taxing, like keeping another supernatural being alive.

  “How did we get this lead?” Jen shifted on the ground where she knelt. “Because so far, not a damn person has come out of that door or gone in.”

  “One of Peri’s pixie spies,” Jacque answered. “You know she’s got eyes everywhere. It’s a wonder the sprite who stole the book could get her hands on it without Peri finding out sooner.”

  “Why are we even waiting?” Jen threw up her hands. “Regardless of what supernaturals are in that building, they don’t stand a chance against us. Seriously, look at us: an elf king, a warlock queen, several ancient fae warriors, and some badass wolves. We totally got this.”

  “We need a plan, baby.” Decebel’s deep voice rumbled in the night. “We can’t just enter an unknown situation and hope for the best.”

  “Worked for us.” Jen winked.

  Adam chuckled. “Only Jen would compare her relationship to a hunting operation.”

  “Just speaking the truth, fairy boy,” Jen snarked.

  Crina groaned. “Please quit calling my mate ‘fairy boy.’ That totally makes me feel like a creeper, and I’m centuries younger than him. Fairy man, fairy male, or just Crina’s mate are all acceptable alternatives.”

  Jen glanced at the she-wolf, her eyes narrowing a bit. “You’re not pregnant, too, are you? Because you’re not usually this touchy about things. You’re a let-it-roll-off-your-back type.”

  Adam’s head swiveled around so fast that Costin thought the usually graceful fae male would fall over. “Crina?”

  “No,” she snapped quickly. “I’m not pregnant, and don’t you think I would have told you if I was?”

  Decebel hissed. “Hush. Only this group of misfits would sit in the dark talking about feeling like a creeper, being pregnant, and keeping said fake pregnancy from their mate, all without bothering to keep their voices down.”

  Costin thought the beta had a point.

  “This is a boring field operation, Dec,” Jen whined. “What are we supposed to do?”

  “Be quiet and keep a sharp eye.” Her mate didn’t miss a beat.

  “The first request totally disqualifies most of us from this operation,” Adam offered.

  Costin shifted restlessly, tuning out the rest of their banter. He was torn between needing to protect his mate and his pack duty. Sally was linked with the other healers, using their magic to keep a stranger alive. Meanwhile, he crouched in the shadows, tracking down a dangerous book of dark magic.

  His wolf growled, unhappy being so far from their pregnant mate. But Sally had insisted they go. This mission was too important.

  “Remember what’s at stake,” Decebel rumbled, no doubt picking up on Costin’s demeanor and ever perceptive of Costin’s turmoil about being separated from Sally. “If the enemy gains control of the book, the consequences would be severe.”

  Costin nodded grimly. The Nushtonia contained sinister power—the knowledge to open portals between worlds and to raise and control the dead if legends were true. It could not remain in the hands of the dark sprite who had stolen it.

  Celise clutched the Nushtonia to her chest, glaring out at the shadows where she knew the wolves lurked. Did they truly think her such a fool? She was no mere sprite now. The book’s dark power thrummed through her veins, enhancing her senses.

  These so-called allies of Andora, the sprite queen, meant to ambush her and steal back the glorious knowledge she’d claimed. They would fail.

  Tracing a claw-like nail over the ancient runes embossed on the cover, Celise summoned the book’s might.

  “You will serve me,” she intoned. “Open the way so I may smite those who oppose my will.”

  The air hummed with gathering power. Celise’s lips peeled back in a feral smile as a small rent tore in the fabric of reality before her.

  Beyond the wavering portal, fire and endless night awaited. Hell would answer her call.

  With an otherworldly shriek, misshapen forms hurtled through the breach, claws outstretched. The demons were small and weak, but they would distract her enemies long enough for her to escape.

  As the first creatures crossed into the physical plane, Celise wrapped herself in shadows and slipped unseen from the building.

  Jen’s head jerked up at the bone-chilling screeches splitting the air. Seconds later, the glass door they’d been watching shattered under the force of clawed, writhing bodies.

  “What in the seven hells are those?” She yelped, scrambling away from the creatures now spilling across the parking lot right toward them.

  Decebel shoved her safely behind him, already beginning to shift to wolf form. “Hellspawn,” he bit out grimly.

  “Note to self, stop calling Thia spawn of hell. She’s nowhere close to these creepy psychos.” Jen let her wolf phase just enough for her claws to come out to play. Her eyesight sharpened to that of her wolf’s, and her sense of smell enhanced. Which was not a good thing, since the little demons reeked of sulfur. “Well, at least we’re not bored anymore.”

  As her mate and the other wolves charged to intercept the creatures, magic exploded outward in blinding bursts from the hands of Elle, Adam, and Cyn. The three fae were brutal in their ferocity as they hit demon after demon.

  Jen leapt forward with Jacque, calling on her wolf’s power that flowed so fiercely within her. Together, they attacked the first demon that reached them. The creature’s skeletal body was hunched and angular, with knobby protrusions jutting out at painful angles. Its flesh was blackened and charred, as though it had been badly burned. Long, spindly arms ended in claws that looked sharp enough to gut a man with one swipe. Its head was oversized and oblong, with a large snarling mouth filled with pointed fangs. Beady red eyes glowed with malevolence above a smashed looking nose.

  Overall, its mismatched proportions and charred flesh gave it a twisted, almost pitiable appearance, if not for the aura of undiluted malice radiating from it. This was a being formed of darkness, rage, and pain, bent only on destroying anything it encountered. Its hellish shrieks and snarls inspired instinctive horror and revulsion.

  “We’re honestly doing these guys a favor by putting them out of their misery.” Jen swiped out a clawed hand.

  “Can’t disagree with you, bestie.” Jacque dropped to one knee and slammed her fist into an oncoming beast’s chest, wrenching out its heart. It fell to the ground immediately and then burst into flames.

  Jen paused, looking at where the ashes lay. “Dramatic ending.” She smiled. “I like it.”

  “Of course you do,” Crina added dryly.

  The male pack members formed a defensive circle around the females. Which was ridiculous, but seeing as how they still had demons barreling toward them, Jen let it lie for now. Crina had fully phased into her wolf form. Sorin was only partially phased, his legs bent at an odd angle as he stood up looking much like the werewolves depicted in human fiction. Thalion, the elf king, had a bow at the ready with an arrow nocked. He let it soar, and Jen watched as the arrow hit its mark, the demon erupting into flames with a high-pitched screech.