Heather’s face lost its playfulness. Her lips straightened, and her cheeks dropped from the loss of her smile. She managed to push herself away from her mate and walked unerringly straight to where Peri stood. The high fae stared at the blonde healer as if the girl was a pest that needed to be swatted away. Jen’s spine stiffened as she watched Heather reach out her hand and gently place it on Peri’s arm. Decebel took a step forward as did Kale. But they needn’t have worried. Heather’s touch lasted less than a second. As soon as her hand made contact with Peri’s skin, the healer gasped and backed away several steps. “Perizada.” Heather’s voice was soft as her sightless eyes bore down on the fae. “What have you done?”

  Jen frowned, and her wolf perked up. “What do you mean? What has she done about what?”

  Heather stepped away even farther until her back was pressed against her mate’s front. “What have you done?” Heather asked again, her voice growing more forceful.

  “It is none of your concern,” Peri answered, her voice laced with a coldness that Jen was beginning to hate. “You’re with your mate and pack. Our obligation to one another was complete upon Volcan’s defeat.”

  “Is that all we were? An obligation?” Though Heather’s tone was just as strong, the hurt was evident.

  “Aren’t all jobs nothing more than an obligation?” Peri held out her arm to Jen and Decebel and looked away from the blind healer. “I don’t have all day.”

  Jen ignored her and hurried over to Heather. She wrapped her in a hug and whispered, “I’m assuming Sally has your number. I’ll be in touch.”

  Heather nodded her head but didn’t say anything. She squeezed Jen as if she was a long-lost friend, and the healer couldn’t bear to say goodbye. Jen could only imagine how the girl was feeling now that she’d been brushed off by the woman she’d been through so much with. When they released one another, Jen nodded to Kale and then gave the Ireland alpha a small bow of her head before marching back to her mate’s side.

  “We will be in touch,” Decebel said to Angus, and then placed his hand on Peri’s arm, alongside Jen’s. “Italy next, please.” They disappeared as soon as the words were out of his mouth.

  When their feet were once again on solid ground, Jen squeezed Peri’s arm, letting her human nails phase into wolf claws so the high fae would feel the sting. “Peri, wait,” she growled before the fae could flash.

  The fae’s head turned slowly, and her eyes glanced down at Jen’s hand on her arm. “There are ancient laws about drawing first blood,” Peri said, her voice smooth like velvet and deadly like poison.

  “I haven’t drawn any blood.” Jen knew because she would have smelled it. “And those laws are ancient for a reason. The passing of time reveals how foolish many ancient things are.”

  Peri’s brow rose. “You think ancient things are foolish?”

  Okay, so maybe it wasn’t wise to say to the ancient fae that ancient things were foolish. But when the shoe fits, sometimes it pinches the pinky toe like a bitch. “Don’t go getting your magical panties in a twist.” She sighed. “I just needed to get your attention. You seem to be keen on fleeing these days.”

  “I do not flee from anything.” The words were gritted out through clenched teeth, and Jen felt Peri’s arm tense under her hand.

  “Could have fooled me.” Jen smirked.

  “Never thought I’d see the day when someone could hold their own against the sharp tongue of Perizada of the high fae.” A new voice joined them.

  Jen turned her head to see a woman with beautiful, smooth, chocolate skin, with light brown eyes shaped like almonds, giving her an exotic look. Striding behind her was a tall, well-built man with olive-colored skin, dark hair, and the air of confidence and authority that only an alpha wolf wore like a second skin. As they stepped closer, Jen could feel the power radiating from the man.

  “Well, I never thought I’d see the day when I’d develop more than one girl-crush in a day, so we’re getting all sorts of firsts.” Jen chuckled when she heard her mate groan. She would never tire of driving him crazy. Though she knew he would get even with her, behind closed doors of course.

  “You can count on it, Jennifer,” his voice purred in her mind.

  Jen ignored him and turned her attention back to the newcomers.

  “Peri.” The male held out his hand in a welcoming gesture. “It is good to see you again.” He looked at Decebel and then Jen. “Decebel and Jennifer, welcome to Italy.”

  “I shouldn’t be surprised that he knows my name, should I?” Jen asked the woman standing next to the yummy, Italian man, YIM for short, which is how Jen would think of him from this day forward.

  “I swear you’re not going to be able to sit for a week,” Decebel snapped, his voice as sharp as a whip in her head.

  “You do realize I could take that as a promise instead of a threat, right? Maybe you should work on your definition of a punishment, B.” Jen knew she might be pushing just a little too much today, but she was pissed, and that tended to bring out some of her more irritating qualities.

  “I am Ciro,” the YIM continued, “alpha of the Italy pack, and this is my mate, Stella.” He turned to look at her, and his eyes softened as he reached up and ran the back of his fingers across her cheek. The look and action was so tender that Jen nearly swooned.

  “Ciro, Stella,” Peri said in her clipped tone, which was becoming way too familiar to Jen’s ears.

  “Wow,” Jen said as she tore her eyes from the couple, “you guys actually got acknowledged by the ice queen. Impressive.”

  “I would hope we’d get acknowledged,” Stella said with a confused look. “After all we’ve been through together, it would be rude for Peri to ignore us. Don’t you think?”

  Jen glanced at her and saw that Stella’s question was directed at Peri. The high fae’s eyes bore into the Italian female alpha, but Stella didn’t look the least bit intimidated. Yep, girl crush.

  “It is good to see you are doing well,” Peri told Stella. “You’ve not been eaten by the wolves or kidnapped by the Order. I’d say things are looking up for you. And now that I’ve acknowledged you, I will be on my way. At least until I’m whistled for.” She shot Decebel a glare.

  Jen squeezed her hand tighter reminding Peri that she still held her arm. A sharp sting met the center of Jen’s palm, and she immediately yelped and released the appendage. “What the hell? Did you just zap me?”

  Peri’s eyes jumped over her shoulder. At the same time, Jen felt her mate’s growl in her chest because it was that intense. Jen turned and held out her hand just as her mate lunged, but Peri was gone before he could … do … what? Grab her? Swipe a clawed hand at her? Rip her throat out? Crap, Jen didn’t have a clue what her mate had been thinking when he’d gone for the fae, and she couldn’t get a read on his thoughts because his mind was filled with a red haze of rage.

  “Beta.” A deep voice, filled with command, froze Jen in place.

  Ciro had spoken, and his power was so strong that she immediately bowed her head, her wolf acknowledging this alpha’s dominance over them. She could hear Decebel’s breaths coming out in short pants. His wolf was still growling like a rabid beast.

  “Calm yourself,” the Italy alpha ordered, though he didn’t raise his voice above a normal speaking level. “You will not upset my mate with your violence.”

  “Don’t you use me as an excuse to do your alpha mojo on them,” Stella said. “I’ve only seen Peri have her butt handed to her a couple of times, and things have been a bit boring around here. It would have been nice to see a little excitement.”

  “He was not going to hand her butt to her, beloved. He was going to kill her. Or at least attempt to.” There was no surprise in Ciro’s voice, just a simple statement of fact.

  A couple heartbeats later, Jen felt the power recede, and she was able to move again. Decebel’s arms were instantly around her. He pulled her tightly to him and then lifted her hand. His gentle touch was so opposite from the violence he’d been about to dole out that Jen found herself leaning into him. She was still amazed that he treated her with such tenderness, even though she loved to push all of his buttons.

  “Are you all right?” he asked her, his voice soft as he ran his thumb across her palm. There was a small red spot but nothing else. It was tender to the touch but otherwise undamaged.

  “Thia’s done more damage to me than that little zap,” Jen said. “Remember how she nearly gnawed my nip—” Her words were cut off by his lips as he pressed them firmly to hers. When he lifted his head, his eyes were glowing bright amber with his wolf.

  “Could you please refrain from bringing up anything to do with body parts that should not be discussed in public?” His arm tightened as he waited for her answer.

  “Have you met Heather?” Stella’s voice broke through the bubble Dec had created around them. “Because her dirty mouth would give yours a run for your money.”

  Jen turned in Decebel’s arms, ignoring his question. She tried not to lie if she could help it. Jen looked at Stella and said, “I have had the pleasure of meeting her. She’s one of the new girl crushes I mentioned earlier.”

  Stella laughed. “And how does your mate feel about said girl crushes?”

  “About as good as he does about the maii—”

  “If you bring up the mailman, I’m going to spank you right here in front of this alpha pair and not stop until you swear on our daughter’s life never to mention him again.” Decebel snarled, not bothering to lower his voice to keep Ciro and Stella from hearing him.

  “Technically, B,” she said in her sweetest voice, “you brought him up. I was going to say you feel as good about my girl crushes as you do about the … ma-yonnaise I accidentally put on your sandwich the other night. I mean, you spit it out on the floor, babe. I felt like it was the perfect comparison to the answer to Stella’s question.”

  “Female, you do remember that I can hear your thoughts, right?” her mate asked.

  “Ciro, can you get me a chair?” Stella asked. “This is better than any of those angsty shows I’ve been watching.”

  Jen grinned.

  “I don’t think they’ve come to entertain us.” Ciro’s eyes stayed on Decebel as if he knew the threat of his wolf losing control hadn’t passed.

  The alpha’s words seemed to penetrate through some of Decebel’s anger and possessiveness. He loosened his hold on her and then gave his attention to Ciro. “Fane requested my mate and I check in on each of the packs. Though we figured we’d have heard from you if the Order had attacked, he wanted for us to see each of the packs face-to-face. He’d have come himself but—”

  “He’s a tad busy I imagine,” Ciro interrupted. “The challenges have begun.” It wasn’t a question. “We’ve had six vampires make their way onto pack territory but, due to some overzealous pack members they were dispatched before we could capture and question them. Since then, during our training times we’ve been going over the importance of maim first, question, then kill. It’s a bit of a learning curve considering they’ve been brewing up emotions of anger for the past four months. We are also sending out scouts instead of just keeping the borders of the territories safe. If there were six, then there has to be more.” Ciro glanced out over the land, his eyes scanning as if he might be able to see the invaders, then sighed and shook his head. “Please let Fane know he has my full support and allegiance.”

  Ciro’s words loosened another knot that had been clenched in Jen’s stomach. So far, none of the pack alphas were angry about Fane being placed as the head alpha over all the packs, which seemed like a miracle considering how young he is. Jen had been wondering if their egos or dominant tendencies would cause any of them to want to challenge what the Great Luna had decreed.

  “Thank you,” Decebel said. He bowed his head and slightly tilted it, bearing a small portion of his neck. Jen followed his lead. Through their bond, she could feel the great amount of respect that her mate had for the Italian alpha. She wondered if there was a story behind it and made a mental note to ask him about it later.

  “Stella, it was really great to meet you.” Jen walked over to the healer and gave her a quick hug. She’d seen Decebel pull his phone out, no doubt contacting the wicked fae of the west. “As with my other new besties slash girl crushes, we will have to get together as soon as we’ve saved the world.”

  “Again,” Stella said. “You mean ‘saved the world again.’ From what I hear, you guys have been busy, and me and my healer chicks recently lent our own hand to the cause. I’m thinking we’re going to do more than just get together.” She smiled and glanced at Ciro. “We’re going to need a cruise or an all-inclusive resort trip.”

  “I’m on board with that.” Jen grinned. “See what I did there? On board … like a ship?”

  “Baby, when you keep having to explain your bad jokes, they’re not nearly as funny,” Decebel muttered, his voice sounding as if his attention wasn’t completely on the conversation.

  “Stella thought it was funny,” Jen said. “Didn’t you, Stell?”

  “Funniest thing I’ve heard in the past five minutes.”

  Jen snorted. “Yep, keeping this one, too.”

  “They’re still not strays,” Dec grumbled. A minute later, a fae appeared next to Decebel, but it wasn’t Peri.

  “Elle?” Jen asked as she glanced at her mate.

  “I’m sure you’re deeply disappointed that your previous escort has abandoned you,” Elle said dryly.

  “Crushed,” Jen replied.

  “Apparently, she’s got better crap to do. Her words. It just so happened that you texted her at the same time that it became apparent we’ve got a situation at the mansion.”

  Decebel’s back straightened. “What kind of situation?”

  “The ‘dominant wolves do stupid shite’ kind.” Elle glanced at Ciro. “No offense.”

  Ciro shrugged. “You won’t hear an argument from me. Should I join you?”

  Elle shook her head. “Not just yet. If things get out of hand, we’ll call on you.”

  “We’ll be ready,” the Italian alpha promised.

  Elle grabbed Decebel’s wrist and then Jen’s. “Hope you two are ready to party.”

  “Do I get to behead someone?” Jen asked.

  Elle laughed. “I’m beginning to think there really is something wrong with you.”

  “Dude, why on earth would you ever think there wasn’t something wrong with me?”

  “Good point.”

  “Elle.” Decebel growled.

  “Right,” the fae said. “Flashing now.”

  Jen turned and blew Stella a kiss. “If I don’t return for you, I’m probably dead. As my new bestie, I expect you to avenge me. No pressure.”

  Stella smirked. “How about you just don’t die?”

  “That’s a good plan, too.” Jen gave her a thumbs-up and then they were gone.

  Chapter

  Ten

  “We are three days into the rogue challenges, and I’m pretty sure I have never in my life wanted to beat the crap out of anyone the way I want to beat the ever-loving crap out of so many people right now. I mean, I’ve wanted to beat the crap out of every bad guy we’ve faced, of course, but those were generally just one or two at a time. Right now, I’ve got a list that numbers a few dozen long. And I don’t want to just punch them until they’re bleeding. I want to take a crowbar and smash the shit out of them until all of their teeth are lying on the ground. It’s possible I need therapy … or a straitjacket … or both.” ~Jacque

  * * *

  “I thought there were only twenty alphas and some betas,” Jacque snapped. She paced in front of the stairs of the mansion, staring out into the area where her mate had been fighting for going on four days. The morning was so early that the sun had only just begun to peak over the edge of the mountains. It would have been a beautiful morning with the snow sparkling like diamonds under the rays of the sun, but there was nothing beautiful about the lives her mate had been forced to take. Many had refused to submit, and those could not be allowed to live. With every death he dealt, she felt his pain, and it was gut-wrenching. “Some of these curs crawling out of the woodwork can barely stand in Fane’s presence because they aren’t nearly as dominant, yet still they challenge him. That doesn’t make sense.”

  “Water.” Lucian held out a hand.

  Adam produced a bottle and tossed it to the male who then tossed it to Fane. Another wolf was removed from the fighting circle by his comrades. If they’d been in their wolf forms, their tails would have been tucked under themselves. Jacque watched her mate chug back the cool liquid and then pour some of it over his face. He hadn’t even phased into his wolf form since the afternoon before. He hadn’t needed to.

  “I keep thinking it’s some sort of distraction,” Wadim said. “Like a Trojan horse.”

  “Protein bar,” Lucian barked after Fane threw the water bottle back to his uncle. Adam produced the requested food in his hand just as he had done the water and threw it to Lucian who then passed it off to Fane. Jacque couldn’t help but wonder how long her mate could go on like this. He hadn’t slept. He was only eating protein bars when he had a few minutes break before the next idiot walked out of the forest.

  Her mate leaned back onto his right leg and watched the forest at the spot where the challengers had been emerging. He seemed calm, his face resigned and his body relaxed, as if he was just enjoying the crisp morning air. Jacque was trying to draw on his zenness, but inside she was a mass of pissed-off she-wolf. Suddenly, Cyn appeared beside her, and Jacque was proud of herself for not jumping. She was finally getting used to the fact that at any moment a fae might randomly pop up feet away from her. Then again, her mind was constantly focused on her mate, and checking on her son when she could pull herself away from the challenge ring, that a freaking draheim could probably show up, and she wouldn’t flinch.