Jacquelyn’s concerned emerald eyes met his across the room. In three quick strides, he had her wrapped in his arms, the tension easing from his frame.

  “Thank the Great Luna,” he murmured into her vibrant hair. “I need you.”

  Her arms tightened around him. “I felt it. I asked Cyn to bring me straight here. What’s happened, wolf man?”

  Fane allowed himself a moment more to simply breathe her in before stepping back. Closing his eyes, he focused wholly on her scent—the sweet aroma of fresh snow that was uniquely Jacquelyn. It enveloped his senses, instantly comforting and familiar. He nuzzled against her vibrant red hair, picking up traces of her shampoo mingled with her natural fragrance. Drawing back slightly, he brushed his nose along the slender column of her neck, indulging in the silken warmth of her skin. There he found her scent pure and undiluted, speaking to his soul of mate, home, and love. It eased the lingering turmoil inside him, soothing his wolf in a way nothing else could.

  With great reluctance, Fane finally leaned back, opening his eyes to meet her understanding gaze. Her scent still filled his nose, inundating his senses, bonding them together more profoundly than words ever could. For a perfect moment, she was his entire world. Three deep breaths later and he was ready to discuss the shitstorm that was stirring.

  “We found Claude. He’s been dealt with.” His jaw clenched, remembering the vamp’s taunts. “But his last words disturb me greatly.”

  Taking Jacquelyn’s hand, he led her to the plush couch and sank down, pulling her close again. Her nearness soothed his lingering turmoil.

  Still, unease gnawed at him as he relayed all that had transpired: Claude’s ambush and capture, his telling words about Cain. Things were more dire than Fane had first realized.

  Jacquelyn listened intently, brow furrowing. “So Claude confirmed Cain has some hold over the lives of Finn and Lizzy. But are they aware of it? Because if they’re not, they need to know, like yesterday.”

  Fane nodded grimly. “I agree. I’ll reach out to Finn through the bond he opened. Unfortunately, Cain has the upper hand. One misstep could cost countless innocent lives.” He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “I don’t know how to free them without risking their safety, short of capturing Cain and locking him up for eternity.”

  Gently, Jacquelyn turned his face toward hers. Resolve brightened her eyes. “We’ll figure it out. Together. Maybe there’s a way to break a sire bond.”

  Her assurance eased some of the tension in Fane’s chest. With his mate by his side, she made him feel like he could handle anything. Even this vampire king.

  “Your turn,” he prompted with a half-smile. “Tell me what I missed on the hunt for the sprite with the Nushtonia.”

  Now it was Jacquelyn who grimaced. “We found her all right. But the sprite has gotten more dangerous.”

  She recounted the full chaotic scene of the fight with the demons and the sprite’s apparent escape. Fane listened intently, alarm and pride warring within him.

  “You battled hellspawn?” He cupped her face between his palms, searching for any injury.

  Jacquelyn laughed. “We’re all fine. Those demons were ugly, but not particularly smart. Their attack mode was straightforward and predictable.” Her expression sobered. “But if the sprite is messing with that dark magic now, she needs to be stopped sooner rather than later.”

  Fane agreed grimly. The Nushtonia posed a catastrophic threat, especially with the unstable sprite wielding it.

  “Do you think the sprite female has allied with someone?” he mused aloud. “I can’t imagine that she’d be able to access such power as opening a portal without help.”

  “I think we have to assume she has.” Jacquelyn’s mouth tightened. “We’ll just have to find her allies, too. Cut off all her options until she is alone and vulnerable.”

  “My fierce Luna is ready to take on the world.” Fane’s heart filled with adoration for her.

  “I know, right?” She chuckled. “Only a few years ago I was a teenage peeping-Tom, staring at you through the blinds with binoculars, for goodness’ sake.” She covered her face with her hand. “Let’s leave that part of our story out when we tell Slate how we met.”

  He twined a lock of her fiery hair between his fingers. “Have I told you lately how remarkable you are, Luna? I cannot imagine doing this life without you.”

  Jacquelyn’s lips tipped up. “I could stand to hear it more often.” She brushed her thumb over the worry line between his brows. “But for now, your wolf needs to rest. Let go of the burden for a while.”

  Fane started to protest, but she pressed a finger to his lips. “Just be here with me for a few minutes. Then we can check on Sally and Kara.”

  The quiet words pierced through his focus on battles and threats, reminding him of what truly mattered right now. His mate was here, safe, loving him. The rest could wait for a moment.

  With a rumbling sigh, Fane allowed his mind to settle fully into the present. He drew Jacquelyn down against his chest, savoring her warmth, her nearness. She was his anchor in the chaos.

  Her lips grazed his jaw tenderly. “All things in their time, wolf man.”

  The endearment made his heart swell. Turning his head, he found her mouth, pouring all his love and gratitude into the unhurried kiss.

  Later, there would be dark deeds and enemies to face. But here, now, there was only her. His Luna.

  Fane let everything else fall away as he lost himself in their shared connection. The coming war would wait. He had all he needed right here in his arms.

  Chapter

  Ten

  “It’s all fun and games until someone mixes the supernatural blood of different species without considering the consequences of their actions. Okay, that’s not true. None of it is fun and games. These are people’s lives, dammit. Am I the only one who realizes how dumb this is? Admittedly, I don’t have the best track record since I’m actually the very first experiment. Shut yo face. Being homeless kills brain cells.” ~Lizzy

  Sally focused on maintaining her connection with Alice as she quickly explained the woman’s plight. She’d gathered all the information she needed from Alice’s mind. Perhaps Sally shouldn’t have snooped, but she needed to know what they were dealing with. There was no way this could be a true bond. There was something that tied Alice to Cain, but it wasn’t love, or even adoration, like Alice thought. It was a bond, for sure, but not a good one.

  “From what I gather, she thinks she has feelings for Cain. She’s definitely attracted to him,” Sally explained. “But that small bit of attraction was all it took to make the sire bond stronger than it should have been. Instead of simply feeling loyal to him, Alice’s mind believes she’s in love with him.”

  “So this leech seduced her into drinking his blood?” Disgust was written across Stella’s pretty features.

  Sally sighed. “No, she was forced to when Claude⁠—”

  “A vampire?” Heather interrupted. “Because only a vampire would have a name like Claude.”

  “Yes,” Sally replied.

  “And a stuck-up ass, no doubt?” Stella added. “Because anyone named Claude has got to be a snob.”

  “Claude was a lot of things. At the top of that list is selfish, narcissistic ass wipe.”

  “Got it. What did Claude, the narcissistic asswipe, do?” Anna made a continue motion with her hand for Sally to continue.

  “He tore Alice’s throat out.”

  There was a chorus of “What?”, “Seriously?”, and “Damn” from the group of healers. Sally waited until they quieted to continue.

  “Apparently, Cain flipped his vamp lid and forced Alice to take his blood so she wouldn’t die.”

  “She wasn’t given a choice,” Heather muttered. “Isn’t that assault or something?”

  “He was trying to save her life,” Kara argued.

  Heather shook her head, her unseeing eyes looking in the direction of the others. “Doesn’t matter. She couldn’t give consent. Deciding to turn someone into a vampire because you need their blood for your sick experiments ranks right up there with rape.”

  Sally tried not to flinch, but Kara’s reaction was less muted as her jaw clenched. Sally gave her an understanding look. They’d both been violated in ways that no person ever should. And they were memories that, though they might fade, would forever live in their minds.

  “So, is she bothered at all that he forced the decision on her?” Anna asked.

  Sally nodded. “She wasn’t happy. And she’s been fighting to break free. Or at least she had been. I don’t have any idea what’s happened since the last time we were in touch.”

  Kara picked up the story seamlessly. “But we know the vamp blood is poisoning her. We have to purge it from her system before…”

  Her voice broke slightly. They all understood the unspoken words. Before it kills her.

  “We won’t let that happen,” Sally said fiercely. “Alice is strong. She broke the hold Cain had on her when he was forcing her to remain suspended in a comatose state, and she isn’t alone now.”

  Closing her eyes, Sally felt the others’ lights join hers, pouring strength into their embattled sister-healer. The darkness infecting Alice retreated farther beneath their combined assault.

  “We’ll keep her stable,” Sally promised. “Peri is bringing her true mate. His blood should be able to cleanse the venom for good.”

  Stella cocked a brow. “This chick has a true mate and still got involved with a vampire? Wasn’t she made aware that she’d have a wolf for a mate because she’s a healer?”

  “Even if she was aware, the heart doesn’t always listen to reason,” Anna said quietly. “And if it’s not her heart that has made the choice, then she didn’t have a chance to begin with. Supernatural bonds are powerful. Obviously, the sire bond is more than we realized.”

  Sally shook her head, her hand clasping tightly to Alice’s. “None of that matters now. We just have to buy time until he arrives.”

  The others nodded resolutely, and they bent their efforts back to the fight raging inside Alice. Bit by bit, they beat back the poison a little farther.

  Hang on, Sally urged. Keep fighting, Alice. Your mate is coming.

  This wouldn’t be easy. The vampire’s hold ran deep. But with their combined strength, Sally knew they could hold death at bay until Alice’s true mate could save her. They just had to keep pushing back the darkness a little longer.

  “Five minutes more.” It was Jewel who spoke for the first time. “Just be stronger five minutes more, Alice.”

  “Drink this.” A voice broke through the barrier of the dream state. Sally frowned. “Who is that?”

  “That’s Lizzy’s voice,” Kara said eagerly. “She must be in the room with Alice. She’s trying to help her in the real world while we’re in this dream state.”

  “You know this Lizzy chick?”

  Kara nodded at Stella. “She’s a dormant, though I didn’t know that when we were kids in the system. I thought she’d died.” Kara waved a hand. “That’s a story for another time. The point is, we aren’t the only ones fighting for her. And if I know Lizzy, she will do everything she can to make sure Alice doesn’t end up with Cain.”

  Heather nodded. “So we have an ally on the inside?”

  “Definitely,” Kara said.

  “Let’s hope our combined strength can keep her here.” Sally continued to pray to the Great Luna for the woman. Alice hadn’t asked to be brought into their world in the first place. But now she was stuck, whether she liked it or not.

  Fragments of sound filtered into Alice’s hearing. She heard the voices of the females she’d met in her dreams before, and she heard Cain’s anxious voice. It was weird to hear them in tandem without the ability to respond to either. She couldn’t open her eyes. Her lids felt as if they’d been taped shut.

  Alice’s body was manipulated and moved. Clothes being removed and replaced. A wet, warm cloth on her face, washing her tenderly. The pinch of something in her arm. But sickness and seizure wracked her again. Each time she started to surface, something pulled her back under. She was rolled to the side of the bed as she vomited into a bucket.

  Once, she was roused just long enough to see Lizzy press a mug urgently to her lips. “Drink, it’s blood. You need strength.”

  Alice managed two swallows before her traitorous body rejected the offering. She turned her head and retched helplessly as the world faded away again.

  In the void, she sensed Sally’s presence, reassuring but worried. Hold on five minutes longer, Alice. Another voice, one she didn’t recognize. So that’s what she did. Instead of worrying about if she would live, Alice tried to fight for five minutes longer. And then five minutes longer after that.

  “Peri is looking for your mate,” Sally told her. “He’ll be able to fix this.”

  Alice’s stomach twisted. What mate would want her after she drank the blood of a vampire, kissed the lips of that same vampire, and even considered a future with him? She knew he was bad news, knew what he was capable of, and for some reason, Alice had allowed herself to think she could love him. What the hell was wrong with her?

  Suddenly, fire shot through her veins. There was an inferno raging through every cell of Alice’s body. She was burning alive from the inside out. This was no sickness. Alice was being unmade. She wanted to scream, and maybe she was screaming. Alice couldn’t tell because she couldn’t move, at least not in the unconscious state.

  A single coherent thought pierced the delirium. I’m dying. She clung fiercely to the healer bond, clinging to Sally and the other bonds wrapping around her like a lifeline. Even so, the flames consumed her. All she could do was pray that they’d find the supposed true mate and that he’d want her even though she’d already shared a part of her heart with someone else. And not just anyone, but the damn vampire king. You can’t just sort of screw up, can you, Alice? Nope, if you’re going to make a mistake, you’re going to go all in and make sure it’s the mistake of a lifetime. At the tail end of the thought, she heard another voice: a deep, masculine voice. It had an accent, but Alice was entirely too delirious with pain to figure out who it was.

  “I’m coming for you, female of mine. The vampire king will pay for touching what wasn’t his to touch.”

  Finn hovered just inside the opulent bedroom, apprehension gnawing at his gut as he watched Lizzy bathe Alice’s fevered brow. His mate was the picture of gentle care, but fury smoldered in her eyes every time Cain approached the bedside. When the vampire king reached out to brush a lock of hair from Alice’s face, Lizzy intercepted his hand with a hard slap, the sound reverberating off the walls.

  “Don’t,” she bit out. “You’ve done enough harm already.”

  Cain gave an infuriating smile, and then acquiesced and stepped back. “Such ferocity, pet. I only want to help her.”

  Finn bristled at the endearment. He longed to rip Cain’s lips from his face so the bloodsucker could smile no longer.

  Lizzy bared her teeth, hating the words as well. “You can help by staying away. She’s fighting your poison, in case you’ve forgotten.”

  “I didn’t want to make her sick. I was trying to save her, in case you’ve forgotten. And I am still trying to save her.”

  “If you wanted to save her, then you’d have gone in search of her mate the second after you gave her your disgusting blood,” Lizzy snarled. “You want her for yourself. But she doesn’t belong to you, Cain.” His name was like a curse on her lips. “You’ve been attempting to play house with her, knowing damn well that you aren’t for her and, more importantly, she is not for you.”

  The verbal sparring continued as Finn observed silently. He and Lizzy walked a dangerous line here, but Finn would shred anyone who tried harming his mate. For now, Cain seemed too distracted by Alice’s state to truly challenge Lizzy’s defiance.

  A whisper of awareness in Finn’s mind jerked his focus inward. Fane was contacting him through the alpha bond. Relief flooded through Finn at that mental touch. For some reason, he’d been unable to reach Fane when he’d needed to. He had no idea why it was working now, but he wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. They were not as alone here as it seemed.

  Fane’s solemn voice filled his mind. “There is much we must discuss, Finn. Events are moving swiftly.”

  Finn closed his eyes, opening his thoughts to his alpha. “What news, Fane? Tell me how to help Alice.”

  There was a heavy pause before Fane responded. “Her fate, and Lizzy’s, are bound to Cain now that he has … created them … for lack of a better term. It is the sire bond.”

  Finn stiffened, claws extending involuntarily. “Lizzy has been fighting the sire bond already. She feels it, but the true mate bond trumps it.”

  “Even unto death?”

  Finn didn’t have an answer. And he wasn’t willing to gamble on it, either. If his mate’s life was really tethered to the vampire’s… The chance that he and Lizzy had—the fleeting chance for a happy, healthy life filled with laughter, love, children, a pack—would be lost forever. If that happened, Finn vowed to find Cain in the afterlife and beat the ever-loving hell out of him. And then repeat the process for all eternity. Rage threatened to choke Finn into unconsciousness.

  Fane’s voice remained steady, calming. “All is not lost, Finn. We have a plan.”

  Forcing his fury down, Finn focused on Fane’s words. “Tell me what you need me to do, Alpha. Lizzy and I are with you. And we will get Alice out, too.”

  “I know. And it will take all of us together to end this threat. We must capture Cain alive if we are to free Lizzy and Alice. He cannot be allowed to roam free, but we cannot put his life in danger, at least not until we’ve figured out how to fully break the sire bond between them.”

  The words sent a spike of fear through Finn’s gut. Take Cain alive, instead of ripping him limb from limb? Finn’s wolf raged at the idea of not being able to destroy the evil that had hurt their mate, but the man understood that sometimes revenge had to wait.