Nothing.

  There was nothing for him to call her through. Peri was connected to the pack through her bond with Lucian. At least, she used to be. Now, Fane could no longer feel any connection to the fae. He didn’t have time to consider what that meant. Fane turned to Elle, “Can you see if Nissa is available?”

  “What about the sprite healers?” Jen asked.

  “Nissa is a high fae,” Fane said. “She will be able to get into the sprite realm and be trusted.”

  “Ahh, gotcha.” Jen nodded.

  “Let me take her inside, Alpha,” Elle said, her voice gentle as she bowed her head to him.

  The unspoken words were simple: you need to deal with the aftermath of this battle. Fane knew he did. But he didn’t like handing his mate off into the care of another.

  Jen laid a hand on Fane’s arm, the touch of a pack member who loved him and wanted to comfort. “You know we will take care of her. And you will be with her as soon as you get this mess straightened out.”

  He turned to Sorin, the pack mate who’d protected him his entire life and had been one of his closest friends. The man was already offering his own arms to take Jacquelyn. “Do not let the children see her,” Fane commanded.

  “We will take her to the healer’s room,” Elle assured him. “Nissa is already aware and ready for us.”

  “Thank you,” Fane said. Elle laid a hand on her mate and then grabbed Jen’s arm. They flashed, leaving him there on the steps with Zara a few feet away. She was looking around at the frozen forms of their opponents.

  “This would probably be a completely inappropriate time for me to tell you that you’re my new favorite superhero,” she said softly, her eyes wide as she turned slowly.

  Fane reached through the pack bonds and mentally released every single pack member from his command. One by one, they stood while the rogues remained kneeling. He walked up the rest of the steps until he stood at the top, looking down over the field. Fane’s wolf was still pushing at his skin, wanting to phase, but Fane needed his human voice. Pulling on the power bestowed on him by the Great Luna, he spoke. His voice carried over the entire area without him even having to yell. “Stand,” he said, directing his power to those who were not pack. “You will gather in the challenging circle. You will kneel. And you will listen.”

  “Luna.” Fane called his mate through their bond as he watched the rogue wolves begin to rise and obey the alpha command. “Talk to me.”

  “I think we need to discuss the fact that you have the ability to drive hundreds of supernaturals to their knees and yet you waited for that to be your last resort,” she responded. Her voice was tired and weak, but the fact that she was teasing him was a good sign … unless she was trying to placate him so he wouldn’t be distracted by her. Which was something his female would do. “Stop thinking so hard, wolf-man. Do your thing and then check on our son.”

  Fane’s lips twitched, but he managed to keep his face blank. “Is that a command, alpha?”

  “One of many I plan to give you.”

  “I am your willing subject, beloved,” he said gently, using their bond to run his fingers down her face. “If it is in my power to give, it is yours.”

  “That’s everyone.” Decebel took his place on Fane’s left side. Fanned out across the stairs on either side of Fane were his closest and highest-ranked pack members and their mates. Fane could feel them through the individual bonds connecting them. Some had minor injuries that had already begun to heal, and others had managed to remain unscathed.

  Fane walked down the steps until he was only a couple away from the ground. He let his eyes run over the rogues that had gathered in the circle. By a quick count, there were at least two hundred, and that didn’t include the dead that lay all over the grounds around them. “Raise your heads,” Fane commanded, his voice cool, though his anger burned hot like the sun. The rogues obeyed. As his gaze moved over them, none of them could hold his eyes for even a second. Fane took no satisfaction in this. He stood over them not because he wanted to lord his power, but because they had to be reminded why wolves required an alpha. They needed to remember that the nature of Canis lupus required them to have a leader that could keep their beasts in check. Left to their own devices, this, the destruction in front of him, was the result.

  “I am Fane Lupei, alpha of the Romanian pack, son of Vasile and Alina Lupei, mate of Jacquelyn Lupei, and humble servant of the Great Luna, who made me alpha of alphas.” He paused, considering his words and his motivation. Fane took a minute to evaluate his intentions, to examine his heart. His father had told him many times how easily power could corrupt. It could be something used for the betterment of others, or it could destroy not only the person wielding it but all of those in their path as well. Fane would not let the power bestowed upon him seduce him in such a way.

  “For days, I have followed the laws of the Canis lupus, allowing for the challenge of my position as alpha,” he continued. “I have given every single challenger a chance to walk away. Some chose life, and others chose death. I expected the same respect in return. Many of you either do not know the origin of your creation or you have forgotten why the Great Luna created our race in the first place.

  “The rules of challenge have been broken. You dared to descend upon my home and to injure my mate.” He paused as murmurs and growls rumbled through his pack and the group of rogues. He could see the guilt on some of the faces of those kneeling before him, yet on others there was indifference. Fane’s wolf made note of every one of those apathetic faces. “Therefore, the disregard of the challenge rules renders the challenges forfeit. I will give you two options. You can live, prove your fealty to this pack, or whatever pack you are relocated to, and your fealty to the Great Luna. Or you can die by my hand.”

  He stepped down the last two steps and walked forward until he was a few feet from the edge of the circle. Fane turned to Adam and motioned toward the magic that still created a dome over the challenge ring. Adam lifted his hand in the air and made a half circle, and Fane could see the shimmer in the air as the magic was lifted away. “Facing me in challenge was your opportunity to fight for your life … or your death if you so chose. That right is now gone. You have three minutes to decide what side of the grave you would like to be on.” Fane pointed to his right. “Those who would like the chance to fight evil and to fulfill the purpose the Great Luna has for her wolves, stand here.” Then he pointed to his left. “Those who refuse to be under the command of an alpha, who refuse order, discipline, hard work, and choosing the right thing even when it’s hard, stand here.” He lifted his alpha command and then waited.

  After fifteen seconds, males began to stand. One by one, they made their way over to Fane’s right, each one returning to kneel once they were there. This continued until there were twenty left kneeling in the circle. “You have thirty seconds left,” Fane informed them, his wolf making his voice guttural. His beast did not relish the thought of killing the wolves who chose wrong, except maybe for the one who’d had his mate in his clutches. Instead, there was a deep sadness in his wolf. The ache for those lost who could not or would not see that there was more to life than selfish choices.

  The twenty left kneeling didn’t move. Perhaps, it was one last form of retaliation, one last act of foolishness. Decebel shook his head, staring at the stubborn males. “You don’t have to be the one—” his beta began.

  “Yes,” Fane cut him off. “I do.” He held out a hand, and a fae blade appeared in it. Fane lifted his nose in the air and took a deep breath. His mate’s scent hit his nostrils, leading Fane to the male who stood on the last row on the very edge of the circle. Once Fane was within five feet, the smell of Jacquelyn’s blood filled his lungs. He clenched his teeth and forced his wolf to remain under control. Fane pressed the blade to the man’s throat and lifted his head until he could see the rogue’s eyes. They were empty, soulless, and black. “Even if you had chosen to live, your life would be forfeit,” Fane said, his voice soft but filled with the rage that threatened to overtake him. “You drew the blood of my mate, your alpha female.”

  “She is no alpha of mine,” the male spat. His eyes danced around, unable to stand Fane’s gaze.

  Fane took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the hilt of the blade. “May the Great Luna grant you mercy if that is her will. But here, with the malice that saturates your scent, I can grant you none. As alpha of the Romanian pack, and all packs under the Great Luna’s authority, I sentence you to death.” Fane pulled the knife from the man's throat and then pushed it straight into his heart. He stood there, holding the male up using only the embedded knife, and swallowed down a throat full of bile. Fane pulled the knife quickly back, and the male’s body slumped to the ground, his eyes staring up blankly. There didn’t seem to be any peace in the dead wolf’s face. Not like the peace he’d seen on his parents’ faces. It was not a memory Fane wanted in his mind, and yet he couldn’t shake it. Nineteen other wolves might die by his hand today. Would he be given the vision of parents’ deaths nineteen more times?

  He walked back to the front of the group and looked at each of them again. “Are you sure this is the fate that you want?”

  “Their hearts are hard, alpha mine.” The Great Luna’s voice filled his mind even as he felt the warmth of her presence. “Nothing will change their minds. They have let evil permeate to their very souls, and the only thing that rules them now is their selfish nature. All that is left for them is death and judgment.”

  Fane wanted to ask why? He wanted to know how free will was a good thing if it left these men with the only option of death and eternal separation from their Creator. Where was the mercy in that? Where was the grace?

  “Does the clay say to the potter, you will make me this shape or that shape?” she asked him. “The creator of the pot shapes the clay according to his own purpose. The difference in my creation from the clay is that my creation has the opportunity to say no. Is there any greater mercy than to give them wisdom to make the correct choice? I will not force them to love me. That is not love.”

  Fane’s hands shook at his sides as he opened and closed them. He understood what she was saying. He even understood that it was the truth. Grace can be given all day long, but no one can force its acceptance. Fane had offered them mercy, but they had thrown it back at him. He could not let their wickedness continue to be allowed to roam free on the earth, not with all the wickedness that was already standing against them.

  He closed his eyes and searched into them, seeking the broken bonds that would have once attached the rogues to a pack. One by one, Fane gathered them in a mental image of his hand. The chords were charred and brittle. There was no flexibility in them, no life flowing through them. Even though they weren’t being held in his physical hand, he still felt as if the taint of them was wrapping itself around his arm. When he had every strand gathered, he opened his eyes and, still feeling the Great Luna’s power, he spoke. “You were offered life. You have chosen death. You were offered something different than what you have known. But you continued to turn away. The Great Luna is granting what it is you so desperately seem to want. To choose your own destiny. My heart breaks for you because there was a different choice. But that time has passed. It is over. It is done.” Fane ripped the threads from their souls, and they crumbled like ash. The males fell one by one as their final breaths left their bodies. Fane kept his eyes on them, forcing himself to feel the pain of losing those who could have known what he had felt—the unconditional love of his Creator.

  “You have done well, Alpha,” the Great Luna said. “The task before you, the road you are on, is narrow. It will be hard. It will be dark. But you are never alone. Take care of your pack, your mate, and your child. The next battle will be upon you soon.”

  The field was quiet, except for the wind rustling the branches. There were no whispered words as everyone waited to see what Fane would say next. “Get them inside, fed, showers, clothes, and beds.” Fane looked at Decebel. “This is my beta.” He motioned toward him. Then to Costin, he said, “My third, and Drake, my fourth.” He pointed to his uncle. “This is Lucian Lupei, brother of Vasile Lupei and my uncle. Wadim is our historian. Don’t let his lighthearted demeanor fool you. He is a warrior in his own right. Tonight, you will rest. I cannot keep all of you here. Some of you will need to be relocated to other packs. But we will discuss that later. I won’t simply tell you where to go, unless strife and defiance becomes an issue.”

  Fane made a motion for the wolves to rise. “If you’ve never been in a pack, then the most important thing you need to know is that pack helps you control your wolf. It is why an alpha is necessary. If you cannot control your wolf, I will. If your wolf becomes beyond my control, meaning it is feral, then you cannot be permitted to live. I’m going to assume that considering you chose this side of the line, then you must want to live. Learn the chain of command. Learn where you fit in the pack structure. Decebel and Costin can help you do this. I will as well.

  “This is a new beginning. Grab it with both hands and hold onto it with all that you can. Though we may be long-lived, we are not guaranteed tomorrow. So choose this day whom you will serve and what you will do with your time here.”

  Fane motioned to Decebel, and his beta nodded, understanding that Fane was handing over the reins. Fane wanted to get to his mate. He needed to see her, and he needed to hold their son. Fane trusted Decebel and Costin to delegate to those they trusted and knew were dominant. They could also utilize any of the elves or fae that had joined them if need be.

  He would check back in, after he was sure that his mate was on the mend and that his son, the other children, and Sally were all safe. He sighed. “Then it will be time to plan,” his wolf rumbled. “Yes,” Fane agreed. Then they would meet with the supernatural leaders and make a plan to stop being on the defensive. It was time to make the next move.

  “I’m not dying.” Jacque huffed as Jen hovered over her, dabbing her wounds with a warm cloth that Rachel had given her. It was saturated in some sort of herb that irritated Jacque’s nose, making her want to sneeze. But she was trying not to because the one time she had, it hurt like a scorpion sting streaking across her breast.

  “Damn straight you’re not dying,” Jen barked. “After the last month we just had, I do not have the energy to plan a funeral that would do you justice. It would be a nightmare, and considering we both know I don’t do anything halfway, I’d have to put your body on ice until such a time came that I could adequately plan.”

  “Yes, that’s exactly why I don’t want to die right now.” Jacque snorted, but crap that hurt, too. “Goddess forbid you not have time to throw me the party of a lifetime for my death.”

  “If you’re going to go, go out with a bang,” Jen said.

  “She couldn't go out with a bang,” Zara pointed out as she stepped into the room. “Because she’d already be dead. The party would literally need to be going on while she died for her to go out with a bang.”

  “I like that.” Jen gestured at Wadim’s mate. “That is an excellent point.”

  Jacque glanced at Zara. “You do realize that you just gave her a reason to plan my death, right?”

  Zara’s eyes widened. “Umm, surely she wouldn’t?”

  Sally walked out with a bowl of green liquid. Jacque was pretty sure she did not want it on her wounds. “You still have so much to learn about your twisted, new best friend, Z.”

  Jacque watched as Jen flitted about. Though she knew it was Jen’s way of dealing with the stress, there was a morbid part of her that wondered if her crazy BFF wasn’t planning the perfect scenario for Jacque and Fane to bite the dust so that she could throw an epic send off. Granted, Jacque knew it wouldn’t be for a very long time because there was no way Jen would want to raise Slate. And if Fane and Jacque kicked the bucket, Jacque would make sure that her crumb catcher would be the one to drive Jen crazy for the rest of her life. So, they had at least until Slate was an adult, possibly mated. Maybe by then they will have given Jen something else to focus on.

  “You know, it would be pretty awesome if there was a parade of heads,” Jen began, but Fane pushed through the door of the healer’s room, and his power swept in, causing everyone to freeze.

  He walked straight to her, his eyes never leaving hers. The intensity in his gaze made it difficult for her to breathe. Jacque just needed him to touch her, needed to feel his skin on her own, and then she knew that she would be able to get air in her lungs again.

  She lay on a raised bed, so when he reached her side, he didn’t have to lean down very far to run his fingers into her hair, gently tilting her head back and taking his lips, still cold from the winter air, and pressing them firmly to hers. Jacque’s arms automatically lifted and wrapped around his neck, her fingers tunnelling into the back of his hair. It had grown longer, and she was able to wrap her fingers in it.

  Fane groaned against her mouth as he lowered himself closer to her, though he didn’t let his body touch hers. Even in his passion for her, he was mindful of her injury. She could feel his wolf, the beast’s desire to take her away and keep her safe. He pulled back, pressed one more kiss to her forehead, and then stood up and turned to Rachel and Sally. He took a deep breath, and the power that had been radiating off of him seemed to dissipate a bit.

  “All due respect, Fane,” Jen said, “but you’ve got to get that vibe under control. It’s freaky to suddenly be unable to move simply because you’ve walked into a room.”