Nick glanced at the other beta. “I suppose if anyone can understand, it would be you.”

  Dalton gave a sinister laugh. “You think?”

  “Who’s this?” Dillon motioned to the fae.

  “This is Aphid. He’s offered to help with transport.” Then Dalton frowned. “I didn’t know you were still doing recon here. When did you leave the warlock mountain?”

  “I just arrived,” Dillon answered. “We’ve got a present for Cain.”

  “We?” Nick looked around.

  “We.” Tanya, the alpha’s mate, stepped out of the darkness. Nick hadn’t even known she was there. Suddenly, more bodies appeared, seemingly out of thin air.

  Nick saw Aphid move from the corner of his eye. He turned and watched the fae mutter something under his breath, attempting to cast a spell.

  “You don’t need to do that, Aphid.” A female spoke up.

  Aphid looked over at the group that had emerged from the darkness, and his eyes widened. “Tenia?”

  Nick followed the fae’s gaze and saw a female fae with long, pale yellow hair and a petite frame. Beside her stood the wolf he knew to be Skender. Nick narrowed his eyes, unsure of how to handle the presence of a wolf that was responsible for so much pain in his pack, not to mention a traitor. But he put the thoughts aside to focus on his mission.

  “It’s good to see you, Aphid.” There was no hint of a smile on Tenia’s face. Her brow was drawn low, and her lips pursed. “I didn’t think you ever left the fae realm.”

  “A mistake I wish I could go back in time and rectify.”

  She nodded, as if she completely understood. “We’ve taken care of the wards.” Tenia motioned around them. “They cannot sense us.”

  “Not even other fae?”

  “That’s what I’m here for.” Synica, one of the djinn elders, stepped out from behind Gerrick, the warlock warrior. “I’ve made sure that all of our power is completely hidden.”

  Aphid bowed his head to the female djinn. “I see the fae aren’t the only ones stepping out into the world to help.”

  Synica inclined her head. “Like you, the djinn should have intervened a long time ago.”

  Myanin stepped up next to Tenia and rested her arm on the fae’s shoulder. “Listen, this verbal self-flagellation is great, and I’m sure it will strengthen all of your characters, but can we get back to the task at hand? We’ve got a vampire spy to put in his place, and we don’t know how long my girl’s”—she pointed at Tenia—“magic is going to last.”

  “Who is with you, alpha?” Dalton leaned to the side to see the group standing behind Dillon.

  Dillon turned and motioned. “Myanin, Tenia, as well as Lilly, the warlock queen, and her general, Gerrick. Skender, Tenia’s mate. And our guest of honor.”

  Gerrick reached behind him and pulled a male forward.

  “Claude, the vampire,” Dillon finished.

  “He’s our spy.” Myanin sounded like a giddy child. “In case you were wondering why we were traipsing around the desert with a bloodsucker.”

  “We were not wondering.” Nick shook his head. “But thank you for the clarification.”

  Myanin clucked her tongue at him and made a shooting motion with her hand. “Any time, biker dude. Can I call you biker dude?”

  “You may not.”

  “You look like a biker dude.” She tapped her lips. “Yep, I’m definitely going to call you biker dude.”

  Tenia pinched the bridge of her nose. “She hasn’t had cotton candy in a while, and when she goes for long periods without it, she gets a tad … unhinged.”

  “A tad?” Tanya scoffed. “You’re in denial if you don’t realize she needs to be cut off from that crap for good.”

  “Bite your tongue, alpha chick,” Myanin snapped. “And you can mind your own business, Tenia. All my hinges are perfectly attached.”

  “I told you we should have left her to guard the mountain.” Lilly sounded like a weary mother. “But does anyone listen to the queen? Nope.”

  Myanin leaned over and patted Lilly’s shoulder. “Don’t be sore, queenie. If you had really wanted me to stay behind, you’d have made me. We all know you’re capable.”

  The warlock queen sighed and folded her arms across her chest. “I think we should move things along. Dillon?”

  “Agreed.” The Colorado pack alpha nodded. “Fane informed me he would send your mate, Nick.”

  “She and Jewel are working on a way to contact the healer inside the facility.” He motioned toward the enormous building, which was surrounded by a barbed-wire perimeter fence a few hundred yards away. “Dalton and I wanted to check out the situation before we brought them.”

  “I might be able to help with that.” Tenia stepped forward. “We can use Claude to get in touch with her.”

  “How?”

  “He will do anything I tell him to, Nick,” Tenia explained. She didn’t sound proud of that fact, just resigned. “If I give him directions to get information on the new healer and have her discreetly call me. Then Kara or Jewel, they wouldn’t even have to come here.”

  Nick liked the sound of his mate not having to come near the enemy stronghold.

  “Cain might have her phone calls monitored,” Lilly pointed out. “I imagine he’s keeping her on a short leash if her blood is the key to these hybrids.”

  “What about contacting her through her dreams?” Dalton asked.

  “That’s typically a mate-bond thing.”

  “But, Tanya, the bond between healers might be similar,” Lilly offered. “I’m sure there’s lots we still don’t know about their magic.”

  “That’s true. Which is why I think we should go the phone-call route first. If it doesn’t work, then maybe our girls can figure out a way to contact her.” Nick looked at Claude and noticed the vampire appeared to be in a trance. “Will this parasite be able to fool Cain into thinking nothing is amiss? He looks sort of…”

  “Drugged?” Myanin bounced on the balls of her feet. “That’s because he’s under Tenia’s exceptional power. He can’t do anything except what she’s planted in his teeny, tiny, parasitic brain.”

  “Tenia,” the warlock queen said softly, “you’ve got to rein her in.”

  “Me?” Tenia scoffed. “What about her mate? He’s your general. You can order him to.”

  “Gerrick?” Lilly looked in his direction.

  The warlock warrior smirked. “My mate has no supernatural power and can still kick my ass in the sparring ring. I think I’ll just stand here and watch her be crazy and love her, regardless.”

  The djinn in question leaned over and touched her lips to Gerrick’s cheek. “And that is why you’re perfect for me.”

  He grinned at her. “That doesn’t mean I won’t spank you once you’re out of fighting mode.”

  Nick coughed, and a round of chuckles and curses spread across the group.

  “And on that note…” Tenia stepped over to Claude and turned him so she could look him in the eyes. “We’re going to get our spy in place and get the crazy djinn chick out of here.”

  Nick was pretty sure he’d never heard a better idea. He didn’t know if Myanin had always been nuts or if it was a product of her being stripped of her power. Whichever, it didn’t really matter. As long as someone could keep her from falling off the sanity ledge that she was barely clinging to.

  “Claude.” Tenia’s voice was strong and commanding. “Every order I have given to you goes into effect now, and you will continue to obey them until I release you. Additionally, you will contact the gypsy healer within Cain’s compound. You will ask her to call the number programed in the phone. You will ensure that Cain does not know or find out that you are working for us. If you suspect he knows, you will leave immediately and come to the designated meeting location. Do you remember?”

  “Yes.” Claude’s voice sounded mechanical.

  “If you begin to feel confused, you will leave immediately and come to the designated meeting location. You will report everything that happens within the compound to me. When we drop you at the gate, you will simply tell them a fae dropped you off. You’re resourceful and an excellent liar. Make it believable. Am I clear?”

  “Yes.”

  Tenia looked at Synica. “Can you flash with us and keep us covered?”

  Synica nodded and laid a hand on Tenia’s arm. The fae wrapped a hand around Claude’s wrist. She looked at Skender. “Be back in a sec.”

  Skender said nothing. He simply stared at her with a look that Nick recognized. It was the same one every true mated male wore when they looked at their mate. Sheer protectiveness mixed with a little bit of crazy. The obsessiveness concerning their females never went away.

  The trio flashed, and everyone went still, as if any movement might somehow screw up Tenia’s task.

  “You good?” Kara’s voice filled Nick’s mind. “You just got really intense. Not that you aren’t always intense, but this seems to be more.”

  His lips turned up slightly. “Is that your polite way of saying I’m a little unbalanced?” As if she hadn’t just heard his thoughts on the matter of Canis lupus males.

  “Babe, you’re the one who thought it,” she pointed out. “I’m just making sure it’s not getting out of hand.”

  “I’m no more unstable than I was when I left you.” He then filled her in on everything that had happened. By the time he was done, Tenia and Synica had reappeared.

  “Why’d it take so long?” Skender pulled Tenia against him.

  The fae frowned. “It was only a couple of minutes.”

  “All you had to do was drop him off,” her mate pointed out.

  “I repeated his instructions. I wanted to make double sure every command was reinforced.” She pressed her hand to his cheek, and he visibly relaxed. “Everything is fine, mate. I’m fine.”

  Yep, crazy as hell.

  “How is he supposed to get in touch with you?” Dalton asked.

  “Cell phone.” Tenia held hers up. “His has some fae magic running through it. That’s one reason I said maybe Cain’s healer can get in touch with your healers. I told him to make sure she uses his phone.”

  Lilly blew out a deep breath. “I just feel like there are so many things that could go wrong.” She looked at Tenia and held up a hand. “Not that I’m doubting your ability.”

  “Pfft.” Tenia waved a hand. “I told you I’ve never attempted to use my power on someone for such a long period of time. So, you’re not wrong. Loads could go wrong.”

  “You two are seriously killing our ‘just outsmarted our enemy’ high.” Myanin sighed.

  “I’m pretty sure you will come up with some other high in about ten seconds,” Tenia said dryly.

  “Yes.” Myanin clapped her hands. “Got one. Dillon, you mentioned Fane said they were going hunting. I vote we do that while we wait on our vampire minion to contact us.”

  “Maybe you should just let her have the cotton candy,” Dalton suggested.

  Myanin pointed at Dalton. “I like him.”

  Gerrick pushed her hand down. “No, you don’t.”

  Nick smirked. Apparently, warlock males were a tad insane when it came to their females, too.

  “Let’s head back to our pack mansion and check on our healers. We can try to get in touch with Fane to see what’s what,” Dillon instructed.

  “I’m going back to my home,” Lilly said. “If there are vampires running amok, I want to make sure none get close to my people.” She looked at Gerrick. “You needn’t accompany me. We’ve got warriors in place, and you’ve given your orders. I will contact you if I need you to return.”

  Gerrick narrowed his yellow eyes. “You’re sure?”

  “Of course.” Lilly looked at Myanin. “Behave or I’ll stick your psycho-butt in a cell and feed you so much cotton candy that you won’t be able to stand the taste of it.”

  “Not possible.” Myanin shook her head. “It’s like sex. You can’t just have it once. And once you have had it, it’s impossible to tire of.”

  “Holy fairy dust,” Tanya muttered.

  “Has she been having secret conversations with Jen?” Lilly asked Tenia, who had her head pressed to her mate’s chest as she shook it from side to side.

  “No, I don’t let her have a phone,” Tenia answered. “I took it away when she learned what prank calling was.”

  Nick tried not to laugh but failed. Dillon broke next, and then the rest of them chuckled while Myanin looked at all of them like they were the deranged ones.

  “All right, let’s go.” Dillon made a circular motion in the air with his finger.

  “Skender and I will go with Lilly to the warlock stronghold. My son is there. And all things considered, it’s probably best for us to keep our distance from the Romanian pack until otherwise instructed.” Tenia took the warlock queen’s hand. “Aphid, can you handle the rest?”

  “As long as Synica can keep coverage while I flash as many as I can at once. I’ll probably need to make two trips.”

  Synica nodded. “No problem.”

  “Dillon, Tanya.” The concern in Lilly’s voice drew Nick’s attention. “Stay safe.”

  Tanya took her mate’s hand and gave Lilly a warm smile. “We will. You do the same.”

  Then Tenia flashed.

  Nick leaned in close to Dalton and whispered as softly as he could. “Why did that seem weird?”

  Dalton snorted. “Because it is weird. Dillon and Lilly have a kid together.”

  “Fane’s mate.” Nick remembered. The Colorado alpha and warlock queen seemed completely fine around one another, so normal that he’d forgotten their history. He shook his head, unable to wrap his mind around that whole situation. He walked over to Aphid and waited for his turn to be taken back to his mate.

  “You want to try to contact this healer using our magic?” Sally asked from the other end of the phone line.

  Kara nodded and then remembered Sally couldn’t see her. “Yes. I mean, we don’t really know the extent of our abilities, right?”

  “Mmm, true. Rachel is here with me. She’s been a healer forever.”

  “Thanks for making me feel old.” Kara heard another female’s voice in the background.

  “You feel old because you are old. I can’t make you feel anything.” Kara could hear the teasing tone of Sally’s voice. “Rachel, is there a way that we could somehow use our power to contact this unknown gypsy healer that is working with Cain? Perhaps a bond like with our mates or getting into her dreams?” She made a humming sound and then hurried on. “You and I found Jewel, Kara, and the others through a magical link, but we used a potion for that.”

  “True,” Rachel said.

  “I don’t know if this will help, but I was able to talk or connect with Anna at one point during the whole Volcan mess,” Jewel said.

  Kara turned her head slowly to look at the strawberry-blonde. “You know all the things, but you forgot to mention this one?”

  A throat cleared, and Kara glanced at the fae who still stood quietly guarding them.

  Tassi had a small smile. “My apologies. Please forget I’m here.”

  “No worries. We’re a difficult bunch not to laugh at.” Kara turned back to Jewel. “Explain yourself, genius chick who forgets important things.”

  Jewel looked sheepish as she replied, “I think all the ‘things’ take up too much space in my brain. Sometimes they push out any actual useful information.”

  Kara gave a sharp nod. “Right. We need to work on that. But you also jogged my memory, so maybe it wasn’t a total screw up.”

  “Gee, thanks,” Jewel said dryly.

  “When the girls and I were on the stone altars, thanks to the nutcase Jewel just mentioned, we could hear Jewel in our minds. Just five minutes longer. She chanted it over and over. So somehow, we managed to connect.”

  “Rachel and I got into Zara’s mind, too. And she’s not a healer. But we used her mate bond to do that.” There was a pause and then Sally spoke again. “Okay so, counting this new female, there are only eight healers in the world.”

  “That we know of,” Kara pointed out.

  “I’m putting you on speaker,” Sally said. “Okay, so we can all agree that we are unique. We’ve been told over and over how special our magic is.”

  “Yes,” Rachel agreed. “That’s a good point. And as healers, we are bound by our magic. The things you girls have just pointed out prove that. I think there’s a strong possibility that we could contact one another through a mental bond, without involving the mate bond.”

  “Which would be good, considering we don’t know if this healer chick has a mate,” Kara said. “I’m guessing not because he wouldn’t allow her to be in league with a vampire.”

  “Why haven’t we ever done it before? I mean consciously, other than these special occasions? Why didn’t I reach out to the girls when Anna and I were being held captive?” Jewel asked.

  It was on the tip of Kara’s tongue to say that if they’d been able to do such a thing, then maybe she wouldn’t have been in Ludcarab’s clutches for so long, but her hand immediately pressed to her stomach. No matter the horror she endured, she could not regret it. Mourn it, yes. But considering the gift that came from the nightmare, she wouldn’t fantasize about going back and doing anything differently.

  “Another good point.” Rachel hummed. “You all had mates, and it would be your instinct to reach out to them first. So maybe it never occurred to you to try to connect your minds. I was the only healer for a very long time, and I still find it odd at times that I am no longer the only one. It’s weird to think I have other females I can reach out to about our power.”

  “Let’s try it with one another. Now, in a no-stress, we-aren’t-being-tortured-or-kidnapped-or-otherwise-affected-by-a-psycho situation and see what happens,” Sally suggested. “We’ve been around each other’s power. We should be able to recognize it.”

  Rachel looked at Sally. “What’s that look for?”

  Kara frowned. “What look?”

  “Sally has a look.”

  “Well, tell her to stop,” Kara told her. “It’s freaking me out.”

  “You can’t even see my face.” Sally snorted.