Jen’s brow rose. “Can you stop that?”

  “What?”

  “Stop sounding like you want to jump your man’s bones. I can hear it in your voice. You’re old enough to be my mom, and even I’m not that freaky. It’s just … eww.”

  “Really?” Jacque, Crina, and Zara asked at the same time.

  Jen rolled her eyes. “I do have some boundaries.”

  “You realize Decebel is old enough to be your great, great grandfather, right?”

  Jen’s eyes went as wide as saucers. “Never, ever, ever say that again, Jacque. Alpha or not, I will cut you.”

  There was a flash of light, and the group resumed watching the battle. Thad slid backward, his body leaning forward even as he attempted to hold himself still, digging his feet into the ground. Despite his efforts, he continued to move backward, the ground giving way and his feet creating parallel trenches in the turf. When he finally came to a stop, he looked as shocked as Jen felt.

  “I’m going to assume that wasn’t supposed to be possible, right?” She looked from Jezebel to Cyn.

  “Definitely not,” Cyn said.

  “Thad hasn’t been right since Myanin.” Jezebel’s voice was tight. Her hands fisted at her sides, and she looked ready to jump in between her mate and the crazy high fae.

  Alston raised his hands, but instead of pointing them at Thad, he looked in the direction of where Jen and the other females stood. Before any of them realized what was happening, flames shot from his palms. “No!” Jacque yelled, throwing up her own hands. The flames that should have incinerated them hit an invisible barrier and reverberated back toward their creator.

  “Okay, that’s new,” Jen muttered, looking at her best friend.

  “Remember, she’s not just a werewolf,” Zara said. “Maybe that’s the sprite magic manifesting in her.”

  Jen looked back to Thad to see why djinn boy wasn’t moving. He glared at Alston and appeared to be concentrating hard, but whatever he was trying to do, it wasn’t happening. Alston’s focus remained on their group.

  “You are no match for me, little alpha.” The fae stepped toward them.

  “Pretty sure she’s proving you wrong.” Jezebel rested a hand on Jacque’s shoulder. White light emerged from the woman’s palm. Apparently, some magic still remained within the dark-witch-turned-white.

  Jen pulled two blades from her pants pockets, one in each hand. She spun them and slipped farther into the trees before circling around Alston. Jen saw Crina and Zara look at her, and then Crina whispered to Zara. Wadim’s mate nodded, and they both phased. They stepped up on either side of Jacque, snarling and pawing at the ground. They’re attempting to distract him. A wicked grin spread across Jen’s lips. She continued to move, taking slow, deliberate steps, trying to keep from stepping on anything that might alert him to her presence.

  Decebel would totally kill her if he knew what she was planning to do, but she had no idea how long Jacque could hold off the powerful fae, especially since Cyn was siphoning power from Jacque, and Thad seemed to be out of commission. Note to self, do not bring a defective djinn on missions of any kind.

  Alston’s fire stopped, only to be replaced with balls of red light. They flew at Jacque with a speed that would have been too fast for the human eye to follow. Even Jen’s wolf’s eyesight had trouble tracking the magic. Jen picked up her pace, placing one foot over the other as she walked sideways, keeping her body flush with Alston’s at all times.

  When she was finally directly behind him, Jen moved forward. She had no plan, only one driving thought—kill Alston. His thirst for power would never be satiated. He would always want more. And there was nothing too evil that he wouldn’t do to get it. There was no way she was going to let this man live in the same world as her children or her pack.

  Jen’s eyes bounced from Alston to Jacque and then to Cyn, who had taken her hand off the alpha. Perhaps she was worried that if she continued to siphon power from Jacque, Alston would break through the alpha’s defenses. Jen took another step closer and gripped the handles of her knives tightly. Her heart pounded in her chest. As she neared her target, she salivated at the idea of sinking her blades into the back of his neck. It would be better to attack from the front so that she could see the life fade from his eyes, but at this point, beggars couldn’t be choosers.

  Suddenly, her eyes snapped back to Jacque when she saw her friend collapse to one knee. Jacque still held her hands out in front of her, but the strain on the alpha’s face made it clear she was wearing out. Alston threw back his head and laughed like the crazy ass psycho he was.

  “Like I said, baby alpha,” he sneered, “you are no match for me.”

  Crina and Zara both lunged for the high fae, but he shot out his hand, and the she-wolves were tossed aside as if they were nothing more than flies. Jen took off at a run, closing the final few paces between her and the fae. She pushed off with her legs, calling on the powerful muscles of her wolf. Alston must have heard Jen or somehow sensed her presence. He whipped around at the last second and threw a bolt of power straight at her head. She ducked and launched herself into a forward roll. It was a risky move because it meant she had to briefly take her eyes off her opponent. But it was better than taking a bolt of fae magic to the face.

  “CYN!” Jacque’s voice bellowed through the surrounding clearing. But Jen couldn’t see what caused the alpha to scream.

  Jacque watched Jen tuck her body into a roll. And that was all the opening Alston needed. The fae whipped an arm around and connected with Jen’s stomach. A moment later, Cyn flashed next to Jen, grabbed her, and flashed them away from the high fae. But at the moment, Jacque couldn’t worry about the damage that might have been done to her best friend.

  Alston spun around in a circle, his power slamming into Thad again. The magic knocked the djinn back down from where he’d been attempting to stand. Jacque had to make a split-second decision. Unfortunately, whatever power she’d been able to use from her sprite magic was gone. “You still with me, witch?” she asked Jezebel.

  “Yep.”

  “Can you conjure up some sort of pyrotechnics?”

  “I’m a light witch, not a freaking light show at a concert.”

  Jacque kept her eyes on Alston. For some reason, he seemed to be dialed in on Thadrick. Perhaps Alston perceived Thadrick to be the biggest threat. She glanced over to where Crina and Zara had landed. The she-wolves were staggering back up to their paws, attempting to clear their heads.

  “I need some chaos so I can get close to him and make an attack as my wolf,” Jacque explained. “Can you give me anything? Like seizure-inducing flashes or something?”

  “I got you, Alpha,” Jezebel said.

  Jacque didn’t question the witch further. She phased to her wolf and then watched out of the corner of her eye as Jezebel began casting a spell that caused the surrounding area to erupt in miniature explosions. Not a freaking light show, my ass. She reached for the pack power and began to run, but not straight at Alston. She moved in an arc and then darted to the left, only to zig back to the right. Jezebel continued to throw out her fireworks, and then two other wolves joined Jacque.

  Jacque spoke to them through the pack bonds. “Crina, Zara, just keep running around like your tails are on fire.”

  “If that witch isn’t careful, they will be soon enough,” Crina replied.

  “You can live with a singed tail,” Jacque said. “I’m going to get closer and closer as I run. If my unwell-constructed plan works out, I should have the opportunity to rip the bastard’s throat out.”

  “Do you have any idea how fast you’re moving, alpha?” Zara’s voice was filled with awe.

  Jacque didn’t know. But she guessed it had to be fast because everything around her was a blur. Her singular focus was Alston, and she trusted her wolf’s senses to keep them from running into one of her allies or a tree. “Hopefully fast enough that he can’t figure out which angle I’m going to come at him from,” she answered.

  She left the two females to do as she instructed and then pushed herself to run even faster. She moved around the fae, then whipped to the right, then the left. Jacque darted right at him and got so close she managed to turn her head and nip his ankle. He shrieked, and the sound was so satisfying that it made her wolf more eager to take down their prey. Jacque made a tight circle around him and bit his knee, causing him to stumble. She jumped back and to the side, then made another sharp maneuver to the left, which put her directly in front of him. She didn’t even think twice. Jacque launched herself at his face. She spread her muzzle wide. Her front paws hit his shoulders, knocking him back, and she dug in her claws until she felt them break through fabric and then flesh. Her teeth sank into his face, and she shook her head to the side, tearing away skin.

  Jacque saw Crina and Zara on either side of her, both holding down Alston’s arms with their powerful jaws. She spit out the piece of Alston’s flesh and then zeroed in on his throat. He tried to speak, but blood poured down his destroyed face and into his mouth.

  She snarled and dove toward his throat, sinking her fangs in deep until she felt the large carotid artery pop beneath her teeth. Jacque yanked back with so much force that she toppled back off of Alston. Her eyes stayed on him, and she watched blood spurt from his destroyed neck. She could see the artery that she’d torn in half, gushing as the life-giving substance flowed out of him, down his throat, and to the ground.

  “Jacque!”

  She jerked her head up and saw Thadrick holding onto a male fae. Who the hell is that? Cyn appeared a second later, and Jacque phased back, trusting the fae would clothe her. The female did not disappoint. The second Jacque was back on two feet, she was also fully clothed. Crina and Zara did the same, and Cyn took care of them as well.

  The female fae’s attention, however, was not on the wolves. She was focused on the fae male held in Thadrick’s grasp.

  “What are you doing here, Zeek?” Two blades suddenly appeared in Cyn’s hands. Her body shook with what looked like rage as she stared at the male.

  He returned Cyn’s glare with one of his own. There was a level of hatred in his eyes that Jacque could practically feel. “I’m going home. I’ve paid my dues. With him dead, I can get through the veil.” He pointed at Alston, but the high fae was not dead. Alston was holding his neck, and light emanated from his hands. The jackass was trying to heal himself.

  Cyn frowned. “Who told you that? Some of his magic will be null once he’s dead, but some magic is bound by words and can only be undone by taking those words back. That spell is like a stamp on your flesh. Only Alston can wipe it away. Regardless, you will not live long enough to cross through that veil, even if that piece of draheim crap did revoke his spell.”

  Zeek’s eyes widened, and he struggled against Thadrick’s hold. Jacque wondered why he didn’t just flash away from the djinn, but then she considered the fact that despite Thad’s messed-up mojo, he could have enough power to keep the fae from using that particular ability.

  “Let me go.” Zeek growled at Thad, but his eyes were now firmly fixed on Alston. “He can’t die. Not before he releases me.” Desperation laced Zeek’s voice.

  Cyn’s hand moved so fast that Jacque only saw the dagger flying through the air a split second before it embedded itself straight between the fae’s eyes. Then a ball of light hit the fae in the chest, and a gaping hole was all that was left in the place his heart had been. Thad released Zeek, and the lifeless body hit the ground with a sickening thud.

  “What the actual hell?” Zara breathed out, drawing Jacque’s gaze. Zara’s eyes were huge, and her hand pressed against her chest, as if to protect her own heart from Cyn’s wrath.

  “You’re going to explain that in a minute, Cyn.” Jacque pointed at the dead fae.

  Cyn’s face no longer held the rage that had been present moments ago. Instead, there was something like satisfaction in her eyes, and her lips were tilted up in a small smile. Perhaps she and Fane needed to consider getting all of their warriors some sort of therapy.

  “Of course, Alpha,” Cyn answered.

  Jacque turned her attention back to the gurgling mess on the ground that was Alston. She stepped over him and looked down. The high fae appeared to be clinging to life. He somehow managed to sneer up at her, despite bleeding like a stuffed hog. “Cyn, may I use your fae blade?”

  “Of course, Jacque.” Cyn tossed her remaining dagger so that it landed blade down in the ground next to Jacque’s foot. The alpha kneeled and picked it up. Then she looked back at the high fae who’d caused so much pain in her life and to the lives of those she loved. Jacque’s wolf pushed forward, and it was her beast that spoke to Alston. “For the crimes you have committed against the Great Luna, against her children, and against the innocent of every race. And especially, for the abuse to which you subjected Sally Miklos, gypsy healer of the Romanian pack, mate and mother, I, Jacque Lupei, mate of Alpha Fane Lupei, and humble servant of the Great Luna, sentence you to death.” His eyes widened, and it appeared to finally sink in that his time in this world was over. The light surrounding his hands faded. Jacque lifted the blade and brought it down swiftly. It slid through flesh, muscle, and bone, straight into his evil heart. A rush of air flew from his mouth, and then it was over. Alston's reign of terror was finally at an end. As she pulled her hands away from the dagger, Jacque realized they were shaking. She could hear someone yelling, and she knew it was coming from people next to her, but the noise sounded like it was coming from inside a tunnel.

  In her mind’s eye, she saw Sally, the empty look in her eyes, and then the anguish that filled them when she’d realized she’d been living a fake life that Alston had invented for her. She recalled how her friend had fallen apart when she remembered she had a mate and that she’d been with another male because of a bracelet that Alston had cursed. He had tormented her, nearly driven Costin insane, and taken her best friend away from her, leaving Jacque and Jen to wonder, worry, and anguish over the fate of their friend, who was, for all intents and purposes, their sister. Jacque thought of her son and Jen’s daughter clutched in Alston’s arms at the Order’s compound and the disgustingly smug smile that had been on the fae’s face. Even children weren’t off limits to his depravity. “It’s over,” she whispered. “You can’t hurt anyone else.”

  “The punishment is fitting for the crime, Jacquelyn Lupei, daughter of mine and mate of the alpha of alphas.” The Great Luna’s voice filled her mind. “But no matter how justified the consequences of the iniquity, the one who imposes the punishment still feels the burden of it on their hands. Do not take this yoke upon yourself. For you were my arm, your blade the weapon of my justice. And because I knew Alston’s heart, seeing that there would be no remorse for all he’d done and would do, his death was necessary.”

  “The pain of all he caused is still there.” Jacque bowed her head. “I knew he needed to be punished, and I knew it wouldn’t undo all that he’d done. But I thought it might ease the pain that has continued to linger in the background. Always there, always waiting to sneak up and take me by surprise, allowing bitterness, fear, and hatred to rule my life. I don’t want to be that type of person. I want to forgive so I can move forward. Until now, I didn’t realize I had been holding on to all of it.” Jacque tried to reach for Fane, needing his comfort, but the bond was locked down tight. It was probably for the best that he’d closed it. She didn’t need to worry him while he was facing whatever the heck Alston had left behind at his mountain.

  “The pain is a reminder that you have endured your trials. Even though you felt defeated, you continued to fight the good fight. You’ve been knocked down and climbed back to your feet. You’ve allowed me to be your comfort and refuge. You’ve called on my aid, realizing that even in all of your strength, you are the created and not the Creator. You have trusted me, and for that you will be blessed, and your descendants for generations to come will find favor in my eyes. You may need to give me your pain and burdens every day, multiple times a day, and I will never fail to hear you and offer my comfort. I love you, daughter. Never forget that.”

  Jacque took several deep breaths and pictured a box containing all of her pain, anger, and fear in it. She handed the box to the Great Luna, and the goddess took it in one hand and then placed the other on Jacque’s face. “Peace be with you now. Turn your focus on the present, Alpha. You are needed.”

  Her eyes snapped open, and she pushed to her feet without sparing Alston another glance. She walked over to where the rest of their group, minus Jen, stood, staring down at Zeek. “What the hell was that?” Jacque pointed at the dead male.

  “Justice that was a long time coming.” Cyn folded her arms across her chest.

  Zara cleared her throat and pointed at Zeek. “Um, could you please tell us what he did so that I can avoid doing it and ending up like that?”

  Cyn’s eyes narrowed. “He conspired to kill a future high fae, though he was young, and it was his father who came up with the plan. That is why he only received banishment and not death. His father, however, was killed for his crime.”

  Crina appeared thoughtful. “Who was the future high fae?”

  Cyn frowned and then pinched the bridge of her nose. “I can’t remember. I only remembered Zeek and what he’d done when I saw him. It’s like he’d been erased from my memory.”

  Jacque’s mind worked overtime as she tried to put the puzzle pieces jumbled in her head together. “Does this have anything to do with Peri and Nissa? They can’t remember anything either. Could Zeek have been a part of that?”

  Cyn nodded. “It’s possible.”

  “We could ask him,” Zara offered. “Except, you know, he’s dead.”

  Cyn looked at Zara from the corner of her eyes.

  Zara raised her hands. “Jokes are how I cope.”

  “Of course they are.” Cyn snorted. “That seems to be a theme with you dormants. Maybe it’s a defect of not being a full-blooded Canis lupus.”

  “Not important.” Jacque looked at Thad. “Are you getting anything here?” She pointed to Zeek, then Cyn. “Any memories at all?”