Tenia nodded. “He draws with incredible artistic skill, supernatural skill. Every detail is perfect. Then the drawing comes to life. What will happen plays out like a movie on the paper.”

  “He drew what I did at the Order compound,” Peri said and watched their jaws drop open.

  “How long after he drew it did Peri show up?” Nissa asked.

  “Less than an hour,” Tenia answered.

  Gerrick motioned to the paper in Tenia’s hands. “And what has he drawn this time?”

  Tenia looked at Peri. And though Tenia didn’t know Kara, she could see the pain for the healer in her eyes.

  “He’s drawn Kara.”

  Stella, Anna, Jewel, and Heather all stepped forward simultaneously, their combined voices overriding the muttering from the others. But it wasn’t their words that froze everyone in place.

  Wind whipped around the four healers. Their clothes ruffled, and power radiated from them—Volcan’s residual power.

  “Where is she?” Anna asked, her voice so dark it was almost unrecognizable.

  “Okay, that escalated quickly,” Zara whispered.

  “We know she’s with Ludcarab,” Peri explained, “But not the exact location.” She had already been thinking about Kara’s whereabouts as she’d watched the horrific scene play out. “But I’m hoping Thalion might be able to help. You four need to calm down … now.”

  The wind slowly calmed, as the four healers seemed to gain control of the fears that had stirred their magic.

  “What exactly did he draw?” Stella asked, much calmer now.

  “We don’t need to wind up explaining it twice,” Peri said. “Thalion needs to look at it.” She hated having to repeat herself. They’d already wasted enough time.

  “You think he’s in the elf realm?” Nissa asked.

  “Honestly,” Peri huffed, her own frustration growing, “I don’t have a clue. But it’s a starting point.”

  “Then we go to the Canadian pack,” Jacque said. “That’s where the hunting party is.”

  Peri nodded. “Nissa, Elle, Tenia, myself, and”—Peri glanced around, having felt his power even though she hadn’t seen him—“Disir.” She motioned for the high fae to step forward. “We’ll take as many at a time as we can. We may need to make two trips. Jen, you’re with me.” Peri had noticed the blonde eyeballing Tenia. She would have to closely monitor the dagger-happy she-wolf.

  Everyone began shuffling about, each trying to get hold of a fae. Just before Peri flashed, she felt a hand touch her back. She looked over her shoulder and into the piercing silver eyes of her mate. Relief flooded through her as he leaned down and took a deep breath.

  “We will get her back,” he said through their bond. “You will not lose anyone you love today.”

  “But I might in the future,” she said, knowing she had to come to terms with the fact that everyone had an appointed time to leave this life.

  “Yes. But I will be with you always, through every loss, until we are called home to our Creator.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and then nodded, telling her without words it was time to go.

  “Flash to the front steps of the Canadian pack mansion,” Peri told the other fae. She only hoped this next reunion would go better than her last, which wasn’t a terribly high standard. As long as no one got stabbed, then mission accomplished.

  Chapter

  Fifteen

  “You never know what you are truly capable of until you are put in a position to prove how far you will actually go. Whether the situation requires you to save a life, take a life, give up your own life, or stand and do nothing—you cannot predict your actions until you find yourself in that moment. What you can do is pray that moment never comes. Because regardless of what decision you make when the crap hits the fan, that decision leaves you forever changed.” ~Kara

  * * *

  “Is he dead?” Anna asked, just as Jacque felt the ground beneath her feet once again. She released Nissa and looked in the direction Anna was pointing.

  “Oh man,” Stella breathed out. “Please tell me he’s not dead.”

  “Is who dead?” Heather asked.

  “The human brain can go three to six minutes without oxygen before permanent damage begins,” Jewel said. “Maybe werewolf brains can go even longer. We could still have time to help him.”

  “I know it’s annoying for me to constantly point this out, but I am seeing impaired. So who the heck is dead?” Heather asked as she and her mate stepped up beside Jacque.

  “Nick.” Jacque stared at the bloody mess of a man lying in the center of a circle of wolves. “I’m pretty sure he’s not dead. Fane wouldn’t allow it.”

  “‘Pretty sure’ is not the same as ‘sure,’” Anna pointed out.

  Jacque didn’t acknowledge the healer. Instead she kept her eyes on Kara’s mate. “What happened?” Jacque asked Fane through their bond. She saw her mate, in his wolf form, sitting on his haunches across from her on the farthest side of the circle.

  “He’s feral,” Fane answered.

  She could feel his anguish over what they’d had to do in order to subdue Nick, but she also felt his conviction that it was necessary. “Is he alive?” The words sounded as if she was begging him for the answer she wanted rather than asking a question. For the moment, they knew Kara lived. If they got her back and Kara returned to find out her mate had been killed, well, Jacque didn’t know if that could be considered an actual rescue. The other half of her soul would be gone forever. That was a condemnation to a half-life or torment, not a rescue.

  “He lives, but only just,” Fane answered.

  “Why is he in his human form? Didn’t his wolf take over?”

  “His wolf is out of control. I forced him to phase back to his human form in hopes that, perhaps, the soul of the man might think instead of simply acting on instinct,” he explained.

  Jacque continued to stare at Nick, attempting to see if his back rose and fell with life. “By the looks of it, I’m guessing it didn’t work.”

  Fane chuckled. “As always, Luna, you have a penchant for pointing out the obvious.”

  Finally, she saw the prone man take a breath. It seemed to shake his entire body. “Peri has new information about Kara,” she told Fane and turned to look for the high fae. “We need Thalion’s help.” She opened her mind to Fane so he could see the memory of everything Peri and Tenia had shared. “And Skender is here. Tenia is his mate and Torion is her son, which Skender is claiming as his own.”

  Jacque felt Fane’s weariness and dread at having to deal with that particular mess—after they’d gotten themselves out of the current one, of course.

  “That will have to wait until after Kara is returned to her mate’s side where she belongs,” he told her. Then he phased, clothes covering him the second his human form took shape. It was good to have fae friends, Jacque thought as the rest of the wolves followed Fane’s lead. “Drayden,” Fane said, looking at the Canadian alpha, “Jacque informs me that Peri has news of Nick’s mate. Let’s get him cleaned up. And if you agree, we will allow the fae to subdue him if need be, so he may listen to what Peri has to say.”

  “Agreed,” Drayden answered. He moved to Nick’s battered form. Decebel joined him and helped Drayden lift the injured beta. Apparently the man wasn’t as subdued as everyone thought. With lightning quickness, Nick’s head snapped up. He turned, lunging with human teeth at his alpha. A bolt of energy hit Nick in the chest, and his body went limp. His head drooped, and if Decebel hadn’t been holding him, the beta would have fallen back to the ground.

  Jacque turned to see where the magic had emanated from. Adam lowered his hand, then looked around at everyone staring at him. He shrugged. “What? You all have beat the crap out of him for the better part of three hours. I’m just doing my part.”

  “Well done, Adam.” Jen gave him a slow clap.

  Adam glanced at Jacque’s blonde BFF and grinned. “Psycho or not, Jen, at least you always appreciate my contribution.”

  “Is that seriously where you try to find your approval?” Peri asked the male fae. “Because I thought I taught you to set your standards higher.”

  Adam’s smile vanished, and he looked at the high fae. He rarely frowned, but he did now. Jacque could see the weariness and hurt in his eyes as he looked at his longtime leader. “Are you okay? We thought the cold fire—”

  “Killed me?” Peri finished for him. With Lucian at her side, Peri approached her comrade and stopped a foot away. “There is no apology adequate for my behavior. But that is all I can offer. And time to hopefully heal the pain I caused.”

  Jacque bit her lip. She felt Adam and Peri’s hurt flowing from both of them through the pack bond. But she could also feel the deep love they shared for one another, the same way she loved Jen and Sally. It was rooted in years and years of shared experience, standing together through thick and thin. Unfortunately, the downside of having that kind of bond meant the pain caused by a friend hurt much worse than that of an enemy.

  Adam held out his hand. Peri looked at it and then back to Adam’s eyes. Finally, she reached out and clasped his forearm. “We are far too long-lived to hold grudges,” the younger fae said. “Not to mention, I’m sure over the centuries I’ve driven you crazy enough that you owed me a little grief.” Then he pulled her to him and wrapped her in a hug.

  “While I totally agree that Peri needs to make amends to many of us, we don’t have the luxury of the time that will take,” Anna spoke up. “Kara needs us.”

  “I agree.” Heather raised her hand. “We can all kick Peri in the shin later. Now, we rescue Kara.”

  Peri pulled away from Adam and marched toward the mansion’s entrance. “You’ll have to find my shins first, Helen,” she called out to the blind healer.

  “I love a good challenge,” Heather countered as her mate led her along with the rest of the group.

  Jacque waited for Fane to reach her before moving to go inside.

  Fane took her hand, lifted it to his mouth, and pressed a kiss to it. “I missed you,” he said softly.

  Did she melt a little inside? Yes, yes, she did. And she knew she would continue to melt every time he looked at her with those beautiful blue eyes that filled with adoration when they met her own. “And I you, wolf-man.”

  He blew out a breath. “Let’s do this.”

  Jacque’s eyes widened when she stepped into the living room of the pack mansion. It looked like a place where broken objects came to die.

  “This is a familiar sight.” Jen glanced around the room. “I think your man did something similar to a hospital waiting room if memory serves me correct, Red.” She gave Fane a cheeky wink.

  “Have I ever mentioned that since I joined up with this merry band of supernatural nutjobs, I’ve seriously begun to loathe my lack of eyesight?” Heather said. Kale pulled her to his side, and Jacque watched as he leaned down and whispered in her ear. Heather reached up and patted his cheek. He grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm before lowering their joined hands and turning his attention back to the room.

  “The information we have is time sensitive.” Peri ignored the commentary and got straight to business.

  “How much time?” Fane asked.

  “That’s the million-dollar question.” Peri shrugged. “The odds are not in our favor. But then again, it’s not the first time we’ve been in this position.”

  Nissa and Disir flashed in with the last of the group from the forest. Jacque took stock of everyone and found all were present, including Thad and Jezebel. She’d wondered if they would come, since his purpose had been to help get the veil open and that was no longer an issue. Jacque had assumed he and Jezebel would return to the djinn realm.

  “Kara is important to Anna,” Fane said, keeping his voice soft. “And Anna is important to Jezebel. I imagine they will stick around until Kara is safe.”

  Jacque hadn’t considered that. Sometimes it was easy to forget who belonged to who, because they’d all become a pack in many convoluted ways. Through all the trials they’d faced together, and although some of them were on completely different continents, they were still pack.

  “My father would be proud to see this,” Fane said, having picked up on her thoughts.

  She nodded. “He would. This is his legacy, Fane. He’s gone, but he’s still with us.”

  A minute later, Nick stepped into the room from where he’d been deposited to rest in a spare room. Drayden stood at his side, his eyes glowing with his wolf.

  “I apologize for the lack of seating,” Drayden began but stopped when new furniture suddenly appeared.

  “No offense, Alpha,” Peri said, “but we don’t have time for an explanation of the obvious. If Nick can control his wolf, then we need to get started.”

  Nick’s head snapped up, and his obsidian eyes narrowed on the high fae. Jacque sucked in a sharp breath when she realized the blackness in them wasn’t because of their color. Without his mate, the darkness in Nick had taken over.

  “Can he be saved?” Jacque asked. “Even if we do get her back?”

  “If Kara is brought back alive, then Nick will heal,” said Fane. “If we are too late, I will put him out of his misery myself, unless Drayden claims the right. Regardless, Nick will be too dangerous to be allowed to live.”

  Jacque prayed to the Great Luna they wouldn’t be too late. She hoped that whatever information Peri had would allow them to save Kara and, by doing so, save Nick, as well.

  * * *

  Nick’s eyes bore into the high fae. His wolf wanted to rip the female apart. She had information about Kara, and she wasn’t speaking fast enough. But if they killed her now, then he and his wolf wouldn’t get the information they needed to find his beloved. So he forced himself to stand still. “What do you know?” he asked, his voice sounding like a fifty-fifty mix between wolf and man.

  “Sorry about this, wolf,” Peri said, “but you will need to be restrained before watching this.”

  “I don’t think everyone needs to see it, Peri,” a female fae that Nick didn’t recognize said.

  Peri looked around the room and then back at Nick. He’d spent a lot of time with the high fae when they’d been up against Volcan, and he’d only ever seen that look in her eyes one other time: when they thought Jewel had died.

  “She’s right,” Peri said. “This is sensitive information. To protect Kara’s”—she paused and cleared her throat—“dignity, we should limit those who see this. When we’ve decided how to move forward, Nick can determine how much you all need to know.”

  “You can use my study,” Drayden offered. “Who needs to be present?”

  Nick’s heart pounded so hard in his chest he could barely hear Peri’s words. She walked closer to him and said, “This will not be easy, Nick. Pick those you trust to lean on. Myself, Tenia, and Thalion need to be present. I would counsel you to include only enough males to help keep you under control.”

  If Peri didn’t think other males should be involved, then whatever he was about to learn about his mate must concern intimate details that no mate should ever have to share with anyone else. He stumbled, but Fane and Drayden caught him. Both were strong enough to bear his weight, both willing to do whatever had been necessary to keep him from harming anyone in his feral state. “My alpha and Fane,” he said. Then he looked past Peri to the four healers huddled together on the other side of the room. Each of their mates stood at their backs, looking ready to kill anyone who moved too close. “And Kara’s sisters.” He motioned toward the girls.

  Nick didn’t miss the flinch in Peri’s face at his request. But she waved them over despite whatever reservations she held. “Jewel, Stella, Heather, and Anna, please come with us.”

  The four girls started forward, and their mates followed, but Peri shook her head. “Not you,” she told the males. “Trust me, please.”

  “Not to be rude,” Ciro spoke up, “but your track record is not great right now, Perizada.”

  “Your own mate isn’t going to allow you to walk into the room without being at your side. Why should we have to wait here without our mates?” Dalton asked, his voice dark as he stared daggers at her. They had a rough history, and apparently her recent behavior hadn’t done them any favors.

  “I understand your protests,” Peri said. “But your mates will be safe. And this is about preserving Nick’s mate’s dignity. I promise you, if it was one of your females, you would not want a room full of males bearing witness to what he is going to have to see.”

  Nick felt bile rise in his throat at the high fae’s words. What the hell was he about to see?

  Dalton, Ciro, Kale, and Gustavo didn’t look happy, but after a tense couple of minutes, they each finally nodded and took a step back, watching as their females followed Drayden and Peri. Nick turned and walked after them with Fane at his back. As he walked down the hall toward Drayden’s study, he felt as if he was walking to his death, which was probably easier than what awaited him.

  When they were all assembled in the room, he watched the female fae called Tenia lay out three pieces of paper on a table. She lined them up so that they touched one another side by side.

  “Tenia’s son has a gift of prophecy through his drawings,” Peri explained. “He drew this earlier today. We don’t know the location, but this is the elf king in the drawing. I thought Thalion might know the place.”

  At the mention of Ludcarab, Nick stepped closer to the table, as did Thalion and the rest of the group. His eyes locked on to the first piece of paper and watched it come to life. He heard gasps around him, and even sobs, but he couldn’t look away. Like passing a car wreck that has left mangled bodies littering the street, he couldn’t force himself to look away. His mind would not save him from the horror that held him captive. With each movement on the page, Nick felt himself getting sicker. He fell forward and had to brace himself with his hands on the table in order to keep from crashing to his knees.

  “What is it?” Heather asked, her voice shaking despite not knowing what everyone had seen.