“Sally tried calling Kara again,” Costin said before blowing out a rush of air. “She’s still not answering.”

  Nick and Kara were with their pack in Canada, healing and spending some much-needed time together. Fane didn’t know Kara, not the way he did Sally. He had no clue how she would work through all that she’d faced while in Ludcarab’s clutches. “She’s young,” Lucian said. Fane sometimes forgot that his uncle knew the five gypsy healers that Peri had taken under her care. “But she’s strong. And Nick is a fit mate. He will take care of her.”

  Fane nodded his agreement. He’d seen the way Nick looked at Kara. It was the same way all true-mated males looked when their eyes were on their females: as if the sun rose and set with their very breath.

  “Have you heard from the warlock queen about Skender, and his mate and child?” Decebel asked.

  Fane shook his head. “It’s only been a little over a week since we recovered Nick and Kara. I spoke with Lilly then. I will not deal with Skender until this thing with the Order has been taken care of. Unless Lilly tells me she needs me to do it sooner.”

  “What’s your plan?” Costin asked, his voice rough.

  Fane stared hard at his third, trying to read Costin’s face. But his third in command’s face was a mask. Fane couldn’t discern what Costin thought regarding Skender, but the alpha could only assume Costin’s mind was anything but settled concerning the rogue wolf. Fane knew the fact that Skender had a mate and child would weigh on Costin. He was not as hard and unyielding as Decebel, perhaps because he wasn’t as old. Or maybe because he was mated to the very embodiment of grace and forgiveness. Whatever the reason, Costin contained more mercy in him than Fane’s beta, and even more than Fane himself. If it had been Jacquelyn that Skender had taken and put through hell… Well, it’s likely the rogue wolf would no longer be breathing. “That is something you and I will need to discuss at some point. What are your thoughts on the matter?”

  Costin shrugged. “Considering everything going on, that wolf and his mate are the last things on my radar.” He leaned back, his eyes no longer glowing. “Sally wouldn’t forgive me if I did something that would hurt the fae female and her offspring. Killing Skender would hurt them.”

  Before Fane could respond, the door opened and the males he’d sent for—Drake, Wadim, Adam, and Sorin—marched in. Adam rubbed his hands together like an eager child, glee dancing in his eyes. “Are we finally going on another hunt? Thankfully this one does not involve a kidnapped healer.”

  Fane nodded. “Did you find the location?”

  “Yep,” the fae replied. “Let’s do this.” He held out his arms and each of the men laid a hand on him. Adam flashed, and in a blink, the group stood in a forest blanketed in glistening snow as the sun shone down on the landscape.

  “Why does it feel like everywhere we end up is in some remote forest?”

  “Uh, because it is, Wadim,” Adam answered.

  “Thanks, Captain Obvious,” Wadim muttered.

  Adam shrugged. “Don’t ask stupid questions if you don’t want stupid answers.”

  Suddenly, they heard a whistling sound in the air. Adam yelled, “Hit the deck!”

  Fane and the others dropped to the ground. Adam rolled onto his back and raised his hands in the air. He spoke in his native tongue, and the air shimmered around them. Fane realized Adam was putting up a shield. Fane glanced around but didn’t see anyone, though he did notice three arrows embedded in the tree that was directly behind him.

  “Elves,” Fane said, nodding toward the arrows.

  Costin rolled into a crouched position. “So, Alston still has command of some of Ludcarab’s minions.”

  A deluge of blue magic suddenly bombarded the shimmering dome-shaped barrier that covered them. Adam continued to speak, his hands now emitting a white light. When he seemed satisfied with his work, he lowered his hands, his chest rising and falling in quick succession.

  “You okay?” Fane asked.

  “Aside from the mental cussing that I’m getting from Crina?” Adam smirked. “I’m dandy.”

  “Why are you grinning?”

  “Because, Drake, she’s hot when she’s pissed off.”

  Decebel rolled his eyes. “I swear you and Jen have to be related somehow.”

  More balls of magic hit the barrier and shook the ground beneath their feet. Fane turned in a circle, searching for their foe, but still he could see no sign of them.

  “That’s fae magic,” Adam told them.

  “Elves and fae,” Decebel said. “Just how many bloody Order members are there? Peri must have killed hundreds of them at that compound.”

  “The leaders would have been smart enough not to keep them all in one place,” Lucian pointed out.

  “It doesn’t matter now,” Sorin said. “What matters is that we’re sitting ducks, and we need to move in a hurry.”

  Adam held out his arms again. “Let’s see what we can find. These mountains are vast, but if we’ve got Alston’s lackeys on our asses, then we must be close to their stronghold.”

  “How do you know which direction we need to go?”

  “Easy, Drake.” Adam grinned. “I can feel the corrupt, high fae’s magic.” Then he flashed them again.

  This time, when they reappeared, all of them crouched into defensive positions and began scanning for threats. Fane lifted his nose in the air and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, he knew they’d be glowing with his wolf. His beast salivated at the chance to sink his teeth into Alston. “That way.” He pointed straight in front of them.

  They stayed low and hurried deeper into the trees. Fane felt magic running over his skin, oily and thick. His wolf wanted to shake it off, but Fane forced himself to stay focused. He used his beast’s hearing, listening closely for any movement around them. He heard the rest of his pack sniffing and saw their heads swiveling from side to side, no doubt watching for any oncoming attack.

  Suddenly, Fane came to a halt and grabbed on to the back of Wadim’s shirt before the historian could go plunging over the massive ledge that had suddenly appeared in front of them. The forest ended abruptly, and only a few feet ahead, the ground disappeared into a massive chasm.

  “Thanks, Alpha.” Wadim breathed out as he sat back on his heels. “Zara would have been ticked off if I’d broken every bone in my body.”

  “Anyone else’s mate giving them a dressing down?” Costin rubbed his temple.

  “Peri’s much older than your mates,” Lucian said with a smug smile. “She doesn’t give me a dressing down.”

  “Nobody likes a bragger, Lulu,” Adam said dryly.

  Lucian turned his glowing gaze on the fae. “Don’t ever call me that again.”

  Decebel shook his head. “Now you’ve just given him a reason to keep doing it.”

  Fane reached for Jacquelyn’s mind. Strangely, she’d been quiet, and that troubled him. He felt her respond with reassurance through their bond, but she didn’t speak to him. That could only mean one thing: she was more than angry. His female was livid. Perhaps he should have said goodbye before he’d left? With more arrows flying overhead, he’d have to worry about that later. He used his wolf’s keen eyesight to look to the other side of the gorge. “There.” He pointed to a large mountain. Even someone who couldn’t recognize the traces of magic could tell the mountain wasn’t natural. It looked as if tons of rocks and dirt and trees had been hastily pushed into an enormous pile.

  “Did he honestly think that wouldn’t look suspicious?”

  “Drake, not to defend the psychotic high fae, but he was probably in too big of a hurry to disguise it properly,” Adam said. “Regardless, we need to make a decision.”

  Fane turned to see a group of elves and fae stride out of the forest.

  Adam reached out his hands and made a jerking motion. The bows and arrows the elves had been holding flew from their grasps. Adam flung his hands to the side, and the weapons went flying over the edge of the cliff.

  “Have you always been able to do that?” Drake looked impressed.

  Adam shrugged. “On smaller numbers, it's nothing. But with larger groups, it takes a lot of power. And sometimes, I like to fight mostly with my hands, like you Neanderthals. Makes me feel more a part of the male-tribe vibe we have going on.”

  “That’s another thing you never need to say again,” Lucian grumbled.

  “Male-tribe vibe?” Adam grinned. “I’m totally getting us T-shirts.”

  Decebel tilted his head from side to side as if to stretch out any kinks in his neck. “I’m feeling particularly violent today. The longer Adam talks, the more I need to maim someone.” He let out a deep growl. “And my wolf doesn’t feel like running.”

  Fane stood up and pulled on the power of his pack. His teeth phased to his fangs, and claws grew from his fingertips.

  “Are we going for the kill?” Costin’s words were a little garbled around his own wolf’s canines.

  “The only good Order member is a dead one.” Sorin growled.

  “Keep one alive,” Fane commanded and then ran straight at the elves and fae. They responded by flinging balls of power at him and the others. Fane ducked and dodged their spells, closing the distance in a matter of seconds. He lunged and landed on the first one, grabbing the fae’s head and twisting it hard. The male’s neck snapped, and his body dropped to the ground in a heap. Fane moved on to the next one. He heard the snarls of his pack members but kept his focus on the enemies in front of him. Fane knew his pack mates could handle themselves.

  “Bloody hell,” Adam snapped. “Just die already.”

  “I don’t think that’s an effective way of killing your enemies,” Costin chided. “Words don’t seem to do the trick, fae boy. You’ve got to actually get your hands dirty.”

  “Nobody asked you, bartender,” Adam replied. Fane chanced a glance in their direction and saw the fae run a short sword through the chest of an elf. Adam pulled the blade out and, without looking behind him, flipped the sword in the air, grabbing the hilt so that the blade was facing him. Then he pushed it back on his right side, and it stabbed a fae that had been attempting to attack him from behind.

  “Show off,” Drake grumbled as his claws slashed at an elf that was attacking him with a short sword in each hand. Drake dropped low and swiped out a leg, taking the elf out at the ankles. He fell to the ground, and then Sorin leaped on top of the fallen man. Fane’s former bodyguard was more wolf than man at this point. His face had elongated into a muzzle, and he tore into the male’s neck, ripping viciously until blood spurted from it. Then Sorin threw back his head and issued a bone-chilling howl.

  “So much for lying low,” Wadim muttered. He threw the fae, whose neck Decebel had crushed, over his shoulder. Wadim dropped the body and then looked around. Neither Decebel nor the historian was the slightest bit winded. “Is that all of them?”

  Fane counted ten broken and bloody bodies on the ground. He glanced at his men with narrowed eyes. “I said to leave one alive.”

  “Ooopsies,” said Adam.

  Costin pointedly began whistling, looking anywhere but at his alpha.

  Lucian simply shrugged his large shoulders.

  Decebel wiped his hands on his pants. “I guess you should have been more specific. I see you didn’t bother to take a prisoner, either.”

  Fane couldn’t argue. He’d let his beast rule during the attack, and all it had wanted was the blood of those who were a constant threat to his pack, mate, and child. “Fair enough.” He turned to Adam. “Get us closer please.”

  “You got it, boss.” When all the males had grabbed onto him, he flashed them next to Alston’s makeshift mountain. Now that he was closer, Fane could see Alston had created tunnels that led into a few of the surrounding natural mountains. There was light shining in the tunnels, and shadows danced within openings. Fane motioned for his pack mates to back up into the tree line. He did not know if any Canis lupus were working with Alston, but if so, the wolves might catch their scent.

  “So, he relocated from bustling city to off grid?” Wadim tilted his head. “That seems a little drastic.”

  “He’s probably scared out of his mind that another high fae will come and use cold fire on his ass again.” Drake folded his arms across his chest. His lips lifted in a snarl, and his eyes glowed. Fane noticed blood running down the male’s arms.

  “Are you all right, Drake?” he asked.

  Drake nodded. “I’m good. And Peri is with Bethany, checking on her.”

  Fane looked over at Sorin and saw that he, too, hadn’t escaped the battle uninjured. There was a large gash down Sorin’s right thigh, his cargo pants revealing the cut beneath.

  “Crap,” his old bodyguard grumbled. “Elle is going to be angry.”

  “What are you two? Amateurs?” Adam asked with a cheeky grin. “I don’t have so much as a hair out of place.”

  “Using your magic to keep your hair perfectly styled doesn’t count as being badass.” Costin laughed. “It just makes you look too pretty for battle.”

  Adam rolled his eyes. “You’re just jealous you can’t look this good all the time.”

  “I’d rather be a warrior worthy of standing against my enemies than an underwear model afraid to get dirt under his nails.”

  Adam frowned. “I’ve got dirt under my nails. Look.” He held up his hands, then wiggled his fingers, and the dirt disappeared.

  “I thought your magic was supposed to be limited.” Costin glowered at him.

  “What can I say? My recuperative powers are legendary. Just one of the many things Crina loves about me.”

  “Bloody hell.” Lucian sighed, running a hand down his face. Fane noted that his uncle looked more tired from dealing with the guys’ banter than from fighting their enemy.

  “If you two children are done, could we please get back to scouting this hellhole?” Decebel shook his head at them. “The sooner we’re done, the quicker we can get back to our females, who are going to be much more formidable foes than these idiots.”

  Fane looked back at the clearing and saw a group of fae exit one of the tunnels that led inside the mountains. Fane and his pack went completely silent. He strained his ears, using his wolf’s superior hearing ability to try to learn something useful from the Order members.

  “Have you heard back from the group Alston sent out on patrol?” one female asked.

  “No,” answered a tall fae male with long, white hair. “They’re probably lounging around somewhere taking naps.”

  “Benson, Blaze, and Bliss, go look for them,” the first female said.

  “The three Bs.” Adam snorted. “Do you think Alston has a thing for B names?”

  “Who cares,” Lucian whispered, shifting from a crouched into a fighting stance. “They’re headed our way.”

  Fane motioned with his hand, indicating he wanted them to retreat farther into the woods. “Subdue them quickly and quietly. We don’t need them alerting the others that we’re here.” He glanced at his pack. “This time, Decebel, leave one of the B-Squad alive.”

  Wadim chuckled. “Instead of the A-Team, we have the B-Squad. Nice one, Alpha.”

  “Who is the A-Team?” Sorin looked confused.

  “Holy troll babies, you guys have got to watch more television,” Adam said, his voice low. “And FYI, if we were the A-Team, I’d be Face.

  “Not to be redundant, but who cares? Shut up already,” Decebel hissed.

  They each hid behind large tree trunks until the three fae walked past. Fane nodded, and Decebel, Costin, and Drake stepped out like phantoms behind the fae. Lucian remained beside him, like a silent sentry. Without so much as a grunt, the wolves wrapped their arms around the faes’ necks in a chokehold. The fae instinctively reached up and pulled at the strong arms squeezing their throats. Before any of the fae realized to use magic on their attackers, Adam cast a spell to bind their hands. Apart from a muffled gurgle, the fae couldn’t make a sound.

  “Should we just keep all of them?” Decebel said through gritted teeth.

  Adam hurried over and placed a hand on two of them, spoke in the fae language, and then touched the last one and did the same. “They can’t flash now,” he explained.

  “Good call,” Fane said. “And, yes, Dec, let’s just take all of them. We might have a better chance at getting some useful information. Three stool pigeons are better than one.”

  Adam flashed the group back to the sprite realm, straight into the lowest level of the stronghold, where the sprites’ dungeon was located. They put each fae in their own cell and then stepped back.

  “Your magic is useless in there,” Adam told them. “But by all means, wear yourselves out trying to get free. It will make it easier on us when we come to torture you.” Then he looked at Fane. “We are going to get to torture them, right?”

  “Better do it before Jen finds out they’re down here,” Costin said. “When she realizes they’re here, the blades will come out. And she won’t put them away until their heads are separated from their bodies.”

  Fane looked over at Decebel, who held up a hand. “I’ve locked it down.” He pointed to his head, indicating his mate-bond with Jennifer was closed.

  “Dude, if she was pissed before, she’ll be ready to skin you alive.” Adam grinned, and his eyes danced with glee.

  Fane ignored their banter and looked back at the three captured males. “You can make this really easy or really hard. Give us the information we want, and we’ll simply wipe your memories and let you go. Refrain from sharing that information, and things will be much less pleasant.”

  One of the males stepped forward. He had deep blue eyes, shoulder-length black hair, and he was at least six-and-a-half feet tall. He was thin like most fae, his features too pretty to be human. “Do you honestly think we fear death?”

  Fane shook his head. “Of course not, but it’s not death you should fear.”