After several minutes she felt Costin pushing her back gently. Sally pulled away and closed her eyes. She should be sickened by her actions she was sure, but she couldn’t be. She was too engrossed in the emotions rolling through her. Costin grabbed another towel and after wetting it, handed it to her so that she could wipe his neck. She watched the wound begin to heal itself almost instantaneously.

  Costin leaned forward and kissed away the tears that she hadn’t realized had begun to fall.

  “What’s wrong, my love?” Costin asked quietly.

  Sally shook her head and tried to hide her face in his chest, but he would have none of it. He tilted her chin up to look at him. He looked intently into her eyes, searching for the reason behind the emotions.

  “Tell me, Sally, what are you thinking? Why the tears, beautiful?”

  “I just didn’t expect it to be so intense, so intimate, and so right.”

  Costin nodded. “I understand what you mean. It seems even more intimate than making love to you would be.”

  Sally nodded in agreement.

  “Are we…okay?” Costin asked, unsure.

  Sally smiled sweetly. “Yes, my love, we are better than okay.”

  Costin let out a deep breath and drew her to him. He held her face gently as he kissed her thoroughly. In response, she opened her mouth, allowing him to explore the inside. Costin pulled her down next to him on the bed, never breaking their kiss.

  They kissed, talked, and kissed some more as the night wrapped around them, cocooning them in darkness. They didn’t allow themselves to think about the things that were outside their door. They didn’t talk about all that was to come or not to come. They didn’t allow the evil in the world to penetrate the safety of this time.

  Costin loved her. He poured that love into every kiss, every touch. He whispered to her in his language and in hers. He told her how he adored her and loved everything about her. He shared with her what he longed for and loved the blush that covered her skin when he told her how he longed to be wed to her, so they could share in the enjoyments of a married and mated pair. Sally expressed her apprehension and fears. She told him all the things that she had been so afraid to tell him, all the emotions she had been so hesitant to express for fear of enduring a broken heart.

  Sally decided that it was the best night of her life and, as she curled into his arms, her head resting on his chest, she finally felt whole and complete.

  She drifted off to sleep to the sound of Costin whispering words of love in her ear.

  Costin waited until he knew that Sally was asleep before he gave into the emotions that had been building inside him. He felt the tears trail slowly down his cheeks as he let go. He had never felt such love, such peace as he did in this moment. She was his, finally. She bore his mark, his scent, and forever would. He had nearly begged her to let him make love to her as he listened to her tell him how she loved him, how she longed to be with him, and could sit all day just being in his presence. At one point he had rolled her onto her back and laid his body over hers, allowing his wolf to relish in the touch of their bodies, in the rightness of her being surrounded by him. She had stared into his eyes, innocence staring back at him through hers. So, trustingly, she had run her fingers through his hair and smiled up at him, giving herself to him and only him.

  “I love you, Sally mine. I love you today and I will love you more tomorrow,” he whispered to his mate as he let sleep take him.

  Chapter 18

  “There is no greater torture than being forced to watch as your love, your reason for living, breathing, and existing, sinks into oblivion. Your heart stops as no matter how you try to get to her, she just gets farther and farther away.” ~Fane

  Fane watched his mate sink into the murky water. He yelled her name over and over but Jacquelyn never responded or even acknowledged that he was there. He ran into the water, splashing and trying to grab for her. The more he tried to get to her, the farther away she seemed to be.

  “Fane!”

  He heard his name being called but ignored it. All he could see was his mate. She was drowning and he could do nothing to save her. Suddenly Fane felt something wrap around his leg and a powerful tug began to pull him under. He was okay with that and didn’t fight it. If he could just get under the water, then he could get to Jacquelyn, he was sure of it.

  “FANE! Fight it! She isn’t drowning! FANE!”

  The last thing Fane heard was his name being called over and over, but he couldn’t respond as his head was covered with water, and he was being pulled even deeper. Darkness enveloped him as he continued to try to reach for his mate. He reached and reached but it was in vain.

  Suddenly the water receded and he found himself in a dark, cave-like room. He stood up and looked around. He tried to brush the water from his clothes and skin but looked down in surprise when he saw that he wasn’t even wet.

  Looking for any sign of Jacquelyn, he called out, “Hello?”

  He heard a cackling laugh and retreated a few steps when a figure materialized from the darkness.

  “Hello, princeling,” Mona said to him as she circled him.

  “You’re not real,” Fane snarled. He rushed her, only to go straight through her.

  She laughed again.

  “Right you are. This is simply a projection of myself. I want to explain to you where you are so that you can fully appreciate my ingenious plan. You cocky wolves thought you had a chance against me. You were wrong.”

  “Where is my mate?” He barked at her.

  “Oh, don’t get your tail in a twist. Your mate is fine. I don’t care about her; she is no threat to me. You, however, you and the other males are definitely a threat. I knew the only sure way to catch you was to threaten your mate. How predictable you are. You really should work on that. After all, variety is the spice of life.”

  “What is this place?” He spat at her.

  “I’m so glad you asked. This is the In Between.” She watched Fane’s face pale.

  “Ah, so your father has been filling you in. Excellent. Then I won't have to spend much time on this. So, all you must do is think of your greatest fear and you will get the intense pleasure of living it over and over and over again. You can go ahead and try not to think of it, of course. Now that I have said it, however, your pea-sized brain will automatically have the images dancing through that oh so pretty little head of yours.” She watched as Fane’s face slowly began to morph into panic.

  “My work here is done. I have other lives to ruin. Tootles!” And before Fane could blink, she was gone.

  Fane put his hands over his eyes and tried to push the images away.

  “Not real, not real,” he said over and over, but the images of Jacquelyn’s death poured into his mind. He watched as her body was attacked by the wolves from the battle with Mona. She was ripped limb from limb and Fane could not reach her no matter how quickly he ran. He sank to his knees and screamed in agony.

  Then she was standing whole before him. She reached for him.

  “Why did you let them kill me Fane? Why didn’t you save me?” She asked him, her eyes full of pain.

  “I tried my love, I tried.” Out of nowhere Fane watched Mona aim her hands at his mate and saw Jacquelyn crash to her knees, screaming in agony. She called out to him, begging him to rescue her.

  “FANE! Please, I need you! Please come, please, please.” Her cries became weak and feeble as Mona continued to torture her. Fane tried to crawl toward her. He reached for her, watching blood begin to flow freely from her nose, eyes, and ears. He closed his eyes, trying to tell himself once again that it wasn’t real, but it didn’t matter how often he told himself. All he could hear were the anguished cries of his mate.

  Tears streamed from his face as he cried for her. “I’m here, Jacquelyn. I’m here, baby.” She did not acknowledge his words.

  He watched her bleed to death, watched as she was crushed time and time again by his enemy, watched as she was taken by Lucas Steele, violated and beaten. He screamed and screamed to no avail. The images continued to come and continued to rip at his soul. He wanted to die; he wanted her to die, once and for all so that she never suffered again. He knew that he would break before this was over. He would not make it out of this hell a whole man. His love was being tortured and killed before his eyes and he couldn’t save her.

  He closed his eyes and curled into a ball, trying to shut out the images, but her cries broke through.

  ***

  Vasile stared at the pond where his only son had disappeared.

  Suddenly the water began to bubble and a coughing and sputtering Jacquelyn emerged. Vasile began to go in after her but was stopped by Crina.

  “Let me, Alpha,” she told him as she went into the water.

  Crina reached Jacque and wrapped an arm around her and under her arms as she pulled her on her back toward the shore.

  When she reached it, Vasile and Adam helped pull her up. Rachel ran to her side and knelt down, checking to see if she was breathing and if her heart was beating.

  Rachel let out a deep breath. “She lives,” she said as relief poured over her.

  Alina knelt next to her daughter-in-law and held her cold, wet hand.

  “Alpha, where is my son?” She asked emotionlessly.

  Vasile’s eyes still hadn’t left the pond. He waited and waited to see if Fane would resurface, but deep down he knew that he wouldn’t. He knew he wasn’t dead because he would have felt the loss in the pack bonds, but he also knew that something terrible was happening. Vasile could feel the torment pouring through their bond and there was nothing that he could do. He would have to wait until Jacque woke to see if she could reach him through the mate bond.

  Something told Vasile that she wouldn’t be able to and he knew that it was going to terrify her.

  Glancing down, he caught the eyes of his mate and held her stare. “He is gone, but alive. We will get him back. For now, we must tend to Jacque and figure out our next step.” Vasile leaned down and picked up his daughter, for that was what she had become to him—a daughter, a pack member, the beloved of his son. She mustn’t die, because if she died so would Fane, and neither of those deaths were acceptable to Vasile.

  He carried her back to the camp with the others following solemnly behind. All of them were on alert as they walked back through the forest in the cool darkness. The fire from their camp still burned up ahead as if no evil had touched their group this night.

  Vasile placed Jacque on a pallet that Alina laid out for her. Adam, after checking that Crina was alright, took watch on the edge of the camp as the others sat around the fire.

  “What do you think happened to him?” Alina asked her mate.

  “I think Mona has influenced the pixies far quicker and more effectively than I would have thought possible. They are such a finicky race. But I have a feeling it was their spell on the pond, and for whatever reason it called to Jacque. Mona knew that Fane would go after Jacque, so if her intent all along was to get Fane, then all she needed to do was get to his mate. The same will hold true with the other mated pairs.”

  “We need to let them know,” Rachel spoke up. Gavril stood behind her, his hand on her shoulder in silent support.

  Vasile nodded. He took out his phone and called to Adam.

  “Adam, I need a little help with my phone. I would ask you to seek out Peri, but I have a feeling you won’t be leaving your mate.”

  Adam grinned. “You would be right, Alpha. Crina will not be leaving my sight.” He reached out and touched Vasile’s phone, giving it a charge.

  Vasile dialed Decebel’s number and waited.

  ***

  “How do you think they’re doing?” Jen asked her mate as she lay in his arms.

  Decebel growled. “I think you need to be worrying about what is happening in your own bed, mate, and not in someone else’s.”

  Jen laughed. “You certainly have a way with words.”

  Decebel rolled her over until he covered her body with his own. He kissed her gently and then placed kisses on her eyes, nose, cheeks, down her jaw, and on her neck. He chuckled as she moaned, pleased at her response.

  “Do you think that everything is okay with Vasile and the others?” She asked him through a gasp as he bit gently on the mark that he had left on her from their blood rites.

  “Why do you insist on bringing others into our bed, Jennifer? I must be doing this wrong if all you can do is think of others.”

  Then, as he continued to kiss her and love her, he surrounded her. Her every thought was centered only on him and she decided very quickly that he was doing everything just right.

  ***

  Jen opened her eyes slowly and realized right away that she wasn’t really awake. She was in a dream world, a dream world that looked just like the place that Peri had found her in when she died.

  “This cannot be good,” she said into the bright, empty space. She turned in a circle, thinking that maybe Peri would show up again, but no such luck. It was just her and the bright space all around.

  She began to walk, not knowing where she was going, if anywhere. For all she knew she was walking in place since the scenery never changed. Gradually she noticed the light was growing dimmer around her. Shivering, she felt the air was getting colder. She looked down and realized that all she had on was the shorts and tank she had gone to bed in. Decebel was like her own personal space heater in their bed – too many clothes and she would sweat all night.

  When all of the light had been swallowed and she stood in pitch black, a sliver of light suddenly pierced the darkness and grew larger. She realized that it was a door opening. She stood there motionless, debating the wisdom of going through that door. After a few moments' deliberation, she decided that there really wasn’t another option unless she happened to wake up. She did pinch herself for good measure, just to see if she could draw herself out of this bizarre dream.

  Jen walked slowly toward the open door, all the while trying to calm her racing heart. She didn’t want to be afraid. She had already died once; surely a second time wouldn’t be all that bad. As she crossed the threshold of the door, her eyes widened at what was before her.

  It was a large room with stairs leading down from the doorway to a platform. On this platform were three beings – she didn’t really know what else to call them. They were definitely not human and they didn’t really have physical bodies, but they were very much alive. They seemed to glow and pulsate as their form changed constantly.

  From what she could see, they would hold the form of featureless humans and then shift to strange-looking animals, then shift to something else entirely that she did not recognize. She felt a pull that she could not ignore and it drew her down the stairs. Almost in a trance, she walked slowly, step by step by step. Her mind was screaming out a warning, but no amount of telling her legs to stop was doing any good. So, she gave into the pull and let it bring her before the three beings.

  Once she was mere feet away from the three beings she came to an abrupt stop, as if she had hit a wall. And when she heard the voices in her mind, she felt the blood run cold through her body.

  “Jennifer Adams, daughter of Jeffrey and Michelle Adams, former resident of Coldspring, Texas, mate to Decebel Anghelescu, former Beta of the Romanian pack, now Alpha of the Serbian pack. We are the Fates and have called you to stand before us to honor your debt.”

  “I knew I shouldn’t have gone through that door,” she muttered under her breath.

  “Your life was to end at eighteen years of age. Your time on the earth was done.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Jen interrupted. “My life was—is just beginning. How can you say that at eighteen my time is done? I haven’t done anything. Don’t you have to have done something in order to be done?”

  “SILENCE!” All three voices reverberated in her head.

  “A simple 'shut it' would have sufficed,” she grumbled.

  “Perizada of the Fae interrupted your life cycle. She took your death from us. The price for that is a life. So, it has always been, a life for a life. Since your death was not collected, then another’s must be.”

  “Do you three always talk about yourselves in the third person? Because if you’re going for creepy, you have far surpassed it without adding that weird little quirk.” Jen couldn’t help the sarcasm that seeped out of her mouth.

  Once again, she thought, my nerves have turned off the valve that filters the wise statements from the “going to get bitch slapped” statements.

  “The life cannot be just anyone's. It has to belong to someone to whom your soul calls out. The price is great for the choice you made and our decision is decided, the life has been chosen, and will be taken henceforth.”

  Jen felt like the air had been knocked from her lungs. Someone to whom your soul calls out. There was only one that qualified for that and it was her mate.

  “NO!” She yelled. “You will not take him. You can have me! I will accept my fate. But do not take his life for mine.”

  “You misunderstand, Jennifer, mate to Decebel. Your fate was changed the moment Perizada took you from us. Your choice has consequences and you must face them.”

  “But I love him. He shouldn’t suffer because of my choice,” Jen said firmly.

  “The one who will fulfill this debt is not male, nor has her life begun. Your offspring has been chosen as the price. In nine months’ time, the debt will be paid.”

  Jen felt her legs crumble beneath her as she hit the floor. Even in her dream she felt the pain radiate through her. She tried to suck in air but her lungs wouldn’t work. Her body began to shake and she felt herself falling into a black hole. Darkness wrapped her up like a blanket. Her brain did not want to believe what they had told her. Her heart was already breaking for the life that she had not, until moments ago, even known existed.