Myanin shook her head. “My girl thinks it’s wrong to take over a person’s free will. Respectable… I guess.”

  Tanya sighed “Although I still think messing with the vamp would be hilarious, in most contexts, taking over someone else’s free will is the epitome of wrong.”

  The djinn shrugged. “This is not in most contexts.”

  “I need you to try, Tenia,” Fane said. “We have a situation. A wolf and his mate are being held at a human military base called Area 51. From what research I’ve found it’s not hidden, but there are lots of mysteries surrounding the things that go on there. None of which have ever been confirmed by the public or any military official. It’s located in Nevada. In fact, you can literally have your GPS take you there.”

  Myanin spun the knife in her hand. “All right, let’s kick some ass!”

  Gerrick gently wrapped a hand around the back of his mate’s neck. “Hold on, killer. Let’s find out the details before we go in flinging knives everywhere.”

  “Who’s the wolf and his mate?” Lilly asked.

  “His name is Finn St. James. His mate is called Lizzy Fairchild,” Fane explained. “She is a dormant.”

  “What pack?” Tanya’s brow furrowed. “The names don’t sound familiar.”

  “That’s because they’re rogues, or at least he is,” Fane said. “I’m not really sure about Lizzy. From what I could pick from Finn’s mind, she’s recently found out about her dormant status. But the captured wolves aren't the worst part.” He took a deep breath. “Cain has a gypsy healer.”

  Gasps erupted from everyone in the room. Lilly took a step toward Dillon, a murderous gleam in her eyes.

  “Who?” Dillon asked through clenched teeth that no longer looked human.

  “We aren’t sure. Jacquelyn called all the packs. No one is missing a healer.” Frustration laced Fane’s voice.

  Myanin stared at the phone as her mind sifted through this new information. “So that means there’s an undiscovered healer out there?”

  “Holy crap.” Tanya breathed out. “How is that possible? Could there be even more?”

  “That is an excellent question,” Fane answered. “But not one we can worry about right now. Cain has injected Lizzy with vampire blood and gypsy healer blood.”

  Laughter rang out in the room. Every head snapped to the vampire strapped to the chair. “He’s figured it out.”

  On instinct, Myanin’s hand whipped out and smacked Claude in the back of the head. “You don’t get to laugh. Or did you forget that I’m itching for a reason to slit your throat?”

  “Stand down, Myanin.” Lilly snapped her head to look at the djinn. The vampire smirked, and Myanin fought the urge to smack him again.

  Fane snarled. “Figured what out?”

  That vamp is damn lucky Fane can’t come through the phone. Myanin didn’t know if the alpha would have held back on slitting the pig’s throat, and the damage would be with claws, not a blade.

  “How to make a hybrid, of course.” Suddenly, the vamp was all smiles, looking like he’d just eaten the best cotton candy in the world. “He’s been trying unsuccessfully for months. If he’s injecting dormants now, that must mean he’s figured out the rule. He wouldn’t risk that without at least having some sort of proof that it could work.”

  “Rule?” Myanin stepped closer to the vampire. “What rule?”

  Claude sighed as if he’d just been asked a simple question from a toddler for the fifteenth time. “The supernatural world has rules, if you hadn’t noticed. Cain figured that there had to be a way to make vampires out of other supernatural beings. And like any formula, there must be rules. Guidelines, if you will.”

  “If you hadn’t noticed, there are consequences when those rules are broken.” Myanin’s eyes bulged. “Vampires are made by a virus, not created by the goddess. Supernatural beings are not meant to house such a virus. It’s one of the reasons we can heal so quickly. Our bodies fight off the virus.” Myanin couldn’t believe the audacity of the vampire king, thinking he could pervert the Great Luna’s plan.

  Claude gave a toothy grin. “Rules are made to be broken.”

  Myanin lunged for him, but Gerrick pulled her back. “Not yet, love.”

  “How many dormants does he have?” Dillon's eyes glowed with his wolf as he stared down at the vampire.

  Claude was finally talking, and that was an opportunity they needed to take advantage of. So Myanin fought the urge to cut his damn head off. That wouldn’t get them anything except a mess in the dungeon. And Myanin had a feeling that Lilly would make her clean it up. She seriously didn’t feel like cleaning up this parasite’s blood. For now, maybe letting him gloat and act like he had a leg up on them would keep his lips moving.

  “More than you could possibly imagine,” he said. “Baby alpha…” Claude looked at the phone as if he could see Fane through it. “Even your father, as powerful as he thought himself to be, didn’t have any idea how many dormants existed in this world. And now, they belong to us.”

  Several moments of silence ticked by. When Fane finally spoke, his voice held an eerie calm. “No. They belong to the Great Luna. The lust for power makes fools think they can take what doesn’t belong to them and actually keep it. Mark my words, bloodsucker, you will suffer my wrath, along with any who think they can harm those that belong to the Great Luna. I am the arm of her justice. I am her sword. I am her claws and fangs. I will tear you down and send you to where you belong.”

  “And where is that, baby alpha?” Claude chuckled, but the sound was hollow. No one else in the room made a sound. Even Myanin shivered at the tone in Fane’s voice.

  “Hell,” Fane said coolly. “Where you will burn for all of eternity.”

  The vampire snapped his teeth together. “Good luck with that. Our sheer numbers will overwhelm you. And my king is building a hybrid army that will be more powerful than anything you have ever faced. This only ends one way, pup—with you and your pack ground under our boot heels.”

  Myanin shook with rage. “Now can I kill him, Fane?”

  “Not yet, Myanin. Tenia, glean any information you can from him. I don’t care what you have to do. We need a way into that facility. I gave Finn my word we would get him and his female out. Not to mention the dormants Cain has captured. Also, did Claude have a cell phone on him?”

  “Not that we found,” Dillon answered.

  “Okay, Tenia, see if you can get a cell phone number for Cain. I think it’s time the king and I had a chat.”

  The fae lifted her chin and pulled her shoulders back. “I’ll do my best.”

  Myanin put a hand on her shoulder. “You got this.”

  “Dillon,” Fane continued, “I need your beta and his healer mate to make the trip to this Area 51 once we get things figured out. I’m going to ask Drayden for Nick and Kara’s help, as well. Hopefully, they can use their witch power to help us with the situation and to talk to this new healer. We can’t even hazard a guess as to her mindset. Is Cain controlling her? Has he poisoned her mind with lies? She is a total unknown, and that makes me uneasy. It might be helpful if she speaks with others of her kind.”

  “Consider it done, Alpha,” said Dillon. “If we can help in any other way, don’t hesitate to ask.”

  “Lilly,” Fane said. Her eyes turned back to the phone. “Have you seen anything?”

  The queen shook her head, and Myanin noticed her hands fisted tightly at her sides. “My visions are annoyingly absent at the moment.”

  “Maybe that’s a good thing,” Fane offered. “Stay ready. Good luck, Tenia.” With that, the phone clicked and went silent.

  Skender, Tenia, Myanin, Gerrick, Tanya, and Dillon all looked at one another. Several moments ticked by before Skender spoke. “You’re up, love. I’m right here beside you.”

  Tenia nodded and stepped closer to Claude. Skender walked around behind the vampire and grabbed him by his hair, yanking his head back. “This might hurt a bit,” the wolf said with a wicked smile.

  The fae placed her hands on either side of Claude’s face. “Look at me.” His eyes snapped to Tenia’s. “My mate is wrong.” She tilted her head to the side, and a very wolfish expression crossed her face. “This is going to hurt a lot.”

  Chapter

  Three

  “Despite my youth, I’ve managed to make a ton of mistakes. Some I regret more than others. But the thing I regret the most, the thing that still keeps me up at night, is that I didn’t try harder for her. I thought I had only failed her once. Turns out, I actually failed her twice. And the second was far worse. My first failure only left her dead. The second failure brought her back as a monster and left her in the hands of our enemy.” ~Kara

  “Nick, I need you and Kara to come to my office.” Drayden knocked on their bedroom door.

  Kara froze mid-step on her way to the bathroom. Morning sickness is about as fun as riding a roller coaster after stuffing my face with five funnel cakes. Plain and simple. She was trying not to let her constant nausea rob her of the joy of having their child, but Kara was seriously sick of puking.

  “Can you give us a few minutes?” Nick put his hand on the doorknob. He glanced over his shoulder, no doubt checking to see if his mate was fully clothed before answering the door. Mostly, he wanted to make sure her markings were covered. Possessive male.

  “You better believe it,” Nick said through their bond. Kara felt an invisible hand run down her spine.

  He cracked the door just enough to see their alpha. “Kara’s been having morning sickness. Let me get some crackers in her stomach.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Drayden said gently. “I wouldn’t ask, but Fane called. It’s important.”

  Nick nodded. “Understood.”

  Kara didn’t listen to the rest of the conversation. Her stomach wouldn’t let her. She hurried for the porcelain bowl that had become the bane of her existence. Once she’d emptied her stomach of what little contents it contained, she rinsed the taste out of her mouth with mouthwash and then wiped off her face. “Ugh.” She groaned and ran a hand over her stomach, which was finally showing a slight bump. “Are you feeling as nauseous as I am, little bean?” Kara imagined a day when her child could respond. It seemed to Kara as if it would be forever before her daughter arrived. Yet Kara wondered if she’d ever be ready to be a mom, no matter how much time passed.

  Nick came into the bathroom and wrapped his arms around her from behind. He pressed his lips to her neck and then carefully nipped her skin. Normally such an affectionate act would have gotten him some serious bedroom action. But as of late, all Kara could think about was trying not to vomit. And she didn’t think Nick would find that terribly attractive.

  “I’ve got a Sprite—the drink, not a supernatural creature. That would be weird—and crackers with your name on them.” Nick looked at her in the mirror, and even if she weren’t able to feel his concern through their bond, she could see it in his eyes.

  She chuckled. “I think the supernatural kind of sprite would probably help more with the throwing up.”

  His eyes softened. “Does it help at all when I try to take some of it from you?”

  Nick had been using their bond to attempt to take on some of her nausea. He assumed he could do it the way a mate could help his bonded share, and therefore endure, severe pain. “Yes, it does. But some days are worse than others.” She could feel his frustration at being helpless and patted his arm. “I’ll be okay, Nick.”

  He nodded, his chin resting on her shoulder. “I know you will. You’re a warrior. But I hate that you have to endure anything painful.”

  Kara turned to face him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “The pain makes us appreciate the victory all the more.”

  His face turned sulky. “Still don’t have to like it.”

  Kara rose on her toes and pressed her lips to his. She loved kissing her mate. She loved knowing that she could, that she had the right to, anytime she wanted. Nick didn’t deepen the kiss. He didn’t even pull her tighter against him because he worried he’d make her stomach feel worse. Who knew her biker bad boy could be so considerate?

  After getting the crackers and soda down, Kara changed out of her pajamas. She took her mate’s hand, and they marched to Drayden’s office.

  The pair found the alpha staring out the window, his hands in his pockets and his shoulders tense. Nick cleared his throat, and Drayden turned to face them. He motioned toward the chairs in the middle of the room. “Have a seat.”

  Nick pulled Kara gently down onto the love seat beside him. “Why do you sound like your favorite dog just died?”

  Drayden sighed and ran a hand down his face. “If only it were something so simple.” He took the seat opposite them and leaned his elbows on his thighs, clasping his hands together. “Fane has requested our help. And he’s asked for you two specifically. I realize you’re dealing with the crap that happened with…” Kara could tell he was reluctant to say the elf king’s name.

  She shook her head. “You don’t have to censor yourself, Alpha. I can handle hearing his name.”

  He looked at her, and then his eyes shifted to Nick. “You’re not the one I’m worried about, Kara. You females have an amazing resilience to trauma. Your mates, however, sometimes don’t handle things so well.”

  Kara glanced at Nick and saw that his jaw was clenched tightly, and his eyes glowed with his wolf. “Hey.” She bumped him with her shoulder. “It’s okay.”

  Nick took a deep breath and let it out slowly, his eyes fading back to their human form. “No, it’s not. But… I am dealing.”

  How had she missed that he was struggling with the whole Ludcarab thing? Had she been so focused on her own pregnancy issues that she’d really been that blind to Nick’s emotional state?

  “Don’t.” He growled at her. “It’s not your job to coddle me, yeah?”

  “No, not yeah. You don’t get to suffer in silence. That’s not how relationships work.”

  Nick scraped his teeth over his bottom lip. “Can we talk about this later?” He turned his head and gave her a pointed look before focusing back on his alpha.

  “Don’t think I’ll forget.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it, female.”

  Drayden pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. You mated pairs are going to be the death of me.”

  Nick snorted. “Don’t hate just because you’re jealous.”

  The alpha shook his head and motioned between them. “I’m not jealous of that part.”

  Kara changed the subject. “What does Fane want with us?”

  Drayden blew out a deep breath. “Unfortunately, Cain has managed to acquire a gypsy healer.”

  Kara’s eyes went wide. He might have given her a “hey, this might be a bit shocking, so prepare your pregnant self.” She shifted onto the edge of her seat. “Who is it? I’m going to cut him to pieces if he’s hurt one of my girls.” She felt Nick’s anger coming through the bond, joining with her own.

  “No one we know. All of our healers are accounted for.”

  Kara released a breath she didn’t even know she’d been holding.

  “So, it’s a new chick?”

  Drayden nodded. “Looks that way, Nick.”

  Kara ground her teeth. “Whoever it is, we have to get her out.” There was no way she would leave a healer in the hands of a vampire, especially the damn vampire king.

  “Dillon and a group of our allies managed to capture a vampire. They’ve been working on getting information that could help us figure out where Cain is and all of his plans.” The alpha let out a grunt, rotating his neck from side to side, seemingly in an attempt to relax the tenseness in his muscles. Kara knew exactly how he felt. Every muscle in her body was suddenly tense, itching to explode into action.

  “You won’t be exploding into anything,” Nick said into her mind. “You’re carrying our child. You’ll be staying far away from danger.”

  “Cool your tits, biker boy,” she grumbled. “I didn’t say I was going to go running headlong into a vampire lair.”

  “Cool my tits?” She felt his amusement, and it was a welcome emotion compared to the anger.

  She shrugged. “If the bra fits.”

  Drayden glanced between them. “Do I even want to know what you two are talking about?”

  “Tits and cooling them,” Kara offered.

  “Shite.” Nick huffed. “I’d say we could blame her coarseness on the pregnancy, but she was this way before she was carrying my kid.”

  Kara grinned. “And you love it.”

  “Okay.” Drayden waved his hand. “I’m not touching cooling tits with a ten-foot pole.”

  “That’s probably a good thing.” Kara smirked. “Touching my tits, even with a ten-foot pole, would probably set my man off into a fit of epic proportion.”

  Nick rubbed his forehead. “Could you stop saying tits, especially regarding yours?”

  “Maybe.” She shrugged. “Maybe not. It might be the word of the day. Jen has those. It’s good practice for teaching our kid the alphabet.”

  Drayden shook his head. “Wow.”

  Nick shot her an incredulous look. “We’re not using vulgar words to teach our daughter the alphabet.”

  Kara patted his leg. “Whatever you say, babe.” She’d managed to cool his ire over other things, which had been her plan. That he was annoyed over something she obviously would never do was simply a bonus.

  Drayden rolled his eyes. “I swear, conversations with you healers can never be normal. Anyway, Fane also mentioned that a wolf held captive in Cain’s compound reached out to him via the alpha bond. The wolf’s name is Finn St. James—a rogue. He told Fane who he was and that the vamp king has also captured Finn’s mate. She is a dormant. The rogue told Fane that Cain has been experimenting on dormants, attempting to create a hybrid army. The vamp injected Finn’s mate with vampire blood and gypsy healer blood. Apparently, the experiment worked.”

  “Seriously?” Nick’s voice was deep with his wolf. “That shouldn’t be possible. Not with our genetics.”