“I’m not supposed to be possible either,” Kara reminded him. “A wheeler? No one knew that was a thing. Not until me and my homegirls came along. Of course, it took some messed-up crap to create us. And it sounds exactly like that’s what Cain is doing—a bunch of messed-up crap.” She looked back and forth between Nick and Drayden. “There’s an exception to every rule. You old people should know that by now.”

  “As far as Finn knows, his mate is the first one.”

  Nick pursed his lips. “You said the mate was a dormant. So we probably have no idea who she is or whether she could be special somehow. What would make him use her as his first experiment?”

  Drayden shrugged. “Lizzy Fairchild is her name. But no, none of us have heard of her. And Finn doesn’t know if his mate is going to live through the experiment. If Finn’s story is to be believed, the process wasn’t an easy one.”

  Kara’s breath left her body. The name Drayden spoke was like a bucket of ice water thrown over head, freezing Kara’s heart in her chest. “Wh-what did you just say?” She tilted her head at Drayden. Maybe she had heard the alpha wrong. Or maybe Lizzy Fairchild was a different person. Lots of people have the same name. Heck, there must be a ton of Kara Jones’s walking around out there. Though her last name was no longer Jones since mating with Nick. There probably weren’t very many Kara Cyprus’s out there.

  Drayden frowned at her. “The rogue’s mate is named Lizzy Fairchild, and she might not live through the experiment.”

  Nick took hold of her hand. “You said she died.” He’d picked up on her thoughts. Considering her emotions were suddenly a chaotic mess, she was probably broadcasting them loud and clear. No doubt she wouldn’t have been able to conceal her thoughts if she’d tried.

  “Um, I thought she did.” Kara looked at him, her eyes wide. Goose bumps jumped out all over her skin. “What if I was wrong? What if I just thought she was dead? I mean, I had just beaten a man to death with a baseball bat. I was freaking out. I certainly wasn’t thinking rationally enough to accurately determine if she had a pulse.”

  Drayden’s eyes went wide. “Woah. What the hell are you talking about? When did you beat someone to death with a baseball bat?”

  Kara shook her head. “Long before I met you.”

  The alpha cocked an eyebrow. “You’re only nineteen, Kara. It couldn’t have been that long ago, unless you were a badass five-year-old, too.”

  “Shit!” She ignored Drayden’s question and jumped to her feet, gripping her hair. If she wasn’t inwardly freaking the hell out, she might have told him she had indeed been a badass five-year-old. But a nuclear bomb had just been dropped in her lap. Could Lizzy really be alive? The girl she’d left beaten and battered on the floor of a disgusting pedophile’s house? What have I done?

  She made a beeline for Drayden’s trash can. “I think I’m going to puke.” She felt Nick’s hand on her back. The crackers and soda suddenly made a reappearance, this time in far-less appealing form. She turned her face away from the vomit pooling at the bottom of the wastebasket and handed the bin to Drayden. To his credit, he didn’t flinch. Maybe he was still hung up on the fact that she had beaten a man to death with a baseball bat. “He deserved it,” she said, with no further explanation.

  Drayden sat the trashcan down away from her. “I’ve no doubt that he did. Can you please explain to me why this woman’s name has triggered such an extreme reaction in you?”

  Nick yanked a bandanna out of his back pocket and gave it to her. It wasn’t typically used for this type of thing, but it had recently become her designated mouth-vomit rag. “Thanks,” she croaked and began to pace, her mind reeling. Kara felt as if she was going to crawl out of her skin. She had no idea if Finn’s mate was her Lizzy or just some chick with the same name. And Kara was terrified of either option. Which did she want it to be? She searched her heart of hearts and couldn’t come up with an answer. If it was her Lizzy, then Kara had left the girl to fend for herself. If it wasn’t her Lizzy, then the possibility that she might see her friend again would, for a second time, be extinguished. Curse this Finn person. Why did his mate have to have the name Lizzy Fairchild? Kara’s knees went weak. It was as if she was grieving her friend all over again. “Fu—” She bit back the vulgar word. Kara had said that word enough in the aftermath of her Ludcarab situation, and she didn’t want it to become a habit, especially since they would have a little one soon. The last thing she wanted was their daughter’s first word to be the F word.

  Kara took a deep breath and steadied herself. She explained her past to Drayden, who thankfully kept his questions to a minimum and didn’t seem appalled by her actions. Then she looked in Nick’s eyes. “What are the chances?” She knew he would understand exactly what she meant.

  He shook his head. “I don’t know, babe. It’s possible, especially if she was a dormant. She could have healed from her wounds.”

  Kara covered her mouth to stifle a wailing cry. Her knees finally gave way, but Nick caught her before she hit the ground. He scooped her up and sat back down on the love seat, placing Kara in his lap. “Shh.” He smoothed her hair while she buried her face in his neck. “We’ll find out for sure. Fane can speak to this Finn once more and get some additional information on Lizzy.”

  “What if it’s her, Nick?” Kara whispered. “What if I left her?” She started to ask how Lizzy would ever be able to forgive her, but that was a selfish question. It wasn’t about Kara. It wasn’t about her feelings. It was about Lizzy and what she had surely endured since Kara walked out of that house.

  “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, Kara.” Nick ran a hand down her hair and pulled her closer against him, apparently unconcerned that she might puke on him. She was nauseous, but this time it had nothing to do with morning sickness. The sinking feeling in her gut couldn’t be helped with crackers and a soft drink. This feeling might never go away. How could it? Not only had Lizzy likely endured more horrific foster homes after being abandoned by Kara, but now she was in the hands of a vampire. She was being experimented on, apparently being turned into a hybrid monster … if she even survived the procedure.

  “We have to get her out of there.” Kara pulled her face back and wiped at her tears. She had no right to cry. Lizzy wouldn’t want her tears, at least not the Lizzy she remembered.

  “I’ll call Fane back.” Drayden pulled his phone from his pocket. “We’ll see what more information we can get.”

  Kara nodded, though her mind was a million miles away. More memories of her friend infiltrated her thoughts. She closed her eyes and let the images run like a movie through her head. There’d been so many bad times, but so many good ones, as well. She’d not allowed herself to think about Lizzy since the other night when she’d told Nick about the closest friend she’d ever had. But now, she couldn’t stop the memories. I’m so sorry, Lizzy-girl. Most prominent were the memories of all the times they’d laid staring up at the stars, dreaming of a better future than the one in which they found themselves.

  She had gotten her better future, though it had come with its own dark moments. In the end, she wound up with four best friends, a pack, and a mate who loved her. What had Lizzy ended up with?

  Kara ran a hand over her face and swallowed several times. Even though she knew Nick wouldn’t even bat an eyelash, Kara didn’t want to vomit on her mate. Vomit was not sexy.

  “If we need to talk about some other kink to help keep your focus off vomiting, I’m totally open to that,” he whispered against her neck.

  She grunted in reply.

  Drayden spoke up. “Fane, do you have any more information about the dormant, Lizzy?”

  Kara turned to look at him. She couldn’t hear the exact words being spoken. Unfortunately, she didn’t have her mate’s wolf hearing, but she could hear the rumble of a voice coming through the speaker of Drayden’s phone.

  Their alpha nodded. “All right, thanks. Yes, we’ll be in touch.” Drayden lowered the phone, and his jaw tensed. He shook his head. “Fane hasn’t spoken to the male again. So he only knows what he’s already told me.”

  “What do we need to do?” She could feel Nick’s anxiousness coming through the bond. He didn’t want to leave the pack’s territory. It was in their own territory that his wolf believed it could best protect Kara. If it was up to her mate, she would be locked up in a room full of bubble wrap.

  “Definitely locked up in a room. But probably not wrapped in bubble wrap. That would make it too hard for me to get to you when I wanted, so—”

  “Enough.” She mentally barked at him. “Mind your own thoughts and listen to our alpha, please.”

  Drayden’s face was serious. “Fane wants you to get as close to the vampire king’s location as possible without engaging any enemies. Dalton Black, of the Colorado pack, and his mate will join you.” He took a deep breath, and his already broad chest enlarged, his shoulders raising and lowering as he blew the breath out. “I don’t want to ask this of you, Kara.” He looked straight at her. Kara didn’t drop her eyes. She didn’t feel the need to. She’d asked Drayden about this once since other pack members could not hold his gaze. He told her it was because of her nature as a healer. The purity of the healer’s heart meant they didn’t instinctively need to find their place in the pack's hierarchy. Which meant Kara also had neither the need to fight for dominance nor the urge to submit. Likewise, his wolf didn’t see her as a threat to their dominance.

  Kara made sure her voice didn’t waver when she responded. “I’m not broken, Alpha.” She could feel Nick’s agitation through their bond, and she reached up a hand and rubbed the back of his shaved head, soothing his wolf. “And I know my mate can protect me if the need arises.”

  “Low blow, sweetheart,” Nick whispered. She’d just challenged him. If he argued against her going, then it made him look as though he didn’t believe in his ability to protect her.

  “I never promised to fight fair, biker boy.” She grinned but didn’t take her eyes off Drayden.

  “Come up with a different pet name,” Nick grumbled. “I’m a man, lover, not a boy. I’m pretty sure I’ve already proven that.”

  “Right.” Their alpha said quickly, cutting off Kara before she could respond to her mate. “This is a recon mission only. You go in, you gather information, and you get out. Call Dalton and set a time and place to meet. Once that’s done, text Fane. He will send a fae to assist you in the travel.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Kara clapped her hands. She pushed every ounce of worry down into the deepest pit of her stomach and told herself to focus on the mission. She couldn’t worry about what or who she might find at the vampire compound. If she focused on the possibility of Lizzy not only still being alive but also a dormant in the clutches of the vampire king, then she’d make herself sick … or at least sicker than she already was.

  As she and Nick left the office, he was already pulling out his phone, no doubt to get in contact with Dalton. At least she could look forward to seeing Jewel again, even if the circumstances weren’t ideal. Kara found she was actually ready to step out of the bubble she’d put herself in. Apparently finding out that the friend you cared about most in the world might be coming back from the dead had that effect on her.

  Chapter

  Four

  “I wish you were here to give me advice. I wish I didn’t have to face such massive trials without your guidance. I just keep trying to think of what you would do if you were in my shoes. I wish I had some assurance I was getting it right. The truth is, I feel like I’m just shooting arrows into the dark, hoping they hit their mark.” ~Fane

  Fane crossed his arms and sighed, staring down at a large map spread out on the table. He’d moved everyone to a conference room, as his office didn’t have space to accommodate all his lieutenants, for lack of a better term, especially with the maps they had to keep track of their enemies’ movements. Fane had been watching the human news, searching for any information concerning strange or random disappearances. There wasn’t much. Either no one was getting kidnapped, or the disappearances were still being covered up. And Fane knew dormants were still being taken.

  Whoever was pulling the strings amongst the human news media had also covered up their destruction of a giant mountain in Wyoming. Various experts had flooded news outlets, ruling the implosion a natural disaster caused by the shifting of tectonic plates. No scientist worth his or her salt would believe it, yet no one was refuting the story. And the people were swallowing down the lies like their favorite desserts.

  “I heard there was a head brought in for me to admire.” Jen stepped into the war room.

  “Why is there always a head involved at the end of our battles?” Adam held up his hands. “Not that I’m complaining. I personally think beheadings are good for morale.”

  “And that’s why you’re my male BFF.” Jen high-fived the fae as she walked by. Their hands had barely touched when Decebel knocked Adam’s away.

  “You don’t have any male BFFs,” her mate grumbled. He steered her toward a chair and pulled it out for her, motioning with his eyes for her to sit.

  Decebel was always protective, but Fane noticed he’d been more so lately. His beta growled at anyone who got too close to Jen, and the look on his face told everyone he would take a bite out of them if they even said the wrong thing. Fane decided he would let it go for now … until Decebel actually did bite someone. Then Fane would have to intervene. He just hoped it wasn’t anytime soon. Fane knew there was only one thing that would put his beta’s beast to rights—a fight. And as much as the alpha enjoyed a good scrap, sparring with Decebel was no easy task, even for one with his power. He shook his head and pushed the thought out of his mind. He would cross that bridge when he came to it.

  Fane’s gaze shifted to Cyn, who stood hovering over a map of her own. Her mate, Thalion—formerly the elf prince, but now the elf king—stood next to her with his hip resting against the table.

  The fae warrior lifted her head and looked at Jen. “I did bring you a present, Jen. And not just any head for our beta’s mate, but the high fae, Alston’s, head. Regrettably, after some deliberation, I made the decision to gift it to someone else.”

  “Dammit, that jackass’s head would’ve been perfect for my collection. I’ve just had Decebel build a display case in our bedroom so I can show off my trophies.” Jen plopped down in a chair across from Cyn. “Pray tell, who could possibly have deserved that gift more than me?”

  “The vampire who manipulated us,” Cyn answered through gritted teeth.

  “Cain.” Decebel growled.

  Cyn nodded. “Though in doing so, I think he inadvertently did us a favor.” She looked at Fane. “I should have asked your permission. But in the heat of the moment, I made the decision, and I do not regret it. Now he has two heads to remind him we will not be toyed with, manipulated, or otherwise antagonized. If I have to cut the head off of every enemy we have, then so be it. My blade will be bathed with blood.”

  “New-girl crush,” Jen sang.

  “It’s good to see you smiling.” Crina’s eyes lit upon Jen. “Even if it is because you love the idea of a blade swimming in vampire blood.”

  “If nothing else, I am consistent.” Jen gave Crina a wink.

  Fane noticed there was still an underlying sadness in Jen’s dull, blue eyes that usually held a spark of fire. But he could tell she wasn’t broken. Jen had been knocked down, but she was standing back up. Perhaps, he imagined, in private, she still fell apart at times. But Jen wasn’t allowing her miscarriage to control her. Fane’s respect for his beta’s mate grew even more. Though he would not have judged her if she’d needed more time to fall apart. He would never tell someone how long they should or shouldn’t grieve, but he had to admit Jen’s resilience impressed him.

  “Forgive me, Jen,” Cyn addressed the she-wolf. “I only wanted what was best for you, and I didn’t think seeing his face so soon, even plastered in a look of anguish on his severed head, would be prudent.”

  Jen stared at the fae for several moments before she nodded. “I appreciate you looking out for me. I don’t think it would have bothered me very much. Though I probably wouldn’t have placed it in the display case. I’d have hung it in the training room and used it to practice my knife-throwing. That would have been messy, and it would have begun to smell. So I’m sure you did us all a favor.”

  “Thank the Great Luna,” Jacque muttered.

  “Heard that, Red.” Jen didn’t even look at her best friend.

  “Wasn’t trying to hide it, Thelma,” Jacque responded as she leaned closer to Fane.

  He soaked in his mate’s warmth and forced himself to focus on the subjects they needed to discuss. He was exhausted. His wolf wanted to run, to hunt, and sink its teeth into some sort of prey. Rabbit, deer, vampire. It didn’t really matter. His beast just wanted to kill something. “Patience,” he told his wolf. “We will go for a hunt this evening.” His wolf didn’t respond but gave Fane the mental image of him sitting down on his haunches, looking very unimpressed with Fane’s promise.

  Jacque stared at her best friend, holding the connection to the blue eyes she knew as well as her own. Though Jen’s face remained blank, Jacque saw emotion flit through the orbs. The sight was enough to tell Jacque that her friend wasn’t ready to be put back into action. Jacque knew she could have used the alpha bond to look into Jen’s mind, but she wouldn’t cross that boundary. She simply had to trust Jen to tell her the truth.

  The alpha’s brow rose in demand for an answer. Jen shifted, no doubt feeling the weight of her alpha’s expectations pressing down on her. This wasn’t a game; there was real danger out there, and Jacque needed to trust the beta to be able to do her job. Jacque’s tough questions weren’t out of judgment but out of concern for everyone’s safety—even Jen’s. The alpha wouldn’t give her any slack just because they were friends. “Do you think you’re ready to go back out there and face our enemy without acting rashly?”