“What?”

  “Sally, my little wall-flower, you haven’t given your body, as B so eloquently put it, to your mate. You’ve completed the Blood Rites, but that is only one of the ingredients in the mixed drink that is bonding.”

  “So,” Sally drew the word out, waiting for Jen to elaborate.

  “Oh good grief woman, I’m saying that according to Dec’s jacked up idea of independent thinking, you, my dearest, are still allowed such a liberty.”

  Sally laughed and though the pain didn’t leave, for that brief moment in time, it wasn’t consuming her.

  She heard a growl and a powerful push as Costin shoved his way into her mind.

  “It will be remedied as soon as this ridiculous tantrum of yours is over.”

  Sally’s mouth dropped open and she couldn’t believe he had just said that to her. She whipped around to look at him and refused to give him the intimacy he was trying to force by using their bond.

  “Are you seriously talking about making love to me while calling me childish in the same sentence?” Sally watched in satisfaction as Costin’s eyes began to glow. She had struck a nerve and maybe it shouldn’t have, but, damn, it felt good.

  “Sally,” he started, but Sally cut him off.

  “I’m not really experienced in this aspect of a relationship, but I’m pretty sure calling your mate childish is NOT the way to go about getting some.”

  Jen coughed on a laugh and watched as not only Costin’s face contorted in anger but all of the males. She just couldn’t resist this one.

  “And by getting some she means tail,” she paused and, just in case their hazed over brains didn’t register it, she said it again a little slower. “Getting—some—tail. You know, because we’re wolves?” Jen looked around and when she noticed Crina grinning she smiled, “I knew someone appreciated my sense of humor.”

  The look on Decebel’s face told her that if he could touch her at that moment he probably would have throttled her. She smiled to herself as she enjoyed the rage she brought out in him. Rage meant emotion, passion, and need. Maybe if she pushed just a little more he would finally let her in.

  “Sally this is…” Costin took a step towards her but she was done listening. She turned on her heel and continued at a pace slightly faster than before.

  Two long, and extremely frustrating days later…

  Night had fallen more quickly Peri noticed and the hairs on the back of her neck rose. They'd finally stopped to make camp, though she hadn’t wanted to, because they were within a day, day and a half tops, from the Romanian mansion. She had considered several times calling and just having one of those blasted males come get them, but she knew that would be a blood bath waiting to happen. So, because of the possessive, stubborn, albeit almost broken, werewolves, they got the wonderful experience of nearly running through the Carpathian Mountains. She watched as the males prepared the camp, gathering wood for a fire, and laying out pallets, all the while darting glances at their mates.

  Jacque tried to keep her eyes from Fane, but since she had laid eyes on him from her window, her gaze had been for him and him alone. At one point, as she was emptying her pack, she swore she felt his hot breath on the back of her neck and she had to bite her lip to hold back a moan. When she had turned to look at him, he had been on the other side of the fire, with an all too knowing smirk on his face. She had narrowed her eyes at him and, being the mature woman that she was, shot him the bird. She realized her mistake when he was suddenly in front of her, still not able to touch her, but that didn’t mean he didn’t affect her.

  “Is that an offer, Luna? All you have to do is ask. Ask me, baby.” His voice was a purr that made her shiver clear down to her toes. She hadn’t realized that she had been leaning towards him until Jen’s voice broke through the lust induced fog.

  “Walk away from the sex on a stick Jacque,” Jen’s voice carried authority brought on by her Alpha status and it was almost enough to make Jacque obey—almost.

  When she didn’t move she watched a triumphant smirk tug at his full, biteable lips.

  “JACQUE!” Jen snarled. “I know it’s tough sweetie, believe me, I know how badly you want his hands on you, and his lips and his tongue and…”

  “Jen!” Sally smacked her friend's shoulder.

  “What?”

  “Get to the point.” Sally rolled her eyes.

  “Right, Jacque,” she started again, “as I said very truthfully, I know it’s hard.” Jen paused as she bit her lip. “Do you have any idea what I could do with that statement?” Jen groaned throwing her arms in the air.

  “Jen, focus honey,” Sally tried a little more softly.

  Jen nodded. “I’m good, I got this. Jacque, if you give in now, for the next hundred years every time you tell him no he’s going to be pulling up your skirt.”

  That got Jacque’s attention. She pulled her eyes from Fane’s smoldering gaze and turned to look at Jen. The other girls around her were covering mouths attempting to keep the laughter at bay.

  “Did you just say…?”

  Jen nodded. “Yes, yes I did. If he knows that rocking your world, well technically it would be your bed,” Jen tapped her cheek with a finger, “or the couch, or the kitchen table…”

  “JENNIFER!” Decebel’s voice, bossy, dark, and sexy, brought chills to her skin.

  “Right, focus,” she told herself. “If he knows that he has a sexual hold over you he will wield it fiercely. Oh damn,” Jen exclaimed, with a slap to her thigh. “There’s another one, can somebody please write this stuff down?”

  Jacque took a step back from Fane, and then another and another. Jen let out a sigh of relief. “Finally, if I had to discuss sex as a weapon in any more detail to you I was going to have to give in and go rape my mate.”

  A ripple of laughter flowed through the females and even the males cracked smiles at Jen’s words.

  While Jen had been distracted, Decebel had moved silently behind her. He leaned as close to her ear as the magic would allow. He blew gently on it, knowing it was one of the things that drove her wild. He watched her shoulders tense. A slow smile formed and a feral gleam glowed in his eyes as he spoke. “You can’t rape the willing, baby.” Her moan was so low that he doubted anyone but him had heard it, and that was a good thing. He didn’t like her making those sounds with other males around, but it did stroke his ego to know that he, and he alone, could affect her this way.

  Jen heard the low chuckle behind her and she fought through the desire as she whipped around to glare at her mate, only, he wasn’t there. Her eyes were pulled to where he stood, calmly leaning against a tree, arms folded across his chest, eyes glowing. He raised a single eyebrow at her and ran his tongue across his bottom lip. Jen cursed under her breath as she turned her back on him and stomped over to where Alina was sitting.

  Decebel watched across the dancing flames of the fire as his mate turned away from him. His wolf snarled and he bristled at the blatant rebuff. He calmed himself with the knowledge that he had affected her. She may be able to push him away now, but it wouldn’t last. He was going to have to play dirty with his female. He grinned to himself at the pun that he knew she would appreciate. Once she was back in his arms, he would share it with her. He felt a bone-deep ache at the thought of her in his arms, sharing laughs, whispering in her ear, enjoying her warmth, and her light. His wolf was becoming more and more insistent that they do whatever it was their mate needed to get her back where she belonged. He wanted to share everything with her, needed that closeness. Decebel closed his eyes as he felt the darkness inside him, invading his mind, fighting for his control. He knew what he needed, knew that if he didn’t take it, then the darkness that had nearly crushed him before Jennifer came along would consume him.

  “I’ve noticed that you and Vasile haven’t interacted since the whole keep your grubby paws off me scene,” Jen said as she absently scribbled in the dirt, fighting the pull of her mate bond.

  Alina glanced over at Vasile. He stared at her intently, and his eyes had rarely left her since she had denied him.

  “We have been together a long, long time,” Alina told her as she continued to meet her mates’ eyes. “And have learned other ways to deal with disagreements.”

  “Is he angry?”

  Alina chuckled quietly and turned back to Jen. “Vasile loses control when he is furious and that is when others think they should fear him.” She shook her head. “But, it’s when his wolf is contained and he is controlled that we should be frightened.”

  Jen glanced around Alina to see Vasile, her eyes dropped instantly and she looked back at Alina with a raised brow. “So what you’re saying is he’s biding his time. Like a hunter, he’s waiting for the perfect moment to strike.”

  Alina nodded. “Yes, and Vasile is a very, very patient hunter.”

  The air was thick with anger, hurt, desire and need as it grew later into the night. Costin sat with his back against a tree so that Sally was in his direct line of sight. She was so tired, so emotionally and physically drained. It was driving Costin crazy that she wouldn’t lay down and rest. He settled slightly after she finally fell asleep. He watched the steady rise and fall of her chest as she breathed and matched his breathing to hers. He wouldn’t last much longer like this. His mate bond was not complete, they had only completed the Blood Rites, and his ability to keep the darkness at bay was not as strong as the mated males. He didn’t know how Drake was doing it, although he noticed that Peri kept a very close eye on him. He focused his attention on Sally again and gave in to the urge to look into her mind while she slept. Her shields would not be strong and he would be able to slip in easily. He couldn’t touch her while she was awake, couldn’t hold her, or kiss her. But, while she slept, he could enter her mind and there, all bets were off.

  Sally felt him as he used their bond to ease into her thoughts. She knew subconsciously that he was doing it because she was asleep and her shields were down. She should try at least to keep him out, but when his arms came around her waist from behind, her resolve came crashing down. His hands slipped under her shirt to her stomach and he growled at the skin on skin contact. Sally’s head fell back on his chest and Costin leaned his face down to her neck, kissing her softly and then nipping the mark he had left on her.

  “This isn’t real,” she whispered, breathlessly as Costin’s hands ran across her rib cage down her sides to her hips and back up again.

  “Are you sure?” He asked her coyly.

  Sally shuttered as his warm breath caressed her cool skin.

  “I’m dreaming and you’re using our bond to do this.”

  “What am I doing Sally mine?” Costin’s lips moved against her ear as he spoke and when he tugged on her ear with his teeth she nearly crumbled to the ground.

  “Costin,” she whispered desperately as her breathing grew unsteady and her heart raced. Costin was relentless and continued his assault on her senses, touching, tasting, and scenting her.

  “What am I doing Sally?” He whispered again. Sally’s only response was a sultry moan.

  “Sally!”

  Sally heard her name and it wasn’t Costin’s voice calling to her. She felt consciousness pulling at her and she didn’t want to go. She didn’t want to leave Costin’s arms or lips for that matter.

  “Sally!” the voice was more insistent this time. Sally tried to push it away with her hand, or at least she thought she did.

  “Stop that,” the voice growled. “Wake up.”

  Sally’s eyes fluttered open and she saw Jen, Jacque, Crina, and Elle leaning over her.

  “What?” She asked groggily. “What’s wrong?”

  “Well, where would you like us to start, with the heavy breathing, the sensual moans or the near orgasmic way you called out your mate’s name?”

  Sally felt the blood rushing to her face as she remembered what she had been dreaming about.

  “I didn’t know you had it in you, Sal. I mean seriously, it was completely shameless.”

  Sally groaned as she covered her burning face.

  “It’s okay Sally. It isn’t your fault that your mate took advantage of you while you were sleeping,” Jacque piped in.

  Sally’s head came up at Jacque’s words and she leaned around the girls. Her eyes found him immediately. The flames from the fire reflected in his eyes and danced around the hazel iris. With a wicked gleam and slight grin he mouthed, “Your move.”

  Sally threw herself back on her pallet while the girls still watched. She closed her eyes canceling out their curious stares as she muttered, “Checkmate.”

  Chapter 13

  “How did we get here? I’ve asked myself that question many times over the past several days. It’s so easy to get caught up in the chaos of our wants and desires that we forget there are consequences to each of our choices. I sit with my best warriors realizing the path that we are on and have no idea how to jump off. I ask myself again, how did we get here? I know the answer, but I am not ready to face my own selfishness.”

  ~Ainsel, King of the Pixies

  Ainsel stood staring through the trees towards the last known location of the veil to the underworld. The location Mona had shown him. He had agreed to help Mona stop the Warlock King from going back on his word, and the longer he stood there staring, the more foolish he realized his agreement had been.

  Dae, the captain of his warriors, asked, “Are you well my king?”

  “I am as well as can be expected in times such as these, Dae.” Ainsel’s face was grim, his lips drawn tight under the tension.

  “You are only doing what is necessary to care for your own.”

  Ainsel looked at Dae. He was not only a warrior but also a friend. “At what price? Are the lives of others worth less than ours? At some point we have to ask ourselves if doing what is necessary, is right, and if it is not then is it truly necessary?”

  ***

  “You really weren’t expecting him to help were you?” Lilly asked Cyn as they stood in the human realm, just beyond the Veil to the Elves.

  “The Elves are a secretive race and do not give their loyalties lightly. They have never before entered into the affairs of the other supernaturals,”

  “That is not a true statement,” Thalion interrupted Cyn as he crossed through the Veil. Following closely behind him, more male elves emerged, all as tall and muscular as the one before. There were twenty elves standing behind Thalion when the parade finally ended.

  Cyn watched Thalion calmly, though inside she was feeling emotions that she had buried, and for good reason.

  She dropped his gaze and turned back to Lilly. “To answer your question simply, no I did not expect him to leave his realm to assist us.”

  “As interesting and no doubt romantic as I’m sure the story is, we need to be moving,” Cypher interrupted as he took Lilly’s hand and pulled her back to his side.

  Thalion nodded his agreement and then motioned for one of the elves behind him to step forward. The elf held out a beautiful bow with intricate designs carved into the wood. He also pulled a leather quiver of arrows from his shoulder and handed them to Cyn.

  “As you know, we have our own magic. The arrows will continue to appear as they are needed.”

  “There isn’t any way you could make that happen with chocolate is there?” Lilly asked, only half joking.

  Thalion’s head tilted as he looked at Lilly, and she felt like a bug on a microscope under his scrutiny.

  “Okay, apparently the definition of supernatural is one without a sense of humor,” she muttered.

  Another of the elves stepped forward and gave Cypher a bow as well and a quiver of arrows.

  “We will need to move quickly to track the beast. We had to use a vehicle to get here from where we encountered him,” Cypher explained.

  “We won’t need to travel all that way again,” Thalion informed him. “We can bring the beast to us, especially if he knows your scent already.”

  “How?” Lilly asked.

  “I imagine Cyn explained that their sense of smell is beyond what you could comprehend, and once they start a hunt, they never abandon it. If he smells any of your blood, he will come.”

  “She decided to explain that part when the giant lizard started chasing us for the second time.” Lilly’s eyes narrowed at Cyn, who gave her customary shrug.

  “I take it you are going to want some blood?” Cypher asked Thalion.

  “That would be best. Draheim never stop hunting their prey once they have targeted it. As long as he thinks you are in his territory, he will come for you.”

  Lilly let out an exasperated laugh. “This just keeps getting better and better.”

  Cypher pulled a sheathed dagger from his thigh and cut a slash across his palm. He rubbed it on several trees and plants in a large circle. Once he was satisfied that it was enough, he went over to Lilly and eyed her grimly. “This won’t be pleasant, but it’s necessary.”

  “Necessary rarely equals pleasant. Let’s just get it over with.” She held her hand out to him and he sliced the blade across her palm as quickly as possible. She winced and gritted her teeth against the pain. She chose different trees to place her blood in the opposite direction of Cypher so that they could cover more ground. Cyn followed behind Lilly also placing her blood on different trees and plants.

  “So, what now?” Lilly asked.

  Thalion leaned back against a tree, with his eyes steady on the sky. “Now, we wait.”

  Two hours and twenty games of tick tack toe later, Lilly’s head tilted back to the sky at the unmistakable whoosh of giant wings on the wind. She rose to her feet and, like the others, waited for the beast to come into sight. Despite the danger they knew was flying above them, none of them could deny the magnificence of the draheim.