Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Jen released a breath. Her shoulders fell, but her chin remained stubbornly raised. “I cannot say that with a hundred-percent certainty.”

  Jacque nodded.

  “To be fair,” Jen continued, “I can never tell you with a hundred-percent certainty that I wouldn’t get stabby while near one of our enemies.”

  “That’s true.” Sally nodded and pointed at Jen. “We’ve known for a long time how unstable she is.”

  Jacque crossed her arms and pressed closer to Fane. As bad as she hated to admit it, Jacque knew she’d been acting needy lately. And her insecurity was irritating. She could only imagine that it must be driving Fane crazy.

  “You know better than that, beloved.” His voice filled her mind. “You could climb me like a tree all day long, and I wouldn’t complain.”

  Jacque fought back the smile that attempted to stretch across her face while she continued to look at Jen. Eventually Jen dropped her eyes in submission.

  “What would you have me do?” Jen’s voice was tight.

  “Help Rachel in the nursery,” Jacque ordered. Jacque hoped Jen would see that task as equally important as going out on a hunt, because it was. “Help Gavril train Titus. You should enjoy that, considering how often you criticize his tactics.”

  “Umm…” Sally started to speak, but Jacque shook her head. Her brunette friend’s mouth snapped closed.

  “Sally will join you, and Bethany is already there,” Jacque said. “Our children need to be guided. They need to be trained because the number of our enemies grows by the day. It’s unlikely they will be vanquished any time soon. We will blink and our kids will be adults fighting at our sides.”

  “Over my dead body,” Decebel muttered.

  Jacque’s eyes snapped to the beta. “You don’t have to like it. But you know I’m right. Or perhaps you would have your daughter weak, unable to defend herself?” She raised her eyebrows and waited to see if he would answer, but his glowing amber eyes just stared back at her. He didn’t drop his gaze, but Jacque didn’t force the issue. “I didn’t think so.”

  “Thia’s only two,” Jen said.

  Jacque slashed a hand through the air. “It doesn’t matter. These children raise questions the pack has never had to face. We’ve never talked about when Thia will begin phasing. She could turn furry tomorrow for all we know. Titus is a dormant, but so am I and so are you. Yet we phase. So will he be able to? These are important matters, Jen. Just as important as beheading vampires, maybe more so. Swallow your damn pride and do what needs to be done. You don’t have to like it, but you will do it. And you will do it better than anyone else because mediocre isn’t in your vocabulary. Am I clear?”

  “Whoa.” Zara breathed out.

  “Chick is totally embracing her alpha status,” Crina added.

  Jen gave a sharp nod. “Crystal clear.” This time her voice held less irritation and more resolution.

  “Please understand I’m not benching you,” Jacque said through her bond with Jen. “I’m asking you to do something very hard. In your mind, this probably feels like some sort of demotion. But that is not the case. This job is more important than anything we will do.”

  “I know, Red.” Jen’s lips turned up slightly. “I agree. And you’re not wrong. I’m not fit to be out there. My head isn’t quite right yet. I want it to be. Damn it all, do I want it to be, but it’s not. And I don’t want others to see that. Maybe that makes me a coward.”

  Jacque shook her head. “It makes you human. You don’t enjoy feeling vulnerable, and let’s be real. Who does? I’m taking the decision out of your hands. You don’t have to look tough. I’m giving you an order as your alpha, and you will obey it. At the same time, you’ll give your heart, mind, and body time to heal. I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  Jacque finally let her eyes leave Jen’s and looked back at Fane. “It’s all you, babe.”

  He took her hand and lifted it to his lips, pressing a kiss to her palm. Then he closed it into a fist. Fane turned back to the room full of their warriors, who were watching him, waiting to receive their orders. Each of them was ready and willing to lay down their lives for the cause. “While we wait on the information we need from the healers and their mates, I’ve decided it’s time to hunt.”

  “Hell yes!” Adam, who’d been leaning back in a chair as if they weren’t dealing with an infestation of bloodsuckers, jumped to his feet. He rubbed his hands together and licked his lips. “Where are we headed, alpha man?”

  Fane looked at the male fae. “Don’t call me that.” His voice sounded bored, but the sharp glint in his eyes spoke clearly what his tone did not.

  “Got it.” Adam snapped his fingers and pointed a finger at him. “No nicknames.”

  Crina snorted. “Anyone want to take bets on how long that will last?”

  A collective chuckle ran through the room, but Adam didn’t look bothered in the least. He reached out and gave his mate’s pixie-cut hair a gentle tug and winked at her.

  “As my mate said, Sally and Jen will stay here to look after the children.” Fane slipped his hands into his pockets and took a deep breath, pulling his shoulders back. He looked at the sprite queen. “Andora, do you feel any of your people should join this mission?”

  The queen shook her head. “Though my people have much power, and we’ve fought before, I believe we aren’t to be included in this hunt.”

  Jacque felt her mate’s agreement. But he’d obviously wanted to give the leader a choice instead of ordering her.

  He looked at Thalion and Cyn. “The elves?”

  Thalion nodded. “Tell us where you want us.”

  “We’re going to break the continent up into sections.” Fane motioned to the maps. “Though the reports are scarce, some cities have reported the occasional missing person. We can only assume those are just the tip of the iceberg. We will start in those places and work our way out.”

  Thadrick cleared his throat. “I will join the hunt. Others of my race will also assist.”

  “Thank you, Thad.” Fane motioned with his head to Jezebel. “And you?”

  The white witch smiled. “Ask your mate if I can hold my own, alpha.”

  Jacque nodded. “She’s totally got this, Fane. I’d have her fight by my side in a heartbeat.”

  Fane nodded, appearing satisfied with his mate’s answer. He looked at Peri and Lucian. “You two have been distracted since the mountain came down. Is this something we need to discuss in private, or will you speak freely now?”

  Jacque’s brow rose. Her mate wasn’t pulling any punches today.

  Peri's lips drew thin across her face in a severe line, and the aura surrounding her began to glow. Jacque forced herself not to take a step back. She’d seen Peri in her glory many times, and she didn't want to be anywhere near the wrath that sometimes resulted.

  After several tense moments, Peri said, “We will not speak freely now, nor will we join the hunt. I can assign fae to assist you all with the travel you need, not to mention we have three dozen warriors chomping at the bit to join this cause. But, for the moment, my attention must be directed elsewhere. Until this issue is resolved, I will only be distracted.”

  “I’m with her, alpha,” Nissa spoke up. “The issue that weighs upon Peri involves me, as well. You know how old we are—”

  “Not just older than dirt,” Zara whispered. “More like ten-layers-beneath-the-surface old.”

  Peri side-eyed the she-wolf. “Thank you for that expert analysis, little miss geologist.”

  Zara saluted the high fae. “There doesn’t seem to be nearly enough banter today. Someone had to break the tension.”

  “How long will you be detained?” Fane asked.

  A faraway look came into Peri’s eyes. Jacque wondered what the ancient fae saw in her mind’s eye. “I cannot say with any certainty at this point. I only know that I must go.”

  “Where she goes, I go.” If possible, Lucian’s voice almost sounded gruffer than usual. Jacque noticed his eyes glowed with his wolf. It seemed to be a theme in the room among the males.

  Fane nodded. “That goes without saying, Uncle. Peri, any fae you can send to us is appreciated.”

  Peri slipped her hand into Lucian’s. “Give me a few minutes.” Then she and Lucian were gone.

  Fane walked over to a map showing the United States. Jacque watched as her mate’s eyes roamed over the paper. She’d observed him staring at it almost continually over the past two days. While he’d been plotting, she had been searching the internet for news that wasn’t being reported on the major stations, digging past the truckload of BS they were spewing to the public. Interestingly enough, the rise of social media had spawned an army of so-called “investigators” that made it their mission to search out anything strange going on around the world. Armchair detectives, they called themselves. They seemed to run the gamut between harmless, cooky conspiracy theorists to schizophrenics plagued with hallucinations. And while most were way off base, a few appeared to have hit upon something close to the truth, probably closer than they even realized.

  “Jacque and I have found the majority of disappearance reports appear to be concentrated in these areas.” He pointed to Chicago, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and New York City.

  “Some of the largest cities in the US,” Zara pointed out.

  Fane nodded. “Not to mention some of the highest crime rates.”

  “But why would there be so many dormants in those places?” Boain spoke for the first time. “The wolf in us naturally seeks more remote places.”

  “How do you know that?” The historian in Wadim was no doubt hungry for information. The dude lived for knowledge.

  “Lorna and I have come across a few dormants over the past couple of years,” Boain said. “Rogue packs travel a lot.”

  “Like gypsies,” Jezebel considered. “They have no proper home.”

  Boain nodded, his eyes filled with sadness. “Yes. And during our travels, we obviously avoided populated areas. Our beasts needed to run, to hunt, to be in their natural habitat. Not to mention, they roam a lot because they typically want to avoid territory battles. Most rogue packs aren’t large. They don’t have any lives to spare. Every dormant we came across, we found in those locations. We never found any in populated areas.” Boain held up a placating hand and quickly continued. “And before you ask, I didn’t report any of the dormants because none we came across appeared as if they were in need of any help. I didn’t feel it was necessary to disrupt their lives. Looking back now, that was obviously a mistake.”

  Fane tilted his head and gave a slight shrug. “You couldn’t have predicted what would eventually happen. There’s no point in worrying about the past. We cannot change it, but instead learn from it.”

  “Maybe you only found them in the wild because that’s where you spent most of your time,” Jacque offered. “Jen and I are dormants, and we weren’t in some BFE place.”

  “We lived in Coldspring, TX, Red,” Jen smirked. “In case you’ve forgotten, that’s not exactly the bright lights and big city.”

  “You both were still juveniles,” Boain pointed out. “Once you’d hit maturity and went out on your own, more than likely you would have been drawn to somewhere with lots of space to run.” He walked over to the map and pointed to the western part of the United States. “Some place with plenty of wilderness in which to hunt.”

  Jacque stared at the paper and wondered if he was right. She, Jen, and Sally had talked about where they might go to college, but they’d never really had any long-term goals. But there was an unspoken knowledge that they would stay together. They belonged together. That was a given and didn’t need to be discussed. Questions as to their professions and where those jobs might have taken them had never been at the forefront of their minds.

  “They aren’t just taking dormants, though, right? The vamps have to feed, and if Cain is using the dormants for his seriously-messed-up-evil-plan, then he will not want his vampires feeding on the dormants. Perhaps these bigger cities are where they’re getting their food, not their captives.”

  Jacque tilted her head at Crina. “Good point.” Crina smiled, appearing pleased that she had offered something helpful. Jacque made a mental note to make sure she was giving her wolves words of affirmation; the way Alina always did. Sometimes it was easy to get caught up in the chaos of simply trying to stay alive, and it was easy to forget to tell her pack members how proud she was to stand at their side.

  Crina winked at her. “I know, Jacque,” she said, as if she’d been able to read the alpha’s mind. But that wasn’t it. Fane told Jacque often that she should never play poker, because her emotions always showed clearly on her face. In this case, she was glad.

  Fane pointed to the places Boain had mentioned. “Boain, you lead a group to these more remote locations. See if you come across any dormants that haven’t been taken by the vampires. I will take a group to the larger cities. We leave at sunset. Then we will meet back here just before sunrise.” He looked up from the map and narrowed his eyes. “Costin, Sorin, Elle, Thalion, Cyn, and Drake, you will join Boain. Dec, Thad, Jezebel, Adam, Crina, Wadim and Zara, you will be with me and Jacquelyn.” Just as the words were out of Fane’s mouth, the room suddenly filled with fae. At the front of the group, stood Peri, Nissa, and Lucian.

  “Whoa,” Jen sputtered, jumping to her feet. “It’s bad enough for you to pop into the room alone, Peri fairy, but maybe a little warning before you bring an entire army into a confined space filled with twitchy supernaturals.”

  Adam scoffed. “Speak for yourself, blonde. Fae don’t twitch.”

  Jacque bit back the laugh that attempted to bubble up. The statement coming out of Adam’s mouth sounded ridiculous. Yet she had to agree. She’d been in plenty of tight spots with the fae. Never had she seen one twitch.

  Jen rolled her eyes. “It’s a figure of speech. I hereby demote you from male BFF status.”

  “Not your BFF.” Decebel growled, his hand reaching out to snag his mate’s belt loop. He pulled her around the chair and back until she pressed against him. Jacque wondered if Fane would be able to get his beta to leave his mate’s side.

  Peri ignored Jen’s words. She focused only on Fane and Jacque. “Each of these warriors is at your disposal. They have agreed to take orders from you, just as they would from a high fae.”

  Fane looked past Peri to the male and female fae. “Thank you,” he told them, sincerity ringing in his voice. “My pack and the other supernaturals represented here appreciate your help.”

  Peri’s attention turned to Jacque. “I’ll be in touch as soon as I have something to tell you.”

  Jacque pressed her lips together and met the high fae’s eyes. She saw worry and pain there, and the alpha’s feet were moving before she realized it. Jacque wrapped her arms around Peri and pulled her friend into a tight hug. “Whatever it is,” she whispered, “we’re here to help you. You know that, right? You’re not alone. Never.”

  Peri’s head nodded against Jacque’s shoulder. “I know.” Peri’s voice was just as soft. “I promise to keep you in the loop.”

  Jacque pulled back and looked at Peri’s face, her eyes running over the beautiful female. She gave a sharp nod when she was satisfied that she saw honesty in Peri’s eyes. Then Jacque looked at Lucian. “Keep them out of trouble if you can.”

  His brow rose slightly. “The most I can promise is that if they should get into trouble, I will be there to assist in getting them back out of it.”

  “Fair enough.” Jacque let out a small laugh. He wasn’t wrong. Peri would do whatever she felt was necessary to get the information she was looking for, which Jacque assumed concerned the mystery behind her and Nissa’s history of being protected as children from cold fire. Jacque understood how hard it was to learn that everything you thought you knew about yourself wasn’t completely true.

  When Jacque stepped back, Peri took Lucian’s hand. She and Nissa once again flashed from the room, leaving the small fae army behind.

  Jacque heard Fane’s phone vibrate and turned to see him looking at the screen. His eyes moved back and forth, reading a text. Then he looked up at the fae. “I’ve got two wolves and their mates that need travel assistance. Who will go?”

  One male stepped forward and bowed his head. “I’m Saffron,” he said, “the captain of this force. I can assign the warriors that I feel best equipped for the situation. If that is acceptable?”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Saffron.” Fane stepped forward and held out his arm. The fae wrapped his hand around Fane’s forearm. “I trust you best know your people and their abilities.”

  They released each other, and Saffron turned his head. “Tassi.” A female fae stepped forward. She had long pale, yellow hair braided into sections and pulled into a ponytail. Like all fae, she was beautiful in a way that was inhuman. Her bright green eyes were almond-shaped, giving her an exotic look in addition to her supernatural beauty. She had thin, pink lips, sharp cheekbones, and a cute nose. She wore fitted-, black-and-silver clothes.

  Saffron spoke again. “Aphid.” This time, a male stepped up. His skin was a flawless, light brown that seemed to glow with vitality. He had long hair, as well, which was braided in rows tightly against his scalp, before it fell down his back. Jacque thought his eyes were surprisingly dark for a fae. They were so black that it was nearly impossible to separate iris from pupil. Aphid’s jaw was stronger than other male fae, giving him a more rugged look, though he was still just as beautiful as the others. “You two will go where Fane assigns you and assist in any way the wolves need.”

  Both warriors nodded in sync, almost as if choreographed.

  Fane looked at the pair. “Do you know where the Canada pack mansion is located?”

  “We know the location of all legitimate, recorded packs.” Tassi’s voice was matter of fact.

  “I can’t decide if that’s comforting or not.” Crina cocked her head to the side and tapped her chin.