Den of Sorrows (The Grey Wolves #9)(15)

Naturally, at the thought of allowing the beasts to catch her, the survival instinct that was inside every living being lunged forward. There was a part of her that didn’t want to die. She wanted a chance to have a life. She wanted to get away from the monsters and forget all about the world that Sincaro had exposed her to. She wanted to build her own life. She didn’t know if she’d ever be able to have children because of all that she’d been through, but she at least wanted her own place, to be able to pick her own meals, and to even decide when she needed to use the bathroom. But she didn’t think that day was ever going to come.
“What’s the point in continuing to fight if I’m never leaving?” she asked the darkness. Bethany took several deep breaths as she allowed herself to come to terms with her decision. She was going to die. She was going to choose to end her miserable existence and finally have peace. Though there was a natural instinct to fight for her life, she pushed it away as she heard the beasts getting closer. Any second they would be upon her. She closed her eyes and stood rigidly in the middle of the corridor, dropping her hands to her side. She heard the growling and clawing moving closer. She faced the direction of the sound and waited.
Long lost memories, covered in dust in the corners of her mind, suddenly came barreling to the forefront of her consciousness. She remembered her mother and her kind eyes. She remembered her father and his playful demeanor. She thought about the bedroom she had not seen in eleven years and remembered lying in bed staring at the stars through her window. Then her thoughts shifted to all the things she would never have. She’d never finish high school, go to college, or get married and have a family. She would never experience having a child or being a mom. She would never love and grow old with a man she’d given her heart to. She would never look into his eyes and see that he’d given his heart to her as well. All of those things had been stolen from her by the vampires. The only thing she could ever have was peace.
When the growling got closer she opened her eyes and saw two sets of the yellow, glowing eyes. They moved slowly toward her and the closer they got, the more she was able to see. The large beasts looked like an unnatural combination of two apex predators. The huge creatures walked on all fours, moving like wolves, but had the round boulder sized heads of grizzly bears. They were terrifying, and yet they would be her salvation.
She closed her eyes once again and felt their hot breath on her face. Bethany readied herself for the claws and fangs that would soon pierce her skin. The creatures roared in unison, and the girl jumped violently and fell back, striking her head on the hard ground. Just before the darkness swallowed her, she heard a beautiful voice speak into her mind.
“I am sorry, my child, but it is not yet your time. There is much for you to do in this life and many people who will love you. You must endure a little longer.” The voice faded along with her consciousness.
Chapter 7
“I keep thinking that at some point I will no longer be surprised by anything in this world that Jacque, Jen, and I have found ourselves in. But then, as if the universe is laughing at me, it blows my mind again. ~Sally
Jen clapped her hands once as she followed her mate into Vasile’s office. “Please tell me that we’re going to let the pregnant chick chase after vampires. I’m dying to see her waddle along while holding a stake.”“Thanks for that,” Jacque retorted.
“It’s what I do, Red,” Jen said with a wink.
Jen didn’t miss the tight look on Fane’s face. It was very obvious that he was totally not on board with his prego mate hunting vampires.
“I’ve decided to leave it up to the mated pairs when it comes to who will be traveling to the US,” Vasile announced.
Jen could tell by the looks on Jacque and Sally’s faces that they were just as surprised as her, especially since Jacque carried his first grandchild.
Peri materialized in the center of the room. “Good, everyone is here,” she said as she looked around the room. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
Vasile made a motion for the fae to continue. Jen folded her arms across her chest as she waited to hear Peri’s news. She attempted to brace herself for whatever horror the fae might reveal.
“Alston, Nissa, and I visited Phoenix last night. Turns out that Phoenix is the location of the largest vampire coven in North America.”
“How do you know?” Decebel asked.
“The pixies have been helping us out. They’ve been tracking disappearances across the country. Phoenix has the largest number of missing children in the US,” Peri explained.
“So is that where we’re headed first?” Sally asked, earning her a frown from her mate.
Jen nearly snorted at the scowl on the handsome bartender’s face. This was going to be fun, she decided. Driving her mate crazy was one of her favorite things. Getting to watch her two besties drive their own mates insane was just icing on the cake.
“At first that is what we thought,” Peri agreed. “But then we realized that we couldn’t just go in and declare a war on a coven of that size without revealing ourselves to the humans. It was decided that the best option would be to drive our enemy out of hiding. We will start by taking out the smaller covens. My bet is that since Phoenix has the largest coven they probably have the oldest and most powerful king as well. He’s not going to stand by while his people are being killed off, especially not by me and the wolves.”
“Sounds like you’ve run across this king before,” Costin pointed out.
Peri shrugged. “I’ve been alive a very long time. There are very few supernaturals that I am not acquainted with in some way or another.”
“Well then where do we strike first?” Jen asked. She heard Decebel growl beside her and she leaned into him, allowing her nearness to comfort him. He didn’t want her going, but he knew arguing with her was futile. Where her man went, she went.
“The smallest coven the pixies were able to find is in the city of Little Rock, in the state of Arkansas. It’s a smaller city but has a large enough population and such a high crime rate that they can still operate inconspicuously.” 
Jen looked over at her friends and smiled. “Looks like we’re going back to the South ladies. Good food and tons of trucks—with yummy cowboy drivers.”
Sally and Jacque laughed.
“Would you like for me to change my attire?” she heard Decebel’s voice in her mind. “Perhaps, I could wear one of those ridiculous hats and a pair of boots.”
Jen pictured her mate in a cowboy hat and boots. “Babe, you’d look hot in anything, especially just boots and a hat.”
Her grinned widened when she felt his hand on her back, but as it moved lower the grin faded and she began to feel a different emotion. “Behave,” she whispered.
“You started it, minx,” he growled back.
His hand stopped low on her hip and Jen let out a relieved sigh. His touch affected her in ways that were best kept behind closed doors.
“A good Southern meal sounds amazing.” Jacque smiled wistfully.
“Any meal sounds good to you,” Sally pointed out.
Jacque looked at the brunette and growled.
Jen couldn’t help the burst of laughter that jumped out of her. “Did you just growl at one of your best friends? Damn girl, pregnancy doesn’t agree with you, or your butt.”
“If I hear one more wisecrack about how wide my butt has gotten, so help me Jen, I will do things to you in your sleep that will make most of your pranks look like child’s play.”
Jen smirked. “Kinky much? I didn’t realize Fane was into sharing you.”
Vasile let out a loud sigh, drawing Jen and the others’ attention. “I’ve forgotten what it’s like when the three of you get in a room together. It’s exhausting.”
“All the more reason to get this party started,” Jen told him. “When do we leave?”
“We won’t be dividing up like we’ve done in the past,” Vasile explained, ignoring her question. “Fighting vampires will require our combined efforts. Some of you might have some experience with them but most of you do not.” Vasile glanced at Costin and then Drake—Decebel’s third. “We will leave at first light. And our first priority will be to locate where they are nesting.”
“Nesting?” Sally asked with a furrowed brow. “You make it sound like they’re a flock of birds.”
“It’s what they call their home. A group of vampires is called a coven, and where they congregate is called a nest,” he explained.
“We aren’t going to find a bunch of slimy eggs hanging from the ceiling right?” Jen asked.
Jacque rolled her eyes. “You watch way too many movies.”
“Dude, with the past year and a half that we’ve had, can you really blame me for asking?”
“Point,” Jacque conceded.
“Don’t worry about packing clothes. Only pack weapons. The fae will assist us with changes in attire when we need it. Any questions?” Vasile asked as he looked around the room. When no one spoke up, he offered, “Comments?”
Just as Jen spoke, she heard Jacque mutter. “Did you really have to ask that?”
“Maybe we should get a group picture,” she suggested. “We can hang it on the wall and title it, The Fellowship Rides Again.”