"Okay, I'll just walk to the kitchen naked. Bet my father-in-law would love that," Jacque huffed.
"What do you need from the kitchen?"
"Food. I'm a little hungry," she answered and her stomach backed her up by growling at that precise moment.
He chuckled. "Did you work up an appetite?"
Jacque rolled her eyes. "Tomorrow you are going to face down some bad ass vampire king and you're worried about your ability to wear your mate out in the bedroom?"
Fane’s breath against her neck was warm. "Love, it wouldn't matter if the world was burning to the ground—a man needs to know he can please his female."
"I'm pleased," she said dryly. "And hungry. Either go get me food or let me put on some clothes so I can go get me food."
Fane growled. But five minutes later Jacque was happily munching on a turkey sandwich and chips.
"So tomorrow," Fane began as he lay on his side propped up on an elbow watching her.
Jacque’s eyes narrowed and she paused in mid-bite. She spoke without removing her mouth from the sandwich. "Wu aboot tamrow?"
Fane grinned at her. "That's sexy."
She shrugged her shoulders, chewed, and swallowed, before speaking again. "What about tomorrow?" she asked again.
"I don't want to ever see a vampire with his hands on you again—ever," Fane told her.
"Okay."
He sighed. "I wish you would just stay here."
"I can't."
"I know." His brow drew tightly together. "What could be so important that you need to be in the US?"
Jacque shook her head. "Don't know, but I trust my mom."
"I do to. But it doesn’t mean I like it."
Jacque finished off her food, brushed her teeth for the second time, and then climbed into bed next to her mate. She felt their baby move and grinned as she took Fane's hand and placed it on her stomach.
Fane's eyes lit up when he felt their child kicking inside of her.
"Won't be long now," she told him.
At that he groaned and rolled onto his back. "Female, telling your mate that it won't be long until your child is born, the day before leaving to face off against a vampire king, isn't reassuring."
Jacque leaned over and kissed him gently and then snuggled up against him. "I told you when we started this whole thing that you'd never be bored."Chapter 14
"I feel like we've been here before. The world is frolicking along, minding its own business, oblivious to everything. Meanwhile evil is attempting to wrap its dirty little hands around the globe and squeeze. And here we stand—wolves, fae, warlock, and elves—ready for battle. Oh wait, it's because we have been here before. Here's hoping we can pull another ‘W.’ If not, Thia, the doghouses are for your future dogs. Please make sure they pee on your father’s grave regularly. Love mom." ~Jen
Drake squeezed his eyes closed and turned away from the group. They have arrived in Phoenix, and everyone is currently discussing what to do next. The troubled wolf now knows that he isn't going to be able to stay in control, even though they’ve only been in the city for five minutes. The darkness that has been steadily growing inside of him is eager. It feels a kindred spirit in this city that houses the oldest and largest coven of vampires on earth, led by the vampire king Sincaro himself.
His wolf is every bit as eager as that darkness. It feels something as well, but it's so hard to discern what that feeling is with all of the chaos inside of his mind. He attempts to push it all out and simply focus on what Vasile is saying and, for now, it works. But for how long it will work, he can’t say.
Jen groaned as she sat down on the worn out sofa. Peri had flashed them into a vacant old office building that appeared as if it hadn’t seen any tenants in quite some time. It was like an office graveyard. There was nothing but old office equipment, ancient drinking fountains, and a few of those yellow signs containing the slipping stick man that warned people of a wet floor. Jen, Jacque, and Sally had claimed the only couch in the place.
"So you're telling me that, now that we're here, you can't figure out what to do next?" Jen asked their fearless leaders.
Decebel, Vasile, Peri, and Alina all glared at her. She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm just calling it like I see it. Don’t snarl at the cute messenger."
"He's cloaking the damn city somehow," Peri snapped.
"What do you mean, cloaking?" Decebel asked.
"I mean that he’s masking his coven’s evil essence. The pixies and I were previously able to locate the entrances to the covens because of the pull of evil. I can feel it if I open myself up to it. But if I open myself up to it too many times, well, that could be a very bad thing."
"The magic begins to saturate you?" Sally asked.
Peri nodded. "You do not want someone as powerful and as old as I am saturated with evil."
"Okay," Jen nodded. "Don’t saturate Fairy Peri in darkness less she become a raging bitch—got it. But what does that have to do with the city being cloaked?"
"It means even if I open myself to it, I will not be able to pinpoint the evil. And cloaking really isn’t the right word for it. Just the opposite really. He's covered the city in it. It's everywhere."
“So he’s using evil to hide evil?” asked Alina.
“That’s right, and I don’t even want to imagine the things he’s done to make the city so dark,” responded the fae.
There was quiet in the room as everyone seemed to consider the new turn of events.
"But didn't he invite us here?" Jacque asked. "Won't he make himself known or something?"
"Probably, at some point," Peri nodded.
"We were really hoping for the element of at least a little bit of surprise," Vasile added.
"Guess you're SOL, Alpha," Jen offered as she leaned back against the couch and ignored her glowering mate.
And so the waiting began.
Jen attempted to offer her own suggestions, as did Jacque and Sally. But each time they spoke up, Decebel or Fane shot them down.
"What if we look at the police stations," Sally offered. "Jacque is pregnant and you know pregnant chicks can get away with anything."
Jacque nodded. "It's true. I can literally do anything I want and people just smile at me."
Jen nodded as well. "Totally true."
"Jen and I could go with her to the police stations and come up with some story about her missing cousin or something. I bet we could find out where most of the kidnappings are happening, then—" Sally was cut off as Fane's phone beeped. Fane answered it, looked at Sally, and then held it out.
"Stop trying to be helpful," Costin growled through the phone. Fane had obviously set it on speaker.
"You already snarled at me in my head. Why did you have to call Fane?" Sally was seething.
"Because I wanted to make sure everyone heard me tell you to NOT do all the ideas popping up in your head that you think will be helpful. Did everyone hear that?" Costin called out.
"Reading you loud and clear, dimples," Jen called back. "Ow!" she yelled when Sally pinched her.
"You're supposed to be on my side," Sally gritted through her teeth.
"I'm on the side of sexy, Sally. And no offense, but your mate’s dimples do a whole hell of a lot more for me than your big, brown eyes."
"Nice," Jacque held up a fist for Jen.
Sally glared at both of them and then glared back at the phone. "Are you done acting like a damn possessive animal?"
Costin chuckled. "Sally, mine, I am not human. I am a damn, possessive animal. So, no, I am not done acting like one, nor will I ever be. Keep yourself safe or I'll spank you myself and let Jen watch."
The phone went dead as he ended the call. There was silence in the room. Sally was staring wide eyed and opened mouth at the offending device while everyone else seemed frozen.
Peri was the first to recover. "I don’t know who's worse anymore, her" —she pointed at Jen— "or bar boy."
Jen couldn't help the proud smile. "I really didn't know he was going to turn out so good. This is one of those proud mama moments."
"Oh shut up," Sally huffed as she stood from the couch and started pacing.
Sally was fuming. She'd been trying hard to keep Costin from hearing too many of her ideas, but she'd also been trying to keep the bond open enough that she could pick up things about Titus as well. She, Jen, and Jacque had gotten a little overzealous with their suggestions, and she'd totally forgotten that Costin was listening in.The bond was closed now, not completely but hopefully enough that he couldn't just listen in. She knew he was afraid of anything happening to her. She totally understood that, but he also knew that she was a gypsy healer. She couldn't just stand by and not help.
Jen's leg shot out and kicked her as she walked by and Sally turned to glare at her. Jen's brow was raised and her eyes spoke volumes as they bore into hers. Sally's lips twitched and almost broke into a smile. Her scheming friend had a plan; she would just need to be patient.
"Perhaps, that best thing to do would be to wait until nightfall, and then see if the evil is stronger in any particular area of the city," Alina suggested. Sally noted that the Alpha female had been very quiet over the past two days, and she looked as though she wasn't sleeping well.
Peri nodded. "That might just be our only option."
Jacque's stomach growled loudly enough that several eyeballs landed on her. She looked back at them and raised her hands. "Sorry, but I'm hungry."