"I could go get you something to eat," Fane offered.
Jen suddenly jumped up as she grabbed Jacque's arm, pulling on her. She nearly jerked it out of its socket. "That won't be necessary, wolf boy," Jen smiled. "I think it would probably do Jacque and the baby good to get some fresh air. We can accompany her to an eating establishment."
"Why are you talking like that?" Jacque asked. Jen shot her a look that clearly told her to shut her trap.
"I agree with Jen," Sally jumped in. "And as the healer and caregiver of our pregnant she-wolf, I think fresh air and walking is definitely a good idea."
"I can join you," Fane said, his eyes meeting Jacque's.
"Not necessary," Jen said quickly. "Fairy Peri can come with us. She's plenty powerful enough to keep us safe. Right Peri?"
Peri glanced at the three girls. She must have seen something in Jen's glare because she shrugged and said, "Why not." She reached out and grabbed Jen and Jacque’s sleeves in one hand and Sally's in the other and then flashed them from the room.
"Jacquelyn!" Fane’s voice in her mind was a sharp bite.
"Just give us a bit to just chill. Can you do that? I'm sick of sitting still. I'm hungry and I need to pee. Nothing is going to happen to me." She was begging, but she didn't care. Fane’s presence was suffocating her. Not only was he hovering but his worry and frustration were flowing through their bond so strongly that Jacque couldn't tell if they were her emotions or his.
"Fine, but please don't be too long."
"Peri, we need to do something," Jen said as she grabbed the fae’s arm and pulled her to a stop once they were a block from the building.
"What do you suggest?" Peri asked them.
"I really think going to the police stations and nosing around might be productive," she told her. "But the guys are never going to let us. If they have their way, they will lock us in that room."
Peri didn't offer that she was considering the same thing, but she had to concede that Jen's idea had merit. "Okay, let's say I'm in agreement. How am I supposed to convince your mates to let you help? They are quite determined to keep you all confined."
It was Sally's voice that answered her. "So bind them."
Peri was pretty sure she’d heard the healer wrong. “Come again?”
“Maybe you should just bind them again,” Sally repeated. Three heads swung around to face her with wide eyes and open mouths.
Peri was the first to break the silence. “You want me to bind your males?”
“Man this is deja-vu,” Jen muttered.
“No,” Sally offered. “I want you to bind everyone but us.” She motioned to them.
Jacque was grinning from ear to ear. “Sally, what has Peri been teaching you while you’ve been gone? Where is our soft, sweet Sally?”
Sally rolled her eyes. “I’m just as sick of Costin being a tyrant as you guys are of your mates. It’s getting a tad ridiculous.”
“A tad?” Jen asked. “Um, my amazing, wonderful mate followed me to the bathroom and then proceeded to go inside, because he didn’t want me out of his sight. Okay, I’m not sure when in a marriage that peeing in front of each other becomes an acceptable thing, but I’m pretty sure it isn’t at the ten-month mark.”
Peri smirked. “You girls need to put your feet down. Give them an inch and they will take your whole freaking world.”
“That’s why we’re coming to you,” Jacque smiled at her. “You are how we are putting our foot down.”
“Grrreat,” Peri drew out. “As if chasing a power hungry high fae and killing hundreds of vampires isn’t enough, I also need all of your mates pissed of at me. Quick, someone give me a streamer so I can get this party started.”
The three girls laughed at her and Peri didn’t appreciate it. She really wasn’t being as sarcastic as they thought. If she bound the males, again, they would probably do everything in their power to turn her into puppy chow. She tapped her lips with her long fingernail. Then again, she thought, ticking off werewolves was one of her favorite past times.
“What are you planning, love?” She heard her mate’s voice in her mind.
“Nothing that concerns you, unless you feeling like being unable to move for a few hours.”
He chuckled and she loved the rich sound. “Just try not to upset too many of the males. I know you think I’m invincible but even I have my limits.”
“Fair enough, I’ll leave at least one of them alone. Now leave me be so I can work. Oh, and I love you.”
“I adore you, Perizada.”
She felt him pull back from her mind but could still feel that he was there if she needed him.
“Peri?”
The sound of Jen’s voice reminded her that she wasn’t alone. “Sorry, Lucian was checking in and making sure I was behaving.”
“Did you ask exactly what behaving entailed?” Jacque asked.
“Better to ask forgiveness than permission,” Peri pointed out.
“True,” Jen and Sally said at the same time.
“So, are we doing this?” Sally asked.
Peri let out a sigh. Who was she kidding? She was totally going to bind their overbearing furry butts. She focused her attention on the building where the others were waiting and whispered under her breath, allowing her magic to flow freely. After several minutes, she rubbed her hands together and smiled tightly. “What’s the plan,” she asked.Jacque smiled. "That was quick."
"Is your mate yelling at you too?" Jen asked.
"In Romanian," Jacque said with a chuckle.
Four hours and three police stations later, all three girls were wincing at the sounds of their mate’s voices snarling in each of their heads. Only the promise that they were on their way back kept the males from coming after them. They were so worked up that they didn't even ask why Peri wasn't just flashing them back.
The information they'd gleaned from the police wasn't nearly as helpful as they thought it would be. The kidnappings weren't localized in any one section of the city. The vamps were doing a very good job of spreading them out. Peri thought that, though the vampires were looking for dormants, the majority of their prey were probably simply human children. Like a shark who gains a taste for human flesh after enough attacks, the vampires had grown very addicted to the young blood.
“Okay, that was frustratingly fruitless,” Jen said as she rubbed her forehead. “We—” Jen suddenly stopped in midsentence and narrowed her eyes. She was looking at something behind Peri.
The fae turned to find Drake crossing the street some twenty yards away from them. The girls watched as he turned and strode purposefully away from them.
"Why isn't he frozen?" Jacque asked.
"And where is he going?" Sally asked the other question they were all thinking.
Something was wrong. "He must not have been in the building when my magic hit it," Peri said as she continued to watch the wolf. His gate was stiff and his shoulders tense. Drake's jaw was clenched and he seemed to be holding onto his control by a mere thread.
"New plan," Peri said, never taking her eyes off of Decebel's third. "Follow that wolf." Peri started after him and the others hurried to keep up.
"What about the others?" Sally asked.
"I'll release them once I know what's going on. I don't want Decebel interfering just yet. Not to mention, they are going to be pissed. I don’t really feel like being snarled at. Do you?"
All three girls were quick to agree.
"Is he alright?" Jacque asked, motioning toward the male they were following.
Peri's lips drew tight across her face. "Honestly, I don't think so."
Drake could feel her. He knew something was off when they first arrived, but then out of nowhere, he'd felt her and she was terrified. He'd removed himself from the group with the excuse of having to use the restroom. Now he was walking down the streets of Phoenix trying his hardest to not look like a crazed werewolf.
He could feel his wolf attempting to force him to phase. He wanted to move faster; he needed to run, to get to her, to save her, to protect her, to claim her. That last thought nearly had him stopping in his tracks. For a moment the darkness cleared and he was able to think. It was his mate. He was feeling his true mate. How the hell had he missed that? He should have known the minute he felt her fear, but all he could think of was death. He wanted to kill whatever it was that was hurting her. He wanted flesh between his teeth and blood coating his fur. Drake wanted to howl in victory as he stood over his fallen foe, and then he wanted to lay claim to the one female who had been created for him. He wanted it with a strength that was nearly violent in its power.
Drake didn't want to examine that thought too carefully, not when he knew the darkness was so very close to consuming him that it actually might have already won. The sky was nearly pitch dark now and the city lights were glowing harshly. Something seemed to shift in the city, something sinister and malevolent weaving its way through the air. Drake felt it rubbing against him, welcoming him like a long lost friend.
His feet continued to move forward though he had no idea where he was going. He only knew that he needed to find her, needed to make her his. His steps quickened with his urgency and he felt fur begin to ripple over his arms. He wasn't even able to completely hold his human form anymore. He didn't stop to consider the consequences of that development. Just as he rounded a corner that would lead him between two tall buildings, Drake heard her scream not only in his mind but with his ears as well. At nearly the same moment, two forms sprang from an open manhole nearby.