“It’s public, Neil,” Sarah said as I flushed, my cheeks flaming. “You should see the altar. It’s on a hill so everyone will have a nice view.”
Neil’s eyes closed and he sighed in pleasure. “I missed you guys soooo much.” A cloud passed over his face and he sank back into the bed. “I’m not going. It’ll only cause trouble. My brother’s here which means my dad isn’t far behind. If they see me…”
My heart fell as I realized I hadn’t told Neil about last night. He’d been asleep when we got in and we’d been so happy this morning.
“If they come anywhere close to you, I’ll hex them,” Sarah promised.
“Not really necessary. You don’t have to worry about them anymore, Neil.” I watched him cautiously because they were his family after all. Just because they were assholes didn’t mean Neil wouldn’t have a reaction to the news of their deaths.
Neil sat back up and took me by the shoulders. “What did they do to you?”
I shook my head. “They didn’t get a chance. Danny and Dev took care of them.”
“They’re dead then.” Neil nodded as though it wasn’t even a question.
“Yes.” I didn’t think I needed to mention the heart pulling out stuff.
“He would have killed you, you know,” Neil said, searching my face. “You embarrassed Wyatt and he would have killed you. I meant to warn you this morning. I guess it was too late. Don’t feel any guilt, Zoey. They raped their way through my pack. They killed anyone who disagreed with them. They deserved whatever Daniel and Dev gave them.”
“You’re not upset?”
He shook his head and hugged me. “No, I just wish I could have been there.” He turned back to Sarah, clearly putting his biological family in the past, concentrating on the family he’d built for himself. “No more of that. It’s a relief to tell you the truth. So how do we get Zoey ready for her big performance?”
“Well,” Sarah said brightly, holding up a familiar canister, “I was told this sand is important.”
I groaned and fell back on the bed. I hated that sand.
* * * *
After we got up and found Neil some clothes, we started to head out when Lee scowled at us. “Where do you think you’re going?”
I stopped and stared at him because he was sporting two serious black eyes. Lee had some amazing healing powers, so I would have hated to see him when the injury was fresh. “What happened to you?”
Lee growled and his swollen eyes narrowed. “Your cheating, good for nothing husband happened. Son of a bitch got a couple of lucky punches in.”
“Looks like more than that,” Neil said, his eyes wide. “What did he do to your ear?”
Lee’s hand shot to his left ear. “It’s still on, right?”
“He pulled your ear off?” My voice hit that pitch I got when I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“He bit it off,” Lee said. “I’ll admit though, I had just kicked him in the balls and I was trying to claw out his eyes at the time. It’s okay because Zack held it on until the skin grew back together. Of course he was telling me the whole time how I should stay out of the master’s business and I needed to not upset the master. I’m going to kick Zack’s ass, too. But not until I kill that vampire.”
“Lee, you can’t kill Danny,” I protested. “After he knocked you out, he totally followed your advice and I was damn lucky he did. He killed three wolves who were trying to murder me and then he begged my forgiveness. He was trying to protect me. He thought he could get Dev to take me to Faery and I would be safe from Marini.”
Lee gave that a moment’s thought before finally speaking again. “Did he get on his knees?”
I nodded and Lee seemed somewhat satisfied. I still wasn’t sure he wouldn’t get Danny back, but at least he wasn’t going to try to kill him.
Sarah, Neil, and I spent the rest of the day wandering among the wolves with Lee trailing along. Lee hadn’t been pleased with Neil’s strength and followed us around, frowning the entire time. I tried to ignore his pessimistic attitude because I was feeling good today. Daniel was with us and it felt like forever this time. We’d broken through that barrier and he was going to be himself. Dev and I were going to do his little ritual thingee, and both my boys were going to be happy with me. When the boys were happy, I tended to be happy.
It was the first time since we’d gotten to Colorado that I had a chance to really enjoy the Gathering. We walked through a massive flea market where all sorts of artists sold their wares, from paintings to ceramics to wood carvings.
A portion of the valley was celebrating the festival of Litha. It wasn’t a holiday the werewolves usually observed, but they made accommodations for their Fae guests. Tonight was the solstice. At midnight, we would celebrate the rites of fertility promised to all on Midsummer Night. I watched Dev and Declan teaching a group of children how to dance around the maypole. I smiled but didn’t approach as we were forbidden to speak until the ceremony and I was trying to take it seriously. Dev had given me a look that told me he was anticipating the evening.
I had a surprise for him, too. We’d managed to find a little tattoo booth offering piercings as well. Wolves are big on piercings. The artist had several lovely rings with jewels on either side. I found an emerald one and one with sapphires and I knew just what I wanted. Once I bought both, the proprietor was more than happy to change them out so I had one emerald and one sapphire. They matched my boys’ eyes and I loved the way it looked.
The wolves had decorated their tents and shelters with wildflowers, paying particular attention to sunflowers, marigolds, and St. John’s Wort. Sarah explained these were the flowers associated with Litha and were said to aid fertility. I found the entire thing fascinating while Lee groused the whole time.
The sun was starting to set as we finally made our way to the stream Dev had directed Sarah to take me to for our final preparations. Sarah spread the blanket on the ground and stripped down to her bikini. There were several torches around the space that I supposed Dev and Declan had prepared. Sarah went around lighting them. It gave the whole place an intimate feel.
“You should probably turn around now,” Sarah said Lee’s way. “I know how you don’t think you should see naked married ladies.”
“Damn it. Why does all the faery crap have to be naked?” He found a tree and sat with his back to us.
Sarah laughed and got out all the products she’d been told to use. “Okay, Z, take it off, honey. You’re seriously supposed to get this stuff everywhere.”
Neil looked up from his place on the blanket where he was unwrapping the ham Albert had sent. “Do you need any help? I can eat this really fast.”
“We have to wash her hair,” Sarah explained. “But we’re not allowed to use anything modern on it afterward, so when I’m done here, she’ll dry off and you can comb her hair out.”
“Nice,” Neil replied. “It’s curly when we don’t use a blow-dryer and a flatiron.”
“Then we have to weave St. John’s Wort all through her hair,” Sarah continued, referring to the little yellow flowers she’d brought with us.
“I can wash my own hair,” I grumbled as I shed my clothes for what seemed like the thousandth time since Dev decided to go all formal on me. I didn’t see why we couldn’t just get it on. It had worked fine before.
Sarah and I walked into the stream and had to get all the way in the middle before it got deep enough to bathe in. Even in the mountains it was a hot summer, and the water was a respite from the heat. It was cool against my skin and felt a little delicious. I sighed and let myself sink in. Dev had done this yesterday. He’d bathed in the same pond, thinking about me. I wondered if Declan had washed his hair for him. I would have paid to watch that.
“So, I think I’ve waited long enough to ask,” Neil said, knocking back a bottle of soda and starting in on some cookies. “Who’s Tamara?”
I rolled my eyes and Sarah simply stared at me expectantly. I knew she’d heard some of the fight. I sighed and answered honestly. “Tamara is the companion Danny brought in to replace me.”
“No, he didn’t,” Neil said, his jaw dropping open.
“That’s why I kicked his ass.” Lee threw in his two cents from behind the tree.
I shook my head at Neil because Lee really hadn’t kicked Danny’s anything. I would let him think that, though. I didn’t have many people willing to go up against Daniel for me so I was going to let Lee think whatever he wanted.
“OMG, Zoey, I can so handle this for you.” Sarah’s eyes went a little dark. “By the time I’m done with him, his dick will wish it was just a pretzel. I have a hex that will make it turn in on itself.”
“The witch is making sense.” Lee yelled from behind the tree.
I took the soap from Sarah’s hand and started the first part of my well-orchestrated bath. “He’s upset because it’s getting serious. He’s just realizing that what we’re doing is dangerous. People are going to die. People we know and love are probably going to die.”