Her hair was all over the place and she was growling as she attempted to tame it. Once it was all out of her face, she glowered at him. “Fane didn’t throw her over his shoulder like a freaking cave man.”
Decebel’s wolf bristled at being compared to another male. “I am not Fane,” he said in a deep voice that caught her attention. Her eyes were wide when she looked at him—really looked at him. Her lips formed an O when she finally saw that it was his wolf she was dealing with. If Decebel was possessive, his wolf was that and more.
“You’re right,” she said as she reached up and patted his cheek. “You aren’t. You’re mine.”
“Good girl,” Decebel whispered into her mind.
“He’s not going to go crazy and bite anyone who gets near me, is he?” she asked him, speaking to Decebel about his wolf.
“Just to be safe, steer clear of getting too close to any males.”
She let out a sigh as she leaned back against him. Decebel felt her nose against his neck and then her lips as she placed a tender kiss there. His wolf was ready to go. Meeting be damned, he wanted some alone time with their mate.
Jennifer placed a hand on his knee and squeezed, getting his attention. But she addressed Peri, not her mate.
“Peri, I think you were about to fill us in on all the gritty details of what you discovered in the past twenty-four hours. Oh and why haven’t you introduced your sidekick?”
Peri pursed her lips at her. “Was that before or after your males started peeing on things, including their mates? Stralina, meet the idiots. Idiots meet Stralina.”
“Hello,” Stralina said with a warm smile.
Peri shifted, purposefully drawing attention away from the pixie and back to herself. The air was disturbed by her movement and Decebel’s wolf got a good whiff of their scent.
“You smell,” his wolf snorted, trying to get the scent from their nose.
“Two words that should never begin a conversation when addressing a female, Decebel. I know Jen has raised you better than that,” she purred at him.
Decebel wasn’t sure, but his wolf had detected scents on Peri that contradicted the cool façade she was wearing.
Decebel looked up at her with glowing amber eyes pinning her in place. She may be a powerful high fae, but Alpha wolves such as he and Vasile still should be given their due respect.
“You smell worried, fearful, and unsure,” he began again. “These are not scents that I would ever associate with Perizada of the high fae.”
“First time for everything, wolf.” She was well aware of who she was dealing with and Decebel was glad for it. His wolf was unpredictable right now and he didn’t need Peri poking him and unknowingly provoking his beast.
“You obviously have news,” Vasile interrupted the exchange. “Let us not interrupt you any further. Please, what have you found out?”Jennifer leaned forward on Decebel’s lap, her eyes glued to the fae. He could feel her hope. She wanted—needed—to hear Peri say that they’d found the healer, her friend. Decebel reached out and ran his fingers through her hair, pulling it close to his face to take in her scent and rid himself of the fae’s agitated smell. The name of his fellow pack mate grabbed his attention and his ears perked up.
“Costin cannot know,” Peri said as she turned slowly and looked at each person. “It is imperative that he not find out—not until it’s time.”
“Know what, dammit,” Jennifer growled as she attempted to slide off his lap. His hands on her hips prevented her from going anywhere. She shot him a glare and his stupid wolf had the nerve to smile. Decebel tried again to take back control but his wolf wasn’t relinquishing. Mine, he growled at the man. Ours, Decebel growled back. I can protect her better, he challenged. Decebel couldn’t argue. His wolf was a natural protector. His emotions didn’t get in the way. So for now, he would let the wolf be, but later the beast was taking a back seat. When he curled around his mate in their bed, it was the man who held her and Decebel wouldn’t give that up.
Jen pinched Decebel’s leg and he snarled silently at her. “Pay attention,” she told him as she motioned to Peri. She needed to keep Decebel’s wolf distracted because, just as Fane had been ready to cart Jacque off to reestablish his claim, Dec’s wolf was getting a little frisky.
“Stralina found Sally,” Peri said. “I’ve confirmed it with my own eyes. I stood less than a foot away from her.” Peri’s voice wavered as the emotions she’d been holding in threatened to break through her cool demeanor.
The room was silent. Jen couldn’t breathe. They’d found her. They’d found Sally and yet for some reason they were sitting on their butts in Vasile’s office talking about it instead of bringing her gypsy rear home.
“Why didn’t you bring her home? Did she see you? Didn’t she want to come with you?” Jen asked in rapid succession. “Why are we sitting here staring at each other in awe and wonder instead of bringing Sally back where she belongs?”
“Because it’s not that simple,” Peri told her.
“Is it ever?” Fane asked dryly.
“Then break it down for us,” Jen bit out. She felt Decebel’s hands give her a gentle squeeze. He was trying to help her keep her cool. Good luck, she thought and heard him chuckle.
“Sally doesn’t remember us.”
Jacque groaned and threw her head back onto Fane’s shoulder. “Again with the memory tampering? Can we not get a villain with some originality every once in a while?”
“And what exactly would you have preferred the villains have done to your friend?” Peri asked.
Jacque rolled her eyes. “Don’t be cute, Peri. It’s not attractive.”
“Isn’t cute sort of the definition of attractive?” the fae retorted.
“What do you mean she doesn’t remember us?” Jen interrupted. “She doesn’t remember you, the supernatural crap, that’s she’s a healer? What?”
“Yes,” Peri answered deadpan.
“Where is her mate? Where’s Costin?” Cyn spoke up. She and Thalion had moved closer to Peri, both looking very confused.
Peri pinched the bridge of her nose and Jen could tell that the high fae was exhausted. “Vasile,” Peri called out.
The Alpha, obviously taking Peri’s address as some sort of signal, stepped forward and folded his arms across his chest as he looked at Cyn and the elf prince. He proceeded to explain everything that had happened in the past two weeks. Once the fae and her man were brought up to speed, it was Peri’s turn to be surprised.
“He’s feral?” Peri’s body stilled after hearing Vasile explain what they’d found in the forest.
“He had enough control to get his son to safety,” Decebel spoke up. “He called and asked me to have someone take care of the boy for a while. I honestly don’t think Costin even realized how deep the darkness had taken root until he quit fighting it. Once Titus was safe, his wolf had no one left to protect from himself.”
Jen let out a frustrated sigh. “Again, why are we sitting here chatting instead of looking for Costin and dragging Sally’s butt back? Can’t we help her get her memory back once we get her home?”
Peri shook her head. “It’s too dangerous. The magic used on her is powerful and not easily broken. If it’s handled indelicately, it could kill her.” The high fae began to pace. “I debated on whether or not to tell any of you, to be honest, because I know how hard it is not to rush to her rescue, and you guys have known her much longer than I have.” She shot Jen and Jacque pointed looks. “But we cannot rush this.”
“Is she safe?” Jacque asked. “I mean, can we risk leaving her where she is?”
“Safety can come in many forms,” Peri began but Jen cut her off.
“Stralina,” the Serbia female Alpha said kindly to the pixie who’d been quietly observing the meeting. “You were the one to find Sally, right?”
The pixie nodded.
“Could you give us a rundown of her situation?”
“Jennifer,” Peri’s stern voice was surprising but Jen shot her a look that could kill.
“You are too close to the situation,” Jen growled. She would have been on her feet if her damn mate would release the death grip he had on her. “I want to know where my healer is. I want to know where she lives. I want to know if she has everything she needs. And I don’t want things omitted because you are afraid to give us the truth.”
“Because you handle the truth so responsibly.” Peri said through narrowed eyes.
“Bite me, fairy,” Jen snarled. She turned back to the pixie. “Could you please tell us what you’ve observed?”
Stralina looked up at Peri, obviously unsure if she should answer. Peri simply shrugged her shoulders and stepped aside as if to give the little woman the floor.
“Sally is in North America, living in Oceanside, North Carolina. She resides alone in a boxy dwelling that I believe you humans call an apartment. She works at a local drinking establishment called The Dog House. She is in a relationship with a male. Though it doesn’t seem to be serious, it is monogamous. The male is a coworker named Jericho and he is a werewolf. She is unaware that he is a werewolf, or that such things exist. She has no knowledge of the supernatural world and she doesn’t know that she is a gypsy healer. She has been suffering from headaches that have become more frequent and she has nightmares. Based upon my observations, it doesn’t appear that she has any memory whatsoever of her former life. Peri asked me to listen for key words that she might speak out loud to herself, or even in her sleep, including your names. But she has never said any of them. She’s never mentioned Coldsprings or her life there as a teenager. She never speaks about her family. She has recently cut and dyed her hair with some encouragement from Jericho.”Jen’s eyes were wide and her mouth had fallen open. She was pretty sure she wouldn’t be closing it anytime soon.