Chapter 19

**“I keep telling myself that in order for there to be light there has to be darkness. But the darkness that is creeping over us seems impenetrable. I can’t imagine a light bright enough to push through the opaqueness. It crawls across the land, withering everything it touches. What will be left when it’s over? Will it ever be over?” ~Sally**


Sally watched the guys load all their stuff into the van once again, preparing for the long journey to the Carpathian Mountains. Jen had told her about Decebel’s conversation with Vasile the night before. She was mad that Jen hadn’t immediately come and told her, but understood her reasoning. Watching Jen, she could tell that something wasn’t right, but when Sally tried to ask her about it, Jen just spouted off at the mouth in typical Jen fashion.
The weirdest thing was that Jen seemed to be avoiding being touched and wouldn’t make eye contact with her mate. In fact, she had hardly spoken to Decebel, which was really strange. Usually they were attached at the hip. Well, she would just continue to watch and listen. Maybe she would be able to come up with an answer, and if that didn’t work, she would just bug Jen until she finally 'fessed up to whatever the hell was going on.
Once they were finally on the road, Decebel broke down exactly what had happened and let the males know they needed to be alert for anything.
“It seems Mona has been busy, more so than we originally thought.”
Peri let out a snort. “Busy doesn’t even begin to describe what that heifer has been up to.”
Jen put her fist in the air and hollered. “Word!”
Sally grinned. That was more like her friend. Maybe she had just been tired this morning.
“How’re you doing?” Costin asked as he put his arm around Sally and pulled her close. She snuggled into him, enjoying the new intimacy between them.
Sally couldn’t help but feel more confident in their relationship. They had done the blood rites. It was a done deal. He wasn’t getting out of it now.
His chest shook as he chuckled. “As if I would ever want out.”
“Nosy much?” Sally poked him in the chest, chastising him.
“How can it be nosy if I have a right to the information?”
Jen snorted from the front of the van.
“Did I just hear you right, furry C? Surely you did not just say you had a right to my girl’s thoughts. Surely I heard you wrong.” Jen had turned in her seat and was giving Costin the famous glare that many a man had crumbled under.
“Alpha, reign your woman in.”
Then everything began to move in slow motion.
In a violent reaction to Costin's teasingly misogynistic comment, Jen yelled, “OH, HELL NO!” She had her seat belt off in a flash and began to lunge at him.
Decebel, in an expert move, had the van on the side of the road, in park, and his arm around his mate's waist before a breath could be expelled. Jen’s eyes were glowing.
“Damn,” Sally muttered.
If Costin had been in wolf form, his hackles would have risen at the threat he recognized Jen to be. Even though she was the female Alpha, he saw her as a potential threat to his mate, who was human and fragile.
“Jennifer,” Decebel snarled.
After several moments, when everyone seemed frozen, Jen finally held her hands up in surrender.
“I’m done.” Jen’s head hung in defeat as Decebel let her go, and she climbed back down to her seat.
The whole van seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Disaster averted—for now.
“Costin, cool it. No harm to yours,” Decebel told him through the rear-view mirror. Costin held his Alpha’s eyes for a heartbeat and then dropped them.
Sally looked at her mate and watched as he struggled with his need to protect her and his need to obey his Alpha. She took a page from Jacque’s book and reached up under Costin’s shirt, placing her hand against his chest. Flesh to flesh. She watched as he visibly relaxed. His trademark grin, dimples and all, stretched across his face.
“Thank you,” he told her. Sincerity shone in his eyes.
“Anytime.” She smiled back.
“What the heck was that about anyway?” He whispered to her.
Sally shrugged. “Something is up with her.”
Cynthia turned in her seat and looked back at Sally.
“Can I try to talk with her first?”
Sally nodded. “Sure. Do you think you know what’s going on with her?” Her eyebrows rose in question.
Cynthia shrugged noncommittally. “Sometimes people will talk to a doctor because they feel there is some anonymity to it. I’ll give it a go. The worst she can do is tell me to get bent.”
Sally snorted. “That is something she would say.”
The van was quiet for hours. They slept off and on and stopped occasionally for food or to use the restroom. Sally continued to watch her friend and grew more and more worried. Something was definitely wrong.
They switched drivers periodically so that they wouldn’t have to stop. They drove the thirteen plus hours straight through. As they grew closer to the forest, there seemed to be an undercurrent of stress rippling through the van. When Decebel pulled to a stop on what seemed to be a back road, he held up his hand to keep anyone from climbing out of the van.
“It’s after midnight, but we're going to have to walk for an hour and then make camp. Vasile and I planned for this possibility so I made sure to bring provisions. Remember, this forest is not our friend. Be aware of your surroundings at all times. Stay in pairs, no wandering off on your own. The males will rotate a night watch.” With that, he climbed out of the van and everyone else followed.
Decebel walked over to Jennifer and pulled her into his arms. He pressed his nose into her hair and breathed as deeply as he could, taking in her unique scent.
“Why won’t you talk to me?” He whispered. He didn’t try to use their bond because she had kept it locked up tight since she'd awoken from her nightmare.
Jen squeezed her eyes shut at the sound of pain in his voice. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed; she clung to him as if her life depended on him.
After several minutes of silence, he finally let her go. He tilted her face up to look at him and brushed a finger softly against her lips. She was beautiful and she was his, but she wouldn’t let him in and it was killing him.
He dropped his hand and turned to help the others unload the van. He didn’t see the pain that flashed in her eyes as he turned from her. He didn’t hear the catch in her breathing as she tried not to reach out and grab him to pour her soul out, to beg him for his forgiveness. Jen had been so focused on Decebel that she hadn’t realized Cynthia was standing next to her.
“Take a walk with me?” Cynthia asked gently.
Jen stared at her a moment, then nodded.
Cynthia called out to Decebel. “Alpha, we need to use the little girls' room. Jen and I are going together and privacy would be appreciated.”
Decebel began to step toward them.
“I can go with her.”
Cynthia held up her hand. “It’s me who needs to pee and I don’t really want you or any of our males going with me.”
It was obvious that Decebel didn’t like the idea of them going off in the dark by themselves, but it wasn't like he could force them to pee with a male around.
“Fine, be quick,” he growled.
Jen rolled her eyes and let Cynthia turn her and lead her into the forest.
Cynthia walked until she felt like whispering would be safe from wolf hearing. She stepped back from Jen, giving her some space so she wouldn’t feel pressured.
“Jen, something is wrong. That much is clear,” Cynthia stated matter-of-factly.
Jen nodded her agreement.
“Have you talked with anyone about what it is? With Decebel?”
“No.” Jen’s bottom lip trembled as she tried to hold back the tears that had been threatening to spill over all day.
Cynthia didn’t go to her; she didn’t offer comfort. She knew that Jen needed to get this off her chest and she would do that better if she wasn’t being coddled.
“I’m a doctor. Even now, though I don’t practice conventionally, I’m still a doctor and my oaths still stand. Patient confidentiality, Jen. I’ll take it to my grave.”
Jen’s head snapped up and her eyes met Cynthia’s. Cynthia saw in Jen a desperation that she had never seen in the usually confident young woman.
“Do you hear me? Are we on the same page?”
“Yes,” Jen whispered. “We’re on the same page.”
Jen found a fallen tree limb and sat down on it. Cynthia moved closer so that Jen wouldn’t have to speak too loudly.
Without any preamble Jen just started talking.
When she finished, Cynthia closed her eyes, wishing all of this away.
The first thing that came out of Cynthia's mouth was, “You’re pregnant.” When she opened her eyes, she saw that Jen had tears sliding down her cheeks.
“I killed my baby, Decebel’s baby. I killed her.” Jen’s breathing was getting sporadic and Cynthia knew that if she didn’t calm her down, Decebel would crash through the woods for her at any moment.
“Shh, Jen. Pull it together or your man’s going to be tearing down trees to get to you.”
Jen wiped her tears away as she tried to compose herself.
“Why haven’t you told your mate?” Cynthia asked.
Jen wrapped her arms around herself, another sign of how vulnerable she was feeling.
“I can’t stand the thought of seeing the disgust and anger in his eyes once he knows that I’ve killed our child. If only I had just died....it was my time.”
Cynthia was shaking her head before Jen even finished speaking.
“If you had died Decebel would have destroyed the world. He would have lost it and then taken his own life. This isn’t your fault, Jen. It’s the damn Fates'. He will not hold you responsible nor will he be angry. He will be hurting for you, hurting because he is going to feel all of the guilt in you. Jen, you know Decebel. You know how he feels about you. You have to trust that he will love you through this, that you two can work through this together.”
Jen looked at her hopefully. “Do you think there is a way to keep the Fates from taking her?”
“I don’t know, but I do know that Decebel would move mountains, destroy nations, call down the wrath of the gods to see you happy.” Cynthia pulled Jen up from the limb.
“You’re going to have to tell him. But I want you to take it easy and don’t push yourself too hard, okay?”
Jen nodded. She took a deep breath and let it out. She didn’t feel great, but she felt better. She needed someone to know, needed someone to understand. And she knew Cynthia was right; she couldn’t keep this from Decebel for much longer. She was hurting him and it wasn't fair.
They headed back to the group in silence. Once there, all of them followed Decebel into the forest, the moon their only guiding light.
They walked for an hour, just as Decebel had said, and then made camp. Costin and Drake got a fire going while, in wolf form, Sorin did a check of the perimeter. When he came back to the camp site, he couldn’t help but preen for Elle, who was watching him in awe.
Elle laughed at Sorin’s obvious pleasure in her watching him. She waved him off, telling him to go get dressed. He tilted his head in a charming manner and headed back into the forest to gather his clothes.
Once they were all gathered around the fire, they sat in silence, watching the flames eat up the wood. They each felt the darkness that hung over the forest and didn’t want to draw attention to themselves by speaking. Soon, one by one, they laid out their pallets and went to sleep. The males took their turns keeping watch and, when morning came, they each woke up breathing a little easier. Things, so far, had been uneventful.
Costin looked at Decebel as they journeyed deeper into the forest. “Did you feel that last night?”
Decebel nodded. “We’re being watched. I feel it even now.”
“Good, I wanted to make sure it wasn’t just me.”
Sally came up next to Decebel with Costin beside her.
“Alpha, there is dark magic at work. I can feel it like oil over my skin,” Sally told him.
“Peri, Elle,” Decebel called back to the Fae as he stopped.
“You feel it?” Peri asked Decebel. He nodded.
“Before you ask, Elle and I have been using a cloaking magic, but whatever is tailing us, it’s powerful.”
Decebel’s eyebrows rose at that concession. If the magic they were dealing with here, with no witch present, was stronger than two Fae, then they were in trouble.
Jen took Decebel’s hand and looked up into his grim face.
“I don’t like standing still, Dec. Something is telling me we shouldn’t stand still.”
Sally nodded in agreement. They broke off into pairs and filed in a line as they continued on. The day seemed to grow darker much sooner than it should and the temperature dropped quickly.
Sally’s teeth soon began to chatter. She had her arms crossed with her hands tucked in her arm pits, trying to keep warm.
“Dec, we have to stop,” Cynthia called out to him. It was getting colder and even though moving was keeping their blood circulating, she was thinking about Jen.
“Let’s get a fire going. Whatever magic is at work here, they're dead set against us going any farther,” Peri spoke up above the wind that had begun to whip around them.
They worked quickly, getting the camp set up and a fire going within minutes. Peri and Elle used their magic for the fire because a natural one wouldn’t stay lit. They all huddled around it, the shadows around them seeming sinister as the wind howled through the trees. All of nature seemed to be working against them.
Suddenly, lightning flashed and thunder rolled across the sky. They felt the ground beneath them shake. Peri stood and held her hands out, her eyes closed. Elle did the same, so Sally stood also, not really sure what she was supposed to do, but feeling that she should be standing as well.
Peri and Elle chanted. The wind whipped through their hair, the thunder crashed around them, and the lightning pulsed into the ground, lighting their features in an eerie matter.
Peri’s arms snapped down and her eyes opened. She looked grimly at Decebel.
“I’m not strong enough. I need the stones.”
“Where are they?” He snarled.
“I guess it’s not time,” Peri told him sternly, not backing down.
“What do you mean it’s not time? When is it time? Once we’re all fried from lightning?”
Jen grabbed Decebel’s hand and reached up, turning his face to hers.
“Peri is not the enemy,” she told him firmly.
Decebel closed his eyes and reined his wolf in. Once he opened them, he looked at Peri and inclined his head.
“My apologies, Fae.”
“Not necessary,” Peri told him. “The shit has hit the fan and we are all little testy.”
“Took the words right out of my mouth, Peri Fairy,” Jen grumbled.
Sally snorted and looked over at her best friend. Jen winked, trying to reassure her that everything with her was okay, even though she was as far from okay as one could get.
Peri glared at Jen. “That one was free, Jen. The next one comes out of your hide.”
Jen grinned, her first real grin all day. “Aw, Peri, if you want to touch my hide all you have to do is ask. Well, that, and pay a small admission fee.”
The others laughed and were briefly distracted from the havoc going on around them.
Decebel pressed his lips to the top of Jen's head, glad to see a glimpse of his mate.
Peri turned back to the Alpha after giving Jen a pointed look, who simply shrugged in return.
“The stones come and go at their own will, Alpha. I do not control them. No one does.”
Everyone looked at Decebel, waiting for his orders. He looked at each of them, feeling the weight of their safety. It was heavy.
“We will stay here and hold out through the night.”
Once again, they huddled around the fire. No one slept.

***

They were still huddled around the fire when dawn finally broke. Almost as if a switch had been flipped, the wind stopped, along with the thunder and lightning.
Jen stood up, stretching, looking around, and surveying the damage. She let out a huff.
“That was fun.”
Decebel smacked her on the backside, causing Jen to growl.
“You have a strange idea of fun, mate,” he told her as he leaned down and kissed her gently. Jen took the kiss and allowed herself this moment. The pain hadn't receded over what she was facing, but she had to find joy where she could. Decebel brought her joy, and she was going to soak in every little bit of it.
He cocked his head to the side, his brow furrowed as he looked at her.
“You okay?” he murmured.
She smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “For now.”
Decebel decided that that would have to be enough until he could talk to her alone.

***

Hours later, Jen, trying to shake off the darkness, started singing “On the Road Again” by Willie Nelson.
Sally groaned.
Cynthia laughed.
“Well, if we want to scare off the evil magic that is certainly an effective method.” Peri snorted.
“Laugh it up, Peri Fairy,” Jen hollered back. “One of these days my singing might just save your life.”
Before Peri could respond they heard a familiar voice.
“I hope you all weren’t trying to be stealthy because you suck at it.” Adam's voice carried over the foliage and finally he physically emerged.
He looked everyone over, showing obvious relief that everyone was here and unharmed. Then he smiled over at Elle, who was standing close to Sorin.
“You too?”
Elle nodded and blushed. Sorin wrapped an arm around her and kissed her gently on the forehead.
“Alright,” Adam’s voice drew everyone’s attention away from Sorin and his mate, “let’s join Vasile and get a plan in motion.”