Chapter 17

“The Great Luna created the werewolves because man had turned on himself. Families were divided, countries were crumbling beneath the weight of war, and humanity did not seem all that humane. Yet, the last few enemies I have faced have not been human. The current enemy I face is not human. What does that say about us?” ~Vasile


Vasile, for the first time in a very long time, felt as if the rug had been pulled out from under him and then shoved over his face to suffocate him. Alston. Of all those he knew in the supernatural world, he would not have picked Alston as a traitor. Pompous ass? Yes. Traitor? No. Perhaps, Vasile’s instincts were growing rusty after two centuries of life.
“Okay, forgive me for not knowing everything,” Jen said as she pushed on Decebel’s arm. “But what the crap is the Order of the Burning Claw? And why do I feel like I need some sort of dramatic music playing every time we say Order of the Burning Claw?”
“Dun, dun, duuuuuuuuuun,” Jacque sang.
Peri cleared her throat. “Thank you for that, wolf-princess.”
“I do what I can, Peri. I do what I can.”
“The Order,” Vasile spoke up, deciding that it was better to go ahead and cut the females off before they even got started, “is an ancient organization—”
“What isn’t ancient with you supernaturals?” Jen muttered.
Vasile glanced at her with a raised brow as he paused.
“Sorry, continue,” she said with a bow of her head and a wave of her hand.
“How gracious of you, Jen. As I was saying, the Order is an ancient organization of supernaturals that believe that the human race is inferior to them. They do not think that we supernaturals should have to live in hiding.”
“But they don’t want to just come out and say here we are, we come in peace, do they?” Jacque asked.
Vasile shook his head. “No, they do not. They believe that life is about the survival of the fittest—the strong prevail, and the weak do not. They consider humans weak. But that doesn’t mean that they believe all supernaturals to be equal, either.”
“Who’s the leader of this Order?” Fane asked.
Vasile noted that his son was able to speak again without growling and that was a good sign, though he still hadn’t let go of his mate.
“Who knows? No one has heard from the Order in a very long time. But, it was usually the strongest member at any given time. At one time it was a fae, at another, it was a vampire,” he explained.
“I thought the fae were the most powerful of all the supernaturals—end of story?” Jen piped up.
“We are, and don’t you forget it,” Peri told her. “But not all fae were created equal. Most of us with brains, and therefore power, would never consider joining the Order.”
“What about your father?” Decebel spoke up, his amber eyes turning on Thalion. “You said he’s involved with the Order. Could he be their leader?”
Prince Thalion shook his head. “I honestly don’t know. After seeing him today, I would not believe him to be of sound enough mind to lead such an organization.”
Jen laughed. “And what leads you to believe that any leader of a radical organization hell bent on the destruction of an entire species is ever of sound mind?”
“Point,” Jacque called out as she pointed at Jen. “She’s totally got ya there, elf boy.”
Peri rubbed her forehead. “Did I miss something while I was saving your life?” She looked over at Jacque. “I mean, did I knock some more screws loose while I was in there?”
Jacque pulled her shoulders up and scrunched up her nose. “I don’t know. It’s like these things just keep spilling out of my mouth and I can’t shut it off.”
“Soooo, there’s two of her now?” Thalion asked pointed at Jen.
Cyn elbowed him.
“Dude, B wishes there was two of me,” Jen said as she smacked her thigh and laughed.
Decebel growled and whispered something in Jen’s ear that had her frowning at him.
Vasile pinched the bridge of his nose and glanced at Peri. She shrugged. “This is how they handle a crisis, you know this. We tell them that the world is being threatened and they turn into mouthy comedians. Roll with it, Alpha.”
“We need a plan,” Vasile said as he grabbed the chair from behind his desk and rolled it around to add to the chairs that had already been maneuvered into a circle.
Jen, finally breaking free of her mate’s iron grasp, rubbed her hands together. “Now we’re talking. The Order wants to jack with my best friend. Well, I’m going to jack back.”
Jacque smacked herself in the forehead as several of the males coughed to cover their laughs. “Jen, please, please think about what you just said and never say it again.”
Jen paused and then shook her head. “Yeah, I totally don’t have an excuse for that one. That was just poor execution.”
“And she’s back,” Peri muttered.
Decebel reached over and grabbed another empty chair, pulled it to his side, and then tugged Jen by the back pocket of her jeans until she sat down in it. He placed his hand on her thigh as if that was going to keep her in place and then looked at Vasile. “Now, what plan did you have in mind?”



Peri glowered at the two females sitting across from her. She knew when the meeting ended, and Jen had regurgitated some bull crap about wanting to have girl time with Peri, that she and the wolf-princess were going to corner her.
“No,” Peri snapped for the fifth time.
“But—” Jen started.
“No.”
“What about—” Jacque countered.
“No. And how about no. Also, no.” Peri smiled.
“Wow, who crapped on your Oreo?” Jacque narrowed her eyes as she flounced back on the couch with her arms across her chest.
“Don’t you have a baby that needs a boob?”
Jen threw her head back and cackled—literally cackled. “I’m sorry, Red, but that was awesome.”
Jacque turned her scowl on her best friend. “Don’t you have a mate who needs a boob?”
Jen snickered. “No, he prefers two.”
Peri pressed her fingers against the spot just between her brows and squeezed her eyes shut. Patience, she told herself. Vasile would not be happy if she maimed the mother of his grandson. Decebel would probably forgive her if she only roughed Jen up a bit.
“What are you smirking about?” Jen asked her.
Peri chuckled. “Not a thing. Are we done here?”
“No,” they both snarled at the same time.
“Okay, you two are about to get shock collars if you don’t get that crap under control,” Peri warned. “I will not be snarled at in surround sound. You want to snarl individually, maybe I’ll give you a pass. But you do it together and I go all glowy on your asses.”
“Peri you know you want to take us with you.”
“What gave you that idea? The part where I told your mates I didn’t want to take you with me?”
“You were lying,” Jacque said as if it were the most plausible thing on earth.
“Uh-huh, and you’re still sitting here not giving your boob to your baby. Why?”
“What’s this obsession with her boobs all of a sudden,” Jen piped in.
Peri groaned. “What did I do!” She yelled up at the ceiling. “Great Luna, if you’re listening, I take it back. Whatever I said that caused you to punish me with them” —she pointed at the two girls across from her— “I take it back and beg your forgiveness.”
“Ha, ha,” Jacque said dryly.
The room was suddenly quiet as Peri stared back at Jen and Jacque who were, in turn, staring right back at her. The clock on Vasile’s wall ticked away as the seconds turned to minutes. Then, at the same time, both girls slid to the floor on their knees, hands folded together at their chests and begged. “Pleeeeeeeaaaaase,” they said in unison.
“Oh, good mother of pixie butts. Seriously? This is what you two are reduced to?”
They nodded. Peri was sure they’d choreographed this little show.
“Peri, we have to see her,” Jacque said, still on her knees.
“If you don’t take us, we’ll just sneak off on our own,” Jen added.
And they would do it. Peri had no doubt in her mind that if she didn’t take the two cows with her, then they would be on the internet ordering tickets on the first flight to Oceanside. They’d have to sneak away and get to the airport without their mates’ knowledge, of course, but they would do it. They probably had secret credit cards their males didn’t know about for just such an occasion.
“It’s too dangerous,” Peri told them, again.
“We aren’t scared,” Jen scoffed.
“I didn’t mean dangerous for you two nimrods. I meant for the people Sally has built relationships with,” Peri told them.
“We won’t mess with her new Beau,” Jacque huffed.
“And what about her new best friends?” Peri challenged.
“What best friends,” they gasped together, both of their foreheads drawing together as they frowned.
“What is with the talking at the same time? It’s beginning to creep me out.”
“You didn’t say anything about her having best friends. You said she had some werewolf she was swapping spit with,” Jen challenged.
Peri held up a finger. “First, I never said they were swapping spit. That was you and princess leaky boobs over there who had decided that she must be allowing Jericho to shove his tongue down her throat. Second…” She cut Jacque off who was no doubt going to refute the leaky boob comment. “I might have said something about best friends—in my head, to my mate.”
“Does she have new friends?” Jacque asked as she brushed away imaginary fuzz from her pants.
“Maybe…” Peri said, not that she had seen any evidence of new friends when she’d first scouted Sally’s new home.
“Are they nice?” Jen asked. “I bet they’re not nice. They’re probably really snobby, big mouthed, floozies.”
“So she befriended you guys again in a new life?” Peri laughed.
A rumble started in Jen’s throat and Peri was surprised to see the Alpha female’s eyes glowing. Girl’s got claws.
Jacque put her arm across the front of Jen’s chest as if to hold the blonde back. “Peri, please quit poking the crazy she-wolf. We get that you have reservations about taking us. We get that you’re worried we’ll lose our crap and screw things up. But you know how much Sally means to us. We won’t do anything to jeopardize her life, or anyone else’s. We just…” She paused as she pushed herself back up onto the couch and ran her hands over her face. “We just need to see her, with our own eyes.”
Peri did know how much Sally meant to them. She meant that much to Peri as well. Peri had watched Sally die. And the healer had done so to save Peri’s life. She’d never met someone as brave and selfless as the young girl. Sally was one of those people that there just weren’t enough of in the world. She saw the good in everyone. She wanted the best for everyone and she was often willing to take second best if that’s what it took to make that happen.
“Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit,” Peri muttered under her breath as she considered her options. If she took Jen and Jacque with her to keep an eye on Sally, their mates were going to turn her into puppy chow for their young. Vasile probably wouldn’t help them, but he probably wouldn’t stop them either. Not that they really could do that but they could be incredibly annoying with their snarling, growling, and overall obnoxious posturing. However, if she didn’t take them with her, they would find a way on their own and they’d probably get captured by some obnoxious vampire, or troll, or rogue werewolf, or something else unsavory. Then she’d have to waste time rescuing them, and then she’d still have to deal with their incredibly annoying, snarling, growling, obnoxious posturing mates anyway. It really was a lose-lose for her. “Dammit!”
“Finally realized it, didn’t you?” Jen said with a smile as she got up from her kneeling position and sat back down next to Jacque.
“What?” Jacque asked. “What did she realize?”
“That she has to take us with her.”
Jacque’s head swiveled comically between Peri and Jen. “Why? Why did she realize that and why does she have to?”
Jen reached over and patted her best friend’s leg. “Did I get this dumb when I first had Thia?”
Peri nodded. “It’s the over usage of boobs. That’s what happens when you have to use them for double duty. Your brain just can’t process it.”
Jen nodded. “Yep, totally make sense.”
“Why the heck are you two yapping about my boobs? And what does that have to do with Peri figuring out she has to take us?” Jacque huffed. “And who the crap says they’re getting double duty? I had a baby ten days ago. Fane has not gotten any action from the girls since his son took them over, so there is no double duty going on!”
“Whoa, TMI, wolf-princess. T.M.I.” Peri held up her hand.
“Jennifer,” Jacque growled.
“She has figured out that she has to take us because either way we will go, and either way, our mates will hold her responsible.” Jen looked over at Peri and smiled sweetly. “Sucks to be you sometimes, doesn’t it?”
“Sometimes?” Peri snorted. She shook her head unable to believe that she was about to say this. “Fine, I’ll take you with me.”
“It’s not like our mates are going to be around to miss us,” Jen pointed out. “They’re going hunting after Costin.”
“What about your babes?” Peri asked.
“Can’t you flash us back to see them?” Jacque asked. “I’m sure mom and Alina won’t mind taking care of them for a while.”
“Ugh, fine.” Peri huffed, knowing full well that huffing did not become a member of the high fae.
“Quit pretending that you’re upset about taking them with you,” Lucian’s voice purred in her mind.
“I’m not pretending,” Peri snapped, so annoyed that she didn’t even realize that she had responded out loud.
“Your wolf riding your tail?” Jen asked with a smirk.
“Let’s discuss the plan,” Peri told them without answering the Alpha female’s question.
“I love you,” Lucian added before slipping out of her mind.
“I know, wolf. And oddly enough, I love you.” She heard his chuckle, though it sounded like he was far away.
Jacque rubbed her eyes as she stared up at the ceiling. She, Jen, and Peri had been talking for over an hour about their plan to go and check on Sally. Hopefully, if all went well, they could attempt to slowly bring her memory back. Jacque was exhausted, but she was also very excited.
“You two had better keep this blocked from your mates, at least until they’re too far away to do anything about it,” Peri warned the two girls for the hundredth time.
“Why are you acting scared of our mates?” Jen laughed. “You aren’t really afraid of them.”
“There are other things to dread besides injury or death,” Peri told them. “And enduring your pissed off mates is one of those things.”
Jacque couldn’t fault her there. When their mates got wound up about something, they took all of their normal annoying tendencies and intensified them to an almost unbearable degree.
“Are you ever coming to bed, Luna?” Fane’s voice in her mind startled Jacque and she sat up abruptly.
“We got to wrap this up,” Jacque said as she whirled her finger in the air.
“Daddy missing Mommy?” Jen asked with a wink.
Jacque held up her hand to her best friend. “It’s too late for your perverted mind.”
“What better time to be a pervert than late at night?” Jen challenged.
“She’s got a point,” Peri said with a single brow raised.
Jacque rolled her eyes at the fae. “If you’re agreeing with Jen about when being a pervert is appropriate, it’s time to head home and have play time with your white wolf.”
“Jacquelyn?” Fane growled.
“Hold your bloody horses,” she snapped sounding harsher than she’d intended.
“I don’t have any bloody horses. I don’t have any horses. I have a wolf who wants his mate—now.”
Jacque grumbled as she stood to her feet and stretched her hands over her head. “So, the guys head out tomorrow super early—” Jacque began.
“We will leave two hours after them. That will give them plenty of time to have covered some significant ground,” Peri said.
“And you’re sending Cyn away so they can’t bully her into coming and getting us?” asked Jen.
“She and Thalion are already on their way back to his realm. They need to keep an eye on his father.”
“I’ll talk to my mom and Alina about—” Jacque started, but the sound of her cell phone ringing cut her off. She pulled it out of her back pocket and didn’t bother to look at the screen. She had a pretty good idea that it was Fane. “What?” she huffed.
“Alina and I can take care of Slate and Thia,” Lilly’s voice came through the phone smooth and gentle.
“You saw something?” Jacque asked. Peri and Jen were both on their feet at her question.
“You and Jen have to be with Sally, especially when Costin finds her. It is imperative that you be with her,” Lilly said in a desperate voice.
“Mom,” Jacque said. “What did you see?”
“Tell Vasile that he has to find Costin. There’s going to be more bloodshed before they find him. But if they don’t find him in time, he will cross the line and he won’t be able to come back.” Lilly paused and let out a mournful sigh. “So much darkness surrounds him. He’s empty. He’s aching for her. I felt it, Jacque, in my vision. I felt what Costin is feeling. It’s…” She swallowed thickly. “It’s awful.”
“They’ll find him. They will,” Jacque assured her.
“I’ll be there before you leave tomorrow,” Lilly told her. “I love you.”
“Thanks, mom. I love you too.”
Jacque disconnected the call and slipped the phone back into her pocket. “Mom says we have to be with Sally.”
Peri didn’t look pleased by the information. “That doesn’t mean your mates will be okay with the situation.”
“Okay with what?” Fane’s voice said from the doorway.
“With us having a multi-pack orgy. We’ve planned one for the fall and we’re trying to pick a theme,” Jen said conversationally as if she was talking about shopping for a new summer blouse. “We were thinking of doing like a Village People thing, but that just seemed a bit cliché. So I think we’re just going to play up the whole beauty and the beast thing.
“Jacquelyn,” Fane growled. His eyes had turned a bright blue as he closed the distance between them. “Make her stop talking.”
Jacque turned to look at Jen and then back to Fane. She was about to ask if he was serious, but he surprised her by sweeping her up in his arms. He turned and carried her from the room without a backward glance. Jacque stared back at them helplessly as her mate carted her off.
“Are you okay?” she asked him as he walked up the stairs to the floor where their suite was located.
He looked at her, his eyes still glowing, and then buried his face in her neck. Fane took in deep breaths as he continued to walk. Jacque didn’t know how he wasn’t walking into a wall, but then his mouth started moving against the flesh where his bite was located, and her mind couldn’t think clearly.
They reached their door and he pushed it open as he pulled back and looked into her eyes. It worried her that his wolf was still looking back at her.
“I heard what your mother said about Costin,” Fane said finally. He set her on her feet on the ground but didn’t step away from her.
Jacque’s stomach dropped. “How much did you hear?”
Fane’s head tilted, an action that reminded Jacque of exactly what his wolf would do. “Just the part about Costin and how awful he feels. Was there something else?”
“She said that you guys needed to find him quickly,” Jacque said as she turned toward the nursery. “Is Slate—” she started to ask.
“Mom’s got him. She wanted to let us get a good night’s sleep. She has everything she needs. There was frozen milk, so I gave her that.”
Jacque nodded, disappointed that she didn’t get to hold their son before she went to bed.
“How are you feeling?” Fane asked her. His eyes were intense and he watched her closely.
“I feel fine,” she told him honestly. “I can’t even tell that I had a baby…or nearly died.”
He growled at her mention of their near death. “Do you?” Fane paused and took a step closer, placing both his hands on her waist. Touching her seemed to bring him a measure of calm that he really needed. “Do you feel up to…” His breathing hitched as Jacque’s mind caught on to what he was asking.
She felt her skin heat up and trembled when Fane ran a finger across her blushing cheek. He seemed mesmerized by her. His eyes were roving over her face as if he was trying to memorize it.
He leaned his head down until his forehead was pressed against hers. Jacque could feel his warm breath on her face. His finger continued to trail across her jaw, down her neck, and across her collar bone. As he reached the swell of her breast, his chest rumbled. “I need you,” he told her simply.
Fane’s voice was thick with emotion and guttural with his wolf. There was so much he was trying to convey to her in those three little words. Jacque pulled her head back and then took the hand that was still resting on her hip. She linked their fingers together and then pulled him to follow her. Fane trailed her, his other hand grazing her hair and back, into their room.
Jacque was trembling as she turned to face him once again. The bond was open and all of Fane’s emotions were filling her, adding to her own intense feelings.
“You are so beautiful,” he murmured as he pushed the hair away from her neck. His hands trailed down to the front of her shirt and he began unbuttoning her blouse. Jacque was shocked to see Fane’s hands shaking as he slipped button after button through the little holes. As soon as the last one was undone, Fane reached up and pushed the shirt from her shoulders. She let it slide down her arms, the fabric brushing against her sensitive skin causing her to shiver.
“Are you cold?” he asked her as he pulled his own shirt off and then pressed their bodies together, skin against skin.
Jacque shook her head but couldn’t get any words out as she closed her eyes and just let herself feel. Every nerve ending was lit up and her body hummed with the desire that her mate was building in her. His fingers trailed over her skin, moving up her arms, down her chest, and across her stomach. She sucked in a breath as she felt his mouth against her shoulder. He pressed his lips over and over to her skin, swirling his tongue out and nipping her with his teeth. Jacque bit her bottom lip to keep from crying out.
“You don’t have to be quiet, Luna,” Fane whispered against her ear. “I want to hear how I affect you.” His hands moved to finish undressing her and, with every piece of clothing that fell to the floor, Fane would stop and worship whatever skin was exposed before moving on to the next piece of fabric.
By the time he laid her down on their bed, Jacque was begging him to move faster but he never did. Fane was methodical in his pursuit of her. He kissed each fingertip, sucked on the inside of her wrist and elbow, and massaged her calves and thighs as he touched her.
“I love you,” he whispered as he covered her flushed and needy body with his own. His blue eyes met hers and never left as he made love to her.
Fane was fighting for control of his wolf. Touching his mate was only making the wolf push harder to take control, but the man wouldn’t relinquish this time. He reveled in her body, her perfect form. He was in awe of the fact that she carried their child and was able to provide life for him. As he looked down at her, his breath caught. She was a sight to behold. Her hair splayed out around her like a rippling red sea. Her skin was flushed and glistening as it responded to his every touch.
Jacquelyn’s lips parted slightly as she sucked in air, trying to catch her breath. Fane couldn’t describe what had come over him; he just knew that he needed the connection with his mate. He needed to feel her, to hear her, to see her, and to taste her. Jacquelyn denied him nothing. She offered herself up as she felt his need through their bond. Fane didn’t hide anything from her. She was well aware of his desires and how he longed for her.
He made love to her for hours until they were both spent and could do nothing more than hold each other.
He whispered to her in his language and, as she snuggled closer, she asked him, “What did you just say?”
“I said you humble me with the gift of your body, your heart, and your soul.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead as Jacquelyn let out a contented sigh.
“Sleep, my love. You’ve earned it.”
She laughed and pinched his stomach. “Don’t gloat, wolf-man. It doesn’t suit you.”
“You suit me,” he told her, as he pulled her tighter against him. Mine, his wolf huffed into his mind as both man and wolf basked in the scent of their mate and the feel of her against his skin.
“Yours,” Jacquelyn whispered as she drifted off to sleep.



Decebel watched as his mate entered the suite they used when staying at the Romania pack. She looked tired but no less beautiful and desirable than always. She moved about the room—slipping off her shoes, grabbing an empty glass that sat on the end table and taking it to the kitchen, and then stopping in the kitchen. Her back was to him and he frowned as she leaned forward, rested her head on the countertop, and began to cry. Her shoulders shook with emotion and her hands grasped the counter with such force that her knuckles were turning white.
“Jennifer,” Decebel called as he strode across the room to her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her up and then turned her to face him. “Baby, what’s wrong?”
She shook her head as more tears fell and she pressed her forehead to his chest. He clenched his jaw as he held his weeping mate, unable to fix whatever it was that had his mate in tears.
“Please, talk to me, Jennifer.”
“I just can’t believe Peri found her,” she finally managed to get out around the gulps of air. “I want to see her. I want to see with my own eyes that she’s okay.”
He ran his hand gently down her hair as he attempted to soothe her. “I know you do, baby. And you will. Be patient.”
“When has that ever been one of my virtues?” she grumbled. Her small hands were wrapped around his shirt, holding him to her.
Decebel chuckled. “You have many other virtues,” he told her.
Jennifer snuggled closer as the tears began to dry up. “I’m tired, Dec.”
He swept her up into his arms and carried her to the bedroom. Decebel helped her undress and slip on one of his t-shirts that swallowed her. He loved seeing her in his clothes; it was almost as good as seeing her without any clothes—almost.
“Your mind is having impure thoughts, lover,” she teased him as she wiped away the last bit of moisture from her eyes.
Decebel wanted to keep the tears at bay, and if seducing his mate would keep her mind and emotions under control, then it was certainly no hardship for him. “Are they really impure if they’re about my mate?” he asked as he took off his shirt and then his pants. He pulled back the covers on the bed and watched as she climbed in. The shirt rose up, exposing more of her silky thighs, and his thoughts went from impure to completely inappropriate.
He slid in next to her and reached for one of the legs that had tempted him and pulled her closer. Decebel placed the leg over his hip and his hands grasped her waist. He pulled her over until she was nearly laying on top of him.
“Comfortable?” she mumbled against his chest. Her lips were soft as they moved against his skin.
Decebel grunted at her, too focused on his hands trailing over her to bother answering. She shivered as he pushed the t-shirt up further. He smiled. He loved how she responded to him.
“I’ve missed you,” she whispered.
“You don’t ever have to miss me, baby. All you have to do is tell me you need me and I’m yours.”
He felt her smile against him. “If I did that, then we’d never get anything done.”
His own smile widened. “You are quite insatiable.”
“You love it,” she growled as she climbed up his body until she hovered over him, boxing him in.
“Maybe,” he shrugged. “It’s been a while so I can’t really remember.”
She lunged down and clamped her teeth on his neck just hard enough to get his and his wolf’s attention. “Then perhaps I need to remind you,” Jennifer purred after releasing his flesh.
Decebel trailed his hands up the backs of her thighs, pulling the hem of the shirt up as he moved. As the hem reached her neck, she ducked down allowing her head and arms to slip free of the shirt.
He growled his approval as he pulled her face to his. “I think a reminder is definitely in order.” Decebel’s lips collided with hers. It was the first of many kisses that night. He wrapped her in his arms as she loved him and thoroughly reminded him of just how much he loved her insatiability.