“I really thought that eighteen years ago, when I found out that the man that I loved was a werewolf, that I had exceeded the level of weirdness that my life could ever handle. I was wrong, so, so wrong.” ~Lilly
“Okay, I will admit it Thalion,” Lilly smiled as they entered a room holding more books than she had ever seen. There were shelves overflowing with bound volumes and table after table stacked full of them. Even the floor of the large room in which she stood boasted piles of more books. “You were right. It didn’t take long.”
“I tried to tell you.”
“Yes, well, my track record with supernaturals is a little rough, so forgive me if my first thought was to think that you were full of crap.”
“I’m going to try and not be offended by that,” Cyn told her.
Lilly smiled at the Fae as she walked around the room, looking at the shelves of books and papers stacked haphazardly in every corner. From the outside, the building looked like a home from a fairytale. The inside, however, resembled a huge study, containing scattered tables and several different seating areas containing plush couches. A huge fireplace stood on the north wall, boasting a crackling fire that cast a warm glow throughout the room.
“Why does the outside of this place look like a regular house?” Lilly asked.
“Keeps anyone who doesn’t belong here, out.” Thalion explained. “Not that we have many visitors, but it’s always better to be safe. There’s a lot of information contained in these tomes, most of which, many other races would not want to be public knowledge.”
“In other words,” Cypher cut in, “if they found out this place even existed they would burn it to the ground.”
“Huh,” Lilly nodded, “alright then.”
“What are we looking for?” Cyn asked.
Thalion walked slowly around the room, his eyes roaming over the books. “It’s a brown, leather book. The only distinguishing mark on it is the word Nushtonia.”
Lilly looked over at Thalion. The word was not English and frankly not any language she had ever heard. “What language is that and what does it mean?”
“It’s the language of the underworld,” Cypher answered.
“They have their own language?” Lilly’s brow wrinkled as she looked at Cypher doubtfully.
“Yes, and it is wise not to use it,” Cyn shot Thalion a warning look.
“They have no power here,” he told her.
“Word travels faster and farther than you know. You have spent far too much time separated, cut off from everything going on.”
“Haven’t we already been over this?” Thalion asked.
“Maybe, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need to hear it again.”
Lilly held her hand out for a high five from Cyn, who simply looked at it. Lilly rolled her eyes, picked up Cyn's hand, and slapped it against hers.
“So what does this n word mean?” Lilly, asked again.
Cyn let out a slow breath before finally answering. “It’s hard to translate into the human tongue, but basically it means open this and the world as you know it, is over.”
“All that from one little word?” Lilly asked.
Cyn shrugged. “I said it was hard to translate.”
“So if the word on the outside is demon language, than is it safe to say that this book was written by demons?” Lilly asked.
“That is correct,” Thalion, told her as he continued to scan the vast library.
“How did you come across a book scribed by the demons?” Cypher asked.
“That is an interesting story,” Thalion said evasively, “and perhaps should be told at a better time.”
“When exactly would be a better time, considering we need to do the exact opposite of what the title tells us not to?” Lilly asked, dryly.
Thalion looked over his shoulder at her. “Fair enough. Make yourself useful and help look for the book while I tell you the tale.”
Lilly, Cyn, and Cypher began going through shelves and stacks of books as Thalion began the story.
“A very long time ago…”
“How long exactly?” Lilly asked
Thalion’s lips tightened, as he narrowed his eyes at Lilly. “If you want me to tell the story you are going to have to listen, and if you are talking, you cannot be listening.”
Lilly held her hands up. “Proceed,” she muttered.
“It was so long ago that the Warlock King was not even a thought in the wind,” Thalion continued. “The human world was very young and the disobedient children of God had just fallen, creating the underworld. Your God because of their desire to be like God forsook them. They craved and desired, the one thing that they should have never wanted, and that was to be as great as their creator. During this time of peace, the supernaturals traveled freely between the realms. We all knew of the fallen, the angels that had become demons, and knew that they were never to be released from the hell in which they had been cast. Their evil was beyond anything that we had ever known. The leader of them, Lucifer, had declared war on the human children of God and desired more than anything to take their souls, to drag them to the hell he and his were stuck in for all eternity. All of the supernatural races were warned by an angel of God to never allow the demons from the underworld to escape their own realm. The veil was sealed by the angel and hidden from all.
Unfortunately, evil always seems to find more evil. All evil things are drawn to each other, seeking out those who would help them in their cause. Though the veil to the underworld was hidden, the evil beyond it was great and as more and more lost souls were cast there after their death, and so the evil grew. It began to permeate the air around the Veil such that other beings could detect it. There was no one who knew how to open it, but that didn’t stop them from trying.
As the sons of men began to allow evil into their hearts, and as they began to stray farther from their God, they began seeking out other ways to fill that void inside them. They began to worship other beings, or objects. They sought out meaning for their lives in ways that caused darkness to creep into their hearts. God desired men to have free will and he would not force their loyalty to him. Sin was corrupting the world and Lucifer was allowed some control in the human realm. That sin gave Lucifer just the opening he needed to whisper lies into the ears of those who would listen. He pointed them in the direction divinity and sorcery where they learned how to contact the dead. They thought that they were contacting loved ones who had passed on, but in reality they were drawing the demon spirits to them and giving them power, so much power that the demons began to be able to manipulate the actions of men and women still living.
Once again, an angel of God came to the leaders of the supernatural races. He asked that we keep a close eye on the evil gathering in the world. The veil to the underworld was no longer a secret to all men. They began seeking it out under the direction of the demons that had seeped into their hearts. Surprisingly however it was not a human that became the tool used to make it possible to open the Veil.
One male continually sought out any interaction from the malevolent beings. Over time the demons relentless bombardment of his thoughts led to actions that they themselves directed through him, and one day he found himself at the Veil. The demons continued their assault on his mind and he became so attuned to their wickedness that he clearly heard, the directions on how to open the Veil. He followed their instructions to write the ritual in a book, so that when the appointed time came, the book would be read, and the ritual performed. I happened upon the male when he was attempting to read a language that he didn’t even know, though he had written it. I took the book and tried to destroy it, but nothing I tried was successful, so I hid it in our vast library. It has been here, untouched ever since.”
The room was quiet once Thalion’s voice no longer filled the space. The group continued to look for the book and it was awhile before someone finally said something.
“That does not explain how the Kings of my people have known how to open the Veil,” Cypher pointed out.
Thalion did not respond, but paused in his searching.
“Thalion,” Cypher prompted.
Finally, Thalion turned and looked at the King.
“The male that found the Veil, the one who wrote the book, he was the Warlock King.”
Cypher’s eyes widened and he froze where he stood. He felt like he couldn’t get enough air in his lungs and what air he did get in was thick and difficult to exhale.
“That still doesn’t explain how the others have known,” Lilly said, as she walked over to Cypher’s side. She took his hand and rubbed it gently, a silent reassurance that she was with him.
“Cypher understands how they all have known,” Thalion said, as he continued to stare at him.
Cypher nodded. “When the King dies the next in line is given his memories, all of them.”
“How?” Lilly asked, as she tilted her head back so she could fully see his face.
“Blood,” Cypher told her. “All things come from blood; life, memories, healing, and even evil.”
“I hate to break up this moment of painful revelation,” Cyn quipped as she walked over to Thalion, “but I found it.” She handed him the very book they had been looking for.
Thalion felt a chill run through him as he held it. Cypher’s eyes landed on the book and he felt an unexplainable need to take it, to protect it.
“Cypher?” He heard his name being called, but it sounded like it was coming from far away.
“What’s he doing?”
“He’s drawn to the book because of the knowledge that it holds.” Thalion’s words snapped Cypher out of the trance he had been in.
“Evil is drawn to evil,” he repeated what the elf had said while telling the story. “Is that why? Is the darkness in me trying to connect with the evil in that book?” Cypher's voice was thick with contempt and his heart tightened painfully in his chest as he was once again reminded that he had made poor choices so many times, and some very recently.
“No,” Lilly said firmly as she planted herself directly in front of him. He looked down at her and he was able to breathe a little easier as he saw the determination in her eyes.
“You are not evil. Have you made bad choices? Most definitely, but we all have. We have all, at one time or another, done things that were, for lack of a better term, sinful. It’s how we handle the aftermath that determines who we really are and what path we are on.”
Cypher raised his hand so that he could cup Lilly’s cheek. He touched her gently, as if she were precious and fragile. His eyes softened as he leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.
“You make me better; you push out the evil,” he whispered against her lips.
“Then kick the idea that you are evil to the curb,” she snapped. “My heart could never fall for someone evil, so that settles it.”
“You’ve fallen for me?” Cypher suddenly forgot about the book, his evil and everything around him, his attention was for Lilly alone.
“Like that’s news to you,” she answered.
“I hoped, but I did not know little one. What it means to me to hear you say it is beyond words for me.”
Lilly let him pull her into his broad chest and, for a few breaths, they took comfort in the love that was growing between them.
Half an hour later, they crossed back into the human realm. Thalion had called on his warriors again and so a Fae, human, and Warlock King stood, surrounded by the elves.
“So what do we do now?” Cyn asked.
“It is time for me to meet with the witch.” Cypher pulled his shoulders back and steeled himself for the coming confrontation. “But, before that, I need to call on my own warriors to meet us at the Veil; along with the wolves, and” he glanced at Cyn, “I’m assuming the Fae?”
Cyn shrugged. “It’s never wise to count on the Council, they are too selfish, and if they determine it is a risk that they don’t feel worth bearing, then they will not come.”
“Must be nice to think that you pee gold,” Lilly said, as she crossed her arms across her chest.
“Do I even want to know what that means?” Thalion asked.
“You’ll figure it out,” Lilly assured.
“We could move a lot quicker, Cypher, if you would let me flash,” Cyn told him.
Cypher didn’t look convinced.
“Why won’t he let you flash?” Thalion asked.
“Because she is not the only one I’m keeping from flashing to us,” Cypher explained.
Thalion nodded. “Right, you’ve been making sure others can’t locate you.”
“Exactly,” he agreed.
“That was all fine when we didn’t have the information we needed. We have it now,” Cyn pointed to Thalion who was the caretaker of the book until such a time that Cypher would need it.
“Let me flash to your people, I will tell them to meet us and then you guys can begin your journey to meet Mona.”
Cypher thought about it and finally realized the wisdom in her plan.
“Okay, take this,” Cypher removed a necklace he had tucked under his shirt. “Show it to Gerick, he is the leader of my warriors. He will know that I have sent you if you show him this talisman.”
Cyn took the necklace and put it over her head. “Okay, see you guys soon.”
“Cyn,” Thalion stepped towards her. “Be safe.”
Cyn nodded and gave him a small smile. “If I don’t see you again...”
“I’ll see you on the other side,” Thalion finished for her.
Then she was gone.
Cypher had Lilly climb onto his back, and then with Thalion and the warrior elves, they took off. They moved so quickly that they barely disturbed the forest around them.
“Where exactly are we going?” Thalion yelled to Cypher.
“I’m going to have her meet us thirty miles from the home of Vasile, Alpha to the Romanian wolves.”
“Then you plan to see the wolves?”
Cypher nodded. “I decided that it would be wiser to combine our forces and devise a plan. We all have a common enemy here.”
They ran in silence the rest of the way. Finally, when Cypher could feel the magic of the wolves pulsing on the air, he stopped. He wasn’t sure that they were exactly thirty miles from the mansion but he figured if he was feeling the pack magic this strongly he didn’t need to get any closer. He didn’t put Lilly down right away, but instead looked around the forest. The air felt off, it was thick with magic.
“The packs have gathered,” he told Thalion.
“I can feel it too,” Thalion agreed.
“Feel what exactly?” Lilly asked, as she wiggled to make Cypher put her down.
“Magic, strong magic,” Cypher explained.
“What does it feel like?” She asked.
“Like something crawling across your skin.” Cypher, turned to Thalion, “I think it would be wise if she did not know you were here.”
Thalion agreed. “Let us take care of your mate while you meet with the witch.”
Cypher hated to let her out of his sight, but he also didn’t want her to grab Desdemona’s attention.
“Okay,” he relented.
He grabbed Lilly around the waist, pulled her to him, and kissed her fervently. He wrapped his hand in her hair and pulled her head back, demanding that she open her mouth. She complied eagerly as her arms slipped around his neck and she pulled him closer. Cypher slowed the kiss down and then kissed her nose, her cheeks, and forehead. He nipped her ear and kissed down her neck to her collar bone, and then finally back up to her lips. When he pulled back to look at her, he chuckled at the dazed expression on her face.
“Stay safe,” he commanded.
“Is there more where that came from?”
“Most definitely,” he told her.
“Then no worries, I don’t plan on dying until I see my daughter, and then indulge, a little more, in a certain Warlock King.”
He smirked. “Just a little?”
“Let’s not get technical on the depth of the indulging okay?”
She turned to follow Thalion and Cypher slapped her butt.
Lilly laughed, as the forest, with a slew of warriors at her back, swallowed her up.
Cypher waited until he could no longer hear the retreating Elves before he called out the witch’s name. “Desdemona,” Cypher called and he focused all his attention on his voice traveling on the wind, seeking out his target. He had no idea how far away she was, so he knew he might be in for a bit of a wait. He began to walk around the forest keeping to a small area. His mind wandered back to the revelation that Thalion had shared. He couldn’t believe that one of his own kind had been touched by evil so deeply. A king had been possessed and controlled. That King brought evil into their race and it had been passed down from King to King. How long had it taken for the memories to fade enough that the kings no longer remembered why they had the knowledge to open the veil to the underworld? At some point in history, they had simply accepted the knowledge without questioning. They had accepted evil into their midst and never wondered about its origin. He wondered then, if they had accepted it, would there be a way to reject it? Were they redeemable despite holding on to something of this magnitude for so long?
Cypher didn’t realize how long he had been pacing and thinking until he realized the light was beginning to fade from the forest and night made its appearance. He backed up to lean against a tree and listened to the sounds of the forest. Humans never bothered to listen to the sounds around them and didn’t realize that they could learn so much without ever seeing anything. Suddenly a hush fell over the forest and Cypher knew she was approaching.
“You rang,” Desdemona’s voice carried.
He waited until he could see her before he responded. Once again, she was mounted on her black steed and the evil that poured off of the witch equally poured off her horse. She dismounted and walked slowly towards him.
“I did,” he finally answered.
“You are ready to uphold your end of the bargain?”
“I will be.”
Her eyes narrowed, dangerously. “What do you mean, you will be?”
“I’ve requested my warriors come to protect my mate. You have to know that I will not leave her to fend for herself against the demons you are unleashing.”
“Technically you are unleashing, but then who’s getting technical?” Mona laughed.
“I need two days,” Cypher told her.
“Your warriors will be here in two days’ time?”
“Yes.”
“And, they are only here to protect your woman?”
“Yes.”
“Would you take a blood oath on it?” Mona watched the King carefully, looking for any sign of weakness.
“No, I’ve shed the only blood I ever will for you. It is enough to take my word.”
Cypher waited for her response. His eyes never left hers. He would not allow her to think she was more dominant than he. Though they were not wolves, there was still a struggle for power, because in any race, weakness made you prey, and prey was eaten for dinner.
“Fine, you have two days. But, then you will…”
“You don’t need to remind me of my obligation witch. I will be there,” Cypher barked at her.
She stared daggers at him as she mounted her horse and flew by him, nearly knocking him over; another power play. The move did not trouble Cypher because her time was coming and the power she flaunted so stridently now, would soon be stripped from her, along with her dignity, her pride, and then her life.
Q
“I think the best way to go about this, since it’s our first time, is to do Alina alone.” Peri stood in Vasile’s room, with the six other Fae council members gathered around her.
Vasile stood between the bed where his mate lay and the others in the room.
Peri had asked for Cynthia to be present just in case Vasile lost his cool.
“And what exactly do you expect me to do?” Cynthia had asked Peri.
“Help,” she told her.
“How? Have you ever seen an enraged wolf? There is nothing that I could do to stop him.”
“I know,” Peri patted Cynthia, “but you being in the way would give me time to get away.”
That hadn’t gone over very well with the doctor, but for some reason she had come anyway.
“What exactly are you going to do?” Vasile asked.
“We are going to use the stones and try a cleansing spell. It’s a spell meant to clean out the spirit, to push out any darkness that has gotten in, but I don’t know if it will work to break a spell.”
“There’s only one way to find out.” Peri took a step towards the bed and when Vasile did not move she gave him a pointed look. Finally, after lifting his lip in a snarl, he stepped aside so that she and the others could get closer to his Alpha female.
Peri took the stones of the Fae and laid them around Alina in a circle on the bed. The Fae gathered in a circle around the bed as well and clasped hands. Peri sat down next to Alina and laid her hands on the female’s head. She closed her eyes and she began to chant.
“Alina, Alpha, precious to your mate,
Hear my voice, this is not to be your fate.
The darkness binding, twisting inside
Seeking shadowed places in an attempt to hide.
I call you now from the evil you came,
You are not strong; you have no power I can’t tame.
Alina, mother, precious to your pack,
You fight this evil so we can bring you back.
There is a light in you that is alive in your heart,
No curse or spell can ever touch that part.
I am Perizada. I call on the power of my race,
You are finished; you will leave without a trace.
I will pull you from this body wrap you up tight,
Then cast you far from this place with all my might.
Alina! Hear my voice I command it of you,
Open your eyes to everything that’s true,
Fight the horror fight the fear and lies.
Fight and you will win as darkness dies.
Open your eyes Alina. Open your eyes
Open your eyes.”
Peri’s voice filled with anger as she watched the spell wrapping itself around Alina’s mind. The Alpha was tired and worn out. Her mind was weak and no longer able to pick fact from lie.
“OPEN YOUR DAMN EYES ALINA! YOU WILL NOT LET HER WIN!”
The stones around the she-wolf began to glow so bright they were nearly blinding and still Peri persisted. She yelled as tears streaked her face. This woman she had grown to love, considered a friend, and respected so much, was letting the evil win and that was not acceptable to Peri.
Vasile walked over behind Peri and placed his hand on the Fae’s shoulder. He pulled power into him, wolf magic, and pushed it into Peri along with his thoughts.
“You come back to me Alina; we are not done in this life. Don’t you dare give up!”
He waited for something, anything to tell him she had heard him.
Her eyes fluttered open and, after several blinks, her vision began to clear. Peri shuddered as she felt the spell leaving Alina’s body. She pulled it into her grasp and walked over to Alston. He wrapped his hands around hers and spoke so low that no one could here. When he dropped his hands, Peri opened hers and let out a sigh of relief. It had worked.
“Vasile,” Alina’s voice was weak as she turned to look at him. Tears flooded her eyes and she reached for him. He hesitated and she misunderstood, thinking that he didn’t want to touch her.
“Don’t,” he told her sternly. “You know better than to think such falsehoods. I have always wanted you and will always want you.”
“Then why are you there,” she pointed to where he stood, “and not here?”
“Do you not remember?” He asked.
Alina closed her eyes to think.
“Don’t, please,” Vasile leaned towards her. “Please, don’t close your eyes.”
Alina looked at him and saw in his mind what she had done.
The pain on her face made Vasile’s arms ache to hold her and he shook with the effort to keep from gathering her in his arms.
“Please,” she whispered to his mind. “I am yours.”
“You will allow me to have what is mine?”
“Please, ” was all she could get out.
The pack magic was broken as soon as Alina had confessed her need for him. Vasile climbed into their bed and pulled her into his arms. He didn’t take his eyes off her when he growled at the Fae in the room. “Leave us.”
Peri and Cynthia went from room to room telling the males that she and Cynthia would need to bring all their mates to Cynthia’s room. It was neutral territory and should help the males feel less threatened. Once they had moved all of them, with mostly no problems, Peri explained what had happened with Alina.
“So, she is fine now?” Decebel asked, eagerly.
“Yes, she is curse free and Vasile has his arms around her now. It was rated PG when we left, but I imagine they have moved on to more interesting acts. The point is they can touch again.” Peri clapped her hands together and then rubbed them. “So, we ready to do this? It may take a little more effort and I will need to touch each female at some point. Also, Vasile pushed his magic through me to Alina and that seemed to be the catalyst for her.”
“What are we waiting for?” Fane snarled.
Peri rolled her eyes. “I swear I’m going to have a nice wolf pelt rug one of these days,” she grumbled as she and Alston placed the stones around the females lying on the floor.
Peri started on the right side, Rachel being the first female. She laid her hands on her head and she pushed into her mind, just as she had with Alina. She chanted as she pulled on the curse. She felt Gavril’s hand on her shoulder as he helped draw Rachel from the dark place the curse had dragged her to.
One by one, Peri touched each mate. She made sure to call them by name and allowed each male to reach out to their females through her. Once again, the stones glowed as power began to fill the room. The Fae council chanted out loud this time as they watched Peri begin to weaken, straining with the effort to remove the spell. She was nearly ready to collapse when Dain stepped out of the circle towards Peri, who was by Sally’s side. Costin looked up to see the male Fae coming towards his mate and he lunged. His teeth were bared and his eyes glowed as he reached for the man he thought meant harm to his mate. He stopped in mid jump when he heard her voice.
“Costin,” Sally’s voice reached into him and drew the man back. She was calling for him. His mate was calling for him. He was by her side an instant later and nearly touched her before he remembered that he couldn’t.
“Sally I need to hold you, please invite me.”
Sally blinked, as she tried to focus on what he was saying. Her mind was a jumbled mess and she kept trying to push away thoughts that would only lead to tears.
“I need you Costin,” The words were barely thought and Costin had scooped her up and left, without a backward glance, heading straight for his room.
He laid her on his bed and sat beside her. He stroked her cheek and his heart broke when she pulled away from him.
“Sally, look at me,” Costin tried to keep the growl from his voice; he didn’t want to scare her any more that she already was.
She slowly turned her face towards him, but she wouldn’t meet his eyes.
“Don’t be submissive to me,” he told her as he gently tilted her chin up, ignoring her flinch. “You’re my mate, my equal, and you will always meet my eyes.”
She stared up into his hazel eyes. He was so handsome it nearly hurt to look at him. She ached for his touch but she feared it as well.
“Why?” He asked her.
“I’m not clean, I’m not…”
“You’re mine,” He interrupted and then continued out loud. “You are mine and I am yours.”
“They t-t-t,” Sally erupted into tears as she tried to explain to Costin. She needed him to know because he wouldn’t want her anymore. At this moment, she was so broken that she knew that if he left now she would just curl up and die. But if he stayed because he didn’t understand then she wasn’t really his anymore, and that would hurt even more.
“Costin, I was a virgin,” she finally got out.
“You still are love,” he told her gently. “I would remember if we had indulged in something that is bound to be amazing.”
Sally shook her head, frustrated that he didn’t understand.
“No, it wasn’t you. Someone else did it, Costin, and I couldn’t stop him. I tried, I promise.”
“I know baby, but that wasn’t real. It didn’t really happen.”
She continued as if she hadn’t heard him. “That’s not the worst part, oh god, that’s not the worst.” Tears flooded her eyes and sobs broke through her chest. She reached for him, though she knew she had no right to. Not any more.
“I…” She tried to tell him but she couldn’t. Shame washed over her and so she showed him instead. She buried her face in his neck and played the images for him of the things she had endured, the things she had done. Her body shook and she bit her bottom lip to keep from crying out.
Costin wrapped his arms around Sally and pulled her onto his lap. He saw the things in Sally’s mind that she believed had happened. Costin wouldn’t lie and say that it didn’t make him angry, but not for the reason Sally thought. It made Costin angry, because it took something that was to be special and beautiful for her and cheapened it; stole it from her, making her think that she had cheated on him. Costin had endured the same images in the In-Between and he had prayed that he would be able to keep those images from her, to keep her safe. Yet, here she sat utterly devastated.
He didn’t know what to do. She wouldn’t believe his words. He could see the ferocious determination to push him away because she thought she no longer deserved him, that she wasn’t worthy of him. It was ridiculous; if anyone wasn’t worthy, it was him. Sally was his precious and amazing Sally, with a heart of gold and a gentle spirit.
“I love you,” he told her and she shook harder, but he wasn’t going to stop, not until she understood with absolute certainty that he was not leaving her.
“I love you Sally. I love you and I’m not leaving.” He pulled back so that he could wipe the tears from her cheeks. She fought him, but he was stronger. He held her shoulders still and looked at her.
“I’m going to kiss you now; do not fight me.”
Sally tried to shake her head, but Costin wrapped his hand around the nape of her neck and held her still. She refused to open her mouth and Costin nipped her lips in admonishment.
“Open your mouth, Sally.” His voice was a deep, husky whisper in her mind, it made her shutter, and for a moment, she forgot her pain and fear. She opened her mouth and when their tongues met, she moaned. And, just like that, the sound brought an image to her that made her want to vomit. She tried to pull away, but Costin refused to let her go. He continued to kiss her and Sally gasped when she saw the images in his mind.
Costin decided the only way to fight Sally’s mind was to give her something else to think about.
“Let me replace those images Sally mine. Those were false things, lies that never happened. No one has touched you intimitley. No other has kissed you as I do and nobody has taken what is so precious to us both. They are lies that were put in your head by a spell. When we are married I will replace those with something real.” He didn’t wait for a response. He continued to kiss her as he laid her back on the bed. He blanketed her with his body, putting just enough weight on her to make her think about him. Costin moved from her lips across her jaw line. She tilted her head back, giving him access to her throat and he took advantage of it. He kissed her, nipped her gently with his teeth. He made his way across her neck until his lips hovered over his mark.
“I’m going to bite you, I don’t want you to be alarmed,” he told her softly. She nodded slowly as she drowned in the feel of his body, the touch of his hands and the caress of his lips. Costin wrapped his hand around her neck so that she wouldn’t jump and make him accidentally tear into her soft flesh. He tilted her head back and sunk his teeth deep into her neck. Her blood filled his mouth and he felt his wolf howl in victory. They had their mate back; she was in their arms where she belonged. Costin’s other hand slipped under the back of her shirt meeting flesh with flesh and his wolf took comfort in the touch. He pulled his teeth back, licked the wound. He felt the rightness in the act and felt his heart flood with love for the woman before him.
“Sally,” he groaned her name as he kissed down her collar bone, and then pulled back to look at her. As he stared into her eyes, he shared with her his desire, his passion, and need for her. He knew she wanted to wait until they were married to mate, and he would honor her wishes. He hoped once they were married and mated that every time he touched her, she wouldn’t have the memory of what the curse had shown to her popping up. So, he vowed that once she was his wife was going to make sure that a mere touch from him would flood her mind with the desire that he alone could unleash on her.
“Do you see how much I love you, how much I want you?” Costin asked her, gently.
She nodded against his chest. Costin rolled onto his side and pulled her with him. He wrapped his arm around her, keeping his hand up under the back of her shirt. His fingers traced the markings he knew traveled the length of her spine, marking’s that matched his exactly. He kissed her hair and pulled her tighter against him when she shivered.
“Costin?”
“Yes?”
“I love you.” Sally clung to his shirt as she pressed her face against him and breathed his scent in. Breath after breath she began to calm, and she relaxed against him.
“I love you, Sally mine and I will love you more tomorrow.” Costin gently pried one of her hands from his shirt. She whimpered and tried to hold on.
“Shh, Sally,” Costin crooned to her, as he took the now free hand and slipped it under his shirt so that her hand was on his skin. Sally let out a sigh, as her hand slid up his stomach to his chest. Her fingers moved slowly against his skin and she didn’t realize how much she'd craved the simple touch of his warm flesh.
As Sally relaxed against him and her touch soothed him and his wolf he was finally able to process all that had happened. He had come so very close to losing her, maybe not physically, but mentally and emotionally, she was fragile and if he wasn’t careful he could hurt her even worse than she had already suffered.
He felt her breathing slow and realized she had fallen asleep. He buried his face in her hair as tears he had fought for so long slipped from his hazel eyes. He was holding her so tightly he feared he might hurt her, and still it wasn’t close enough. It was then, when she was unaware, that Costin fell apart.
Q
“Decebel,” Cynthia’s voice came through the door.
Jen struggled to sit up, but he gently pushed her back down.
“Hey, just cause I said you could touch me again does not mean you get to push me around,” Jen snapped at him.
“Yes, it does,” he told her as he walked towards the door. He pulled it open to see a very tired Cynthia Steele standing before him.
“I know you guys want to be alone, but I really need to check on Jen and the baby.”
Decebel opened the door wider and stepped aside so that she could walk through. She walked over to the bed where Jen lay.
“How you feeling?” Cynthia asked, with a sympathetic smile.
Jen shrugged. “Well if you would like me to be honest, I feel like someone who has been beaten, taken against her will, given herself to the wrong man, lost her baby, screamed at the man she loved, and cried for things that hadn’t really happened.”
“Jennifer,” Decebel growled from the other side of the bed.
“Basically, I feel like crap doc,” Jen finished, without acknowledging her mate. He sat down on the bed next to her and took her hand. He brought it to his lips and kissed it gently.
Jen refused to look at him, she knew that if she did she would lose it and she wasn’t ready to lose it just yet.
“I need to listen to the baby for a minute and check your vitals okay?” Cynthia asked.
Jen nodded.
Cynthia pulled Jen’s shirt up to expose her abdomen and saw that she was beginning to show.
“When did this happen?” She asked.
Jen looked down at her stomach and saw the small hump.
“It wasn’t like that a week ago,” Jen told her.
Cynthia gently probed her stomach and then laid her head against it. She closed her eyes and listened for the fast flutter that would indicate that the baby was doing well. It didn’t take long before she heard it. She smiled as she listened. It was a strong heartbeat, a healthy heartbeat. Cynthia clenched her eyes tight as she thought about the fate of the little being with the strong heartbeat, a fate she didn’t deserve.
She lifted her head and smiled at Decebel and Jen. “She’s doing good. I’m going to do some research on the gestation of wolves, it’s been a long time since I’ve been around a pregnant Canis lupus, but I’m pretty sure the gestation is not the same as a human.”
Jen nodded as she pulled her shirt down.
“The Fates said they would take her in nine months’ time,” Jen pointed out.
Cynthia thought about it. She wondered if the Fates were jerking Jen’s chain. Surely, they wouldn’t allow her to have the child and watch her grow only to then die, in such a short time.
“With the Fates, anything is possible. I’ll look into it. It may just be that the baby will be bigger than a regular human child.”
Jen frowned. “That would not be cool.”
Cynthia got out the blood pressure cuff and stethoscope and checked Jen’s heartbeat and blood pressure, both of which were normal.
“Now, this might be uncomfortable,” she looked up at Decebel. “You might want to step out.”
Decebel’s eyes began to glow. “I’m not leaving her.”
“Dec, babe, calm down,” Jen told him, as she squeezed his hand.
“I need to do a pelvic exam Jen,” Cynthia told her.
“Doc, I know you must know about the birds and the bees, but in case you need a refresher, Dec had to have seen all this in order for me to end up in this particular situation.”
Cynthia chuckled. “Some wives aren’t comfortable having a pelvic exam done in front of their spouses.”
“Mate,” Decebel snarled.
Jen rolled her eyes. “He’s a tad touchy right now.”
Cynthia leaned over to help Jen remove the sweatpants that she had put on her before the curse had been broken, but Decebel gently pushed her hands away.
“I’ve got it,” he told her.
“What is your problem?” Jen asked, as he helped her remove the pants. He quickly covered her with a sheet and gently rubbed her stomach.
“Leave it alone, Jennifer,” Decebel said, not unkindly.
Cynthia did the exam as quickly and efficiently as possible, keeping it all very clinical. Decebel stared at Jen’s face the entire time and twice leaned down to gently kiss her.
“Okay,” Cynthia said, as she pulled off the medical gloves that she had donned and threw them in the trashcan next to the bed. “Everything looks good.”
Jen snorted. “Seriously, nothing in that area ever looks good.”
Cynthia laughed, a genuine sound and a much needed release. “Okay, I can agree with that, I guess I should say everything is as it should be.”
Jen nodded. “Better choice of words.”
Cynthia packed up her stuff and turned to go. Just before she opened the door, she turned back and looked at Jen, avoiding Decebel’s gaze. “Just in case you were wondering, it is alright for you to be intimate.”
Jen grinned. “Are you telling me I can get it on like Donkey Kong?”
Cynthia let out a chuckle. “Hmmm, maybe not like Donkey Kong. Why don’t you stick to Curious George just to be on the safe side?” With that, she opened the door and closed it quietly behind her.
The smile faded from Jen’s face as soon as Cynthia was gone. She couldn’t look at her mate. The thin thread by which she had been hanging was about to snap and she knew that he had been through enough already. She bit her lip in attempt to hold herself together and turned her head away from him.
“Jennifer,” Decebel reached over and gently pulled her chin, so that she was looking directly at him.
“Baby, talk to me.”
“How did you survive so long?” She asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean in the In-Between,” he flinched, as she spoke of the hell he had been in. “How did you survive watching all of those things for so long?”
“I just kept telling myself that it wasn’t real.” He stretched out beside her and propped up his head on one elbow.
“I tried to tell myself that. I tried Dec, but it felt…” Jen closed her mouth against the bile that she felt rising.
“Shh, baby, it wasn’t real, none of that happened.” Decebel rested his hand on the small swell of her stomach. “This is real,” he told her as he gently rubbed her, “my touch, our love, our baby, all of this is real.”
Jen was nodding, though the tears had begun to fall. Decebel reached over and pulled her into his arms. “I’ve got you baby. I’m not letting go.”
Decebel struggled to keep his rage contained as he felt the strongest woman he had ever met, fall apart in his arms. He didn’t try to get her to talk. He didn’t ask her how he could help, he just held her, and if that was all she ever wanted from him ever again, it would be enough.
“Not for me it wouldn’t,” Jen told, him through their bond. “Make me forget Dec.”
Decebel pulled back so that he could look into her blue eyes.
“It’s too soon Jennifer, give yourself time.” He gently brushed her hair from her face and kissed her forehead.
“Have I ever let you get away with telling me what I needed?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “I’m telling you that I need you. I keep seeing and feeling those faces, those hands,” Jen let out a choked sob as she stared up into his amber eyes. “Don’t make me beg.”
Decebel sucked in a breath as he saw the fear in her eyes. Fear that he would reject her, fear that he would be disgusted by her, fear that he would no longer want her.
Decebel growled at her as he leaned down. His lips caressed her face gently until they hovered just above hers. “You never have to beg. I’m yours and I will always give you what you need. What do you need baby?” His lips brushed against hers as he spoke. “Tell me what you need Jennifer and it’s yours.”
Jen trembled as she felt his hand slip under her shirt. He stroked her abdomen and then trailed his fingers up the side of her body tracing her markings.
“You,” she breathed out, softly.
He pulled back to take his shirt off and grinned at her when her eyes widened.
“Does that mean I still do it for you?”
Jen smiled through the tears as she nodded. Decebel helped her remove her shirt and then pulled her body tight against his. He kissed her deeply and growled when she ran her fingers through his thick, dark hair.
“I love you Jennifer,”
he told her over and over as his hands roamed and his lips followed.
“You are mine. Every inch of you, every strand of hair, every soft moan, every beat of your heart, belongs to me.”
Jen’s heart swelled with love as she listened to his words and then felt the truth behind them with every kiss and touch.
“Baby, open your eyes.”
Jen opened them to see him hovering over her. He kissed her cheeks, her nose, and across her jaw before kissing her softly on the lips.
“Keep your eyes open,” he whispered. “I want you to see who is with you, and who is touching you, who is loving you.”
“Okay,” she told him, softly. And she did. And, they were still open long into the night when he lay beside her watching his fingers as they traveled up and down the markings that ran from her hip to under her arm.
“Are you okay?” Jen asked him.
He looked up from his hand to meet her eyes. “As long as you’re with me, I’m okay. Are you? Did I hurt you?” He laid his hand across her abdomen as he asked.
Jen shook her head. “You didn’t hurt me.” She placed her hand over his, loving the warmth she felt from his skin. Her eyes felt heavy though she tried to hold them open.
Decebel chuckled. “You can close them now, beautiful.”
Jen growled at him.
“Don’t go starting something you can’t finish,” he teased.
Jen felt something inside her loosen at his teasing. It was right. They had grieved, they had held each other, made love, and now they just needed to be together, doing what they did best.
“Crap, for a minute there with all the tender loving and what not, I forgot that I was mated to a perv.” Her eyes sparkled with laughter.
“Oh, we can’t have you forgetting something so important.” He grabbed at her playfully. “Come here and let me remind you.”
Laughter filled their room, where once tears had been, as Jen let Decebel heal her heart over and over. Bit by bit he reminded her who he was, and who she was to him.
Q
Fane closed their door and turned the lock. After finally getting her to invite his touch, he helped Jacque undress and into the shower as silent tears slid from her eyes. He had tried to get her to lie down, but she kept insisting that she needed to get clean, that she felt dirty. So, he helped her shower and then dried her off and carried her to their bed. He climbed in next her, pulled the covers up over them, and enveloped her in his arms.
Jacque wrapped her body around Fane’s, seeking the heat from his body, needing to feel all of his skin against all of hers. She didn’t realize that she had been whimpering until Fane started speaking to her softly. He smoothly transitioned from English to Romanian and back again, as he attempted to soothe her.
“Luna,” he pulled her face up to look at him. “Tell me what to do. Please, I don’t know what to do.”
Jacque stared into his glowing blue eyes as she felt the beat of his heart against her chest. He wiped the tears gently from her cheeks and kissed her slowly. When he pulled back, he saw that her eyes were glowing as well. “Sing to me,” she whispered.
He brushed the red curls from her face as he stared into her eyes and began to sing the song he had shared with her on the night before his battle with Lucas, and night that now seemed so very long ago. His eyes softened when she ran her fingers across his lips as he sung.
As his rich, deep voice reached into the broken parts of her soul, Jacque grabbed onto his words like a lifeline. She ran her hands across his shoulders and chest, following the touch with her kiss. Fane’s words trembled slightly as she pushed him on his back and laid her body over his. She laid her head on his chest and tried to melt into his touch as he ran the tips of his fingers from her shoulders to the backs of her thighs. She took comfort in the touch that she knew so well. She pushed away her pain and fear and latched onto the feeling of hands that knew her better than she knew herself and a man who loved her more than any other ever could.
The room was quiet when the song ended. Fane continued to caress her skin wherever he could reach and kissed her hair as he breathed in her scent.
“Fane,”
“Yes love.”
“We’ll get through this,” Jacque made it a statement, needing to hear herself say the words out loud.
“Together,” he agreed.
He rolled her over quickly yet smoothly until she lay beneath him. He stared down into her eyes, as his fingers brushed gently against her jaw. He leaned down, kissed her, and groaned when she yielded to him instantly. Jacque opened her mouth and welcomed the deep kiss as his tongue explored her. She pulled back and smiled at the surprised look on his face.
“You told me touch was healing to wolves, that it brought comfort and security,” she told him.
He nodded.
“I need healing, comfort, and security Fane,” she whispered, against his skin as she kissed his neck, shoulders, and chest in between each word. She pushed his hands, showing him through their bond where she wanted them to be. Fane’s chest rumbled as he felt her need and was surprised when he realized it was every bit as great as his own.
“You need me, my touch, my kiss, my love,” he hovered over her, looking down at her face and body.
There was a time when Jacque would have blushed under his gaze, but not now, not when Fane had shown her just how completely a male loved his female in their world.
“I do,” she agreed.
“Good,” Fane growled, as he lowered his body to hers.
No more words were needed as they clung to one another. Fane met her every need and Jacque took greedily from him, knowing that it pleased him to provide for her in any way, whether it be physical or emotional. She let go completely, knowing that he would always provide for her, always protect her and always love her.
“Always,” she heard his whisper in her mind and felt the certainty of it in his touch as he made love to her.