Heather grabbed onto the first arm she could reach for when her feet were once again on solid ground. There was a feral growl that caused her to take a step backward, away from the sound.

“Did you want her to fall on her butt?” Elle snapped.

More growling ensued. The wind was still whipping around them like it had been in the pixie realm, and thunder still boomed in the sky.

“What’s going on?” Heather asked as she placed a hand over her chest. The pain was gone. “Are you pain free, too?”

“I’m guessing that has something to do with the males that are standing twenty feet away pacing, glaring, and growling,” Stella whispered. “And I must say, the Great Luna dug deep into her hotness bag when she was creating those specimens.”

“Have I ever mentioned that being blind sometimes really blows?”

“It may blow, but it makes you who you are. If you weren’t blind, who knows, you might have been a boring, insufferable ass. As it is, you are a hilarious, insufferable ass.”

“Woo-hoo, go me,” Heather said dryly.

Stella clapped her on the back. “That’s the spirit.”

“Nick?” Kara’s voice sounded tentative and confused. “Why won’t you speak to me?”

Heather flinched as she heard a massive cracking sound. “What the hell was that?”

“Really?” Elle said, sounding very much put out. “You just had to break a tree in half?”

“What’s going on?” Stella asked. Heather wasn’t sure who she was asking.

“Nick just broke a tree,” Kara said in a stunned voice.

“Ladies.” Lucian’s voice was gentle, and Heather remembered how she appreciated his calm demeanor when she’d first met him. “We are very glad to see you safe. Gustavo, how are you doing?”

Heather wanted to say, “About as well as a caged, feral animal,” but she kept her mouth closed and let the man speak for himself.

“I’ll be better when I have my mate out of the clutches of Volcan,” Gustavo said.

The growling continued, and Heather got the distinct impression that they were being hunted. Though she couldn’t see the predators, she definitely felt like prey.

“Is there a pack of wild dogs around, or is the growling just their normal way of greeting people?” She could hear the movements and breathing of the other group, and for a second she swore she could hear a single heartbeat that didn’t belong to her.

“I think it would be best if we didn’t have this conversation out in the open,” Lucian said. “Elle, Adam, can you get us back to Farie, then we can discuss things further.”

Heather allowed Stella to lead her forward and could tell by smell that Adam was standing next to her. Stella guided her hand to the male fae’s arm, and she wrapped her fingers around it. The growling increased.

“Enough!” Lucian snarled. “Adam is not touching your mates. He’s doing what I’ve asked. If you cannot pull yourselves together, I will have him take you elsewhere and then I’ll allow my mate to deal with you.”

The growling stopped.

“Pulling out the Peri card.” Heather laughed. “That’ll shut up anyone with a brain.”

Once again, the ground felt as though it had been ripped from beneath her feet, and Heather gripped Adam’s arm tighter. She hoped the fae had a high pain tolerance. If he didn’t, he hid it well.

Fifteen minutes later, she was sitting on the steps inside Peri’s home with Kara beside her and Stella one step below her. She couldn’t see a damn thing—nothing new—but she could feel the frustration and rage vibrating in the room.

“Healers,” Lucian said formally. “I would like to introduce you to some of the males of the packs that have come to aid us. I do believe that a few of them are true mates to each of you, though I do not think that is news to you. What will be news to you is the fact that those three wolves are now currently under a pack magic spell, as a result of their lack of obedience. I’m guessing, but I think the reason you might not be feeling the pull to them is because of the spell.”

“Shouldn’t we be able to do that mind speaking stuff?” Stella asked, not sounding eager to do that mind speaking stuff at all.

Lucian nodded. “Yes, since you’re in each other’s presence you should be able to communicate mentally through the bond. But again, I imagine the spell is preventing it, especially since there has been no exchange of blood by marking one another. Their punishment is this. They see you, but they are not permitted to touch you. They can smell you, but they are not permitted to taste.”

Heather choked on her laughter. “Kinky much?”

Stella reached back and pinched her. “Keep your trap shut, Helen.”

This was followed by a growl. Heather felt as if she was dealing with a new pack of training dogs fresh from the pound. Snarly and angry at the world.

“They can hear but not speak to you,” Lucian continued as if she hadn’t thrown out her two cents. “You can talk to them. You can touch them. You can—”

“If you say taste them I’m pretty sure I’ll laugh like a thirteen-year-old boy, complete with cracking puberty voice,” Heather said, unable to stop herself.

Lucian chuckled. “Fine, you get the point. Touch is extremely important to the Canis lupus,” he explained. “Not just the touch between mates, but also the touch between pack members. A hug, a pat on the back, even the bump of a shoulder. Our wolves find comfort in touch. It brings peace and balance. To deny a male the touch of his mate is tantamount to torture. In fact, a Canis lupus male would choose torture over losing the touch of his mate. I tell you this because it will help you understand why they are growling and pacing like caged animals. If they scare you or make you uncomfortable, please let me know.”

The tension in the room had gone up, if that was possible, as Lucian explained the circumstances. Heather could only focus on one thing: her mate, the male werewolf created for her, was in the same room. Her chest felt tight as she realized that he was seeing her for the first time, seeing that she couldn’t see him in return. Would he want her still? Would he find her defective and weak? In the wild, the weak didn’t survive. Would he see her as a liability?

There was a snarl, and then Lucain yelled, “KALE! STAND DOWN.”

“MY LASS NEEDS ME,” the one named Kale roared back. “I can feel her distress. Dammit, Lucian, release me!”

“Kale,” Heather whispered under her breath. That was his name, Kale, her mate. And damn, he had an accent, and it was actually hotter than Gustavo’s. It was Irish, or Scottish, or maybe there was some other sort of nationality that ended with –ish and that’s what it was, but whatever it was, it was hot. AS. HADES. IN. JULY. Was it hotter in Hades in the summer months? Probably not important to wonder about that right now she decided.

“Okay, that’s just weird,” Kara said beside her.

“What?” Heather asked, forcing herself to pay attention and praying she wouldn’t start drooling. It would be difficult.

“When he talks to Lucian, we can hear him. But when you said his name, he turned to speak to you. His mouth is just moving, but no sound coming out,” she explained.

“That would be the whole hear-and-not-speak-to part,” Stella said. “So the magic prevents us from hearing their words when they’re directed at us. That’s pretty impressive magic.”

“I will not,” Lucian said back in his calm voice. “What she needs is for you to get your wolf under control. This is new to them. Weeks ago, they didn’t even know werewolves existed. Now they have mates. You cannot expect them to simply fall into your arms.”

“She thinks I dunna want her,” Kale said, his voice sounded as though it was coming out through gritted teeth. “How the bloody hell can I convince her that it’s quite the opposite if I canna speak to her? How am I supposed to be what she needs if yer KEEPING ME FROM HER?”

His breathing was harsh and erratic, and when Heather heard something crash, she realized things needed to be reined in, and from everything she’d learned about his species and witnessed between mates, only a female could bring her male back to sanity when he was losing it.

“Kale,” she said his name louder this time and turned her head in the direction where she heard him. He froze. Heather nudged Stella and her friend stood and, being the awesome person she was, helped Heather get on her feet without falling on her face. Once she was up, Stella released her. She knew Heather could handle herself. She remembered the layout of the room. As long as people moved their feet out of the way, she should be golden.

She took a deep breath, and his scent hit her. He smelled of the night air just before a storm, one of her favorite smells. She walked, unerringly, directly to him. When she could feel his breath on her face, she stopped. She reached out and felt for his arm. When she made contact, she felt him tense and heard air hiss through his teeth. Her hand ran down his arm until she clasped his hand in hers. She lifted it and began shaking it. “I’m Heather Banks, apparently your mate. And yes, at the moment, I’m having some hang-ups. But I’m not going anywhere. It’s not in me to run away, even when I’m scared. So maybe don’t destroy Peri’s home? If she turns you into a handbag, holding you might be easier, but not nearly as fun.”

“No she didn’t,” Stella whispered from behind her.

“Oh, she so did,” Kara added.

Heather tried not to let his lack of response affect her because she knew that he had no control over it. He would have spoken back to her if he could, or maybe he wouldn’t want to say things so personal in front of a group. Maybe he was a little more private than she was.

“I am honored by Heather’s bravery and willingness to acknowledge me,” Kale said to Lucian.

Okay so not more private, she thought. Good to know.

His voice softened as he continued. “And the fact that she would willingly touch me, when she doesn’t even know me, humbles me.”

She could feel his eyes on her, and Heather had never wanted to see more than in that moment. After several minutes, she gave a nod and released his hand, which she really wanted to snatch back up again but decided against looking like an obsessive girlfriend.

She turned and walked back to Stella who guided her back into her seat.

Lucian began introducing the males one at a time, but it wasn’t until the he’d introduced all the unmated males that he introduced Kale, Ciro, and Nick.

“Hello again,” Kara said, her voice wavered just a little, but Heather couldn’t figure out what her younger friend was feeling.

“I would like to declare that Stella James is my true mate. And unless she refuses me, I expect others to treat her as a mated female. How long will this punishment last, Lucian?” Ciro, the one who’d been introduced as the Italian pack Alpha, asked. He reminded Heather of Lucian. He had the calm demeanor that came from experience, and she imagined it took a lot to upset him. But she could also hear the strength in his voice. There was a reason he was an Alpha, and his calm demeanor should never be mistaken for being a pushover or lazy.

“Seeing as how it has only just begun,” Lucian said in an equally calm voice, “it will last a fortnight.”

More growling.

“Mercy alive, where is Jewel when I need her,” Heather muttered. “Lucian, I understand that Sally has declared you to be older than dirt, so I’ll forgive the whole fortnight reference. Could you do me a solid and speak in modern-day English please.”

“Two weeks,” Lucian answered.

Heather inwardly groaned. She wasn’t about to say it out loud, but she wanted Kale to just talk. His voice was deep, his accent made her insides all squishy, whatever the hell that meant, and quite simply, he soothed her. But if the stupid spell was going to last two weeks, she’d only get to hear him speak when he talked to anyone but her or the other healers. That. Sucked.

“I don’t know about you two, but I need a shower,” Kara said as she stood up.

“Yep,” Stella said, popping the ‘p’. “I definitely need to cool off.” She sucked in a breath and then hurried on. “I mean clean off. I need to clean off.”

Heather couldn’t help it. She threw her head back and laughed. “I’m pretty sure we all heard you say cool off, as in you’re hot and bothered.”

“Heather.” Stella growled.

“Would it happen to be the yummy, Italian accent getting you all dirty minded?”

“Holy hell, Kara, put some duct tape over her mouth,” Stella huffed as she grabbed Heather’s arm and practically dragged her up the stairs.

“I’m sure Ciro would be more than happy to help cool you down and then clean you up.” She should shut up, she really should, but Stella was straight cursing a blind streak, which only made Heather laugh harder.

“Your mate has a wicked tongue,” she heard Ciro say, not attempting to keep her from hearing. But it was Kale’s words that had her blood warming in her veins.

“Aye, that she does. And she can use it on me any time she likes.”

Shut. Up. Heather inwardly groaned. Hot accent and a sense of humor. Tell her where to sink her teeth and she would gladly chomp down.

* * *

Kale was a goner. She was nothing he expected. Her hair was long and blonde, she had big brown eyes, and her skin was coated in a healthy glow from the sun. If she was over five feet tall, he’d be shocked. She was small, but curvy in all the right places. Her aura was bright and pulsed with life. It stole his breath. Yes, she was blind. He remembered Peri talking about the healers when they’d first arrived, and she had mentioned that one of them was without sight. He hadn’t expected it to his mate, but he didn’t give a leprechaun’s arse about that. It made his wolf want to protect her even more and snarl at anyone who would get close to her. She was vulnerable, and he knew that was going to make his drive to protect her even stronger. It wasn’t her blindness that had caught his attention. It was her bravery, her sharp tongue, and her sense of humor. To top it off, she was beautiful.

“You okay?” Bannon, the third in their pack, asked.

“My mate was less than a foot from me, and I couldn’t touch her or talk to her. So, no, I’m bloody not okay.”

Bannon shook his head. “That shite is just cruel.”

Kale shrugged. “We disobeyed orders. There are consequences. At least I can see her and be near her. That’s more acceptable than her being in a completely different realm.”

He was sitting in the hall upstairs ten feet from the door where the girls had disappeared. He would have felt like a pathetic pup if Ciro and Nick hadn’t followed him up and took up their own vigil along the hall. When the three healers came out, they were probably going to either laugh their arses off or snap at them.

To his surprise, and by the looks on their faces, the surprise of the other two, all three girls came out of the room carrying towels and little bags containing various bottles of fragrant liquids. They stopped and Heather bumped into Stella.

“What?” she asked.

“We seem to have company,” Stella offered. “The mute kind of company.”

“Kale?” Heather asked.

His gut clenched as she said his name.

Stella turned to look at him. “You don’t look like kale.” Her eyes narrowed and she tapped her lip. “Cabbage, maybe.”

Heather and Kara both choked on their laughter, and Kale rolled his eyes. Like he hadn’t heard that one before. If he could respond, he would, but it would be pointless since they couldn’t hear him.

Nick whistled low. “These healers are something else.”

Ciro made a grunting sound that Kale took to mean his agreement.

“We’re just, um…” Kara stumbled along as she pushed the other two girls. “Heading that way.” She pointed toward the door at the end of the hall. “So, yeah.” Her eyes jumped to Nick more than once, and when the biker winked at her, she turned bright red and made Heather and Stella move faster.

“What’s the deal, Kare Bear?” Heather asked over her shoulder. “Why are you so eager to get to the bathroom? You do realize we aren’t showering together, right? Unless you’re into that sort of thing. Makes me no difference. It’s not like I can see what you have to offer.”

“Stella,” Kara pleaded as she ducked her head.

“Don’t Stella me. I don’t have any control over her mouth. That will be Romaine’s job.”

“His name is Kale.” Heather huffed, and then laughed. “But that was a good one.”

Kara glanced over her shoulder at him. Her eyes widened at his narrow and no doubt glowing eyes. “He’s looking more like the Iceberg variety at the moment.”

“Bloody hell,” he muttered. “Just get in the damn bathroom already.” He said and chuckled, even though they couldn’t hear him.

When the three hens were finally behind the closed door, all three of them let out the breaths they’d been holding.

“Damn,” Bannan exhaled. “I don’t know whether to envy you or pity you with that bunch. Feisty is putting it mildly.”

Kale shrugged. “One day that feisty healer will grace my bed. Bet you won’t be pitying me then.” He turned to Bannan and grinned a devilish smile.

“Arse,” the Third muttered as he headed down the stairs.

Kale turned his attention back to the closed bathroom door. “Why did they all go in there at the same time?” he asked.

Nick chuckled. “Haven’t you heard about the unspoken rule of restroom etiquette among women?”

Kale’s brow rose as he stared at the Beta.

“They travel in packs. They’re like wolves. If one goes to the restroom, they all go. Something to do with safety in numbers.”

Kale shook his head. There were just some things he would never understand about women. He closed his eyes and reached for the bond between them. He could feel her joy, but there were still lingering feelings of doubt and inadequacy. He’d felt them during the introductions, just before she’d approached him. He hated that she doubted herself. He could tell she was feeling apprehension toward him. He wanted to reassure her that there was no way she could ever be anything less than amazing to him. In two weeks’ time, he’d be able to tell her and show her through his touch. He smiled to himself. He very much looked forward to the moment when he could wrap her tiny form in his arms and reassure her that she was perfect to him.

* * *

Nick felt as though his wolf was going to claw his way out of his human flesh. He hadn’t been prepared for the reaction he’d have at seeing her again after being separated from her. He kept trying to remind himself that she was still a minor. Seventeen, he chanted to himself. She’s only seventeen. But that felt like just a number when he looked at her. Her eyes weren’t seventeen. The haunted look in them spoke of a person who had seen much, much more than any seventeen-year-old should ever have to see.

The look she’d given him when she’d said his name in the forest had made his chest swell. She’d been happy to see him. Her eyes had lit up and she’d taken a small step in his direction, but he hadn’t been able to respond and it had pissed him off. Breaking a tree hadn’t been one of his finer moments. Since then, she’d kept glancing at him but never just held his stare. It was driving him and his wolf crazy that they couldn’t at least talk to her. Instead, he could just stare at her like a creeper.

“Should we go downstairs?” he asked the other two, his eyes on the bathroom door.

“Probably,” Ciro answered.

“Aye,” Kale agreed.

After a pause, Nick sighed. “But we’re not.”

“Exactly,” Ciro said.

“Right you are, lad,” Kale added.

Well, if he had to be a creeper, at least he wasn’t alone. He had two other creepers staring longingly at the same door. If Peri was there, she’d have zapped their furry asses.

* * *

Ciro’s wolf was pacing inside of him. Their mate was mere feet away, and yet she might as well have been back in the pixie realm. She was striking in her beauty. Her skin was a beautiful brown color that reminded him of the finest Italian chocolate. Her eyes were so light brown that they were almost golden. Her hair was long and straight, and he wanted to slip his fingers through it. She was simply breathtaking. When he’d declared her his mate, he’d seen the shock in her eyes and also the fear. She put up a good front, and she was no doubt strong and brave, but something had made her fear men. Of that, he had no doubt. One day, he would find those men and he would rip their throats out, after he cut their hands off. And here he was supposed to be the patient, calm one. He chuckled to himself.

Truth be told, he would be patient for her. She wasn’t going to invite him into her personal space any time soon, but that was okay. He would woo her and show her that she could trust him. He would prove to her that he would never hurt her, not intentionally. Ciro would make it his sole mission in live to protect her, provide for her, love her, and adore her. But he couldn’t give her mere words. She needed a man of action. Through their bond, he could feel her skepticism, but he could and would change that.

Ciro leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. He let out a long, slow breath as he let himself relax for the first time in weeks. It didn’t last long as an ear-shattering stream of curses came from behind the closed door.

Ciro, Kale, and Nick were at the door faster than any human eye would have been able to trace. Ciro knew Nick wasn’t thinking when he nearly ripped the door off its hinges. He, like Ciro, was only thinking of getting to his mate. He didn’t stop to consider that they might not be dressed, which, they weren’t.

Another round of screams ensued as towels were wrapped around naked flesh, and objects began flying at them. Ciro was hit in the chest with a hair brush, but he didn’t even notice the sting. His eyes were too busy taking in the skin of his mate. Running down the front of her thigh, over her knee to her shin, were markings that would fit his own like a puzzle piece. And there it was on display. For everyone.

All of the males seemed to realize this at the same time as they lunged forward toward the females, but just as they were within touching reach they were thrown backward. Ciro hit the wall with a thud and he glanced at the other two males, who were still looking at the girls, at his mate. His wolf lost it. He flew at Kale, hitting his jaw with force that would have killed a human male. Nick was next. He reached the Beta and slammed him into the wall. But the other wolf had been ready. Nick slammed his head forward, headbutting Ciro and loosening his hold. A foot to the back of his knee caused Ciro’s leg to crash down beneath him. Nick lost interest in Ciro when Kale punched him in the stomach, and Nick reciprocated by crashing an elbow into Kale’s face.

Ciro knew it was their wolves’ fierce possessiveness fueling their rage. This, combined with the inability to communicate with or touch their mates, made for a volatile situation. He knew that they needed to get their asses downstairs, but he couldn’t stop thinking about Kale and Nick seeing Stella’s markings. It was the equivalent of seeing her naked. And that thought only made him angrier. He jumped up to rejoin the brawl but was frozen in place as magic slammed into him.

“STOP!” Elle, the female fae and mate to Sorin, roared. Lucian was standing beside her. Her eyes widened when she saw the bathroom door open and the three girls standing there in towels. She threw out her other hand and pulled it back toward her, and the bathroom door slammed shut. As soon as it was closed, she released her magic, and the three of them collapsed against the walls.

“The three of you need to go phase and run,” Lucian said. It wasn’t a suggestion. “Don’t come back until you’ve got yourselves pulled together.” He turned without another word and walked back down the stairs.

Elle stepped aside and motioned with her hand for them to follow him. Ciro glanced back at the closed bathroom door and swore in his native tongue. If she hadn’t been afraid of him before, she most likely was now after seeing him respond in such a violent way.

“For the record,” Kale spoke up, “I only had eyes for Heather.”

“And I for Kara,” Nick added.

Ciro rubbed his palm across his face as he headed toward the stairs. “I only saw my mate,” he told them. “But she bore my markings, and they were on display. My wolf couldn’t stand it.”

Elle shook her head at them. “You three will be lucky if you survive the next two weeks.”

Ciro couldn’t agree with her more.

* * *

Kara was still staring at the door that had been closed for several minutes. Heather and Stella hadn’t moved either. It was like they were all in shock.

“What in the freaking world just happened?” Heather breathed out. “First, I’ve got you two screaming like bloody idiots, and then I hear males pounding the crap out of each other and then a door slamming. Seriously, ladies, help a blind chick out.”

Kara turned, finally able to move and looked at Heather. “We screamed because we weren’t expecting to watch black tattoos magically begin to crawl across our skin.”

“Wait. What?” she said, her eyes growing wide.

“And it happened to you, too.”

“Again, what?”

“The markings they told us about that match our mate’s,” Kara reminded her. “Well, they’ve made their appearance. Stella’s is on her thigh. Yours is straight across the tops of your shoulders and running behind your neck. And mine starts on the front portion of my bicep, here”—Kara pressed her finger against Heather’s arm—“then runs across the top of my cleavage to the other bicep.” Her towel had been just low enough for the top of the markings to be seen along with their location on her arms.

“What exactly set the guys off?” Stella asked.

“I think the screaming is what caused them to smash the door in, and Sally mentioned something about the markings being very private,” Kara said. “That they would get quite angry if another male saw them. Well, we were standing on display in our towels. I’m thinking that might have been the straw.”

“Kale saw me in a towel?” Heather asked.

“You did hear that you have weird markings on your skin, right?” Stella asked.

Heather waved her off. “I can’t see them. What do I care? What I do care about is that my mate saw me in a towel. How do I look?”

“Like you’re wrapped in a towel,” Kara said dryly.

“Thanks, smart ass,” Heather huffed.

Kara smiled and patted her shoulder. “If he looked anything like Nick looked when he was looking at me, you have nothing to worry about. He thought you were hot.”

“So Nick wanted to devour you?” Heather said with a sly grin.

“Devour, ravish, bite, pretty much all those words describe the look in his wolfy eyes.”

“Ciro had the same look, but then he looked ready to kill immediately afterward,” Stella said as she shivered. “Sorry to say, Heather, but my man knocked your man on his Irish arse.”

Heather laughed. “As long as his Irish arse can still talk in that sexy accent, I’m good.”

“Let’s finish with these showers and pampering,” Kara suggested. “I’m beat, and I have a feeling it’s going to be a long two weeks. We need to get some sleep.”

“Ten bucks says we’ll have wolves knocking at our door tonight,” Heather said as she turned on the shower and stepped in. She pulled the curtain and, once it was closed, laid her towel over the top of the rod.

“How many times do you think Lucian will have to make them leave?” Stella asked.

Kara thought about the determined look she’d seen in Nick’s eyes as he’d stared at her standing in nothing but the towel. “I’m thinking they won’t give up, so there’s no number we can give. They’ll just keep coming back.”

“The next two weeks are going to be interesting,” Heather said, sounding much too chipper about it.

Kara was pretty sure interesting wouldn’t be how they described it once it was over.

* * *

Elle found Lucian and her mate sitting in the kitchen after having ensured the three male wolves had done as they were instructed. She started to take a seat, but the normally reserved Sorin wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into his lap. She was caught off guard by his atypical behavior.

“You okay?” she asked him.

“Just feeling very thankful that we’re mat`ed, bonded, all of it. I don’t envy those males.”

She chuckled. “Agreed, my love.”

Sorin settled back in the chair and kept one hand on her back, rubbing up and down. She knew now it was more for his comfort than hers, though it did comfort her. Turning her attention back to Lucian, she frowned.

“Where are Adam and Crina? If Adam had been here, he would have been the first one up those stairs when he heard that racket.”

“Adira came to me. She has some concerns about her realm. I sent Adam and Crina to look into it.”

“What kind of concerns?” Elle asked, not knowing if she really wanted the answer.

“She thinks Volcan has used a spell to block the veil to the draheim realm, but even more powerful and darker than he used to block the pixies. Whatever he’s used to fuel it she thinks is leaking into her realm.”

Elle swore. “We take one step forward and fifty back.”