Gustavo’s wolf perked up, drawing the man’s attention inward. He blocked out the sounds of the others around him and listened for whatever it was that had captured his beast’s interest.

“Gustavo.”

The voice was almost too soft to be heard, and he would have missed it had his wolf not been on alert. He reached for her mind through their bond and found that it was wide open. She was asleep and thinking of him.

“Anna,” he answered silently. “Do you hear me? Criña, are you alright?”

“I’m dreaming,” she answered. “Why aren’t you here with me?”

“I am not asleep,” Gustavo told her. “My wolf heard your call.”

“It’s been a bad day.” Her voice was thin and strained.

“What happened?” He felt a little guilty asking because she’d been blocking him from her mind. The conscious Anna obviously didn’t want him to know where she was or what she was doing. He knew that while she was sleeping, with her protective walls down, she would be more likely to let something slip through the bond. It was sneaky on his part, but he was so desperate to know if she was okay. His wolf hungered for any morsel she would share with them.

“Death,” she said, causing his heartbeat to speed up.

“Whose death, Anna?” He saw flashes in her mind, two different women, both staring up at him with lifeless eyes. He felt her pain, her confusion, and then he felt something that he was all too familiar with. Gustavo felt darkness, like a living creature, weaving its way into her mind and around her thoughts. What was this darkness, and how was it living inside of her, a gypsy healer?

“Please don’t ask me anymore questions, Gustavo,” she pleaded. “It’s just too much. I will tell you, eventually, but not yet. I just wanted to see you, to hear your voice. It seems crazy to have this need for you when I’ve never even met you.”

He wanted to ask her more. He wanted to demand that she tell him everything, but he didn’t want her to stop seeking him out, and if he pushed her, she might. His wolf, and the man as well, relished the fact that she wanted to see him, that she needed him. He’d waited his long life for her, and to know she needed him brought a comfort to him that he’d never felt before.

“That’s the way it is with true mates, Criña. Our souls long for each other. They long to be complete and whole. I have the same need of you, probably a greater need actually. I’ve always known I would have a true mate, and I’ve waited for you for so long. You never had an inkling you had a soul mate. I imagine you are overwhelmed.”

She let out a humorless laugh. “Overwhelmed would be a huge understatement.”

“I would bear your burden for you, if you’d let me,” he whispered into her mind. “I would bear your every worry, fear, pain, sorrow, guilt, all of it, Anna. You do not have to endure alone.”

“Just hearing your voice helps me bear it. Just knowing that, for now, you’re waiting for me, and want me, those things will carry me through what I’m facing now.”

“Mí Amõr, I will always be waiting for you.” His wolf growled as he felt her slipping away, the walls she so expertly erected between their bond sliding back into place. Once again, all he was left with was the awareness of her but no thoughts or words.

“Gustavo?”

He turned around, surprised to find himself standing several feet away from a group people.

“Gustavo?” Sorin asked again.

His eyes met the younger wolves, and Sorin dropped his immediately. “I apologize. I was not ignoring you,” he said coolly. “Anna had need of me.”

“You talked to her?” Heather asked from where she was standing across the clearing from him. Like the others, she’d stood up and seemed to be stretching and loosening up her stiff limbs. They’d been stationary for some time.

Gustavo nodded.

“Is she alright?” Stella asked.

“I honestly do not know.” He hated to admit it. He felt like a failure as a mate. She was obviously in some sort of trouble, and he couldn’t help her. If only they could get out of the pixie realm, he might be able to find her through their bond. Though they hadn’t completed the Blood Rites, their connection was strong already.

“She’ll be okay,” Crina spoke up. “You would know if she was really in danger.”

And as if her words had triggered it, Gustavo suddenly felt a sharp pain in his gut. He felt as if someone had plunged a cold hand into his stomach and wrapped a strong fist around his spine, jerking him forward onto his knees. He could hear the voices around him, but he couldn’t decipher any of their words. All he could focus on was his mate and the pain that was coming through loud and clear from their bond. If she’d been safe only moments ago when she’d reached for him, she was safe no longer.

* * *

Jewel awoke to the sound of pounding on the motel door. She couldn’t see any sunlight coming through the curtains, so it was either very late or very early. The pounding started again, and she flipped the covers back and slid her legs over the side of the bed.

“Who is it?” she called out as she stood up and straightened her rumbled sleep clothes.

“It’s Sly and Z. We’re the only two people who know where you are. Who did you think it was, the tooth fairy?” Sly said dryly.

“We really need to figure out a way to zap them with all this magic we have shacking up inside of us,” Anna said groggily.

“I’m in utmost agreement.” Jewel walked over to the door but didn’t open it. “Let us get dressed, and we will meet you at the doors to the lobby.”

“Sounds good, but don’t take all day,” Z called out. “We have a plane to catch.”

“What?” Anna asked as she bolted upright. “Where are we going?” she yelled back.

“Hurry up, Wheelers,” Z called back with a laugh.

Jewel shook her head and motioned toward the bathroom. “Do you want to go first?”

Anna waved her off. “Naw, you go ahead. I need a minute to get my bearings.”

Jewel did her business in the bathroom and then washed her face and brushed her teeth. It was amazing what a good face and teeth scrub could do for a person. Though the minute she looked in the mirror and saw the empty eyes staring back at her, any refreshment she’d gleaned was gone. All of the previous day’s happenings rushed to the forefront of her mind, and she once again felt the weight of helplessness settle over her like a heavy blanket. She felt so isolated and alone. Even with the comradeship of Anna, Z, and Sly, she found no comfort in their presence. Her heart longed for someone else’s company, and she had no idea when she would see him again.

Anna took over the bathroom when Jewel emerged some ten minutes later. While her partner was indisposed, Jewel gathered their clothes and packed them in the duffle bag they’d bought with their other purchases. It didn’t take her long to get it all folded and put up, and when she was done, she found herself standing at the motel window looking out into the night, wondering what Dalton was doing. She missed him. Yes, she barely knew him, but what she did know of him, she loved. He was faithful and loyal. He was a man of a character and someone she never dreamed she’d ever have a chance with, let alone hold the other half of his soul. She wanted a chance with him. She longed to have a life with him.

Jewel rubbed her hand across her face and gritted her teeth in frustration. She just needed to figure out what the connection was between the magic and the transformation from ordinary young woman to powerful witch. If she couldn’t figure it out, then she could just kiss her present and future goodbye because Volcan would have no use for her.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Anna said as she stepped out of the bathroom.

“Did you know that fruit flies were the first living creature to be sent into space?” Jewel spat out the information before she had time to process what her brain was thinking. And why on earth was she thinking about fruit flies?

Anna shook her head. “I did not know that, but I do know you must be feeling better if you’re spouting random facts. I’ve noticed when you stop sharing all that useless info in your huge brain, it means you’re past the stress bar on your stress meter.”

“I have a stress meter?”

“Of course.” Anna smiled. “Everyone has a stress meter. But everyone’s stress bar isn’t on the same level. Some are higher, and some are lower. Yours is actually pretty high.”

Jewel let out a sigh. “Well, I guess that’s a silver lining in the massive storm clouds that have accumulated over our heads.”

“Oh, wait.” Anna held up a finger. Jewel imagined if there had been a light bulb over the girl’s head, it would have clicked on in that moment. “I have one for you. Speaking of storms, did you know that there are about eighteen hundred thunderstorms happening around the world at any given moment?”

Jewel laughed. “No, I didn’t. But I do know that lightning kills more people than tornadoes every year.”

“That’s a no-brainer,” Anna said, waving her off.

They headed for the door, Jewel carrying the bag and Anna following. “Okay, bet you don’t know this one. In 1933, there was a massive hailstorm around a city in Massachusetts, and in the hail, they found fresh, frozen ducks inside.”

She heard Anna suck in a breath behind her. “You’re making that up.”

“Nope.”

“Seriously? Frozen ducks in hail?”

Jewel snorted. “We are mated to werewolves, are gypsy healers, and have magic flowing through our veins. What about frozen ducks in hail is unbelievable?”

“Alright, alright,” Anna said dryly. “You won that round. But still, frozen ducks falling from the sky? That’s just weird.”

The warlocks were waiting directly outside the doors to the lobby when Jewel and Anna walked up. They looked well rested, which made Jewel a little irritated. And then it made her even more irritated that she was irritated over something so petty. She wasn’t usually a prickly person.

“We need to get to the airport,” Z said. “We can grab some food there. Our flight is at two thirty a.m.”

Jewel pulled out her phone to check the time—midnight. They hadn’t gotten much sleep. Maybe that was why she was prickly. Oh, and the two women she’d killed. Killing people was sure to make a person prickly, unless, of course, they were a psychopath … which she was not. At least she didn’t think she was.

“Did you know that every person has psychopathic characteristic to some degree, and psychopaths on the high end of the spectrum actually have a brain that is physically different from everyone else on the low-end spectrum?” Jewel asked, looking at Anna.

Sly looked at Z and then back to Jewel. “Why exactly are we talking about psychopaths?”

“I think a better question is why wouldn’t we be talking about psychopaths?” Anna said with a grin.

“I can think of several,” Z said. “It’s creepy, it’s creepy, and it’s creepy.”

Sly interrupted them before Jewel could explain that having knowledge about a creepy subject actually somewhat alleviates the creepiness factor. Facts are powerful.

“Cab is on its way,” Sly said.

They stood under the tall, buzzing streetlight just past the motel. Z and Sly hadn’t said a word since she’d spouted out the psychopath babble. She supposed it was something odd to say in everyday conversation. But to Jewel it was interesting. She’d always loved to learn anything and everything. She’d gone through a phase when she’d read anything she could on the brain and how it worked, especially in regards to tendencies of the mentally ill, including sociopaths and psychopaths. It was fascinating to her. Her mom had been a little creeped out when she’d gone through that phase and had been quite relieved when she started reading books about natural disasters. She’d watched a documentary on hurricanes and had become enamored with that subject and out went the psychopaths.

The cab pulled up, and Jewel pushed away the old memories. She felt as though they’d occurred a lifetime ago, rather than just a couple of years. It was as if those memories had no place in the life she now lived.

They loaded up in the cab, and Sly told the driver to head to the airport. She and Anna still had no clue as to where they were going. Jewel wondered, probably a little too late, if they should trust the warlocks to lead them in the right direction. But she still felt the pair were allies rather than enemies. She didn’t get an evil vibe from either of them. But there had to be some reason they were working for Volcan. He must have had some sort of leverage over the warlocks, which she totally understood, because he had leverage over her as well. And it sucked.

The airport was bustling, even at this late—or early—hour, depending upon how you wanted to look at it. They checked their bags and got their tickets from a kiosk, and that was when Anna and Jewel finally found out where they were going.

“Salem, Massachusetts?” Jewel asked, a deep V appearing in her forehead as she frowned. “You do realize that, more than likely, all those historical witch hunts were done in vain. Those women probably weren’t actually witches.”

Z chuckled. “Sometimes having too much knowledge blinds you to the truth, Jewel. It can make you trust in only what you can see, what you can verify. But you should realize by now, there’s a lot more to this world than can be quantifiably measured. And legends aren’t built on lies. Exaggerations and embellishments, maybe. But there is always a morsel of truth mixed into the myth. It’s just a matter of being willing to find that truth,” Z said. “Take my word for it. The witches were real, at least some of them.”

Jewel couldn’t argue with that, especially since she’d been undeniably introduced to the supernatural world, a world she thought only existed in books and movies.

Anna shrugged. “It’s not like we have any other ideas at the moment.”

Jewel couldn’t argue with that either.

They queued up for the security checkpoint, and Jewel nearly laughed when a TSA agent pulled Anna out to be patted down, as if the girl looked like a dangerous terrorist. When they finally got to their terminal, they had five minutes to spare before their boarding time.

While the others found seats to wait, Jewel remained standing. She was too antsy, that’s what her mom would call it, and she needed to be moving. Jewel could feel Volcan’s magic in her, the darkness pulling at her own will to do what he wanted. She felt as though her body was being highjacked, and she was fighting with all she had to remain in control of her own will. Her eyes were restless, constantly scanning the environment around her, and her jaw was clenched so tightly it hurt. When the flight attendant began calling seat rows to board, she let out a relieved sigh. But her reprieve was short-lived because now she was going to confined to a tiny seat in a narrow rectangle packed in with a bunch of strangers.

Jewel cursed herself. She was being ridiculous, and she knew it. That was the frustrating part. She was aware of her behavior and she knew it was irrational, but the knowledge didn’t help her stop. Her restlessness had to be caused by Volcan’s magic at work in her. From what she’d learned about gypsy healers, they were pure, all light, goodness, and selflessness. Volcan had forced his dark blood into her veins, and now her light magic was mixing with his dark magic like a white blood cell fighting off an infection trying to invade the body. How could she possibly feel okay or function normally when all of that was going on inside of her?

Jewel startled when she felt a nudge on her arm. She swung her head around to see Anna staring back at her with raised brows and a slightly opened mouth.

“They called our row,” Anna said quietly, as if she didn’t want to spook her.

Jewel nodded and let out the breath she’d been holding. “Okay, yeah, I’m good.”

When the plane was finally full and the last passenger on, the door was closed and the plane began its taxi to the runway.

“Did you know eighty percent of plane crashes occur either within three minutes of takeoff or eight minutes of a scheduled landing,” Jewel said, just before the flight attendant began her presentation on how to use the safety gear.

“Did you really have to tell me that right before we take off?” Anna asked.

Jewel felt her face flush. “Sorry. Sometimes the facts come out of my mouth before my brain has registered what I’m about to say.”

Anna quirked an eyebrow at her. “I really wish Peri was here to respond to that statement. I have a feeling it would be something along the lines of, ‘Are you sure you’re a genius because that kind of behavior generally happens among the hopeless stupid?’”

Jewel laughed and it felt good, as if that little act of showing delight somehow pushed the darkness back a bit, at least for the time being.