Sally choked as she tried to swallow and Jen had to slap her on the back.

“Your man just gave you a line didn’t he?”

Sally nodded.

“I knew I was gonna like him the moment I laid eyes on his lickable, dimpled, face.”

Decebel walked by the group of women to meet up with his pack and slapped his mate on the butt. “Behave,” he growled.

The group of females laughed.

Lilly came hurrying over and wrapped Jen, Jacque, and Sally in a hug. “You three be safe. Peri won’t let me come. She threatened to hogtie me. Since when does a Fae know anything about hogtying?” Lilly frowned at the smirking Fae.

“Peri knows all forms of torture; it’s her thing,” Jen quipped.

“Well, I guess everyone has something,” Lilly scoffed.

Jacque hugged her mom again. “Please stay here. We’ll be back, I promise.”

Lilly, met Jacque’s eyes. “I’m so proud of you.”

Jacque smiled. “I am what I am because of you.”

Lilly shook her head. “No sweets, this is all you.”

Lilly backed away until she was nearly at the door of the mansion. She bit her lip to keep the tears back and prayed that not only her daughter, but all those she had come to care for would return victoriously and safely.

Jen, Jacque, Crina, Rachel, and Alina undressed quickly and phased. They shook out their fur and stretched out in their wolf form and then the mated females trotted over to stand next to their mates. Each male nuzzled their faces and pressed against their smaller frames. When Crina reached Adam’s side he knelt down and gave her a quick tap on the nose. “You watch yourself out there okay?” She nodded her big head once and leaned in to press her face against his chest.

“Peri has requested that I and Elle use our power in conjunction with the other Fae so try and stay as close to me as you can, but we will be spreading out,” he explained and gave her one last loving tap on the muzzle.

Peri motioned for Elle, Adam, and the Fae council to spread out amongst the wolves. Peri began to speak softly as her hands moved smoothly in the air, arcing over the group as the other Fae joined in. The warlocks and elves took up the rear.

Vasile stood proudly at the head of the pack, his mate at his side. He threw his head back and howled. The pack joined in and the trees shook from the sound. He sniffed the air and found Cypher’s trail. Like a bolt of lightning, he shot off with the largest supernatural army in history, at his back.

Q

Sorin’s legs stretch as he ran and his fur blew as the air rushed through it. He glanced up briefly at his mate, who ran beside him. She was breathtaking in all her warrior glory. The memory of the night the curse was broken came crashing down on him and he nearly stumbled under the weight of it. When he had finally been able to hold her, it had not been enough. He had not been able to get close enough. He had helped her shower and dress and then held her in his arms as she wept. When she had finally calmed down, she had opened up to him and shared all she had endured and it had enraged him. He had watched in awe as she had calmed him as only a true mate could. She had given freely her love, comfort, and touch. In his very long life he had never had felt such passion, such need as he found in her arms. Over and over, he had whispered to her all the emotion in his heart and tried to show her through his touch just how precious she was to him. She had asked him to do the Blood Rites with her because she did not want to go into this battle with the chance that they would not be together one way or the other. His wolf had howled in victory, but the man had hesitated. He did not want to seal her fate in case anything went wrong. But, she was his mate, his equal, and it was as much her choice as it was his. So, he had given her what she wanted and what he so desperately needed.

Q

“I love you,” Crina whispered to Adam. She felt his smile through their bond. “I think you know just how much I love you,” he teased her, with his never ending good nature.

She treasured the playfulness in him and knew that it was a blessing to her. But, the night all the females had been saved from the curse by Peri and the Fae, she had seen another side to Adam, a side that broke her heart. She had known that he loved her. But that night, she realized the depth of that love. To her surprise, he had wept as much as she had. His possessiveness was no less than the Canis lupus males and his ferocious protectiveness called to her wolf. She knew that the human females had waited to complete their mating until they were married, but she was not human, and marriage was not a part of her heritage. The Blood Rites was essentially the equivalent of a wedding for their race and when Adam had told her they were going to finish their mating that night, she had reveled in the dominance and her wolf had gladly submitted. It had been the best night of her life, which she was sure, was what every woman said during that time, but she couldn’t imagine anyone experiencing what she had in the arms of her mate. He had worked magic that no other could.

“I am Fae you know, so I have a slight advantage in the whole magic working.” Crina laughed as they ran. Here they were, running into a battle they might not survive, discussing their love life.

“What better time to think about the magic we made together? I mean seriously, I can die a happy man now that I’ve had the privilege of being with you. And, I totally mean that in any perverted way you would like to take it.” Adam’s voice brought chills to her skin as he reminded her of all they had experienced.

“I would tell you to behave, but it would be a waste of words.”

“Too true, my sexy wolf lady, too true. Don’t wear yourself out here today, I got plans for you.”

Crina cut a glance over to him as her wolf perked up at their mate’s teasing. She wanted to chase him. It was the wolf’s form of foreplay, and by the grin on his face, he knew it.

Chapter 22

“With every step we draw closer, with every breath we close in on our prey. Do you feel us coming? We move silently as one, a pack united in purpose, driven by the belief that evil will not prevail. Your end is eminent; your time in this life draws to a close. We are coming. You may have never feared the hounds of hell, but you should fear us. Fear the wolves that live in us, fear the ones who join us and know that you will answer for the crimes that you have committed. You will answer and you will pay.” ~Fane

Mona felt them, Vasile, and his wolves. She knew that she would not hear them. They were hunters and, as such, would come silently, seeking the killing blow. They were too late. Cypher had fallen to his knees long ago and his pale flesh testified to his pending doom. The opening to the veil grew more and more solid as Cypher’s blood fed it.