“I think your bestie is a whole heck of a lot kinkier than you guys let on. I bet even blue hands would get her all hot and bothered,” Costin said.
“We only divulge about twenty-five percent of her kink issues,” Sally confirmed. “I’m pretty sure she could make that fifty-shades-of-whatever book look tame.”
“I started to read that,” Costin said and laughed when Jacque’s mouth dropped open. He shrugged. “What? I like to keep things spicy.”
“Why didn’t you finish it?” Jacque asked.
He winked at his mate as he answered. “Because I read it out loud, and I couldn’t get through a page without my blushing mate hollering at me to quit while she covered her ears and sang some song about a rabbit without a tail.”
“You could have just read it silently,” Sally pointed out.
Costin shook his head. “That wouldn’t be any fun.”
“It’s all fun and games until someone gets stuck in a spreader bar because they were trying to be like some character in a book,” Jacque said dryly.
Fane turned to his mate. “I want to be stuck in a spreader bar. How come we never do that?”
“Please, for the love of all gypsies, get me a picture of that,” Sally said and then glanced at her frowning mate. “I just mean for blackmailing purposes.”
“You can take a picture of me in a spreader bar.” Costin growled.
“You want me to blackmail you?” Sally asked, her brow drawing down low.
“If that’s what it takes to get you to try a spreader bar, even if it is on me.”
Jacque shuddered. “I need y’all to just stop. Like now.”
“Wait.” Fane held up a hand as if to pause any change in the current conversation. “What’s the verdict on me and the spreader bar?”
Jacque sighed. “As long as I get a whip, I’m game.”
“Excellent.” Fane chuckled. His phone chirped, and he looked down to see his father’s text. “Peri will meet us in their suite,” Fane confirmed as they all filed out of the bathroom.
As soon as they were in Jen and Decebel’s room, Costin headed for the nursery. “I’m going to lay her down. She fell asleep on the walk back up here.”
“Hopefully, Peri will be here in a few minutes,” Fane said as he sat down on the couch and motioned for his mate to come to him.
Jacque shook her head. “I’m not feeling the whole blue hands thing, wolf-man.” She looked skeptical as she stared at the hands in question.
“You haven’t even given them a try, Luna,” Fane purred. “The contrast against your fair skin would be striking.”
“What’s striking?” Costin asked as he closed the nursery door, leaving it cracked, and walked toward the couch.
“Fane’s hands, apparently,” Sally said with a sly smile.
“Jen would have totally appreciated that,” Jacque laughed.
“Fane’s hands are striking?” Costin frowned.
“Yep, on Jacque’s backside.” Sally laughed.
Fane rested his head back on the couch and sighed. “This is all your fault, Costin. Now they’re going to be making jokes about kinky stuff for the rest of our lives.”
“Dude, you were just talking about your blue hands against my pale skin. How is that not kinky?” Jacque asked.
“Quit bringing up old stuff,” Fane said, using words his mate loved to use on him, and then doubled over from the fist that Jacque pushed into his stomach.
“Do not use my own defense against me,” his mate said, looking like she was trying hard not to smile.
“I can’t help it if I’m a quick learner, Jacquelyn.”
Peri suddenly appeared in the room, and her eyes landed on Fane’s blue hands. She glanced around, and then her eyes landed on Costin’s hands. Her brow furrowed. “What have you done?”
Chapter Nine
“Everyone has at least one moment in life when they think to themselves ‘Somebody is going to die.’ How I differ from everyone else is that my next thought is ‘Somebody get a baseball bat, because today I’m the Grim Freaking Reaper.’ ” ~Jen
“What do you mean they aren’t here?” Jen asked for the fifth time.
“My answer isn’t going to change just because you keep increasing the volume of your voice each time you ask the same question,” Vasile said. “Thia is not here, nor is Fane or Costin.”
“But Jacque said they were bringing her here,” Decebel bit out through clenched teeth.
Jen looked up at her mate and placed a hand on his arm when she realized just how tightly his jaw was clenched. It would only slow down their efforts to find Thia if her mate got in a fight with Vasile. She needed to stay calm so Dec would stay calm. Easier said than done.
“Decebel, I am not being deliberately obtuse,” Vasile said, his voice remaining calm and even. “Fane said there was an issue, but he didn’t want to get me involved. He asked for Peri’s help. He asked that she meet him in your suite at the Serbia pack mansion. That is all I know.”
Jen opened her mouth to say something else but snapped it closed when Decebel grabbed her hand and spun around, pulling her along with him. She glanced over her shoulder at Vasile, who had his phone out. His thumbs were moving as fast as a teenager’s at a party with the sound of cop sirens closing in. In other words, dude was texting like a mofo.
When they reached their vehicle, Decebel opened her door and practically shoved her inside. Jen didn’t say anything because she knew he wasn’t operating at full capacity. At the moment, her mate was in survival mode. His overprotectiveness had, no doubt, escalated past the setting of ‘high’ into the realm of ‘not humanly possible,’ which meant she had to keep a clear head. She couldn’t panic. Not yet.
“Why do you assume we’re the ones who did something?” Costin asked Peri.
Peri nodded. “Good point. What have the females done? That’s actually the more accurate assumption.”
“Exactly,” Costin agreed.
Sally made a buzzing noise. “Wrong! Not that our reputation isn’t deserved, but it was the guys this time. Look at their blue hands.”
“Not entirely,” Fane countered, holding up the aforementioned blue hands. “Jacque and Sally stole Thia while Jen and Decebel were having a disagreement.”
“So what does that have to do with you two having blue hands?” She held up her own hands before they could answer. “Wait, please tell me this isn’t going to end with you saying you dyed Thia blue.”
All four pairs of eyes froze on her.
“Bloody hell!” Peri huffed. “Seriously? This is what I get called in for?”
“We stole the baby from the girls with the sole intention of returning her to Dec and Jen,” Fane explained. “But then she puked.”
“A lot,” Costin quickly added.
“Yes.” Fane nodded. “She puked a lot. And it smelled terrible.”
“What puke doesn’t smell terrible?” Peri muttered.
“Exactly.” Fane nodded again. “We realized after the projectile vomiting episode that Jen would not be pleased if we returned her child covered in vomit, so we bathed her.”
“How considerate of you, especially after having stolen her. Then you turned her blue. You four are some winner friends. I’m sure Jen will trust you completely with her child in the future.” Peri paused as she glared at them. “That’s sarcasm, in case you didn’t catch it.” She turned her glare on the girls. “And you two. Did you really think stealing your best friend’s child, after everything you’ve been through in the past month, was the brightest and safest idea? Did you not consider how Decebel might respond to his daughter suddenly not being where she was supposed to be? That it would be no big deal?”
“They didn’t have a clue,” Costin said. “They truly don’t understand how protective male wolves are of their pups.”
“To be fair, they’ve never been around male wolves who have pups,” Fane said.
“Where did you bathe her?” Peri asked.
“In the Gyps
y Healer laboratory bathroom,” Costin answered.
“Did it occur to you that bathing in any room called a laboratory might be a bad idea?” Peri asked.
“Are you implying it wasn’t an intelligent choice?” Costin asked.
Peri raised an eyebrow at him. “Costin.”
“You’re saying my name like I’m an errant child.”
“Exactly,” Peri said. “Now, Costin, what I’m not implying, but outright saying, is that the first idiotic part of this situation was you let Jacque and Sally out without supervision. Forget the blue baby. What happened to ‘I will never let my mate leave my side, hell will freeze over, pigs will fly, and Jen will become a nun, before that will happen’?” She’d dropped her voice to a deep, growling sound, mimicking the tone of the male Canis lupus when they spouted off their possessive, protective, mumbo jumbo. “That’s where you went wrong. You let them out of your sight. Dyeing the stolen child blue is just icing on the proverbial dumbass cake.”
“You know what I like about you, Peri?” Costin asked with a smile. “You never mince words. You just say exactly what you think. It’s good to know I can always count on you to tell me exactly how stupid you think I am.”
“Glad I can help keep your confidence in check by reminding you that your IQ is in the single digits. Now show me the kid. I don’t feel like dealing with Decebel’s temper.”
Costin pointed at the nursery. “She’s sleeping in there.”
Peri let out a sigh as she walked toward the door, muttering, “‘You’re a high fae, Perizada, with much power and responsibility,’ she told me. ‘You’ll be an ambassador to the wolves,’ she told me. ‘You’ll protect the healers,’ she said. You failed to mention the blue babies, Great Luna.” As Peri pushed the door open, she held up her hand and whispered under her breath, conjuring a small globe of soft light. It moved with her as she walked to the crib. When she reached the baby’s bed, she stared for at least a minute before speaking. “Well, she’s not blue,” the fae called out over her shoulder.
“Please tell me she hasn’t broken out into some weird rash,” Jacque said from behind Peri.
Peri stared down at the empty crib and then looked at the four people crowded into the doorway of Thia Angehelesco’s nursery. “She’s not blue and there’s no rash because there’s no baby,” she said, her head turning again to the empty crib. “I really hope you idiots are playing a joke on me. And I call you idiots because it would be the dumbest joke in history, but it would still be better than the alternative.”
“What’s the alternative?” Jacque practically whispered.
“That Jen and Decebel’s child is missing.”
Fane and Costin’s voices were heard above the gasps of Sally and Jacque as the two males cussed in their native tongue. Peri didn’t blame them. She wanted to curse in every language she knew, and she knew pretty much all of them. How the hell could they have let this happen?
“I just laid her in here less than twenty minutes ago,” Costin said as he walked further into the room and started looking around and under things.
“She didn’t climb out of the blasted crib and decide to play hide and seek,” Peri snapped at him.
“I know that!” Costin snarled and everyone got quiet. Costin never snarled. “I’m scenting the bloody room, Perizada.”
“Right,” she said, giving a brisk nod. Of course he was scenting the room, you idiot. Already, her own emotions were getting in the way of her ability to think clearly, which she was going to have to do if she wanted to find the missing baby.
Fane began stripping, and it was a testament to how freaked out the girls were that neither of them said a word. He phased into his wolf, and he, too, started sniffing the room.
Peri closed her eyes and began to use her power to search for any magic in the room, of which there was a substantial amount considering Thia herself was a supernatural being, as were her parents. But, also, there was Costin’s magic, Fane’s, Jacque’s, and even Sally’s signature presence. So much magic, so many layers, and yet Peri was missing something important. She could feel it was just beyond her reach.
“Fane said he smells something,” Jacque spoke up. “Or rather, someone,” she corrected.
Peri’s eyes snapped open. “Who?”
“A female,” she answered as she looked at her mate.
“Pack member?” Peri asked.
Fane growled.
“That’s a no,” Jacque answered.
“Actually, that’s a hell no,” Fane said, going from wolf to man in the span of a breath. He pulled on his clothes as he spoke. “I’ve smelled this kind of magic before,” he said and then frowned, “but I thought only fae could flash.”
“The magic you’re smelling isn’t fae?” Peri asked. She herself hadn’t even considered the fact that the only way the person could have gotten out of the room was to flash. Even if someone had been lying in wait in Thia’s room before Costin placed the infant in her bed, they or other pack members would have seen someone leaving the room.
“No,” Fane shook his head. “It feels old. The only other person I remember smelling this type of magic on is Thalion.”
Peri’s eyes narrowed. “The Elf prince would not steal a child of any supernatural race, let alone one of the Canis lupus.” As she let Fane’s words sink in, she reached out to Cyn through the bond she shared with her own comrades. “I need you at the suite of Jen and Decebel. Now.”
“Peri, could you please get my father?” Fane asked. “He’s been around a lot longer. Let him scent the room.”
Peri flashed without a word. She appeared in Vasile’s office. He didn’t so much as twitch at her sudden appearance. She had to respect the Alpha; he had nerves of steel. “I need you to come with me,” she said without preamble.
Vasile held up his hand. “One second. Alina is on her way.”
Less than a minute later, his office door opened and in walked his mate.
“Now,” Vasile said as he stood and walked around his desk, taking Alina’s hand, “does this have anything to do with the fact that Jen and Decebel were just here asking for their daughter, who, I might add, is not here?”
Peri placed a hand on his shoulder. “Yes.” She flashed them back to Thia’s nursery. “I need you to scent this room and tell me what you smell.”
Fane started to speak, but Peri held up her finger. “No. Not a word. I want to know what he smells. Not what you tell him you smell.”
“Everyone, step out please,” Vasile instructed as he began to remove his clothes.
Peri moved to the door but did not leave the room completely. She waited as Vasile’s wolf moved methodically through the room, back and forth, his nose sweeping over every surface.
When the task was completed, he re-phased and re-dressed. Peri stepped aside to let Alina back in the room but then shut the door to keep the other four out. She stared at the Alpha and waited.
“Did Fane ask you to get me?” Vasile asked her.
She nodded. “He wanted you to confirm what he said he scented.”
“I smell elf magic. It is old, but not necessarily the most powerful I’ve ever smelled,” he said. “Where is Thia, Perizada?”
Peri watched the Alpha pair as Alina took Vasile’s hand and stepped closer to him. To them, Thia was as good as a grandchild. Sometimes, it seriously sucks to be me.
“Let me bare this with you,” a male voice suddenly filled Peri’s mind.
“I’m going to pretend you did not just invade my private thoughts. Sing a happy tune, wolf, if you live to see another day. Stay out of my damn head.” Peri snarled at the male known as Lucian, a.k.a. her freaking werewolf mate, and re-snapped the lid on her mental bond, which, because of the stress of the situation, she must have let slip open a tiny crack.
“Costin said he placed Thia in her bed around a half hour ago now,” Peri explained. “When I arrived to deal with the ridiculous situation they’d gotten themselves into, Thia was no longer in her crib. She’s
gone.”
Alina’s free hand raised to cover her mouth as her eyes filled with unshed tears. She was shaking her head slowly as though simply doing so would make Peri’s words untrue.
“Thalion would never authorize something like this,” Vasile said.
“Agreed.” Peri pinched the bridge of her nose, if only to keep from slamming her hands against the wall and screaming at the top of her lungs. She was practically shaking with the cold rage filling her blood. Someone had taken a child, and not just any child, but one under her protection.
“Someone is going to die!”
Peri heard Jen’s raised voice and the slam of the door. “This time, I have to agree with her,” Peri said as she turned and walked into the living area where Jen and Decebel stood staring down their closest friends.
“Somebody needs to hand me my daughter. Now.” Decebel’s voice could have chilled a man in hell.
Peri felt as though everyone was holding their breath and, if anyone moved slightest muscle, the pissed-off father would snap. She knew they were right to feel that way.
“Jen, I’m—” Jacque began but stopped when her mate placed a blue hand on her shoulder.
“Thia isn’t here,” Fane said as he looked at Decebel. “She’s been taken.”
Peri barely had time to wrap her magic around Decebel as he lunged for Fane. The large Alpha was frozen in mid-leap.
Jen placed a hand on her mate’s arm as she stared at Fane. Peri could tell from Jen’s rigid body and flexing fingers it was taking all of Jen’s control to keep from lunging at the man who’d told her Thia had been taken. “Explain everything that has happened from the moment Thia left our suite.”
Jen focused half her attention on Fane, Costin, Sally, and Jacque as they explained everything that had happened, while the other half was focused on her frozen mate. She understood why Peri kept Decebel suspended in midair, because, if he released the angry wolf, he would kill Fane or Costin, or both. Fane had been the one to say Thia had been taken. Therefore, in Decebel’s mind, Fane must be responsible. But Costin had been the last person to hold her and see her since she’d been taken, so that made him responsible, as well. So, they must both die. “No,” Jen said to her mate through their bond because he was literally screaming in his head for the two males to die.