He’d only been standing there a few minutes when he felt her. The fear that stabbed him was sharp, causing him to hiss through his teeth. Kale and Ciro were both standing at attention, having moved at the same time Nick had.
“Did you feel that?” Nick asked them.
They both nodded.
“They are very afraid of something,” Ciro said calmly.
Nick tried reaching for her mind, but it was just out of his reach, probably because she wasn’t eighteen and their bond shouldn’t even be connected at all. For some reason, it was. “Are either of you able to enter their minds?”
Both males’ heads snapped over to look at him. What he asked was a very personal question. Anything regarding the bond between true mates was personal, and un-bonded males who were in the process of solidifying that bond were especially touchy about it. Nick understood why. Such an inquiry could be likened to questioning the legitimacy of the bond, which to a male Canis lupus meant you were challenging their claim.
Nick held up his hands. “I only ask because I can’t connect that way with Kara, at least not yet. I can only feel some emotions from her, and not all the time.”
“I get glimpses, but I’ve yet to be able to speak with her,” Kale admitted.
“I am the same,” Ciro said.
Nick felt the fear again and tried to decipher its origin. Kara didn’t seem to be in any pain, but something was causing her to be frightened. What could possibly scare her in the pixie realm? The deadliest things there were Adam, Crina, and Gustavo.
He froze. Gustavo. An un-bonded male with a mate who was most likely in Volcan’s grasp. It was a recipe for disaster. “Thad, you’ve got to get the veil open,” Nick commanded, uncaring if his words offended. If Gustavo was not in control of his wolf, he could and would become feral. Feral wolves were dangerous to everyone, save their mate.
Thad continued to mutter under his breath as his hands moved over the invisible surface. Nick felt helpless as he watched, and his wolf wanted to bite the djinn to see if it would make him move faster. Nick kept his beast in check. Going around biting people wouldn’t get him to Kara any faster.
It felt like forever, but finally Thad’s hands began to emit a bright light. The trees around them began to sway, and the ground began to shake. Thad’s chanting grew louder in a language Nick had never before heard. He looked up as dark clouds gathered overhead, and thunder rolled through the sky. Lightning flashed, striking a tree close enough that they could see it split in half.
“Looks like Volcan pulled out all the stops when he blocked this veil,” Adira said as she stood staring at the awesome display of power.
“Is he going to be able to open it?” Nick asked her.
“Yes, but it’s just going to take all his awesomeness to do it. Volcan has grown stronger. Having Jewel and Anna by his side with his blood intermingled with theirs is empowering him. With every witch made, he will only continue to gain more power.”
The storm continued to rage around them as Thad worked. Everyone else was doing the same thing as Nick, standing and staring, no doubt wondering if their hopes had been in vain.
Chapter 12
“I love country music from the 1990’s. Yes, I realize it was before my time, but there was just some seriously awesome love songs made by country singers during that decade. The lyrics are simple, but their meaning is powerful. As I watch Gustavo slowly unravel because he can’t get to Anna, I realize just how much I want to be loved. I want to be loved like that, a man coming undone because he wants to take care of me, protect me, cherish me, and love me.” ~Kara
“What’s he doing now?” Heather whispered.
“You know he can still hear you, right?” Crina asked with a small smile.
“That’s not the point. The point is I feel safer if I whisper,” Heather said, still whispering.
Kara stood behind Heather who was sitting next to Stella on the ground, leaning back against the large fallen tree trunk they’d been using as a bench. Crina stood behind Stella, her eyes narrowed. They’d been watching Gustavo for the past couple of days. He would go from anxious, when he wasn’t communicating with Anna through their bond, to near uncontrollable rage, when he was communicating with her. He wouldn’t tell them exactly what was going on with her, but Kara got the feeling Anna was experiencing excruciating pain because Gustavo would sometimes double over in pain himself. It was heart wrenching to watch.
Adam was on constant alert, and she didn’t know the last time he had slept. He was at least eating each time the pixies brought them food, so he was getting sustenance, if not rest.
“Are you concerned about Adam?” she asked Crina.
Crina looked at her mate, and Kara saw in the wolf’s eyes the love she felt for him. “He says he’s fine. I have to trust him for now. If at any point I get the feeling that he’s going to collapse, I’ll knock him out while you three distract him.”
“I heard that,” Adam called out, obviously not feeling the same need to whisper that Heather felt.
“I wasn’t trying to keep it from you. Just remember that I will do it if I must,” Crina said back.
Gustavo suddenly roared, sounding more like a lion than a wolf. Heather stood up straighter and took a step back when the enraged wolf pulled a large tree from the ground and threw it into the forest. He was breathing hard, and his fingers protruded with claws. When he turned to face them, the look in his eyes was like looking into the face of death.
Kara wouldn’t lie. She was terrified. Crina moved so fast she barely saw her until the she wolf was standing in a crouch in front of the three girls. She growled back at Gustavo in warning. Gustavo took a step toward her but froze when Adam spoke.
“That would be the wrong move to make, old man. Lay a claw on my mate and I will zap your ass.”
Kara looked over at Adam, and her eye’s widened. He had two large balls of light pulsing in his hands. He tossed one up and caught it as if he was simply tossing a baseball. His lips were set in a severe line, and his eyes were honed in on Gustavo like a heat-seeking missile. Kara could see in those eyes he wasn’t bluffing. He would throw whatever magic he was holding in his hands.
“If you need to take out some of that anger, then take it out on someone who is your equal,” the fae coaxed. “Taking it out on a female just proves you’re a pansy.”
“Adam.” Crina growled. “Shut up.”
“Sorry, pussy cat, can’t do that,” Adam said in a teasing voice, though his face was still deadly serious.
“Don’t call me pussy cat, you overgrown toddler,” she snapped back.
“That’s not what you were calling me the last time we laid in our bed,” he taunted.
“Do you really think now is the time to be joking?”
He shrugged. “If I’m going to die, what better to occupy my thoughts than my feisty mate rolling around in the sheets with me?”
Crina groaned and stood from her crouch. “You’re seriously messed up in the head, my crazy love.”
Gustavo turned and fully faced Adam, taking a step toward the fae, and Kara felt her heartbeat speed up. Gustavo wasn’t going to back down this time. It was written all over his face and obvious in the way he was stalking Adam. He was going to attack. If he killed Adam, then that meant Crina would die, too. Kara’s hands began to shake, and she clasped them together to keep them still.
“Are we going to do this, or are you going to stare at me all night?” Adam asked.
“You are either brave or stupid.” Gustavo grunted, his voice sounded animalistic. His eyes were glowing brighter than she’d ever seen them, and that was when she realized Gustavo’s wolf was in complete control. That couldn’t be good, not when he was in his current state of mind.
“I’ve been called both,” Adam said as he began to move, circling with Gustavo like two fighters in a ring. “And both have applied to me at one time or another. Fighting you wouldn’t be one of the stupid times though, because when I stomp your ass, I’l
l have major bragging rights against the wolves, no offense pussy cat.” Adam winked at his mate.
The minute he looked away from the wolf, Gustavo lunged. Kara, along with the other girls, gasped. Adam was fast. He launched one of those balls of light, and it hit Gustavo square in the chest. The Alpha wolf flew back, smacking violently against a large tree trunk. But the wolf was on his feet in an instant. That blow should have broken something, several somethings, but Gustavo moved as if he’d been hit with a pillow. How was Adam going to be able to beat such a formidable opponent? What would happen to them if he lost?
Kara bit her bottom lip as the fear of being faced with Gustavo’s wrath, with no protector to stand between them, assaulted her. He would rip them to shreds.
Adam continued to throw magic at Gustavo, but each time a bolt of energy landed, the wolf rose unfazed. Adam jumped over his opponent and landed on his feet behind him. Gustavo whipped around, his arm swinging out, and his claws raked across Adam’s chest.
Crina snarled and started to move, but Adam held up his hand and suddenly she froze. “ADAM!” She roared at him. “Release me!”
“Not a chance, babe, not a chance,” he said as he kicked Gustavo’s knee, causing the wolf to stumble. Gustavo’s fist connected with Adam’s jaw as he righted himself. Adam backed up a few steps, jumping on the balls of his feet. He moved his jaw side to side and smiled. “Is that all you’ve got, dog?”
“Crina, your mate has a death wish,” Heather said, no longer whispering. “Or he’s just into pain.”
“Second option, Helen,” Adam called out as he pressed his hand to Gustavo’s chest. Gustavo backed up quickly as he snapped his teeth at Adam.
“What did you just do?” Crina asked.
“Nothing detrimental,” Adam said nonchalantly. “He just won’t be able to phase into his wolf form for a bit. If I let him phase, his wolf might not ever let the man back in control. At least right now, there’s still a chance that he isn’t completely feral.”
“Okay, so what’s your definition of completely feral,” Stella asked. “Because he’s looking pretty damn feral with the foaming at the mouth and incoherent speech and stuff. Just saying.”
“Naw, he’s just needing an outlet for his anger at his lack of ability to protect his female. Once he wears himself out, he’ll chill,” Adam explained as he jumped back just as Gustavo swiped at him then swept his leg out and brought Adam down to the ground.
Kara watched in awe as Adam just continued to move, never slowing down, rolling and flinging himself into the air doing a back flip over Gustavo. When he landed, he had a dagger in both hands. He wielded them, doing tricks with them, spinning them in his hands as if they were simply an extension of himself.
“Adam,” Crina practically whined.
“Hey, it’s only fair that I give him a few scratches for the ones he’s given me.”
And he did. Over the course of the next two hours, Kara and the others watched as Adam and Gustavo fought. Neither seemed to tire. Just when Kara was beginning to worry that they’d never stop, Gustavo fell to his knees, and his eyes became unfocused.
“Anna.” He breathed out, all of the fight rushing out of him in a huge breath. “Anna.” Her name was a prayer on his lips. It was spoken with such affection, love, and need that it brought tears to Kara’s eyes.
“Damn,” Heather said. “I can’t even see him, but just hearing the way he’s saying her name is making me ache for her.”
Adam put his daggers away, and Crina was finally able to move. She flew at him, instead of wrapping her arms around him like Kara thought she would, reared her arm back, and punched her mate in the face.
“Now that was awesome,” Stella laughed.
“What?” Heather asked. “What happened?”
“Crina just punched her man in the face. Not a girly slap. I’m talking jerked his head to the side she hit him so hard,” Stella told her.
Adam’s head turned back slowly. A grin so sexy that Kara’s stomach clenched was stretched across his face as he looked at his glowering mate.
“Foreplay, pussy cat,” Adam crooned and waggled his eyebrows at her. “I never knew you were a voyeur. You should have told me.”
Stella waved Kara over. “Come sit down, Kare Bear. This is about to get good.”
Kara was still suffering from the aftershocks of the fear she’d felt while Adam and Gustavo had fought, but she forced her legs to move. She made her way around the log and sat on the ground next to Stella.
“I expect a play-by-play,” Heather said.
When Stella didn’t say anything, Kara inwardly groaned as she spoke up. “Adam is looking at Crina like he’s about to devour her.”
Heather smiled. “Devouring is good.”
“Now he’s circling her,” Kara continued. “Crina looks like she’s going to claw his eyes out. And Adam looks like he would get turned on no matter how she touched him, violently or otherwise, just as long as she touches him.”
Stella turned to look at Kara. “You’re good at this.”
“What?” Kara asked.
It was Heather who answered. “At describing sexual tension.”
Kara didn’t know what to say to that, so she looked back at the couple who was now pacing each other the way Adam and Gustavo had just done. “They’re circling one another. Crina’s eyes are glowing and OOOOOHHHH,” Kara called out at the same time Stella said the exact same thing.
“What? What happened? Spit it out,” Heather said, practically bouncing where she sat.
“Crina just swiped out a clawed hand across Adam’s face,” Kara said.
“EWW,” Stella said.
“Gross,” Kara added. “He just swiped a finger across the scratches and licked the blood from his finger as he winked at her.”
“You know I like it when your wolf comes out to play, pussy cat,” Adam taunted his mate.
“I don’t like it when you use your magic on me.” She growled at him. “You know that.”
“That’s not entirely true, babe. I’m pretty sure, if I’m remembering correctly, which I am, that the last time I used my magic on you”—he paused and grinned big— “pun intended. The last time I used my magic on you, your exact words were—”
“ADAM.” Crina took a step toward him.
“Your exact words were, ‘If you stop, I’ll gut you.’”
Kara’s mouth dropped open, and Stella covered hers with her hand.
“That must have been some good magic,” Heather said and then whistled. “Maybe I should try and find me a fae male for a consort.”
For just a second, Crina turned her attention from her mate to the girls. “Please, please, I’m begging you, say that in front of your mate”—she paused and then gave her own grin—“while my mate is near him.”
Adam’s grin dropped. “Pussy cat, that’s just cruel.”
Kara tried really hard but couldn’t stop the laughter. She clamped her lips closed as her shoulders shook and slapped her hand over her mouth.
Stella was doing the same thing.
It was just so hilarious watching Crina growl at her mate while he teased her about their sex life right in front of them. The man had no shame.
Adam and Crina’s heads snapped to the right at the same time when Gustavo moved. He stood, turned his back on all of them, and disappeared into the cover of the forest.
Adam looked at his mate. “This isn’t over,” he said and then headed into the woods to, no doubt, keep an eye on the unpredictable Alpha wolf.
“Well, that was fun,” Heather said with a sigh as she leaned back against the log.
“You have a very twisted idea of fun.” Kara breathed out as she wiped the tears of laughter that had gathered in her eyes.
Heather chuckled. “Yeah, well, when you’ve been blind all your life, you get your kicks where you can. Now…” She clapped her hands together and then rubbed them. “Crina, I think it’s high time we had a girl pow wow and you tell us exactly what kind of m
agic your man was using on you that made you willing to gut him if he stopped.”
Anna didn’t know how long it had been since she had passed out from the pain. And she couldn’t accurately say how long she and Jewel had been at the mercy of the vampire. She had no idea how many times her skin had been carved on by the fae blade; she’d lost count some time ago. All she knew was pain. And the only time she was distracted from her pain, other than when she lost consciousness, was when she was connected to her mate.
She blinked several times and felt again what must have woken her. Rage like she’d never known flooded her body. She had the sudden urge to kill anything and anyone who dared get too close to her. Her mind was clouded with a haze of violence as the roar of a beast filled her ears. Gustavo. His fury came through the bond like a tidal wave and overwhelmed her. She shook her head, attempting to clear her mind enough to separate his feelings from her own, but Gustavo’s wrath was all consuming. She didn’t understand where it was coming from. What had set him off? When she’d pulled back from his mind the last time, she’d opened the bond enough for him to speak to her. He’d been frustrated but not enraged. Angry, yes, but not out of control. This was something entirely different.
“Gustavo?” She reached for him, but he didn’t respond. He was focused on something else. She could feel his concentration. She didn’t know what to do, but she knew their connection was powerful. She’d felt him touch her hair and skin even though he was only thinking of doing it. Maybe she could do the same and draw him back to her.
Anna pictured the man she remembered from her dream when she’d met him for the first time. He was breathtakingly beautiful. She imagined her fingers running over his face, tracing his regal cheek bones, then across his brow, smoothing the frown from his face. She blew on his face gently and smiled at his surprised eyes. “Come back to me,” she whispered. “Come be with me.”