Beyond the Veil (21 page)

Costin’s eyes widened. “Of course it’s a big deal. It’s huge,” he told her. “Sally, I want this more than anything. I need this. I need to know that you bear my mark and my scent. I want to feel your bite. And even though your mark won’t stay on me, I want to know that you’ve claimed me.”

When she didn’t respond he ran an exasperated hand through his hair. “I totally blew this, didn’t I?” He walked away from her and stood looking at the bed where the black gown lay.

Sally came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her face into his back. Seeing him so vulnerable tugged at something deep inside her.

“I’m sorry, I know this is important to you. That wasn’t fair of me. I’m just a little surprised is all. I know you need this, Costin, and I want to give it to you.”

Costin turned in her arms and placed both hands on her face. He leaned down and gently touched her lips with his.

“I love you,” he whispered. She smiled gently.

“I know you do,” she whispered back, “and I love you.”

Costin let out a deep breath.

“Why don’t you get changed?” He motioned to the black gown.

“Okay, um, if we aren’t going to make love, why exactly do I have to wear lingerie?”

Costin chuckled. “Sally mine, when it is time for us to make love, it won’t matter if you have on a burlap sack. It’s all going to come off.”

Sally blushed.

“I think their reason for the gown is easy access.”

Sally gasped. Costin realized how that sounded and actually had the good grace to look embarrassed.

Sally picked up the black gown and quickly headed to the bathroom.

“I’ll, um, I’ll be out in a sec,” she muttered as she closed the door behind her.

Costin let out a breath. “Way to make her feel comfortable,” he muttered under his breath.

He waited what seemed like forever and finally he knocked softly on the door.

“Sally?” He waited for her to answer. When she didn’t he spoke a little louder. “Sally, love, are you okay?” He heard a sniffle and felt his wolf stir inside him. His wolf did not like the idea of Sally upset.

He thought he was going to have to break the door down if she wouldn’t open it, but when he tried the knob he relaxed slightly when it turned freely.

After pushing the door open, his heart broke when he saw his mate curled up on the floor. She had put the gown on and he was male enough to notice, despite the tears streaming quietly down her face, that she looked stunning.

He knelt down and gathered her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on as he lifted her and carried her into the bedroom. He took a seat on the bed and cradled her close.

“Please tell me what I’ve done. Please tell me how to fix this,” Costin pleaded with her.

Sally continued to cry as she clung to Costin. She knew she shouldn’t be so emotional but she was just overwhelmed. She wanted this, wanted him, but she was scared – scared that she wouldn’t be what he needed or wanted.

“I’m not a wolf,” she said against his shirt where she hid her face.

“Well, I’m glad you told me now before it was too late for me to back out,” Costin teased gently.

Sally pulled back and looked up at him. Costin’s heart ached as he looked at her tear-stained face.

“I’m serious, Costin,” she told him. “You probably expected to be mated to a wolf, and instead you got this.” She motioned to herself.

Costin let his eyes trail down her body, which was was encased in the soft black material.

“Yes, yes I did,” he said, sensuality lacing his voice.

Sally blushed and nudged him. “You know what I mean.”

“No, really I don’t, Sally, because you are so much more than I could have ever asked for. I don’t care that you don’t turn furry. You are amazing and sweet and precious to me. You’re a healer and I have been entrusted with your care. I’m honored. But most of all I have been given You, Sally Morgan, an amazing woman who loves with her whole heart and is smart and gentle and loving. There is no one who is more perfect for me than you.”

Sally looked into his eyes and saw the truth that lay behind them.

“We don’t have to do this if you aren’t ready. I told you I wouldn’t push you into anything and I mean that.” He brushed leftover tears from her cheeks.

Sally shook her head. “No. We aren’t going to wait any longer. I know you need this – you need me, and I need you too. I’m not going to say I’m not scared, but I’m not a coward and I trust you.”

Costin stood and placed her on the bed. He stepped back and pulled his shirt over his head, discarding it on the floor. Sally’s breath caught in her throat\ at his chiseled chest and abdomen.  In that moment she was very glad for the black gown, no matter how naked it made her feel. Costin was beautiful and she wanted to be beautiful for him.

He pulled her up onto her feet and sat on the bed, pulling her down onto his lap. He brushed the hair back from her shoulder and neck and nuzzled her just below her ear. He took a deep breath and reveled in her scent.
Mine
, the scent told him. She was his. He felt his wolf pushing forward and knew his eyes were glowing.

“Do you want me to go first?” he asked her, his lips so close to her neck that she shuddered as his warm breath caressed her skin. She nodded, speechless.

“Is it going to hurt?” she whispered.

Costin kissed her skin and his tongue darted out, tasting her. Sally let out a soft moan.

“I will be gentle,” he told her as his hand wandered up from her hip and across her back and back down. He pulled her tighter against him and with his other hand he reached up and tilted her head to the side, exposing her neck. He trailed his nose down her jawline to her neck and shoulder, letting out a low growl.

Sally let out a gasp as she felt Costin’s teeth sink into her flesh, but relaxed when she felt him suck. She felt the pull of her blood from her body and sank deeper into him. Sally had never really felt sexy, but in that moment, with Costin’s lips against her skin, his hand on her hip, tightening and pulling her close – hearing him moan and a low rumble emanating from his chest –  in that moment she felt sexy.

Costin fought his desire for his mate as he swallowed her blood. He was marking her and that would be enough for now. He wouldn’t lie and say he didn’t want or need her. He needed her like he needed air and he knew he would never get enough of her. Relishing the thought that he had the right to hold her, he heard her moan and thought how easy it would be to seduce her. He wouldn’t, but he looked forward to the day that he could.

As he pulled back from her neck, she felt his tongue trace a path from just below her ear to just below her collarbone; she felt the rise and fall of her chest as she tried to catch her breath.

Costin leaned over and grabbed a towel, dipping it in the warm water. He wiped it across the bite mark, then kissed the tender spot.

“Are you okay?” he asked her.

Sally’s eyes fluttered open as she tried to regain some semblance of control. She let out a breath and took in another, doing it over and over until she could finally talk and sound somewhat normal, instead of like a love-stuck teenager.

“That was -” she paused, trying to find just the right word, but couldn’t so settled for, “interesting.”

Costin chuckled. “I was going to say incredible, but interesting works.”

Sally blushed. “I didn’t expect it to feel good.”

“You liked it?”

Sally ducked her head. “Did you?”

Costin placed his lips next to her ear and whispered, “I loved it.” He shifted her on his lap so that she could reach his neck more easily.

“How am I supposed to bite you, Costin? I don’t have sharp, pointy teeth like you.” Sally was nervous She knew it was important to complete the blood rites, but also knew that her human teeth were blunt and wouldn’t break the skin as easily as his teeth had.

Costin’s brow furrowed. “I think that the Great Luna has probably worked that out somehow. Let’s just give it a try and see what happens.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” she told him sincerely.

Costin brushed her hair from her face. “I’m pretty tough, Sally mine. I think I can handle it.”

Sally leaned forward and kissed his lips gently. Costin held still. She wasn’t one for initiating physical intimacy and he didn’t want to scare her off. Boldly, she trailed kisses from his lips across his jaw and down his neck. Costin tilted his head back, his neck available for her exploration. She licked his skin tentatively and he moaned, pulling her closer to him.

Sally decided not to over think what she was about to do and gave herself over to the emotion behind the act. She sunk into the deep conviction that Costin was meant for her and she for him, that they were destined for one another and this was right, that this was meant to be and because of that, it would work itself out. She enjoyed the feel of his body pressed to hers, reveled in his hands roving over her.

Finally, she opened her mouth and to her surprise, her teeth sank easily into his skin. She felt the warm liquid flood her mouth and nearly gasped. Expecting a metallic taste, instead she was rewarded with a sweet taste that spurred her on. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, drawing another moan from her mate.

After several minutes she felt Costin pushing her back gently. Sally pulled away and closed her eyes. She should be sickened by her actions she was sure, but she couldn’t be. She was too engrossed in the emotions rolling through her. Costin grabbed another towel and after wetting it, handed it to her so she could wipe his neck. She watched the wound begin to heal itself rather quickly.

Costin leaned forward and kissed away tears that she hadn’t realized had begun to fall.

“What’s wrong, my love?” Costin asked quietly.

Sally shook her head and tried to hide her face in his chest, but he would have none of it. He tilted her chin up to look at him and looked intently into her eyes, searching for the reason behind the emotions.

“Tell me, Sally, what are you thinking? Why the tears, beautiful?”

“I just didn’t expect it to be so intense, so intimate and right.”

Costin nodded. “I understand what you mean. It seems even more intimate than making love to you would be.”

Sally nodded in agreement.

“Are we – okay?” Costin asked, unsure.

Sally smiled sweetly. “Yes, my love, we are better than okay.”

Costin let out a deep breath and drew her to him. He held her face gently as he kissed her thoroughly. In response, she opened her mouth, allowing him to explore the inside. Costin pulled her down next to him on the bed, never breaking their kiss.

They kissed, talked, and kissed some more as the night wrapped around them, cocooning them in darkness. They didn’t allow themselves to think about the things that were outside their door. They didn’t talk about all that was to come or not to come. They didn’t allow the evil in the world to penetrate the safety of this time.

Costin loved her, poured that love into to every kiss, every touch. He whispered to her in his language and hers how he adored her and loved everything about her. He shared with her what he longed for and loved the blush that covered her skin when he told her how he longed to be wed to her, so they could share in the enjoyments of a married and mated pair. Sally expressed her
apprehension and fears. She told him all the things that she had been so afraid to tell him, all the emotions she had been so hesitant to express for fear of enduring a broken heart.

Sally decided it was the best night of her life and, as she curled into his arms, her head resting on his chest, she finally felt whole and complete.

She drifted off to sleep to the sound of Costin whispering words of love in her ear.

Costin waited until he knew that Sally was asleep before he gave into the emotions that had been building inside him. He felt the tears trail slowly down his cheeks as he let go. He had never felt such love, such peace as he did in this moment. She was his, finally. She bore his mark, his scent, and forever would. He had nearly begged her to let him make love to her as he listened to her tell him how she loved him, how she longed to be with him, and could sit all day just being in his presence. At one point he had rolled her onto her back and laid his body over hers, allowing his wolf to relish in the touch of their bodies, in the rightness of her being surrounded by him. She had stared into his eyes, innocence staring back at him through hers. So trustingly, she had ran her fingers through his hair and smiled up at him, giving herself to him and only him.

“I love you, Sally mine. I love you today and I will love you more tomorrow,” he whispered to his mate as he let sleep take him.

“There is no greater torture than watching as your love, your reason for living, breathing, existing, sinks into oblivion. Your heart stops as no matter how you try to get to her, she just gets farther and farther away.” ~ Fane

  Fane watched his mate sink into the murky water. He yelled her name over and over but Jacquelyn never responded or even acknowledged that he was there. He ran into the water, splashing and trying to grab for her. The more he tried to get to her, the farther away she seemed to be.

“Fane!”

He heard his name being called but ignored it. All he could see was his mate. She was drowning and he could do nothing to save her. Suddenly Fane felt something wrap around his leg and a powerful tug began to pull him under. He was okay with that and didn’t fight it. If he could get under the water he could get to Jacquelyn, he was sure of it.

“FANE! Fight it! She isn’t drowning! FANE!”

The last thing Fane heard was his name being called over and over, but he couldn’t respond as his head was covered with water, and he was pulled even deeper. Darkness enveloped him as he continued to try to reach for his mate. He reached and reached but it was in vain.

Suddenly the water receded and he found himself in a dark, cave-like room. He stood up and looked around. He tried to brush the water from his clothes and skin but looked down in surprise when he saw he wasn’t wet.

Looking for any sign of Jacquelyn, he called out, “Hello?”

He heard a cackling laugh and backed up when a figure materialized from the darkness.

“Hello, princeling,” Mona said to him as she circled him.

“You’re not real,” Fane snarled. He rushed her, only to go straight through her.

She laughed again.

“Right you are. This is simply a projection of myself. I decided I want to explain to you where you are so that you can fully appreciate my ingenious plan. You cocky wolves thought you had a chance against me.”

“Where is my mate?” he barked at her.

“Oh, don’t get your tail in a twist. Your mate is fine. I don’t care about her; she is no threat to me. You, however, you and the other males are definitely a threat. I knew the sure way to catch you
was to threaten your mate. How predictable you are. You really should work on that – after all, variety is the spice of life.”

“What is this place?” he spat at her.

“I’m so glad you asked. This is the In Between.”  She watched Fane’s face pale.

“Ah, so your father has been filling you in. Excellent. Then I won't have to spend much time on this. So, all you must do is think of your greatest fear and you will get the intense pleasure of living it over and over and over again. Don’t try to not think of it, because now that I have said it, your little pea-sized brain will automatically have the images dancing through that little head of yours.” She watched as Fane’s face slowly began to morph into panic.

“My work here is done. I have other lives to ruin. Tootles!” And before Fane could blink she was gone.

Fane put his hands over his eyes and tried to push the images away.

“Not real, not real,” he said over and over, but the images of Jacquelyn’s death poured into his mind. He watched as her body was attacked by the wolves from the battle between them and Mona. She was ripped limb from limb and Fane could not reach her no matter how quickly he ran. He sank to his knees and screamed in agony.

Then she was standing whole before him. She reached for him.

“Wh
y did you let them kill m
e Fane? Why didn’t you save me?” she asked him, her eyes full of pain.

“I tried my love, I tried.” Out of nowhere Fane watched Mona aim her hands at his mate and saw Jacquelyn crash to her knees, screaming in agony. She called out to him, begging him to rescue her.

“FANE! Please, I need you! Please come, please, please.” Her cries became weak and feeble as Mona continued to torture her. Fane tried to crawl toward her. He reached for her, watching blood begin to flow freely from her nose, eyes, and ears. He closed his eyes, trying to tell himself once again that it wasn’t real, but it didn’t matter how often he told himself. All he could hear were the anguished cries of his mate.

Tears streamed from his face as he cried for her. “I’m here, Jacquelyn. I’m here, baby.” She did not acknowledge his words.

He watched her bleed to death, watched as she was crushed time and time again by his enemy, watched as she was taken by Lucas Steele, violated and beaten. He screamed and screamed to no avail. The images continued to come and continued to rip at his soul. He wanted to die, he wanted
her
to die, once and for all so that she never suffered again. He knew he would break before this was over. He would not make it out of this hell a whole man. His love was being tortured and killed before his eyes and he couldn’t save her.

He closed his eyes and curled into a ball, trying shut out the images, but her cries broke through.

~

Vasile stared at the pond where his only son had disappeared.

Suddenly the water began to bubble and a coughing and sputtering Jacquelyn emerged. Vasile began to go in after her but was stopped by Crina.

“Let me, Alpha,” she told him as she went into the water.

Crina reached Jacque and wrapped an arm around her and under her arms as she pulled her on her back toward the shore.

When she reached it Vasile and Adam helped pulled her up. Rachel ran to her side and knelt down, checking to see if she was breathing and if her heart was beating.

Rachel let out a deep breath. “She lives,” she said as relief poured over her.

Alina knelt next to her daughter in-law and held her cold, wet hand.

“Alpha, where is my son?” she asked emotionlessly.

Vasile’s eyes still hadn’t left the pond. He waited and waited to see if Fane would resurface, but deep down he knew he wouldn’t. He knew he wasn’t dead because he would have felt the loss in the pack bonds, but he also knew that something terrible was happening to his son. He could feel the torment pouring through their bond and there was nothing he could do. He would have to wait until Jacque woke to see if she could reach him through the mate bond.

Something told Vasile that she wouldn’t be able to and knew that it was going to terrify her.

Glancing down, he caught the eyes of his mate and held her stare. “He is gone, but alive. We will get him back. For now we must tend to Jacque and figure out our next step.” Vasile leaned down and picked up his daughter, for that was what she had become to him – a daughter, a pack member, the beloved of his son. She mustn’t die, because if she died so would Fane, and neither of those deaths were acceptable to Vasile.

He carried her and the others followed solemnly back to their camp. All of them were on alert as they walked back through the forest in the cool darkness. The fire from their camp still burned up ahead as if no evil had touched their group this night.

Vasile placed Jacque on a pallet that Alina laid out for her. Adam, after checking that Crina was alright, took watch on the edge of the camp as the others sat around the fire.

“What do you think happened to him?” Alina asked her mate.

“I think Mona has influenced the pixies far quicker and more effectively than I would have thought possible. They are such a finicky race. But I have a feeling it was their spell on the pond, and for whatever reason it called to Jacque. Mona knew that Fane would go after Jacque, so if her i
ntent all along was to get Fane,
then all she needed to do was get to his mate. The same will hold true with the other mated pairs.”

“We need to let them know,” Rachel spoke up. Gavril stood behind her, his hand on her shoulder in silent support.

Vasile nodded. He took out his phone and called to Adam.

“Adam, I need a little help with my phone. I would ask you to seek out Peri, but I have a feeling you won’t be leaving your mate.”

Adam grinned. “You would be right, Alpha. Crina will not be leaving my sight.” He reached out and touched Vasile’s phone, giving it a charge.

Vasile dialed Decebel’s number and waited.

~

“How do you think they’re doing?” Jen asked her mate as she lay in his arms.

Decebel growled. “I think you need to be worrying about what is happening in your own bed, mate, and not in someone else’s.”

Jen laughed. “You certainly have a way with words.”

Decebel rolled her over until he covered her body with his own. He kissed her gently and then placed kisses on her eyes, her nose, her cheeks, down her jaw, and to her neck. He chuckled as she moaned, pleased at her response.

“Do you think everything is okay with Vasile and the others?” she asked him through a gasp as he bit gently on the mark he had left on her from their blood rites.

“Why do you insist on bringing others into our bed, Jennifer? I must be doing this wrong if all you can do is think of others.”

Then, as he continued to kiss her and love her, he surrounded her. Her every thought was centered only on him and she decided very quickly that he was doing everything just right.

~

Jen opened her eyes slowly and realized right away that she wasn’t really awake. She was in a dream world, a dream world that looked just like the place that Peri had found her in when she died.

“This cannot be good,” she said into the bright, empty space. She turned in a circle, thinking that maybe Peri would show up again, but no such luck. It was just her and the bright space all around.

She began to walk, not knowing where she was going, if anywhere. For all she knew she was walking in place since the scenery never changed. Gradually she noticed the light was growing dimmer around her. Shivering, she felt the air was get colder. She looked down and realized all she had on was the shorts and tank she had gone to bed in. Decebel was like her own personal space heater in their bed – too many clothes and she would sweat all night.

When all of the light had been swallowed and she stood in pitch black, a sliver of light suddenly pierced the darkness and grew larger. She realized it was a door opening and stood there, debating the wisdom of going through that door. After a few moments' deliberation, she decided there really wasn’t another option unless she happened to wake up. She did pinch herself for good measure, just to see if she could draw herself out of this bizarre dream.

Jen walked slowly toward the open door, all the while trying to calm her racing heart. She didn’t want to be afraid. She had already died once, surely a second time wouldn’t be all that bad. As she crossed the threshold of the door, her eyes widened at what was before her.

It was a large room with stairs leading down from the doorway to a platform. On this platform were three beings – she didn’t really know what else to call them. They were definitely not human and they didn’t really have physical bodies, but they were very much alive. They seemed to glow and pulsate as their form changed constantly.

From what she could see, they would hold the form of featureless human and shift to strange-looking animals, then shift to something else entirely.  She felt a pull that she could not ignore and it drew her down the stairs. Almost in a trance, she walked slowly, step by step by step. Her mind was screaming out a warning, but no amount of telling her legs to stop was doing any good. So she gave into the pull and let it bring her before the three beings.

Once she was mere feet away from the three beings she came to an abrupt stop, as if she had hit a wall. And when she heard the voices in her mind she felt the blood run cold through her body.

“Jennifer Adams, daughter of Jeffrey and Michelle Adams, former resident of Coldspring, Texas, mate to Decebel Anghelesco, former Beta of the Romanian pack, now Alpha of the Serbian pack. We are the Fates and have called you to stand before us to honor your debt.”

“I knew I shouldn’t have gone through that door,” she muttered under her breath.

“Your life was to end at 18 years of age. Your time on the earth was done.”

“Are you kidding me?” Jen interrupted. “My life was – is just beginning. How can you say that at 18 my time is done? I haven’t done anything. Don’t you have to have done
something
in order to be done?”

“SILENCE!” All three voices reverberated in her head.

“A simple 'shut it' would have sufficed,” she grumbled.

“Perizada of the Fae interrupted your life cycle. She took your death from us. The price for that is a life. So it has always been – a life for a life. Since your death was not collected, then another’s must be.”

“Do you three always talk about yourselves in the third person? Because if you’re going for creepy, you have far surpassed it without adding that little weird quirk.” Jen couldn’t help the sarcasm that seeped out of her mouth.

Once again
, she thought,
my nerves have turned off the valve that filters the wise statements from the “going to get bitch slapped” statements.