Chasing Faete (Beyond the Veil Book 1) (6 page)

Leo stepped closer to her. Erica couldn’t help but wonder if being mated to Leo and Ben would ultimately drive a wedge between her mates and their Alpha. “And what was your answer?”

Gabe’s scowl morphed into a bloodthirsty grin. “I ripped off the Fae prick’s right arm and left him for Donovan to chew on for a bit. No one threatens me and mine, not if they expect to live. And if he sends his messenger into the den of an Alpha like me, then he’d best be prepared for the consequences.”

****

“The message has been received, my King.”

Alefric turned from his position at the window to see Kheelan standing in the doorway.

“Where is the Fae who delivered the message? Bring him to me. I want to know if there was any return message.”

Kheelan made a strange face. “We found the messenger this morning near the clearing in the woods where we entered the human realm to deliver the original message to the Alpha. The wolves must have tracked his scent back to that location and left him there for us to find … well, what was left of him anyway.” Kheelan elaborated that the messenger had gasped his last few breaths as they stumbled upon him, and then turned to ash before they could send him back through the portal.

Alefric grinned, beckoning Kheelan forward. “And that would be a message in and of itself, now wouldn’t it? It would appear that the shifter Alpha thinks to take the challenge and go to war.”

“I am glad this news pleases you, my lord,” Kheelan replied as he moved toward his King, a look of pure lust upon his face as he dropped to his knees before Alefric, reaching for the buttons on his trousers. “But may I ask why it pleases you so?”

Alefric growled low as Kheelan gently drew his hard cock from his trousers and bent his head to take him immediately to the back of his throat. Alefric reached down, gripped Kheelan’s hair in both hands and began to fuck his mouth with hard thrusts of his hips. “Because the battle is lost to him already, he just doesn’t know it yet.”

Chapter Eleven

“
Quenya?
What is it?” Erica asked with concern. Gabe had just left the room to make some phone calls—and possibly to put on some more clothes—when Corinne’s eyes went unfocused as if she’d entered some trance. Ben had only heard her visions after she had already had them. He had never been present for them before. He did not, however, imagine her face to look as completely ashen as it did now. No wonder his pixie was concerned. Whatever Corinne was envisioning had him concerned as well, even more so when the knowledgeable Fae’s hands began to tremble.

“Please,
Quenya,
please…” Erica took both Corinne’s hands in hers while Leo sat behind her and rubbed circles on her back to try to soothe her. Leo looked just as concerned, however.

“Let the vision finish, sweetness,” Ben said quietly as he sat on the floor beside Erica’s legs. “She will tell us when it’s over.”

Erica nodded and continued to hold Corrine’s hand until her eyes returned to normal. Corrine still looked overly pale, and when she smoothly removed her hands from Erica’s hold, Ben noticed that they were still shaking.

“There is or will be a foe amongst friends,” Corinne croaked. Her voice sounded as if she had just woken up and it was still rough with sleep.

“Who?” Leo barked from behind Erica.

“We’ll kill that motherfucker now,” Ben chimed in. “Problem solved.”

Ben could feel a vein bulging by his right temple. As if they didn’t have enough heavy shit to deal with already, a traitorous scumbag just had to be added to the mix.

“I can’t see clearly who it will be just yet.” Corinne’s voice held an unmistakable quiver. There was more to her vision than what she was letting on, Ben thought. “Perhaps the traitor will decide against their actions and what I saw will not come to pass.”

“What did you see exactly?” Leo asked. He scooped Erica up and placed her on his lap. Their poor little pixie had already been through so much. A traitor may end up tipping the scales in Alefric’s favor if they couldn't get the situation under control quickly.

“My visions aren’t always direct. I see symbols almost like in a deck of Tarot cards, and foreboding shadows. Sometimes I see the people concerned and their expressions tell me everything I need to know—”

“With all due respect, Corinne,” Ben interrupted, “we would love to hear about the intricacies of your visions, but we are pressed for time.” He felt bad almost immediately after uttering those words, but his priority now was stopping the threat to his woman and his pack. Furthermore, he was anxious to probe her for more information on whatever she saw that he was sure she was about to withhold.

“Patience is a virtue, young wolf,” Corrine said, “but I will appease you for the sake of your poor nerves. I saw a dove flying through the air, carrying a message stained with blood and…”

“And?” Ben prompted.

Corrine took a deep breath. She seemed to turn something over in her head before she continued. “I saw the point of departure and destination. The dove flew from this house and went straight through the Veil.”

Ben heard a sharp intake of breath from Erica. No doubt she was familiar with the symbolism of Corinne’s visions.

“What else did you see,
Quenya?”

His pixie missed nothing either, and when he locked eyes with Leo, he was positive that all three of them were on the same page.

“Nothing more,” Corinne adamantly said. “I am sure the vision will become clearer when it is meant to. Perhaps I shall see the face of the betrayer before anything comes to pass.” She then stood abruptly. “Excuse me a moment. These visions sometimes take a toll on me. I need some air.”

“I’ll come with you.” Erica gave Leo a light squeeze before she disentangled herself from his arms and stood from his lap.

Holding up her hand, Corrine said, “No, child. I need a moment alone. Perhaps if I concentrate, I shall see more. Besides,” she added when she was almost out of the room, “I think your men have a need to attend to you.” Corinne winked and then left the room.

She failed at making light of the situation, and as much as he wanted to ravage his pixie right then and there, they needed to talk first.

And then we ravage her.

“Pipe down!” he told his wolf.

“We didn’t say anything.” Leo chuckled. Ben hadn’t meant to reprimand his inner wolf aloud, but sometimes the damn beast was louder than his own thoughts, blowing horns and whistles to get his attention.

“She’s keeping something from us,” Erica cut in, erasing all humor.

Leo gently tugged on Erica’s hand, pulling her back down on the sofa with him on his lap. Ben sat down beside them and placed Erica’s legs over his thighs. “Do you have any ideas?”

“No, but did you see her face? It’s really bad. Even worse than someone betraying us, I think.”

“Let’s give her some space … for now.” Ben respected the hell out of Corrine and her visions, but he wasn’t going to allow her or anyone else to jeopardize Erica’s safety. If what she saw concerned his woman, he’d drag it out of her if he had to. No sense in telling said woman that, however, and he was fairly certain about where Corinne’s loyalties lay after what she had told them earlier and he wanted to know more. “Tell us about your time with her.”

“Well, you know she was my
Quenya
, my nanny…”

Erica fondly described her childhood moments with Corrine, but when she got up to the part about her parents’ murder, his heart bled for his pixie as well as for Corinne. There was so much more he needed to know, like what was done to her in captivity. He wanted every mother-fucking participant’s name and their role so that he knew just how much to torture each and every one of them. His own earlier blood lust was nothing compared to what he felt now. Leo’s angry and heartbroken face must have mirrored his own.

Ben wanted to kick himself now though for making Erica relive the moment for the second time that day, despite the fact that he was pretty sure—based on her nightmare—that she constantly relived her horrid past every time she tried to sleep. No more, no more for her today. He wiped her tears away and leaned forward to kiss her forehead.

“Why don’t we go rest in one of the rooms upstairs before the pack meeting tonight?” Leo suggested, hugging Erica close. “I am going to go pull the Alpha aside first and see if he has any ideas about a possibly disgruntled pack member.”

“What if it’s Gabe?” Erica asked with a hiccup.

“Gabe would never betray his pack. He’s a man of honor and has way too much pride in what he’s built here,” Leo explained. “The expression on his face earlier told me everything I needed to know. Gabe would rather die than surrender to anyone. And Alefric requesting his surrender and sending a Fae flunky to his house, no less, was an extremely foolish miscalculation on his part. No, he’s almost as thirsty for that bastard’s blood as we are now.”

Ben agreed. Nevertheless, everyone was suspect until this was all over, everyone except for his brother and Erica of course. Ben stood up and held his hand out for Erica to take. “Let’s get you upstairs, my little pixie.”

Erica smiled up at him, though her smile did not quite reach her watery eyes, and took his hand. When she stood up, she looked as pale as Corrine had looked when she had her vision. “What is it, love?”

“I think I know what Corrine may have been keeping from us.” Erica put her hand on her chest. “The dove … I need to know if it uttered a cry in her vision. Oh gods!”

“So what if it did?” Erica remained silent. Ben took both her hands in his. Leo wrapped an arm around her waist from behind. “Erica, what does it mean if she heard it cry?”

“Death. It means someone is going to die.”

Chapter Twelve

Leo’s heart continued to break for his mate. Corrine’s vision took an added toll on Erica after everything that she had already been through. Ben finally managed to get her upstairs to rest while Leo went in search of his Alpha to get a better reading on this traitor business.

He was just walking up to Gabe’s office when he heard the end of the Alpha’s conversation with his Beta, Donovan.

“Did you find the bastard’s trail and leave him at the portal to their world?” Gabe asked gruffly, obviously still furious that Alefric would dare to insult his honor with such a demand of surrender.

“I did, Alpha. I left the messenger … and his parts where the scent trail ended. I can only assume that is where they sent him through the Veil. I’ll go back out and see if they’ve retrieved him or he’s turned to ash by now. Perhaps I can pick up a second scent trail.”

“Very good. Take one of the others with you just to be safe, though.” Gabe then looked up to see Leo standing by the doorway and motioned him forward to sit down at the large desk. “I don’t want any wolf out in those woods alone until we get this resolved.”

Donovan nodded at Gabe and left the room without another word. Leo couldn’t help but wonder about the quiet Beta. Donavan had only been with the pack for about five years now. He’d come from some overly crowded pack up in northern Alberta, and once he’d taken his oath to Gabe, he’d risen through the ranks pretty quickly. As Enforcers, Leo and Ben didn’t have much time for socializing, so they didn’t know him too well, but he liked the guy. He’d proven himself a strong wolf and a competent Beta, and Leo was glad Gabe had the support.

“Corrine had another vision after you left,” Leo said quietly. “She thinks that someone from within is going to betray the pack.”

“Fuck.” Gabe cursed under his breath and ran a hand through his thick, blonde hair. “This couldn’t come at a worse time. We’ve admitted almost a dozen new males into the pack in the last six months. It could be any one of them!”

“I know. We’ll just have to be very tight-lipped from now on about our tactics. I imagine that the false King has gotten our message by now and he can’t be too happy.”

The more Leo thought about Alefric’s message, the more he suspected that a war was exactly what he wanted rather than peace with their pack. From Erica’s recollection of the day her family had been killed, it sounded like the man was dead-set on subjugating all shifters. He wanted more than just Erica and would never declare a truce with the pack, even if they had given her up willingly. Albeit, giving her up would have been over his and Ben’s dead body after they massacred all those who attempted to surrender her in the first place.  In the end, and not surprisingly, Alefric would betray them all. Perhaps, Leo considered, they could find a way to use his own deceitfulness and arrogance against him to win this war.

“I can see the wheels turning in your head, friend. Why not go rest with your mate and your brother? You can tell me what ideas you’ve come up with when you get it sorted out. It usually takes you a few hours once you get that look on your face.” Gabe smiled and pushed his own chair back to stand. “I’m going to go and make sure that Corrine is all right. Those visions can take a lot out of her.”

****

Corrine sat in her favorite chair out by the big elm tree in the back of the estate and thought about what she’d seen in her vision that afternoon. Deep down, she’d already had a feeling that none of them would escape this war without great loss, but knowing still didn’t make the thought of bearing that kind of pain any less daunting.

“What are you doing out here all by yourself, Cor? You’ll freeze.” Gabe took his jacket off and wrapped it around her shoulders and then sat down next to her on the wicker loveseat.

“I won’t freeze any more than you will, wolf,” she said with a sigh, resting her head on his shoulder, “but I appreciate your care.”

“Are you all right? Leo told me that you’d had another vision after I left—a bad one.” Gabe put his arm around her and gathered her close to share his warmth.

“It was bad,” she whispered. “I’m afraid this war with my people will cost us more than we ever thought. You have to promise me, Gabe, that no matter what happens, you must protect Princess Eyrica at all costs. The future of both of our races will be dependent upon her survival.”

“I will, Corrine. I give you my word. I swear it.” Gabe leaned in to kiss the crown of her long, strawberry blonde hair. “We will protect her together, you and I.”

Corrine was glad that Gabe could not see the sad smile that crossed her face at his words. She’d been with this pack for over a decade, and this had truly felt like home to her now. The courageous Alpha meant more to her than she’d ever admitted, even to herself. But she’d taken an oath to protect her Queen and the royal family and that was an oath she’d uphold even if she had to walk into the very depths of hell to do it.