Jewel of Darkness (10 page)

The others watched as the high fae blew off the steam that had been building inside of her. When she finally stopped griping, Elle stepped forward. “You done?” she asked her longtime friend and comrade.

Peri shrugged. “Can’t change it now. Just have to try and salvage the situation.”

“Okay, before we make any decisions,” ― Sally held her hands up ― “why don’t you tell us why you are here?” she asked Peri.

“I need some information. It will be a tad tricky to get.”

“Sweet, dangerous mission. Now we’re talking.” Heather grinned as she rubbed her hands together with way too much glee.

“Calm down, GI Jane,” Peri snorted. “The being that has the information I need is a little bit off his rocker.” She looked at Stella and Heather. “Each of the supernatural races has their own historians, individuals who keep a log of the important events in the race’s past. But there is also one master Historian, a being who is tasked with keeping records on all supernatural creatures. But dealing with him is never easy. We only confer with
the
Historian when there is no other option. I could try and see if the fae archives have anything about this type of break in the wolf bond, but I'm doubting we will have any information on such a specific topic, especially since it pertains to another race.”

“Another supernatural,” Sally practically whined. “When are you going to fill us in on all of them?”

“So, are you asking if now would be a good time to tell you that me and the boys just killed a coven of vampires?” Peri asked, a single brow raised as her lips quirked up in an almost smile.

“I don’t even know what to say to that,” Sally breathed out as she leaned up against a tree. Costin patted his mate’s back but spoke to Peri. “Is everyone okay?”

“That depends on your definition of okay. Did Dalton lose his crap, killing the entire coven by himself, and then try to attack me? If that’s your definition of okay, then yeah everything is great.” Peri ignored the gasps that traveled around the group. “The information I need pertains to Dalton’s rage. Dalton thinks Jewel is dead.”

Sally, Heather, and Stella spoke at the same time.

“What?”

“No.”

“Impossible.”

Crina hadn’t said anything, but Peri could see the fear on her face. She’d grown attached to the healers, just as the rest of them had. “Why does he believe this?” the she-wolf asked.

“Just before he went postal he felt an intense pain and then nothing. He said the pull that he had toward Jewel, even before they were bonded, was gone. There was just nothing when he thought of her.” Peri saw the horror on all of the males’ faces and understood their fear.

“But if she’s dead, why is he still alive? He did the Blood Rites before she was taken,” Costin pointed out.

“I don’t know. Apparently, the bond was severed at some point after the Blood Rites. He’d mentioned it a couple times. But even though the bond had been severed, he still felt the supernatural connection to her. He still craved her, still needed her. He still felt the way you males feel about your true mates,” Peri explained. “But now…”

“Now that’s completely gone.” Sally’s voice was soft and her face had lost all color. “He must be hurting so badly.”

“I think it’s a different pain than when the bond is severed. He seems confused.”

“If I know you,” Adam spoke up, “you don’t think she’s dead.”

“Healers don't die on my watch.” Peri's jaw clenched. “Not to mention that it doesn’t make any sense. Volcan didn’t take Jewel just to kill her.”

“So who is this mysterious supernatural being that you want us to pay a visit to?” Crina asked, breaking the sudden tension.

Peri glanced at Elle and Adam before answering, “His name is Thadrick.”

Both of the fae groaned. “I was really hoping that you were not going to say that name,” Adam exhaled, rubbing his brow.

“Peri, when was the last time someone even saw him?” Elle asked.

“I don't remember when he was last sighted,” she admitted. “But we know he’s around. He’s immortal, after all. We're simply looking for a guy who prefers not to be found.”

“Call me stupid but, generally speaking, when a person goes to an effort to keep from being found, it's because they don't want to be found,” Heather pointed out.

“Stupid,” the high fae said as she gave the blind healer a dry look even though the woman couldn't see her. Then she huffed, “It's just not as satisfying when you give me permission to insult you.”

“Perizada, focus,” Sally said as she clapped her hands attempting to get everyone’s attention. “How do we find this Thadrick? Oh and, perhaps, you should tell us what kind of supernatural he is and any etiquette we should know, like how you don't look a dominant wolf in the eyes unless you are prepared to fight him.”

“He's a Djinn,” Elle offered.

“And you should strive not to piss him off,” Adam added.

“Well―” Stella let out a deep breath. “Then I would say this quest is doomed before it even starts.”

Peri nodded. “I'd have to agree, considering there isn't a being standing or sitting before me that hasn't managed to make me want to turn them into rat turds.”

“I thought it was just turds in general,” Costin said.

Peri shot him a wink. “When it comes to turning this crowd into turds, I'm an equal opportunist in the species of turds. Besides, variety is the spice of life. How mundane would it be to have all of the same type of turds lying around?”

G
ustavo’s feet hit the ground hard as he followed the scent of his mate. He had no doubt it was her. He’d touched her mind and felt her fear. He hated that she was afraid of him. No wolf ever wanted their mate to fear them, but until she got to know him and know their ways, he knew it wouldn’t change. He didn’t understand why she was running. What had caused her to take off on her own? He noticed that after his howl, her speed had increased. This only taunted his wolf, of course. The wolf liked to play, to chase, especially if their mate was the prize at the end of the game.

Gustavo turned a bend and nearly barreled straight into a fast flowing stream. Her scent ended there. A waterfall flowed down a cliff on the opposite side of the bank where he stood. She had to have crossed the stream. It was the only explanation. The water must have dissipated her scent. Without another thought, Gustavo dove into water and paddled across. The cool sensation felt good on his hot body. He took a few laps of the water just as he was climbing out on the other side and felt refreshed as the wet liquid quenched his dry throat. Gustavo pressed his nose to the ground, attempting to pick up her scent once again. But instead of Anna’s scent, his nostrils were hit with something else.

His head snapped up, though not too high, considering the being that stepped out of the foliage to face him wasn’t even two feet tall. The female pixie eyed him curiously. She crossed her arms in front of her and tilted her head slightly as her eyes narrowed.

“You’re not what I would have pictured for her,” she said as she continued to exam him.

Gustavo was beginning to feel like a bug under a microscope. It was a feeling he didn’t appreciate. He raised his upper lip, exposing his long fangs and letting out a low growl.

“Whoa.” The female held up her hands. “I wasn’t insulting you. I was simply stating an observation. She seems too soft to be the mate to one so dominant.”

Gustavo was phasing before he even realized it. This pixie was speaking of his mate, which meant she probably knew where Anna was. Unconcerned with his own nudity, his unwavering gaze met hers. “You know my Anna?”

“First of all,” ― the woman waved her arms and suddenly a pair of pants appeared on the ground in front of him ― “I don’t talk to naked men who belong to someone else. Second of all, what makes you think she’s yours?”

He slipped on the pants, impressed by the pixie’s power, but not so impressed that he let her insolence slide. “I felt her,” he pointed to his head. “I’ve been in her mind. She is my mate. I spoke to her.”

“See, that’s the problem with you possessive males. You assume that because some supernatural bond says that someone belongs to you, then it is so. No questions asked.”

Gustavo stared at her and he knew his face probably spoke volumes on how dumb he thought her observation was. Of course, the bond made it clear who they were to mate and, of course, there was no question. It just was. “What is your point, female?” he asked, unable to hold back the snarl.

“My point is, though you might see Anna as yours, she quite possibly may not agree, and she may not see you as hers. She’s human. She doesn’t understand,” the pixie answered softly.

Gustavo understood what the woman was saying, though his wolf did not like it. The idea that Anna didn’t claim him made his heart clench painfully in his chest. He knew that she didn’t understand his world. She was still young, even though she was considered an adult by her own race. He needed to give her time, but he wanted to be a part of that time. Gustavo wanted her to get to know him. He wanted Anna to trust him. But he also knew that as long as she remained unbound, he was a ticking time bomb. “I can give her all the time she needs to adjust after we complete the Blood Rites,” he told the pixie, unsure why he felt the need to explain himself.

“And just how well do you think she’s going to take it when you tell her you are going to bite her and take her blood, and then she has to do the same with you? How do you think she will handle the intimacy that such an act brings?”

Gustavo’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know so much about our bonding?”

She shrugged. “When you’re small, nobody notices you, and my ears work just as well as any ‘larger beings’.” She unfolded her arms and took a step toward him. “You’re missing the point, Alpha. The point is that Anna is scared. She’s scared of everything that has happened since she left her life with the humans, and she’s scared about what is to come. She’s scared of the bond between the two of you. Biting her and asking for her bite is not going to squelch that fear.”

“Again, how do you know so much?” he rumbled.

“Again, I have ears.”

The man in him completely understood Anna's fear and hesitancy. The wolf in him knew that if she would just let them claim her, she would see that he would always attend to her happiness, health, safety, and provision. They would take care of their mate.

Prove ourselves as strong and capable,
his wolf rumbled in his mind.

Si, but to a human female that isn't always the most important thing.

We can keep her safe, we can feed her, and we can play with her. What more does our female need?
His wolf truly didn't understand that a human female needed much more than just the necessities to stay alive.

Let me help ease her into our world,
he told his beast.

If you lose her, I will take over the hunt.

Gustavo was dominant, but there was a reason he was dominant, and that was because his wolf was so dominant. His wolf was powerful and when faced with a situation that called to his wolf’s instincts, it was possible for the beast to take the driver’s seat. Sometimes it was necessary. But more often than not, the world was a safer place if the man stayed in control.

“I would like to see her,” he told her with all the patience he had left in him.

“Try again,” the little female pixie challenged.

We could just eat her,
his wolf suggested.
She is small, not much meat, but at least then she would not stand between us and what is ours.
Gustavo wasn't shocked by his wolf’s matter-of-fact nature. He saw a problem and figured out a way to eliminate that problem. But he knew they couldn't eat the pixie. First, because she knew were Anna was, and second, he had a feeling that it would greatly upset his mate.

“Please,” he bit out through teeth that could no longer pass for a humans, “will you let me see her?”

“No. See ya sucker.” The pixie waved and then just disappeared.

Gustavo tried to pounce but his hands wrapped around empty air where the little female had been standing. “ARROOOOOO!” his wolf howled into the forest as anger pulsed inside of him.
I told you we should have eaten her.

Maybe it was time he started listening to his beast’s ideas.