Jewel of Darkness (22 page)

Sleep pulled him under, and for the first time since Volcan had taken Jewel, Dalton slept without nightmares plaguing him.

Chapter 10

“The calm before the storm — that’s what they call it when you know all hell is about to break loose, but for whatever reason the universe makes you wait. The anticipation increases, along with your blood pressure, and you eventually begin to wonder if the actual storm will be as bad as the calm.” ~Kara

K
ara listened as Stella and Heather argued. She was beginning to think that the argument was nothing more than a tactic to distract them all from the growing ache inside. Stella wanted to leave; she was restless and kept saying that there had to be something they could do to help. Heather wanted to stay, because obviously Peri knew the dangers, as did the wolves. And they’d put them in the pixie realm for a reason.

“Are you scared?” Stella asked Heather. “Is that the problem?”

Heather laughed. “Scared of what? I can’t see jack crap to be afraid of.”

“Why would you want to see this Jack Crap?” Gustavo asked. He’d been watching each of them with interest. Kara knew it wasn’t romantic interest, however. It was pure curiosity. She didn’t think he’d spent much time with human females. He was reserved and it was more than obvious that he was also restless. She imagined he too was trying to distract himself.

The group laughed. Gustavo looked to Adam, the only other male in their group. It was obvious he thought Adam would be on his side. But Adam was laughing just as hard at the puzzled Alpha. After a few minutes, the laughter subsided.

“It’s just an expression,” Adam told him. “Honestly, I don’t understand half of the human expressions. It’s best to just pretend to comprehend them.”

The Spanish Alpha gave a non-committal grunt. He turned back to look at the forest where he’d gone in search of Anna. If he wasn’t watching the girls, he was staring off into the trees. Kara thought the longing on his face was heartbreaking. But she understood Anna’s reasons for taking off. Everything to do with the Canis lupus was intense. Not only did they have constant danger surrounding them but they also had to come to terms with the fact that they would each be mated to one of the wolves ― not necessarily a bad thing, but still overwhelming.

“Why are you so quiet?” Crina asked as she took a seat on the ground next to her.

“Maybe I’m not necessarily quiet,” Kara offered. “Maybe it’s just that those two” ― she motioned to the still arguing Stella and Heather ― “are so
not
quiet, that everyone else just seems quiet in comparison.”

Crina laughed. “Yes, they are quite the pair.”

“It’s a good friendship. There’s a kindred spirit between them.” Kara watched as Stella attempted to bat Heather’s hand away from her hair. The blind healer was just finding out that Stella’s hair was a different texture than her own and apparently felt the need to feel it every few minutes. Kara found it amazing how accurate Heather’s sense of direction was. The slightest sound and she could turn in the exact direction of the noise. Because of Stella’s repeated attempts to tell Heather to stop, Heather knew the exact location of the girl’s head.

She and Crina laughed when Heather nearly tackled the other girl. They rolled around for a moment until they were both laughing and out of breath.

“How about you? You doing okay?” the she-wolf asked Kara.

Kara wasn’t really sure how to answer that. Health-wise, sure she was fine. Mentally, yes, for the most part, she was fine. But there was something in her spirit that was agitated. That wasn’t fine. But could she tell Crina? She really didn’t know how to put it into words. And if she did tell the she-wolf that there was something wrong with her spirit, would she think Kara was a French fry short of a Happy Meal?

“Look,” Crina began when Kara took too long to answer. “I don’t want you to think that I’m checking on you because you’re sixteen and younger than everyone else. I can see in your eyes that your age has nothing to do with how mature you are. I’m checking on you because sometimes the wolf inside of us senses things we do not, and my wolf is telling me that all is not as it seems with you.”

Well damn,
Kara thought. How could she argue with that? She didn’t want to lie to Crina. She’d been lied to too many times herself and she refused to lie no matter how hard the truth was.

“I’m seventeen,” she told Crina. Her birthday had come and gone and she hadn’t told anyone because frankly there was a whole heck of a lot more important things going on than her turning a year older.

Crina’s eyes widened. “You had a birthday and didn’t tell us?”

Kara was surprised at how upset the she-wolf seemed to be over the fact that no one had known about it. “It’s no big deal,” Kara assured her.

“Correction, birthdays are always a big deal.”

“No, really” ― Kara put her arm on Crina’s arm stopping her from getting up ― “I’d really rather not have to answer a bunch of questions about it or—”

Crina cut her off. “I get it. I won’t say anything. Being in the limelight isn’t your thing.”

Kara shook her head. “I’ve spent my life trying to keep from being noticed.”

“One day, when you’re ready, if you need to talk with someone about it, I’m here.” She gave Kara a pat on the leg and then headed back over to where Adam sat. She watched as Adam pulled Crina into his lap and kissed her on the neck. There was a tenderness in his eyes that Kara had never seen in any of the eyes of the men she’d been around growing up.

While Kara appreciated the she-wolf’s offer at being a listening ear, there was only one person she could think of that she would ever want to pour her heart out to like that, and it didn’t make sense to her why his name was the one that kept popping up in her mind. For whatever reason, Nick had imprinted himself in her mind, and she was afraid that the ache growing inside of her had something to do with the Canadian wolf.

K
ale had listened to the other males grumble about being bored. He didn’t understand why they’d been called in to help if all they were going to do was work on their fighting skills while in Farie. He understood their frustration. Kale too was quite put out over simply doing nothing. He sat on the top of a hill on the very far edge of the land Peri claimed as her own. He’d asked her if the fae shared all the land in Farie. She’d responded that she never shared and the rest of the fae was welcome to everything she hadn’t claimed as her own. When he asked her how much of it was hers, she simply smiled and said all of it. He chuckled to himself and, not for the first time, thanked the Great Luna that she was not his mate. He did not envy Lucian’s circumstances.

“Have you considered what your mate is going to be like?” a soothing voice said from behind him. Kale turned and knelt at the same time as he bowed his head.

“Maker,” he rumbled out. “Tis a great honor to kneel in your presence.” Kale noticed that his accent had gotten thicker and he’d reverted back to his old way of speaking as he addressed the Great Luna.

“You are a good warrior, Kale, Alpha of my wolves in Ireland. You are a good Alpha. Will you be a good mate?”

“I will put my true mate before all of my own needs. The lass will always come first, as will her happiness, safety, and health.”

“What if she is incomplete?” her voice took on a challenging quality.

Kale frowned slightly. “She could naught be incomplete ta me.”

“All of the males are growing restless,” she said, not seeming to acknowledge his words. “There is a reason you each have been brought here: some, because they have true mates who need them and others, because they have friends who will need them. There is no one here by mistake and, though the time seems to be wasted, I have a purpose for each of you. Patience is required. Each of you will be tested in his own time.”

Her words reverberated through his soul. There was a purpose for them and they weren’t just sitting idly by. “We will wait fer ya, me lady, me maker.”

“You
will
be a good mate. Tis yer destiny.” The last bit was in the accent of his people. He smiled at the endearment of her actions.

He bowed his head once more and then felt her leave, her powerful and yet peaceful presence suddenly gone. Her words brought him comfort, knowing that she hadn’t forgotten them, and that they were not simply wasting time. Their time would come, and whatever evil or struggles they faced, their maker would be with them.

S
he knew he was close. She couldn’t feel him like when the bond was in place, but for some reason Jewel just knew that Dalton stood beyond the door. She was sitting on the edge of the bed where’d she’d slept. It had started out as a restless sleep, but then somewhere along the way she’d settled and been able to slip into a sleep deeper than she’d had in a long time. Jewel felt rested, though her injuries still ached.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when Peri suddenly appeared. “Could you just use a door like a normal person?” the healer sighed.

“Then I wouldn’t have the pleasure of seeing the surprised look on your face when I show up,” Peri informed her. “How are you feeling?”

She shrugged. “I slept better than I have in a long time.” The look on Peri’s face told Jewel that the fae knew something that she did not.

“Are you ready for visitors?”

Jewel’s eyes widened and she felt her heart speed up.

“Don’t wig out on me. I’m only talking about Sally. She wants to come and see if she can help you out with the bruises and pain,” Peri said, motioning to the injuries.

“Oh,” she said dumbly. “Yeah, that’d be good.”

A few minutes later Sally walked into the room. Jewel didn’t miss that she tried to slip through the smallest opening possible, as if trying to keep someone behind her from seeing in. Jewel had no doubt that it was Dalton. She shivered at the idea of him being so close.

“Asking you if you feel okay just seems a bit cruel,” Sally said as she walked over to where Jewel was sitting. “I mean, you’ve been kidnapped, held by a psycho, beaten, and who knows what else. I know a little of what you’re feeling and though I can’t help with the emotional trauma, I can help with the physical injuries ― if you’ll let me.”

Though Sally’s astute assessment of the situation was a tad painful, Jewel appreciated her frankness. “Any amount of relief would be greatly appreciated.”

Sally nodded with a small smile. She sat down next to her on the bed and placed her hands on Jewel’s face. After several seconds, Jewel felt warmth flow through her. The throbbing in her check dissipated and the cracked ribs mended. The bruises caused by tissue damage and bursting capillaries also healed, and she no longer felt the ache of them all over her body.

“Thank you,” Jewel breathed out. She opened her eyes and met Sally’s brown ones. “Really, Sally, thank you.”

Sally bowed her head slightly. “You are most welcome. We chicks have to stick together. I’ve always got your back and I know the other girls feel the same way.”

Jewel swallowed down the emotions threatening to choke off her words. “For what it’s worth, I have all of yours as well.”

Sally leaned forward until their faces were only a few inches apart. “Dalton is in the hall,” she whispered so softly that Jewel almost didn’t understand what she was saying.

Jewel nodded, “I know.”

“Even without the bond?”

She nodded her head. “I can’t explain it. It’s not like I can feel him in
here
―” she tapped her head. “But I can sense him because of
here
―” she pressed her flat palm to her chest, just over her heart.