“I’m not going anywhere, Alpha. My pixies won’t do business with you overgrown hairballs without my intervention, so you sort of need me.”

“And it’s good to know her ego is thoroughly intact,” Jacque murmured.

“Hey, you ungrateful little redhead ass, she totally held you and your furry prince to this realm all by herself. Without her you’d be pushing up daisies right now, so I think she’s allowed a little ego stroking,” Jen pointed out.

“Jen, as thoughtful as it is for you to defend me, I can handle it.” Peri crossed her arms in front of her and shot Jacque an annoyed look.

“I wasn’t doing it for your benefit, Peri Fairy. I was just dying for the chance to call Jacque an ass and talk about you stroking something.” Jen high-fived herself. “Mission accomplished.”

“Decebel, put a muzzle on your she-wolf before I turn her into a coat for little Thia. Now,” Peri breathed out. “As I was saying, if you want the continued help of the pixies, then you will need my assistance.”

Vasile nodded. “Then do what you do. Get us as much information about these wolves as you can.”

“Maybe we should send some wolves there too, you know, to get a good look at these rogues,” Jen suggested.

Decebel shook his head and answered before Vasile. “They would smell us from a mile away. It might spook them if there are suddenly new wolves in the area.”

“Point,” Jen said as she patted Thia, who was now asleep on her shoulder.

The room was quiet, which Peri found to be amusing considering the occupants that filled it. She knew it wouldn’t last long. It didn’t.

“I wish there was more we could do,” Lilly said, taking Cypher’s hand in hers. “I feel useless.”

“You haven’t seen anything?” Jacque asked her mom.

Lilly shook her head. “All’s quiet.”

“On the wolf front,” Jen said softly and snickered to herself. She looked over at Jacque, “See what I did there? On the wolf front instead of—”

“The Western front,” Jacque interrupted. “Yes, Jen. I acknowledge that you are clever and funny.”

“Just as long as we’re clear,’’ Jen nodded.

Peri turned to Lilly, deciding that attempting to reign the two girls in was simply an impossibility. “You will be helping soon enough watching your grandson. I suspect that if we find Sally in this Oceanside town, Jacque will be one of the first to force me to take her there.”

Jacque held her fist in the air. “You totally get me. P, we are like this.” Jacque opened her fist and then twisted her forefinger and middle finger together. She ended with, “Fairy dust is thicker than water.”

Decebel glanced over at Peri. “Did you drop her when she was unconscious, maybe bumped her head a little too hard when you were moving her from one place to another?”

“I think it’s a side effect of leaving the plane of the living. Brain cells die in the transition from death back to life and there’s just no repairing them.”

“With that said” —Vasile clapped his hands together and his voice rose to force the attention to himself— “Wadim and Peri will gather information and we will meet back here in twenty-four hours.”

“Twenty-four hours?” Wadim asked, eyes as wide as saucers.

“I have no doubt you can handle it,” Vasile assured the younger wolf and patted him on the shoulder. Peri didn’t see any consolation in Wadim’s face. Twenty-four hours certainly wasn’t much time, but time was of the essence. Setting unrealistic deadlines would get peoples’ butts in high gear and that’s exactly what they needed, Peri thought. High. Freaking. Gear.

“We’re also going to get everyone back into their own dens. Romania pack members need to be back here,” Vasile continued. “Decebel?”He looked at the other Alpha.

“I agree,” Decebel nodded. “Now that Jacque and Fane are better, we can all get moved back into our respective homes.” Jen started to say something but her mate held up a finger. “You can visit her anytime you want. Playdates and all that.”

“When you say playdates, it doesn’t sound near as kid-friendly as when Jacque says playdates,” Jen grinned.

Jacque groaned. “By all means, get me back to my own bedroom and away from the sex fiend.”

“It takes one to know one,” Jen cooed.

Peri rolled her eyes. “The next time their lives are in peril and I have some grand plan to swoop in and rescue them, someone remind me of this moment.”

“And all the other ones when they’ve been annoying?” Wadim asked. “I have a record of them.”

“Ha, ha, history boy,” Jen said dryly. “You might want to sleep with one eye open.”

“Already do,” Wadim said absently as he typed away on his keyboard. “I’ve been dragged out of bed too many times by Peri to sleep with both of them closed.”

Peri glanced over to Vasile. “I’m going to go visit my mate while everyone gets themselves situated back in their own quarters, and then I’m going to take care of getting more info on our new wolves. You have fun with that.” She pointed to the group. Jacque was batting Jen’s hand away from Wadim’s head while Decebel pried Thia from his mate’s free arm while at the same time telling her to keep her hands off of other males.

Vasile glanced at his mate, who had an amused expression on her face, and then back to Peri. “Thanks,” he muttered.

Peri bowed theatrically. “I aim to please, Alpha.” She gave another bow to Alina and then flashed from the room.

Chapter 8

“Even though I am moving, I feel that time is standing still. Tucked away in these rooms with Drake where nothing and no one can touch us, everything else has simply ceased to exist.” ~Bethany

Bethany watched Drake as he made them each a turkey sandwich. Over the past few days of living with him, she’d began to notice that his movements were always precise and deliberate. He didn’t allow himself to lose control in any capacity, even over the subtlest shift of weight. She wondered if it was because of the way his previous Alpha treated him. Bethany had wanted to ask, but at the same time, she didn’t want to pry into his personal life.