Page 23

TWENTY-THREE

Reed

“T he dwarven king, Cysernaphus, has a hoard of legendary, mythical trinkets. Last I visited him, he was guarding it beneath the dwarven city of Neftheim, in the Dolomites. That’s where the stone is, and that’s where you’ll need to go. He’s a salty old bastard, though, and while he claims to offer legendary hospitality, whatever he gives you will come with a price, and it’s never a good one.”

“The Dolomites? That’s pretty close to here, isn’t it?” Fiona asked in a hushed voice.

“It is. But dwarven cities are notoriously tricky to access without an invitation. When she says in the Dolomites, she’ll mean under the mountain range. Dwarves are a subterranean race.” I whispered, not wanting to interrupt Lisanne.

Fiona’s mouth fell into an o of surprise. I could practically see the gears whirring in that beautiful brain of hers. “Subterranean, like, they can’t come above ground, or they don’t want to?”

“Don’t want to, but they are fair skinned as a whole and sunburn very easily.”

“So, it’s not like a vampire thing where they can’t go out into the sun or they fry?”

I shook my head. “Not all vampires fry in the sun, for the record. Vampire sires can day walk.”

She grinned, her enthusiasm for learning about the supernatural world starting to kick in more now that the initial shock had worn off.

“So that’s it, we’re all off to Italy? This sounds like some real Lord of the Rings shit.” Leigh stood, rubbing her back with a wince as she did.

“No.” Kane’s tone was firm, not leaving an inch for disagreement. “We will not all be going.” He pinned Brielle with a look, and she frowned back up at him.

“You expect me to sit here safe and coddled while our pack mates put themselves in danger on my behalf? You heard Lisanne, the dwarven king is going to expect something in return for the stone, and as I’m the one who needs it, I’m the one who should pay the price.”

Lisanne sighed, waving a hand to stop the argument we could all see forming on Kane’s lips. “You can’t leave the enclave, Brielle. I appreciate your bravery in being willing to pay the price personally, but it’s just not feasible. The barrier, struggling though it may be, is the only thing blocking your powers from the ODL right now.”

“I’m not staying locked away like freaking Rapunzel for the rest of my life,” she argued with uncharacteristic venom. “I’m sick of running, sick of everyone else paying the price for what I am. This is my fight! I’m strong now. My wolf is free. I can do this.”

Kane turned her face to his, stroking her cheek gently with his thumb. “You are so strong. Magnificent . And soon, we’ll have the packs behind us, to fight with us. But even I am not strong enough to take on the entire IGC and ODL alone, my love.” Kane seemed aggrieved to admit it, as if the admission that he wasn’t strong enough to protect his mate alone tasted bitter on his tongue. “I need you to stay here and be safe.”

Brielle growled, the usually sedate healer baring her teeth in her displeasure, but didn’t argue. Out loud. Based on her expression, I was pretty certain she was tearing him a new one mentally.

I glanced at Fiona, wondering if we would be blessed with a mental bond, given her different powers. I couldn’t wait to find out.

“You won’t be going either, Alpha, with all due respect,” Lisanne interjected. “Brielle needs you while she’s learning control. The alpha mate brings comfort and stability to the omega in a way no one else can. It would be very dangerous for you to leave her, even temporarily. That could be detrimental to her safety even before the stone could be found and returned.”

Gael spoke up next. “We need to travel in a small group anyway, with the target on our backs. Petró’s people are looking for us, and so are the ODL’s enforcers. Staying under the radar is the most important thing.”

“So, who’s going, then?” I asked, a sinking feeling in my gut. All our females were omega marked except Shay, which meant they’d be safest inside the enclave. But the idea of the males going alone, leaving our females behind… Fur sprouted along my arms at the idea of being separated from Fiona.

What if she decided she should go home again instead of staying with the pack?

Her home was with me . I was the only one who could protect her with that mark on her palm.

“I’m not leaving Fiona here without me.”

Gael nodded, not arguing that I wouldn’t want to leave my unbonded mate. “I’m not leaving my pregnant mate either.”

“We can go,” Elodie volunteered. “We’re assigned to your pack, and Brielle doesn’t need us while she’s here surrounded by the rest of the maidens for protection.”

“If any of the omega-marked females are going,” Lisanne said, looking between me and Gael with a pointedness that rubbed my wolf’s fur the wrong way, “then one of you will be going along for support. Two would raise questions. But if the three males go alone, they would not require maiden protection.”

“I’m fine to go along with Gael,” Leigh said. “I’m bonded, which means my mark shouldn’t be wolfnip anymore, and Shay’s not marked, so she and Dirge can go. It seems like the four of us are the most logical choice.”

Shay nodded her agreement. “Brielle doesn’t need me to power up anymore, obviously.” She grinned and squeezed Brielle’s hand supportively. “Dirge and I are strong fighters, so we’re good to go. Four people should be a small enough group, right?” She looked between Dirge and Gael, who both nodded their agreement.

Relief flooded me at the direction the conversation had taken. While the amenities here weren’t close to what I was used to or would have chosen for wooing my mate, safety was the utmost priority. Taking her out of the enclave where she could be hunted? My wolf didn’t like it, not one bit.

Every eye turned to Kane, and he surveyed the group, deep in thought. “I don’t love sending a pregnant female, but the dwarves are not our enemies. Do you both feel that Leigh is stable enough with the pregnancy to go?” He directed the question to Brielle and Leigh.

Brielle hesitated only a second before nodding. “She’s doing great in the second trimester, and things most likely will be pretty smooth until delivery time. If anything at all changes, though, you bring her straight back here and forget the stone, do you hear me?”

“That’s not even a question,” Gael said, growling possessively as he looped an arm around Leigh’s waist.

“Okay, then. You four better start packing while I go and speak with the head priestess about the barrier’s crack. Reed and Fiona, I’d like you to come along so Fiona can tell Marciana in her own words what she’s seeing.”

I looked down at Fiona, who’d finally relaxed against my chest. I stroked her hair, reveling in the intimate contact. “You up for that?”

“Of course. You’ve all taken me in when I have nothing to offer, I’m happy to help in any little ways I can.”

I frowned at that, even as she pushed herself up with a smile on her face.

The statement that she had nothing to offer was not one I could allow to stand, but surrounded by pack wasn’t the place to correct that notion. When we went back to my room later, I’d make sure she understood exactly how much she brought to the table.

But for now, pack business had to come first, whether we liked it or not.

* * *

Head Priestess Marciana and Belleza, who was in charge of the barrier, met us in the courtyard, severe frowns on their faces. I wrapped an arm around Fiona’s shoulders, unease riding right below the surface, even though they’d agreed she was safe here.

Still, my wolf was on high alert, pacing in the presence of a past threat.

Marciana didn’t waste time with pleasantries. “I understand your concerns, Kane, but Belleza performed the reading ritual barely more than a week ago. It’s not possible for her to do it again so soon.”

“I’m not sure that’s necessary. Our newest pack mate has gifts, as you’ve witnessed.” He arched an eyebrow at her, and she nodded. “One of those gifts seems to be sensing different types of magic that wolves cannot. She can see the barrier over us and has observed a crack forming.” Kane gestured toward Fiona, who cleared her throat before she began describing what she saw overhead.

“So, the barrier is usually smooth and flat, kind of a dome shape,” she began, pointing from one end of the enclave in a sweeping overhead motion to the far side, where the front gates were visible. “Most of it looks the same. But right over there”—she spun out from under my arm and took a few steps forward so she could point at a spot in the sky behind us—“there’s… I don’t know what to call it besides a fissure forming. And I think it’s slightly longer than this morning.” Fiona frowned, concentrating. “It’s hard to tell without a solid frame of reference.”

Priestess Belleza began asking questions then, no judgment in her tone as she and Fiona spoke more in depth about the barrier overhead. But as they spoke, I began to feel something strange. My fingertips started to tingle, and my mouth went suddenly dry as the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.

I turned to Kane, confused, with a question on the tip of my tongue, as I felt a pulse . Raw, staggering power filled me, the air, the enclave—laced with an urgent thread of unadulterated lust.

“Did you feel that?” My voice came out raspy, and I cleared my throat as I resisted the urge to adjust my dick, suddenly at full attention for no sane reason.

Kane frowned at me, eyebrows knitting up in confusion. “Feel what?”

“I—”

Fiona gasped, pointing up at the barrier overhead. “It just moved. Oh my goodness.” But when I turned to look at the three women again, the priestesses weren’t looking at where Fiona pointed, or even at Fiona.

Their eyes were on me, and in them, there was an unmistakable hunger.