Deciding Her Faete (Beyond the Veil Book 2) (10 page)

Things took a serious note again when Erica vowed, “I promise you, April, Kheelan will pay for what he has done to not just my family, but yours and that of our people as well. We will bring him to justice, and we will save the humans he kidnapped.”

“I understand that one of the humans taken is a friend of yours,” Gabe stated.

She nodded. “Dee. She was taken the same night that they took Jason.” April shivered at the memory. She looked up at Jason to see him watching her intently. She couldn’t wait to be in the comfort of his and Donovan’s arms again. They barely had any time together, and now they were being thrown right back into chaos. “We barely knew each other, but still, they wanted me and now she’s paying the price.”

A chorus of “it’s not your fault” rang around the room, and though she did know that deep down, it did little to assuage her guilt.

Gabe sat across from April. “Did Kheelan make any mention of the humans at all to you?”

April shook her head. “But as I mentioned, there were a lot of other cells. Soundproofed, I think.”

“The place is well hidden. It seems logical that he would be holding them there,” Donovan speculated.

“Agreed,” Gabe said. “And it’s not like he would simply let them go out of the kindness of his heart.”

“He’s a twisted fuck,” Erica added. “He’ll find a way for them to be useful to him.”

April felt sick thinking about that scenario. As a healer, she was able to survive what had been done to her, but she knew that the humans would most likely not be able to if they didn’t get to them soon. She had to also consider the possibility it may be already too late to save them.

Gabe stood. “We’ll send in a few men to monitor their comings and goings. If we have a chance to grab someone, we take it.” Turning to Donovan, he added with commanding authority, “You will lead this mission.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

Ben and Leo also volunteered their services. They now ruled the Fae kingdom with Erica, but they also assisted in pack matters as April had just learned. Naturally, Jason, as one of the top enforcers, would be joining them as well as another shifter named Niall, whom April had not yet met.

“I memorized the symbols on my way out,” April said. “I’ll be able to get us in if we don’t see anyone guarding the outside.”

“Over my dead fucking body,” Jason roared.

The room went silent. She could see in her peripheral vision the others looking back and forth between them.

“Excuse me?” April stood, balling her hands into fists at her side.

“You heard him.” Donovan crossed his arms. “We will bring you Kheelan’s ashen heart after we rip it out of his chest. Hell, I’ll give you a play by play of how much he suffered before he died, but you will never be anywhere near that bastard’s vicinity again.”

“There will be no ripping out hearts just yet,” Gabe said. “This is just a—”

“I wasn’t asking for your permission,” April snapped at Donovan then looked pointedly at Jason, and in the process, cut Gabe off, forgetting herself for a moment.

“And yet,” Jason waved his hand at her dismissively, “you’re still not going.”

“But it’s okay for the two of you to put yourselves in harm’s way while I … what?” She threw her hands up in frustration. “Sit around and wait for the two of you like a good obedient little woman?” she added. “Maybe I’ll take up knitting to pass the time.” Sarcasm dripped from her tone. “You two have no idea how helpless and worthless I felt while just waiting around at home, and then in the dungeons, and now you want me to do that again? To wonder if you two will come back safely while I do absolutely nothing? Hell, no!”

With that, she stormed out of the den and out of the front door, slamming it shut behind her.

Chapter Fifteen

“Umm, I may have dealt poorly with that,” Jason muttered as they all watched April storm across the yard towards the cabin.

“Yeah, no shit, Sherlock.” Erica rolled her eyes, and then they narrowed in suspicion as they locked onto Ben and Leo. “And do you think
I’m
going to stay at home while you go hunting for that bastard as well?”

Jason knew a trap when he heard one. He said a silent prayer to the Goddess for his friends to get out of this with their balls still attached and then he pulled Donovan aside.

“I’ll go try to smooth this over with April while you get this plan in motion.”

“Okay, just try not to fuck it up any more than we already have, brother.” Donovan’s stress showed as he ran his hands through his hair. “I don’t want April to feel like we’re not including her, but the thought of her being anywhere near that cave again makes my wolf go insane.”

“Mine too,” Jason agreed. “I’ll do my best to make her see that we just needed to protect her.”

Jason must have gone over the conversation he wanted to have with April in his mind about twenty times as he crossed the lawn towards their cabin. He needed to do this without putting his foot in his mouth again.

He entered the cabin expecting to go on the offensive right away, but when he didn’t see April, he followed her scent into the master bedroom right up to the closed—and what he assumed was a locked—bathroom door.

His assumption had been correct he realized when he turned the knob.

“April?” Jason put his forehead against the door and concentrated on listening for any sign of her distress. Fortunately, he didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary. “Can I come in and talk?” he pleaded.

No answer. Then he heard the sound of water running from the bathtub faucet.

Most shifter females Jason knew would’ve just rolled their eyes at the dominating outburst he’d had back in Gabe’s office. They would have pretended to defer to their mates’ need to protect them, and then figured out a way to get what they wanted eventually. Female shifters were diabolical that way. April, however, was fierce in her own need to protect them, just as they sought to protect her. It only made her more attractive to him, and it was all he could do to stop himself from barging in the bathroom, knowing that she was alone and upset … and naked … and wet.

“April, baby?” he tried again.

“Go away, Mr. Wolf bossy-pants.” she yelled back.

“April, I’m sorry,” he started off apologetically until his temper rose up and he forgot that he was supposed to be groveling. “No, I’m
not
sorry that Donovan and I need to keep safe. And I am not sorry that we don’t want you in any more danger. This is what we were put on this Earth
for,
April, to love and protect you, so let me in there so I can see that you’re okay.”

She didn’t answer for a few moments, and then Jason heard the slosh of water as she got out of the tub.

Thank the Goddess, she’s listening to me. I’m way better at this mate thing than I thought. I can’t wait to rub it in Donovan’s face once he gets home!

“Let you in, hmm?” April said in a snarky tone as she wrenched the door open. “Is this what you think our life will be like, Jason? You two ordering me around and me jumping to attention?”

Jason found it difficult to concentrate on a single word that came out of his mate’s mouth. Who could expect him to even remember how to breathe when she was standing there, hot from the bath, completely nude? Every glorious freckle just tempting him to fall at her feet and pay homage. She was the most exquisite thing he’d ever seen. The Goddess couldn’t have created a more beautiful creature than the woman standing in front of him.

“Well sheesh, Jason.” April blushed a deep red, and then a small smile curved at her lips. “It’s kinda hard to keep a grudge going when you say stuff like that, but seriously, I can’t just stay on the sidelines where you and Donovan want to keep me. That’s not who I am, Jason.”

Oh shit!
Had he said that out loud?
Meh.
Jason didn’t so much care if she thought he was cheesy as long as a door no longer separated him from her naked body. He sighed loudly in defeat. He needed to stop looking at his perfect mate for a second if he was going to hope to get his brain working again.

“April, we know who you are, baby,” he began, “and it’s not that we want to keep you on the sidelines at all, but you only just shifted for the first time today, and it’s going to take some time to learn to control the urge to let your wolf out when you get emotional. It will be dangerous if you can’t control her in a combat situation. You have to trust us on that. And yes, the thought of Kheelan getting anywhere near you again terrifies me. I felt like my heart was bleeding hearing about what he had done to you.”

He watched her think about the implications of his words and hoped she could understand why he and Donovan reacted the way they did. “But I acted like a complete ass at Gabe’s, and I’m sorry for that,” he added in hopes that his mate might have pity on his addled brain. “I can’t think straight when I imagine you in danger. Can you forgive me, baby?”

He knew he had her when the corner of her mouth turned up in a small grin and she opened up the door all the way to invite him in.

“Maybe, but you’ll have to make it up to me.” April’s voice turned husky when she said, “Why don’t you strip down and see what you can do about that while I relax in the bath?”

Jason’s wolf almost whimpered embarrassingly and out loud at her suggestion, but when she turned around and slowly walked to the steaming bathtub, an exaggerated sway to her heart-shaped ass, he suddenly couldn’t care less if his wolf howled his way behind their mate. When she bent to lower herself into the water, he did groan, and he began to undress in record time to join her.

The sound of her giggling laughter was worth getting caught in his pant leg and hopping around like an idiot, and he knew right then that he’d spend the rest of his life doing anything to keep his woman happy.

“Careful there. Don’t bruise the merchandise.” April winked at him as she leaned back in the water. “Now let me see what I paid for.”

Jason loved this playful side of her. This was the woman he had met that first night at the bar, only she seemed stronger now like there was just
more
to her somehow. Her carefree teasing made him forget about everything they’d been through until now, and she made him feel like everything would turn out right.

Once he finally untangled himself from his jeans, he walked towards the tub, trying to ignore the giant erection that was currently pointed straight at his mate. The quirk of her lips, a slow peek of her tongue, and her raised eyebrow when she took a good long look and finally met his eyes, only made him want her more.

“Behave,” he growled playfully as he lowered himself into the water and offered her his hand to join him on the other side of the tub. “It’s hard to act all smooth and suave with a naked goddess in the tub with me, you know.”

Once again, she giggled as she turned and presented him with the most perfect ass he’d ever seen. She then threw a knowing look over her shoulder and gave him a sexy smile.

“Oh, I can see that,” she teased. “I’d say it looks pretty hard.”

“Vixen, come here.” Jason grabbed her and pulled her down so that she lay between his legs, her smooth back resting against his chest.

They both simultaneously let out a sigh and relaxed into each other, letting the calm wash over them. April absently trailed her fingers up and down his arms while he did the same to her thighs.

She finally broke the silence when she asked, “Did everyone think I was a drama queen for storming out like that?” He felt her cringe in his arms.

“No, love. As a matter of fact, Erica was chewing out her own mates for the exact same reason when I made my escape,” he reassured her.

The feel of her fingers caressing him was beginning to interrupt his thought process, causing him to moan. “Goddess, that feels good, April. It’s like I can feel your touch all over my body.”

Jason closed his eyes as the sensations grew stronger. If he didn’t know better, he’d think there was more than one person touching him. He felt her everywhere as if her power became extra phantom limbs. His arousal grew with each stroke of her hands, each phantom touch. He didn’t want her to stop anytime soon, but when she slowly turned in his lap and straddled his hips, all he could think about was moving his hips a fraction of an inch and sliding inside of this amazing woman. Through the link that connected all three of them, he could feel a vague irritation coming from Donovan.

Oops
. He needed to remember that his brother was currently in a meeting with the rest of the enforcers, attempting to plan the attack on Kheelan. Jason could understand that he wouldn’t want to do it with a raging hard-on and that this bond was too new to all of them. They hadn’t had time yet to learn to close it off when they needed some privacy.

“April…” He tried to protest—well, he half-assed tried to protest as her soft hands ran all over his body—but come
on
… what did his brother want from him?

“Shh, I know. I just need to touch you,” she answered against his lips, her voice low and so sexy it drove him crazy. “This power inside of me feels like a living thing, and when I’m this close to you or Donovan it wants to reach out and caress you like it feels this connection as strongly as I do.”

Jason was just about to ask what exactly she meant by that when she placed her palms in the middle of his chest and a bright blue light lit up between them. Suddenly, it felt like someone had just detonated an explosion of the most intense pleasure he’d ever felt inside him. Before he could stop himself, his hips were moving, his shaft sliding in between her pussy lips, and then he yelled out her name as an orgasm was nearly ripped from his body. At the same time, he heard April’s moan of pleasure and he knew that she had come as well. Just as suddenly as it appeared, the light was gone, and April collapsed against him.

“Holy hell! What was that?” he asked once his breath returned to him. He slowly stroked his hands up and down her back. “Are you okay, baby?”

“Yeah, I’m okay.” She pulled back and smiled sleepily at him, running her fingers along his skin. “Hmm, I guess my touch can do more than just heal. I wonder what else I can do with it?”

“How did you do that?” Jason laughed at the satisfied look on her face, but his laughter quickly died down when he realized there was one-third of their bond who wasn’t feeling all that happy at the moment. “Oh, damn.”

“What’s wrong?” April asked. She must have felt that Jason had tensed underneath her.

Jason was spared from explaining the reason to April when the bathroom door swung open and in burst Donovan with an extremely unhappy look on his face.

“Do you two want to tell me what the hell is going on in here? You literally made me come in my jeans while I was in a room full of people.”

Both Jason and April glanced down at the now dark spot at the front of Donovan’s jeans. Then they looked at each other and burst out laughing.