Into the Fae (9 page)

∞

“She’s frazzled,”
Sally sent the thought to Costin through their bond as she watched Anna walk into the Starbucks where she and Crina currently sat. He was sitting in the outside dining area, no doubt with a frown on his handsome face because he had lost the Rock, Paper, Scissors game to get to come inside the restaurant. Sally didn’t want Anna to be scared, and though Costin wasn’t as big as Lucian or Decebel, he could still be very intimidating when he wanted to be.

“Well I would be better able to help you decipher what is wrong with her if I were inside with you instead of sitting out here like a dork,”
Costin huffed.

Sally bit back the smile that threatened
to inch across her face. His Romanian accent coupled with American terms had become a big source of amusement to her, though for some reason he never seemed to find it as funny as she did.

“Quite pouting it’s not attractive.”

She heard his chuckle in her mind.
“Now you’re just telling lies love, you think everything I do is attractive.”

Sally sent him a mental eye roll but didn’t respond because Anna had taken a seat across from her.

“You didn’t have to send someone to get me,” Anna said with obvious irritation. “I said I would meet you and I keep my word.”

Sally looked at Crina and then back at Anna. “Um, sorry but I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Anna’s head tilted ever so slightly and Sally could tell that she was trying to decide if Sally was blowing smoke up her butt or not.

“You didn’t send someone to walk me here?” Anna asked.

“No,” Sally answered shaking her head. “What did this person look like?”

“Like the woman you called Peri, only she seemed dim, like a washed out version of Peri.”

“Lorelle,” Crina spoke the name Sally had been thinking.

“This is not good,” Sally murmured.
“Houston we have a problem,”
Sally sent to Costin.

“I’m not Houston, but I imagine I can help,”
Costin retorted playfully.

“
Lorelle is here,”
Sally relayed.
“Anna said she showed up at her store.”

“I’m on it,”
Costin growled.

“So she isn’t with your group?” Anna asked.

“No,” Crina answered. “She is quite the opposite of being with our group.”

“But you know her?”

“Not exactly,” Sally rejoined the conversation, feeling slightly better that Costin was making sure that Lorelle wasn’t hanging around outside waiting to ambush them. “It’s quite a long story but the short version is that she’s evil.”

“Wicked,” Crina confirmed.

“Psycho,” Sally added.

“Diabolical.”

“Maniacal.”

Anna’s head bounced back and forth between the two as they tossed out adjectives.

“What their trying to say is she’s bat shit crazy and she will stab you in the back with a spoon, dig your heart out and feed it to the vultures,” Peri’s voice came from behind Anna.

Anna turned to look at the woman who did bear a striking resemblance to her sister, but now that Anna was before her again she realized that the one key difference
between Peri and her sister was their eyes. Not the color, though that was indeed different. Peri’s eyes were alive. They danced with light and mirth. They were perceptive and alert but there was no malice in them. Her sister’s eyes had been the eyes of someone with a soul that had withered and dried up inside of them and all that was left was an empty husk.

Sally looked up at Peri and smiled tightly.
“So glad you decided to let us have this private meeting with Anna so that we wouldn’t overwhelm her, Peri.”

Peri rolled her eyes and took the empty seat next to Anna. “
My sister killed you and me for that matter, just a few weeks ago. Now she’s in the same city, on the same street, talking to the same person that we are, that sort of changes things, healer.”

Anna’s eyes had widened at Peri’s words. She looked at Peri and then back to Sally. “Did she just say that her sister killed you?”

“Uh, and me,” Peri piped up.

Sally nodded and then held her hands up. “Okay just wait before you freak out and call us crazy. Can I just try and explain why
we’re here?”

“Is it going to keep me from calling you crazy?” Anna asked.

Peri let out a snort. “Oh, totally.”

Sally ignored Peri’s remark and kept her eyes on Anna. “You know that you are a Gypsy
, right?”

Anna nodded.

“Okay, well that’s not the only thing about you that is special. You have probably never heard of the Great Luna, but she is the creator of the Canis lupis. After she created them she realized they would need someone very special to be able to care for them in times of sickness or injury so she looked at the people of the world and saw that the Gypsy people had the most affinity for magic. Within the Gypsy females she looked for those with pure hearts, and gentle spirits and she chose them to be healers for her children. For centuries now Gypsy healers have been living with and taking care of the Canis lupis. To ensure that the healers would stay with their packs and to protect them, the Great Luna made them compatible true mates to the Canis lupis.” Sally paused and glanced at Peri. “Have I missed anything?”

“Aside from all of the recent developments, no I think you’ve done a very good job of explaining it, although judging by the look on Anna’s face she indeed thinks you’re a few coffee beans short of a full cup. See what I did there,” she pointed to the Starbucks logo, “because we’re in a coffee shop?”

Crina and Sally both chuckled.

“Ask,” Sally said to Anna whose narrowed gaze held her captive.

“Who is the Great Luna? What is a Canis lupis? Magic, pack healer, true mates?” Anna’s voice grew with each word and then as if losing the wind from her sails she slumped down into her chair like a deflated balloon.

“The Great Luna is a deity, she’s a creator,” Sally explained. “The Canis lupis, well they are a little harder to explain.”

“They aren’t hard to explain Sally, it’s just hard for the human brain to wrap their little cells around the notion of something so supernatural,” Peri interrupted. She looked at Anna and said deadpan. “Werewolves, as in huge, furry, for some reason absurdly handsome to a near ridiculous amount, body changing beasts.”

Anna’s mouth dropped open but when nothing came out Peri reached out and gently pushed her chin up to close it.

“Anna,” Sally reached out and touched the girls arm to get her attention. Anna’s head turned and her gaze met Sally’s. She didn’t look terrified yet, just shocked, so Sally decided to continue. “They are real and we can prove it to you, although not in the middle of Starbucks. But let’s finish answering your questions first okay?”

Anna nodded slowly unable to formulate any words.

“So as for the other, well, magic is just that, its magic. There is no science behind it and no way to explain it. As for the whole pack and true mate thing, now that you know what we are talking about ‘werewolves,’ well that explains the pack part, I guess. There are werewolves all over the world and they live in packs, with a hierarchy to keep them in line. Werewolves tend to be quite violent if not kept under tight control.”

“Ya think,” Anna let slip out and then slapped her hand over her mouth. “Sorry,” she mumbled through her hand.

Sally waved her off. “No worries, you got nothing on my friend Jen so don’t worry about anything that might pop out because of shock.”

“Are you a Canis lupis?” Anna asked Sally finally able to find her voice.

Sally shook her head. “No, I’m like you.”

“Like me?” Anna asked slowly.

Sally nodded with a smile. “A Gypsy healer.”

Chapter 7

“The world has advanced more than I could have ever imagined. As I withered away in the darkness, life outside continued to move forward, to grow and change. It’s so big, so full of wonder and danger and I want to experience it all, but I want my mate by my side. Until she commits to me I can’t fully enjoy all that this life has to offer. How do I get her to see that she is the kaleidoscope through which I want to see the world?” ~Lucian

“Is she alright?”
Lucian asked Peri as he waited for her outside. He had not put up much of a fight when she had asked him to stay outside because he really was enjoying himself. There was so much to see and look at and when he didn’t understand something he just sifted through Peri’s thoughts for the answer. She didn’t particularly like that, which only made his smile grow bigger because for some reason aggravating her was a strange form of foreplay. Well, that’s what she accused him of doing anyways and he wasn’t going to disagree with her.

“Well, she hasn’t run out screamin
g, she isn’t crying like a wuss, and she hasn’t passed out. So I’d say, so far she is doing pretty darn good.”

Lucian
chuckled under his breath as he leaned back against the building. He kept scanning his surroundings after having been told by Costin that Lorelle had been spotted, but so far he hadn’t seen anything suspicious. He had, however, seen way too many half-dressed females and he was beginning to wonder if any of them had mates because there was no way in all of creation he would let his mate walk out of their house dressed in such a state.

“Let?”
Peri’s voice broke through his thoughts. She was beginning to spend more and more time in his mind and it warmed his heart and caused his wolf to rumble in delight. They wanted her to feel comfortable with them, to want to be with them.

“Would you really want to walk around with that much skin showing?”
He asked, truly curious of her answer.
“Does it not bother you that because these females do not cover themselves I see all that is uncovered?” He
felt her rage rush through him and for the first time realized she was every bit as possessive of him as he was of her. She was just much better at hiding it.

“It would behoove you to keep your eyes on the clothed portions of those bodies.”
Jealousy dripped from her words and he felt the insecurity beneath it. Lucian was moving before he even considered what he was doing. He pulled the door open to the building he had been guarding. Scents assaulted him but he quickly picked out one, just as his eyes landed on her. His strides were long as he made his way to his mate. She turned just as he reached her. She wasn’t surprised to see him; she simply stared up at him. Lucian ignored the other eyes that were on him and focused only on her.

He leaned down close to her ear
breathing his scent on her, enjoying her reaction to his closeness. “Don’t you know?” He whispered.

“Know what?” Her voice was breathless.

“There are none who hold even a crumb to the beauty I see in you. Perizada, I would rather gaze on your form clothed in burlap sacks and animal droppings than any half-dressed or naked form of any other.”

Her lips quirked up in a sly smile. “You sure know how to sweet talk a woman
, Lucian,” she teased but he felt her relax. She had needed his reassurance, even if she wouldn’t ask for it. She had needed to be reminded that even in the midst of others only she held his attention.

She looked up at him and to his surprise she leaned up and pressed her lips to his. It was quick, but he felt
it to his soul. His wolf stirred, growling deep in his chest as he reached for her. She leaned into him giving him the touch he so desperately craved. He tried not to snarl when she turned her attention away from him and back to the human girl.

“Anna
, this is Lucian, he is a Canis lupis male,” Peri told the girl.

“Mate,”
Lucian growled unable to keep the wolf in check. “I am her mate.”

Anna’s eyes widened as she looked up at him.
She met his eyes but dropped hers immediately and looked away. He could smell her fear and part of him was repulsed, the wolf was glad, if she feared him she was less likely to try anything stupid that would put his mate in danger.

“Perhaps it’s time to go somewhere more private,” Sally spoke up from across the table.

Peri stood up and Lucian released her though he didn’t step away from her.

“Anna, are you willing
to continue this in a not so public setting?” Peri asked the girl matter of fact like. “I give my oath as a high fae no harm will come to you.”

“A high what?”
Anna’s eyes were suddenly as round as saucers.

“Oh, my bad, we didn’t go over that part did we?” Peri said flippantly. “Oh well, never mind we’ll get back to
that. Look, if we leave you here, which we won’t, my sister is going to come back for you. I can promise you that she will hurt you. Those are your options.”

“I’ll take door number one please,” Anna said dryly, though her eyes were still pretty big.

“Excellent,” Peri smiled. Lucian took her hand and led her from the store trusting Sally and Crina to make sure the human followed. Once they were outside they waited for Adam, Sorin and Elle, who had been canvasing the blocks around them, to join them.

“She didn’t try to throw hot coffee on you or anything?” Elle asked Peri.

“Why would she do that?” Peri asked with a raised brow.

“Peri, I’ve known you for centuries. You can be quite abrasive and more often than not deserve a little hot coffee poured on you,” Elle retorted.

The group around them tried to cover up their laughter with coughs but Peri wasn’t fooled.

“Well if I’m abrasive, you lot are annoying, like a wedgie that just keeps getting deeper and deeper, you are a pain in my a–,”

“
Beloved,” Lucian purred interrupting his mate’s rant.

Peri’s head snapped around to look at him at the sound of his voice.
She’d only heard him use that rumbling purr a couple of times and it called to her. The deep timber poured over her like warm silk, wrapping around her body and caressing her skin. She felt the rumble inside of her, vibrating against her nerves until she just wanted to climb into his lap and beg him to pet her.
What the hell
, she thought as she pulled her gaze from his. Her breathing was shallow and her palms were moist with sweat. She saw him out of the corner of her eye moving towards her but she held up a hand to stop him.

“I need a minute please,”
She said gently through their bond.

“It’s normal Peri, it’s just the bond. Our souls are demanding that we complete the mate bond, that’s what you’re feeling love, it’s alright.”
He tried to reassure her. It might have worked if they had been alone but there were witnesses to her loss of control and it was humiliating.

“Peri?” Adam’s voice cut through Peri’s thoughts. “Hey, you alright?” Peri had known Adam for a very, very long time and thought of him like a brother. He always had her back and he knew her very well. She looked at him and she knew the minute he understood what had caused her to act like a love sick lust monkey.

“It’s normal, I went through the same thing,” he told her.

She did not want to talk about this, not here, not now, and frankly not ever. “We don’t have time for this,” she snapped. “We need to get Anna to safety and then we have a crap load of new developments to discuss.”

Elle could tell that Peri wanted to move onto something besides what was going on with her in that moment. “Where are we going Peri? Did the Great Luna tell you yet?”

“For now
we’re going to take them to my house in Farie” Peri informed them.

She took
Lucian’s hand but didn’t look at him and then grabbed Anna’s hand. “You might want to close your eyes and whatever you do please do not puke on me. It tends to make me angry.” She didn’t give Anna time to respond but instead flashed them to the fae realm.

Peri stared out at the forest from behind the house where she had just deposited Anna and Lucian. She had immediately flashed herself from the room to the forest beyond the house. This was her realm. She knew this land and could navigate it even with her eyes closed, so as she began to walk she did just that. She closed her eyes and let her mind clear of all the things that were bombarding her. She let go of the worry about her sister. She pushed away the thoughts of the five healers who needed her help and lastly she pushed away her doubt about Lucian and she just allowed herself to feel. She didn’t like feeling out of control, she didn’t like feeling like she couldn’t prevent herself from acting on some behavior. It made her feel weak and she liked that even less.

“There is an awful lot of
not liking
going on out there,”
she heard Lucian’s voice.

“Do you feel out of control like that?”
Peri asked him.

“Worse,”
he admitted.

“Why?”

“Because I am male,”
he chuckled causing her to laugh as well which she knew had been his intention.
“Peri, I know it is harder for you to endure because you are not Canis lupis. You have been around us for a very long time but that is not the same thing as being one of us. You’ve been around mated pairs but now you are experiencing all that you saw. I understand that it’s confusing but I would really like it if you would talk to me about it instead of running from me. Let me bear this with you.”

She huffed.
“But you’re the problem. How am I to let you bear this with me when you are the reason that I can’t keep control.”

“Then complete the mate bond with me and the problem is solved,”
he told her matter of fact like.

“I’m glad it so simple for you, but it isn’t the same for me.
There are things we’ve yet to discuss, important things that you need to know. I mean we are essentially talking about marriage here Lucian.”

He growled.
“No, this goes beyond the human marriage. This is permanent, there is no out clause, no divorce decrees.”

“Exactly, you just argued my point for me. This is something so very serious and shouldn’
t be rushed.”

“It’s as natural as breathing to me Peri, I do not fear being tied to you for all time.”

“Well babe, you should.”
She sighed. She looked back at the house. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with a scared human who knew nothing of their world. She had her own problems and yet she knew that she would have to set them aside and deal with Anna and four other healers that were still out there. She turned to walk back to the house, instead of flashing, using the time it would take her to get there to get herself focused and ready to work. There would be time to deal with her love life after the healers were safe and after her sister was pushing up daisies. She only hoped that her control would hold out. She had this horrible feeling she was going to attack Lucian in a lust induced state right in front of some innocent girl scouts. Wouldn’t that just be peachy?

∞

Costin wrapped his arms around Sally and p
ulled her back against his body. He needed her touch, needed to reassure himself that she was still real and not some elaborate figment of his imagination. He leaned his head down and kissed the spot on her neck where his mark was. His desire flared when she trembled from the touch of his lips. He breathed deeply, allowing her scent to wash over him marking him as hers. When he lifted his head his eyes collided with the human girl. He knew by the way her eyes widened that his own eyes must have been glowing as a result of his wolf being so close to the surface. She dropped them quickly and he looked away from her, not wanting to upset her before Sally had a chance to explain more about what was going on. Sally patted his hands that rested on her stomach and his wolf let out a contented sigh as his arms tightened around their mate.

“You okay?” She asked him.

“Restless,” he admitted. Traveling outside of their territory always put him on edge, and knowing the woman who had been responsible for his mate’s death had been so close to her once again had his wolf wanting flesh between his teeth.

Sally looked up at him and kissed his chin. She smiled when he growled at her, not happy with the small form of affection. He tilted her head back further and captured her mouth with his. Sally gave into his silent demand and let him take control of the kiss, turning her around and pulling her closer to him. His hands were in her hair and hers were wrapped tightly around his neck by the time he pulled back. He gave her a victorious wolfish smile
and nipped her bottom lip.

“Feel better?”

Costin smiled. “A little, that was just the appetizer.”

Sally rolled her eyes and turned back around to face the room to find Anna blushing and obviously trying to look anywhere but at them.

“Sorry Anna, I didn’t mention that wolves are extremely affectionate and demanding in the return of their affection?” Sally smiled.