Then Decebel was standing in front of her, his face a mix of emotions as he looked down at her. “Will you please put the head down for your daughter’s sake?”
Jen admitted that it was a fair request and lowered the head. Peri took it from her. It would be best if Jen didn’t know where it was taken because in her current state of mind she might have let Thia kick it around like a soccer ball. Even she could admit that allowing her daughter to kick a vampire’s severed head was just bad parenting.
“Peri, would you mind cleaning my mate up a bit?” Decebel asked, his eyes never leaving Jen’s.
Peri snapped her fingers, and the blood that covered Jen disappeared and her clothes were clean. Once again folks, the benefit of having a high fae as a BFF. As soon as the gore vanished, Decebel wrapped his arm around her, while the other still held Thia.
He pressed his face against Jen’s hair and took several deep breaths. “You scared the shi—” He stopped and then said, “You scared me to death.”
Jen held him tightly as she pressed her face to his chest and listened to his beating heart. She could feel Thia patting her hair and babbling something about a head. Good job, Mom. She taught her daughter about a new body part by showing her a severed head. “I’m sorry, B,” she said through their bond. “I couldn’t just leave. Not after they touched our daughter and not after what they did to Alina, Vasile, Cypher, and the others who died. I had to take some of their people when they took so much from us.”
“I know,” he said, and he did understand. She could feel it through their bond. “But it doesn’t make it any easier. I also know you are a skilled fighter, but—”
“You need to protect me. I get it.”
“You’ve been in the hands of the enemy for a week, with our daughter. This”—he squeezed her tighter—“is what I need. I need you. I need Thia. I need you with me, safe and unharmed.”
They held onto one another, not worried about the fact that they were surrounded by a massive crowd of supernaturals, more than she’d ever seen before. They needed this moment. They needed reassurance that they were all okay.
“Are you a little proud of me?” Jen couldn’t help but ask.
Decebel pulled back and looked at her, his eyes glowing with his wolf. “Are you kidding me?” he said out loud. “I’m in awe of you. Was I terrified? Yes, but even when I’m terrified, I’m proud of your accomplishments. I understand why you did it. I’m not mad at you, baby. I just didn’t know what to do. I knew I needed to keep Thia safe, but I was scared to leave you behind.” He pressed his lips to hers. Thia patted their faces, which made Jen smile. When her mate lifted his head, he looked at her with so much love she felt it in her bones. “You kicked ass, and you gave the Order a huge blow. That’s something to be proud of.”
“Dada, ass,” Thia said, beaming.
Jen laughed as Decebel frowned.
“Don’t say ass, Thia,” he warned, though it wasn’t a very stern admonishment.
“Ass, ass, ass,” Thia continued as she wiggled her little body.
Jen motioned to their daughter. “That’s totally on you, dude.”
“You held a severed head up in front of her,” Decebel pointed out.
Jen’s lips pursed. “Yeah, we’re totally rocking this parenting thing.”
Chapter 19
“A time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love, and a time to hate…”
~Human Bible, the Word of the Creator of humankind.
Peri waited until the room finally quieted after Jen's declaration. It was a victory worth celebrating but only for a moment. That was all the time they had. The Blood Moon would occur in twenty-four hours. They had to get every supernatural that was willing to align themselves with the Great Luna to Romania in that time period.
Jen and Decebel had walked to the side of the platform where Fane, Jacque, Sally, and Costin stood. She hadn’t missed the fact that Fane had not taken his hand off his mate and that he shielded both Jacque and Slate’s bodies.
Lucian stood beside Peri, his hand wrapped around hers. She recognized that something had shifted in their relationship since the battle at the Keep. She finally felt like they were equal partners. It wasn’t his fault that there had been a