a pulse of magic into the female. It wasn’t enough to do serious damage, but it had the other woman groaning in pain.
Straya punched Lilly in her unprotected side, and as soon as she was out of reach of Cypher’s mate, she turned and dropped to the ground, swinging out a leg, attempting to take Lilly to the ground. But the queen anticipated it and jumped up before the leg could make contact with her ankles.
Lilly swung around as soon as her feet were back on the ground and pounced onto Straya, who was still crouched. Lilly knocked the woman on her back and fell on top of her. In the blink of an eye, Lilly had a blade at her throat. Cypher hadn’t even seen her pull the blade from her boot.
“I yield,” Straya said.
His queen stood and offered the woman her hand, pulling her to her feet. As soon as her mouth opened to call the next woman, Cypher spoke up. “Enough.”
Her head snapped around to look at him. His eyes narrowed on her. She might be the queen, but he was king, and his word was final.
The women stood and bowed to their queen and to Cypher as they filed out of the room, all looking very tired. Lilly slid the blade back into her boot and then let her head fall back as her eyes closed. Her shoulders rose and fell as she panted. She was so tired, and yet he knew she wouldn’t be able to rest. But she needed it.
“Come,” he said to her. “You need to eat, and a bath would probably be good, considering you smell like a corpse.”
She turned to glare at him. “How am I supposed to eat when they have her and Slate?”
“How is starving yourself and depriving your body of rest going to do them any good?” he challenged.
“I don’t know,” she bit out. “I feel like I don’t deserve those things. She’s being held captive and yet I get food and a bed.”
“You don’t know that they aren’t giving her food and a bed as well.”
“Really, Cypher?” She rolled her eyes. “Because kidnappers are always so accommodating.”
“The Order took them because they wanted to control us. They have no reason to hurt them unless we don’t do what they want. They haven’t made any demands yet. So until that happens, it stands to reason that they will be safe.” Cypher wasn’t completely sure that what he was saying was a hundred percent accurate, but he wasn’t about to share his doubts with his mate. She was already acting unreasonable. If he even hinted that Jacque and Slate were in a minute amount of danger, she’d be headed straight back to Arizona.
She sighed as her shoulders dropped and the fight left her. “I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to do.”
“Then let me take care of you so you don’t have to make any decisions right now. You know that as soon as we have a plan, you will be at my side, and we will get them all back. But like Vasile said, we have to be smart about it. We can’t just go running into danger and not have a plan, or we will get them and us killed.”
“I guess you’re right,” she growled. “But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
Chapter 7
“Call on me and I will be with you. I may not remove your affliction, but neither will I leave you in your time of need.” ~The Great Luna
The door flew open and slammed into the wall. Costin leaped up and placed himself in front of the bed where Sally and Titus lay resting. Three figures stood in the doorway.
Sally pulled Titus to her and placed him behind her on the bed. She looked at him and put a hand against his cheek. “Stay right here, okay?”
He nodded and didn’t say anything, as if he knew she didn’t want him to draw any attention.
Sally stood and walked over to stand beside her mate. Costin tried to push her behind him. She allowed him to put his left shoulder just a little in front of hers. They’d been through a lot, and his need to protect her was palpable through their bond. She could feel his wolf raging inside. Yet, somehow, he was keeping the beast under control.
“Wrong,” her mate's voice filled her mind. “You are keeping him under control. You and only you.”
Sally looked to the two males and one female who moved