She knew how close Vasile and Decebel had come to having to put him down. “You can do it for as long as you need to,” Jen responded. “Because Sally is going to need you to have your shit together when she comes back to you. And she is coming back. Do you hear me, Costin?” Jen was putting some force behind her taps because she felt as if she was losing him. She might not be an alpha anymore, but she was dominant, and she didn’t give up on those who were hers. Sally was hers, which made Costin hers, too. “You’re not alone,” Jen tapped out. “I’m right here. I’ll sit on this side of the wall, and we can talk this way for as long as you need to about anything that will help keep you sane. We can teach Titus morse code, and probably Thia, too, because she’s a genius.”
A minute later Costin responded. “Thank you, Jennifer.”
Jen shut her eyes as a tear slipped down her cheek. She let out a deep breath. “We’re pack, dimple boy. Pack sticks together no matter what. To hell and back, I’ll burn with you if that’s what it takes to get Sally back.” Jen didn’t think it would take that. Alston would return her to Costin and Titus. If Alston needed her, then he’d want to keep her somewhat happy, and that happiness would revolve solely around those she loved. Titus and Costin being at the top of that list.
“Is Titus still talking to the angel?” Jen tapped out.
“He’s doing sign language.”
Jen snorted. Of course the four-year-old was doing sign language, because why wouldn’t he? She’d have to teach Thia sign language. She couldn’t have Sally’s kid one-upping hers. Damn, her pride had no shame. She had their kids in a mental competition while Sally went through who knew what. “She would expect nothing less,” Jen muttered as she turned and pressed her back to the wall.
“You still with me?” She knocked.
“I’m taking bets on how long it will take you to teach Thia sign language now that you know Titus knows it,” Costin tapped out.
“Butthead.” Jen chuckled and leaned her head back. Even her best friends' mates knew her too well.
“Is Costin okay?” Decebel’s voice filled her head. She’d felt him in her mind and had known he’d been listening in. She was used to it and didn’t blame him. She needed his closeness just as much as he needed hers.
“I think so. That morse code you taught me is coming in handy.”
“I told you it would.” She could hear the smugness in his voice.
She had complained quite a bit when he’d started teaching her because, c’mon, when would she fricking need to know morse code? Apparently, when her enemy captured her and threw her into a room next to her comrades.
“Do I need to remind you of the doghouse or the mailman?” Jen asked, bringing out her two aces. Decebel was still growly about the mailman giving Jen his number, and the fact that she’d kept it.
“You can remind me all day long, as long as it means I can still communicate with you through our bond.”
Jen sighed. And then he went and said stuff like that. “I love you, B.”
“Always, baby,” he said, and she felt his hand run down her hair.
The tapping on the wall started again, and she listened to what Costin was saying.
“How’s Thia?”
“She pulled herself together pretty quick once they gave her back to me. She gave the fae, who wasn’t Alston because he must have known I would have maimed him, a glare as soon as she was in my arms. Now, she's sleeping through this nightmare because she’s got nerves of steel,” Jen replied. “Which of course we all expected because I’m her mom.”
“Naturally,” Costin tapped back.
Jen felt Decebel like a shadow in her mind as she and Costin continued their morse code conversation. At one point, Thia woke up. Jen held her and used the girl’s tiny fist to tap on the wall. Thia must have thought this was fantastic because she giggled like she was high on something other than life. “Whatever you’re smoking, kid, you need to share,” Jen said to her daughter as Thia threw her head back and laughed.
Titus had joined in on the other side, and Costin was teaching him to communicate as well. Jen didn’t care how long she had to do it. She’d stay up twenty-four hours a day if that was