"Costin," Cynthia warned. Costin didn't acknowledge her, but he did stop growling.
Decebel nodded to Sally that it was okay. Sally laid her hand upon his chest and closed her eyes. She felt so ignorant when she tried to use this so-called “gift”. She didn't understand how it worked. All she could do was open her mind and let whatever magic that seemed to be inside her do its thing.
Sally felt energy flowing into Decebel as she sought out the bond that he'd spoken of. She felt like an intruder knowing that the bond between mates, from what Jacque had explained, was very intimate. Her mind searched through his, finding the connection the Beta had to his Alpha and to the pack, an intricate web. Finally she came upon what looked like a gold cord, strong and glowing. Following its path, she nearly pulled back when she saw the severed end. It looked frayed, like a rope that was unraveling at the ends. Sally noticed that the end and several inches of the cord were no longer gold, but blackened, dead. She reached toward the darkened part. As soon as her consciousness touched it she felt herself being thrown out of Decebel's mind and back into the present.
Sally was gasping for breath. She opened her eyes to see Decebel's face covered in sweat, his mouth tight in pain, and the agony that was so obvious on the inside was bleeding out through his glowing amber eyes.
"Sally," Costin spoke with a low growl, "move away from him."
Sally ignored him and instead moved around until she was kneeling right in front of Decebel.
"Your bond with her has been severed. It's dying."
Decebel closed his eyes, squeezing them tight. Maybe if he closed them tight enough and long enough the healer's words wouldn't be true. He didn't remember Jennifer; he didn't remember her scent, her touch, or the beautiful face he had seen in the pictures on Sally's phone. But he wanted to. He wanted to have the chance to know her again, to love her again.
"How?" His voice came out hoarsely.
"I'm not really sure, but it feels like magic. Not dark, though. Not like the witch's magic."
"What did Jen tell you, back when you were able to speak with her?" Cynthia asked.
Decebel realized then that Cynthia didn't know about Rachel having Jennifer. He looked up at her, remembering the night in her office with Vasile and Alina. Sitting there, listening to her read about a dormant named Rachel. He couldn't remember why she was telling him about the dormant, but he felt like it must be important.
"She told me that Rachel and her mate Gavril rescued her from the cavern."
Cynthia jumped to her feet. "What! How is that possible?"
"You said yourself when you were reading the history on them that their bodies were never discovered. Apparently, they lived."
Cynthia continued to look at Decebel like he was speaking a foreign language and she was searching desperately for the translation in her mind.
"Did she say where they are, or where they have been for the past three centuries?" Her tone was somewhat sarcastic.
"She wouldn’t tell me anything about them. She was protecting them."
"From what?" Sally asked before Cynthia got the words out.
"I don’t know," Decebel growled. "She refused to tell me. She refused to submit to her mate."
Costin tried to disguise the laugh that forced its way from his chest with a cough, but was unsuccessful. Decebel glared at him. "What are you laughing at, pup?"
Costin flashed that heart-stopping grin and winked at Sally as he answered Decebel, "These American women do not submit, Beta. You might want to get used to the idea."
"Then how are we to protect them? How are we to keep them from doing asinine things?"
"Well, you are mated to Jen." Sally chuckled. "Her middle name changes from day to day. Her staples are “nympho”, “impetuous”, “too smart for her own good”, “smart-ass”, and all too often, “asinine”. You've got your work cut out for you."
"So you don't think it's dark magic?" Decebel asked, changing the subject.
"No, definitely not. But it is magic." Sally looked over to Cynthia. "You said this Rachel is a healer? Could she have worked some sort of magic?"
"Honestly, Sally, I don't know. I don't know enough about healers and the magic that they invoke." Cynthia thought for a moment. "It might be Fae. If this Perizada is what Vasile says, she might know Rachel, might have helped her do this."
Sally was up, pacing. Costin watched her every move.
"Why would Rachel sever the bond if she's one of the good guys?" Sally was thinking out loud, trying to reason through the possibilities.
"Maybe they've been in hiding," Costin suggested.