Fated for Her Wolves - Tara West Page 0,36
vison by himself.
She thought about calling to her mate, Jovan, and his father, Nicolae, who were patrolling the outer perimeter of their home while the others searched for Tatiana, but the vision could pass by the time they arrived. She picked him up and sat in a chair, knowing the strength of his magic could knock them both down. He placed his tiny hands on her forehead, his expression grim.
She closed her eyes, and her chest tightened when she saw demons holding Tatiana, taunting her with a snarling animal in a cage. Tatiana was in a cell, chained to a wall. Eilea cried out when they dug a blade into the girl’s collarbone to retrieve an amethyst. Tatiana’s body morphed into a wolf and then quickly changed back into a human, her eyes turning demonic red.
The demons had stolen her body!
Eilea shot to her feet, hands trembling as she struggled to stand. Setting Artem back in his crib, she was barely aware of her movements as she handed him his bottle.
“Thank you, baby,” she breathed, kissing his forehead, her lips lingering on his heated skin. Her child was too young to carry such a burden.
She grabbed the side of the crib, squeezing the rail when a contraction hit.
Not now!
Sucking in a sharp breath, she slowly exhaled, willing the pain to subside. After it passed, she straightened and walked to the door, watching her child sit with his bottle. Tears streaming down her face, she blew him a kiss, closed the door, and went downstairs.
The Army trackers still hadn’t arrived, and Tatiana was in grave danger. They couldn’t wait a moment longer. The demons had to be stopped, and she was the only shifter with the power to do it.
HOLDING TATIANA’S BODY close to his heart, Constantine went into the house, heedless of the snow and grime on his tattered clothes.
“Eilea!” he called, voice breaking.
His brothers crowded in behind him, chests heaving as they struggled to catch their breath after running several miles through the snow in their human forms. Bunic Nicolae and their second alpha father, Jovan, followed them inside.
“Thank the Ancients,” Nicolae said. “Where was she?”
“The Ancients need no thanking,” Dimitri rumbled. “They have forsaken us.”
Nicolae and Jovan gaped at him.
“What’s that smell?” Jovan asked.
His mate’s mother, Mihaela Thunderfoot, raced over to them, tears streaking down her face. “You found her!” She stopped as if she’d hit a brick wall. Constantine had used rope to bind her wrists and ankles. “Why is she tied up?”
He backed up. “There is a demon in Tatiana’s body.”
“What? No!” Mihaela let out a wail, stumbling into Dejan’s arms before righting herself and turning several shades of red. “Let me see!” she said, pushing Tatiana’s hair out of her face and sniffing her. “She smells like dark magic.”
Constantine grimaced. “I know.”
She slapped Tatiana’s already swollen face hard.
Her red eyes shot open, and she hissed at Mihaela. “Keep your hands off me, bitch!”
Mihaela’s eyes shifted to a brilliant gold. “Where is my daughter?”
“With my master,” the demon said.
Mihaela let out a roar so powerful, it rivaled that of the fiercest protector.
The demon whimpered, burying her face in Constantine’s chest. He had no desire to offer her comfort. If she hadn’t been in Tatiana’s body, he would have drop-kicked her to the ground.
“The demon said they have her soul.” Dimitri spoke through shuddering breaths, the agony in his voice as thick as churned butter. “And they’ll kill her if we don’t make a trade.”
Nicolae arched a brow. “What kind of trade?”
Constantine feared Jovan’s reaction. “They want Eilea,” he said.
Jovan’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Over my dead body,” Jovan declared, hair sprouting on his face and his eyes shifting.
“Father,” Dimitri pleaded, “they’re going to kill our mate.”
Crossing his arms, Jovan glared. “Let’s say I lose my mind and agree to give Eilea to the demons. Do you think they’ll honor the trade?”
“Then what do we do?” Constantine pleaded, wondering where Eilea was. He scented her nearby and heard commotion in the kitchen. Why hadn’t she come? Surely she heard them come in.
“When are the trackers getting here?” Jovan asked Nicolae.
He rubbed his graying beard. “They should be here tonight unless the storm delays them.”
Constantine felt as if he carried the weight of a thousand protectors on his back. “We can’t wait that long.”
Nicolae’s shoulders fell, and he gazed at Tatiana as if he was a mourner observing her on a funeral pyre. “We’re going to have to.”
“They could be torturing her,” Dimitri cried, pulling at his hair.