He started to guide us down the tunnel, leaving the wailing of the angry wolves behind.
“I won’t kill for pleasure, John,” Dev explained flatly as though he didn’t care what the other man thought. “I will also not allow my wife to be killed.”
“My wife is out there too, Quinn,” McKenzie snarled, his temper fraying. “She’s out there and for the first time she has a real shot at getting what she’s always wanted—a baby. We’ve tried for years and she finally believes it’s going to happen. She’s a strong bitch. She won’t stand at the back of the crowd. She’ll be fierce. She’ll kill or be killed, and I don’t want either of those options for her.”
I needed to bring down the testosterone level a bit or my husband and the alpha would be at each other’s throats. “None of the wolves want to attack us. They’re being used, and we have to remember that. The rounds aren’t silver so more than likely they won’t kill if we don’t use too many or hit vital organs. We just have to hold them off until Zack wakes up Danny.”
“Well, I can certainly kill the wolves.” Declan held his sword in hand, walking with an arrogant swagger. “I assure you with my weaponry, when I fight them, I can kill them.”
“I’m asking you not to, Declan,” I said between clenched teeth.
He simply shrugged and kept walking. “I promise you nothing, Zoey. I am a prince of Faery. I will defend that which belongs to Faery. I will agree to allow the wolves to consume the others if that is your wish, but I will kill them if they lay a single paw on anything that belongs to me or mine.”
I drew in a frustrated breath and followed McKenzie as we walked through the dimly lit tunnels. It was cold here, deep within the mountains. The chill seemed to come from the tunnel itself. We were down to single file at one point. The faeries had to duck down to get through the shortened ceiling in part of the passage. Every now and then we came to another gate and McKenzie opened it and locked it again, a wall between us and the wolves. We walked for what seemed like hours, but I knew it couldn’t have been more than twenty minutes. I wondered if Zack had done his job and Danny was awake or if he was still out there, waiting for his chance.
We came out of the smaller portion of the tunnel into a wide room, and I could hear Dev sigh as he could finally stand up straight again. McKenzie let Lee drop to the ground as he felt around in the darkness. He lit a match and then the room started to fill with the glow of torches.
“This is a way station. There’s food and water. We rest here for a minute and then push on.” The alpha pointed to a group of metal shelves containing bottled water. He took one for himself and started to pass them around.
I cracked open a bottle and went to where my bodyguard was resting.
Lee was a little better now that we were farther from the artifact. He lay against the floor, but even in the gloom I could see his color was coming back. I sat down beside him and shifted his head into my lap. I twisted the cap off the water and held it to his lips. He drank for a moment and then let his head rest back down. Without thinking really, I stroked his head.
“I said no petting,” Lee growled.
I pulled my hand back. “Sorry.” But I was happy that he was growling again.
He sighed deep in his chest. “Just this once, Zoey. But it doesn’t make me your lapdog.”
I grinned down at him and let my hands rub his head and scratch lightly behind his ears. I was glad he let me do it because I knew he felt bad and the contact would help. I stroked his now flea-free scalp and he tried not to show me how nice it felt. I gave him another drink and thought briefly how much nicer he smelled after his time in the tub. If we survived, my bodyguard and I were going to have a long fight about grooming.
Before I could mention it, my brother-in-law was standing over me.
“If you do not mind, I would like a word with my sister-in-law before we move on.” Declan held his hand out, and Lee managed to get himself into a sitting position. I took Declan’s hand and allowed him to haul me up.
The prince glanced behind him and when he was certain his brother was engrossed in the conversation with Padric, he pulled me to a place where there was no way Dev would hear our conversation.
I didn’t like the proprietary way he clutched my arm. I also didn’t like the fact that he didn’t want his brother to know what he was going to say to me.
“What do you want, Declan?” I practically hissed the question.
“There are many things I want, dear sister, but I have to put those things aside and think of my position,” Declan whispered bitterly. “Several things have become clear to me over the last twenty-four hours. The first and foremost being my brother loves you. He will not be swayed away from you.”
“Well, he is my husband.” I wondered where he was going with this. I held my tongue, waiting for the threats to start.
“Yes, and you aren’t going to let him be the priest he should be. At this point, I do not think he would do it even if you let him. I do not know what you did to my brother to ensnare him so much he will not even look at another woman.”
“Why is it so bad, Declan?” I didn’t understand his point at all. We were in love. That couldn’t be a bad thing. “If your brother is happy with me, then what’s so wrong with that?”
His eyes took on an angry sheen. “What is wrong with that? He is the only one of our kind with this magic. We are not a fertile people. We need his magic or we will die. We may be immortal, but even immortals need a reason to live. Without children to love and care for, many of our kind have faded. Dev is a mortal. When he dies, that magic dies with him. The best and most reasonable course of action is for Dev and his new friend, Bris, to impregnate as many women as possible in order to pass on their magic. You have made that impossible.”
I tried to step back, but his hand gripped my arm like a chain keeping me where he wanted me.
“I thought about killing you myself. I believed he would mourn you for a while, but then go about his business. Then last night happened and I now think he would lay down somewhere and allow himself to fade if you were to die.”
“Why are you telling me this, Your Highness?” I kept my voice low because here and now wasn’t the place for a brotherly throw down.
Declan raised himself to his full, intimidating height. “I am telling you this because I need you to understand me. Your womb is now the most important thing in my life. Devinshea has been too happy with his brand new marriage to think about the consequences of last night’s activities. I am well aware of what happened.”
I didn’t pretend to misunderstand him. “I’m not pregnant. You don’t understand how medicine works on this plane. I take this shot and it chemically stops me from getting pregnant until Dev and Daniel and I all agree to it.”
Declan had the nerve to laugh. “I assure you, Your Grace, that even if your womb had been removed, after that magic Bris pumped through your body last night you would merely find you had grown a new one and it would be full. He said it himself. You are very fertile. He knows what he is talking about. I do not doubt that even now his child is starting to grow inside you. I want that child. Faery needs that child.”
Lee growled behind Declan. He’d gotten to his feet and even now his eyes were changing to hold his wolf. He was quiet about it, not wanting to attract attention, but he wanted Declan to know he was there and he’d heard everything. I noticed the others were still resting or talking. Only Neil was making his way from Sarah’s side, moving toward me.
Declan let my arm go. His voice was perfectly steady now, all brotherly caring. “I am concerned for your safety, sister. You should understand I now count your safety as my highest priority. I would sacrifice anyone to save you. I request that you not make that necessary. I would prefer to not have to make hard choices.”