l be here plotting the untimely death of a certain monster who put me here.”
“All right, but I’ll be back soon.”
After giving him another kiss, she left. But not before looking at her mate lying in the bed and reassuring herself that he really was going to be fine. John was guarding his door as well, which added some relief to her worry. There wasn’t anyone in the world who meant more to her than that battle-scarred wolf.
He was hers, and nobody was taking him away.
Back in their quarters, she puttered around, finding a bra and a pair of clean underwear. Then she laid out a fresh pair of jeans and a blue cotton top. Just as she turned to go into the bathroom, the small brown pill bottle caught her eye. It was lying rather innocently on the floor, and a sudden spurt of anger seized her chest.
Bending, she grabbed it. Carrying it to the bathroom, she opened it, poured the contents in the toilet, then flushed them. “Good fucking riddance!” Then she buried the bottle at the bottom of the trash can, where it would end up in the dump, never to be seen again.
That wouldn’t end his cravings, she knew. But she’d be there to help him every step of the way.
After her shower, which felt really good, she dried her hair and put on the barest of makeup. Just enough to cover the circles under her eyes and put some color in her cheeks. Then she went to the dining room in search of food.
Lunch was in full swing, and she was instantly surrounded by Micah’s Pack brothers, all demanding an update. They hadn’t wanted to bombard his room all at one time, but now that he was on the mend, they promised to stop by.
Jacee sat with Aric, Rowan, Kalen, and Sariel. One thing her friends steadfastly refused to discuss was the actual attack.
“You don’t want to hear a blow-by-blow account,” Aric said firmly. “Trust me on that.”
And that was the end of it. He did describe the creature, but that was as far as he was willing to go. Jacee shivered at the knowledge of how close to death her mate had come.
Her friends changed the subject, and she enjoyed listening to Sariel talk about the wonders of this world. She’d never thought about their plane of existence from the perspective of someone from another realm before, and it was intriguing. Well, the prince himself was fascinating.
“So, you don’t have phones or anything in the Seelie realm?” Jacee asked.
“Phones? Whatever for?” He cocked his head, jewel blue hair cascading over one shoulder. His large blue wings rested against his back.
“Guess not. How do you communicate with each other?”
“Oh. If not in person, then we use mind-link. Much like mated shifters can do, but Fae can all do it from the time they’re children.”
“Wow, that’s cool.”
Sariel grinned. “Very. For the most part, though sometimes siblings can be a pain when you want privacy. Especially my brothers.” At the mention of his brothers, his face fell. “I miss them.”
“I’m sorry.” Reaching out, Jacee touched his hand. “Do you think they’ll ever come here looking for you?”
“I’m not sure, but I like to imagine they’d find a way,” he said wistfully. “I look for a portal, once in a while. I was cast out of my realm through one, so I know they exist. I just don’t know where.”
She hated to see the Fae prince so sad. All too well, she understood what it was like to suddenly be without your family. Only his weren’t dead, just out of reach. “What do you like to do for fun?”
“Hmm, I like to watch television.”
She laughed. “I mean real fun. TV is boring.”
“Not if you’ve never seen one before.” He gave it some thought. “I like the video games, and I like to shop.”
“Really? How does that work, with that hair and those wings?” She eyed the gorgeous creature, imagining the riot he’d cause in town if people got a look at him.
“I use magic to cloak my appearance when I go out. I’ve been at the Grizzly with the team, and I’ll bet you’ve never even noticed me,” he said, smug.
She blinked at him in surprise. “You have?”
“Yes. I don’t use the same disguise every time because I don’t want people to remember me.”
“Makes sense. Can you do it now? Show me a disguise.”