Chapter Twenty-Eight

"Cali. You're back. Cole told me you got arrested, and they were trying to fit you up, and—" Ling paused to draw breath. "Damn, girl, it's good to see you."

"Right back at you," I said.

"Tell me everything." Her eyes narrowed. "And why are you favoring your right side?"

I shook my head. "No time for that. We need to find Jax."

She pressed her hand to my forehead. "Are you sick? Wait, maybe you're not the real Cali. Tell me something only Cali would know."

"Ha ha, very funny." I rolled my eyes. "I said need, not want."

"Ah, now there's the Cali I know and love."

"You almost had me worried for a moment there," Jax said, stepping from behind one of the shelves.

I gaped at him. "How long have you been there?"

"Your sense of smell hasn't improved, then."

I turned to Ling and she gave me a sheepish smile and a shrug. "I was going to kick him out before we spoke about anything personal," she promised.

"Spoilsport," Jax muttered, but there was no missing the sappy smile on his face when he looked at my best friend—which was the sole reason I wasn't kicking his ass for lurking around in what was supposed to be mine and Ling's place. Well, that and the fact that he was way stronger than me. Of course, if I fed first…

I shook my head. I needed to focus.

"Well, it's probably for the best, anyway," I said, holding up my hand when he opened his mouth to say something I was sure he would think was witty. "And not for whatever reason you're thinking. We need to get to the pack."

His face changed immediately, becoming all business in a heartbeat—which was the exact reason I wanted him with us.

"I heard what happened," he said, his hands curling into fists. "The Black Winds are going to pay for what they did."

Under the fury, I saw the pain lurking in his eyes, and my stomach lurched. Jax was a goof, and he was so good at playing the role that I tended to forget there was more to him than that. The shifters who'd died had been people he'd grown up with, people he cared for. I wasn't the only one scared and hurting.

"I'm so sorry," I murmured.

"Don't be," he said. "It's not your fault. Not Cole's fault, either."

"Yeah, I tried telling him that, too."

"I'm guessing he took it about as well as when I told him."

I nodded. "Yeah. He's beating himself up pretty badly. He's at the pack now, right?"

I didn't need Jax's nod, because this was my mate, and where else would he be but with his pack when his pack needed him? As it should be. And it was where we should be, too.

But there was something I had to take care of first. Someone.

And I didn't even though who—but I was pretty damned sure I knew how to find out.

I pulled the envelope from my pocket, thanking every deity that might be looking my way that Blackwell had put a stop to the council holding onto it as ‘evidence', and shook the Cailleach stone out onto the table.

"Is that what I think it is?" Ling asked softly.

"It's the key to finding my mom."

"Your mom left you a Cailleach stone?" Jax said, his brow furrowing.

"No, but someone did, and I can't think of any other reason anyone would think I'd go running to meet them blind aside from taking my mom."

"The Black Winds," Jax said darkly. "They're planning to lure you into a trap and kill you so they can weaken the pack."

"It sounds so cheerful when you put it like that. I always dreamed of being a pawn in a pack war."

"You can't possibly be thinking of going?" Ling said, her eyes wide with horror.

"I don't have a choice."

"You don't even know that they have your mom."

"It's a pretty big coincidence if they don't, don't you think?" I shook my head. "I want to believe that my mom is hiding somewhere nice and safe more than anyone, but if she was, Cole would have found her by now. She's been taken, and the only reason anyone would take her is to get to me."

"But it's a trap."

"If there was any other way, I'd take it, believe me."

"Then call the council."

"Ling," Jax said softly, crossing to her and taking her hand. She swallowed, and I could see the understanding on her face, but I said it anyway.

"The council doesn't care about humans. It won't matter to them if my mom is killed in the crossfire. I'm the only one who can help her now."

Jax snorted. "Big-headed much, dhampir girl?"

I grinned. "The better to fit all my knowledge in. Wouldn't expect you to know anything about that, neanderthal."

"Right," Ling said, slotting her book back into the shelf. "I'm ready."

"Ready for what?"

"Well, I'm coming with you, of course."

"Ling…"

Jax shook his head. "You might be a halfbreed, but you're my Luna-in-Waiting. Also, for some inexplicable reason, Cole likes you. So like it or not, we're coming with you."

I nodded and blew out a breath, not even bothering to hide my relief. Because the idea of going out there alone terrified me. I'd have done it, but at least if I wasn't alone, there was a chance I might make it back. A small one, but I'd take it.

"We need to stop by the packlands and get Cole," Jax said, heading for the door.

"No. He can't know."

"Are you insane?" he asked. "I thought I was supposed to be the dumb one."

"You are," I assured him as we started along the corridor. "Cole can't know because he needs to be focusing on the pack right now. He's going to have to issue his challenge soon before Cain destroys everything. We both know how hard that's going to be for him."

A look of indecision shadowed his face. I got it, I did. Cole was his future alpha, and his closest friend, as well. But he couldn't be a part of this.

"This is my choice, Jax," I said. "And I've made it. I won't let him be distracted right now."

After a moment, Jax dipped his chin in a curt nod, clearly unhappy but at least he seemed like he'd do what I wanted. For now.

"If we're not going to the pack," he said, pushing through another set of doors, "then what's the plan?"

"How are we not over the whole expecting me to come up with plans thing?" I groaned.

"This is your party," he said with a shrug. "Besides, we all survived last year."

"Fine. But don't blame me when you don't like it."

"So…there is a plan, then?" Ling ventured as we emerged outside into the warm afternoon air.

"Yeah," I told her, striding across the rustic lawn. "Follow the Cailleach stone, and try not to die."

"Little sparse on the details there, dhampir girl," Jax said.

"Hey, you want details, come up with your own plan."

"Maybe I should," he said, looking me up and down with a frown. "Can't be any worse than yours. Can you even run?"

"Sure. It just hurts like fuck when I do." Stupid fucking Brennan with his stupidly hard punch.

"You should feed," Ling said softly. "You'll heal faster, and you'll be stronger."

"Except for the part where I have zero control over feeding and you'd probably have to knock me out to get me to stop." I shook my head. "Much as I'd love my ribs to heal faster, I need a clear head to do this."

"I think we've already established that your over-sized head isn't helping anything right now," Jax said. "Go find some human to bite."

Ling and I both stared at him.

"What?" he asked, frowning.

"There aren't any humans around," Ling said softly.

"And?" Jax said, and I saw the exact moment it dawned on him. "Oh, no. No fucking way. She is not biting me."

"Jax, it's the only way."

"He's right, Ling. This is a bad idea. Besides, if I'm biting him, who's going to stop me if I go too far?"

"You won't lose control when I'm around."

"You can't promise that."

"I can. Do you trust me?" Her piercing gaze met mine, and I swallowed, and then nodded. She turned to Jax. "And Jax, I know this isn't natural to you, but this really is our best hope. For the pack?"

He cast a look skyward and then back at me. "If you ever tell anyone about this…"

I mimed zipping my lips, and he held out his wrist. With a hesitant glance at Ling, I took hold of it.

"You can do this, Cali. Believe in yourself, and in me. I'm right here."

She placed her hand on my shoulder, and I frowned.

"Wait, is this some kind of superpower you have that's linked to whatever your species is?"

"Just bite him already."

Yeah, that was probably good advice. Exhaling slowly, I lifted his wrist to my mouth and bit down. Blood flowed into my mouth, and adrenaline coursed through me, firing synapses like a combination of a caffeine and sugar rush dialed up to a thousand.

"Okay, that's enough," Ling said softly, and if my mouth hadn't been otherwise engaged I'd have told her she was wrong, that there would never be enough, that I needed all the blood, all the strength, and—

The blood tasted like decay and slime. I pulled his wrist from my lips with a gasp, staring at him in horror, and swiping at my mouth with my other hand. That was…

I twisted round to stare at Ling. "How did you do that?"

She shrugged. "Picked up a thing or two. But this isn't the time."

"We're going to make time, though," I told her as the vile taste faded from my mouth.

"Maybe."

Maybe. Right. I shook my head. Let it go, Cali. There were more important things at stake than my curiosity. Still, it was too bad I couldn't smuggle her into my feeding assessment.

"You okay, Jax?" I asked, glancing over at the shifter who looked paler than he had before.

"Just peachy. Let's go kick some Black Wind ass before I puke."

"The plan does not involve kicking Black Wind ass," I objected.

"There is no plan," he said, cracking his knuckles. "Which means anything is the plan."

I looked to Ling for support and she shrugged. "He's got you there."

"Whatever. I feel like I could kick anyone's ass right now, anyway." And I wouldn't mind some revenge, either, as it happened. "Let's go rescue my mom."

We made it over the wall easily enough—my ribs were already halfway to healed—and it didn't take us long to get clear of the academy's wards. I carefully scented the air as we moved, but as far as I could tell, we were alone out here. I glanced at Jax and he nodded his agreement. Guess Blackwell had scared Brennan off, for now at least. One more thing to thank whoever had hired him for. But there'd be time to worry about whose debt I was in later.

I pulled the stone from my pocket and curled my fingers across it, focusing on my desire to meet with whoever had sent it to me. A portal sprang into existence.

"Here goes nothing," I muttered, and with a final glance at the others, stepped through. Time to meet the Black Winds.