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Malik put his hand on Jude’s shoulder. “Your men and mine are out hunting for her now. If she’s anywhere in the realm, we’ll find her. Be patient.”
Patient. Sweet Goddess, his heart was banging around in his chest so hard that his ribs hurt. He couldn’t bear the thought of Hannah suffering because of Margetta’s insanity.
He took several deep breaths, forcing his heart to calm down so that he could think straight. Hannah was a survivor and quick on her feet. She would find a way to stay alive if she could. And she had power, more than she knew. He had to trust in that, and trust in her ability to manage herself until he could find her.
At the very least, he could try to contact her telepathically, though he had no way of knowing if Margetta could intercept their mind-to-mind conversation. He decided to take the leap anyway. Best case scenario, Hannah might be able to tell him where she was.
Hannah, he sent through the airwaves. Hannah? Can you hear me?
Jude, thank God. I don’t know what to do.
Jude recalled that a mastyr had taken her. Has that vampire hurt you?
What?
The mastyr that abducted you. Did you have a drive toward him like you did with Malik?
Yes, but then I thought of you and it gave me the strength to bring forward my fire-power. I scorched him so he’s leaving me alone for now.
Jude couldn’t help it. He smiled. Proud of you.
Jude, you need to stay away from me. Margetta’s here and she’s waiting for you. It’s a trap. A big one. She doesn’t know it, but I can see that she has a hundred wraith-pairs hidden behind some kind of cloak. Please don’t come after me. It’s you she wants dead.
Jude stood upright and began pulling his hair back, securing the clasp once more. He turned to meet Malik’s intense, brown eyes, then relayed what Hannah had just told him.
“Can you find out where she is?” Malik asked.
“I will. But none of our guardsmen or the shifters will be able to find them. Margetta has a powerful shield in place.”
“Sweet Goddess.”
“Just give me a moment.” Jude recalled what it had been like to find his wife and daughter murdered in the peach orchard. In that split-second, his life had altered completely.
The same thing was happening to him right now, that all the events of the past two days had overturned his desires and life completely. He just hadn’t seen it.
His mind finally pulled together as he realized that the passion that had erupted so swiftly between Hannah and himself wasn’t because she was a blood rose. He’d been in love with her for months, possibly even years.
During all that time, she’d filled a hole in his life long before he’d taken her into his bed. She’d been his friend and his coworker, and a couple times when he’d been drunk, she’d put him to bed in the bunkroom. He’d told her then that he loved her. He remembered that much, despite his beer-blasted mind, but he’d pretended later that the words hadn’t been said.
His heart began to warm with long-suppressed feelings. He’d held to his commitment not to become involved with another woman until the Invictus were ground into the earth. How ironic that in this case, if he’d obeyed his heart and bonded with Hannah, she wouldn’t be in Margetta’s clutches. Their unity would have protected them both. He wouldn’t have been distracted and they could have faced the fire at the Gold Rush together.
Instead, her fear of being controlled and his resistance to loving her had brought just enough of a divide that Margetta had been able to walk right in and abduct her.
His chest grew tight. His eyes burned. What would he do if anything happened to her? He didn’t think he could bear losing a second wife.
As soon as that exact phrase went through his mind, he knew he’d been fooling himself about Hannah because he already thought of her as his woman and, yes, his wife. And he’d felt that way for a long time.
And of course it was just like her, the selfless person he knew her to be, to tell him not to come to her aid and that he’d be walking into a trap. Hannah had one of the most generous spirits he’d ever known. She was a woman of fire and of great power because of that spirit. Her current gift merely reflected who she was in her life.
He met Malik’s gaze once more. “I’m going to find out where she is, and if I have to, I’ll take her place in Margetta’s little drama.”
Malik stared at him for a long, hard moment, then straightened his shoulders as though preparing for battle. Do what you need to do. I’ve got your back.
Jude loved the brotherhood of his fellow mastyrs.
Nodding once, Jude turned inward. Hannah, I’m coming for you if I have to hunt through this realm day-and-night. And you don’t get a say in that. But I’d rather find you right now when I’m powered by the blood you shared with me, than struggle for hours to get your location. I have Malik with me and we’ll bring all our forces to bear on Margetta’s army. Remember, I’ve been battling Margetta and her kind of two hundred years, so please tell me where you are.
~ ~ ~
