Danny shouted and I started to run.
No, not Naomi! I shouted in my mind. She’s already been through too much. Please, not her.
“Jessica!” Rourke roared as he awoke behind me.
The bokor took Naomi, I told him in my mind. We have to get her back.
I nearly collided with Danny, who was sprinting toward me on the skinny planking. “She’s bloody gone!” he shouted, his face as angry as I’ve ever seen it. “I don’t know how it happened, but she was there one minute, then gone the next. The priestess snatched her right out of thin air. How can that even happen?”
I grabbed his arm. It was vibrating, echoing the adrenaline racing through my own veins. “How do you know she’s been taken? Maybe she just went on a scouting mission?” I knew it wasn’t true, but I still felt hopeful that maybe the bokor was lying just to mess with our minds. “She could be doing a perimeter sweep for us. Vampires don’t sleep like we do.”
“I know she’s gone because I found this in her hammock,” he said, thrusting a small ebony figurine into my hand.
I grasped hold and the power inside of it almost brought me to my knees.
It was churning with black magic.
I uncurled my fingers and let it drop to the ground. It bounced a few times before coming to a stop right on the edge of the walkway.
I bent over to catch my breath as Rourke rushed up behind me. “Oh my gods,” I breathed. “That thing looks like Naomi.” I gestured to the tiny carved face. Rourke reached down and I yelled, “Don’t touch it! It’s a black magic fetish and it packs a punch.” I eased up to a standing position.
“I have to go after her.” Danny brushed past me and I immediately turned and started to jog after him. Rourke was right behind us. I snagged Danny’s arm before he could leap into one of the airboats.
“Wait a minute,” I said, turning him around. “You can’t go like this. We all want to find her. It’s our top priority.” He tried to shake me off, but I braced my hand against his forearm. “Danny, listen to me. We’ll come up with a plan as soon as we can, and once we do, we’ll go together.” A moment later, my father, Tyler, and Ray showed up. Without taking my eyes off Danny, I said to Ray, “I want you to fly over the area. Naomi’s missing. See if you can detect anything, but don’t land anywhere. And if you start to feel anything strange, come back immediately.”
Ray nodded once and shot into the air.
I glanced over Danny’s shoulder at my father and brother, who both stood with pursed lips. “Can you give us a minute?” I asked. I was still Danny’s Alpha, and his emotions and confusion were racing through my veins at top speed. I needed to calm him down.
My father nodded once. “When you’re finished, meet me at the main table.”
“We’re going to need Marcy back here,” I called to his retreating back. “She told us she can brew spells that can aid us against the bokor. Send word to James.”
“Will do.”
Rourke sensed the need to give us space, even without me asking. He followed my father but stopped about twenty feet away, resting his back against a tree. That’s all I was going to get.
Once they were gone, I peered into Danny’s face. It was full of anguish. I ran my hand along his arm. “We’re going to get her back. I need you to believe that. The odds will be better if we gather all the wolves and come up with a good tactic. We can’t go barreling back in there unarmed with no plan. It won’t help anyone.”
Danny tipped his head down and whispered, “She’s my mate.”
The news wasn’t as shocking as it could’ve been, because I’d suspected as much. Their chemistry was palpable, and had been from the start. The fact that the two of them had managed to avoid the inevitable pull up until now had been nothing short of incredible. I’d only denied Rourke for a single day, and it had cost me. “When did you find out?”
“The very first time I set eyes on her.” There was a deep sadness in his voice. “But I’ve been in rabid denial—that, and she won’t willingly talk to me in private so we’ve never been able to sort it out. I’ve refused to believe what was in front of me. I’d like to think it was out of fear, but I believe it was my own cowardice. Now I’ve gone and messed it up before it could even start.”
“It’s not all your fault. Naomi is a very private person,” I reassured him. “She is likely grappling with the same feelings you are. You’re both very similar and very different at the same time. You complement each other well, but a vampire and a wolf together? I’ve never heard of a match like that before in our world.”
“You’re telling me.” Danny ran a hand along the back of his neck. “Up until right this minute I’ve been cursing Fate for playing such a cruel joke on us. But now that Naomi’s been taken from me, my wolf has gone crazy with need. Jessica, you have to understand, I can’t stay here. I must go after her. I have to make this right.” His voice held panic. “There is no other choice for me—for us.”
I nodded. Nothing kept Rourke from following me to the Underworld, and I would’ve done the same if he had been taken. “Danny, you have to listen. Naomi is going to make you a perfect partner, when we get her back. Our best chance of freeing her is to do it together.”
Danny stepped toward the boats and I let go of his arm. “I can’t wait. I can’t think straight knowing she’s in harm’s way. Jessica, please. By the time you’re ready, and agree on a plan, it may be too late. My wolf won’t rest until I make her completely mine. And I’m not bringing her back here, into danger, until we’ve forged our bond together, whatever it takes. Please don’t make me ask you for permission.” His face was masked in the kind of sorrow that burrows deep and holds on.