Thirty-six – 02

Thom wrapped his arms around Marin, exhaling a heavy sigh as he gently tugged her away from Phelan’s side, letting Jacqueline fill the gap again.

“What did she do?” Jacqueline asked in a voice that was barely more than a whisper.

“She gave him his soul back,” Neve said, her heart giving a painful squeeze. “His anima. I could sense it.” She bit down hard on her lip. But if she did that, why isn’t he awake? “Does he have a fever, Jac?”

“No,” the other woman said softly. “No, he doesn’t seem to. But then, if the Greys got their claws into him, it wouldn’t surprise me that he doesn’t. Those stupid gremlins…”

Neve’s gaze flicked toward Thom as he snorted softly. “They’re near enough to turn your blood to ice,” he murmured. “You’ve seen them, but they’ve never touched you.”

“No,” Neve agreed as she started with the mortar and pestle again, staring at the herbs that were pulped in its bowl. “Truth be told, I count myself lucky.”

“Good call,” Thom said. He closed his eyes and sighed. “I’m taking Marin and going back to bed. I’ve had enough excitement for one night. I think you guys can handle Seamus and the Wild Hunt and…all of that?”

“Yeah,” Cameron said quietly. “We probably can. You need help?”

“Not this time,” Thom murmured, lifting his wife with a wince. He stumbled toward the hall leading toward their cubby. Neve bit her lip as she watched them go.

I sure as hell hope we can handle them—handle all of it. She exhaled a quiet breath and looked at Cameron, whose eyes drifted from Thom and Marin, to Phelan, and then finally to her. He gave her a brief, brave smile that faded a moment later.

“I should make sure that Sif has Thesan well in hand,” he said. He glanced at J.T. “Can you hold down the fort?”

“Something tells me the girls are doing that well enough,” J.T. said quietly. “I’ll come with you.”

“Jay?”

The men paused at the sound of Jacqueline’s voice. She took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, not looking at anyone or anything but Phelan.

“Don’t let her anywhere near him,” she said firmly. “Not unless you want me to kill her myself. Understand?”

“Crystal clear,” J.T. said. “And for the record, I don’t blame you one bit.”

Cameron cast one last look at them before he and J.T. walked away. Neve reached over to touch Jacqueline’s arm.

“He’ll be fine, Jac,” she whispered. “You’ll see.”

“I hope he is,” Jacqueline said. “Because I don’t know what I’ll do if he’s not.”

She sucked in another breath and went back to tending her lover’s wounds, her expression a mask to hide her suffering. Neve’s heart broke for her even as her throat tightened.

You can’t stop fighting, Phelan. You’ve finally found her. You can’t stop fighting now.

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