"is that so?" the queen stayed just out of arm's reach, her accent even thicker now. "why just last week a pack of mangy wolves, some of your very own precious young, eagerly swore their oaths to me. in return, i vowed to track down your daughter and bring her here." she smiled shrewdly. "in fact, they were so taken with themselves, and swore so quickly, they didn't even bother to ask me if i intended to end her life or if i was merely interested in chatting with her."

my father's expression stayed stoic, leading me to believe he was already well aware of the fracture across packs and the new splinter group of wolves. i wondered for the first time where hank and some of the younger wolves were, because they weren't here with us now. i know i'd seen hank in his wolf form behind my father in the clearing. once he learned i'd ended stuart's life-his level of hatred toward me would skyrocket into the upper stratosphere. i wasn't looking forward to seeing how that manifested itself.

"i can assure you, eudoxia"-my father's voice strummed low and fierce-"the wolves who allegedly swore to you were simply rogues and nothing more. they were wolves without honor and no longer members of any pack. they will be hunted down by our own. no wolf with any notion of self-worth would ever seek the help of vampires. wolves with honor have always fought their own battles, and we will continue to fight them in the future. no one will be swearing anything to you."

"really, callum, how very old-fashioned and positively downright male of you. i think you will soon find that persons of the ... feminine persuasion may feel differently about such things." the queen turned her bird stare on me. "hmm, little wolf? are you agreeing with daddy here? or do you actually wish to find your mate ... alive?" her power thrummed through the room.

no more playtime.

i bit the inside of my cheek.

the bitter taste of iron swirled on my tongue. i could feel my father's anger weighing on me. i knew that with our current resources we had no clue how to find a powerful sorceress quickly, even coupled with devon's vast computer skills. wolves concerned themselves about wolves. evil goddesses, imps, demons, or vamps were completely ignored until a problem arose. hell, i didn't even know selene was real until i saw her in the flesh. i'd only heard rumors, but had dismissed them like everyone else.

if i declined the queen's help, i would be going home cold. it could take me weeks of interviews to come up with any viable way to track rourke. if selene had multiple lairs, it would take longer. we had her scent, but could only track her accurately on the ground. if she could fly, which i was assuming without a doubt she could-flight being a credential of card-carrying high-level supes-evil goddesses included-by then it would be too late.

i knew it in my bones.

if i played this game correctly, i could bind the vampire queen to keep her end of the bargain, which would include not killing me. i knew whatever she wanted from me mattered a great deal to her, or we wouldn't be dancing together right now.

i shuddered, knowing the price might be too steep for me to pay, but if i didn't try, i would lose my mate.

"what would it cost me?" i asked the queen.

"jessica," my father roared. he turned to me, his fury pinging around the room. "i forbid this!" his command swirled in my blood, teasing me at its edges, but it was a command from the alpha-not a blood-request from my father-and even though it tried to capture me, to make me obey, it didn't hold me. it seemed my father and i had entered into a complicated relationship when we had unwittingly swapped blood. his alpha commands still did not affect me, but as a father he could manipulate our new blooded bond if he chose. but, clearly right now, as a father he loved me, even if his alphaness was furious with me. i had to hope that as a father he would ultimately understand what it meant to have a mate and what i had to do to get him back.

"i'm sorry," i said, my voice pleading. "please forgive me, but i have no other choice. i have to do this or i will lose him. i owe it to him to try."

"jessica, there is nothing in this world worth binding yourself to them for. we will find your mate on our own, with our own kind." my father's blood danced in my body, rich and angry, but no other command came.

"i will accept that," i said quietly, dropping my eyes, giving him my full submission. "if you can tell me where selene is right now. do you, or any of your wolves, know anything about her? if you know where she is, i will follow you from here without pause. i promise to leave this place and never look back. if not, you must understand i must do this."

my father grappled with the knowledge that his alpha command hadn't taken. the wolves behind us started to become agitated. this would not go unnoticed. i had just defied my alpha in a very public arena, in front of our enemy.

i had a stark moment of regret.

i was on a very dangerous ground. everything i'd done so far had screamed something was wrong with me, that i wasn't a normal wolf. the pack was already fractured, and i was putting them in danger by showing that weakness to our enemy.

my wolf shot to the surface, growling as menacingly as i'd ever seen her. i know. you don't have to remind me. this is a cluster-fuck, and we choose rourke. it doesn't mean i'm not sorry it turned out this way. we're going up against our alpha, my father, in front of the whole damn world. it's going to come back and bite us, i know it will. no wolf is going to trust me when they know the alpha can't control me. it's a big deal.

she huffed.

i had no other choice. my wolf and my body both demanded i find him. there was no other option. "i can't explain it"-unfamiliar emotion erupted as i spoke-"but i know rourke only has a short amount of time. if we take too long, i will lose him. give me another choice, and i will gladly take it." then i said very, very quietly, "there may be some things in this world worth binding yourself for."

my father ran a hand over his face. he had incredible control, but i could see a faint line of fur erupting on his forearms. he was trying hard to contain himself. i didn't even sneak a glance at the queen, who was likely elated with her soon-to-be victory.

the wolves behind us growled and shifted uncomfortably. there was also a low murmur running through the crowd of vamps. they weren't familiar with our ways, but they knew enough to know that this interaction between us was wrong. it was likely physically impossible for most of the vamps to go against a direct order from their queen.

my father still said nothing. my eyes pleaded with him to understand.

after a moment, i felt a shift. his eyes flashed a deep violet, and calmness wove its way through me. he'd made his decision. whatever it was, i'd have to live with it. his voice was strong and final. "jessica, you leave me no other choice. if you take this path, you will receive no help from us. you make this choice separate from pack, acting on your own as an individual." he was giving me an option. he was trying to fix this.

"i understand."

"i can grant you this only because there has been no official ceremony tying you to pack ... yet." not the truth, since i was blood-born and needed no ceremony, but the vamps likely didn't know. "you are still separate from us." he gritted his teeth and forced out, "this time. if you are successful in finding your ... mate ... and return to us alive ... you will immediately be given the proper ceremonies, and will henceforth be expected to follow pack law to the letter." his irises flashed, telling me all i needed to know. i would follow orders. "if you fail to do so, you'll be labeled a rogue and cast out. there will be no more chances. my decision on this is final."

that was it.

"i accept those conditions."

my brother strode forward and knelt in front of our father, his head bowed, his voice clear. "i request permission to aid my sister in her quest as a selective. i will act solely as her human bodyguard. i voluntarily forswear all of my rights as pack during this journey."

a selective was a paid position wolves took outside of pack for extra cash. the jobs usually consisted of some kind of body-guarding or some other muscle. it was understood a selective couldn't shift, ever. they could not call any attention to themselves, use any powers, and anything that happened to them on the job wasn't pack business.

in a nutshell, if you were stupid enough to get yourself into trouble it was all on you.

it was extremely clever of tyler, and extremely dangerous. he'd be forced to stay human for the duration of the journey. i would never allow it. i started, "tyler, that's-"

"granted," my father said before i could finish, clasping tyler's shoulder as he stood up. "you have my permission to act as a selective, along with daniel walker, if he so desires. all restitutions will be made in full by jessica on the eve of your return. our standard hourly rates apply, of course," my father said with his very first hint of a grin.

my father had just hired two bodyguards who would likely cost more than i made in two years.

"i hate to interrupt this adorable family moment," the queen snapped. "but the sun will be breaking the horizon shortly and we must act quickly if we are to move forward."

i turned toward her and said, "i accept your aid."

the queen stepped from behind the altar and snapped her fingers. "eamon, naomi, come forward."

a pair of vampires, both dressed in period costumes, came forward. it was clear they were siblings. they stood almost the same height, same brown hair, same lilt to their enamel features, dark eyes, and arching brows. both looked like they'd been frozen in death in their early twenties, which seemed to be a common trait among the undead.

the queen directed her response at me next. "these two share a kin-bond and each has a particular specialty, one in tracking and the other in sensing. they are not only capable of getting you to your destination safely, but they will be able to detect selene's many defenses." her voice turned hard. "i do not lie in telling you this is the only way you will have a chance to succeed. after you breach selene's lair, it will be up to you, and you alone, to save your mate. selene is a very dangerous being. none but your cat has ever bested her before. she will not relinquish him easily. you will have to kill her."