Page 43 of Taste of Danger

“Fae,” Jaytee corrected.

“I know, but I can say fairy when none of them are here.” Damon ate a few cinnamon graham crackers then looked at the box in his hand. “We have got to get better snacks. Don’t we have anything strawberry flavored or the real thing? Now I have a craving for fruit.”

Damon was rambling to cover up how nervous he was. Jax had seen him that way too many times in the past. The guy turned into a chatterbox, but hearing his brother incessantly talk had always soothed him for some reason.

Jax’s heart pounded as the golden line materialized once again in the center of the kitchen. Everyone turned toward it as Raidh walked through the passageway. Jaytee grabbed his mate with a fierce grip and pulled him close.

When Casimir emerged with Elvine’s limp body cradled in his arms, Jax’s world shattered.

“No!” Arion wailed, launching himself at Casimir and pummeling his small fists against the warrior’s bulging muscles. Jax’s legs gave out from under him, and he crumpled toward the floor, but his father caught him in his steady grip.

“She’s not dead,” Casimir said, his voice tight. “Raidh and I saved her after she was hit with a black bolt.”

“The baby?” Jax pulled from his dad’s grip and cautiously approached Casimir.

Raidh shook his head when he turned from Jaytee’s embrace. “The pink line has grown faint. I was praying it returned to its natural hue, but at least it hasn’t disappeared.”

With trembling hands, Jax gently pulled Elvine from Casimir, cradling her against his chest. “Why is she unconscious?” he asked, but never took his eyes off of her.

“She just needs time to heal,” Casimir replied solemnly.

“Her shirt...” Jax squeezed his eyes shut, a flood of rage and despair consuming him. He pushed the thoughts aside, refusing to let them take hold.

“We got there in time,” Raidh assured him.

“And the guard?” Arion snarled, his fists clenching at his sides.

“No longer breathing.” Raidh turned and left the kitchen with Jaytee following closely behind.

Casimir scrubbed a hand over his face and told them what Raidh had done to three of the guards. “I’ve never seen so much rage coming from one person. I actually felt it stinging my skin. And for a brief moment, his irises turned black. The king will find out we killed them, and if Raidh wasn’t already a wanted man, he will be, just like me.”

“And we’ll protect the two of you like we’ve been doing,” Kalen declared firmly. “Take her upstairs, Jax. Let her get the rest she needs.”

“And if she loses the pup?” Jax’s voice broke as he struggled to hold back tears. Ever since Raidh told them he’d seen the line, Jax had been looking forward to being a father to their child, no matter which one of them was the biological father.

The three of them were mates, in this for eternity. They would have many more babes, fathered by them both.

“Then the two of you will be there for her.”

When Kalen walked out, Jax noticed the unshed tears in his father’s eyes. Elvine might not even know she was pregnant. If the line on her neck vanished while she was unconscious, should Jax and Arion even tell her or keep it from her?

As badly as he wanted to spare her, he would never keep anything from either mate.

“She’s a fighter, Jax,” Damon said, giving him a reassuring smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Elvine and your pup will be okay.”

“Thanks.” He and Arion went to their bedroom where Jax lay Elvine on the bed. “Pumpkin, can you go into her room and see if you can find some pajamas for her? I want to get this torn shirt off of her.”

Arion stood there, his jaw clenched, his eyes faintly glowing red. His hands were still clenched at his sides. “She didn’t deserve this. All she wanted to do was have some fun whenever she snuck out. She wasn’t doing anything bad when that guard caught her.”

Jax curled Arion in his arms. “Elvine is going to be okay. You heard Casimir. She just needs some rest.”

“She’s never going back there,” Arion ground out.

No, she wasn’t. They would have to figure out something as far as her parents went, but Elvine would never again step foot in the Unseelie realm.

Arion left the bedroom as Jax removed her shirt and bra, her small breasts spilling out. He lay her back down then sat, tracing his fingers over the faint line on her neck. “We’ll get through this, buttercup. All three of us.”

When Arion returned, the two of them worked together to slide on her pink satin camie top and shorts.

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