Page 96 of Kidnapping Their Third

The remaining wolves went back to begging her for mercy. Holding Cora tightly to his chest, Pike watched as Mrs. J surveyed them with a considering expression. Finally she pointed to one and spoke.

“You aren’t truly corrupted yet,” she announced. “Your soul is salvageable. I’ll let you serve me as penance. It won’t be easy, do you accept?”

“Yes, ma’am!” the wolf said and rushed to kneel in front of her.

One of the other wolves tried to join him. “I want to serve—”

Mrs. J’s eyes flashed, and the wolf fell over mid-step, the pieces of his stone body scattering among his alpha’s.

“None of the rest of you can be saved,” she declared and between one breath and the next, Pike watched all of them turn to stone. Most fell over and shattered but two remained on their knees, faces frozen in expressions of fear and horror.

When she turned to face them, Pike flinched. Pushing to his feet, he rushed to use his body to shield Cora. “Please don’t hurt the human!”

Mrs. J rolled her eyes and laughed. “I let Muggsie eat the wolf holding her, remember?”

Pike relaxed a little, realizing they probably weren’t in danger from the gorgon. “Thank you for saving us.”

Cora moved to his side and stumbled. Looking down, he saw blood dripping from her mouth and nose, and her complexion was pale. She had to be in pain.

They were quite the pair. With the danger gone, Pike noticed there wasn't a part of his body that hadn’t been bit, slashed, or hit. He hurt everywhere.

As damaged as they both were, he’d hate to think how much worse it would’ve been without Kimble’s bond making them stronger and tougher.

“You two look like you’ve been in a car wreck,” Mrs. J murmured. Muggsie made one of his bird sounds, and she looked down at him. “Do you think I should?”

He whistled again, then looked at the remaining wolf. Moving in close, he nosed the young man. The wolf was still on his hands and knees in front of Mrs. J and when Muggsie touched him, the wolf curled into himself and whimpered.

“He’s not going to eat you,” Mrs. J assured the wolf as she stepped around him and made her way to Pike and Cora. “He’s still digesting your friend.”

It took all of Pike’s willpower to remain still as Mrs. J got close. She gave him an approving grin before reaching out and cupping his cheek. Her touch felt warm, and he could smell strong magic wafting off her.

“You’ve got one of the purest souls I’ve ever seen,” she told him. Her hand got warmer, and his entire body started to heat up like he had a fever. “After my sweet Harry died, I almost wanted to join him. It’s hard for us to die, but we can do it. I let myself grow old to make it easier, and then you moved into the building. You made me realize that there’s still kindness and joy in the world, even if Harry wasn’t here. I’d been thinking of resurrecting myself when you brought Kimble home. I was so worried for you. Soul bonds are strong, and Kimble wouldn’t mean to hurt you, but feral vampires are unpredictable. I decided to stay in my elder form, in case you needed me. No one can sense us when we don’t want to be known, not even ancient vampires.”

Pike had a hard time paying attention to Mrs. J’s words because he was distracted by the pain fading. Where her warmth spread through his body, the early discomfort eased and then disappeared. Her gentle grip on his face kept him from looking down, but he’d bet anything his wounds were rapidly healing.

“Now that you're safe with your vampire and human mates, it seems you don't need me to watch over you any longer.” One of the snakes slid against his face, tasting his skin with a long, forked tongue. “I’m going to take my new pet wolf, and my beast and find a new place to live before this building falls down around us.”

She laughed, the sound of it washing over Pike and making him want to laugh with her. There was no fear any longer and not even the snake touching him felt weird.

“Mrs. J, um Mrs. Gorgon person?” Cora said. “I’m not trying to disrespect you or anything, but I’m going to have to sit down now.”

Pike saw Mrs. J’s eyes go wide at the same time he felt Cora’s grip on him loosen. Mrs. J let go of his face and reached for Cora. She was able to hold his little human up long enough for Pike to shake off the effects of her calming/healing magic and grab Cora up in his arms.

“I don’t feel good,” Cora mumbled. “My head really hurts.”

“Oh, you poor thing,” Mrs. J cooed, moving in close to press both hands to either side of Cora’s face. “I should’ve started with you. Muggsie wanted Pike healed first because Pike gave him bacon a few times. That beast’s affections are easily bought!”

She chuckled at her own joke while several of her snakes moved to taste Cora’s skin. Pike could feel Cora’s body getting hot and while he watched, her swollen nose went back to normal size and the bruising on her face faded. Those were only the visible injuries though. Mrs. J was probably healing a lot of internal damage that might have killed Cora if left much longer.

“There now, aren’t you feeling better?” Mrs. J asked.

“Yeah,” Cora agreed. To Pike’s horror, Cora reached up and touched one of the snakes. “Pretty.”

The snake weaved through Cora’s fingers before retreating back to the rest of the writhing mass. “They are pretty, aren’t they?” Mrs. J said, letting go of Cora’s face to touch her snake hair.

Taking a step back, Mrs. J turned to regard the wolf on the floor. He was sitting back on his knees now, with Muggsie rolled on his back in front of him. The wolf was scratching the creature's belly while Muggsie moaned and shook a paw in the air from pleasure.

Mrs. J snapped her fingers. “To me, wolf,” she ordered.

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