“Desperate times, Ms. P, desperate times.” Jen looked from person to person, noting their blank faces. Finally she huffed. “Fine, we’ll play something else.”

“Got anything that does not include sex, sexual innuendos, stripping, and the like?” Cynthia asked.

Jacque and Sally laughed as they looked at Cynthia with smirks.

Jen held up a finger. “Hold on, let me think about it.” She bunched her lips up as she tilted her head one way and then the next. Then she scratched her head and tapped her lips with her finger. She sat up straight suddenly. “Oh wait, got it,” she paused as she held out her hands as if to make the others stop what they were doing. Just as quickly her shoulders slumped back. “False alarm. I got nothing.”

Cynthia shook her head at Jen with a small smile while the others let out quiet chuckles that didn’t quite meet their eyes. None of their laughter did, not anymore.

They had no idea how many days or weeks had past. It was so hard to tell time in the dark forest where there was no sunlight. There was no changing of the daylight to indicate how early or late it was. Their watches and phones were useless. They had just stopped working the minute they had entered the fae realm, or rather, the dark forest. So they sat; sometimes they stood, or walked around, or slept. They talked about nothing and everything. Jen continued to use humor as a coping mechanism, though there were nearly as many tears as there were jokes. They had begun to grow very hungry and very thirsty, and just when the pain of it was beginning to grow unbearable, food would appear. The first time it happened, they had all nearly peed themselves at the sudden appearance, but after sniffing it and taking tiny bites, they decided it was safe and they had gorged themselves. There had been bread, fruit, turkey sandwiches, and water to drink. Cynthia had insisted that Jen eat and drink her fill first, and everyone had agreed. After a small amount of protest, she finally gave in. They attempted to judge the passage of time by the appearance of the food, but it was no use; its appearance was sporadic at best.

“Holy crap, I’m nearly as bored as I am in pain,” Jen grumbled as she laid on her back, staring up into the dark sky. They had given up any games and resorted to just sitting.

“Do you think Reyaz is ever going to show his face?” Jacque asked no one in particular.

“Eventually,” Alina answered. “He is meticulous and seems to steer towards the whole idea of his prey growing complacent. I think he enjoys the shock value.”

“While I appreciate your evaluation of our captor. I’m just going to go with he’s an asshat with brother issues,” Sally said.

Jen laughed gave Sally a thumbs up. “Captivity agrees with you Sally. You get snarkier by the day, or hour, or whatever the amount of time has passed.”

“My inner Jen seems to be triggered by being dropped into spooky, evilplaces where we’re fed like animals and forced to dig holes to pee in.”

“We aren’t going to be here forever,” Lilly said confidently. She had been attempting to be as positive as possible and she was as relentless as her plight. “You know your mates are going crazy trying to find you, and I have a feeling that nothing stands a chance against them when it comes to getting their mates back.”

“As awesome as they are, mom, they are still human,” Jacque paused. “Well, sort of, but you get my drift.”

“How are you finding your accommodations?” A masculine voice said from inside the darkness. They all scrambled to their feet as they watched Reyaz materialize from the forest. “I know it’s a tad rustic, but then you are wolves, well most of you, so I figured it wouldn’t bother you.”

Alina stepped forward and her body radiated anger and protectiveness for the women with her. “What do you want with us?” she asked pointedly.

“Come now Alpha. You are intelligent. Surely you have figured out that I didn’t really want anything with the wolves. My brother’s lovely human mate has always been my target. But you all just continued to get in my way. I don’t like it when people interfere with my plans.”

“Are you going to kill us?” Cynthia asked him.

His brow rose in surprise at how calmly she asked about their demise. “Are you so eager to die?”

“Are you really that stupid?” Jen growled. “Oh wait, you have to be because you took the mates of some of the most powerful werewolves in history away from them. In what delusion of yours could you possibly think that would end well for you? Even if we die, our mates will rip you apart and then use your bones as tooth picks.”

Reyaz took a step closer towards the clearing where the girls were trapped. “You’re the pregnant one.” It wasn’t a question. “I could potentially have an interest in keeping you alive, or at least until your child is born. Can you imagine how horrific it would be for your mate to know that I was raising your child as my own? Training it in my ways and teaching it my magic?”

Jen wasn’t the only one who let out a snarl this time as several of the she-wolves lunged forward. “You will never get your hands on my child.”

“Relax, mate to Decebel. You don’t need to stress yourself out just yet. You have time to fret over it before the child is born. I think you have about a month and a half.”

Jen’s mouth dropped open but it was Cynthia who spoke. “That’s not possible; she isn’t eight months pregnant yet.”

A grin spread across the warlock’s face. “Didn’t your fae tell you? Time passes differently in the dark forest. One month in the human realm equals two months here.”