“Fine, be quick,” he growled.
Jen rolled her eyes and let Cynthia turn her and lead her into the forest.
~
Cynthia walked until she felt like whispering would be safe from wolf hearing. She stepped back from Jen, giving her some space so she wouldn’t feel pressured.
“Jen, something is wrong. That much is clear,” Cynthia stated matter of factly.
Jen nodded her agreement.
“Have you talked with anyone about what it is? With Decebel?”
“No.” Jen’s bottom lip trembled as she tried to hold back the tears that had been threatening to spill over all day.
Cynthia didn’t go to her; she didn’t offer comfort. She knew that Jen needed to get this off her chest and she would do that better if she wasn’t being coddled.
“I’m a doctor. Even now, though I don’t practice conventionally, I’m still a doctor and my oaths still stand. Patient confidentiality, Jen. I’ll take it to my grave.”
Jen’s head snapped up and her eyes met Cynthia’s. Cynthia saw in Jen a desperation that she had never seen in the usually confident young woman.
“Do you hear me? Are we on the same page?”
“Yes,” Jen whispered. “We’re on the same page.”
Jen found a fallen tree limb and sat down on it. Cynthia moved closer so that Jen wouldn’t have to speak too loudly.
Without any preamble Jen just started talking.
When she finished, Cynthia closed her eyes, wishing all of this away.
The first thing that came out of Cynthia's mouth was, “You’re pregnant.” When she opened her eyes she saw that Jen had tears sliding down her cheeks.
“I killed my baby, Decebel’s baby. I killed her.” Jen’s breathing was getting sporatic and Cynthia knew if she didn’t calm her down, Decebel would crash through the woods for her any moment.
“Shh, Jen. Pull it together or your man’s going to be tearing down trees to get to you.”
Jen wiped her tears away as she tried to compose herself.
“Why haven’t you told your mate?” Cynthia asked.
Jen wrapped her arms around herself, another sign of how vulnerable she was feeling.
“I can’t stand the thought of seeing the disgust and anger in his eyes once he knows I’ve killed our child. If only I had just died....it was my time.”
Cynthia was shaking her head before Jen even finished speaking.
“If you had died Decebel would have destroyed the world. He would have lost it and then taken his own life. This isn’t your fault, Jen, it’s the damn Fates'. He will not hold you responsible nor will he be angry. He will be hurting for you, hurting because he is going to feel all of the guilt in you. Jen, you know Decebel, you know how he feels about you. You have to trust that he will love you through this, that you two can work through this together..”
Jen looked at her hopefully. “Do you think there is a way to keep the Fates from taking her?”
“I don’t know, but I do know that Decebel would move mountains, destroy nations, call down the wrath of the gods to see you happy.” Cynthia pulled Jen up from the limb.
“You’re going to have to tell him. But I want you to take it easy and don’t push yourself too hard, okay?”
Jen nodded. She took a deep breath and let it out. She didn’t feel great, but she felt better. She needed someone to know, needed someone to understand. And she knew Cynthia was right, she couldn’t keep this from Decebel for much longer. She was hurting him and it wasn't fair.
They headed back to the group in silence. Once there, all of them followed Decebel into the forest, the moon their only guiding light.
They walked for an hour, just as Decebel had said, and then made camp. Costin and Drake got a fire going while, in wolf form, Sorin did a check of the perimeter. When he came back to the camp site he couldn’t help but preen for Elle, who was watching him in awe.
Elle laughed at Sorin’s obvious pleasure in her watching him. She waved him off, telling him to go get dressed. He tilted his head in a charming manner and headed back into the forest to gather his clothes.
Once they were all gathered around the fire, they sat in silence, watching the flames eat up the wood. They each felt the darkness that hung over the forest and didn’t want to draw attention to themselves by speaking. Soon, one by one, they laid out their pallets and went to sleep. The males took their turns keeping watch and when morning came, they each woke up breathing a little easier. Things, so far, had been uneventful.
Costin looked at Decebel as they journeyed deeper into the forest. “Did you feel that last night?”
Decebel nodded. “We’re being watched. I feel it even now.”
“Good, I wanted to make sure it wasn’t just me.”
Sally came up next Decebel with Costin beside her.
“Alpha, there is dark magic at work. I can feel it like oil over my skin,” Sally told him.
“Peri, Elle,” Decebel called back to the Fae as he stopped.
“You feeling it?” Peri asked Decebel. He nodded.
“Before you ask, Elle and I have been using a cloaking magic, but whatever it is tailing us, it’s powerful.”
Decebel’s eyebrows rose at that concession. If the magic they were dealing with here – with no witch present – was stronger than two Fae, then they were in trouble.
Jen took Decebel’s hand and looked up into his grim face.
“I don’t like standing still, Dec. Something is telling me we shouldn’t stand still.”
Sally nodded in agreement. They broke off into pairs and filed in a line as they continued on. The day seemed to grow darker much sooner than it should and the temperature dropped.
Sally’s teeth soon began to chatter. She had her arms crossed with her hands tucked in her arm pits, trying to keep warm.
“Dec, we have to stop,” Cynthia called out to him. It was getting colder and even though moving was keeping their blood circulating, she was thinking about Jen.
“Let’s get a fire going. Whatever magic is at work here, they're dead set against us going any farther,” Peri spoke up above the wind that had begun to whip around them.
They worked quickly, getting the camp set up and a fire going within minutes. Peri and Elle used their magic for the fire because a natural one wouldn’t stay lit. They all huddled around it, the shadows around them seeming sinister as the wind howled through the trees. All of nature seemed to be working against them.
Suddenly, lightning flashed and thunder rolled across the sky. They felt the ground beneath them shake. Peri stood and held her hands out, her eyes closed. Elle did the same, so Sally stood, not really sure what she was supposed to do, but feeling that she should be standing as well.
Peri and Elle chanted. The wind whipped through their hair, the thunder crashed around them, and the lightning pulsed into the ground, lighting their features in an eerie matter.
Peri’s arms snapped down and her eyes opened. She looked grimly at Decebel.
“I’m not strong enough. I need the stones.”
“Where are they?” he snarled.
“I guess it’s not time,” Peri told him sternly, not backing down.
“What do you mean it’s 'not time'? When is it time? Once we’re all fried from lightning?”
Jen grabbed Decebel’s hand and reached up, turning his face to hers.
“Peri is not the enemy,” she told him firmly.
Decebel closed his eyes and reined his wolf in. Once he opened them he looked at Peri and inclined his head.
“My apologies, Fae.”
“Not necessary,” Peri told him. “The shit has hit the fan and we are all little testy.”
“Took the words right out of my mouth, Peri Fairy,” Jen grumbled.
Sally snorted and looked over at her best friend. Jen winked, trying to reassure her that everything with her was okay, even though it was as far from okay as one could get.
Peri glared at Jen. “That one was free
, Jen. The next comes out of your hide.”
Jen grinned, her first real grin all day. “Aw, Peri, if you want to touch my hide all you have to do is ask. Well, that, and pay a small admissions fee.”
The others laughed and were briefly distracted from the havoc going on around them.
Decebel pressed his lips to the top of Jen's head, glad to see a glimpse of his mate.
Peri turned back to the Alpha after giving Jen a pointed look, who simply shrugged in return.
“The stones come and go at their own will, Alpha. I do not control them. No one does.”
Everyone looked at Decebel, waiting for his orders. He looked at each of them, feeling the weight of their safety – it was heavy.
“We will stay here and hold out through the night.”
Once again they huddled around the fire. No one slept.
~
They were still huddled around the fire when dawn finally broke. Almost as if a switch had been flipped, the wind stopped, along with the thunder and lightning.
Jen stood up, stretching, looking around, and surveying the damage. She let out a huff.
“That was fun.”
Decebel smacked her on the backside, causing Jen to growl.
“You have a strange idea of fun, mate,” he told her as he leaned down and kissed her gently. Jen took the kiss and allowed herself this moment. The pain hadn't receded over what she was facing, but she had to find joy where she could. Decebel brought her joy, and she was going to soak in every little bit of it.
He cocked his head to the side, his brow furrowed as he looked at her.
“You okay?” he murmured.
She smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “For now.”
Decebel decided that that would have to be enough until he could talk to her alone.
Hours later, Jen, trying to shake off the darkness, started singing “On the Road Again” by Willie Nelson.
Sally groaned.
Cynthia laughed.
“Well, if we want to scare off the evil magic that is certainly an effective method.” Peri snorted.
“Laugh it up, Peri Fairy,” Jen hollered back. “One of these days my singing might just save your life.”
Before Peri could respond they heard a familiar voice.
“I hope you all weren’t trying to be stealthy because you suck at it.” Adam's voice carried over the foliage and finally he physically emerged.
He looked everyone over, showing obvious relief that everyone was here and unharmed. Then he smiled over at Elle, who was standing close to Sorin.
“You too?”
Elle nodded and blushed. Sorin wrapped an arm around her and kissed her gently on the forehead.
“Alright,” Adam’s voice drew everyone’s attention away from Sorin and his mate, “let’s join Vasile and get a plan in motion.”
Chapter 20
“I’m going to say this one time and one time only, so you had better listen up. The world is going to hell in a hand basket. We got Jacque running off into ponds like a crazy ass lady, Fane thinking he’s Aqua Man, diving in after her and getting his ass captured by the wicked witch; we have freak lightning shows, thunder that shakes the ground, and wind strong enough to knock you over. And you know what’s really scary? It’s going to get worse before it gets better. The fan is broken from all the shit that has hit it. Yes, I have a potty mouth. I get to have one when the world as we know it is crumbling around us.” ~ Jen
Vasile wrapped Sally and Jen in hugs as soon as he saw them, ignoring the growls from their mates. They weren’t his daughters, but they were as good as. They were pack and their friend had been hurt while under his protection.
When he released them, Decebel and Costin pulled each of their mates into their arms.
“Where is she?” Jen asked.
Vasile stepped out of the way and they saw Alina and Rachel sitting next to a very pale, very still Jacque.
Sally and Jen both rushed over. Rachel and Alina stood and backed away, letting them get close to their friend.
Sally wiped a tear away as she took Jacque’s hand in hers.
“Why won’t she wake up?” Jen asked.
“We don’t know. I think it might have something to do with their bond,” Vasile told her.
“What do you mean?” Sally’s head snapped up.
“I can feel Fane’s agony. Wherever he is, he’s in pain. I think it’s affecting their bond. He may have shut it down somehow or he didn’t and she’s stuck enduring what he is.”
“Isn’t there anything we can do?” Jen asked desperately.
Sally reached out and placed her hand over Jacque’s chest. She closed her eyes and reached out for her friend. She didn’t know how she did it but when she sought to get inside someone she was touching, she was able to see them, see inside their body and their mind.
She saw that Jacque’s mind was covered in a haze. Something was keeping her unconscious. She tried pushing against the haze – she forced her will into it. The force with which it pushed back shoved her out of Jacque’s body and physically onto the ground. Costin was at her side in an instant, kneeling so she could sit on his knee.
“What did you see, love?” he asked.
Sally tried to focus her eyes and clear her thoughts. The haze had tried to attack her mind. She felt violated and shuddered in Costin's arms. He pulled her closer.
“Something is keeping her under. I tried to push it away but it’s wrapped around her mind, encasing it.”
Rachel walked over to her, her eyes wide and mouth opened in wonder.
“You can get inside?”
Sally nodded. “Can’t you?”
Rachel nodded. “But I’ve been a healer for centuries. You are but a babe.” She looked over at Peri, who smiled with pride.
“She’s powerful,” Rachel told her.
“Very,” Peri agreed.
“Okay, not that I don’t care that Sally is like super healer, but can we get back to Jacque and how we can help her?”
“We can’t. She needs her -” Rachel was interrupted by a now standing and snarling Jen.
“IF YOU SAY SHE NEEDS HER MATE I SWEAR I’M GOING TO LOSE IT.”
“Sweetie,” Sally said calmly, “you’ve already lost it.”
Jen growled but stepped back. “I’m sorry, but I’m just really sick of the only answer being 'she needs her mate'. How can we be so dependent on you guys? I mean, seriously, what the hell makes you so special that you can fix everything? And how vain is it that you think you are the end all? Jacque is strong without Fane. She doesn’t need him. We don’t need you.”
Decebel snarled and the sound that came out of him was more like a lion than a wolf. Everyone but Vasile took a step away from the enraged Alpha.
“You think it makes you weak to say that you need me? Is that what your problem has been, that you don’t want to need me?” Decebel’s eyes glowed as he held his mate’s stare.
“Why should I need you? You don’t need me. You are strong without me. You can take on anything, deal with anything, but I’m weak. That’s what you think, that I can’t handle it when it get rough. You think that we will all just curl up and die if you weren’t there to rescue us!” Jen’s breathing was erratic and her heart was racing.
Cynthia stepped forward, keeping a wary eye on Decebel. “Jen, you need to calm down.”
Decebel snarled at her. “Who are you to tell my mate what she needs?”
Cynthia stepped back, ducking her head and exposing her neck in submission.
Decebel’s head snapped back to his mate. He was trying to control his wolf, but it was becoming more difficult the more she spouted this nonsense about not needing him and him not needing her.
“Where is this all coming from, Jennifer? How can you say such things to me? TO ME? When you died my life was over. I NEED YOU and I’m not ashamed to admit that. It doesn’t make me weak to need you, it doesn’t make me any less of a man. You make me stronger, you make me better.
Why is it so horrible to need me?” Decebel had taken several steps toward her, but she took the same amount away from him.
She watched his anger turn to pain as he looked at her.
Jen’s shoulders crumbled in defeat, all the fight gone. She was tired. She was scared.
“If I need you, if I can’t be without you, then I will die when you leave me – I will cease to exist without you. I can’t need you, I can’t. If you are the air I breathe, if you are the rock I stand on, if you are what makes me whole, then I’m going to be a shell, empty and dry once you’re gone.” Tears slid down her face.
“Jennifer, I will never leave you, how can you say that to me?”
“You don’t know. Once you do...you will hate me.”
Decebel took another step toward her. This time she didn’t move back.
“Tell him, Jen. Trust him.” Cynthia spoke softly, her eyes still on the ground and her neck exposed.
Decebel’s eyes widened. “You told her before you told me, your mate, your husband?”
Jen cringed at the hurt she saw in his face.
“I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “I’m so sorry. I just don’t think I will survive if I see the disgust in your eyes when you hear it. I can’t lose you, Decebel – I can’t lose you because I need you.”
Decebel moved quickly to her before she could back away and he knelt down. He placed both hands on either side of her face and held her stare.
“Baby, there is nothing you could do that would ever cause you to lose me. I am yours – good and bad, I am yours.”
Jen’s eyes filled with more tears.
“But this is so bad, Dec. It’s so bad,” she whispered through her sobs.
Decebel wiped her tears away with his thumbs and because he couldn’t stand it any longer, he pulled her into his arms. He held her shaking body, pouring his warmth into her.
“I’m pregnant, Dec,” she said so softly that even with his wolf hearing he had to strain to understand.
When he did, he froze. In response, her body tensed.
How could she think he would be mad over that? She was carrying his pup, his child. He felt his heart swell and tears formed in his eyes. He pulled her back to look at her but she fought him. She grabbed onto his shirt and held on tight.