Read Blood Rites Page 11


  "Mom, what's going on?" Jacque asked her mother.

  "We need to talk."

  "That's never a good sign," Jen said.

  "Sally, Jen, you both need to stay and listen, this will affect you both."

  "No Jen, that is never a good sign. The last time she asked you guys to stay I found out I was half werewolf," Jacque said, her voice wavering.

  Before Lilly could get started there was a light knock on the door.

  "Come in," all three girls yelled.

  Alina walked in apprehensively. "Lilly I thought maybe I could help explain things if there were any questions."

  "That would be great, Alina, thank you," Lilly told her.

  "Ok," Lilly said, pulling up a chair to sit down. She placed her elbows on her knees and leaned her head down, running her hands through her hair. "let me get this out before Fane gets here because once he gets here no one will be getting near you, Jacque."

  "Mom, you're making me nervous, what's wrong?"

  "Dillon is invoking Alpha rights as your father because you are a minor," Lilly told her, frustration from her earlier encounter with Dillon leaking into her voice.

  Jacque stared at her mother blankly, knowing she should be outraged she just wasn't sure about what exactly. "Alina, translation please," Jacque asked, turning to look at Fane's mother.

  "First, I want you all to promise not to say anything until I have explained completely," she told them. "Do I have your word?"

  "Word," all three said dryly.

  "Dillon does not think you and Fane are old enough to mate."

  Jacque started to interrupt, her face full of obvious outrage, but the look in Alina's eyes was pure Alpha and Jacque's mouth snapped closed. Alina nodded her head in approval and continued. "Since he is your father, it also helps that he is the Alpha of his pack, and you are under the age of 18, he can invoke what is called Alpha rights. Basically, he is saying he can keep you and Fane from becoming bonded until you are 18. He wants you to go back to Colorado with him and his pack for the next two months until you turn 18. He thinks that you and Fane need to mature some, that Fane is not ready to be a mate and protect you as you ought to be protected." After Alina finished talking, she waited for the inevitable but it didn't come. Instead, Jacque sat still as stone, her breathing even, her lips drawn tight in a straight line.

  "Fane, I know you can hear me. I need you." Jacque sent the thought to Fane, allowing him to feel her anger, her fear and worry.

  "I am on my way. You need to know, Jacquelyn, I will kill anyone who tries to take you from me. Anyone." Fane's voice was like death itself, cold, dark and unrelenting.

  Jacque shivered at the sound of it in her mind. "Just hurry, please," was her only response to his edict.

  "Well, if Jacque is not going to share with the room the fury which she is undoubtedly feeling, by all means allow me," Jen announced. "Dillon Jacobs and what furry army is going to try, and let me just reiterate that, as in will, endeavor, strive, aim, seek, and albeit unsuccessfully attempt to take Jacque away from us?"

  Sally looked at Jen and couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. "Your vocabulary never ceases to amaze. Just when I think all you know is profanity and perversion you come out with a speech worthy of Braveheart. Well done."

  Jacque would have acknowledged her friends efforts to defend her had the door not flew open and a raging, pissed off werewolf prince walked in. His power swirled around them so strong that Alina let out a whine, sounding alarmingly like a wolf in pain. Even Jacque felt the dormant wolf gene in her wanting to submit to the power of the Alpha wolf in Fane. It was getting hard to breathe the air was so thick with his anger. He walked over to Jacque, whose head was bowed and turned so that her neck was bared. It was like she knew instinctively to submit so as to not provoke the dominant wolf and hopefully she would subdue him in her surrender. Fane's wolf must have been the one in control of the wheel because he leaned down over Jacque and growled low. He placed his face against her neck, breathing deep, and his voice was guttural when he spoke. "Mine."

  Jacque turned her head slightly and did what no other would ever be able to do when this Alpha was at this point, she looked him in the eyes. "Yes, I am yours." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Fane pulled his power in and all of a sudden it was like a weight had been lifted and they could breathe again.

  "Note to self," Sally coughed to clear her throat, still trying to drag air in, "never anger an Alpha."

  "Good call, Sherlock," Jen said sarcastically as she fell back on the bed, taking in deep breaths. She threw her arm across her face and tried to calm her racing heart.

  Jacque looked around. "Everyone okay?" When everyone nodded in agreement she turned and looked at her mate.

  "Sit," she told him firmly.

  Fane's eyes continued to glow and Jacque noticed his human hands had claws. His wolf was still here to play. Good to know, she thought.

  Fane growled, or rather his wolf growled. Jacque blew her breath out in exasperation. "Mate, you have made your point, we all submit and yadda yadda, now will you please sit down next to me?" When Fane didn't acquiesce, Jacque turned and looked at Alina as if to say 'fix it'.

  Alina walked over to where Fane stood and he turned and growled at her. Alina bared her throat, careful to keep her head lower than his and to not make eye contact. "The wolf is in control right now, Jacque, so until Fane can pull him back some he is going to respond just like an Alpha wolf in the wild."

  "What do we do then?" Sally asked.

  "Everyone just stay calm," Alina told them. "Nobody but Jacque can look at Fane in the eyes right now, and keep your head lower than his," Alina explained.

  "Well that's not hard to do, he's a mountain with legs, albeit a hairy mountain," Jen muttered to no one in particular.

  Jacque turned her notice back to Fane. She took his hand, drawing his attention from his mother. He looked down at her and she could see his eyes soften. She stood up slowly, gingerly, because despite her rapid healing she was still in pain, especially when she moved.

  "You sit," his mate told him.

  "No, I stand."

  "Me Tarzan, you Jane," Sally mumbled.

  "Snap, you beat me to it. Nice going, Thelma." Jen grinned at Sally.

  "I learned from the best, Louise."

  "Damn straight." Jen and Sally bumped fists and turned to look at Jacque who had cleared her throat louder than necessary.

  "What?" they both said in unison, shrugging their shoulders.

  "I swear I have my own tweedle dee, and tweedle dumb." Jacque rolled her eyes and turned once again to her mate. "What can I do to help you?" Jacque spoke through their bond, hoping to soothe the wolf, who was still the one manning the boat.

  "Touch," was the wolf's response.

  Jacque nodded her head in acknowledgment to his response. She took his hands and placed them around her waist, she wrapped hers around his waist and then put her hands up under his shirt so that her skin was touching his, then she lay her head on his chest and listened to the beat of his heart. She felt him lay his cheek against her hair, and could hear him breathe in. Jacque knew he was taking in her scent, which for some reason comforted him. She ran her hands up and down his back enjoying how smooth his skin was, how strong he felt.

  "I love you," Jacque whispered into his mind, pouring every ounce of emotion into those three words. She felt his deep rumble in his chest and knew that this was what he needed, just as wolves sought comfort through touching each other, Fane's wolf needed to feel her, a physical reminder that she was his, she was safe.

  "Mulţumesc, Luna, doar poţi să-l calm (Thank you, Luna, only you can calm him)." Jacque exhaled a deep breath at the sound of Fane's voice in her mind.

  She pulled back just enough to be able to look at his face. "Welcome back," she whispered to him. Fane turned her so that his body was shielding her from view and he placed his hands on either side of her face and just looked at her, like he was trying to mem
orize her every detail.

  "Dragostea mea, Aş dori să vă sărut acum (My love, I would kiss you now)." Fane spoke so softly that Jacque nearly missed it.

  "What did you just say?" She asked, cocking her head to the side quizzically.

  "I said I wanted to kiss you now."

  "Then why are we still talking?" She asked with a wicked look in her eyes.

  Everyone in the room ceased to exist at that point, the only thing Fane could see was Jacquelyn's waiting lips. He leaned down at the same time that she stretched up on her toes to meet his eager lips. Usually when he kissed her it started gently, but not this time. Fane let go of her face and wrapped his arms firmly around her, pulling her close to his body. Jacque ignored the stinging pain that having him so tight around her caused because for this she would burn all over again. She wrapped her arms around his neck and stretched even higher on her tiptoes trying to get closer, if it was even possible. She felt his tongue slide against her lips and a moan escaped her lungs. She heard Fane's low growl in response. Jacque pulled back, and breathing hard she looked around Fane's shoulder, remembering they had an audience.

  "They're gone," he whispered, his breathing just as labored as hers.

  "No wonder you were getting hot and heavy." She grinned.

  "The key words there Luna are 'were getting,'" he told her as he gently led her to the bed where she had spent the last month while her body desperately tried to heal. Healing was not the thing her body needed right now.

  "I'm sorry if I hurt you when I held you."

  "Wolf-man, if you are gonna hurt me like that, by all means hurt me." She laughed when he fake growled at her and bared his teeth.

  She sat down on the bed and leaned back against the pillows at Fane's prodding. He leaned across her, propped up on one arm, careful to not put any weight on her legs. With his free hand he reached up and pushed her hair away from her neck, he ran his fingers down her collar bone and back up to her neck. Jacque shivered at the sensation of this hand on her skin. He continued to trace this same pattern from one collar bone to the next and back up to her neck.

  "I love touching you." She heard his deep voice in her mind.

  She smiled at him and ran her fingers through his hair, pulling a groan from him."I love hearing you make those kinds of noises, and I love even more that I'm the one who causes them." Jacque couldn't believe how candid she was being with him, and how unembarrassed she was. But she wasn't, not anymore, this was Fane, her mate, her best friend, her love, and the last person in the world she would ever need to feel embarrassed in front of.

  "I'm glad you're finally catching on," he said in response to her thoughts.

  Jacque tugged at his hair in retaliation to his eavesdropping.

  He laughed. "It's not eavesdropping, love. I've told you it's being attentive."

  "So do I have your attention?" she whispered as she traced his lips with her fingers.

  "Undivided," he said, lips barely moving. He was mesmerized by his mate, her touch, the only thing that could bring his wolf to heel.

  "Good, cause you might want to pay extra close attention to what I'm thinking right," she paused as she pictured in her mind what she wanted, needed from Fane, "now," she finished.

  "I think I can handle most of that," he said as he kissed her fingers.

  Jacque's brow furrowed. "Not all?"

  "You’re a wicked, wicked woman. You know that, right?" Fane teased her as he leaned forward and kissed her neck, nipping gently where his mark would soon be.

  "There we go with the whole 'soon' thing."

  "Hush, my love. No more words," Fane said in between kisses on her neck, collar bone, and lips.

  And there were no more for a long while.

  Chapter 17

  "I understand what you need me to do, Logan. I don't need you to explain it twelve different ways." Dr. Cynthia Steele's frustration at the wolf showed clearly on her face.

  "If something changes in the plan, if for some reason Fane is able to stay with her tonight, we have to have a plan B," he told her.

  "Plan B is I come tell them that the blood tests I took from Jen are abnormal and that I want to take Jacque to the lab and draw more blood so I can compare the two. They will be focused on the fact that I've said Jen's blood is abnormal," she explained.

  "And is it abnormal?" Logan asked her.

  "That's patient confidentiality, Logan, you know I can't tell you that."

  "You are helping me abduct a future Alpha's mate and you are worried about patient confidentiality?" he asked her disbelievingly.

  "I don't have anything against Jen, therefore yes, I'm worried about her privacy. You only need to worry about Jacque."

  "Fine," Logan growled. "Just make sure that one way or another we get Jacque away from those mongrels and that she is sedated for our departure."

  Dr. Cynthia Steele watched the wolf leave her office. She wondered, not for the first time, if she was doing the right thing. Then she would see her brother's face in her mind. He had been so unhappy the last few years. She had known that his wolf was growing uneasy at being unmated for so long, especially an Alpha who could be more than dangerous. His death was a perfect testament to what could happen when a wolf went after a female that wasn't his true mate. So why was she helping Logan? It was obvious that Fane was indeed Jacque's mate. The truth was she was angry and hurt and Fane was the cause of that anger and hurt. She couldn't challenge Fane for killing her Alpha, but she could hurt him just the same. That's all there was to it. Fane had taken what was hers and now she would take what was his. The papers she held in her hand drew her from her thoughts as she once again went over the lab results that belonged to Jennifer Adams. Although Jennifer looked ordinary enough, but there was nothing normal about her blood, and she knew if Logan knew, Jacque wouldn't be the only female he would be trying to take to his pack.

  "Dillon, just let him stay the night with her," Lilly was saying, "I don't see what the big deal is."

  "The big deal, Lilly, is that she is only 17 and you're saying its okay for her to have a guy spend the night with her. What else are you okay with our daughter doing?" Dillon's nostrils were flaring as his frustration at the situation rose.

  Jen, Sally, Vasile, Alina, and Decebel all sat in the family waiting area that had become the undeclared meeting spot. They all looked on as Lilly and Dillon squared off.

  "Does he realize what a major no-no he just made?" Sally whispered to the group.

  "Ahh, you are right Sally. He criticized her parenting. That was probably the dumbest thing he could do," Vasile agreed.

  Alina patted her mate's leg. "I knew you were smart when I met you."

  "Come now, Mina. Don't be too shy to admit that you were so taken with my good looks that you could not focus on anything else."

  "He's remembering it backwards," she whispered conspiratorially to Jen and Sally. "The first time we met the only words he could say were Luna and mina, and even then he didn't say them in the correct order." The girls laughed with Alina.

  "Ahh, my love, now you are just being mean," Vasile whined, and to hear an Alpha whine only made them laugh harder. Jen caught Decebel watching her but he quickly looked away when she caught his eye.

  A loud slap brought their laughing to a halt as they all turned to see a shocked Dillon Jacobs standing with a red hand print across his face.

  "You can go to hell, Dillon Jacobs, and take all your damn smelly, flea infested wolves with you." Lilly turned on her heel, slamming through the waiting room door. They all jumped when it slammed closed.

  "Do all of you think we have fleas?" Decebel asked as he looked at Jen and Sally.

  "I think we just make an assumption because of the hair and what not, that you, ya know, might have a problem with the little buggers when you are in your wolf form." Decebel's face got more dubious with every word Jen spoke.

  "Well, crap! Everything else with fur has fleas what did you expect us to think?" she snapped at him.

>   Decebel's only response was a slight lifting of his lips that might have even passed for a smile…maybe.

  Sally looked at Decebel with an obvious question written across her face. When Jen was no longer looking, Decebel winked at Sally, a silent acknowledgement that she knew something was up, and he wasn't sharing.

  Vasile walked over to Dillon and took a deep breath. He placed his hands on his hips and looked at the ground for a long moment.

  "Are you sure this is still what you want to try and do?" he asked Jacobs.

  "I don't know any more," Dillon admitted. "Lilly's angry with me, Jacque probably hates me, and your son would just as soon kill me as look at me. But Vasile, she's my daughter, she's so young."

  "She is young, and so is Fane, but that does not change the fact that they are true mates. His marks are on her skin."

  "What?" this remark had Dillon's head snapping up.

  "You didn't know?" Vasile asked him.

  "No," Dillon said, shaking his head in disbelief.

  "If you try to separate them Fane will just come after her, and he will kill every wolf that gets in his way. He may be young, Dillon, but he is more dominant than any wolf I know, myself included," Vasile admitted.

  Dillon clenched his jaw and ran his hand through his hair, he felt like he had aged twenty years overnight. He still hadn't told his mate what he was really up to. That conversation was going to add another twenty years to his shortening lifespan. He took a deep breath, let it out, then looked at Vasile. "Let me think about it tonight. I'm tired, everyone's tired. Fane can stay with her tonight. Your wolves can guard her if that's what you want. I will talk to all of you about it in the morning." Dillon paused as he was opening the door to leave. "Tell Jacque goodnight for me, I have a feeling it wouldn't be the best idea to go see her right now."

  "Considering she's probably thoroughly lip locked with white fang, then, no it would definitely not be a good idea to go see her. Oww, WTH Jen?" Sally rubbed her arm where Jen had smacked it.