[English] PRINCE OF WOLVES

Prince of Wolves
Page 20



“Yes, I do actually. I’m going to excuse myself and go call my parents to say hello, if that's okay,” Fane told her.

“Of course that’s fine. You don’t have to ask us, you are practically a grown man. As long as you aren’t selling drugs or going to all night raves and orgies, you do what you want. We trust you until you give us reason not to,” Sara said casually.

“Mul?umesc,” was all he said in response and then he turned to go upstairs to call his father and tell him what he had discovered today. He was also going to have to explain how he lost his temper and revealed his title, and gave the Grey his cre*** card with his Alpha’s name on it. Honestly, he’d been in Coldspring one day and he’d found his mate, met another Grey, found out about a pack that wasn’t supposed to even be here, and been threatened. Needless to say, it hadn’t been boring.

He dialed his father’s number for the second time that day. His father answered on the first ring,

“Colega ta este in pericol, (your mate is in danger),” were the first words Fane heard his father say.

Chapter 11

“You did what?” Jacque interrupted as Lilly Pierce was telling her and Sally that she had invited Fane and the Henrys over for pizza.

“Hi, Sally,” Jacque’s mother said, ignoring her outburst, “You’re staying for dinner, right?”

“If that’s okay with you.” Sally answered sweetly.

“The more the merrier. We’re going to play games, too. It’ll be fun! Jen is coming too, isn’t she?” Lilly asked.

“Yes, mother. Now could you please tell me why you are so interested in Fane?” Jacque asked.

“Could you tell me what you have against him? Why do you have such an aversion to getting to know him?” her mom responded.

Jacque just didn’t get it. Maybe her mom thought that because she and Trent had split up, pushing another guy on her would help her move on. Yes, it had been kind of hard on Jacque, they did date for almost two years. But hadn’t her mom noticed that she pretty much had moved on? It’d been like two months since she’d even seen Trent and she barely thought about him. In fact, in the past twenty four hours she hadn’t thought about him at all. She decided to let it slide for now, she knew a losing battle when she saw one.

Jacque looked at Sally and motioned for her to go upstairs, “We’ll be upstairs, mom. Jen probably won’t be here until later. She said she would have to eat with her parents, but hopefully she'll make if for the game portion of the evening,” Jacque said in mock excitement.

“Keep up the attitude, Jacquelyn, and see where it gets you,” Lilly said sternly.

Lilly very rarely got cross with Jacque so that was when she knew it was best to double-time it up the stairs before her big mouth got her working in the bookstore every Friday and Saturday night for her entire senior year.

Once in Jacque’s room, Sally sat cross-legged on the floor looking through Jacque’s CD collection. She picked out Jacque’s favorite Evanescence CD and put it in the stereo. Once the music was playing loud enough to keep prying ears ay bay, she looked at Jacque and said, “So, let’s hear it. What happened when Jen and I left today?”

Jacque thought about the moment that she'd realized the voice she was hearing was Fane. When he had spoken to her in Romanian she had no more doubt that it was indeed his beautiful voice in her mind.

“Well, after you guys left I laid down on my bed to just chill, ya know, catch my bearings. As I was laying there the voice in my head came back. He asked me if I was scared and told me that hadn’t been his intention,” Jacque explained.

“He?” Sally asked. “So it's Fane? The voice is Fane?”

Jacque nodded and added, “I finally confirmed it when he spoke to me in Romanian, and honestly, Sal, if you’re going to hear voices why on earth would you hear one that speaks in Romanian?”

“Well, duh, because you have a secret fantasy about running away with a gorgeous Romanian noble to his beautiful ice castle.” Sally said, a hint of wistfulness in her voice.

“Oh, of course. I completely overlooked that very plausible answer,” Jacque said, rolling her eyes.

“So how long did you guys ‘talk’?” Sally asked and when she said “talk” she put her hands up, making the sign for quotations.

“After he spoke to me in Romanian I asked if it was Fane, ya know, just for clarification purposes.”

“Definitely good to be clear on these matters,” Sally interrupted.

“Well, when he confirmed it I just kind of shut down. I didn’t want to ‘talk’ to him. I needed to do something, so I got up and picked up my room and dusted the living room,” Jacque explained.

“So all your mom needs to do to get you to clean is find some Romanian foreign exchange student to go all mystic mind-reading on your butt. Huh, who knew?” Sally said in amusement.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Then I decided to get some sun. So I lay out in the backyard. I don’t know how long I was out there before I heard his voice again. This time he was not mad, but sort of frustrated or something.” Jacque said, remembering how his voice had sounded in her mind.

“He had the nerve to point out how skimpy my bikini was by asking me if I knew they only sold me one quarter of my bathing suit!” Jacque told Sally in disbelief.

“Oh, Jen is going to love this – a Romanian hottie with a sense of humor. Brilliant and hot to boot!” Sally said, grinning to herself. Then she paused a minute in thought.

Prince of Wolves
Page 21



“Wait, so he was looking out his window at you?” she asked.

“Yep, so you know what I did?” Jacque asked.

“Please tell me you didn’t flip him off or moon him, or some other terribly twisted suggestion that Jen would have offered,” Sally said worriedly.

“No. Although, those all sound like great ideas. I simply stood up gave him a good ol', southern curtsey and marched myself to the house. After I graciously explained that I would have preferred the bathing suit to not cover so much,” Jacque said, laughing.

Sally rolled her eyes at her. “Remind me never to be in a lion's den now that I know you like to taunt them.”

“Oh come now, my dear Watson. Are you to tell me you are afraid of lions and tigers and bears,” Jacque started.

“Oh my,” Sally finished, putting her hands on either side of her face, pretending to look fretful.

Both girls laughed at the silly antics that seemed to keep them sane. Jacque pulled her hair up into a ponytail, not thinking about the shirt she was wearing, and as she turned to grab a hair band she heard Sally gasp. She looked at her friend and realized her eyes were on her neck and back. Jacque had forgotten that she had purposefully worn a shirt with a low back so she could show Jen and Sally the markings.

“Oh, did I forget to mention those?” she said nonchalantly.

“What the hell, Jac! When did you get that?” Sally asked in disbelief.

“Well, let's see. If I remember correctly, after ya’ll left I downed a bottle of Crown, ran to the nearest tattoo parlor, and had some dude with piercings in every visible body part named Snake give me this awesome ink. I just totally forgot to mention it,” Jacque said sarcastically and then added, suddenly sounding tired, “I don’t know where it came from. When I came up to take a shower after lying out in the hot sun it was just there. I kind of had a mini melt down. I screamed at Fane, but he never answered me, which tells me he is the guilty party involved.”

“So now he’s not only doing his mind voodoo, but body voodoo too,” Sally said, and then giggled as she realized how it sounded.

“You know what Jen would say,” Jacque started just as her bedroom door flew open and Jen walked in.

“Depends on what is called for, my dear. But do tell, what exactly smart-ass comment am I supposed to be making?” Jen said dramatically.

“Fane has done body voodoo on Jacque,” Sally said in a tattle tale voice.

“Ooooh, was it good?” Jen asked huskily.

“Good freaking grief. She doesn’t mean like, physical voodoo, pervert.”

Jacque turned around to show her the markings on her back.

“I guess he decided to forgo the whole ‘hey, will you wear my class ring’ and straight into ‘let’s get body art together’,” Jen said, studying the markings.

“What, you think maybe he has some…” Jacque trailed off. Then she remembered when they were at the Henrys' she had noticed a tattoo that ran up the side of Fane’s neck. She had totally forgotten it because it just sort of went with the whole biker thing he had going on.

“Stink ya’ll. He did have a tattoo on his neck. I saw it when we were at the Henrys', but that doesn’t mean it matches this one,” Jacque told them, looking for reassurance.

“No, it most definitely does not mean they match,” Sally agreed, albeit not very convincingly.

Just then Jacque turned her head and ****ed it to the side at Jen. “What are you doing here? I thought you said nine at the earliest.” Jacque asked her.

“Well, I just happened to mention that you were a little depressed about the whole Trent thing and really needed some girl support and yada yada yada. My mom totally swallowed it whole,” Jen confessed.

“That’s just great, Jen. Now your mom thinks I’m all torn up like a kicked pup about Trent and I’m not! I’m totally over him….aren’t I?” Jacque asked.

She started thinking back over the two years she and Trent had dated. Even though they had only been sophomores and juniors in high school, their relationship had been pretty intense. Then out of nowhere Trent had come over and told her they needed a “break.” Jacque politely told him not to treat her like an idiot and just call it what it was – it was over. It literally was out of nowhere. The day before they'd been hanging out on the couch and he had actually told her he thought he might be in love with her. When he left her house he told her he would call her that night and he never did. The next time she heard from him, he came over to call it off. Jacque hadn’t seen or heard from him since.

Thinking about him was really making her start to miss him. He really was a great guy and they had had a lot of fun together. He was tall, muscular from lifting weights, had messy wavy hair that he wore just long enough to be wild, and had unusual grey eyes. He liked to goof off, but he was always a gentleman and could be pretty intense sometimes. They dated for quite awhile before their relationship got physical and when she told him that *** wasn’t on the agenda he was completely okay with it.

“I don’t like where your thoughts are at the moment, Luna,” Jacque suddenly heard.

She had forgotten that Fane told her – when her emotions were strong he felt them even if she wasn’t broadcasting them to him.

“Well then, I guess you should knock before entering,” Jacque told him harshly.

“Who is this Trent? What does he mean to you? When and why was he kissing you?” Fane asked in quick succession.

Prince of Wolves
Page 22



“Ok, you listen up and you listen good, you little Romanian, voodoo-casting, mind reading, nosy -” Jacque stumbled for a minute, looking for a word and when she didn’t find one she lamely finished with, “person. I am NOT your loona or whatever you call me. You have no right knowing my business and I don’t owe you an explanation. So, so just…grrrrr!” She was so frustrated because she wanted to tell him to take a hike but a huge part of her rebelled against it because she wanted him with her. She was absolutely nuts.

Acting like he hadn’t heard a word she said, Fane asked again, “So who did you say Trent was?”

Jacque huffed in exasperation.

“Are you talking to the Romanian hottie?” Jen asked.

Jacque nodded. “He heard me thinking about Trent and wants to know who he is.”

“Why does he care…oooh,” Sally said with a thoughtful look. “He’s got the hots for you.”

“Aww, man. Why does Red always get the hotties?” Jen whined.

“Hold on girls, give me a sec,” Jacque said.

“Oh, by all means. Don’t mind us, the non-voodoo freaks. We’ll just hang out while ya’ll make out mentally,” Jen smarted off, and Sally burst out laughing.

“That’s a good one,” Sally told her as they bumped fists.

Jacque just rolled her eyes at them.

Turning her attention back to Fane, she had a feeling he wasn’t going to drop it so she just decided to tell him.

“Trent is the guy I dated for the past two years. We broke up two months ago.”

Fane was quiet for a moment, then he said, “I’m sorry for your pain because of that, but I will not deny my pleasure in knowing I will not have to convince him it was in his best interest to take his intentions elsewhere.”

Jacque was a little taken aback by his honest comment.

“And why exactly would you do that?”

“Because I intend to court you myself, and that would be most difficult if you had affections for another, don’t you think?” Fane asked her.

Jacque looked at the clock on the wall and realized it was five fifteen. The Henrys and Fane were supposed to be coming over in fifteen minutes.

“So, I guess you are going to be over in a few minutes,” she said more as a statement than a question.

“Yes, I am looking forward to seeing you again. Is that okay with you, Jacquelyn?” Fane asked.

Jacque thought about it for a minute and couldn’t deny the butterflies in her stomach at the anticipation of getting to see him again. She really needed to get some medication, she decided.

She heard Fane laugh and assumed he must be listening since she kept forgetting to try and put the wall up he had explained to her earlier.

“I actually have some questions I need to ask you, so yeah, it’s okay,” Jacque told him honestly.

“I’ll see you in a few minutes then, Meu inim?.” he told her.

Chapter 12

Fane had taken a shower after getting home from his motorcycle ride. He didn’t want to smell like the outdoors when he went to Jacque’s house. He found it amusing that he was so suddenly conscious of himself now that he’d met his mate. He so wanted her approval, as did his wolf.

He actually made an attempt to comb his hair out of his face, but it just fell right back in front of his left eye.

He had chosen a deep red, polo style shirt. It contrasted nicely with the markings on his neck, which at the moment he thought looked pretty cool. He grabbed his phone and wallet and put them in his back pockets and headed downstairs.

Sara and Brian were waiting in the living room. Sara had the brownie pan in her hands and Brian was carrying some games, one of which Fane recognized as Dominoes. This he was familiar with because his family liked to play.

He went over to Sara and took the brownie pan from her, simply saying, “I will take these for you.”

Sara smiled at him in appreciation.

“Ready?” Brian asked them.

Both Sara and Fane nodded yes.

Sara knocked on Lilly and Jacquelyn’s door, and he felt his neck markings sting just a little as he turned and saw a car driving slowly by. Fane let his wolf out just enough to see who was driving abnormally slow past his mate’s house. Fane was on edge. He now knew there were other Greys in the area and his father had informed him that Jacquelyn was in danger. He'd also received an anonymous phone call from a wolf claiming to be Alpha of the Coldspring pack, stating that Jacque had already been claimed by another wolf and that Fane was to leave immediately.

Jacque was the one who answered the door and Fane couldn’t help the smile that came across his face. She was, after all, his fiery miracle. He could have had to wait centuries before he found her and all it had taken was a mere seventeen years. How he was blessed.

“Come in, ya’ll,” she said politely.

Obediently, they all filed into the entry way. She pointed them in the direction of the kitchen and Fane could smell the aroma of the already delivered pizza.

“Hi, you guys,” Lilly greeted them. “I’m so glad you could come over!” Lilly and Sara hugged. Jen and Sally were already filling their plates when Lilly looked at them, “What, ya’ll couldn’t wait on the guests?”

“Hey, we were doing you guys a favor,” Jen said.

“Oh, really,” Lilly said. “And just exactly what favor is that?”

“Ya know, testing out the product, making sure it’s safe. Would hate to unknowingly poison our Romanian guest, although it would make for a great headline,” Jen answered.

Prince of Wolves
Page 23



“Jen, do you always have to say what you are thinking? Have you ever thought to yourself, ‘Hey self, maybe I should keep my trap shut. Yeah, good idea self’?” Jacquelyn glared at her best friend.

“You’re just cranky because you’ve been thinking about Trent,” Jen stated, snotty-like.

Fane couldn’t help the low rumble in his chest that escaped at the name of Jacquelyn’s all too recent old flame.

Lilly’s head snapped around to look at him. Fane ****ed his head to the side as his wolf perked up at her perceptive gaze. Interesting, Fane thought to himself, she knows something.

Jacquelyn caught that last thought.“She knows something about what?”

Fane looked away from Lilly and turned to look at his Luna’s confused face. He was going to have to tell her. If not tonight, then soon, and he was going to have to talk to Lilly. Something told him that she was not unaware of who and what he was.

“Fane, what are you thinking about?” Jacque asked again.

“We will need to talk later, Jacquelyn, and your mom needs to be present as well,” Fane told her.

“There are paper plates there on the counter,” Lilly pointed out. “And cups with ice in them. The drink choices are lined up for you. Dig in!”

Everyone formed a line and began to fill their plates. No one talked for a few minutes as they gathered their food and drinks. Finally they were all seated at the dining room table.

Fane noticed that Jen and Sally had managed to maneuver it so that Jacquelyn and he had to sit next to each other. He found this amusing.

“So, are you kids looking forward to starting your senior year? Do you know what classes you will take?” Brian asked.

Mouths full of pizza they all nodded simultaneously. Jen was the first to be able to talk and naturally had something interesting to add. She didn’t disappoint. “Naturally, I’m taking Anatomy and Physiology.”

“Really, is that because you like…” Brian started to ask.

But Sally and Jacque managed to interrupt quickly. “Don’t go there,” they both spit out.

“Because I like science?” Jen finished for him. “Nope, ‘cause I like boys, silly.”

Lilly rolled her eyes and Fane coughed on his pizza. He was surprised by her candidness. Jacque looked over at Fane and he noticed her face was red as the fire he named her.

He winked at her, and that only caused her face to redden more.

“Just what is your favorite subject, savuroase mea fata (my spicy girl)?” he asked her.

She was just taking a drink when he asked her this and she nearly spewed it out of her mouth.

“Are you okay, Jacquelyn?” Fane asked her innocently.

She glared at him as she answered, “Fine, thank you.”

“I will have you know that I prefer contact sports to classes. I find that a little physical violence is good for the soul,” Jacque thought with a smirk.

“Like I said you’re savuroase mea fata,” Fane told her.

She looked at him questioningly but said no more.

“So Lilly, how is the bookstore doing?” Sara asked her.

“Great! Since I’ve hired more staff I've been able to catch up on my inventory and start putting together some other ideas that I have been brain-storming, like maybe putting in a coffee shop and a gift section. You know, just more things to help bring in a variety of customers,” Lilly told her.

“Mom, I didn’t realize you were planning all this,” Jacque said.

“Well, you’ve kind of been preoccupied this summer and I’ve been at the store a lot. I was going to tell you about it, but time just seems to get away from me.”

Fane caught the implication that when Lilly said she had been preoccupied, she was referring to the whole break-up thing. So apparently this whole Trent thing was been a bigger deal than Jacque let on, he thought to himself.

“Does it really matter to you that much?” Jacque asked him.

Man, he really needed to work on blocking his thoughts, or he was going to get himself into trouble.

“Be patient with me, Jacquelyn. I will explain things soon and then you might be able to understand why I react the way I do to some things pertaining to you,” Fane told her.

After everyone finished eating they cleared the table and picked out a game Fane had never heard of called, What’s yours like?

Jen pulled out the directions and began to read them,

“In this game, all players except the one in the hot seat look at a guess word and then creatively describe what theirs is like. They might be telling about their swimsuit, neighbor, closet, hair, or any of the other 300-plus words in the game. The player in the hot seat then tries to link all the clues together to figure out what is being described. The best part about this game is that the hilarious clues come from the people who play the game. The player who guesses his or her word with the fewest number of clues wins.

What do you think players are describing with these clues?

Mine keeps getting bigger.

I compare mine with others.

My wife likes mine.

I never see mine.

I receive mine once a month.

You wouldn't believe what I do for mine.

Mine disappears too fast.

The answer is: Pay check.”

Fane realized right away this was going to be a game that Jen enjoyed. It obviously pleased her to cause Jacquelyn as much embarrassment as possible. He was actually looking forward to seeing her squirm.

“Okay, who’s going to be in the hot seat first?” Brian asked.

Prince of Wolves
Page 24



“I’ll be in the hot seat first,” Lilly answered.

“Jacque, you pull out the answer and say your first clue, then pass your card to the next person,” Brian told her.

Jacquelyn pulled out the card and, sure enough, her face turned red. Oh yes, Fane thought, this was going to be fun.

“Mine is,” Jacquelyn paused, “curly.” She still couldn’t keep from turning red.

Fane saw the answer in her head and winked at her.

Sally was next. “Mine is long.”

Sally handed the card to Sara, who said hers was like chocolate – smooth and dark and Brian said his was the color of sand.

Finally it was Jen’s turn, and Fane could tell everyone was a little nervous about what she would come up with.

“Mine is silky to the touch,” Jen said with a wink at Fane.

Fane felt Jacquelyn’s wave of jealousy like a tidal wave. He ****ed his head to the side and studied her. Interesting, he thought, she doesn’t like Jen flirting with me. Her head snapped around to glare at him and he realized she had heard what he was thinking.

“Relax, my Luna. I assure you I am all yours,” Fane told her.

“Oh, this coming from the Romanian who is jealous of a boy I’m no longer dating. Not to mention you and I are not together, so it’s really of no consequence,” Jacquelyn told him in a huff. “It’s your turn by the way,” she added.

Fane looked over at Jen and realized she was holding the card out to him. She looked at him knowingly. Apparently she had picked up on the fact that Jacquelyn and he were conversing.

Fane looked at the answer on the card and debated what to say that wouldn’t embarrass him too badly, but the choices were not good. He could go with straight, short, or black. All those options pretty much could be taken, as Jen would no doubt do, to have very un-innocent connotations.

“Mine is,” Well, Fane thought, if you gotta go down, do it with a bang, “short.” And with that, everyone, including Jacquelyn, lost their composure. It was obvious that Jen knew all his choices were pretty poor and had been waiting for him to choose to run with it.

“Nice,” Jen said, putting her hand up for a fist bump with Sally.

In all the commotion, Fane just couldn’t help himself and looked up at Jacquelyn, who was giggling wildly. He raised on eyebrow at her, “Did I amuse you, savuroase mea fata (my spicy girl)?” Fane asked her.

All Jacquelyn did was wink at him and it about did him in. She was a joy to his heart and she was all his. Now he just had to convince her of that…and quite possibly her mom as well. Fane had thought about whether to talk to Lilly and Jacquelyn tonight, but as the evening carried on he decided to talk to his father again and perhaps he'd found more out that would help him make the safest decision for his mate.

The evening turned out to be a lot of fun and laughs. Sometimes the girls laughed so hard they had tears streaming down their faces. At one point Sally had fallen out of her chair, laughing so hard because the answer to the question had been “tires on your car,” and naturally, Jen had not disappointed when she said hers were round. When it was Fane’s turn, he realized a little too late that his vehicle only had two wheels, so his response was, “Mine has two.” Which resulted in Jen laying her head on the table and laughing so hard her whole body shook, and Sally laughed so hard she fell out of her chair, which brought the laughing to an all time high. It's wonderful, Fane thought. Even if we're enjoying making our answers sound like they're about certain parts of our anatomy. What can you expect from teenagers with a game called “Mine is like”? The whole evening made Fane feel at home because his family was close like this. They often got together and ate and played games, or just gathered around the fire to talk.

As the evening came to a close, they began to say their goodbyes. All the girls hugged. Fane walked past Jacquelyn to the front door. Then he turned to her and asked, “Could I talk with you a moment? I won’t keep you from your friends long.”

Jacquelyn turned to her mom and girlfriends and said, “I’ll be outside for just a minute, okay?”

“Okay,” Lilly said.

“Don’t hurry on our account. You hate to rush these kinds of things the first time around,” Jen commented.

Sally hit her on the arm and told her to keep her trap shut.

Fane put his hand on Jacquelyn’s lower back to gently guide her to the porch. He felt a shudder go through her as he touched her. “Mine,” his wolf told him.

Once outside Jacquelyn turned to him, looking up into his face with curiosity and asked, “So what do you need to talk to me about?”

It feels so good to be this close to her, Fane thought. She completes me and fills this void I didn't even realize was there. All he really wanted to do in that moment was wrap her in his arms and hold her, take in her scent, mark her as his.

Fane shook off the thoughts so he could answer her question.

“There is much I need to talk with you about, but I don’t think tonight is a good time. I’m not trying to be cryptic, but I need to talk to my father about some things. I would, however, like to take you out if you would do me the honor.”

Jacquelyn looked at him blankly and blinked a few times.

“So what I’m hearing you say is that you have information that I need to know, but you’re not going to tell me just yet. And with all this bizarre stuff…well bizarre to me, you want to go out on a date, like everything is just rosy?” she asked him, sounding astonished.

Prince of Wolves
Page 25



“Pretty much,” Fane responded.

“Well, I can’t very well hold a gun to your head and make you tell me Although, Jen would think that a perfectly acceptable response. Then again, Jen also thinks going to football practice and lying out in her bikini is amusing so, ya know, gotta keep it all in perspective,” Jacquelyn explained.

“Okay, I’ll go out with you. When is our little adventure and how should I dress?” she asked.

“Tomorrow, wear something comfortable to ride on the motorcycle and don’t worry, I bought you a helmet.”

“You did what?” she asked in disbelief. “You were that sure I would say yes?”

Fane stepped closer to her, lowering his face towards hers. He whispered, “I felt my chances were pretty good. I can be very persuasive when I need to be.”

Fane stayed there a minute longer, but decided it best that he back away from her a little because he was very tempted to kiss her. She shook her head as if to clear it when he stepped back, and looked at him with what he thought might be longing in her eyes.

Time to go, Fane told himself. He took her hand and lifted it to his lips, never breaking eye contact with her.

“Thank you for a wonderful evening. I truly enjoyed your company, my Luna,” Fane said quietly.

Jacquelyn was having trouble getting her brain to tell her mouth what to say but she finally spit out, “Me too.”

Fane didn’t want to leave her. It was against his instincts and his wolf growled at the thought. She was supposed to be with him, where he could take care of her and keep her safe. But it wasn’t time yet, so he would have to take advantage of the time they did spend together and soak up her presence. He leaned in quickly and took a deep breath. Then he blew gently next to her ear. She shivered. What Jacquelyn didn’t know was that he wasn’t trying to be sensual by blowing next to her ear – he was putting his scent on her so other Greys would know she was his.

The scent wouldn’t last long, only a day or so. The only permanent way to put his scent on her was to complete the bond. Unfortunately, they weren’t quite there yet.

With that, Fane turned away from his mate and walked back to the Henrys'. At the door, he turned one last time and found her still standing there, watching him. He lifted his hand to his mouth and blew her a kiss, sending her a thought. “Sweet dreams, meu inim?. Dream of me. I will be dreaming of you.”

Chapter 13

Jacque stood on her front porch, staring as Fane retreated to the Henrys'. She wanted to call him back, didn’t want to spend a second without him. Get a grip, woman. She took a few deep breaths, trying to clear her mind, and when she did she noticed the subtle scent of woods and spice. Strange, but the scent called to her, comforted her, like she could wrap herself in a blanket of it.

She took one last look at the Henrys' house and turned to go in.

“Mom,” she hollered. “I’m back in.”

“Okay, the girls took some brownies upstairs. Are you okay? Need to talk about anything?” her mom asked.

“No, I’m good,” Jacque told her. “Oh, there is one thing. Fane asked me out on a date for tomorrow night. That okay?”

Lilly looked at her daughter, trying to decide if she thought it a good idea for her daughter be with him. After all, she did know who and what Fane was, not that anyone else knew that. Although, she was beginning to think that Fane might suspect something.

“Yeah, that’s fine. You two know what you’re going to do?”

“Not yet,” Jacque answered, then went upstairs to give the latest news to her two partners in crime.

Jacque opened her bedroom door to find Jen and Sally lying on her bedroom floor, happily munching on the brownies Sara had brought over.

“Soooo, did he confess his undying love for you and ask you to run away to his Romanian castle?” Sally asked in a wistful voice.

“Oh my gosh,” Jacque said sarcastically. “How did you know?”

“I’m just good like that. Ya know, with the knowing the future and what not,” Sally answered.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re a real gypsy,” Jen told her.

“So, do we have to beat it out of you or are you going to confess willingly? ‘Cause you know I’m into the whole torture thing, it’s how I roll,” Jen said, sounding absolutely sure of herself.

“Well, he told me that we had things to talk about but that tonight wasn't the night to do it. He wanted to talk to his father first, whatever that means. Then he asked me out on a date, and then he leaned in close to me…” Jacque started to explain, but Jen interrupted.

“He kissed you?! Was it good? Were his lips soft? Were his lips closed or were they slightly parted like he might want to wrestle with…” Jen asked rapidly, not even taking a breath.

“Step back, Don Juan. Don’t even finish that sentence, let me,” Jacque scolded.

“Well, if he didn’t kiss you then lie to me so I can live vicariously through your pretend love life,” Jen told her with a pout.

Jacque ignored that comment and continued with her story. “So he leaned in close and at first I thought he was going to kiss me, but then his head went slightly to the right and his mouth was right next to my ear. He blew on my neck.”

“Why?” Sally asked confusedly.

“I know, right? I don’t know. I do know I nearly grabbed him by the shirt and kissed him myself. He must have been blocking his mind from mine because I didn’t pick up anything.”

Prince of Wolves
Page 26



“Wicked,” Jen said, looking thoughtful.

“Did you say ‘yes’ to going out on a date with him?” Sally asked Jacque.

“All I got to say is if she said no, she might not want to go to sleep tonight, ‘cause I’m going to dye her hair blonde to compliment her on being a dumb ass,” Jen told them.

“Uh, Jen. You’re a blonde,” Jacque pointed out.

“No, not really. God just got it wrong and it was too late to change once He noticed.”

Sally shook her head and said, “Sometimes, Jen, I really worry about you.”

Jen didn’t say anything more.

“Well, put away your hair dye you overreacting freak. I said yes. I asked him what I should wear and he said just something to be comfortable riding a motorcycle. Just when I was going to tell him I didn’t have a helmet, he said not to worry – he had already bought me one!” Jacque told them.

“Yummy,” Jen said. “Confidence is so ***y.”

“You think anything is ***y,” Sally retorted.

“Not true. Guys driving those hybrid cars are so not ***y,” Jen told her.

“Is she serious?” Sally asked Jacque. “I mean, who thinks of stuff like that?”

“I've found that if you just nod your head while she’s talking, she eventually wears herself out,” Jacque said with a smile.

“Oh, and then when he was walking to the Henrys' he turned and blew me a kiss and told me to have sweet dreams, that he would be dreaming of me!” Jacque finished.

“Oh, that is so freaking romantic!” Sally exclaimed as she rolled over onto her back, kicking her legs in the air and squealing.

Jacque couldn’t disagree, but it also felt surreal. She had to admit he'd successfully gotten her to stop thinking about Trent. How could she when this gorgeous Romanian hunk was claiming she was his – whatever it was he called her.

“Yeah, it’s romantic,” Jacque said. “But there's definitely the proverbial other shoe that's going to drop sooner or later.”

“Oh, don’t be so pessimistic,” Jen told her. “Maybe he’s the one, you know, like in those romantic movies where a person has one true soul mate. I mean, he can talk to you telepathically, so it could happen.”

Jacque couldn’t argue with Jen’s assessment of the situation. Anything is possible at this point, she told herself.

Jacque found herself stretching and yawning. She looked at the clock on her phone and saw that it was eleven thirty. Man, she didn’t realize how late it had gotten. They'd been having such a good time playing games that time had flown.

“I’m gonna crash, ya’ll. Here are your blankets,” Jacque told them as she handed them out.

“Yeah, you’d better go to sleep. You need to look your best. Bags under your eyes just doesn’t say, 'Hey, throw me on the floor and take me',” Jen said.

“Yes and that is so the look I was going for. How ‘bout I just wear fishnet stockings with thigh-high boots and a sheer bra? Do you think that would look too desperate?” Jacque asked innocently.

“I’m just sayin'.” Jen shrugged her shoulders.

Jacque walked out of her bedroom shaking her head. She headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth and put on the tank top and boxer shorts she had left there the night before. When she took off her shirt, she turned around and held out a hand mirror to look at the marks on her back and neck.

She realized as she studied it that the markings on her neck looked like they would actually fit into Fane’s like a puzzle piece. As Jen would say, “Wicked,” Jacque muttered.

She felt a shiver go down her spine and quickly shoved on her tank top before realizing it wouldn’t cover the markings on her shoulders. The last thing she needed was her mom to see them and start asking questions, especially since Jacque didn’t have any answers. She brushed her teeth and washed her face and darted across the hall to her bedroom. Going to her closet, Jacque took off the tank and Jen saw the marks for the second time. Almost if talking to herself, she said, “This is really happening, isn’t it?”

“I’m afraid so, sweet girl. There’s nothing to do but go with the flow or sink fighting the current,” Sally said, using her best Mary Poppins voice.

Jen looked at her and narrowed her eyes, “If you bust out in ‘Just a Spoonful of Sugar’ I’m going to duct tape your mouth closed.”

“You really should seek help for that temper of yours. You know, they have medicine that would help,” Jacque told her, trying to sound gentle as if talking to an unruly child.

Jen simply flipped them both the bird and changed into her sleep clothes.

Jacque turned off the lights as they all lay down to sleep. They were quiet for awhile, but just as Jacque was drifting off, she could feel the waves of worry coming off of Sally.

“Sally,” Jacque said. “It’s all going to work out, remember? We’re all too stubborn to accept any other outcome.”

Sally didn’t respond so it was quiet again. Then Jacque spoke up once more, “Jen, seriously. You didn’t have some smart ass comment right when we needed it?”

Jen was quiet. Jacque and Sally seemed to be holding their breath, waiting for their outspoken friend to work her magic.

Jen finally answered, “I was thinking about the game we were playing tonight and about the one where the answer was tires on your vehicle. When Fane said he had two, I so wanted to ask him if they were big.”

Prince of Wolves
Page 27



And just like that the atmosphere lightened and the three girls laughed until they had tears. Of course, Jen could never stop at just one perverted or smart ass comment, so when they had all caught their breath she added, “Jacque, you could always throw your friends a bone or, heck, even just a kibble and find out for us.”

“Is that all you ever think about, Jen?” Sally asked in exasperation.

“What, how big Fane’s are? Good grief, no. I think about other things,” Jen defended.

“Anything not pertaining to the opposite ***, or for that matter *** itself?” Jacque asked sarcastically.

Jen started to open her mouth then abruptly shut it. Looking at nothing in particular, thinking, she finally answered, “Nope, huh-uh. Don’t think so.”

They all broke out in laughter again until they finally drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 14

Fane woke up early and decided to go for a run. Running always helped him clear his mind. He got up, resisted the urge to reach out to his Luna, figuring she was probably still asleep, and changed into some workout shorts. He decided against a shirt, knowing he wouldn’t leave it on long anyway. He brushed his teeth and went downstairs to the kitchen. Brian and Sara were still asleep so he tried to make as little noise as possible, which was easy for him do, being a werewolf and all.

He peeled a banana and nearly ate it whole, then poured himself a glass of orange juice. He rinsed the glass and put it in the dishwasher and picked up his phone from the counter. After putting it in his pocket, he headed out the front door.

Because he was Canis lupus, Fane could run for very long distances even in human form. He didn’t have to work out to keep his muscular physique, it was just the way all Canis lupus were built. Some were leaner than others, but all were very muscular. He glanced up at Jacquelyn’s window and, giving into his desire, reached out to her mind briefly. He decided if she was thinking about something he thought she wouldn’t want him to know, he would retreat quickly. As it was, she was still asleep and her thoughts were scattered. He kept seeing his own face and then another, unknown male's face. He assumed this was the Trent she'd been dating previously. She didn’t seem to be interested in him anymore, but it was obvious he had hurt her. Fane and his wolf did not like that.

He pulled back from her thoughts and started up the street. He had to restrain himself from running full speed because he was much, much faster than a human. The wolf wanted to run, wanted to hunt. Fane pushed down the urge and kept it at a nice fast jog.

He found his mind going over the previous night, when the car had driven by Jacquelyn’s house. He'd seen two males, one of which was the salesman from the dealership he had gone to earlier, so he knew it had something to do with the Greys. He still didn’t know what they wanted from Jacquelyn, but from what his father could tell him, they wanted Fane out of their territory.

So far his Alpha had not given the command to leave, so Fane wasn’t going anywhere. The problem was that once his Alpha did give him the command to leave he was going to have to convince Jacquelyn and her mother to come with him. There was no way he was going to leave her here unprotected.

As he continued to run, Fane’s thoughts would switch back and forth between thinking about Jacquelyn and their date tonight, to thinking about the local pack he had not known existed. When he finally made it back to the Henrys' house, he had been running for over two hours.

He went through the front door and as he walked in he saw Sara coming down the stairs in workout shorts and shirt, her hair up in a ponytail.

“We’re going out to run some trails at the park across town. You’re welcome to come but it looks like you’ve already been out and about,” Sara told him.

“Thank you for the invitation, but I did just finish running so I will pass for today. I wanted to check with you and make sure this was okay. I asked Jacquelyn out on a date for this evening so I will be out. Will that be a problem?” Fane asked.

“No problem at all. Jacque is a one-of-a kind girl and we all love her. I don’t think I have to tell you to treat her good, you seem to have impeccable manners. Do you have a helmet for her or did you want to borrow our car?” Sara offered.

“That is most generous, but I did buy two helmets when I bought my bike.”

Once the Henrys left and Fane took a shower, he sat down to call his father again and see if they could come up with some sort of plan.

The phone rang one time and his father’s voice was on the other end.

“Da.”

“It’s me,” Fane told him. “I need to know what you want me to do. Do I need to request a meeting with this Alpha and find out what his interest in my mate is?”

“I have been thinking about it a lot and have decided to send Sorin back to you. I think his experience as a werewolf will be of some help, not to mention it will show them you are not on your own,” his father told him.

“As my Alpha, what are you telling me to do?” Fane asked him.

“I want you to protect your mate and her mother, but do not act on anything unless provoked. If it gets out of hand, I don’t care how you get your mate and her mother on a plane, but you do it fast,” his father said firmly.

“Okay, so when will Sorin arrive? And where is he going to stay?” Fane asked him.

“He should be there sometime around eight pm. You might find this interesting, but he is staying with Lilly Pierce.”

“That’s my mate’s mother,” Fane said, confused.

Prince of Wolves
Page 28



“I am aware of that. I guess it’s time for me to tell you, but you must wait to talk to Jacquelyn until after her mother tells her. She musn’t feel betrayed,” Fane's father explained. “I did a little searching and found out that your mate is indeed part wolf. In fact, she is half Grey. Jacquelyn’s father was a Grey. He and Lilly were together for quite awhile, although they never married. At some point in their relationship he decided to tell her about his origins because she had a special gift and knew there was something different about him. She actually received the news very well. After that, things were good, but one day Jacquelyn’s father came home, packed his things and left Lilly a note. All it said was ‘I have to go, I have no choice. I’m sorry.’ Jacquelyn’s father did not know Lilly was pregnant with his child when he left. I have since located him and found that he is with his mate, which is why he had to leave Lilly. You see, Lilly was not his true mate and even though he had feelings for her, they weren’t a pindrop compared to what he feels for his mate.”

“So Lilly has known this Jacquelyn’s whole life and never told her?” Fane asked him.

“She didn’t think she would ever have to. For all she knew, the rules did not apply to Jacquelyn because she is not full-blood. She knows who you are, Fane, and what you are. I called and spoke with her about what is going on and she took it really well. She agreed to let Sorin stay with them as he would be added protection,” his father explained.

“I know I can trust Sorin, but you know how hard it is for a male wolf to allow another to be so close to his mate, especially when the bond ritual has not been performed,” Fane told his father.

“I know it is going to be hard on you but you are going to have to set your wolf nature aside and recognize what will keep her safe. Still, I don’t know if Sorin will be enough of a deterrent to keep the other pack from attempting to take Jacquelyn.”

Fane growled at the idea of his mate in the hands of a pack to which she did not belong.

“How can they possibly want her when she is not a true mate to any of them?” Fane asked.

“I know it is hard for you to understand because you are so young, and you've found your mate so quickly, which is rare. Most go decades if not centuries before they find their mate. Female Greys are not abundant and after such a long time some Greys get desperate enough to settle for less and hope that over time their wolves will bond. What they don’t know, because they don’t remember what our ancestors have taught, is there is only one mate for each. Only one,” his father emphasized.

“Is Sorin going to need me to pick him up?” Fane asked.

“No, he is going to rent a car for the duration of his stay,” his father answered. “I will keep you updated as I learn things. You lay low, Fane. I don’t want my only son and the future Alpha of this Pack killed.” His father used his Alpha voice. It demanded obedience and could not be defied.

“Yes, Alpha,” Fane replied, recognizing that in that moment he was not speaking as son to father, but Pack to Alpha.

Fane hung up the phone and lay back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He decided to wait a couple more days before he confronted Lilly and Jacquelyn, but he was going to have to convince Lilly to tell her daughter. He would obey his father and not tell Jacquelyn before then.

Because he needed her touch, even if only mind to mind, Fane reached out to his Luna. “Are you awake, meu inim??” He patiently waited for her response.

“Well, I am now. Is it customary in Romania to wake people at the crack of dawn?” she replied grumpily.

“It is not the crack of dawn, Luna. It is already ten thirty,” Fane told her.

“Oh, my bad. It’s moved up to still-too-freaking early,” Jacquelyn responded.

Fane chuckled at her grumpiness and found it rather endearing.

“So I take it you are not a morning person?” he asked her.

“I’m not a person until after noon, so make a note to yourself to keep your thoughts out of mine til then.”

“Duly noted. I will not seek you out until one minute after twelve,” Fane said jokingly.

“Aren’t you just so clever?” she retorted.

Fane wondered what she looked like in the morning, hair all a mess, rumpled clothes. He imagined she was adorable.

“I would rather you not see me first thing out of bed, nor imagine what I look like. I assure you, ‘adorable’ would not be the description you choose,” Jacquelyn told him.

“I believe how I see you is not really up to you, my Luna,” Fane said gently.

“What exactly does loona mean?” she asked him.

“I will tell you soon but not today. Rest assured it is a high honor to be called that,” Fane said. “I was planning on picking you up at five thirty. Is that too early?” he asked her. He hoped not because Fane would actually go pick her up now if he could. He so desperately wanted to spend time with her and get to know her. He wanted her to know him and he hoped that she liked what she learned. He wanted to be worthy of her because she brought him balance and control and love. Fane was careful not to let those thoughts be open to her.

“Five thirty is good. Are you going to tell me what we are doing?” she asked him.

“I was thinking that golf game Americans play that has the all the different obstacles,” Fane answered.

Jacquelyn giggled at his description and Fane grinned, glad he could make her laugh, even if it was at his expense.

Prince of Wolves
Page 29



“You mean putt-putt. That sounds like fun. Are you going to be in my head anymore today?” she asked him.

Fane’s voice was very soft and intimate when he answered, “Do you want me to be in your head, Luna?”

Fane felt Jacquelyn respond to his voice. When she answered, even her thoughts sounded breathless. “I um, I don’t know.”

“I will take that as a yes and you can tell me to leave at anytime. Talk to you later, meu inim?,” Fane said to her sweetly.

“Bye,” was all Jacquelyn could manage to get out.

Chapter 15

“Hello, earth to Jacque,” Sally said as she snapped her fingers in front of her friend's face.

Finally Jacque turned her head to Sally, looking quite spacey and out of it and said, “I’m in trouble.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Jen asked her as she sat in the floor painting her toenails. She'd apparently found Jacques nail polish and, as always, helped herself.

“I was just talking to Fane and his voice got all sensual on me and it was like…”

Jacque didn’t know how to finish so Jen offered up, “Phone ***, virtual mind ***, I would say *** on a stick put that really only applies to Dove ice cream bars.”

“Jen, paint your toenails,” Sally ordered.

Jen stuck her tongue out , but obeyed.

“I could so fall hard for this tasty Romanian,” Jacque told them.

“There’s nothing wrong with that. Just make sure it’s not a rebound from the whole Trent thing,” Sally told her honestly.

“I hear what you’re saying, Tonto,” Jacque told her with a smile.

“So what’s the plan for the whole date thing?” Jen asked.

Jacque thought about Fane’s cute description of putt-putt. She was actually looking forward to it, she hadn’t been in a long time.

“He’s picking me up at five thirty and taking me to putt-putt. I think it will be interesting to see a Romanian hottie play something he didn’t even know the name for,” Jacque told them.

“He didn’t know what putt-putt was called,” Jen laughed, “that’s awesome.”

“It’s the little things, Jen, the little things,” Sally told her.

Jacque spent the day discussing various scenarios for her evening with Fane. Naturally, all of Jen’s included vivid make out scenes and somehow always ended with their clothes off. She truly was a piece of work. You can’t help but love her, Jacque thought.

At three thirty, Sally and Jen sat Jacque down on the edge of her bed and began pulling various options of outfits to wear. She decided right away that a skirt or sun dress was out because of riding the motorcycle. Finally she was down between a pair of jeans with holes in various places and “Daisy Duke” shorts that looked worn out, only they weren’t because that was how she bought them. She had already decided on a hunter green, spaghetti strap shirt with various sparkly designs on it.

“Just go with the jeans,” Jen said. “They’re ***y in a bad ass kind of way and they'll help keep your skin intact if you're in a motorcycle wreck.” Sally glared at Jen. “What? I’m just saying,” Jen defended.

“Yeah, I think I will go with the jeans. They leave something to the imagination,” Jacque decided.

“Okay, hair up or down?” Sally asked.

“I’m thinking down for the motorcycle ride because of the helmet. It's putt-putt, Sal, no need for a French twist,” Jacque told her. “I’m just gonna wear my green flip flops.” Jacque hated wearing shoes and if they weren’t required she avoided them, just another of her weird quirks.

She took a shower while her two best friends picked out eye shadow for her to wear. When she got back to her room they had Jen’s phone hooked up to her computer speakers and were jamming to Lynard Skynard. Jacque just shook her head at them. She got dressed and then Sally pushed her down into her desk chair and went to work on her unruly hair while Jen started on her eyes. “Man, I’ve got good friends,” Jacque thought to herself, not for the first time.

By the time they were finished with it was five. Sally and Jen looked spun her in a circle to see their finished product. Then they looked at each other, bumped fists, and said at the same time, “Damn, we’re good.”

“I would have to agree, ladies. Ya’ll are fantastic. Thank you both so much,” Jacque told them.

“Oh, hell no. Don’t go getting all sentimental on us. If you mess up the work I did on your eyes I will not hesitate to kick your butt between your shoulders,” Jen said sternly.

“I love you too, Jen,” Jacque said sarcastically.

“Are you nervous?” Sally asked her.

“If I said I wasn’t I'd be lying. But I would also be lying if I didn’t say I was absolutely beyond excited,” Jacque told them.

“Why do you say that?” Jen asked in a rare moment of seriousness.

“I wish I could tell you guys this without ya’ll thinking I’m a total nut, but no matter how I put it, it’s still going to sound crazy,” Jacque admitted.

“Um, Jac, hate to point this out, but two days ago you told us you were hearing a voice in your head,” Sally told her.

Jacque looked thoughtful for a moment. “Point taken,” she agreed.

“Okay, well I don’t know quite how to explain it, but I feel like I belong with him, like I have always belonged with him. Now that I've been close to him it’s like a part of my soul was missing and now I have it back,” Jacque explained.