Chapter 13
Standing
in front of the window in the hotel
suite that Colin had reserved for them, Dillon ended the call he
had just received from Lilly and turned to his wolves. "I'm going
to meet Jacque tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. All of you will
accompany me to the hospital but only Logan and I will go up to the
floor she is on, and only I will go into her room. Right now they
are insisting that Fane stay with her while I speak to her, which I
guess I understand. She doesn't know me, I would be leery as
well."
"It will all work out, Alpha," Logan told him
in an unusual display of emotion.
Dillon nodded his head once in acknowledgment
of his Beta's words. There was a small part of him that felt that
something was off with Logan but he just shook it off. Logan was
his most faithful wolf and he'd never given Dillon a reason to
doubt his trust.
"I'm calling it a night. We need to leave
here at 9:15 in the morning so make sure everyone is ready," Dillon
instructed Logan.
"As you say, Alpha," Logan responded. He
watched his Alpha walk towards the room he was staying in until the
door closed behind him. Logan told the other wolves that he was
going to go get something to drink, they didn't question him. Why
would they, he was second to the Alpha. In reality he needed to
finalize his plan. He was going to have to make sure that Jacque
wasn't conscious when he took her because she would be able to
alert the pup who was trying to claim her. Much to his surprise,
when he had contacted the Coldspring pack and sniffed around to
find out which members were still loyal to their dead Alpha, he had
discovered that the doctor treating Jacque was Lucas Steele's
sister. And wouldn't you know it the dear old doc was very
forthcoming about her anger towards Vasile and his pup, so upset in
fact, she offered her assistance. Things could not be going better.
Doctor Cynthia Steele was going to come in and check on Jacque
during his guard shift and give her and Jen extra doses of
morphine. He also assumed that the third girl, Sally, he thought he
remembered them calling her, would be in the room. The only way to
keep her knocked out without chemical use would be to use a
pressure point in the neck to keep her unconscious. She would wake
with a horrendous headache but it was better than having to harm
her to keep her subdued.
Next, he had to procure transportation and a
place to take her. That was what he was going to do tonight. Once
again the Coldspring pack was willing to accommodate this for him
as well, and thanks to a few disgruntled wolves who were angry at
the death of their Alpha, they had offered up their assistance. One
of the wolves, he didn't know his name, he didn't want to know
names, was giving him a car and once again Dr. Steele stepped up
and loaned him the use of her ski lodge in Colorado. He thought
that would work out well because he figured once they knew what had
happened they would never think he would take her back to his home
state. The tricky part was going to be keeping Jacque from knowing
where they were so she couldn't send Fane any clues. Until he had
bonded with her and done the blood rites she would have that mental
connection with Fane.
The wolf loaning him the car was going to
meet him at the back of the hotel to give him the keys. He had
parked the car in the hospital parking lot closest to the ER. The
plan to get Jacque out was simple. Dr. Steele would transport her
on a stretcher to a side door that physicians used right next to
the ER. Since there was always commotion late at night in the
Emergency Room, no one would notice a doctor wheeling a gurney out
the side. Logan would pull the car right up and slip her inside. If
things continued as they were he would be on his way to Colorado
with his mate in tow in no time. He smiled to himself, quite
impressed with his ability to plan all of this on his own.
He walked out the back exit to the hotel and,
true to his word, the wolf waited with the keys.
"It's a tan Ford Escape, so it won't stand
out. I parked right where you told me to," he told Logan.
"Thank you, I appreciate all of your help."
Logan's voice was full of truth, he really was appreciative.
Without the Coldspring pack's help this endeavor would have been
much more difficult.
"We are just glad that the Romanian mongrel
isn't going to get to keep our Alpha's chosen mate. We want him to
suffer for taking our Alpha from us." The wolf's voice was dripping
with malice.
Logan didn't want to linger here so he
thanked the wolf again and then headed back to his room. As he
entered the suite, he saw that the others had turned in already. He
decided to take a quick shower since he didn't figure he would get
another one for a couple of days.
As he laid down in his bed, the crisp hotel
sheets itchy against his skin, he couldn't get comfortable. He had
a feeling it had nothing to do with the itchy sheets and more to do
with his conscience. He shut the door tight in his mind, not daring
to examine the black spot that this choice was placing on his soul.
His wolf approved of what the man was doing and that was enough.
They both knew that Jacque would be better off with a mate who
could protect her, one with experience. Logan closed his eyes,
trying once more to fall asleep, but it eluded him for many hours
into the night.
Dillon woke to the sound of his phone alarm
going off. He reached over to the bedside table and picked it up to
cancel the alarm. He took a deep breath, sat up, and rubbed his
hand across his face, trying to dislodge the sleep from his brain.
Standing up, he stretched and grinned. Today he would meet his
daughter for the first time. He was scared out of his mind, but he
was happy as well. He took a quick shower, shaved and dressed
quickly in plain Levi's, a black t-shirt, and black boots. When he
emerged from his room he saw that all of his pack were up and
dressed and ready to go.
He looked at his watch and saw it was 9:15 on
the dot. "Let's head out," he told them and headed for the door.
Logan and the other wolves fell in line and followed Dillon
out.
Once in the car and on their way to the
hospital, Dillon turned to Logan. "I made a decision while I was
getting ready this morning."
Logan nodded his head in encouragement for
Dillon to continue.
"I've decided that after I've introduced
myself and spent a little bit of time with Jacque, I will announce
my Alpha rights and let Lilly know my intentions to take Lilly to
her true pack. The shit is going to hit the fan, so be ready. Dr.
Steele is going to make sure security is ready if need be."
"We will be ready," Logan assured his
Alpha.
Chapter 14
Fane
watched as Jacquelyn sat fidgeting in
her hospital bed. Her skin was healing so fast and it was itching
like crazy. So on top of being nervous about meeting her father in
just a matter of minutes she was also itching like she had a bad
case of fleas.
"Are you okay, Jacquelyn?" Fane asked
her.
Jacquelyn looked at him sheepishly. "Just
nervous and itching. My skin is healing so fast and the scabs are
driving me crazy."
"Do you want me to see if they can give you
something for the itching?" he asked her.
"No wolf-man, anything they give me will
probably make me sleepy. I will just have to deal."
Fane and Jacque turned their heads at the
sound of a growl from a human throat. The sound was coming from
Jen. She was rubbing her back vigorously against the wall. She
actually looked like a horse scratching itself against a tree.
Jacque thought about pointing this out, but held her tongue when
Jen started spewing expletives.
"I feel like my skin is crawling with little
ants it itches soooooo bad!" Jen ground out as she continued to
attempt to assuage the itching by rubbing her back against the
wall. Sally opened her mouth to say something but promptly shut it
when Jen's head whipped around. "One word, one word Sally Michelle
and so help me you will have to sleep with one eye open for the
rest of your life for fear that I will steal all your dolls and
make them do unholy things, take pictures, and then put them on
your Facebook page with the caption 'I still play with dolls'.” Jen
was breathing hard after her rant.
"Jacque, I think we should tie her up when
she spends the night with us, just to be on the safe side," Sally
told Jacque dryly.
"Word," Jacque answered, using the slang she
and her two best friends were so fond of.
"I think I would have to agree with your
sentiment, Sally," Fane added.
"Watch it, Cujo. Just because you're hot
doesn't mean I won't retaliate," Jen growled, still trying to allay
the itching of her healing skin.
"Wolf," Fane muttered, as Jacque patted his
hand, "I'm a bloody wolf."
The door to the room swung open and Decebel
walked in and froze. He stopped cold at the sight of Jen growling
and rubbing against the wall. She looked at him and nearly snarled.
"Do you not know how to knock? And what the hell are you staring
at? Haven't you ever seen a girl being groped by a wall
before?"
"Not one who was so obviously enjoying it,"
Decebel answered without inflection.
Sally looked at Decebel, shaking her head
from side to side. "The safest road at this point is to maintain
neutral, in a non-threatening stance, and for the love of all
humanity do not engage the beast. Just keep your mouth closed."
"Right, well I just came to get you and Jen
and take you to another room so that Jacque can visit with her
father," he told Sally.
"He's here?" Jacque squeaked.
Decebel looked at her and nodded. "He is on
his way up now." He turned back to Jen and Sally and simply said,
"Come."
Sally began to follow. Jen, of course, could
not be that cooperative. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I miss something? Am I
wearing a dog tag that indicates I should be walking on all fours
and responding when a big grumpy ass werewolf tells me to
come?"
Decebel turned and growled, "One of these
days your mouth is going to write a check that your cute little ass
can't cash." Decebel thought this would render her speechless but
he should have known better.
"Oh, don't worry fur ball, I plan to be
writing that check out in your name." With that she winked at him
and hobbled past a dumbfounded Decebel, IV pole and all.
Sally turned and patted Decebel on the arm.
"Good try, chief, but you are sparring with a master in her craft,
and didn't we just discuss not provoking the beast? Geeze, try to
save someone's life and they just throw it out the window," Sally
continued to mutter as she walked past Decebel, her hands in the
air as if to show her surrender to another's stupidity. "I'm done,
finished, and if you hairy, testosterone filled, egotistical,
snarling, drooling, flea infested werewolves want Jen to neuter you
in your sleep than far be it from me to stand in your way."
Decebel turned and looked at Jacque. "Your
friends have issues. Serious issues."
"You have no idea," Jacque said, shaking her
head as Decebel turned to follow her two best friends out. "Good
luck with that," she hollered before the door closed.
"Well, that was interesting," Jacque told
Fane.
"Interesting definitely, but something is up
with Decebel and he isn't exactly the most forthcoming wolf.
Figuring it out is going to be like trying to figure out who shot
Kennedy."
Jacque looked at Fane and grinned, "You know
about Kennedy?"
He laughed, "Why wouldn't I?"
"You're from Romania," Jacque said with a
'duh' look.
"Like I told you, I studied American history.
My parents wanted me to know more than just Romanian history."
"I guess that once we are in Romania and
start school, I will learn all about Romanian history?" Jacque
asked him.
"You will learn a lot about Romanian history
as it pertains to the pack. It is a lot of information, but
important since you will one day be the Alpha female."
"Ugh, don't remind me, it really freaks me
out," she whined.
"My silly Luna, you are going to make an
amazing Alpha. Don’t doubt that." Fane leaned down and kissed her
gently on the lips.
"Mmm, there is not enough of that going on
lately," she teased him.
"Yes, well, I didn't think you wanted to give
Jen free entertainment."
"How right you are wolf-man," Jacque
joked.
There was a knock at the door causing Jacque
to sit up straighter. Fane stood up and walked to the door to open
it. Before he did he turned and looked at Jacquelyn.
"You ready,
love?"
"You are with me, so yeah, I'm ready."
"Always,
meu inimă (my
heart)."
"Oh, and Fane?"
Jacque started.
"Yes?"
"Try not to kill my father, okay?"
Fane's eyes glowed blue and he growled
low.
"Stop it, wolf-man, answer the door." She
laughed at him, thankful for the brief distraction.
Fane opened the door and a man stepped in. He
wasn't nearly as tall as Fane, but he had broad shoulders, red,
wavy hair the same color as Jacque's, and he had the same piercing
green eyes. Fane felt like he was looking at the male version of
his mate, he had to admit it was a little creepy.
The man held out a hand to Fane politely.
"You must be Fane Lupei. I'm Dillon Jacobs, Jacque's father."
Fane took Dillon's hand and shook it. "I am
Fane, Jacquelyn's mate," Fane told him without looking away from
the Alpha wolf's eyes.
Jacque realized that neither of them was
going to relinquish before the other, she had to step in before one
of them did something stupid. So she cleared her throat. Okay, it
wasn't much but she figured telling the two Alphas to get their
heads out of their butts wouldn't go over real well.