Prince of Wolves (21 page)

“
Don’t be a smart ass,” Jacquelyn told him.

Fane stood up and, looking at his watch, realized he only had ten minutes left with his mate. It infuriated him that he had to obey the rules of the challenge, but if he didn't he could wind up having to forfeit and lose her. The thought made his heart hurt. He pulled her up off the loveseat to him, and again not caring of their audience, kissed her like it might be their last. He held her face tenderly in his hands and tried to memorize her features, how soft her skin was. He pulled back abruptly and turned away, overwhelmed with such strong emotions he didn’t know what to do. He wanted to crush something; he wanted blood, the blood of the one who dared to take his mate. He was breathing hard and his eyes were glowing when Jacquelyn spoke.

“
You kissed me again!” she said, stomping her foot like a child. “Is PDA a big thing with your pack, ‘cause that could be a problem,” she continued, but stopped as soon as Fane turned to face her.

Chapter 21

Jacque’s breath
caught when Fane turned towards her and she saw his eyes glowing, like when you see an animal at night and light hits their eyes. They looked just like that.
Freaky
, she thought.

Jacque realized, once she got over the shock of his eyes, that Fane was on the verge of losing control. She wasn't sure what might happen if he didn’t regain control, and she could tell he was fighting for it as hard as he could. She didn’t know what to do or how could she help him.

Jacque was too busy staring at Fane to realize that Jen had walked beside her. “He needs you to tame the beast that is roaring inside him. Go to him,” Jen whispered and pushed Jacque towards Fane.

Jacque looked at Jen and then at Sally. She couldn’t believe something so profound had come out of Jen’s mouth.

Sally shrugged. “Who knew?” she said, answering Jacque’s unspoken question.

Jacque turned her attention back to Fane as she walked to him. She was close enough that she could feel his breath on her face. She reached up and laid her hand on his cheek. His eyes closed and he leaned into her hand like a dog begging to be petted. Jacque found herself smiling, but then felt his anger, fear, and jealousy flow through her. Fane’s eyes snapped open and he stared unblinkingly into her eyes.

“
I have not meant to scare you. I would say that my wolf is the one out of control, but that would be a lie. The man is just as out of control as the wolf right now and that makes me very dangerous,”
Fane shared his thoughts with her.

“
You would never hurt me,”
Jacque told him in complete confidence.

“
No, it is impossible for a Grey to harm his mate. Others, however, innocent or not, cannot have that promise. I have to go, Jacquelyn. Lucas’ wolves will be here any minute, and in the state I am in I cannot guarantee I will be civilized with them,”
Fane told her.

Jacque was shaking her head before he even finished speaking. “I don’t want you to go,” she whispered.

Fane pulled her to the side and turned so that his back was facing the others and she was shielded from their sight. He moved her hair away from her neck and kissed her in the same spot he had before, the spot where he would leave his mark.
It better be his mark
, Jacque thought.

“
I love you, Luna.”

“
What does Luna mean?” she asked him.

“
I will tell you soon, but now is not the time. I must go before the other wolves get here.” He held her a moment more, then stepped away.

Jacque snatched his hand before he could get much further and pulled him to her. She looked him in the eyes, still seeing the wolf glowing there.

“
I love you, but if you let this Alpha take me as his mate, I will die just so I can come kick your royal Romanian butt. Got it?”

“
Say it again,” Fane told her.

“
Say that I'll kick your royal Romanian butt?” Jacque started.

“
No, love. Say the first part,” Fane said adoringly.

It dawned on Jacque what he was talking about and it made her smile. She leaned in close to him and whispered, “I love you.”

“
Thank you,” Fane said so softly she almost missed it. He kissed her on the forehead and turned back to the others. He looked at Sorin, who stepped forward and bared his neck again.

“
You will protect her with your life or you will forfeit it,” Fane told him in a voice Jacque had never heard him use.

Sorin sank down to his knees. It didn’t look like he had meant to, it was like someone forced him there. She heard a whine come from Sorin and then Fane walked to him and laid his hand on his head. He said something in Romanian and walked to the front door.

Jacque rushed to follow him as he opened it and walked out. Just as she stepped out, a car stopped in front of her house and two men got out. Jacque grabbed Fane’s arm, not in fear for herself but fear for him. Fane instinctively took her hand without thinking about the fact that Lucas had said he didn’t want his wolves to see Fane touching her.

As soon as he touched her the other wolves growled, baring their teeth, their eyes glowing. Jacque’s breathing increased and her hand tightened on Fane’s.

Fane turned to her. “You have to let go, love. They are growling because I’m touching you.”

“
I don’t give a flying sack of crap that they don’t like you touching me. I will touch who I want, I will bond with who I want, and I will not have mangy mutts growling at me in my own yard!” Jacque was yelling, had let go of Fane's hand, and was stomping toward the other wolves.

Fane was so surprised by her that he'd barely reached her as she got in the face of one of the wolves. She had her finger in his face and was yelling every expletive known to man and some not known, for that matter. Jacque had never felt so angry. How dare this Lucas whoever try to tell her what to do, dictate who could touch her, or challenge her mate.

The wolf she was yelling at was leaning back as far as he could to keep from touching her. She was no longer aware of her surroundings, she had tunnel vision, and the only thing she could see was this wolf in front of her who'd dared come in her territory. She didn’t pause to think about the fact that she had just called her yard her territory, she filed that away for later.

Jacque felt something touch her arm. She saw the angry face of the werewolf in front of her and heard him growl ferociously. She turned to see who had touched her. It was Fane. He was saying her name and trying to pull her back from the other wolf. Jacque realized they had an audience since everyone in her house had now come outside.

Jen was marching down the walkway and right into the other wolf’s face. She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “You think I’m scared of you?” she asked sarcastically. “I’m your worst nightmare. Just remember, we all gotta sleep sometime. Hope you can sleep with one eye open,” she winked at him and turned to walk back to the house.

Jacque finally let Fane pull her back to the house, then he stepped away from her, and though she tried not to let it hurt her, she couldn’t stop the stab of rejection she felt.

“
I’m not rejecting you, meu inimă. Please believe that. I’m trying to protect you,”
Fane told her through his thoughts.

She looked at him and nodded her head in acknowledgment as she watched him turn toward the other wolves. He walked past them and when he made it to the street he turned and told them, “If either of you touches her I will kill you and use your pelt as a rug.” And he left.

Jacque watched him the entire way until the door to the Henrys' was closed. One of the wolves standing in her yard walked up and bared his neck to her.

“
Do you think it wise to bare your throat to the one who would see it torn out?” Jacque asked, surprised by sounding so confident and in control despite the emptiness she felt without Fane by her side.

“
I bare my throat in acknowledgment of my Alpha’s mate,” the wolf told her.

“
Then you bare it in vain because I am NOT your Alpha’s mate. If he kills every wolf on this earth I will still not be his mate,” Jacque growled.

“
Go inside, my Luna. I can feel how tired you are,”
she heard Fane tell her.

“
I am just fine, thank you very much. I will go inside, but not because you told me to. I’m just tired of standing out here with these butt heads,”
Jacque responded.

She heard Fane laugh. She felt his joy and that made her smile, which made the wolf in front of her cock his head to the side like a dog. Jacque blew a breath out in exasperation and turned to go in the house. Before she could make it in the front door one of the wolves spoke. “Lucas said to tell you he will be here at nine am.” And that was it.

When Jacque walked in the living room, everyone was seated with a mug of what she presumed was hot chocolate. Jen grinned and winked. She saw Sorin sitting in the ugly chair and realized he had not been outside.
What's up with that?
she thought.

“
Why did you not come out to defend your prince?” she asked him, sounding a little more accusatory than she meant to.

“
The wolves do not know there is a Grey in the house. If I had gone out they would have scented me immediately. We do not want to provoke them any more than we need to until we are a little more matched in numbers,” Sorin explained to her patiently.

“
Oh, right. Got it,” Jacque said with a nod.

Despite what Jacque told Fane, she was very tired. She didn’t know what time it was, and frankly didn’t care. She just wanted to lie down and sleep. Sally and Jen must've picked up on that because they got up and took their mugs to the kitchen and came back to lead Jacque upstairs. Jacque hardly noticed them help her lie down and cover her with a blanket. She had scarcely laid her head down before she was asleep.

Jen and Sally sat on Jacque’s floor. They were worried about her.

“
I know she’s tough, but I think this is really wearing her out,” Sally said.

“
Well, duh!” Jen responded. “Wouldn’t it wear you out if you'd just met the man of your dreams? Then it turns out he’s a werewolf, then it turns out you’re his mate or whatever, then it turns out there’s this other pack of wolves with a psycho, werewolf leader who wants you as his mate, and then it turns out…” Jen paused. “You get the picture.”

“
When you put it like that, it is a lot to take in,” Sally agreed.

Jacque woke up to the sound of Fane’s voice, and for a moment she thought he was in her room, but quickly realized he was talking to her in thought.

“
Luna, wake up please,”
Fane said.

“
Haven’t we talked about this whole 'waking me up way too early could be hazardous to your health' thing?”
Jacque teased him.

“
I’m sorry to wake you, love, but I wanted to talk with you before Lucas arrives.”

“
Uggggh! I was really hoping this was all a bad dream,” she moaned.“Well, not you. I mean the part about this Lucas dude and the challenge.”

“
I’m sorry, Jacquelyn,”
Fane told her sadly.

“
Ah well, that’s how it goes. I’m too irresistible for my own good.”
Jacque tried to lighten the mood.

“
That you are, Luna,”
Fane replied.

Jacque picked her phone up to look at the time and saw that it was eight thirty.
Crap
. She needed to get up and get dressed.
What do you wear to talk to a crazy, Alpha werewolf?
she thought to herself.

“
As much clothing as possible,”
Fane answered her thought.

“
I was thinking maybe I should wear that bikini you like so much,”
she teased him.

“
That would be a very poor choice, Luna. I want your marks covered completely,”
Fane replied.

“
I think a please is in order,”
Jacque told him.

Fane growled but then relinquished.
“Please, love.”

“
Oh, all right, since you’re not being all jealous or possessive,”
Jacque smarted off.

Jacque got up and tiptoed around her two best friends. She wondered if their parents knew they were at her house. She figured they must know or else the National Guard would be out looking for them. She stepped into her closet and flipped through the shirts she had hanging. She honestly hadn’t realized how many t-shirts she had with smart ass sayings on them.
Go figure
, she told herself.

The one she finally settled on made her smile. It was a black baby tee that had a picture of Edward from
Twilight
on the front and on the back the words, “Team Edward.” That made her laugh out loud. “Take that, you mangy werewolf.”