7

Jen crept out of the room slowly, awkward because of all the bandages and the I.V. pole she dragged behind her.
“Why, exactly, are you out of bed?” The question came from Decebel.
“I tried to tell her to stay put, but she’s about as cooperative as a wet cat,” Sally said as she followed Jen out of the room.
Jen hobbled over to where Decebel stood and stopped right in front of him. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m out of bed because there is nothing fun going on in bed.” After her earlier encounter with the man, she couldn’t help but feel brave around Decebel. And she could tell it made him uncomfortable when she flirted, which only made her want to flirt more.
Decebel glared at her. There was no acknowledgment in him of what went on between them before. “You should be resting, not traipsing around in a hospital gown with an I.V. stuck in your arm.,” he told her, sounding completely indifferent, as if he were talking to a total stranger. Jen turned away quickly and looked at Sally, hoping none of them saw the hurt in her eyes and confused as to why his words would even bother her.
“What did I tell you, Sal? There is something going on and we are always being left out. So, Ms. P, who wants to see our little wolf princess?” Jen asked, keeping her back to Decebel but not moving away from him.
It was Vasile who answered. “Dillon Jacobs is here to see Jacque.”
Both girls stared at Vasile blankly. “Right, right, and Dillon Jacobs would beeee?” Jen prompted.
“Jacque’s father,” Lilly blurted.
“Oh, snap,” said Sally.
“Shit fire and hold the matches,” said Jen at the same time. Vasile and Decebel’s eyes both widened as they stared at Jen. She had the good grace to look slightly abashed at her outlandish statement…but only slightly.
“That doesn’t even begin to cover it.” Jen could hear distress in Lilly’s voice, and frustration was written across the woman’s brow.
“And when were ya’ll planning on dropping this nuclear bomb in Jacque’s lap, because I think I am going to be needed elsewhere in the hospital at that exact moment,” Jen said. Sally stood next to her, nodding her head in agreement.
“We are going to tell her now,” Decebel answered, giving Jen the perfect excuse to turn and ogle him without being obvious in her efforts.
Or so she thought. Until she heard Sally whisper in her ear, “So, Decebel is looking drool worthy, I see.”
Jen whipped her head around so fast that she knocked foreheads with Sally. “Freaking A, Jen, your head is even harder than I originally thought,” Sally whined.
“Yeah, well, Sherlock, yours ain’t so soft either,” Jen snapped. Sally gave her a knowing look, reminding Jen that she had caught her checking out Decebel. She shouldn’t be bothered that Sally had called her out on it, Jen checked out guys all the time. This was different though, this was a freaking, hot-as-sin, werewolf. Okay, maybe the burns were going to her head. That must be why she would suddenly fixate on the unattainable. Although werewolves can have flings, can’t they? Obviously, or Jacque wouldn’t be here.
She looked at Decebel again, who was studying the floor like it had the answers to life written on it in Aramaic.
“A fling with him, hmmm, could be interesting.” She didn’t realize she had spoken out loud.
“What kind of fling would be interesting?” Sally asked.
“What?” Jen stared at Sally like the girl had a horn growing from her forehead. “I didn’t say fling, I said sling. Sling. A sling for my arm, because of the burns and what not.”
“Uh huh, right, a sling? We’ll have the nurse get right on that, Jen.” Sally’s look and tone told Jen she saw right through the girl’s BS.
For once, Jen didn’t want to be the center of attention. She turned to Lilly then. “Okay, well, I say we get this over with, Ms. P. Just rip it off like a bandage, nice and fast.” As she spoke, Jen hobbled back to the room with her I.V. pole in tow. Before anyone knew what had happened, Jen swung the door open, at the same time saying loudly, “Jacque, dear old dad has come to pay his respects to the nearly departed.”

Jacque sat up in the bed, appearing to come out of a doze. “What?”
“Crap, why did nobody tell me someone with a freaking I.V. pole could move that fast?” Sally spat.
Lilly came into the room, followed by Vasile, Alina, and at last Decebel, who was just as broody as ever. With Sally’s assistance, Jen crawled back into bed and turned to look at Jacque, who appeared at a loss for words. Jacque speechless? That’s a new one.
“Mom, tell me that Jen inhaled one too many smoke fumes, or that she is high on morphine, or even that she is just messing with me to be a butthead.”
Lilly shook her head. “How I wish I could give you any of those excuses. Jen is being just as brutally honest as she always is. You father is here, and he wants to meet you.”
Fane let out a low growl and Jacque laid her hand on his to help calm him. He looked at her and used their bond to speak with her. “You don’t have to meet him if you don’t want to.”
“Yes, I know. But Fane, it’s my father. I can’t tell you how many times I have dreamed I would get to meet him one day. Now, he’s here to see me.” Then she remembered his evasiveness of earlier.
“Wait, did you know about this? Is this what you weren’t telling me earlier?” Jacque glared at Fane.
Fane kneeled, so he was face to face with her. “I’m sorry, love. I just didn’t want to upset you. I didn’t know what he wanted. I wanted to wait to tell you when we had more information.” Fane’s eyes pled with her to understand.
“Don’t keep anything from me, Fane. It will never end well for you, we clear?”
“Crystal, Luna. Please forgive my thoughtlessness.” Fane bared his neck to her out of respect for his mate.
“Man, that is so freaking yummy,” Jen said, watching the exchange between Fane and Jacque along with everyone in the room. “I want one, Sally. Go find me one.”
“One hot, loving, passionate, furry, werewolf coming right up,” Sally said. “Would you like fries or tots with that?”
“I prefer whipped cream actually,” Jen said. Jacque could hear wistfulness in her voice.
Decebel coughed and sounded like he was choking, while Jacque and Fane stared at the two girls.
“No shame,” said Jacque. “Those two girls possess not one ounce of shame between them.”
“Jacque.” Lilly’s voice brought back the seriousness of the situation.
“Oh, right, so my father is in town…not sure what to feel about that, to be honest.”
Suddenly, a thought came to Jacque through the bond. It wasn’t fully formed, just a sense of foreboding, as if something was not right. She could tell Fane had tried and failed to stifle it before it reached her.
“What do you mean you don’t think something is right?” Jacque asked him out loud.
Fane ignored her. Instead, he turned and looked at Decebel. “Did you sense anything when you spoke to him?”
“Yes, my prince, he is hiding something,” Decebel answered.
Fane looked back at Jacque, and he gently held her bandaged hand. “Love, he might say he is here to meet you…and he very well may be. But he is also here for some other purpose, and we don’t know what that purpose is. It’s making us leery. I cannot say I am pleased with the idea of him near you.”
“You will be with me, right?” she asked.
“Of course.” He nodded.
“Then I’m sure I’ll be fine, no matter why he’s here.” Jacque’s voice sounded completely confidence.
He leaned down and kissed her gently. “Thank you, Luna. I will always keep you safe.”
“I know, wolf-man, I’m counting on it.” Jacque smiled at him and gently ran her fingers down the side of his face.
Jen cleared her throat. “I don’t mean to bust up what appears to be so sweet an interlude, but we kind of need to figure out what you want to do here, Jac.”
“It’s my father. Of course, I’m going to meet him,” Jacque said bluntly. “After all, he’s come all this way to meet me…uh, how far has he come, exactly?”
“Denver,” said Vasile.
“Denver?” she repeated, looking at her mother.
“I’ll explain it all, in time, Jacque.” She gave the girl an understanding look. Vasile stepped up to Jacque’s bed and placed a hand on Fane’s shoulder. “Why don’t you get some rest, Jacque. Sleep tonight, and then your father can come meet you tomorrow.”
Fane nodded his head in agreement. “I think that is a good idea. You’ve been through a lot today, Jacquelyn, you need to rest.”
“I know I have, but I feel amazingly better. Aside from the fever I can’t seem to kick,” she told him in astonishment.
“You feel better because your wolf genes are taking over,” he replied. “We heal fast. It appears you are going to heal much faster than a human, but not quite as fast as a werewolf.”
“Jen, how you be over there?” Jacque asked, using the slang that was nearly second nature with her best friends.
“Wait for it,” Jen said as she began unwrapping her legs and arms. Sally hummed the song from the game show Jeopardy.
“Sally Morgan, wow, it’s you! I’ve always wanted to meet you.”
“It’s me, what?” Sally asked Jen, curiosity thick in her voice.
“The mayor of Smartassville, of course. You should carry a sign that says welcome to Smartassville, population: 1.”
Lilly laughed out loud. “I’m sorry, Sally, but you have to admit that was pretty funny.”
“Not at all,” said Sally. “Much removed from her usual standards. But, I guess, for someone whose brain cells have been cooked recently, it’ll have to do.”
Jen finally had her legs and arms unwrapped and there was a collective gasp in the room.
“I must not have been burned as badly as you,” she said to Jacque. “I don’t even have blisters on my legs anymore, the skin is just raw and red. The ones on my chest are almost completely healed as well. Somebody else will have to look at my back and shoulders to see if they have healed,” Jen said.
Vasile, Alina, and Decebel all stared at her in disbelief.
“Why are you all looking at me like that?” she asked.
“Are you saying you have no more burn marks?” Vasile asked and then glanced at Alina and Decebel in turn.
“Like I said, I must not have been burned as badly as they originally thought.” She nearly squeaked when Decebel was at her bedside in a flash. For someone so large, he was surprisingly gentle as he examined her skin.
“You will tell me if I hurt you.” Decebel held her blue eyes with his golden wolf ones.
Jen couldn’t say anything, she just nodded. All she could focus on were his hands touching her leg. She didn’t even try to hide the soft sigh that came out as he ran his finger across her skin. He went to pull the front of her shirt down just enough to see her collar bone, but Jen slapped his hand away. “You didn’t buy tickets, boy. You don’t get a free show. Even if you are a fine, drool-worthy, werewolf.”
“Alpha, it is true, her skin is healing rapidly—too rapidly,” Decebel said, looking at Jen.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Jen asked again, confusion marked her face.
Decebel just stared before finally turning and walking away. As he walked past Vasile, he said, “I will take first watch tonight at the door.” And then he was gone.
Jen was confused and frustrated by Decebel’s actions, but she couldn’t worry about that right now, she had bigger fish to fry. If there was anything bigger than Decebel, that is.
“Why is my skin healing so fast?” she asked Vasile.
“I don’t know. We will just have to continue to monitor you. Maybe we will Dr. Steele run some blood tests on you,” Vasile replied.
“Okay, well, I guess I will call Dillon and let him know he can come tomorrow if you’re sure, Jacque,” Lilly told her.
“I am sure. Avoiding him won’t do me any good. I think I need some sort of closure or whatever else it is psychologists call it.” Jacque’s voice sounded tired, regardless of her earlier assurances she felt much better.
The rest of the afternoon consisted of Jen and Jacque taking sporadic naps. When they were awake, they continually bantered with Sally acting as the mediator. There was never a moment when Jacque wasn’t touching Fane or vice versa, both constantly seeking comfort from the other.
Finally, when it came time to call it a night, Sally secured sheets and a blanket from a nurse and slept on the couch by the window. Fane pulled up two chairs and sat in one while propping his feet on the other.
“You are not going to sleep like that,” Jacque told him skeptically.
“You are right, my love, I am not going to sleep at all,” Fane told her. “Don’t try to convince me otherwise. We have a group of strange wolves in your town, one of which is the father you have never met. There is no way I will sleep under those circumstances.”
“Well, tell us how you really feel there, white fang,” Jen said sarcastically, laying down and pulling her blanket up to her chin. She looked cold, as if she were about to start shivering.
“Are you okay, Jen?” Sally asked, apparently noticing her friend appeared extremely cold in a perfectly warm room.
“I don’t know. I’m just cold all of a sudden. Could you get me another blanket, Sal?” Jen asked, her teeth beginning to chatter.
Sally went to the door, opened it, and stuck her head out. Decebel was standing just to the right of the entrance.
“Hey Dec, could you get Jen another blanket please?”
Decebel stood up straight and turned to face Sally directly. Trying to look past her into the room he asked, “Why, is she okay? Is something wrong?”
Sally raised a single eyebrow at him.
“I mean, if something was wrong, we might need to get Dr. Steele…or something, that’s the only reason I’m asking,” he said.
“Something wrong with who?” said Sally. “Maybe the blanket is for me.”
“Oh, yeah, of course. I just thought—”
“Something you clearly don’t do often,” said Sally. “But you’re right. The blanket is for Jen. I think maybe she just has a little fever. She seems cold, and a fever usually makes me shiver. So, if you would be so kind,” Sally prompted.
“I will bring it in to you,” Decebel said as he turned away to search for a blanket.
A moment later, the door opened, letting in a stream of light that cut severely through the dim room.
Decebel ignored Sally’s outstretched hand. Instead, he walked past her to Jen’s bed and spread the blanket out over the blonde’s body. Jen said nothing, she simply watched him. Once the blanket was in place, he turned and walked out, closing the door quietly behind him.
“Is he bipolar, schizophrenic, or is there some weird werewolf gene that makes you a jackass one moment and then somewhat nice the next, only to then throw you right back into jackass mode a second later?” Jen asked, turning to direct her question at Fane.
“I don’t know what is going on with him, Jen. I apologize if he is causing you distress. I can talk with him if you’d like.”
“Nah, it’s all good. If he keeps it up, I will gladly tell him to get the proverbial stick out of his fine, furry butt.” With that, the room fell quiet and Fane heard, one by one, the even breathing of each girl, indicating they had fallen asleep.

***

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 her floor, and only I will go into her room. Right now, they insist Fane stay with her while I speak to her, which I guess I understand. She doesn’t know me. I would be leery in his place 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 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,” Dillon said. “We need to leave here at 9:15 in the morning so make sure everyone is ready.”
“As you say, Alpha,” Logan responded. As soon as Dillon was gone, Logan told the other wolves he was going to go get something to drink and left himself. None of them questioned the Beta. In reality, he needed to finalize his plan. Logan was going to have to ensure Jacque wasn’t conscious when he took her. Otherwise, she could alert the pup who was trying to claim her.
Logan had been given an unexpected gift when he had contacted the Coldspring pack and sniffed around to find out which members were still loyal to their dead Alpha. It was then he discovered the doctor treating Jacque was Lucas Steele’s own sister. And wouldn’t you know it, the dear old doc was very forthcoming about her anger toward Vasile and his pup, so upset in fact, she offered her assistance. Things could not be going better for Logan. Doctor Cynthia Steele was going to make her rounds and check on Jacque during Logan’s guard shift. She would give Jacque and Jen extra doses of morphine. He also had to assume the third girl, Sally, would also 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. Easy enough. The girl would wake with a horrendous headache, but it was better than having to harm or kill her to keep her subdued.
Next, Logan had to procure transportation and a place to take Jacque. That problem was solved by the Coldspring pack as well, thanks to a few disgruntled wolves who were angry at the death of their Alpha. Logan was offered a vehicle to transport the girl, and Dr. Steele had given him the use of her ski lodge in Colorado. This bit was a little risky. Since he was from Colorado, it would be the first place Vasil and his pack would likely hunt him. However, Dr. Steele’s cabin was, apparently, in a remote location. The chances of the Romanian pack tracking him down were slim. The tricky part, of course, was going to be keeping Jacque from knowing where they were, so she couldn’t send Fane any clues. Until Logan bonded with her and performed the Blood Rites, Jacque would have that pesky mental connection with Fane.
Logan walked out the back exit of the hotel where he was scheduled to meet the wolf with the car. The man was already there.
“It’s a tan Ford Escape, so it won’t stand out. It’s parked in the south lot.”
“Thank you, I appreciate all of your help.”
The wolf nodded. “We are just glad that the Romanian mongrel will not get to keep our Alpha’s chosen mate. We want him to suffer for taking our Alpha from us.” Logan could hear the malice in the man’s voice.
“If this works out, I’ll likely be on the run from my own pack for a while. I may need your help again.”
“You’re always welcome,” said the wolf.
Logan didn’t want to linger, so he thanked the wolf again and then headed off to find the car. He located it in the south hospital parking lot and moved it to the 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, hopefully no one would notice a doctor wheeling a gurney out the side. Logan would pull the car right up and slip her inside. Genius. He would be on his way to Colorado with his mate in tow in no time. He smiled to himself. He could already taste her soft skin beneath his lips.
Logan returned to his hotel room, thankful the others were already asleep. He took 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 bedding and more to do with his conscience. He shut the door tight in his mind, not daring to examine the black spot 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 took a deep breath, sat up, and rubbed his hand across his face, trying to dislodge the sleep from his brain. 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 in plain Levi’s, a black t-shirt, and black boots. When he emerged from his room, he saw that all the members of his pack were already ready to go.
He looked at his watch and saw it was 9:15 on the dot. “Let’s move 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 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 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.