10

Decebel made his way to Cynthia's office after the pack meeting. He needed to share this new development about Jennifer's scent changing and see what the good doctor had to say about it.
The door to the infirmary was already open when he arrived. He walked in to find Alina and Vasile sitting across from Cynthia's desk.
"Decebel." Vasile inclined his head.
"I'm sorry, Alpha, I didn't mean to interrupt. I can come back," Decebel told him, backing out of the room.
"Actually, I would like to talk with you about what happened in the meeting."
Decebel cringed mentally, remembering how he had snarled at Stelian for daring to worry about Jennifer's fate.
"Of course.” He stepped back into the room and grabbed an extra chair. He brought it over and sat next to Vasile's.
Vasile stared at his Beta for several moments before he spoke. "Is she your mate?" he finally asked.
Decebel let out an audible sigh. "I don't know, Vasile," he answered in a rare show of vulnerability, shown by using his Alpha's first name. It let Vasile know that Decebel needed his friend's guidance just as much as his Alpha's.
Vasile nodded. "Explain."
"I don't hear her thoughts and my markings are the same. She hasn't mentioned that she has any marks on her body. That said, my wolf has claimed her." Decebel ran his hands through his hair, the frustration evident in his tense jaw as he continued to speak. "I've been battling him for the first time in over a century. No matter how much I remind myself that there aren't mating signs, my wolf doesn't care. He has claimed her and he wants her."
"So other than how you feel about her, there is no evidence that she could be your true mate?" Alina asked him gently.
"Well, actually..." Decebel looked over to Cynthia, who had been silently listening to the conversation. "While I was sitting next to her in the meeting, I caught her scent." He paused.
Cynthia perked up. "And?" she asked.
"It's changed," Decebel told her. "It's very faint but I swear I could smell the mating scent on her."
"What did she smell like?" Vasile asked carefully. Decebel knew Vasile only asked because he would have another wolf scent Jennifer to see if what he smelled matched what Decebel did, but he still bristled. Asking another wolf what his mate's scent was to him was like asking a human man to pass around his wife's lingerie. In other words, it was extremely personal.
"Before, she always smelled like warm vanilla." Decebel thought back to the meeting, when he had breathed it in so deep. "But today there was a hint of cinnamon. It was just barely there, but it was intoxicating." Decebel's words softened as he thought about Jennifer's scent, remembering how it had stirred his wolf.
"Interesting," Cynthia murmured. "How long have you been back?"
"A couple of days. Why?" he questioned.
"Since you've been back, when you're around Jen would you say the encounters are intense?" she asked, ignoring his question.
Decebel chuckled. "You could say that. Again, I ask, why?"
"Before you came in, I was discussing with Vasile and Alina what I had found just before the pack meeting. I came across a documented case of a dormant wolf being mated to a full Canis lupus." Cynthia glanced down at some papers then back at Decebel. "It’s actually journal of an Alpha from over a century ago."
"That’s good, right?" Decebel asked apprehensively.
"Well," Cynthia paused, "it’s good because now we have something to sort of...gauge the progression of a mating between a dormant and full. But it has the potential to be dangerous."
"Dangerous?" Decebel interrupted, not liking the idea of something causing harm to Jennifer. "How can this information possibly be dangerous?"
"Let me explain to you what was documented and then I will go into how it applies to you and Jen," Cynthia began.
"I’m listening," Decebel told her as he sat up straighter in his chair. His wolf perked up, which really threw him for a loop since his wolf usually kept quiet unless on the hunt or in battle.
Cynthia gathered together the documents she had printed off and began to read.

"I met my true mate today. Not for the first time, but it was the first time the bond had appeared. I had always been strangely intrigued by her, but let it go as curiosity because of her mysterious air. I was caught completely off guard when I heard her thoughts for the first time. She was in danger, serious danger. I heard her cry out for help – in my mind. I started running, without regard to where I was or what I was doing. All that my wolf could think was that we had to get to her, had to save her. I ran for what seemed like forever and finally I broke into a clearing. There, tied to a post, my mate stood.
“Tears streamed down her face, making the bruises that marred her cheeks shine. I felt the blood in my veins begin to heat. My heart sped up and my eyes, I know, were glowing as rage poured into me, fueled by my wolf's need to protect our mate. Her clothes were torn, disheveled rags. Her hair was covered in dirt as if she had been dragged on the ground. She made no sound out loud as her tears continued to flow, but her mind was a turbulent storm of fear, anger, betrayal. She turned and looked straight at me. My breath caught as glowing azure eyes locked onto his. It was instinct to reach out to her mind. “I’m here, Rachel,” I reassured her. “All will be well." Her eyes widened, the only indication that she’d heard and recognized me. Then they closed. Tears clear as diamonds and numerous as raindrops from a summer storm covered her fear-filled face once again.
The crackle and flash of orange flame finally shook me from my shock and I realized there were men and women all around. Several were lighting wood and hay they had stacked under her, my mate. They were going to burn her alive. Any control I had snapped, the pull of the horror I was witnessing being the final tug. I lost it. For the first time in 200 years I lost control of my wolf. My phase was instantaneous. I lunged forward, taking down any who dared to block my path. I made no distinction between male or female. As far as my wolf was concerned, they were all guilty and would suffer the wrath of an Alpha. Screams filled the air as one by one I destroyed those who hadn’t run in fear, but instead in their stupidity thought they had a chance against me.
“I got to her just before the fire reached her bare feet. Mercifully she passed out just as I phased back to my human form. I untied her as quickly as I could, pulling her away from the flames that seemed to come alive, reaching with arms, seeking out their prey. I carried her, never looking back. I took her to the pack village, to my home, which would now be hers."

Cynthia stopped there and looked up from the papers. "I’m going to skip ahead to after she awakens and they begin to interact. He describes his feelings towards her and I think that might be helpful for you. Then I'll read what he believes kept him from recognizing his mate and what it took to pull her dormant wolf to the forefront."
Decebel nodded, his only acknowledgment of her words as his brain processed what she had already read.

"Rachel isn’t shocked that I’m a Canis lupus. I couldn’t believe she knew all this time. Her family has been adamant about passing down their history from generation to generation. I met her over a year ago. She is the daughter of a gypsy healer, Melinda, who comes to the village to help with minor illnesses. I knew that her mother's family had served the pack as healers for generations, but what I didn’t know was that Rachel’s great grandmother had a brief affair with a pack member. As a result, a little girl had been conceived. Rachel is a fourth generation dormant Canis lupus, which is virtually unheard of and certainly never mated.
“Rachel has been with me a week now. She has been surprisingly accepting of our circumstances. I think it’s because she has been around the pack and, unbeknownst to me, had known about true mates and the pull. I find the more time I spend with her the more I crave her. We haven’t completed the Blood Rites. I haven’t even kissed her, although I find myself needing to touch her, a brush against her as I walk by, a brief hand on her back, a light caress on her face as she sleeps. She needs my touch, I feel it in her though she tries to block her thoughts from me. When I do catch bits of them, I am amazed at the insight she has into why it took so long for the mating signs to happen between us. I've finally decided to talk with her about it. I feel if I don’t resolve this and claim her soon no one will be safe.

“I asked Rachel about her thoughts on our mating. I thought I would have to coax it from her, but she was surprisingly forthright. She said she had spoken with her mother about it and the experience her mother had as a healer is what helped her devise her theory, one that seems to be playing out as I write this.
“Melinda believes that because the wolf blood is so diluted in Rachel that something had to happen to trigger that animal part of her, something intense. She said it's like what little amount of wolf lives in her was buried so deep that only something happening that required the help of her wolf caused it to come forth. Rachel had been in trouble when the bond connected us. I asked her what had happened that people she knew would do such a horrible thing to her. Rachel told me that even though she is a dormant, one trait appeared once she became a woman. Her eyes had begun to glow. Anytime she was scared, or angry, or even excited her eyes would shift from blue to glowing azure.
“Rachel's best friend had seen it happen and promised to tell no one. She broke her promise. She told her mother that she thought Rachel might be a witch. That was all it took. Cry witch and the righteous will emerge shouting their indignation and pointing their damning fingers.
“The villagers had taken her from her home while her mother was away and sentenced her to death. To death, with no proof. That was when I found her. Her dormant wolf had known they needed help and had pushed forward to cry out to their mate. Melinda is convinced that had Rachel and I not known each other or had contact for the past year – in other words, had her mate been a stranger to her – she would not have been able to reach out to him, to me.
“Melinda also asked if I noticed the bond growing stronger now that Rachel and I are together all the time. I explained to her how I was feeling and how the emotions and needs are growing stronger. For an unbonded Alpha, that is dangerous. She told me to be honest with Rachel about my feelings, the bond, the Blood Rites, all of it.

“Rachel and I completed the Blood Rites last night, and completed our mating. It was the final link from my wolf to hers, dormant or not. This morning the mating marks appeared on her back. They're beautiful. My marks have changed as well. She teased me and told me they were very manly.
“Despite Rachel's dormant Canis lupus blood, I don't think our bond is weaker than other full-blooded mated pairs. From talking with my other mated males, Rachel and I experience the same intense feelings as they do, when apart…and together."

Cynthia finished reading and the room was silent. Decebel looked straight ahead, thinking of all the possibilities, outcomes, and yes, even the dangers that came with this information.
"What became of Rachel and her mate?" Decebel's voice broke the silence tight with frustration.
"From what I continued to read, it is believed that her mate died in a werewolf battle. Of course, that would mean that Rachel died. But there is not documentation of her death. So, in reality no one knows what became of them."
Vasile was the first to break the tense silence. "Do you see why Cynthia feels this is a dangerous situation?"
Decebel didn't respond at first. Finally, he gathered himself. "My options?" He looked directly at Cynthia.
Cynthia took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair. "Create some intense reaction from Jen or leave it alone."
"Neither of those is acceptable," Decebel growled.
Cynthia actually laughed. "Leave it to a dominant wolf to expect someone to pull a solution out of their -"
"Cynthia," Vasile cautioned, his eyes narrowing.
"I beg your pardon, Alpha," she submitted. "What I meant to say was, acceptable or not it is what it is."
"What are your reservations about pursuing her?" Alina asked him.
Decebel looked at Vasile. "I don't want a mate."
Cynthia's eyebrows drew together. "What?"
Alina continued to hold Decebel's stare, and as an Alpha in her own right, she would not back down. Decebel eventually relented out of respect, not a lack of dominance. He let out the breath he'd been holding.
"I had a sister, a long time ago. I failed to protect her. I decided then I did not ever want someone else relying on me for their safety."
"But Vasile and I rely on you every day. The other wolves, the ones you train, the unmated females all rely on you to protect them. How is having a mate any different?" Alina questioned.
"I have backup when it comes to all those you just named. You know as well as I do, Alina, that when it comes to your protection Vasile is the end all. If you are left unprotected, if your protection fails, Vasile will be the one responsible. That's part of being mated, bonded. Vasile alone considers himself responsible for your safety. I don't want that responsibility again."
"You are willing to spend your entire existence spiraling further into darkness because you are afraid of failure?" Cynthia asked, unable to hide her disbelief. "You would pass up something that others consider precious and an honor? Not only that, but you would doom her to live with only half her soul. Really? That's what you are willing to sacrifice?"
Decebel was growling at Cynthia when she finished.
"You don't understand. You aren't a male of this species; you aren't an Alpha. Have you any idea what's like to watch the one you loved and were bound to protect die in your arms because you didn't get there fast enough? DO YOU?" Decebel snarled.
"Decebel." Vasile didn't raise his voice, but his words were full of power.
Decebel backed down but his body shook with anger at Cynthia's words, knowing they were the truth.
"This is what I would have of you, Beta." Vasile faced Decebel, making it a formal command. Anything less wouldn't get Decebel's cooperation. "You will be part of Jen's security. If you don't want to pursue this possibility, fine. I suggest that you wait and see if she finds her true mate at The Gathering. If she does not, then you will take part in seeing if she's your mate through the methods this document has shed light on. You will not leave Jen to the fate of being only a shell of what she should be. Do you understand?"
Decebel growled but nodded his head. He finished formally, "As you say, so shall it be."
Decebel turned to leave, but Vasile spoke up before he could make it out the door. "Decebel, you are choosing this. If you so much as breathe on another wolf at The Gathering because of Jen, you will suffer the consequences."
"Understood," Decebel acknowledged. He walked out of the room, leaving with not only more questions but complete and utter confusion.
Decebel knew that the moment he saw another wolf put his hands on Jennifer he would not be able to control his wolf, yet he had stupidly agreed to guard her. He was doing the very thing he wanted to avoid. He was her protection. Damn his Alpha and his meddling.


Jen paced her room like a caged animal. She couldn't believe what a fool she had made of herself, but at the moment all she had been able to think about was getting away from a certain wolf.
She was so screwed. How had she gotten to this point? She'd been telling herself over and over that he wasn't an option. She might as well have had a license plate made as many times as she had repeated it to her heart. Yeah, well her heart was doing its own thing because it didn't give a royal, flipping, fat pig that Decebel was supposed to be off limits. Something in her reached out to him. Every time he was near her, she just wanted to rub up against him and curl up in his lap. Can we say coming unhinged, boys and girls, Jen thought.
Back and forth she paced. "Okay," she said to the empty room, "Mate Fest 2010 is the answer. I have to really, really try to find my mate." Once again, her heart piped in its two cents while Jen was telling it not to waste its money. Decebel is our mate, it told her. "Nope, not happening. I'm not listening to you. La la la la la la." Jen plugged her fingers in her ears and closed her eyes. It was at this point that Sally walked in.
"Who are you not listening to, exactly?" Sally asked, looking around the room.
Jen swung around, dropping her hands quickly. "Hey, Sal. What's up?" she asked, reaching for calm but falling five thousand feet short.
"Yeah. Well, about that..." Sally folded her arms and raised a hand to tap her chin with a finger. "What's up? Hmm. See, you jumping up like you were sitting on a fire cracker and then bolting out of the meeting like said fire cracker was trying to bite your butt…yeah, that's pretty much what's up."
Jen cringed at the picture Sally painted. "Okay, so it wasn't my best moment," she muttered.
"Ya think?" Sally asked, her eyebrows rising.
"You don't know what it was like..." Jen's voice was reaching that high-pitched point when she would normally have thrown something at someone else using it. "Sitting there next to his furry hotness, his eyes doing that smoldering thing, his voice deep and soft, his hand being all handy. I mean seriously, Sally, it was either jump and run for the hills or crawl up in his lap panting like some desperate wench."
Sally laughed. "Did you just say desperate wench?"
"Shut up, Sally."
Sally held her hands up in surrender. "Hey, don't shoot the one pointing out your dumb metaphors."
Jen rolled her eyes at her best friend as she plopped down on the floor, leaning her back against the bed.
"So, what's the -" Sally started to ask but was interrupted when the door to the room flew open.
"I'm here!" Like a turbulent wind, Jacque came rushing in. "I'm here," she panted. "What's the plan?" Her head snapped back and forth between Jen and Sally.
Jen nodded her head in Jacque's direction. "What the bloody hell is wrong with her?" she asked Sally.
"I'm beginning to think it's the s-e-x," Sally spelled, covering the side of her face so Jacque couldn't see but speaking in a loud whisper. "All the lack of oxygen from the panting, heavy breathing, and what not is killing her brain cells."
Jen busted out laughing, "That would be even funnier if my brain wasn't trying to fill in the what not."
"Could we please refrain from talking about my sex life," Jacque ground out.
"No, there will be no refraining because then you would want me to talk about the attraction I'm trying to ignore to the wolf who is still not an option even though neither one of us can seem to stay the hell away from the other." Jen took a deep breath and barreled on. "If we cease talking about your sex life then you two hyenas will expect me to tell you how when I'm near him I feel like electricity is running over my skin. You would want me to explain how my heart speeds up and my breathing becomes erratic every time he whispers in my ear. You would force me – against my will, mind you – to describe to you the many times I have daydreamed hearing his voice in my mind, seeing marks cover my skin, seeing his marks change. So, hell to the no. Request denied. Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars. In summary, we cannot stop talking about your sex life."
Sally was standing with her jaw dropped open and Jacque was staring at Jen like she had sprouted wings from her butt.
"Well, okay then," Sally finally spoke. "I think talking about Jacque's sex life has really shed some light on things. Don't you, Jacque?"
"Some light? Crap, my sex life has illuminated a whole stinking football stadium."
"Who knew?" Jen shrugged innocently.
"What's the plan, Jen?" Sally asked soberly, "We all know you have one, so spill."
Jen stood up and started pacing again. "I've got to find my mate, I've got to stay away from B, and I've got to pull it together." She blew a breath out, ruffling her bangs.
"Okay, operation MAP starts now." Jacque grinned.
"Operation MAP?" Jen asked dubiously.
"Um, wolf-princess, would you please elaborate on the title?" Sally prodded.
"M, mate, A, avoid, P, pull," Jacque explained.
"Ooo, MAP. Like we're mapping out her future. I like." Sally winked at Jacque.
"I know, right? It fits, like we're making a map out of this mess," Jacque added.
Jen smiled and nodded her head enthusiastically, "Oh, I've got one," she said, joining in. "It's like you're making a map to lead your crazy asses out of my room."
"Hey," Sally said indignantly.
"Hey, if the shoe fits, Sally. I'm just saying, if it fits all you can do is wear it to the best of your ability. Let me tell you, you are doing some wicked justice."
Jacque laughed and Sally's head snapped around as she glared at her.
"You have to admit that was pretty funny."
Sally thought for a minute and then grinned. "Yeah. I guess she deserves props, but I'm still calling it operation MAP."
"Fine, crap. Let's get this op in the works," Jen relented.
"Yes!" Jacque and Sally said at the same time, giving high fives.
Jen shook her head at her two best friends. Loyal, yes. Giving, for sure. Crazy as loons? Without a doubt, she thought as she grinned while Sally and Jacque both talked at the same time, gradually getting louder as they talked over one another. Jen decided to try and make the most of them as they came. She had a feeling they were going to get few and far between once at The Gathering.