Blood Rites

  "I'm all yours as soon as he leaves," she told him through their bond.

  "I'm going to hold you to that, Luna." He winked at her and saw her cheeks turn pink. He loved it when she blushed, loved that he was the cause of that blush.

  "I'm going to let you get some rest. I will be back later, though, if that's ok?" Dillon asked her.

  "Yea, I'm good with that," Jacque answered.

  "Okay, great." He turned to Fane and once again held out his hand, "Fane, thank you for your patience and letting me spend some time with Jacque."

  "If it makes her happy and she is safe, I will always be okay with you spending time with her," Fane told him, letting his wolf show through his eyes just a little.

  Dillon took a step back before he could catch himself. Interesting, Fane's wolf thought, Alpha, but not over him. Good to know.

  Fane was on his way over to Jacque before the door clicked closed. He sat down on the edge of the bed next to her. "How are you, really?" she asked him.

  Fane leaned forward and placed his lips on her neck and breathed her scent in deep. His wolf growled in contentment. "I'm better now," he admitted.

  Jacque laughed and brought his lips to hers and kissed him gently. Fane deepened the kiss enjoying the way she tasted, reminding him that she was safe, and she was his. Jacque moaned as he pulled back. "Will it ever be enough?" she asked him with a grin.

  "I hope not. I hope you always want more of me. I must prepare you now, I will never get enough of you," Fane told her without shame at his need of her.

  "Duly noted, wolf-man," she teased him.

  Chapter 15

  Dillon stepped out into the hall after having spent the morning and part of the afternoon with Jacque. He could tell that Fane really did care for her and he was beginning to rethink invoking his Alpha rights. If he didn't he would lose her, she would bond with Fane and then go off to Romania, just when he had found her. Maybe it was selfish but he didn't want to let her go. Not yet.

  He hadn't taken but a few steps when Lilly, Vasile, his mate, his Beta, and Logan were walking towards him. This was not going to be pretty.

  "How did it go?" Lilly asked him.

  "Really well, she told me all about herself. She's not shy at all." They all chuckled at that remark, obviously in complete agreement.

  "So what now?" It was Lilly who asked again.

  "I think we need to talk." Dillon looked her in the eyes. "All of us." He addressed everyone standing in front of him.

  Vasile lead the way to a private family area. Nobody sat, not wanting to put themselves in a vulnerable or submissive position.

  "Speak," Vasile ordered. This was the Alpha talking, not Fane's father.

  "I'm invoking Alpha rights in regards to my daughter, who is a minor," Dillon announced with complete confidence.

  Vasile growled, causing Dillon's confidence to waver momentarily, but then he remembered that he had every right to step forward, it was pack law.

  "You know I have every right, Vasile. She is still a minor, she is my daughter, and it has been made apparent that Fane is not ready to protect her the way a mate should." At that last part Decebel lunged forward. Vasile caught him before Logan could intercept him.

  "How dare you speak about our prince with such disrespect again," Decebel growled.

  "Decebel, stand down." Vasile spoke calmly, but there was a pulse of power in his words that poured over the room, pushing everyone to their knees, including Dillon.

  Dillon fought the command and managed to get to his feet.

  "I will ignore the disrespect you have just shown my family, Jacobs, and only address the pack law that you have brought to our attention," Vasile told him.

  "What is he talking about, Alina?" Lilly whispered.

  "Just listen Lilly, and whatever you do, stay calm," Alina told her firmly.

  "Calm, okay, got it," Lilly responded.

  "You are correct it is pack law that you have the right to invoke Alpha rights, but you need to be sure that this is really what you want to do. You do realize that having a pissed off teenage daughter will make your life difficult, to say the least?" Dillon didn't respond.

  "Have you thought about what she wants, that she wants to be with Fane?" Alina asked him gently.

  "I have, but then kids do not always know what is best for them. If she comes with me I will get to spend time with her. She can use the time away from Fane to figure out if he really is the best thing for her."

  "Go with you? What the hell are you talking about, Dillon?" Lilly's jaw was clenched in anger.

  "Calm, remember," Alina told Lilly.

  "He just said he wants to take my daughter."

  "OUR daughter." Dillon interrupted.

  "No, that is not how it works, Dillon. You don’t get to come and say you’re her parent and that she should come with you when she doesn't even freaking know you!"

  "Lilly, she is half wolf. You can't possibly know everything that is best for her," Dillon tried to reason.

  "Everyone out." Lilly's voice was like a whip. "Out! Everyone!"

  Vasile nodded to Decebel and his Mate.

  "Logan, go," Dillon told his Beta.

  Once the door closed and Dillon and Lilly were the only two in the room Lilly straightened her spine and looked Dillon dead in the face.

  "I don't know who you think you are, Alpha or not. If you try to take her she will hate you. She loves Fane, they are mates, and you of all people know what that means. If you try to keep them apart you will rip their souls in two."

  Dillon took a deep breath. "I'm not taking her from him indefinitely. She's only 17, Lilly, she isn't even an adult."

  "She will be eighteen in two months, Dillon, which you might know had you been around when she was born."

  "Fine then, I will have her for two months, because once he bonds with her she will be gone, Lilly, and I just found her." Dillon's voice was soft and Lilly could hear the pain in it.

  "Why do you even want her so bad? Surely you have full-blooded werewolf children with your mate, which I do not begrudge you by the way."

  Dillon looked at the ground when he spoke. "We were never able to conceive."

  The words hit Lilly like a punch to the gut, pushing all the breath out of her.

  "Jacque is your only child?" she asked him.

  "Yes."

  Neither of them spoke for several minutes. It was Dillon who broke the silence.

  "Lilly, I'm not trying to be the bad guy. I could have lost her in that wreck. She should have been protected, and I'm not blaming you. Fane is responsible for her, he just isn't ready, they need time to mature. If all I can get is two months with her, then so be it, but maybe if they step back for a little bit they will see that it would be good to wait to bond."

  "You're trying to intervene what fate has ordained. It's going to back fire on you, Dillon. If Jacque doesn't want to go with you, I swear to you I will do everything in my power to keep it from happening. God help you when Fane finds out." Lilly turned abruptly and fled the room, slamming the door behind her.

  Logan walked in just after Lilly's departure.

  "That went well," Dillon said sarcastically.

  "Vasile wants to speak with you," Logan told him.

  Dillon nodded his okay for Logan to let Vasile in.

  Vasile came into the room and his power followed him. Dillon could feel it and it grated on his wolf as if being petted against the grain of his fur.

  "What are you going to do?" Vasile asked.

  "Just what I said, Jacque is coming home with me at least until she turns 18. If she wants to be with Fane after that, then I can't stop her. So from now until she leaves my wolves will guard her. You will pull your wolves back, and Fane can be here during the day but I don't want him sleeping up here."

  "So be it. You had better keep her safe, Dillon. If anything happens to my son's mate while in your care I will take it out of your flesh." Vasile's voice was that same deadly calm, but Dillon's wolf had no ch
oice but to submit.

  Vasile turned to Logan. "You need to come introduce yourself to Jacque. While you are doing that I will get Fane." Vasile turned and looked back at Dillon. "Hold your wolves back until I get Fane away from the hospital. You have no idea what you have provoked. You will be lucky if my wolf can make him submit."

  "Logan, go with Vasile and meet Jacque, I will call the rest of the pack and tell them to wait until I say to come in," Dillon ordered his Beta.

  Vasile left the room with Logan behind him. Dillon took a deep breath, wondering for the hundredth time if he was doing the right thing.

  Chapter 16

  Vasile opened the door to Jen and Jacque's room and walked in without knocking. At this point politeness was not at the top of his agenda. Decebel was standing against the wall, his look cold and promising death. Jen and Sally were sitting on one bed looking very confused, and Fane and Jacque were on her bed. Fane stood up abruptly when he saw the other wolf enter the room with his father.

  "Alpha, who is this?" Fane asked him.

  "This is Logan, Dillon's Beta. He has come to introduce himself to Jacque because he will be helping with guard duty," Vasile explained.

  Jacque smiled and said hello but could tell something was wrong. She looked at Fane, who was still staring daggers at his father.

  "Fane, I need to speak with you in the hall while Logan introduces himself."

  Fane growled.

  "Stop!" Vasile ordered. "Decebel will stay here, she will be fine."

  Fane turned to Jacque and leaned down to kiss her. "I will find out what is going on, love. Will you be okay?"

  "I'm fine, Fane. Go, do what you need to but then come back to me." She kissed him gently and smiled into his blue eyes. Fane gave her hand one last gentle squeeze and then turned to follow Vasile out of the room.

  Logan stepped up to Jacque's bed and held out his hand. "Jacque, I am Logan, it's so nice to meet you."

  Jacque smiled politely but her words were tense. "It's nice to meet you as well." Jacque had barely gotten the words out when they heard a loud growl and things being slammed about outside of the hospital room door. Jacque started to get up. "What the hell is that."

  Decebel got to her before Logan could touch her. "Jacque, stay here please. Logan and I will be right outside to see what is going on."

  "Okay, please make sure Fane is okay. He is blocking his thoughts," Jacque told him.

  Decebel nodded and then turned back to Jen and Sally. "You two stay put."

  "Once again I am reminded that I should be wearing a collar that says 'if found please call the bossy werewolf who thinks he is my owner at 1-800-butt-head'," Jen said sarcastically.

  All three girls heard Decebel mutter under his breath, "Little, mouthy smart ass." As he followed Logan out of the room and into the hall, it was a complete wreck. Chairs had been thrown, glass in the family area broken, Fane had gone crazy. Decebel turned to Logan. "If anything happens to any of those girls, you will die by my hand after I have declawed and neutered you."

  "I will protect them," was Logan's only response.

  "HE CAN'T HAVE HER!" Fane yelled. His voice had gone guttural, his wolf pushing to take over. His claws had pushed through his fingers and his eyes were glowing wolf blue. His canines had begun to elongate.

  "Fane, STOP!" Vasile growled at him.

  Vasile had taken him down to the Emergency Room and was using one of the family holding areas to talk to his son. Alina and Lilly had gone with them.

  "Ea apartine cu mine, cu ranita noastra (She belongs with me, with our pack.)," Fane pleaded with his Alpha.

  "It's pack law, Fane. I cannot stop him."

  "ARRGGGHHH!" Fane slammed his fist into the wall, punching a huge whole. "Nu ma intereseaza despre ranita legea, ce ti-ai legii. Ea este colega mea, sufletul meu si ma intrebi pe mine sa mearga intr-o parte din ei (I don't care about pack law, about your law. She is my mate, my soul and you ask me to walk away from her)." Fane grabbed a chair and threw it across the room, shattering the glass windows. He didn't even pause before a ripped the television out of the wall and threw it out the window, following the chair to its fate.

  "Fane este de ajuns (Fane that is enough)." Vasile's power flowed over the room, driving Fane to his knees. Fane's shoulders slumped in defeat, his head hung. His hands were balled into fists, the claws that had begun to shift digging into his hands, cutting deep.

  "What would you do if it was mama?" Fane's voice was so low that Vasile only heard it because of his wolf hearing.

  "I would kill anything and anyone who kept her from me," Vasile admitted. "But Jacque is not in any danger, and it's not for forever, it's just two months and then you can complete the bond and blood rites." Vasile knew he was asking the impossible, he wouldn't want to be separated from his mate for even two days let alone two months, but Fane and Jacque were both still minors and not bonded. By pack law, Jacque's father had every right to do what he was asking. What could Vasile do?

  "You can be with her during the day, but he asks that you don’t spend the night with her," Vasile told him, trying to speak as calm as possible, knowing he was prodding an already angry beast.

  "El solicită? Vrei să spui că ţi-a spus, Alpha la cel mai mare pachet de lupi gri din lume, el vi sa poruncit, că nu am putut sta cu partenerul meu pe timp de noapte? (He asks? Do you mean he told you, Alpha to the largest pack of Grey wolves in the world, he commanded you, that I could not stay with MY mate at night?)" Fane growled.

  "Înţeleg că sunteţi supăraţi, am înţeles sunteţi doare, dar eu sunt încă în stadiul alpha-ul tău, vă va prezenta la mine, Fane. (I understand you are angry, I understand you are hurting, but I am still your Alpha, you will submit to me, Fane). You know I will not let anything happen to Jacque, trust me. If not as your Alpha, then as your father."

  After a few moments of silence Fane finally stood up and looked at his father. "I don't know if I can do that. You ask too much, Dillon Jacobs asks too much. I may not be the Pack Alpha of the Romanian Greys, but I'm more dominant than Jacobs.He will not take what is mine. I'm sorry, Alpha, but in this I cannot obey." Fane didn't wait for his father to respond as he turned and left the waiting area, headed back to Jacquelyn's room.

  Jen and Sally came over and climbed onto Jacque's bed. "You got anything coming in on your reception, Jac?" Jen asked her.

  "If you mean is Fane talking to me, then no, he's blocking his thoughts. I am getting intense anger, though. Whatever it is, Fane is royally pissed off," she answered.

  "No pun intended, but" Jen laughed, "get it? Royally pissed, cuz he's a prince…anyone, no… no takers? Okay then."

  Sally patted her on the leg. "Any other time, I would have totally given you props, but a werewolf just nearly tore the hospital apart, so right now props are all on hold."

  "Noted." Jen clicked her tongue and winked in acknowledgment to Sally's statement.

  Jacque was beginning to get a little panicked over the fact that Fane would not respond to her through their bond. What could be making him so mad?

  "This is ridiculous," Jen grumbled as she began to rise off the bed and trudged slowly toward the room door, her IV pole in tow. She pulled it open and stuck out her head. Decebel was standing to the left of the door in his usual pose, arms across his chest, looking for all the world like he would be happy to rip someone's arms off given the chance. Be that as it may, Jen had to take two seconds, okay, maybe three to acknowledge that the man had a nice chest. Not an option, she told herself and decided that would have to be her mantra when she was around Decebel.

  "Is there something wrong, Jen?" he asked her in an annoyingly calm voice.

  "We just heard what sounded like a tornado ripping through this hall and you really want to ask me if something is wrong? Really? That's all ya got? Are you seriously going to stand there and act like everything is peachy keen jelly bean?"

  Decebel raised a single eyebrow at her. "Which question would you like me to answer first?"

/>   Jen growled at him. "Oh forget it," she said as she grabbed her IV pole and began to walk past him. "I'll find out what the hell happened without the help of Mr. 'I'm a big bad werewolf, I will eat you'." Her voice got deeper with each word.

  As she passed him, in a voice so low she nearly missed it, she heard him mutter, "You might like it."

  Jen whipped her head around, nearly losing her balance and knocking her IV pole over.

  "Did you just make a joke? Because if you did then we need to get on the phone with air traffic control to tell them to be on the lookout fat little pigs with wings, and maybe even channel hell to see if the lakes of fire have frozen over."

  "I don't know what you're talking about," he told her, his face dead pan as he gently took her arm and led her back to the room. He gently pushed her inside and pulled the door shut behind her.

  Jen stood there completely dumbfounded.

  "Did you find anything out?" Sally asked. Both her and Jacque were looking at their friend in expectation.

  "I..." Jen couldn't get her mouth to spit out what her brain was trying to piece together, so she just stood there looking thoroughly confused.

  Sally got up and walked over to Jen and began to help her back to the bed. "Is it just me, Jac, or does it look like little miss thang has been rendered speechless?"

  "Never thought I'd see the day," Jacque agreed. "But for clarification purposes, Jen, snap out of it and tell me if you found out anything."

  Sally snapped her fingers in front of Jen's face. This finally brought her brain back online. "Okay you," Jen pointed a finger at Jacque, who in turn pointed to herself and mouthed "me" to Sally. Sally just shrugged her shoulders. "I have no information to give you other than the hall is a mess, that is all I know." Jen then turned and looked at Sally. "I did however find out Decebel has a sense of humor…I think, maybe, sort of, crap I don't know."

  Before Sally and Jacque could ask Jen to clarify, the door to their room opened and Lilly walked in, looking very tired.