"He says he thinks something is wrong with Jacque, but she won't tell him," Sally explained.
"Of course she isn't going to tell him. She knows he would go all claws and fangs up on someone if he thought she was being hurt. That's not to say I'm not royally ticked at her for keeping something from him, because that means she's keeping it from us as well."
Sally's reply was interrupted by a curt knock on the door, followed by an uninvited Decebel. Jen rolled her eyes and let out a huff of air. "You got the knocking part right, fluffy, but you forgot the part where you are asked to come in. You don't just knock and then walk in." Jen turned to Sally, shaking her head. "You would think they at least have some sort of puppy training class or something."
"If you aren't careful, he's going to be picking Jen-kibble out of his teeth after his next meal," Sally whispered under her breath as Decebel continued to stare Jen down.
Jen's gaze never wavered as she responded to Sally. "And what makes you think I object to being dinner?"
Sally choked, and Jen slapped her on the back as she winked at Decebel, finally breaking their standoff.
"Fane, Dillon has called and says he has two wolves who want to speak with you and your father," Decebel said as he turned his eyes from Jen.
Fane's head snapped around and met with his father's Beta. Decebel immediately dropped his eyes and stepped to the side to leave the doorway open. Fane began to say something as he passed Jen and Sally, but was cut off. "Don't even say it. We are going with you even if it means we have to hide in the car." To everyone's surprise it was Sally who made this announcement as she grabbed Jen's hand and tugged her along. Decebel looked to Fane who simply shook his head as if to say, just leave it.
Fifteen minutes later, Fane, Vasile, and Decebel got out of the rented vehicle to go into the Denver pack's headquarters. Fane looked back at the four remaining in the vehicle, Sally, Jen, Lilly and Alina. Worry was etched on each of their faces. "We will be back shortly," was all he said, then he was gone.
"Have I said yet how much this just sucks?" Jen muttered under her breath.
Lilly patted her hand. "We are going to find her."
"I'm the one who's supposed to be saying that to you, Ms. P."
"Vasile, these are the two wolves who wanted to talk with you." Dillon indicated the two wolves who sat across the table from them in the dining room.
"Michael, Sean, tell them what you told me, please."
Michael and Sean both looked slightly nervous, but only because they were sitting in front of one of the strongest Alphas in the world, not because they were guilty of anything.
"All we know is that Sam said he was getting a flight to Springfield Missouri a few days ago," Michael told Vasile.
"Why would you think that would be important information?" Vasile asked.
"Well, because Sam is Logan's best friend and we heard you were asking if anybody in the pack had helped Logan. If anybody did it would be Sam."
Fane growled low, showing that he was losing his patience. "What does Sam going to Springfield have anything to do with helping Logan?" he growled.
It was Sean who answered this time. "If Sam was going to Springfield then that probably means he is going to Ozark."
This time it was Decebel who growled. Vasile eyed both of his wolves and then turned back to Michael and Sean. "Please forgive their manners, they are a little stressed at the moment. Please explain the significance of Ozark."
"Oh, right. Sorry." Sean continued, "Sam owns a cabin in Ozark, Missouri and when he goes there he usually flies into Springfield."
Vasile grabbed Fane's arm before he could leave, cocking his head to the side, a very wolf-like gesture. "Excuse me for asking, but why would a wolf that lives in Colorado own a cabin in the Ozarks?"
Michael looked at Dillon for permission to answer. When Dillon nodded he turned back to Vasile. "Sam's father is the Alpha in Springfield, Missouri. When Sam goes to visit his family he usually stays at the cabin on the land that the Springfield pack hunts on."
"This just keeps getting better and better," Decebel grumbled.
Fane turned around slowly as Michael finished speaking. He looked at his father and then at Dillon. "So what he's saying is, my mate has been kidnapped and taken into the territory of an Alpha who doesn't know she is there and placed in the middle of his hunting ground?"
"Yes?" Michael's voice was nearly a squeak as he watched Fane's eye glow brighter and his canines lengthen.
"Dillon, do you know where this cabin is located?" Vasile asked, his eyes never leaving his son.
"No, but I will contact Sam's father. If I tell him what is going on maybe he will be willing to help."
"Or once he figures out his son is involved he may decide it's in his best interest to just stay out of it," Decebel added.
Dillon nodded his agreement as he pulled out his phone and dialed the Springfield Alpha's number.
When the interrogation had ended and Fane returned to the car, he slammed the door of the SUV, causing the four women waiting to jump.
"Things went that good?" Jen muttered under her breath.
Vasile and Decebel climbed in with less fanfare. Vasile was already on the phone with Sorin as he pulled out of the Denver pack's driveway.
"Sorin, get the plane ready. We're going to Springfield, Missouri." There was a pause as Vasile listened to Sorin on the other end of the phone.
"Yes, we're taking everyone. Get us a hotel. I'm not totally sure about all the details yet so we will need a place to regroup." Vasile ended the call and looked in the rearview mirror at Lilly, who waited patiently.
"Logan has been getting help from a pack mate whose father is the Alpha in Springfield and has some land with a cabin in Ozark. We think this is where Logan is holding Jacque."
"Well, that's good news, right? So what's with the obvious anger?" Sally asked.
"The Alpha is not cooperating. He wouldn't give us the location of the cabin. All he said was that he wouldn't let his son know that we knew their general location," Fane growled out.
"What the hell! Vasile, can't you do anything to this Alpha? Give him a good shake by the scruff or something?" Jen asked, her frustration obvious.
"Did you just say a good shake by the scruff?" Sally asked her dubiously.
"What? I'm just saying."
"If it comes to that, then yes. But I don't have my whole pack with me and the Springfield Alpha is no weakling," Vasile answered.
"Oh, right. Geeze, this SUCKS!" Jen growled out.
The drive back to the hotel was quiet. The tension was palpable and the waves of frustration rolling off of Fane were enough to cause motion sickness.
They hadn't been back in the hotel room five minutes when Fane collapsed to the floor. He grabbed his head, fighting the stabbing pain. As he squeezed his eyes closed he realized it was Jacquelyn's pain he was feeling. Something was seriously wrong. He reached out to her but she was pushing as hard as she could to keep him out. Fane pushed harder. He got a very brief sense of fear, or terror rather, and then she slammed the walls down even harder.
"Ahhhh!" Fane yelled.
"Fane, what's wrong? Is she okay?" Sally and Jen were both kneeling on either side of Fane, who continued to growl so menacingly that for the first time Sally really was afraid.
Decebel let out his own growl as he gently took Jen's arm and pulled her away from Fane's side.
"Hey, what the-" Jen began to protest, but when she looked up at Decebel's face she shut her mouth. Decebel's eyes were glowing and his canines had lengthened. Something told her it would be better to just sit this one out.
Fane tried again to reach Jacquelyn, "My love, I'm here." And what he heard in response tore his heart in two.
"I'm sorry, Fane. I'm so sorry." Jacquelyn's voice in his mind was so broken and helpless sounding. He knew then that he would rip Logan's heart from his chest for being the cause of that.
"Jacquelyn," Fane groaned as he knelt on the floor, the depths
of his despair etched in every syllable of her name.
"Fane, please, what's wrong? Is she okay?" Sally asked him gently.
Fane looked up into Sally's fearful eyes. "I don’t know." Then he looked at Jen. "I don't know if she's okay."
Jen sat on the park bench and although she looked to be watching some kids play on the playground, her eyes were glazed over, her thoughts far from where she sat. Moisture rolling down her cheek snapped her out of her stupor. She couldn’t remember a time when she felt so helpless. Even during the wreck she was at least able to do something to help, but all she could do right now was wait. Wait for Vasile to get the travel arrangements made, wait for Fane to hear from Jacque that she was okay, wait for the freaking world to open up and swallow her because she couldn't imagine a world without Jacque. She wanted to scream at the injustice of it all. Jacque was one of the nicest, most loyal people she knew. Why was this happening to her? Jen closed her eyes and tried to fight the overwhelming fear that threatened to crush her spirit. She felt a big, warm body sit next to her on the bench and for some reason she was not startled or surprised at his arrival.
"What's wrong, Jennifer? I've never seen you so distant." Decebels voice conveyed the worry he was trying to hide.
"I'm tired, Decebel. I'm worried and I don't have any humor left to help ease the tense situation." Jen's face showed the fear that for the first time she allowed him to see. "I know I'm sarcastic and I joke a lot, even in the most serious situations. It's how I deal, how I cope so I don’t fall apart. But I don't have the strength to be the one who lifts the spirits of everyone. I don't have it in me to hide the sick ache that threatens to choke me for fear that I will never see Jacque again or that something horrible has happened to her."
Decebel pulled Jen close in a show of gentleness that she was beginning to notice he only displayed with her. "You don't always have to be the strong one."
"That's where you're wrong, Dec. I do, for them. Sally, Lilly, and at times even Fane. I have to be the one who believes so strongly that we will get her back that I can be sarcastic. That I have the luxury of bringing humor be it light or dark into this majorly messed up situation. And not that we will just get her back, but that we will get her back whole. There are worse things than death to a woman, Decebel."
Decebel wasn't really sure how to respond to that. He didn't know how to handle a discouraged Jennifer. Sarcastic, bitchy, playful Jennifer, yeah, that he could deal with. But this crushed, fragile spirit he didn't know what to do about it. He pulled her closer and laid his chin on the top of her head. "I would do anything to take the fear from you, to bring your friend back to you unharmed."
Jen pulled back so she could look up at Decebel, taken back by the words that were thick with emotion.
"I believe you," Jen told him as she stared into his eyes.
Decebel leaned forward slightly and for a moment Jen thought he meant to kiss her, but he caught himself. He coughed to cover the awkward moment. "Well, I guess we better get back up to the room and see if they are about ready to head to the airport."
"Yeah, I guess we better." Jen stood and turned to head back to the hotel. Despite Decebel's kind words she felt worse. Not only was her best friend in the hands of a psycho wolf but the guy she was falling for could never be hers. What had she been thinking to even consider a fling with a guy, a man like Decebel? It would break her heart when he found his mate. She wasn't as strong as Lilly. Once Decebel was hers she would never be able to let him go.
Fane watched as everyone boarded the plane .He had reached for Jacquelyn several times since the last time she had contacted him and still she would not let him in. He was beginning to get angry at her rejection. Why would she not let him close to her? Did she not understand how painful it was to be separated from her? Did it not hurt her as well? For the first time since he had met her Fane felt the fear of the possibility that she didn't want him, didn't love him as he loved her. But he knew that couldn't be true. She was his mate, the other half of his soul, she must be feeling the pain at their continued separation. Something had to have happened to cause her to keep him away. As soon as he was alone and could concentrate he would, for the first time, force her to let him into her mind. He knew he shouldn't but enough was enough. He was her mate, how could he help her if she wouldn't let him near?
Sally watched as Jen buckled into her seat on the plane. Her face was devoid of emotion. It was the only time Sally could remember ever seeing her sarcastic, outspoken friend look so lost. She sat down next to her, buckled in, and then took her hand.
"Talk to me, Jen," Sally said.
Jen looked at Sally and to Sally's surprise Jen leaned forward, burying her face into Sally's neck. Sally felt Jen's shoulders shaking and realized she was crying.
"Oh, Jen." Sally wrapped her arms around her broken friend. "Sweetie, tell me, did that wolf hurt you? I'll kill him, just say the word and I'll gut him like a fish."
Jen's shoulders shook harder. Finally she pulled back and looked at Sally. "I'm just so scared for Jacque. What if that piece of crap has hurt her? What if, god Sally, what if..." Jen couldn't finish the thought, it was too horrible to even consider.
"Then we will help Fane rip him apart, and then we will love her so fiercely that she will know we will always be there for her. No matter how long it takes for her to heal, we will be there for her."
Jen nodded solemnly. "In the middle of worrying for Jacque, I think, crap I don't know. I feel something for the big, dumb wolf, but I shouldn't. He will only break my heart."
"Oh, my little Jen. Who would aim for the stars if not for you? Don't give up, not yet, okay?" Sally told her.
Jen just shook her head. She wouldn't continue to hope for something that would never be. She would focus on getting Jacque back, and then she would have to seriously think about whether she could handle being in Romania, where he would be.
Decebel looked over at Jen across the aisle from him. Her face was blotchy from shed tears, her eyes swollen. He felt his chest tighten and an unfamiliar desire to protect her, to rip anything who dared to harm her to pieces. It was killing him not being able to do anything about her pain. How did you fight an invisible enemy? How do you repair an irreparable situation? Decebel growled as he leaned his head back against the head rest and closed his eyes, though he would glean no rest, not while Jen's fear was pulsating over his skin. He wouldn't rest again until he could see the light fill her eyes and the sarcasm roll easily from her tongue once more.
Chapter 31
As Cynthia ran the warm washcloth down Jacque's back, trying to wash off the dried blood, she thought about how when she had finally come to after being knocked out by Logan, she had yelled until Logan had finally come back into the room. She had shamed him for the treatment of his so called mate and he finally had relented and brought her some warm water and a cloth so she could clean Jacque's bloody skin. She had wanted to try and talk Logan into letting her help Jacque take a hot bath, but she hadn't been able to rouse the poor girl at the time. Cynthia imagined she was in shock from the brutal treatment of the wolf. Hell, she herself was in shock. Now that Jacque was awake she feared how her mind would handle all that had happened to her at the hands of Logan.
"Why did he do it?" Jacque finally raised her face and looked Cynthia in the face.
"Oh honey, come here.” She pulled the chair her leg was cuffed to closer so she could take Jacque in her arms. Jacque began to cry silently, her face buried in Cynthia's shoulder.
"He made me drink his blood and then he took mine. How will Fane want me now?"
"He will always want you, Jacque. You are his mate, his and his alone," Cynthia told her as she gently rubbed her back.
"I still hurt. I thought his blood was suppose to make me better," Jacque told her.
Cynthia pulled back to look at Jacque. "Really? You don't feel any better?"
Jacque shook her head. "No, I still feel like I'm on fire, burning from the inside. He didn't do anything se
xually to me but I feel so violated, so dirty." Jacque closed her eyes as tears slowly streamed down her face.
"In some ways what he did was more intimate than sex."
"It was supposed to be Fane, Cynthia. God, it was supposed to be Fane. It wasn't supposed to be like this."
"I know, sweetie. I know. It's my fault, Jacque." Now Cynthia was crying. Cynthia knew what she said was true, it was her fault. She had helped this monster get his hands on Jacque. How could she live with herself ? "I was so angry at Fane for taking my brother, I didn't want him to be happy, to have you. I didn't think Logan would hurt you. I thought because he wanted you as his mate he would treat you reverently as most males do their mate. But you aren't really his, you aren't taking his darkness and it's only feeding his madness. I'm so sorry. I did this and I will deserve any punishment that your Alpha decides."
"I'm not mad at you, Cynthia. I don't have any emotions left to be mad. I just want Fane. I just want my mate." Jacque pulled back and leaned against the chair she was cuffed to.
"Can you still feel him through your bond?" Cynthia asked her.
"Yes, but I don't want him to know what happened. What if he doesn't want me anymore? How will he ever want to touch me after Logan has?"
"Jacque listen to me," Cynthia growled at her firmly. "Fane is your true mate. There is nothing in this world that could keep him from wanting you. He will never stop looking for you. You have to believe that. Let him in, let him love you, that's the only thing that will heal you emotionally and I suspect only his blood will heal you physically."
"What if he doesn't find me in time? What if I die before he can give me his blood?" Jacque thought she would be sick at the idea of never seeing Fane or friends and family again.