At that, Fane snarled furiously. His eyes began to glow, and he felt his canines elongate. The Grey whined and scrambled into his car, squealing his tires as he peeled out.

  Fane closed his eyes and took slow deep breaths. Calm yourself. No one is going to take her from you. He chanted this to himself over and over until he and his wolf were somewhat in control. Fane turned to face Jacquelyn and saw confusion on her face, but to his relief, there was no fear.

  “Okay, you can forget trying to get away with not explaining that little episode of the Twilight Zone. I am not an idiot, so don’t think I didn’t pick up on the whole animal kingdom references, the way you just nearly went postal on their hides or the fact that the ‘she’ they were talking about was me,” Jacquelyn said, arms crossed and brow furrowed in determination.

  Fane walked up to her, towering over her short frame. To her credit, after seeing him act like the animal he was, she didn’t take a single step back.

  “You’re right, Luna, it’s time to talk, but your mom will start it. Let’s go,” Fane responded.

  And with that, they were on his motorcycle headed back to Jacquelyn’s house.

  OceanofPDF.com

  Chapter

  Nine

  Jacque held on tight to Fane’s waist, laying her cheek against his back, taking in his warmth. She was nervous but glad she was finally going to get some answers. She was still a little shaky after that scene at the park. Jacque could not make sense of anything those guys had said to Fane or vice versa.

  Fane and the other men had thrown the term ‘Alpha’ around a few times. What in the world had that meant? Jacque thought she could remember the term referred to as the first letter of the Greek alphabet, and she had heard it used when mentioning dogs or wolves. And who were those men to tell Fane he had to leave, and what did they mean by she already had a mate? The questions swirled around in her brain over and over, yet she could find no explanation.

  “Luna, are you okay?” Fane asked, sounding worried.

  She smiled, enjoying the fact he worried about her. It felt good to be cared for, not that she wasn’t cared for by others, but it felt good coming from him.

  “I guess I’m as good as can be expected. Don’t be alarmed if I freak out or have a meltdown. It will pass,” she told him with only a small amount of teasing in her voice.

  The truth was, she was already on the verge of a panic attack. When those guys had told Fane he had to leave, the mere idea of him gone actually caused her pain. How messed up was that?

  Jacque closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. “In and out, in and out,” she told herself. “Whatever it is, whatever he tells you, you will not cower in a corner and shake like a frightened puppy,” she told herself firmly. “No, but I make no promises that I won’t pass out from shock. There is no shame in passing out. It’s simply the brain’s way of saying ‘hold the stink up.’ I need to process this mess.” Jacque smiled, wondering if other people talked to themselves like that. Probably not, but everyone’s got something, right?

  Fane pulled into her driveway and turned off the engine. The neighborhood was eerily quiet. Jacque climbed off his bike, taking the helmet off as well, and shook her hair out. She looked up to find Fane watching her.

  “What?” she asked him.

  To Jacque’s surprise, Fane blushed! He turned his head away from her, and she saw the small smile that had appeared.

  “Sorry, it’s just, um, well, you looked attractive shaking your hair out,” Fane stammered.

  Jacque tried hard not to laugh but was completely unsuccessful. She looked up at him and saw embarrassment in his eyes.

  “Fane, you can’t possibly be ashamed by thinking I’m hot. I practically drool all over you every time I see you. I should be the one embarrassed,” she confessed to him.

  “Are you?” Fane asked.

  “I guess maybe I should be, but throw me a bone. You are freaking hot. I can’t change that, so I’m embracing it.”

  Fane chuckled and told her, “You amaze me, Luna, truly you do.”

  It was Jacque’s turn to blush. “Thanks.”

  Fane took Jacque’s hand and they walked to the front door. Warmth spread up her arm and throughout her body just from holding his hand. Jacque reached her free hand to the doorknob. But just before she grabbed it, the door opened.

  “Mom, are you—” Jacque’s words froze in her throat. Instead of her mother in the doorway, a man stared back at her. She recognized him. It was Fane’s limo driver. The man she’d seen drop Fane off just three nights ago was now standing in her foyer. Jacque froze, not sure what to do. Fane stepped around her, went to the man, and embraced him just like they had done on the night he arrived.

  “Okay, I’m about to have a two-year-old moment,” she said. “MOM! WHO IN KING ARTHUR’S NAME IS THIS MAN IN OUR HOUSE, WHAT THE CRAP DO YOU KNOW THAT YOU AREN’T TELLING ME, AND FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS THAT KEEP US SANE, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?”

  Jacque walked into the living room where she was met by Lilly coming out of the kitchen. “I guess it’s time for me to tell you the truth about your father, Jacque,” said her mother.

  “What truth? What are you talking about?”

  Lilly let out a heavy sigh. “Please, everyone, sit down. Jacque, this is Sorin, Fane’s bodyguard.”

  “Bodyguard?”

  “Just sit. I’ll explain everything,” said Lilly.

  They all did, Fane taking a place by Jacque on the couch. The strange man was completely silent. He took an armchair and fixed Jacque with an appraising gaze she didn’t’ appreciate.

  Lilly continued. “I hoped this day would never come, my daughter. I truly hoped you would grow up and have a normal life and never be affected by your father’s blood. Apparently, that was too much to hope for.

  “Again, mom, what are you talking about? My father’s blood? That doesn’t make sense.”

  Lilly folded her hands in her lap. “Jacque,” Lilly began, “there is no easy way to explain this. It’s going to sound insane, but just listen, it’s all true.”

  “If you knew what my life has been like the past few days you wouldn’t even have to lead off with that. So, as Jen and I like to say, go ahead and slap me with it.”

  Her mother took a deep breath, “Your father, Dillon, is not a human. He is a Canis lupus.”

  “A Canis-whatsit?” Jacque asked.

  “You might know them better as werewolves,” came Fane’s deep voice. Jacque’s head whipped around at Fane. She opened it to ask again what the heck they were talking about, but found herself staring into luminescent blue eyes which rendered her completely speechless. For a moment, all questions fled from her mind. After a few moments, she regained her voice. Instead of speaking to Fane, she turned back to her mother.”

  “I don’t know what you are talking about, but if it has to do with my father, you should have told me a long time ago. Why have you kept this from me?”

  “I wasn’t planning on telling you as long as it never affected you. I figured there was no reason to add confusion to the pain of your father leaving.”

  “Did you ever think that wasn’t your choice to make?” Jacque was yelling now. “There was nothing in the world she hated worse than being lied to, and her mother hadn’t been honest with her.

  “Jacquelyn, calm yourself. She was just trying to protect you, not hide things from you,” Jacque heard Fane’s soft, comforting voice tell her. Unfortunately, it just fueled her fire.

  Jacque turned on him. “Do not tell me to calm down! Everyone in this room seems to know something about my life that I don’t, and frankly, that just ticks me off a teeny, tiny bit, so back off!”

  Fane held his hands up in surrender.

  Jacque jumped up and began pacing the room.

  “I understand why you are angry and that you are hurt, but I need you to hear me out and then judge me,” Lilly told her.

  Jacque stopped and tried to wipe away the tears that were running freely down her cheeks. She turned to look at her mom and simply nodded her head. Her mom patted the loveseat for her to sit on, but Jacque took one look at Fane and knew she needed to sit back down by him.

  “I’m sorry, love. It’s just that I see you hurting, and all I want to do is comfort you. It’s MY job to comfort you. Please bear with me a little longer. Sit by me. Calm the animal inside, please.”

  When Jacque didn’t say anything else, Lilly said, “I knew there was something different about Dillon when we met. The longer we dated, the more certain I was he was not normal. He was too big, too strong, for a regular man Sometimes, I would catch his eyes glowing unnaturally. It was spooky and alluring all at the same time. So, finally, one night I just asked him, ‘What are you?’ And he told me. At first, naturally, I didn’t believe him, but then he showed me.”

  “Showed you?” Jacque asked.

  “His wolf,” replied her mother. “He phased right in front of me. He showed me his wolf and he was beautiful. Over time, he told me more and more about his culture and his species. Most importantly, he told me about true mates. It was then I realized he would have to leave me one day, for I wasn’t his true mate. That, we both knew. Obviously, because I wasn’t Canis lupus. Your father was open and honest with me about it, and I chose to stay with him anyway because I felt whatever time I could have with him was better than not being with him at all.”

  Lilly paused for a moment and looked at Jacque, who was just sitting there staring at the table in front of her, saying nothing. Fane took one of her hands in his.

  Lilly continued, “Three days before he left, I found out I was pregnant with you. I was going to tell him that very night, but when I got home, he wasn’t there. Instead, there was a note waiting for me.”

  Jacque looked up at her mother when her voice wavered and saw Lilly had tears in her eyes. She realized then her mom still loved her father, even though he was a Canis lup—whatever.

  “Canis lupus, meu inimă, my heart,” Fane told her through her thoughts.

  “I was not thinking to you, now was I? No, I was not. I was thinking to myself. So if you don’t mind, keep your nosy Romanian brain out of mine,” Jacque told him.

  Fane simply squeezed her hand, and even this ticked Jacque off because she didn’t want anyone’s comfort or understanding. She just wanted to be pissed off.

  Jacque’s mom pulled herself together, and when Jacque still did not say anything, Lilly soldiered on.

  “I had no idea what would happen to you since you were half Canis lupus. I didn’t know if I would come in your room one day and find a wolf puppy in your crib. I guess I could’ve tried to track down your father and ask him, but the thought of seeing him again, especially now that I knew he was with his true mate, would have hurt too much. Instead, I watched and waited.

  “As time went on, you seemed to be completely normal. You showed no werewolf tendencies, so, I decided to let it go. As you approached puberty, I began to get worried again. I was afraid that might trigger some change in you and your Canis lupus side would come out. When it didn’t, I thought we were home free. But then…” Lilly looked at Fane, and there was no condemnation when she said, “You came along, and I knew all my hope was in vain.”

  Fane looked Lilly in the eye and told her, “I am sorry to have brought your fears to pass, but I am not sorry to have found Jacquelyn. She is my mate, and I will claim her, as is my right. You know, Lilly, she will not be complete without me, nor I without her.”

  Lilly nodded her head. “I know this, Fane. At first, I was angry, then scared. Now that I have spent some time with you, albeit not enough, I can tell you are a good man. I say man because you can no longer be a boy. You have to protect my little girl.” Her voice sounded nearly desperate now.

  Jacque’s head snapped up when she heard her mom’s tone and saw the fear in her eyes.

  Jacque took a deep breath, “Give me just a moment, okay? Let me process this … out loud.” She turned her head to look at Fane. “You, Casanova, give me some space. You’re freaking me out right now.”

  Fane let go of her hand and moved away from her, although only a tiny bit. Jacque rolled her eyes at him.

  “Are you two telling me, my father, a man I’ve never met, grows fangs and claws and turns all hairy once a month? Is that what you are saying?”

  Fane and Sorin both let out a snort of laughter and then pulled it together when Lilly glared at them.

  “No, Jacque, all the things you think you know about werewolves are false,” said Lilly. “Canis lupus can phase—they don’t call it changing—whenever they want to. They can phase their whole body to wolf form or just their eyes or teeth or whatever. It has nothing to do with the moon, at least not in that sense.”

  “I can’t phase though, right?” Jacque asked apprehensively.

  “I’ve never seen any evidence of it,” her mother replied.

  “Well, that’s a crappy deal. Here you have a dad who can turn into this cool wolf thingy and you can’t even get a sexy bushy tail,” Jen said as she and Sally walked into the living room.

  “What are you two doing here?” Jacque asked them.

  “I asked them to stay and listen in. I knew you would tell them anyway and figured you would need some support after I broke the news,” Lilly told her.

  “You guys heard everything?” Jacque asked tentatively.

  “Every page-turning word. I wanted to pop some popcorn. I figured there might be some tense moments, and you know I eat when I’m tense, but Goody Two-shoes here wouldn’t let me,” Jen said as she cocked an eye in Sally’s direction.

  Sally patted Jen’s hand in mock sympathy, “We know, sweetie, but, see, since it was Jacque finding out it was her dad who gets hairy, not yours, we didn’t really care if you were tense. Okay, honey?”

  Jen took Sally’s hand off hers and bit into it hard enough to leave teeth marks.

  “Hey, what the hell, chick?” Sally exclaimed.

  “See, now don’t you wish you had given me the popcorn?” Jen retorted.

  Jacque couldn’t help but laugh. She was so grateful to have Sally and Jen here giving her something normal to grasp onto, which she knew was why her mom had asked them to stay.

  Jacque turned and looked at her mom, “My father left because he found his true mate or whatever?”

  “Yes, and I want you to know I don’t blame him. I knew it would eventually happen,” Lilly answered.

  “Did he know about me?” Jacque asked, not sure if she wanted to know the answer. Because if he did, and he had never bothered to come meet her, it was going to hurt.

  “He has no idea you exist. After he left, I had no way to contact him to tell him. As I said, I might have been able to track him down, I’m not sure. But, if he would have known, he would have wanted to be part of your life. I couldn’t have that. The Canis lupus world is dangerous. I didn’t want you to have any part of it. It tore me up inside to keep him from you. That wasn’t fair of me and I knew it, but I felt it was safest for you. Dillon is a good man, Jacque. The only problem is, he isn’t really a man. Just my luck, huh?” Lilly said with a smile.

  Jacque thought for a moment, and then something Fane said earlier came to the forefront of her mind—he had called her his mate!

  She slowly turned to look at him and saw his head was down, his shoulders slumped as if he was deflated. It broke her heart to see him look so broken. Jacque took her finger, placed it under his chin, raised his head so she could see his face, and the look she saw brought tears to her eyes. She didn’t talk out loud. She felt like this was just between them. For the next few moments, there was no one else in Jacque’s world but Fane.

  “What’s wrong, Fane?”

  “You know what you are to me, yes?” he asked.

  Jacque whispered her answer out loud, “Mate.”

  Fane nodded his head, “Yes, Meu inimă, my heart, you are my mate. The other half of my soul and the thought of you not wanting me is more than I can bear,” Fane told her honestly.

  “No pressure, huh?” Jacque said, trying to lighten the mood.

  “I would never ask you to do something you do not want to, Luna, but I will not lie and say that I won’t follow you around like a sick puppy,” Fane said with a smile, though the tears were not quite gone.

  “I just need time, okay, to sort through all this. I’m not saying I don’t want you. I mean, now that I’ve met you, the idea of life without you makes it hard to breathe,” Jacque told him.

  Fane took her hands in his and said, “Time is one thing I can’t give you, love.”

  Fane held the hands of his mate in his. He hated having to tell her he couldn’t give her the one thing she wanted, but Fane just couldn’t give her time. He needed to complete the bond through the Blood Rites, especially since there was another Canis lupus in town claiming Jacque for his own. Once the bond was complete, no other male could dispute whose mate she was.

  Fane pulled Jacquelyn up off the floor and returned her to the seat next to him. He continued to hold one of her hands, taking comfort from her touch.

  “I’m not trying to rush you, Jacquelyn. Under different circumstances, I would give you all the time you need, but you are not safe unbonded,” Fane explained to her.

  “Okay, that was clear as mud. Would you mind elaborating on why I am not safe?” Jacquelyn asked him. “And what the hell unbonded means?”

  “When I came here, my father … wait, let me back up for a moment and tell you a little about who I really am so everything will fit together better, okay?” Fane asked.

  “Whatever gets us to the place we need to be. I’ll try not to ask if we’re there yet,” Jacque answered a little impatiently.

  “I am Canis lupus, like your father. My lineage is in Romania. There are many types of werewolves, but we are known as grey wolves.