Fane stepped forward, towering over her, and she took an involuntary step back.

  “Then why do you have a problem bonding with me in two days?”

  “It’s not that I have a problem with it, Fane, I was just taken by surprise. You were raised knowing that one day you would bond with someone in a way that is so far beyond what humans do. I was not. It’s just a lot to swallow. But I’m good. I’m okay. I had my little fit and, yes, I stomped my foot, but I’m ready to move forward,” Jacque told him.

  Fane grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips. He didn’t take his eyes off her as he kissed her hand. Jacque’s breathing sped just a bit as she noticed the predatory gleam in his eyes.

  “So, we are good, yes?” Fane asked her.

  “Nope, babe, we are great,” she answered and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his lips. Fane growled and pulled her close. Jacque giggled and batted her hand at him.

  “Stop that, wolfman. We’ve gotta go explain to the others that I wasn’t rejecting you. Your mother was having a breakdown,” Jacque told him.

  Fane took her hand and pulled her quickly back toward her house. As they entered the living room, Jacque saw that Alina hadn’t moved, but Vasile was now sitting next to her with his arm around her. At the sight of Fane, Vasile stood and stepped away from Alina. Jacque rushed to Alina and knelt in front of her.

  “Alina, please, I wasn’t rejecting Fane. I didn’t get to finish what I was saying before he jumped up and took off. I was apologizing for the little two-year-old fit I threw. Apparently, I didn’t get them all out of my system as a child. I want to bond with Fane. I will bond with him right now,” Jacque said, but then Alina’s head snapped up and she put her hands on either side of Jacque’s face.

  “You can’t bond with him yet, child. Once you are bonded, your fates are tied to one another. If Fane is killed in the challenge, you will die as well,” Alina explained.

  “Hells bells, I forgot about that. Well, I intend to mate with him.” Jacque paused when Alina tried to cover a laugh with a cough and Fane rumbled low in his chest. “What did I say?”

  “Well, Sherlock, you sort of threw out there you were planning on doing the horizontal mamba with fur ball here,” Jen said pointing her thumb at Fane.

  “The horiz…” Jacque started to say, sounding confused, then it hit her what she had said. She had said mate, not bond. Crap.

  “I wasn’t talking… I mean I wasn’t… That is to say I…” Jacque was trying hard to correct her mistake, but she was thoroughly embarrassed at this point.

  Fane walked up behind her and put his arms around her waist, pulling her against him. He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “And here I thought you were so shy,” he teased her.

  Jacque pulled away quickly and put her hand on his chest as if to hold him back. “Uh-uh, buddy, you back up and keep those paws to yourself. I meant to say I will bond with you once the challenge is over. Bond as in b-o-n-d. Clear?” she asked him.

  And repeating what she had said to his father, he answered with a very sly, very suggestive grin. “Crystal.” Then to seal it, he winked at her.

  “Holy crap, is it hot in here, or is it just the freaking fine Romanian prince? Cuz I am so, so burning up! I mean, did anybody else see that wink and that smile? He wasn’t even doing it to me, and I’m all hot and bothered. I mean geez, man!” Jen said fanning herself.

  The three wolves on the floor were trying hard not to laugh, but it just wasn’t working. Vasile didn’t even disguise his laughter, Alina was beaming, and even Lilly was laughing.

  Well great. Everyone saw her man make a pass at her, and she couldn’t even enjoy it with all these buttheads laughing. The grin on Fane’s face meant he was listening to her thoughts, which made her laugh too.

  OceanofPDF.com

  Chapter

  Sixteen

  Fane pulled Jacquelyn closer to him as he held her in her bed. The night had gone so quickly, and he refused to close his eyes knowing in the morning she would leave and he would not be able to hold her again until after the challenge. Her scent swirled in the air around him, and her heart beat in rhythm to his own. “Mine,” his wolf told him. Yes, his wolf agreed, she is ours. Not realizing it, Fane began humming the same song he had been humming for the past two days.

  “What song is that?” Jacquelyn asked.

  “You’re going to laugh at me if I tell you,” he told her, grinning to himself

  “Why would I laugh at you?”

  “It’s a song sung by Willie Nelson and Kimmie Rhodes. Yes, I’m Romanian, I’m a werewolf, and I like Willie Nelson,” Fane said, sounding forlorn.

  “Well, admitting it is half the battle,” Jacquelyn teased.

  “It’s a song that makes me think of you, of us.”

  “Will you sing it to me?”

  “Only if you don’t laugh.”

  Jacquelyn didn’t say anything in response, so Fane took that as his cue. He began to sing to her.

  * * *

  While Fane sang, Jacquelyn rolled over to face him and watched him with tears streaming down her face.

  “That was beautiful. Your voice is beautiful. Thank you,” she blubbered and then cried even harder.

  Fane pulled her tightly to him. He kissed her forehead, and in between kisses, he whispered to her, “una prețioasă, precious one, iubirea mea, my love, te rog nu plânge, please do not cry.”

  But Jacquelyn continued to cry, and it just seemed to get harder. “It isn’t supposed to happen like this. You’re not supposed to meet the love of your life only to have them be forced to fight some delusional werewolf, with the possibility of dying. Dammit, it’s not supposed to happen like this.” She sobbed and sobbed.

  Fane felt the tears that had been hiding in his eyes finally spill over. The wetness ran down his cheeks. He didn’t know what to say. Fane was clueless about how to fix it or make her feel better. So, he decided to just be honest.

  “I’m scared,” he whispered. “I’m so scared. What if I lose? What if the other wolves attack and my father and the pack aren’t able to protect you? What if I lose you? I can’t lose you. It would kill me. I don’t want you there tomorrow because at least if you aren’t there, they can’t hurt you,” Fane told her as he let the tears fall, completely unashamed. This was his mate. He had only just found her, and he loved her, he treasured her, and he would do anything to protect her.

  Jacquelyn looked up at him. She took her hand and wiped away his tears, and then she leaned forward and kissed each eye. For a moment they just looked at each other, as if to memorize each other’s faces.

  “I’m scared too,” Jacquelyn told him. “If I could fight Lucas for you, I would. I don’t want to see you hurt. I can’t even begin to think of seeing you die. How am I going to do this tomorrow, Fane? I’m so scared we won’t have a future together.”

  At those words, images ran through his thoughts, and he heard Jacquelyn weep as she watched them in her mind.

  Fane and her at the bonding ceremony, with their family all around them. Then the picture jumped to Fane and her in a room alone, one of his hands cradling her head, the other resting on her waist, him leaning down and biting her neck to complete the Blood Rites.

  Jacquelyn shook with sobs as she continued to see his thoughts. She and Fane walking through a beautiful house, hand in hand, then they were wrapped in each other’s arms, tangled in bedsheets with passion in their eyes, then Jacquelyn was in a bed that looked like it was in a hospital. Fane was holding her hand, and her belly was swollen with child. Next, she saw Fane rocking a baby to sleep as Jacquelyn sat watching. Then, once again, they were wrapped in each other’s arms, laughing, kissing, touching, loving.

  Fane’s shoulders shook as he wept, crying over what might never come.

  “I’m sorry, Luna. I shouldn’t have let you see all that. When you mentioned thinking of our future, it made me think of the things I too have dreamt about with you.”

  The next thing Fane heard was a whisper so soft he almost missed it.

  “Fane, make love to me,” Jacquelyn said, almost too soft for even wolf ears to hear.

  Fane froze. This was the rock and a hard place no man wants to get into with a woman. If he said no, then he’s rejecting her, and she will be embarrassed. If he said yes, then he’s a jerk because he’s taking advantage of her vulnerability. Jacquelyn would not have asked this if it were just another night, and he would not make love to her until she asked him when there was no threat to any lives and nothing was creating a passion that might not be as fervent as it seemed at that moment. Now how exactly do you word that to a seventeen-year-old female who already has modesty issues? Good luck with that, Fane.

  “Jacquelyn, look at me,” Fane told her. “I want to make love to you. are we clear on that part?” he asked her.

  “Yes, we’re clear. There’s a but coming on, isn’t there?” she asked.

  “We are both emotional right now. I don’t want you to do something you will regret tomorrow night after the challenge. If I win, and I plan to, you will be sad we didn’t wait. I want the first time to be special and perfect for both of us. Please don’t think I’m rejecting you because you have no idea how hard it is to say no to you,” he told her honestly.

  “Wow, I’m impressed,” Jacquelyn said, wiping away what was left of the tears on her cheeks.

  “Are you mad at me?”

  “No, I’m not. I’m a little embarrassed ’cause you know how awkward I am when it comes to the whole physical aspect of a relationship,” she told him.

  “Why are you embarrassed by it? You do realize that it will be fun, right?” Fane asked her with a wide grin on his face.

  “Why do you like to say stuff like that knowing it’s going to make me blush?”

  “Because it’s cute. I won’t make love to you Luna, but since we are both awake, I will most definitely take advantage of your beautiful lips,” Fane said just before he wrapped an arm around her and flipped her onto her back. Jacquelyn squealed and laughed as Fane leaned over her. He bent down and gently kissed her lips. Jacquelyn wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him toward her. He rumbled in his chest at her boldness. Fane’s left hand was cradling Jacquelyn’s head while his right hand was gradually rubbing her thigh and moving slowly up to her waist. Fane was quite proud of himself for telling Jacquelyn he would not consummate their relationship, but as he lay there in her arms, feeling her lips on his, their bodies pressed close, he hoped she wouldn’t make him wait too long after the bonding. She will probably want a human wedding first. It was probably going to be a while before they mated. In that case, he better slow down. He eased off her just a bit and pulled back from her lips. They were both breathing hard.

  “Is something wrong?” Jacquelyn asked him, looking very worried.

  “No, everything is very right. I just need to slow down a little. My honor only goes so far. Wolf or not, I’m still a guy, and you are a very fine girl,” Fane told her with no shame.

  “Oh, I see. You were getting all worked up, only to realize all worked up is all there is. Am I right?”

  “Yes, Luna, you are brutally right. Can I be brutally blunt?” he asked her.

  “By all means,” she answered.

  “At what point do you plan to make the same offer?”

  Jacquelyn laughed at that. “You’re worried about how long it’s going to be before we do the deed?”

  “Well, since you put it so eloquently, yes, that is what I’m asking,” Fane answered.

  “I want to be married first.” Jacquelyn held up her hand to keep Fane from saying whatever it was that was fixing to leave his lips. “Married in the traditional way, not just the werewolf bonding thingy,” she explained.

  “You do realize our werewolf bonding thingy is more binding than your human marriage, right?” Fane told her smugly.

  “That may be, my little furball, but I still want our relationship recognized in the eyes of normal people as legit. Got it?”

  Fane grinned at her. “As you wish, Luna.”

  “That’s what I like to hear, wolfman,” Jacquelyn told him as she yawned.

  “Try to get some sleep, love. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow,” Fane told her and kissed her on the head.

  He began to hum the song he sang to her earlier, and even though he so desperately wanted to stay awake, his wolf knew they both needed rest and helped push him into a deep sleep.

  From the minute Jacque woke up, things were a blur. Fane kissed her sweetly, held her close, then finally let her go and watched her walk across the street to the Henrys’ house. She showered and put on the new clothes her mom had bought, and they weren’t too bad. A pair of cute jeans and a simple, green, fitted, V-neck top. She was proud of her mom for not taking the opportunity to put her in a ridiculous outfit that made her look twelve. Points to you, Mom.

  By the time she got downstairs, Jen and Sally had arrived, and that put a big smile on Jacque’s face.

  “What are you two doing here?” she asked, and before she could give them a chance to answer, she added, “And don’t y’all smell like the wolves?”

  “Nope, we went home, showered, and put on clothes that had not been at your house. So, we are werewolf-smell free,” Jen told her.

  “Awesome, so instead of fretting by myself, I get to make y’all miserable by fretting with you,” Jacque said.

  “Shut up! Do you honestly think we would let you spend this day, of all days, alone? Sorry, chica, no such luck,” Sally told her.

  Jacque was so thankful she wasn’t going to be left to her own thoughts. They were already beginning to feel overwhelming, but Jen took charge, and before Jacque knew it, it was 8:00 p.m. She went to the Henrys’ front window and looked across the street at her house. Sure enough, she saw Sorin and Fane coming out of the front door. Her heartbeat sped when he turned and looked back at her. It reminded her of the night he arrived, which had only been five days ago. Could it be possible it had been a mere five days since she first laid eyes on him? She felt like she had known him all her life, like he had always been there with her. He grinned at her and winked.

  “I love you, Luna. More than I ever thought possible, I love you,” Jacque heard him tell her through his thoughts. A single tear ran down her face, and she hastily wiped it away. She was not going to be weak. Jen and Sally had moved beside her and were looking out the window as well.

  “That is one fine meat specimen,” Jen said with a sly grin plastered on her face.

  “Why am I not surprised that is what you would be thinking about at a time like this?” Sally asked her.

  “Hey, there is never a time to not appreciate a fine-looking man. Am I right, Jacque? You know I am.”

  “Well, when it’s one as fine as Fane, then yes, you are right,” Jacque said with a smile. She knew Jen was just trying to lighten the mood, and she was grateful.

  The next hour seemed to drag. Jacque spent most of it pacing the Henrys’ living room and mumbling things under her breath. She so desperately wanted to seek out Fane’s thoughts, or hear him in her mind, but his father had made it very clear Fane needed to concentrate on the challenge only, so Jacque refrained from sending him any thoughts.

  Jacque jumped when she heard a knock on the Henrys’ front door. Jen looked out the front window to check if it was friend or foe.

  “It’s Fane’s mom. Guess it’s that time,” Jen told them.

  Jen opened the door and Alina stepped in. She was dressed in black cargo, military-style pants, a black T-shirt, and black boots. Her long hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She looked so badass.

  “You look like you are planning on doing more than just watching,” Sally told her.

  “It’s always best to be prepared. I’m trained in all sorts of fighting styles, so if a full-out battle ensues, someone will have to stay in human form to take care of Jacque, and I can protect her even though I will not be in my wolf form,” Alina explained.

  “Is there any way we could maybe take a vehicle and just be parked close to the field as a backup, like if y’all need a quick getaway? What do ya think?” Sally asked, and it took everyone by surprise.

  “Who are you, and where is my little safe Sally who won’t even go over the speed limit?” Jacque teased her.

  Alina hadn’t said anything yet, and when Jacque looked at her, she could tell Alina was considering Sally’s plan.

  “You do realize that if I allow this, I will be disobeying my husband’s orders?” Alina asked them.

  “Don’t you have to do what he orders, like the other wolves? When he gives them an order, sometimes they have to obey whether they want to or not, right?” Jen asked her.

  “No, I am an Alpha female, and I am his mate. He cannot really give me orders. I like to think of them as firm suggestions,” Alina told them with a wink.

  “Nice,” Jen said giving Sally and Jacque fist bumps. “What do you say?” Jen asked Alina.

  “I think it is a good idea. However, you must be surreptitious. If the other wolves smell you, there will be an all-out war. Do you understand?” Alina asked sternly.

  “We hear you loud and clear. We are good at sneaking. We aren’t going to go into how we got so good at it, but rest assured it’s almost a specialty of ours,” Jen told her.

  Jacque was shaking her head, clearly not in agreement with the things transpiring.

  “Wait just one darn minute! I can’t let you guys do this. Don’t you realize how dangerous this is? If anything happened to y’all because of me I would never be able to live with myself.” Jacque was on the verge of having one of her two-year-old moments.

  Sally and Jen both wrapped their arms around Jacque and squeezed her tight.

  “I hate to break it to you, Watson, but Jen and I tend to do what we want even when you tell us not to. When we are smiling and nodding at you, we’re just humoring you, not agreeing. Surely you know this?” Sally told her in a sweet tone of voice.

  “You two drive me crazy,” Jacque exclaimed.