“Can I stay with her?” Fane asked, never taking his eyes off Jacquelyn.

  “You may visit, but you cannot stay in the same room with her. There is too great a risk for infection.”

  Fane didn’t like that answer, but he knew it was best for his mate. Whatever it took for her broken body to heal was what he wanted.

  “When do you think we will know if the human blood will have side effects?” Fane asked the doctor.

  “I can’t say, Fane. I know that is not what you want to hear. Over the next few days, as her body heals, her wolf blood should increase the speed of that process. If it doesn’t, then we will know the human blood is hindering it.”

  OceanofPDF.com

  Chapter 4

  Jacquelyn’s wounds showed much improvement over the next week. Despite the improvement, Fane continued to pace the waiting room area as he had since the day of the accident, like a caged lion ready to pounce on easy prey. He noticed everyone avoiding him, but Fane didn’t care. A week had passed since the accident and still neither Jen nor Jacquelyn had woken. They both underwent daily debridements and, although it appeared that Jacquelyn’s body was healing quicker than that of a human’s, it wasn’t fast enough for Fane. He felt helpless. His wolf was restless and desired to be near their mate at all times. He hated he couldn’t stay by her side twenty-four seven, protecting her while she was in such a vulnerable state, but there was nothing to be done about it. He continually tried to reach out to her through their bond, but all he got was darkness and silence.

  Another week passed, and still Jacque didn’t return to consciousness. Fane spent almost every waking moment probing her mind through their bond. Still nothing. His concentration was broken when Decebel said, “I wish there was something I could kill,” as they sat in the family waiting area on the burn unit floor, the same place they’d been stationed for two long weeks.

  “I could go for a kill right about now,” Fane agreed.

  Fane was pleasantly surprised to discover that he and Decebel, despite the modest age difference of only one hundred and seven years, got along well. Until now, in Fane’s eyes, Decebel had simply been his father’s beta, a powerful wolf and loyal pack member. As a pup, Fane had been justifiably afraid of Decebel. But as they had spent the past two agonizing weeks waiting in the hospital, they had, for the most part, been each other’s only company. Through this, they’d gotten to know one another. Without Decebel’s companionship, Fane might have already torn down the door to Jacquelyn’s room and absconded with her unconscious body. Fane wasn’t sure how much more waiting he could take before he demanded to remain in the room with Jacquelyn at all times. It was getting harder and harder to convince his wolf to be patient.

  Two more weeks passed. Fane marked the month anniversary of the accident on the calendar he’d placed at Jacquelyn’s bedside, praying to the Great Luna that the strength of tonight’s full moon would return his Luna to her rightful place at his side. He gratefully stood next to Jacquelyn’s bed during one of the limited visits allowed, and he couldn’t tear his eyes from her face. It was amazing how much she had healed in the past month. Her skin was still pink where the burns had been, but the new skin was smooth as silk. Dr. Steele had told him that Jacque’s leg was completely healed.

  Dr. Steele had been forced to alter Jacquelyn’s medical records. Otherwise, such a clean and complete healing of a severely broken leg in four short weeks might arouse suspicions. But the doctor still seemed troubled by the human blood in Jacque’s veins. The girl had run a fever almost constantly over the past three weeks, and her white blood cell count was elevated, which meant her body was fighting an infection. Whether that infection was from the burns or had something to do with the blood, the doctor didn’t know. So, Fane continued to wait, and wait some more.

  Before he left, he leaned down and kissed her forehead, and, as he did every day, whispered her name through their bond. “Jacquelyn, come back to me.” He longed to see her emerald eyes staring into his.

  And finally, someone heard his pleas. “Fane?”

  He leaned closer, as if proximity would help with their mental bond. “I am here, Luna. Can you open your eyes for me?” he asked her, desperate to bring her back to this world.

  She didn’t answer. He thought she’d slipped away again, but suddenly he was looking into a sea of green. His breath left his lungs as he saw the light in her eyes slowly return. Fane didn’t realize he had shed any tears until she whispered in a dry, hoarse voice, “Don’t cry, wolf-man. You didn’t think you could get rid of me that easy, did you?”

  He could barely contain his emotions. “I want to hold you, Luna, but I don’t know where to touch you without causing you pain.” The longing in his voice was obvious, even to himself.

  “I’m so doped up, I can’t feel jack, so lay it on me,” she told him with a weak grin.

  Fane leaned forward as gently as he could and placed one arm around her waist. He laid his head on her shoulder, placing his lips right against the bend in her neck. He kissed her as gently as he could, and his wolf rumbled in contentment.

  “I missed you,” Jacquelyn said. Her voice was strained, and it broke Fane’s heart.

  “I messed up, Jacquelyn. I left you unprotected. I could have lost you. My actions were inexcusable. How can you even say you missed me?”

  “Fane, this is not your fault. Don’t go all alpha on me right now. I need you more than ever.”

  “I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

  The door to the room slid open and, true to his wolf nature, Fane took up a defensive posture in front of his mate. Maybe he was going to overreact for a while, but everyone would just have to deal with it. Lilly walked in with Dr. Steele at her side.

  Lilly let out a shuddered breath and tears tumbled down her cheeks as she looked at Jacque. She walked forward as Fane stepped aside to allow her access to her daughter.

  “So nice of you to return to the living,” Lilly teased, even though her voice quivered.

  “Yeah, well, you would be lost without me, so I had to come back.” Jacque leaned into her mom as Lilly kissed her gently on the forehead.

  “I love you, Jacque.”

  “I know you do, mom,” Jacque responded. Fane recognized the inside joke the two women shared. Jacque had told him that Lilly always said Jacque was too big for her britches, and Jacque continued to prove her right. At the sound of Dr. Steele’s voice, Lilly turned away from Jacque to look at the doctor.

  “Good, she’s awake,” said Dr. Steele. “Jennifer has woken as well, about an hour ago.”

  “How long have we been out?” Jacque asked. Her face showed a look of apprehension, as if she knew it had been longer than just a few hours.

  “A month, Luna,” Fane told her gently as he brushed some hair from her forehead.

  “A month? And I don’t even feel like I’ve had a good nap.”

  A few nervous chuckles came from the group.

  “Soon, you’ll be moved to a regular room. They generally house two patients. Since your friend just woke up, you can share with Jennifer. If that’s agreeable?

  Jacque narrowed her eyes. “On the one hand, nothing would make me happier than to be with my friend. On the other hand, any chance for rest just went out the window. It’ll be like an extended sleepover.”

  “And if history is any guide with you two, sleep will be the last thing that happens,” Lilly said.

  “Laughter is the best medicine,” said Dr. Steele.

  “I guess so,” Jacque replied, a weak smile joining her words.

  Fane and Lilly stepped out of the room when transport arrived to move Jacque to the room she would share with Jen. As she wheeled past, she gave Fane a quick wink and challenged, “Race you to the sleepover.”

  OceanofPDF.com

  Chapter 5

  In his office, Dillon’s beta, Logan, joined him to discuss Jacque’s condition. It had been four weeks since the accident and, finally, Logan had some good news to pass on.

  “Jacque has awoken from her coma,” Logan informed him.

  “Do you know anything else about her well-being or just that she is awake?” Dillon’s voice was gruff with emotion.

  “From what I can gather, she is healing rapidly, nearly as well as a full-blooded wolf.”

  Dillon couldn’t help thinking for the thousandth time how vulnerable Fane had left his daughter. Another thought also troubled him. He spun around, glaring at Logan. “You were there, why didn’t you help her?”

  “I was going to, Alpha, but Fane got there so quickly. He would have known what I was had I revealed myself. I realize now Jacque’s safety should have been my first priority,” Logan said, his eyes down, neck exposed in submission.

  Dillon appreciated the gesture as he was hanging on to his own wolf by a thread, and any defiance on Logan’s part would not have ended well.

  “I was going to stay out of this. I was going to trust Lilly to know what was best for our daughter, but these past weeks… The more I go over it in my head, the more troubled I become. I just can’t let this go. Jacque could have been killed and all because her supposed mate, who is little more than a kid, didn’t protect her as is his responsibility.”

  A niggling sensation in the rational part of his brain told Dillon he might be being a bit too hard on Fane, but he couldn’t help it. This was his daughter. Had she died, Dillon would never have had the opportunity to know her. That was unacceptable. Jacque was still a minor. Dillon could invoke his rights as her alpha and take her under his care until she was an adult. Lilly would probably hate him for it, but she would eventually see it was better for Jacque this way. She was too young to mate, and worse, Fane was too young to be her mate. He didn’t understand what it meant to be a mate, the responsibility that came with the title.

  “You said there were four wolves besides Vasile and his son?”

  “Yes, Alpha.”

  “Get our pack’s first four, with you and myself that will make six. We must approach their pack with an even number of wolves so our contact doesn’t appear as a challenge to Vasile. But we must also show I have support. Have Colin charter a private plane. I want to get there as soon as possible.”

  Colin was Dillon’s assistant, for lack of a better word, and took care of any pack business. He also acted as a liaison to other packs. Because of his Omega status, he wasn’t considered a threat or a challenge to other packs, nor was he a submissive which would allow other packs to walk on him.

  Logan nodded at his alpha’s request and turned to go.

  “We leave in an hour,” Dillon told his retreating back.

  * * *

  Logan mentally patted himself on the back. My plan is working perfectly. How could I have known a simple blown tire would cause the car to roll and then catch fire? Logan’s heart had been in his throat when he had watched Jacque’s still form being pulled from the burning SUV. He had nearly rushed forward to help, but when he heard the other wolves’ vehicles approaching, he had gotten in his car and driven across the median to the opposite highway. He had been driving the opposite direction as Fane and his family. They’d never even looked his direction, their eyes only on the wreckage. Logan had assumed Dillon’s anger would abate, eventually. Instead, so far it had only increased.

  Logan walked into the pack war room. His four top packmates waited, each either cleaning weapons or monitoring the perimeter of the mansion on a bank of TV screens wired to cameras all around the grounds. All these precautions seemed archaic, as no other pack had attempted to challenge them on their territory in over a century. But old habits die hard. And now that Vasile, likely the most powerful alpha on earth, was on American soil, Logan was glad Dillon was so security conscious.

  “Lee, Phillip, Dalton, and Aidan, I need you with me. Assemble your weapons. You will not carry them on your person, but I want them available in case they are needed. Go pack enough clothes for three days and then meet me and the alpha in the main garage. I will explain the situation on the way. Move out.” Without a word, the four wolves assembled their weapons and then left the room to comply with their beta’s instructions. Logan always felt a sense of pride when the pack obeyed without question. It was a sign of trust. Unfortunately, it was a trust he was going to have to betray.

  Better not to think of that now. Just do what needs to be done, ask for forgiveness later.

  * * *

  Dillon stood in the main garage, waiting on his pack to join him. He did his best to calm his emotions, knowing the pack would pick up on them. He didn’t want his pack mates to shoulder his burdens. It was his job as Alpha to protect them from unnecessary stress, but this was a situation he had never dealt with before. For the first time in a long time, Dillon didn’t know how to handle himself. He called on his wolf, knowing the beast would be less emotional and more practical. It would do what needed to be done. Dillon could worry about the emotions afterward when the situation was under control. Logan and the rest of the chosen pack members arrived, all dressed in black fatigues.

  “Have you briefed them?” Dillon asked Logan.

  “No, Alpha. I figured I could do that en route.”

  Dillon nodded his head in agreement. “All right, let’s load up into the Hummer. Phillip, you drive.”

  Logan filled in the rest of the group on the situation with Dillon’s daughter. “It is imperative this information stay within this group. Dillon will be the one to decide when the rest of the pack will know,” Logan told them.

  Dillon spoke up then. “It may make you all uncomfortable since she is your alpha as well, but I have chosen not to disclose this to my mate just yet. Speaking of, excuse me from the conversation for one moment, I need to inform her I will be gone for a few days.” He said no more on the topic.

  Logan couldn’t tell by the look on his alpha’s face as Dillon spoke to his mate through their bond, but he assumed the man had made up some story to tell their alpha female. Whether she’d questioned it, Logan couldn’t guess. Trust. Trust being broken even as the alpha spoke to his mate. It was for the best, Logan decided. Just as he had had to take matters into his own hands regarding Jacque, Dillon now had to determine how best to deal with this situation himself. The added stress his mate, Tanya, would bring wouldn’t help anything. Once the situation was contained, Logan assumed Dillon would sit down with Tanya and explain things. The beta would be sure to be busy when that conversation took place. Tanya was hotheaded and often spoke before she thought.

  A previously unknown daughter appearing out of nowhere after seventeen years? Yeah, that going to be a mess. Good luck with that, Alpha.

  * * *

  “So, the plan,” Dillon said, “is to contact Vasile when we arrive in Coldspring. We must let him know we are there according to pack law. I am sure he will tell Lilly, who will in turn tell Fane, the boy who has declared himself Jacque’s mate. You will not engage Vasile’s wolves unless I command it. Are we clear?”

  Each of the wolves nodded their heads and bared their necks in submission.

  “After Lilly is notified, I will set up a time to meet with her to discuss Jacque and when I can meet my daughter. At this point, I will not mention invoking my rights as her alpha. I will do that after I have met her. I will also only do that in front of Vasile, his pup, and his beta. During that time, only Logan will be with me,” Dillon explained.

  By the time he was done telling his pack what would take place, they had arrived at the airport. The six men boarded the charter plane Colin had secured for them.

  As the plane took off, Dillon sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. He tried to envision what Jacque would say when he introduced himself to her. Would she be angry he had not been a part of her life? Would she be happy to finally meet him? He couldn’t ever remember a time when he’d been so unsure of himself.

  * * *

  Logan tried to work out in his mind the best time to take Jacque from the hospital. A plan of action finally came together. He would tell Dillon to remove Vasile guards and install his own after he invoked his alpha rights. Vasile would have to acquiesce. As security chief, Logan himself would set the guard rotation for the night, when the staff was minimal. The cover of darkness would aid him in his task after escaping the hospital. He was so close to his goal, so close to having the only thing he had truly wanted in a long time, and he would have her. No matter what it took, Jacquelyn Pierce would be his.

  The private jet landed at a tiny airstrip close to Coldspring. A rental car was waiting. Dillon wondered, not for the first time, what he would do without Colin. The man seemed to think of everything.

  Logan knew the location of the hospital, so he drove while Dillon found Vasile’s number in the directory of alphas. Yes, they had a book with all the alpha’s numbers in it. Dillon couldn’t help but think that somebody else had a Colin as well who had come up with the idea. Dillon dialed the number, and as he listened to it ring, all he could think was how this was going to be interesting. The phone was answered on the fourth ring.

  “Vasile,” came a voice on the other end of the line.

  “Vasile, this is Dillon Jacobs, alpha of the Denver pack. I wish to inform you I am in Coldspring, Texas. Do you know of any other alphas that I might need to notify?”

  Vasile was silent for several beats before he responded. “No, the pack here in Coldspring is not yet official. I will notify the new alpha that you are here.” Dillon heard Vasile take an audible breath and then let it out slowly.

  “Do I want to know why you are here, Jacobs?” Vasile asked.