She chuckled. That might be a bit much. “What happened to ladies first?” she teased, simply trying to expel her nervous energy. She knew the answer, but she just needed something to keep her busy for a few minutes before she saw the man she had once loved with every fiber of her being.

  “I don’t know what idiot thought it was best to allow a woman first entrance into a room. How can he know the room is safe for her if he does not check it out himself first? It’s much more chivalrous for him to enter before the lady, therefore ensuring he will bear the brunt of any surprise attacks,” Decebel explained. At first, Lilly heard disgust in his voice, but then it turned almost tender. Almost. He might just make a fine catch one day, minus the grumpiness and bossiness that seems to plague all things furry.

  A few minutes later, the glass doors at the front of the hospital slid open. Dillon stepped through and looked around. Decebel moved in front of Lilly—one of those I must protect little female, hear me roar moments—but Lilly pushed him aside, never taking her eyes off Dillon. She knew pain and a reflection of betrayal must be clearly visible in her eyes, but it would have been futile to try to hide her feelings. The pain was seventeen years old, but it was a genuine and powerful pain, nonetheless.

  Lilly straightened her spine and strode forward, trying to cloak herself in confidence she didn’t feel. Decebel trailed just behind her, a silent reminder to Dillon she was protected.

  Dillon spoke first. “Lilly, it’s good to see you,” he said with sincerity. The genuineness of the statement only made his presence worse. She knew he was truly happy to see her. He probably even missed her. She appreciated it, but he was still off limits. He still belonged to another woman. Sometimes, Lilly just wanted to give life the finger.

  “It’s good to see you, as well, Dillon.” Lilly forced the words through a fake smile. “I don’t want to do small talk. We both know you aren’t here to catch up, or to reminisce about old times, so just come straight to the point.

  “I know about our daughter.”

  “I gathered that much. What do you want?”

  He didn’t answer right away. Lilly saw a pained expression cross the man’s face. “I understand why you didn’t tell me about her, but I—”

  “I was going to tell you that night. But coming home to a letter instead of you changed things a bit. It’s kind of hard to tell the father about his unborn child when he’s not there.”

  “You could have found me easy enough.”

  “Oh, no, it wasn’t my job to hunt you down and tell you what you walked out on. You made the choice to leave.” Venom laced her words.

  Dillon tilted his head to the ceiling, closing his eyes. He inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly. When he looked at Lilly again, she could tell he was struggling to keep his emotions in check.

  “I didn’t want to leave. You know I didn’t have a choice. Lilly, I would have stayed. I would have married you, been the father Jacque deserved. I would have—”

  “I know that, ok, but that is not what this is about.” Now, it was Lilly’s turn to take a deep breath. She had to admit she was being a tad unfair. Lilly knew from day one about the mate bond, and she knew one day Dillon would leave her because of it. Knowing that, she still chose to be with him. But knowing the loss was coming didn’t make it any less painful when it happened. “You want to meet Jacque. I am fine with that if she is. But it isn’t my decision. It will be completely up to her. I will tell Jacque you are here. If, and only if, she is agreeable, then I will introduce you. But don’t expect an immediate answer. You’re going to have to give her some time to process this, Dillon.”

  He shook his head. “I know it’s a lot, but I want to see her today. I need to speak with her. Now that she knows she is half wolf, I’m sure she has questions. There are important things she needs to know about being a wolf.”

  “She has plenty of people to tell her about being a wolf,” Lilly snapped at him, letting her frustration at the situation get the best of her.

  “Right, like the pup who allowed her to be harmed?” The contempt in his voice was obvious.

  Decebel growled low and stepped forward, pushing past Lilly’s arm. “You will not disrespect the prince, he has done nothing wrong.”

  Dillon stared at Decebel for several moments. Both refused to break the gaze or submit to the other’s dominance. The tension in the air practically gave Lilly goosebumps. But she’d been around wolves long enough to know better than to intervene. The slightest provocation or misunderstanding could result in two gigantic wolves fighting to the death in the hospital’s lobby. She doubted the hospital’s rent-a-cop security guards could handle these two in their human forms, much less if they phased.

  Seconds turned into minutes. Neither man blinked nor moved a millimeter, not even to shift his weight. Finally, perhaps, Lilly guessed, because he knew he would never see his daughter if things turned ugly, Dillon spoke. “I was wrong to assume the accident was his fault, beta. I meant no disrespect. But you have to understand that, as her father, it was difficult to learn that my daughter was injured while in the care of another wolf.”

  “You may be her father, but only in blood,” Decebel shot back at him. He turned to Lilly and took her arm. “We will go back and discuss this with Jacque and let you know something in the next hour.” Decebel didn’t give Lilly a chance to say anything more; he simply took her by the arm and started dragging her to the elevator.

  “Bossy much?” Lilly glared at him as the elevator doors closed with a ding. “Why did you tell him we would contact him in an hour, Decebel? That will not give Jacque much time to think about whether she even wants to consider meeting her father.”

  “The longer it takes for her to decide, the longer he hangs around. You said it yourself, earlier. Dillon has some ulterior motive. I think he has some plan in mind. He isn’t being completely honest about why he is here. I could sense it,” Decebel explained.

  “What do you mean, some plan?” Lilly ground out as the elevator reached Jacque’s floor. Again, he stepped out first and Lilly followed.

  Decebel didn’t answer, he just walked to the girls’ room. Vasile and Alina were waiting outside it.

  “What did you learn?” Vasile directed the question to Decebel.

  “He repeated what he told you on the phone. He wants to meet his daughter to explain what it means to be a wolf. But he wasn’t telling the whole truth. I could tell he was hiding something,” Decebel said.

  “I don’t understand how you could tell all that,” Lilly spoke up.

  Decebel looked at Lilly. “You lived with a wolf for some time. You know we are highly attuned to nonverbal cues. Increased perspiration, dilated pupils, flared nostrils. All signs of deception. Dillon, being a wolf himself, can probably mask those things well. But I think seeing you affected him more than he anticipated. He wasn’t protecting his emotions as well as he normally would, especially for an alpha.”

  “So, what does he really want?” asked Vasile to no one in particular.

  “That’s the sixty-four-dollar question,” Lilly said.

  “No,” Alina interjected. “The sixty-four-dollar question is whether what he really wants has anything to do with your daughter.”

  Just then, the door to the hospital room opened with a slight, but noticeable, creak. “What does who really want with Jacque?” Jen asked as she stepped into the hallway.

  OceanofPDF.com

  Chapter 7

  Jen crept out of the room slowly, awkward because of all the bandages and the I.V. pole she dragged behind her.

  “Why, exactly, are you out of bed?” The question came from Decebel.

  “I tried to tell her to stay put, but she’s about as cooperative as a wet cat.” Sally followed the struggling blonde out of the room.

  Jen hobbled over to where Decebel stood and stopped right in front of him. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m out of bed because there is nothing fun going on in bed.” After her earlier encounter with the man, she couldn’t help but feel brave around Decebel. And she could tell it made him uncomfortable when she flirted, which only made her want to do it more.

  Decebel glared at her. There was no acknowledgement of what went on between them before. “You should be resting, not traipsing around in a hospital gown with an I.V. stuck in your arm,” he told her, sounding completely indifferent, as if he were talking to a total stranger. Jen turned away quickly and looked at Sally, hoping none of them saw the hurt in her eyes or the confusion as to why his words would even bother her.

  “What did I tell you, Sal? There is something going on, and we are always being left out. So, Ms. P, who wants to see our little wolf princess?” Jen asked, keeping her back to Decebel but not moving away from him.

  It was Vasile who answered. “Dillon Jacobs is here to see Jacque.”

  Both girls stared at Vasile blankly. “Right, right, and Dillon Jacobs would beeee?” Jen prompted.

  “Jacque’s father,” Lilly blurted.

  “Oh, snap!” Sally said.

  “Holy wolf balls!” Jen said at the same time. Vasile and Decebel’s eyes both widened as they stared at Jen. She had the good grace to look slightly abashed … but only slightly.

  “That doesn’t even begin to cover it.” Jen could hear distress in Lilly’s voice, and she saw frustration written across the woman’s brow.

  “And when are y'all planning on dropping this nuclear bomb in Jacque’s lap? Because I think I am going to be needed elsewhere in the hospital at that exact moment,” Jen said. Sally stood next to her, nodding her head in agreement.

  “We are going to tell her now,” Decebel answered, giving Jen the perfect excuse to turn and ogle him without being obvious in her efforts.

  Or so she thought. Until she heard Sally whisper in her ear, “So, Decebel is looking drool-worthy, I see.”

  Jen whipped her head around so fast she knocked foreheads with Sally. “Freaking A, Jen, your head is even harder than I originally thought,” Sally whined.

  “Yeah, well, Sherlock, yours ain’t so soft either,” Jen snapped. Sally gave her a knowing look, reminding Jen that she had caught her checking out Decebel. She shouldn’t be bothered that Sally had called her out on it; Jen checked out guys all the time. This was different, though. This was a freaking, hot-as-sin werewolf. Okay, maybe the burns were going to her head. That must be why she would suddenly fixate on the unattainable. Although werewolves can have flings, can’t they? Obviously, or Jacque wouldn’t be here.

  She looked at Decebel again. He was studying the floor like it had the answers to life written on it in Aramaic.

  “A fling with him, hmmm, could be interesting.” She didn’t realize she had spoken out loud.

  “What kind of fling would be interesting?” Sally asked.

  “What?” Jen stared at Sally like the girl had a horn growing from her forehead. “I didn’t say fling, I said sling. Sling. A sling for my arm, because of the burns and what not.”

  “Uh huh, right, a sling? We’ll have the nurse get right on that, Jen.” Sally’s look and tone told Jen she saw right through the girl’s BS.

  For once, Jen didn’t want to be the center of attention. She turned to Lilly then. “Okay, well, I say we get this over with, Ms. P. Just rip it off like a bandage, nice and fast.” As she spoke, Jen hobbled back to the room with her I.V. pole in tow. Before anyone knew what had happened, Jen swung the door open. She belted out loudly, “Jacque, dear old dad has come to pay his respects to the nearly departed.”

  * * *

  Jacque sat up in the bed, appearing to come out of a doze. “What?”

  “Crap, why did nobody tell me someone with a freaking I.V. pole could move that fast?” Sally spat.

  Lilly came into the room, followed by Vasile, Alina, and at last Decebel, who was just as broody as ever. With Sally’s assistance, Jen crawled back into bed and turned to look at Jacque, who appeared at a loss for words. Jacque speechless? That’s a new one.

  “Mom, tell me that Jen inhaled one too many smoke fumes or that she is high on morphine or even that she is just messing with me to be a butthead.”

  Lilly shook her head. “How I wish I could give you any of those excuses. Jen is being just as brutally honest as she always is. Your father is here, and he wants to meet you.”

  Fane let out a low growl and Jacque laid her hand on his to help calm him. He looked at her and used their bond to speak with her. “You don’t have to meet him if you don’t want to.”

  “Yes, I know. But, Fane, it’s my father. I can’t tell you how many times I have dreamed I would get to meet him one day. Now, he’s here to see me.” Then she remembered his evasiveness of earlier.

  “Wait, did you know about this? Is this what you weren’t telling me earlier?” Jacque glared at Fane.

  Fane kneeled so he was face to face with her. “I’m sorry, love. I just didn’t want to upset you. I didn’t know what he wanted. I wanted to wait to tell you when we had more information.” Fane’s eyes pleaded with her to understand.

  “Don’t keep anything from me, Fane. It will never end well for you, we clear?”

  “Crystal, Luna. Please forgive my thoughtlessness.” Fane bared his neck to her out of respect for his mate.

  “Man, that is so freaking yummy,” Jen said, watching the exchange between Fane and Jacque along with everyone in the room. “I want one, Sally. Go find me one.”

  “One hot, loving, passionate, furry, werewolf coming right up,” Sally said. “Would you like fries or tots with that?”

  “I prefer whipped cream actually,” Jen said. Jacque could hear wistfulness in her voice.

  Decebel coughed and sounded like he was choking, while Jacque and Fane stared at the two girls.

  “No shame,” Jacque said. “Those two girls possess not one ounce of shame between them.”

  “Jacque.” Lilly’s voice brought back the seriousness of the situation.

  “Oh, right, so my father is in town … not sure what to feel about that, to be honest.”

  Suddenly, a thought came to Jacque through the bond. It wasn’t fully formed, just a sense of foreboding, as if something was not right. She could tell Fane had tried and failed to stifle it before it reached her.

  “What do you mean you don’t think something is right?” Jacque asked him out loud.

  Fane ignored her. Instead, he turned and looked at Decebel. “Did you sense anything when you spoke to him?”

  “Yes, my prince. He is hiding something,” Decebel answered.

  Fane looked back at Jacque, and he gently held her bandaged hand. “Love, he might say he is here to meet you … and he very well may be. But he is also here for some other purpose, and we don’t know yet what that purpose is. It’s making us leery. I cannot say I am pleased with the idea of him near you.”

  “You will be with me, right?” she asked.

  “Of course.” He nodded.

  “Then I’m sure I’ll be fine, no matter why he’s here.” Jacque’s voice sounded completely confident.

  He leaned down and kissed her gently. “Thank you, Luna. I will always keep you safe.”

  “I know, wolf-man. I’m counting on it.” Jacque smiled at him and gently ran her fingers down the side of his face.

  Jen cleared her throat. “I don’t mean to bust up what appears to be so sweet an interlude, but we kind of need to figure out what you want to do here, Jac.”

  “It’s my father. Of course, I’m going to meet him,” Jacque said bluntly. “After all, he’s come all this way to meet me. Uh, how far has he come, exactly?”

  “Denver,” Vasile said.

  “Denver?” she repeated, looking at her mother.

  “I’ll explain it all, in time, Jacque.” She gave the girl an understanding look. Vasile stepped up to Jacque’s bed and placed a hand on Fane’s shoulder. “Why don’t you get some rest, Jacque. Sleep, tonight, and then your father can come meet you tomorrow.”

  Fane nodded his head in agreement. “I think that is a good idea. You’ve been through a lot today, Jacquelyn. You need to rest.”

  “I know I have, but I feel amazingly better. Aside from the fever I can’t seem to kick,” she told him in astonishment.

  “You feel better because your wolf genes are taking over,” he replied. “We heal fast. It appears you are going to heal much faster than a human, but not quite as fast as a werewolf.”

  “Jen, how you be over there?” Jacque asked, using the slang that was nearly second nature with her best friends.

  “Wait for it.” Jen began unwrapping her legs and arms. Sally hummed the song from the game show Jeopardy.

  “Sally Morgan, wow, it’s you! I’ve always wanted to meet you.”

  “It’s me, what?” Sally asked Jen, curiosity thick in her voice.

  “The mayor of Smartassville, of course. You should carry a sign that says welcome to Smartassville, Population: 1.”

  Lilly laughed out loud. “I’m sorry, Sally, but you have to admit that was pretty funny.”

  “Not at all,” Sally said. “Much removed from her usual standards. But, I guess, for someone whose brain cells have been cooked recently, it’ll have to do.”

  Jen finally got her legs and arms unwrapped. A collective gasp echoed throughout the room.

  “I must not have been burned as badly as you,” she said to Jacque. “I don’t even have blisters on my legs anymore, the skin is just raw and red. The ones on my chest are almost completely healed as well. Somebody else will have to look at my back and shoulders to see if they have healed.”

  Vasile, Alina, and Decebel all stared at her in disbelief.

  “Why are you all looking at me like that?” she asked.

  “Are you saying you have no more burn marks?” Vasile asked and then glanced at Alina and Decebel in turn.

  “Like I said, I must not have been burned as badly as they originally thought.” She nearly squeaked when Decebel was at her bedside in a flash. For someone so large, he was surprisingly gentle as he examined her skin.