“In the flesh. Well, at least what’s left of it,” she answered.

  Dillon let out a soft growl but caught himself quickly. “Yes, we will get to that shortly. First, I just want you to know that had I known you existed, I would not have stayed away from you. You don’t have to believe me, but I at least want you to know that I would have been here and a part of your life.”

  “I believe you,” Jacque told him, tears gathering in her eyes. And before she could stop them, they were pouring down her cheeks.

  “Oh, little one, I’m sorry.” Dillon hurried to her side. He felt awkward for a moment until Jacque made the first move. She reached out to him and, just like that, Dillon was holding the little girl he’d always wanted. He pulled her close, and she cried harder. He rocked her and whispered over and over, “I’m so sorry, little one, so, so sorry.”

  Jacque couldn’t believe she was blubbering like a baby, but crap, he was here. The one man she had always wondered about, where he was, what he was doing. A thousand questions assaulted her mind. If he had been around, would he have taught her to climb trees or change a tire? Would he have taken her to the movies the way Jen’s dad did or taken her fishing? It just all sort of hit at one time, and she couldn’t hold it back any longer. It was pure instinct that caused her to reach for a complete stranger, but a stranger that was still her dad.

  Fane stood back, his wolf restless as he watched a stranger hold his mate, his mate who was obviously in pain. He hated that she was hurting and that he couldn’t be the one to comfort her. Call him selfish, so be it, but she was his, his alone.

  “I’m sorry, wolf-man. Please don’t take it personally,” Jacquelyn told him through their bond.

  “I know, love, don’t worry about me. Spend time with Dillon. I will be fine.” He sent the thought to her as well as a picture in his mind of him brushing his fingertips across her neck where his mark should be by now. That just made him growl again.

  Jacque finally composed herself and pulled back from Dillon. He gently brushed her hair out of her face.

  “I know I wasn’t there for a long time, but I’m here now. I want to be a part of your life if you are okay with that.”

  “I would like that,” Jacque said.

  “Why don’t you tell me about yourself: favorites, dislikes, and all the stuff a father should know.”

  “Well, where to begin?” Jacque said. For the next few hours, Jacque and Dillon talked about anything and everything. Fane could tell they had very similar personalities. Their likes and dislikes, even their sense of humor, were alike. He was happy for her, he really was, but his wolf still did not trust Dillon Jacobs.

  Finally, Dillon stood up. He looked at his watch, realizing they had been talking for four and a half hours. Lunch had come and gone, and the entire time Fane had stood against the wall opposite Jacque’s bed, never moving, just standing and watching her. Jacque looked up at him and smiled. That smile was worth every minute he had stood there keeping her safe.

  “I’m all yours as soon as he leaves,” she told him through their bond.

  “I’m going to hold you to that, Luna.” He winked at her and saw her cheeks turn pink. He loved it when she blushed, loved that he caused that blush.

  “I’m going to let you get some rest. I will be back later, though, if that’s ok?” Dillon asked her.

  “Yea, I’m good with that,” Jacque answered.

  “Okay, great.” He turned to Fane and once again held out his hand. “Fane, thank you for your patience and letting me spend some time with Jacque.”

  “If it makes her happy, and she is safe, I will always be okay with you spending time with her.” Fane let his wolf show through his eyes just a little.

  Dillon took a step back before he could catch himself. Interesting, Fane’s wolf thought. Alpha, but not more dominant than me. Good to know.

  Fane was on his way over to Jacque before the door clicked closed. He sat down on the edge of the bed next to her. “How are you, really?” she asked him.

  Fane leaned forward and placed his lips on her neck and breathed her scent in deep. His wolf growled in contentment. “I’m better now,” he admitted.

  Jacque laughed and brought his lips to hers and kissed him gently. Fane deepened the kiss, enjoying the way she tasted, reminding him she was safe, and she was his. Jacque moaned as he pulled back. “Will it ever be enough?” she asked him with a grin.

  “I hope not. I hope you always want more of me. I must prepare you now, I will never get enough of you,” Fane told her without shame at his need of her.

  “Duly noted, wolf-man,” she teased him.

  Dillon stepped out into the hall after having spent the morning and part of the afternoon with Jacque. He could tell that Fane really cared for her, and he was rethinking invoking his alpha rights. If he didn’t, Dillon would lose her again. She would bond with Fane and then go off to Romania, just when he had found her. Maybe it was selfish, but he didn’t want to let her go. Not yet.

  He hadn’t taken but a few steps when Lilly, Vasile, his mate, his beta, and Logan walked up to him. This would not be pretty.

  “How did it go?” Lilly asked him.

  “Really well, she told me all about herself. She wasn’t shy at all.”

  “So, what now?” It was Lilly who asked again.

  “I think we need to talk.” Dillon looked her in the eyes. “All of us.” He addressed everyone standing in front of him.

  Vasile led the way to a private family area. Nobody sat, not wanting to put themselves in a vulnerable or submissive position.

  “Speak,” Vasile ordered. This was the alpha talking, not Fane’s father.

  “I’m invoking alpha rights regarding my daughter, who is a minor,” Dillon announced with complete confidence.

  Vasile growled, causing Dillon’s confidence to waver momentarily, but then he remembered he had every right to step forward. It was pack law.

  “You know I have every right, Vasile. She is still a minor, she is my daughter, and it has been made apparent that Fane is not ready to protect her the way a mate should.” At that last part, Decebel lunged forward. Vasile caught him before Logan could intercept him.

  “How dare you speak about our prince with such disrespect,” Decebel said.

  “Decebel, stand down.” Vasile spoke calmly, but there was a pulse of power in his words that poured over the room, pushing everyone to their knees, including Dillon.

  Dillon fought the command and managed to get to his feet.

  “I will ignore the disrespect you have just shown my family, Jacobs, and only address the pack law that you have brought to our attention,” Vasile told him.

  “What is he talking about, Alina?” Lilly whispered.

  “Just listen, Lilly, and whatever you do, stay calm,” Alina told her firmly.

  “Calm, okay, got it,” Lilly responded.

  “You are correct. It is pack law that you may invoke alpha rights, but you need to be sure that this is really what you want to do. You realize that having a pissed off teenage daughter will make your life difficult, to say the least?” Dillon didn’t respond.

  “Have you thought about what she wants, that she wants to be with Fane? And you will take that from her?” Alina asked him gently.

  “I have. But then, children do not always know what is best for them. If she comes with me, I will get to spend time with her. Time that was taken from me, time I need to get back.” He cast a glance at Lilly. “Jacque can use the time away from Fane to figure out if he really is the best thing for her.”

  “Go with you? What the hell are you talking about, Dillon?” Lilly’s jaw clenched in anger.

  “Calm, remember,” Alina told Lilly.

  “He just said he wants to take my daughter.”

  “OUR daughter.” Dillon interrupted.

  “No, that is not how it works, Dillon. You don’t get to come and say you’re her parent and that she should come with you when she doesn’t even freaking know you!”

  “Lilly, she is half wolf. You can’t possibly know everything that is best for her.”

  “Everyone out.” Lilly’s voice was like a whip. “Out! Everyone!”

  Vasile nodded to Decebel and his mate.

  “Logan, go,” Dillon told his beta.

  Once the door closed and Dillon and Lilly were the only two in the room, Lilly straightened her spine and looked Dillon dead in the face.

  “I don’t know who you think you are, alpha or not. If you try to take her, she will hate you. She loves Fane, they are mates. You, of all people, know what that means. If you try to keep them apart, you will rip their souls in two.”

  Dillon took a deep breath. “I’m not taking her from him indefinitely. She’s only seventeen, Lilly. She isn’t even an adult.”

  “She will be eighteen in two months, Dillon, which you might know had you been around when she was born.”

  “Fine then, I will have her for two months. Once he bonds with her, she will be gone, Lilly, and I just found her.” Dillon’s voice was soft, and Lilly could hear the pain in it.

  “Why do you even want her so bad? Surely you have full-blooded werewolf children with your mate, which I do not begrudge you, by the way.”

  Dillon looked at the ground when he spoke. “We were never able to conceive.”

  The words hit Lilly like a punch to the gut, pushing all the breath out of her.

  “Jacque is your only child?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  Neither of them spoke for several minutes. It was Dillon who broke the silence.

  “Lilly, I’m not trying to be the bad guy. I could have lost her in that wreck. She should have been protected, and I’m not blaming you. Fane is responsible for her. He just isn’t ready. They need time to mature. If all I can get is two months with her, then so be it. But maybe if they step back for a bit, they will see that it would be good to wait to bond.”

  “You’re trying to intervene in what fate has ordained. It’s going to backfire on you, Dillon. If Jacque doesn’t want to go with you, I swear to you I will do everything in my power to keep it from happening. God help you when Fane finds out.” Lilly pivoted and fled the room, slamming the door behind her.

  Logan walked in just after Lilly’s departure.

  “Looks like that went well,” the beta said.

  Dillon grunted.

  “Vasile wants to speak with you,” Logan told him.

  Dillon nodded. Logan walked out to get Vasile. The alpha came into the room and his power followed him. Dillon could feel it and it grated on his wolf as if he was being petted against the grain of his fur.

  “What are you going to do?” Vasile asked.

  “Just what I said. Jacque is coming home with me, at least until she turns eighteen. If she wants to be with Fane after that, then I can’t stop her. From now until she leaves, my wolves will guard her. You will pull your wolves back. Fane can be here during the day, but I don’t want him sleeping up here.”

  “So be it. You had better keep her safe, Dillon. If anything happens to my son’s mate while in your care, I will take it out of your flesh.” Vasile’s voice was that same deadly calm, but Dillon’s wolf had no choice but to submit.

  Vasile turned to Logan. “You need to come introduce yourself to Jacque. While you are doing that, I will get Fane.” Vasile turned and looked back at Dillon. “Hold your wolves back until I get Fane away from the hospital. You do not understand what you have provoked. You will be lucky if my wolf can make him submit.”

  “Logan, go with Vasile and meet Jacque. I will call the rest of the pack and tell them to wait until I say to come in,” Dillon ordered his beta.

  Vasile left the room with Logan behind him. Dillon took a deep breath, wondering for the hundredth time if he was doing the right thing.

  OceanofPDF.com

  Chapter 9

  Vasile opened the door to Jen and Jacque’s room and walked in without knocking. At this point, politeness was not at the top of his agenda. Decebel stood against the wall, his look cold and promising death. Jen and Sally sat on one bed looking very confused, and Fane and Jacque were on her bed. Fane stood up abruptly when he saw the other wolf enter the room with his father.

  “Alpha, who is this?” Fane asked him.

  “This is Logan, Dillon’s beta. He has come to introduce himself to Jacque because he will be helping with guard duty,” Vasile explained.

  Jacque smiled and said hello but could tell something was wrong. She looked at Fane, who was still staring daggers at his father.

  “Fane, I need to speak with you in the hall while Logan introduces himself.”

  Fane growled.

  “Stop!” Vasile ordered. “Decebel will stay here. She will be fine.”

  Fane turned to Jacque and leaned down to kiss her. “I will find out what is going on, love. Will you be okay?”

  “I’m fine, Fane. Go, do what you need to, but then come back to me.” She kissed him gently and smiled into his blue eyes. Fane gave her hand one last gentle squeeze and then turned to follow Vasile out of the room.

  Logan stepped up to Jacque’s bed and held out his hand. “Jacque, I am Logan. It’s so nice to meet you.”

  Jacque smiled politely, but her words were tense. “It’s nice to meet you as well.” Jacque had barely gotten the words out when they heard a loud growl and things being slammed about outside of the hospital room door. Jacque started to get up. “What the hell is that?”

  Decebel got to her before Logan could touch her. “Jacque, stay here please. Logan and I will be right outside to see what is going on.”

  “Okay, please make sure Fane is okay. He is blocking his thoughts.”

  Decebel nodded and then turned back to Jen and Sally. “You two stay put.”

  “Once again, I am reminded that I should wear a collar that says, ‘if found please call the bossy werewolf who thinks he is my owner at 1-800-butt-head’,” Jen said sarcastically.

  All three girls heard Decebel mutter under his breath, “Little, mouthy, smart ass.” As he followed Logan out of the room and into the hall, he was met with chaos. Chairs had been thrown about and shattered glass littered the carpet of the waiting room. Decebel turned to Logan. “If anything happens to any of those girls, you will die by my hand.”

  “I will protect them,” responded Logan.

  “HE CAN’T HAVE HER!” Fane yelled. His voice had gone guttural, his wolf pushing to take over. The wolf’s claws had pushed through his fingers and his eyes were glowing blue. Fane’s canines had begun to elongate.

  “Fane, STOP!” Vasile growled at him.

  Vasile had taken him down to the Emergency Room and was using one of the family holding areas to talk to his son. Alina and Lilly had gone with them.

  “Ea este cu mine, cu pachetul nostrum! She belongs with me, with our pack!” Fane pleaded with his Alpha.

  “It’s pack law, Fane. I cannot stop him.”

  “ARRGGGHHH!” Fane slammed his fist into the wall, making a hole and sending dust flying. “Nu-mi pasă de legile cu privire la ambalaj, despre legea ta. Ea este prietena mea, sufletul meu, și mă rogi să plec de la ea. I don’t care about pack law, about your law. She is my mate, my soul, and you ask me to walk away from her.” Fane grabbed a chair and threw it across the room, shattering the glass windows. He didn’t even pause before he ripped the television out of the wall and threw it out the window, too.

  “Fane este sufficient. Fane, that is enough.” Vasile’s power flowed over the room, driving Fane to his knees. Fane’s shoulders slumped in defeat, his head hung. His hands were balled into fists, the claws that had emerged digging into his palms, cutting deeply.

  “What would you do if it was mama?” Fane’s voice was so low that Vasile only heard it because of his wolf’s superior hearing.

  “I would kill anything and anyone who kept her from me,” Vasile admitted. “But Jacque is not in any danger, and it’s not forever. It’s just two months and then you can complete the bond and Blood Rites.” Vasile knew he was asking the impossible. He wouldn’t want to be separated from his mate for even two days, let alone two months, but Fane and Jacque were both still minors and not bonded. By pack law, Jacque’s father had every right to do what he was asking. What could Vasile do?

  “You can be with her during the day, but he asks that you don’t spend the night with her,” Vasile told him, trying to speak as calmly as possible, knowing he was prodding an already angry beast.

  “He asks? Do you mean he told you, alpha to the largest pack of grey wolves in the world? He commanded you to keep me away from MY mate at night?” Fane growled.

  “I understand you are angry. I understand you are hurting, but I am still your alpha. You will submit to me, Fane. You know I will not let anything happen to Jacque, trust me. If not as your alpha, then as your father.”

  After a few moments of silence, Fane finally stood up and looked at his father. “I don’t know if I can do that. You ask too much. Dillon Jacobs asks too much. I may not be the pack alpha of the Romanian Greys, but I’m more dominant than Jacobs. He will not take what is mine. I’m sorry, Alpha, but in this, I cannot obey.” Fane didn’t wait for his father to respond. He turned and left the waiting area, headed back to Jacquelyn’s room.

  Jen and Sally came over and climbed onto Jacque’s bed. “You got anything coming in on your reception, Jac?” Jen asked her.

  “If you mean, is Fane talking to me, then no, he’s blocking his thoughts. I am getting intense anger, though. Whatever is going on, it has Fane royally pissed off.”

  “No pun intended, but,” Jen laughed, “get it? Royally pissed, cuz he’s a prince … Anyone? No? No takers? Okay then.”

  Sally patted her on the leg. “Any other time, I would have totally given you props, but a werewolf just nearly tore the hospital apart, so, right now, all props are on hold.”

  “Noted.” Jen clicked her tongue and winked in acknowledgment of Sally’s statement.