Sally couldn’t stop the giggle that bubbled up at the picture he had in his mind. She slapped his arm. “You said you were going to behave.”

  “I have been. You’re the one who brought up your chest. I mean, really, Sally, how is a man supposed to ignore that topic?”

  “Oh, sorry. I didn’t think about how it would affect you,” she told him bashfully.

  “Go to sleep, beautiful. One day I will show you just how perfect you are for me.”

  Sally snuggled closer against him and smiled to herself. She believed Costin. After the things she had seen and felt in his mind, she knew he would never lie to her. If he said she was beautiful, then he meant it. If he said her body was perfect for him, then she would stop worrying about it.

  ***

  “What do you ladies want to do tonight?” Fane asked Jacque and Jen as he and Decebel led them out of the meeting room.

  Jen looked at Jacque and grinned. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

  “I’m feeling the need to get furry.” Jacque winked at Fane.

  Fane and Decebel grinned.

  “I’m always up for a good chase.” Decebel smiled at Jen wickedly, his canines sharpening and his eyes glowing.

  Fane crossed his arms and looked at both girls. “Tell you what. We’ll give you guys a three-minute head start.” He turned to Decebel. “You cool with that?”

  “Oh, I’m cool. It doesn’t matter how far ahead my girl gets in front of me, I will always find her.”

  Jen shivered under his intense gaze.

  “Okay, you two, save it for the chase.” Jacque rolled her eyes. She leaned into Fane and kissed him deeply, drawing out a low growl. “That’s some incentive for you to not dawdle.”

  “Dawdle,” Fane scoffed. “Woman, I've got plans for you. So, no worries, there will be no dawdling of any sort.”

  Jen and Jacque both walked backward toward the exit, to the freedom where they could be who and what they were. They each blew kisses to their mates and then turned, taking off at a sprint.

  “How far do you give them?” Fane asked Decebel, still staring at the door his mate had just fled through.

  “Half a mile, tops. And that’s being generous,” Decebel answered. His focus was firmly on his mate, who was studiously attempting to block him. She was learning that the longer they were mated, and the more intense and intimate their relationship became, it became much harder to hide things from him. It wasn’t impossible, but it was difficult.

  Jen hopped in place as she tried to pull her pants off.

  “Jen, your shoes, ding bat. You aren’t going to get those pants off without taking off your shoes.”

  “Oh, crap, my bad. I just want to hurry. I want to give him a run for his money, which is very hard to do.”

  Both girls focused on undressing as quickly as possible and then dug deep inside themselves, calling on their wolves. Every change became easier and easier. Jen had told Jacque that she could almost feel her wolf just beneath her skin.

  Once in wolf form, they nuzzled each other briefly, Jacque keeping her head lower than Jen’s since she was the Alpha female of the Serbian pack. With a quick yip from Jen they took off in a flash.

  The cold night air rippled through their fur as they darted into the surrounding forest. There was still snow on the ground but it was sporadic now and what was left was slushy. They attempted to avoid it so as not to leave paw prints. They were getting pretty good at dodging bushes and branches in order not to disturb the foliage around them, giving away the trail they had run. Suddenly Jacque broke away from Jen and Jen took that as her cue to go the opposite direction. They'd decided earlier to crisscross each other's trails. They started out in large sweeps, Jacque running left, then making an arch heading right, back toward Jen, who was coming in the exact same figure from the left.

  Gradually their sweeps became tighter and tighter. They both faltered in their steps when they heard two loud howls go up into the clear night. Then they both doubled their efforts and, as discussed, continued their crisscrosses for the duration of the run.

  “How’s it going, baby?” Jen heard Decebel’s voice in her mind.

  She tried to reach out with her acute hearing to get an idea of how far ahead of him she was, but he was much quieter than she was when he ran. Which really got on her nerves.

  She decided not to answer and make him sweat a little by putting up a wall between them. That was sure to make him run faster, but it would also drive him insane – which was what she lived for. She could feel him pushing against her mind, and the effort of blocking him was causing her to run more slowly. Deciding speed was more important, she let him push in.

  “Not cool, Jennifer.”

  “What’s not fair is that you can run faster than me, are quieter than me, and know how to use your sniffer. So, suck on that lollipop and try not to choke.” She heard his laughter and it made her smile. She loved it when Decebel laughed.

  Suddenly she was bowled over by a large, furry being.

  “Gotcha”

  “Damn,” Jen muttered.

  Decebel jumped back, letting her up, and lowered his front half down on the ground, his tail wagging. He wanted to play. Jen walked around him with her muzzle in the air, appearing to be indifferent to his actions. Decebel let out a small whine. As soon as Jen was close enough, she nipped quickly at one of his four white paws and darted off into the brush.

  “You do like the chase don’t you, Jennifer?” Decebel teased.

  “Foreplay, baby. Foreplay.” She was repeating the words he had once spoken to her. Being in wolf form didn't deny them any pleasure.

  Decebel let out a low growl and doubled his speed.

  ***

  After running as fast and as hard as she could, Jacque decided to switch from defense to offense. She thought it might be fun to turn the tables on the wolf-man with a well-placed ambush. She hid in a thick grove of trees just off the path. As the minutes ticked by and Fane got closer, her heart beat more quickly in her chest. She crouched low, ready to pounce.

  “I know you are here, little female.” She felt the caress of his words in her mind. He was trying to distract her. She didn’t respond.

  When she finally saw him come into view she was momentarily confused when he simply sat on his haunches and looked around, looking more like a large farm dog taking a break than a fierce wolf. Once she collected herself, she took two large steps and pushed hard with her legs, launching herself into the air. Just before she would have landed on his back, Fane, in a very experienced move, dropped to the ground and rolled her. Jacque landed with an “oomph” sound. She stood up, shaking herself.

  “How did you know where I was coming from?” She turned to look at the once again calm Fane.

  “I could hear your heartbeat, and smell you.”

  “Damn, I was upwind. Amateur mistake,” she muttered.

  “You actually got much farther than I anticipated, and that whole zigzag thing you and Jen did was brilliant.”

  Jacque preened under his praise and walked over to him, rubbing against his side. He licked her muzzle and she instinctively lowered her head.

  “I’m so glad that I can share this with you,” Fane told her as they lay down next to each other, their bodies pressed close.

  “Me too.” Jacque’s voice was a contented sigh.

  “Can I ask you something?” Fane's tone was cautious.

  “Anything,” Jacque answered.

  “Do you miss your home? Are you happy here with me, with my family?”

  Jacque heard the worry in Fane’s voice. He could be in her mind anytime he wanted and seek the reassurance he needed. But instead he asked her.

  “I miss my mom. But I get to talk to her anytime I want.” She turned her face to his. “Do I really miss my life back in the States? No. My home is wherever you are.”

  “Do you ever wonder what your life would be like had you never met me? Where you might be, who you might be with?”

  “If you mean, ‘do I think Trent and I would have gotten back together,’ then the answer is no.” Jacque felt Fane tense.

  “What’s up, wolf-man? Are you still jealous of him?”

  When he didn’t answer right away, she sat up to look at him and immediately lowered herself back to the ground at his low growl.

  “My father found out something about Trent. About why he ended your relationship so abruptly.”

  “Oh?” Jacque sounded surprised. She was a little put out that he hadn’t told her a long time ago.

  “Lucas threatened him if he didn’t stop seeing you. Trent actually stood up to him, but then Lucas threatened his family.”

  “How did you find this out?”

  “Simple,” Fane told her. “We asked him.”

  “Did he not find that a little odd?”

  “I explained to him that you and I had hit it off and gone on a couple of dates. I told him that you were honest with me about your relationship and the sudden break up. He looked genuinely sorry,” Fane added begrudgingly. “So, when I told him that I saw some strange guys hanging around your place and wanted to know if he knew anything, he told me about Lucas.”

  Jacque looked off into the forest, lost in thought at the information Fane had just told her. It was weird to realize that Trent hadn’t really wanted to break up with her. What would have happened? Would they have continued to date through their senior year? She heard a low growl from Fane.

  “Sorry, I’m not saying that's what I wish had happened. It’s just weird to think that what I thought wasn’t reality at all. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Fane looked away. She nudged his head gently, encouraging him to tell her.

  He let out a loud huff.

  “I didn’t want to know if you wished that it hadn’t happened, that you might have wanted to continue a relationship with Trent,” Fane admitted.

  “That’s absurd.” Jacque laughed. “Even if I had still been with Trent when you showed up, I would have left him. The pull I felt to you was like two magnets. The closer we got to each other the stronger the pull became. No one could have kept me from you, Fane. Surely you know this.”

  Fane sent her an image of him caressing her face. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the physical sensation she was able to feel even through the bond. She nudged him to get up and stood. She was tired of the depressing conversation.

  “Race ya back.” Before the words had registered in his mind she took off as fast as she could.

  Jacque heard a low bark from Fane and pushed even harder. The entire time they ran, Jacque was constantly sending him reassurances that he was the only one she could ever want or love. They made it back to the mansion and saw that Jen’s clothes were already gone.

  Jacque phased back into her human form and began to dress as Fane phased as well. He looked up at her and grinned.

  “That was fun.

  “I agree.” She smiled and tugged his hand to go inside. “So, what now?”

  “How about I run a hot bath?” Fane asked.

  “Aw, that would be great, babe.”

  “I didn’t say it was for you,” he teased and jumped out of her reach when she swatted at him.

  “Tell you what,” Fane told her, walking backward while he spoke, “whoever makes it to the room first gets the hot bath.”

  Jacque didn’t respond, she just took off running. Fane smacked her backside as she ran past him, causing a sound that was curiously close to the yip of a wolf to emit from her.

  Chapter 10

  ‘On the road again. Like a band of gypsies, we go down the highway

  We're the best of friends, insisting that the world keep turning our way…and our way…is on the road again.’ “Who knew that Willie was writing a song just for our occasion? We even have a gypsy. Now, if we could only get the world to turn our way. Yeah, no. That's not gonna happen.” ~Jen

  After spending the previous day packing and preparing for the journey ahead of them, Jen, Jacque, and Sally spent the morning talking over hot chocolate. Nerves were on edge and the atmosphere of the mansion was tense.

  “So... Pixies, huh, Jac?” Jen waggled her eyebrows.

  “Knowing my luck, they'll be like the little blue demons in Harry Potter and I’ll find myself hung from a tree by my clothes just like Neville was.”

  Sally choked on her hot chocolate as she laughed at the image Jacque painted.

  “If that happens, will you please ask Fane to get a picture? That would be so Tweet-worthy,” Sally teased.

  “Yeah, Sal, that’s exactly what I’ll be sure to ask him. 'Hey, wolf-man, can you get a good pic of me up here hanging like a dumb ass? No, babe, don’t worry about getting me down, I want to make sure that Jen and Sally get a good laugh, because that’s what’s really essential here,” Jacque spouted off.

  “Did you take your meds this morning?” Jen snorted as she rolled her eyes.

  “It just sucks that I won’t be with you guys,” Jacque whined.

  “Yeah, but you’ll get to see that hot little number, Adam,” Jen responded.

  “Once again, Jen, you baffle me with your ability to see the big picture.” Jacque shook her head at her blonde friend.

  “I’m just trying to show you that the glass is half-full. You got great eye candy. I mean, for an old dude Vasile’s easy on the eyes, and we all know Fane is drool-worthy. Adam is just the cherry on top.”

  “Man, I wish I had recorded that so I could threaten to let Decebel hear it,” Sally huffed.

  Jacque nodded, agreeing that any ammunition on Jen was always a plus.

  “Oh, I heard that,” a voice in Jen's head said. Jen shivered, but didn't mention it.

  “Sally, you and I've got to go.” Jen pulled Jacque into a firm hug. “You take care of yourself, Red. No heroics, okay?”

  Jacque nodded. “Will do. You try to keep your clothes on in that bar.”

  Jen snorted. “No worries. I’m under contract with Dec, and Sally is a witness.”

  Sally nodded. “She’s locked in tight. No loopholes.”

  “Sally, you know better than that. Jen always has an out. Always,” Jacque pointed out.

  Sally hugged Jacque once Jen stepped back.

  They all headed to the foyer, where the others had already gathered.

  Vasile and Decebel were off to the side, talking quietly while the bags were being loaded into the vehicles.

  “Vans?” Jen snorted. “Hey, babe, at least the Hummers were cool. These are just so 'juvenile detention, here we come'.”

  Decebel didn’t outwardly acknowledge that but she felt the swat on the butt he directed at her in her mind. She still thought that stuff was freaky. Freaky, but definitely had potential for freaky in the right variety.

  “I’m just saying,” Jen muttered. “If we’re going for bad ass then this is definitely not the way to go. But then nobody asked me, now did they?”

  Sally stood off to the side as she watched everyone wait to load up into the vans. Peri walked up beside her and smiled.

  “Are you nervous?” Peri asked.

  “Not really,” Sally answered. “What’s the point? It won’t change anything.”

  “True,” Peri conceded, “but sometimes nerves are what keep us on our toes.”

  “Peri, are you going to tell me more about the stones? I would feel more comfortable using them if I knew more about them.”

  “I will tell you more about them on our drive down,” Peri answered.

  “You’re going with us?” Sally asked as her eyebrows rose in surprise.

  Peri nodded. “Decebel, Vasile, and I decided that you need me more than Rachel at this point. Vasile doesn't want two healers in the same place. Too risky. That is why he is splitting you up.”

  “That makes sense.” Sally nodded.

  ***

  Decebel had decided to temporarily house the Serbian pack in a mansion located in the Romanian city of Ramnicu-Valcea. He wanted to be close to Vasile’s pack until things had settled down and the Serbian pack was more stable. The drive from the Serbian mansion was going to be an hour shorter to Ruse than it would have been from Brasov, where the Romanian pack mansion was. To Sally this was both good and bad. Good, because obviously that meant less time cooped up in a van. Bad, because it meant they would arrive at the bar sooner. The bar, which was close to the forest where who knows what waited for them. Although, she decided this trip was much better than the ten plus hours that Jacque and the others would spend on their way to the Carpathian Mountains. That was going to be a doozy.

  “You ready to go, beautiful?” Sally jumped when she heard Costin’s voice directly behind her.

  “You okay?” he asked as he gently turned her to face him.

  “Yeah, I was just lost in thought. You surprised me.” She smiled at him.

  “Peri has informed me that I am not allowed to flirt with or distract you,” he told her as he raised his eyebrows in question, a playful grin stretched across his face.

  Sally laughed. “She said she was going to talk to me more about the Fae stones. I just want to understand their power a little more. I think I would feel more comfortable using them if I understood where the power comes from and how I can direct it. Does that make sense?”

  “Definitely. It’s always important to know and understand the weapon you are wielding.” Costin grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the vehicles and helped her inside.

  ***

  Fane and Jacque got into the van they would be sharing with their group and watched as she stared longingly at the other vehicle.

  “They will be fine, love,” he assured her.

  “I know they will, but who’s going to keep them out of trouble?” Jacque asked.

  “I’m sure Costin and Decebel can handle it.”

  Jacque shot him a look, her eyes narrowed. “Really, Fane? The Alpha who can’t get his mate to keep her clothes on and the bartender who encourages such behavior? These are the individuals you are suggesting can keep those two out of trouble?”