“I know you will. I’ll be waiting.”

  “Don’t provoke him, Jacquelyn. You survive, do you understand? That’s your job, to survive.” Jacque could feel the intensity behind his words and knew what Fane was asking of her--to do whatever it took to stay alive. No matter what Logan wanted, Fane just wanted her alive.

  “You just worry about getting here, let me worry about me. I need you, Fane. Be with me now, talk to me, and tell me how my mom is, and Jen and Sally.”

  Fane told her everything she wanted to know. He told her about how strong her mom was and how Jen was driving Decebel crazy. He told her how Sally had actually stood up to him about going with him to see Dillon’s wolves. When he ran out of things to tell her about her friends, he began to tell her about the history of the Grey wolves.

  “Where did they come from?” she asked him.

  “The legend is we were created by the goddess who lives in the moon. She is the great Luna. The wolves in Romania were growing extinct due to hunters killing for their pelts. In order to help save the species, she combined the human spirit with the wolf spirit, creating the werewolf. She gave the human the power and strength of the wolf and the wolf the intelligence of the human. Since then, the wolves have thrived.”

  Jacque thought about the legend and wondered if it was true. She figured anything was possible since werewolves actually existed. That thought ignited another. “Fane, are there other things besides werewolves?”

  “Do you really want to know the answer to that, Luna?”

  “At this point, wolf-man, the things that go bump in the night are the least of my worries.” Jacque couldn’t help but think that it was her own species that she needed to fear.

  “Then yes, my love, there are other things besides werewolves. But I think right now you need to get some sleep. I will be there soon.”

  “Stay with me.” Jacque yawned then flinched when she felt pain ripple through her body.

  “Always, Luna. You are still hurting.” It wasn’t a question.

  “Just hurry, wolf-man.”

  Fane felt Jacquelyn slip off into a fitful sleep. He could feel the pain consuming her body, and it was driving him mad. More than that was the thought of what Logan had done to his love. Fane was going to rip Logan’s fangs from his mouth and then make him swallow them for piercing Jacquelyn’s precious flesh. They had just arrived in Ozark, Missouri, and Fane was keeping tabs on Jacquelyn’s dreams. It was then that he caught glimpses of her memory of Logan, his arm pressed against her mouth, his teeth sinking into her back. Fane let out a howl in the vehicle that caused everyone to cover their ears.

  “Pull over!” Decebel shouted to Vasile.

  Vasile looked in his rearview mirror and saw that Fane was on the verge of phasing. He pulled over, and just as the vehicle came to a stop, Fane leaped out the door and phased in mid-air. Decebel was out right behind him. One minute a man, the next a huge, dark grey wolf with white paws.

  Jen’s breath caught at the sight of Decebel in his wolf form. It was the first time she had ever seen him. He was magnificent. She grinned at his white paws. She had new material. The wolf had socks. That was too rich!

  She and Sally gasped as Fane turned on Decebel and snapped his huge teeth at him. Decebel dodged out of the way just in time. The two wolves circled each other, snapping and lunging, but neither making contact. Then there was a third wolf and when he stepped forward and howled the other two hit the ground, heads low and baring their necks. He snarled at them both and then suddenly there were three very naked men standing on the side of the road. Sally squeaked and turned away. Jen had to pry her eyes off of the beautiful muscles that were Decebel.

  “Coast’s clear,” they heard Alina say. “They went into the woods.”

  “Well, that was invigorating.” Jen grinned.

  Sally rolled her eyes. “You would think seeing three naked men was invigorating.”

  “There were three? Cuz, sista, I only saw one.” Jen closed her eyes and again saw Decebel’s bare back. The wolf markings across his tan skin were breathtaking.

  * * *

  “Fane!” Vasile growled. “What has gotten into you? And Decebel, what the hell were you thinking engaging him while he was like that?”

  Fane snarled. “You don’t know what he’s done to her, what he’s going to do if I don’t get to her.”

  “What has he done?” Vasile asked gently.

  “I won’t disgrace my mate that way. She is mine.” Fane turned to Decebel. “My apologies, beta. I know you were just protecting the females.”

  “I can’t imagine what you must be going through, Fane. No apology necessary,” Decebel told him, averting his eyes out of respect.

  “Father, I will speak to the Springfield alpha. I want to know where that cabin is, and I want to know now.”

  “Fane, we will find her,” Vasile started but Fane cut him off.

  “HE’S GOING TO BURN THE SKIN OFF HER BACK!”

  Decebel growled low, and Vasile snarled.

  Alina appeared with clothes and each of the men got dressed quickly. Vasile pulled out his phone and called Tyler, the Springfield alpha. He picked up on the third ring.

  “Hello?”

  “Tyler, it’s Vasile. We need to know where that cabin is NOW.” Vasile continued before the other wolf could interrupt. “He’s planning on removing her mating marks. Do you want to be responsible for that?”

  There was no response for several seconds. “Fine, here are the coordinates.”

  “Got it, let’s go.” Vasile then phoned Sorin with the coordinates and designated a place to rendezvous a couple of miles downwind from the cabin. They would meet at midnight.

  * * *

  They all climbed back into the car and drove to find a motel in Ozark to make plans.

  Vasile pulled into the parking lot of the nicest hotel they could find. It wasn’t the Hilton, but they weren’t planning on spending a lot of time there anyway, so Vasile wasn’t going to be picky. He and Alina went into the lobby to check into a room. Jen could smell the anger coming off of Fane. Wait, smell anger? What the, that isn’t possible. Why would she even think that? She felt a large, warm hand on her shoulder and felt warm breath by her ear. “You okay?” Decebel asked her.

  Jen turned her head slowly to look at Decebel. It was the first time she had spoken to him since the little scene on the side of the road. “Um, yeah, I’m good. Just mentally preparing for the whole black ops situation.”

  “Black ops?” Decebel said questioningly.

  “She has this weird obsession with military lingo and missions. Just nod your head and move on,” Sally told him dryly.

  Decebel made an ‘ahh’ movement with his mouth and then grinned at Jen, who blushed and quickly turned away.

  Vasile and Alina climbed back into the car and drove around to the side of the building where the room was located. They all unloaded and headed to the designated room.

  Vasile, Fane, and Decebel spent an hour planning and getting the location of the cabin marked on a map. Once they had the details worked out, Vasile addressed everyone.

  “The ladies are going to wait in the car in the woods where you drop us off. We’re going in our wolf forms and will meet up with Sorin, Skender, and Boain. Sorin is calling Dillon and telling him to bring his first four and will meet us two miles from the cabin.”

  “How will you get Jacque back to us if you are in your wolf forms?” Sally asked.

  “I’m hoping that Dr. Steele will be in her human form and she can help get Jacque back. Sorin, Skender, and myself will escort them while Fane finishes off Logan.” Vasile looked at Decebel. “It is to be Fane who kills him; it is his right.”

  “Understood,” Decebel responded.

  * * *

  Lilly sat with Alina at the small table. Neither woman spoke. They sat in companionable silence as they each thought about the path their children would take tonight.

  * * *

  Finally, at eleven thirty, Vasile stood. “Let’s go.” That was all he said and everyone was up and out the door. They drove in silence to the location on the map that brought them closest to the cabin. The tension in the vehicle was palpable, and Jen swore if you reached your hand out you would be able to feel it on your skin. After twenty minutes, Vasile pulled the car off the road and down into the trees that were at the edge of the forest. He pulled the vehicle in as far as he could to hide it from view. Vasile turned to look at his mate. “I will call to you as soon as we have her. You need to stay and protect them.”

  “As you say, Alpha,” Alina responded. “You just make sure you bring my son and his mate back.”

  “As you say, my Luna.” Vasile leaned across the seat and kissed her gently.

  * * *

  Fane waited outside the vehicle while his father spoke with his mother. His skin was itching to phase, his wolf desperate to get out and hunt. He couldn’t believe how close he was to her. He could feel her.

  “Luna, we are coming. Be ready.” Fane could feel her, but she didn’t respond. Maybe she was still sleeping. He would let her be for a few minutes more, then he would push. He needed her to be alert once they attacked.

  * * *

  Jen got out of the car as Decebel did. “Hey, Dec.” He turned around to look at her. “Take care of yourself, okay?”

  Decebel’s grin was slow, calculated. “It sounds like you care about me, Jennifer.”

  “Of course, I care. Jacque needs all of you to protect her, so don’t go get yourself killed. It could leave her vulnerable.” She glared at him.

  “That’s the only reason you want me to be careful?” His voice was low and velvet soft.

  Jen had to shake her head to clear the fog. “No, there’s another reason,” she whispered back. She crooked her finger at him, beckoning him forward. He leaned down so she could whisper in his ear. “You remember Matty, don’t you? That handsome nurse who helped me out? Well, you still don’t know if he changed my name.” Jen couldn’t help the wicked grin that spread across her face.

  “What do you mean if he changed your name?” Decebel growled, and he could tell he wasn’t going to like the answer.

  Jen’s response was to start singing ‘Meet Virginia’ as she climbed back in the vehicle. She heard Decebel’s growl and shut and locked the door just as he lunged for her. She looked at him through the glass and winked.

  “Jennifer Adams, what have you gone and done to that poor wolf, now?” Sally whispered to her mischievous friend.

  “Just gave him some extra incentive to come back alive.”

  * * *

  Cynthia strained to hear any little noise she could, but there was nothing. No footsteps, no coughing, no laughing or breathing, and no heartbeat. Logan had left them alone. Well, he was dumber than he looked, she decided. She reached across and gently but firmly shook Jacque.

  “Jacque, wake up, we’re getting the heck out of dodge.”

  Jacque sat up groggily. “What?”

  “Logan and his mini-me aren’t here. I heard a vehicle leave a little bit ago and thought one of them had stayed behind, but there is no one here. We are getting out of here now.”

  “How?” Jacque asked.

  Suddenly, where Cynthia Steele once sat was a medium sized grey and white wolf. The wolf slipped its foot out of the cuff and then Cynthia changed back. Now, there was a very naked Cynthia sitting in front of Jacque. “Sorry about the clothes, hazard of phasing.”

  “No big thing.” Jacque tried to be as nonchalant as possible.

  Jacque watched as Cynthia began to search the room, she presumed for something to pick the lock on the cuffs. When she couldn’t find anything, she came back over and examined the chair it was cuffed to.

  “Okay, I’m going to try and break the frame,” she told her. Jacque looked a little skeptical.

  “Hey, werewolf remember?” Cynthia said, slightly offended.

  “My bad.” Jacque held her hands up in surrender.

  Cynthia grabbed the chair where the front legs met with the crossbar of the frame and pulled with everything she had. At first, she didn’t think it was going to work but then she felt the wood give and then … crack! The frame snapped.

  “Nice,” Jacque said, impressed with Cynthia’s strength.

  She was able to slide the cuff straight off the broken end of the cross bar.

  Jacque stood up and stretched, unable to believe she was free … sort of.

  Cynthia grabbed her hand. “Come on, we have to get as far away as possible. Once they are back, they will be able to track us. We need to run in circles and then try to find some water to hide our scent.”

  Jacque nodded her head. “Okay, doc. Let’s do this.”

  Cynthia paused briefly. “Jacque, I truly am sorry.”

  Jacque held up a hand to stop her. “Save it. Let’s just get our butts out of here. We will deal with the rest later, okay?”

  They held hands as they crept through the cabin as quietly as possible, looking around constantly to make sure they really were alone. As soon as they were convinced, they made a beeline for the front door. Once again, they crept out silently. Cynthia took in a deep breath, smelling the air.

  “They’re not here. Let’s go.” With that, she pulled Jacque off the porch and out into the night. They ran hard and fast through the trees. Jacque didn’t know how Cynthia could see, but was glad she could because otherwise Jacque would have become intimately acquainted with one of these lovely trees that were breezing by. Jacque was trying hard to stay on her feet, but Cynthia was making it very difficult. Just when they would get into a rhythm, Cynthia would make a sharp turn, causing her to stumble a few steps before gaining her footing again. This went on for what seemed like hours but probably was no more than thirty minutes. Finally, they found a creek. Cynthia didn’t even hesitate as she ran straight for it.

  Without pausing, she pulled Jacque into the cold water. Jacque’s breath caught as the chill seeped into her bones. Cynthia never slowed. Suddenly, Jacque doubled over as pain shot through her body.

  “Jacque, are you all right?” Cynthia asked as she kept Jacque from taking a nose dive into the creek.

  “I don’t know. It’s hard to breathe. The pain is so intense.” Jacque tried desperately to drag air into her straining lungs. She felt Fane stir in her mind.

  “Jacquelyn, I can feel you are in pain. Are you all right? We are in the woods on the way to the cabin.”

  Jacque couldn’t hold back the sob of relief that came out. He was here. Fane was here, and he would rescue her.

  “We aren’t at the cabin anymore. Logan and the other wolf left ,and we broke out,” Jacque told him.

  “Where are you? How far from the cabin are you?”

  “Cynthia, Fane wants to know how far from the cabin we are,” Jacque told the doctor.

  Cynthia looked off in the direction they had just come from. “Probably about two miles east. Not far enough. Why?”

  “They are here in the woods on their way to get us.”

  “Fane, she said we are about two miles east from the cabin. How far away are you?”

  Just then, they heard a loud angry howl in the direction of the cabin.

  “They’re back.” Cynthia grabbed Jacque’s hand and started to run again. “We have to get farther. Once in their wolf forms, they will be able to run fast.”

  “Fane, Logan is back at the cabin. Where are you?” Jacque knew her voice sounded shaky even if it was in his mind.

  “We’re about a mile from the cabin. Tell Cynthia we have a car parked two miles west of the cabin.”

  Jacque was trying again to stay on her feet as they ran through the creek. The water level changed constantly and made it difficult to stay upright.

  “Fane said they have a car parked two miles west of the cabin.” At her words, Cynthia changed direction and crawled out of the creek, dragging Jacque behind her. They paused briefly and Jacque watched as Cynthia stuck her nose in the air and took a deep breath, then cursed low. Jacque heard the rustling and crunch of leaves and knew why Cynthia was cursing. Logan had found them. Without thinking, Jacque let go of Cynthia’s hand and took off running. She heard Cynthia shout her name, but Jacque didn’t stop. She couldn’t stop. All she could think was that there was no way she was going to be at Logan’s mercy again. She would rather die than go through that again.

  * * *

  Cynthia watched as Jacque ran. She turned back to where she could hear Logan approaching. She made a decision then. She had gotten Jacque into this, and she would do anything she could to get the girl out of it. She phased into her wolf form and waited for Logan to come crashing through the woods. He stopped just at the edge of the creek. His wolf form was huge, much larger than Cynthia’s. She snarled at him, showing her teeth. She remembered how he had manhandled Jacque, how he had forced himself on her, and that fueled her rage. She watched as Logan took a couple of steps back and then jumped. He cleared the creek without effort and landed a few feet from her.

  They began to circle one another, looking for an opening. Cynthia knew she was no match for Logan in size and strength, but she was fast. If she could keep him distracted so Jacque could get to the car, it might be enough. Logan took a step toward her, and she growled and snapped her teeth at him. She lunged forward, knowing her boldness would take him by surprise. She was right. She went in low and latched onto one of his legs. Cynthia heard Logan yip and then felt his teeth latch onto her side. She thrashed her body, letting go of his leg and rolling to get out of his bite. She continued to roll until she was up on all fours again. Logan tried to lunge for her before she could right herself, but she jumped to the side. He was so close, she felt the air from his bite ruffle her fur. He turned quicker than she would have thought a wolf his size would be able to and grabbed her back right leg before she could move. She felt a snap and let out a loud whine. Logan released her leg and backed away. He was taunting her. He knew she could never defeat him. She let out a whimper as she tried to put weight on the broken appendage. Logan lifted his upper lip in a snarl and lunged again. Cynthia tried to jump out of the way, but her weight shifted unevenly and Logan was able to grab her left back leg. She twisted and rolled, trying desperately to get out of the death grip he had on her. Again, she felt a snap and pain that raced up her leg to her spine. She realized now he didn’t plan to kill her, he just wanted her immobile. She laid on the ground, her body heaving, her two broken legs lying useless. She began to drag herself forward with her front legs. Logan sunk his teeth into her neck and squeezed. He didn’t break her neck, but as the world around her got fuzzy, she realized he was cutting off her air, and then everything went black.