Blood Rites (10 page)

"So Jen, how'd it go with your parents once
you woke up?" Sally asked. "They were here constantly while you
were checked out."

"Oh, it went fine, but I can't handle my mom
being all emotional and hovering. You both know I don't do
hovering." Jen rolled her eyes.

"Ah, yes, the hovering. Your mom does tend to
hover when she is upset," Jacque agreed.

"I wouldn't call it hovering, actually,"
Sally said thoughtfully. "It's more like full blown nose diving.
You almost have to duck for cover when Jen's mom comes at you and
she's worried."

"Hence why she is no longer here," Jen
acknowledged."It took some convincing, but with a little help from
Alina we got her and my dad to think it would be better for them to
let me get some rest and unless something is wrong they will come
up tomorrow night."

Jen looked at Fane thoughtfully before
asking, "Does your mom have some sort of ability to make people do
what she wants?"

Fane chuckled but shook his head no. "Not
unless she hasn't told me. My mother has always been able to get
people to see things from her point of view. My father says it's an
art the way she can work people around her. I don't know, you will
just have to ask her."

Fane squeezed her hand.
"How are you,
Luna?"

"Considering I've been burnt to a crisp,
my leg crushed like it was run through a blender and glass
sprinkled in my skin like I was a cupcake, I'm pretty stinking
good,"
she told him with her lips turned up in a smile that
nearly melted his heart.

"I love you," he whispered.

"What's not to love?" she teased.

"Indeed," Fane muttered under his breath.

Decebel stepped back into the room and
without looking at anyone he walked across the room to Jen's bed.
"Are you alright?" The words revealed some sort of emotion but his
tone of voice was just as gruff as ever.

Jen was beginning to get frustrated with his
odd aloofness towards her. What the hell, she thought, if he
doesn't care why even freaking bother to ask. Just like earlier she
decided to handle his coldness with what she did best,
flirting.

"I could be better," she told him with a
slight pout. Out of the corner of her eye she winked at Sally, who
was giving her a questioning look.

"What does that mean?" he asked even more
gruffly if that was even stinking possible.

"It just means that my circumstances could be
improved, which in turn would make me feel better," she told him
innocently.

Jacque was in her bed with her hand over her
mouth trying to muffle her laughter as she watched her friend work
her magic. The funny part was that Decebel had obviously never met
anyone like Jen. He didn't look like he knew what to do. Jacque had
a feeling that uncertainty was not an emotion that Decebel often
felt.

When he didn't respond to her, Jen crooked
her finger at him, indicating that she wanted him to move closer.
When he acquiesced and leaned down, Jen grabbed the front of his
shirt and pulled him until he had to support himself on the bed
with his hands and his ear was next to her mouth. Sally and Jacque
watched her whisper to him and suddenly Decebel's body tensed, his
muscles rigid with statuesque grace. After a moment he stood up,
took one last look at Jen, and without a word turned and walked out
of the room.

Jen busted out laughing as soon as the door
clicked. "Man, that was rich," she said, still giggling.

"Would you like to share, my wicked little
friend, what you did to poor Decebel?" Sally asked her with one
eyebrow raised.

"A lady never kisses and tells." Jen grinned
and winked at Sally.

"There are two very obvious problems with
that statement," Jacque started.

"Yah, yah. I'm not a lady, and I didn't kiss
him, blah blah. Details, details my dear Watson," Jen said
sarcastically.

Jen grinned to herself. She couldn't believe
the boldness in the words she had whispered to Decebel, but it
served him right for being such a butt head to her. She was just
messing with him after all, it didn't mean anything so what was the
harm. She ignored the nagging little voice that was trying to
contradict her thoughts.

Chapter 11

After
Fane had gone back into the room with
the girls, Lilly had her mini panic attack and was able to calm
down when Alina told her she would slap her if she didn’t. “So he’s
on his way here, as in now?” Lilly asked Vasile.

“Yes, as in now. He will be here in about 10
minutes,” he told her.

“Did he say what he wanted?" This time her
voice was stronger, more determined.

“All he said was that he wanted to talk with
you and that he wanted to meet Jacque.”

“Yes, but we both know there is more to it
than that, Vasile. He has to have an ulterior motive to travel all
this way. I’m sure he wants to meet Jacque, but that’s not the only
reason he has come,” Lilly told him.

“Decebel is going to go down with you. Even
though I don’t think he would hurt you or allow harm to come to you
I want Decebel to get a feel for things. I have called Sorin,
Skender and Boian to see if they could scout around the hospital
parking lot and get a look at Dillon’s men,” Vasile explained.

“I’m ready when you are, Lilly,” she heard
Decebel say, which was really weird because she couldn’t recall a
time when Decebel had ever spoken
to
her. There was a first
time for everything.

“Ok, let's do this,” Lilly said, rolling her
shoulders as if she were getting ready to fight.

“She has worn off on you, too,” Decebel said
to her as they got into the elevator to go to the lobby.

“Who has worn off on me?” Lilly asked
him.

“Jen. She always says these weird comments
that make no sense to the situation, and I notice you do it too.
She’s like a virus that just keeps spreading.” The last part was
said more to himself than Lilly.

“If she is a virus than she is the only one
of her kind in existence, and she’s a virus I would catch any day,”
Lilly told him, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

Decebel growled something imperceptible but
said nothing else. As the elevator doors opened, Decebel put a hand
in front of Lilly so that she would not exit before him. He stepped
out and looked around and then motioned to her to emerge, evidently
deciding it was safe.

“What happen to ladies first?” Lilly teased,
just trying to expel her nervous energy. She knew what the answer
was 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
smarter to let a woman enter a room before him. How does he know if
it is safe for her to enter if he does not check it out himself?
It’s actually a much more caring act to go before her, therefore
ensuring that nothing will harm her,” Decebel explained, his tone
of voice at first sounded with disgust and then it was almost
tender when he finished speaking. He might just make a fine catch
one day, minus the grumpiness and bossiness that seemed to plague
all things furry, Lilly thought.

They hadn’t been standing in the lobby long
when the front door opened and Dillon Jacobs stepped through.
Decebel started to move in front of Lilly, one of those 'I must
protect hear me roar' moments, but Lilly pushed him aside, never
taking her eyes off Dillon. She couldn’t help the hurt tinged with
betrayal that bled into her eyes. It was 17 year old hurt, but hurt
nonetheless.

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

Dillon spoke first. “Lilly, it’s good to see
you,” he said with sincerity dripping from his voice. That only
made his presence worse, to know that he really meant what he said,
but regardless of any words he could give her, the fact was he
belonged to another woman. Sometimes Lilly just wanted to give life
the finger.

“It’s good to see you as well, Dillon,” Lilly
managed to force that out, fake smile and all without vomiting all
over his shoes. “I don’t want to do small talk ,Dillon. We both
know you aren’t here to catch up, or to reminisce about old times,
so just get to why you are here,” Lilly told him, realizing that
she didn’t have the patience for bush beating today.

“I know about our daughter. I sort of know
why you didn’t tell me about her, but I want to meet her, I think I
deserve that much.” Dillon’s voice held honest hurt.

“I was going to tell you
that
night.”
She didn’t have to specify what night it was. “But I came home and
telling a note you are pregnant isn’t quite the same as telling the
father.” Lilly knew she shouldn’t be a butt head, she had made the
choice to stay with Dillon after she knew that he would one day
have no choice but to leave her.

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 that he was struggling
to keep his emotions in check.

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

Lilly cut him off. “I know that, ok, but that
is not what this is about. You want to meet Jacque, well, that will
be up to her. I will tell her you are here, and if and only if she
wants to, you can meet her. But you’re going to have to give her
some time to process this, Dillon.”

“I know it’s a lot, but I want to see her
today. I need to speak with her about some important things she
needs to know about being a wolf.”

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

“Right, the pup who allowed her to be
harmed.” Dillon’s voice held obvious contempt for Fane.

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

Dillon seemed to gather himself and back
track. “I was wrong to assume it was his fault, Beta. I meant no
disrespect, but you have to understand that as her father it was
difficult to learn that your daughter was injured while in the care
of another wolf.”

“You may be her father, but only in blood,”
Decebel shot back at him, then 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 isn’t going to give Jacque
much time to think about whether or not she even wants to consider
meeting her father.”

“The longer it takes for her to decide, then
the longer he is here, and he has plans. He wasn’t being completely
honest about why he is here,” Decebel explained.

The elevator gave a slight lurch as it made
it to the floor where Jacque and Jen’s room was. The doors slid
open and once again Decebel exited first and then motioned for
Lilly to follow.

“What do you mean he has plans?” Lilly ground
out.

Decebel continued to walk towards the girls'
room without answering her question. As they approached the door,
Vasile and Alina stood from the chairs they had been sitting in
front of the room where Jacque and Jen were recovering.

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

"He wasn't telling the whole truth. He does
want to meet her, his emotions are sincere, but he is definitely
hiding something," Decebel explained.

"I don't understand how you could tell all
that," Lilly spoke up

"When a person is dishonest their body gives
off cues. Human senses cannot pick up on them, but wolf senses can,
and are highly attuned to them," Decibel explained. "When you lie,
generally your heart rate is quicker, your body gives off a slight
odor from perspiration that you might not even know is on your
skin, but it's there, your pupils dilate slightly, and your
nostrils flare out. Dillon being a wolf can hide some of that, but
I think seeing you threw him off and he wasn't protecting his
emotions as well as he normally could, especially for an
Alpha."

"So the million dollar question is, what does
he want with Jacque?" Alina asked.

Just then the door to the room they had been
guarding opened with a slight, but noticeable creak. "What does who
want with Jacque?" Jen asked as she stepped out of the room into
the hallway.

Chapter 12

Jen
walked slowly, it was awkward because of all the bandages and the
I.V. pole she had to drag around with 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 told them as she too came
out of the room.

Jen hobbled over to where Decebel stood and
stopped right in front of him. "I'm out of bed because there is
nothing fun going on in bed," she teased. After her earlier
encounter with him she couldn’t help but feel brave and she could
tell it made him uncomfortable for her to flirt with him, which
only made her want to flirt more.

Decebel glared at her and took a step back.
"You should be resting, not traipsing around in a hospital gown
with an I.V. pole," he told her, sounding completely indifferent,
just as if he were talking to a total stranger. Jen turned away and
looked at Sally to hide the hurt in her eyes, which she didn't even
know why she was feeling but there it was.