Blood Rites (13 page)

"It's probably best that you did not say
that, you are right, my love,"
Fane told her, obviously
listening to her inner dialogue. He had told her once that her
thoughts fascinated him. Her response had been that she was glad
she could entertain him.

Dillon turned his head in response to Jacque.
"You must be Jacque."

"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 about you, I would not have
stayed away. 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 walked
quickly 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 was he doing. 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 with
her 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 had
her reaching for a complete stranger, a stranger, but still her
dad.

Fane stood back, his wolf pacing as he
watched a stranger hold his mate, his mate who was hurting. 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

"I know, love, don't worry about me. Spend
time with Dillon. I will be fine."
He sent the thought to her
as well has a picture in his mind of brushing his finger tips
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
honestly.

"Why don’t you tell me about yourself:
favorites, dislikes, and all the stuff a father should know."
Dillon smiled reassuringly.

"Well, where to begin?" From there for the
next few hours Jacque and Dillon talked about anything and
everything. Fane could tell that they had very similar
personalities. Their likes and dislikes, even their sense of humor
was 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 that 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 was the cause of 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 told
him, letting 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 over him.
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 that 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.

Chapter 15

Dillon
stepped out into the hall after having
spent the morning and part of the afternoon with Jacque. He could
tell that Fane really did care for her and he was beginning to
rethink invoking his Alpha rights. If he didn't he would lose her,
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 were walking towards him.
This was not going to be pretty.

"How did it go?" Lilly asked him.

"Really well, she told me all about herself.
She's not shy at all." They all chuckled at that remark, obviously
in complete agreement.

"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 lead 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 in regards to my
daughter, who is a minor," Dillon announced with complete
confidence.

Vasile growled, causing Dillon's confidence
to waver momentarily, but then he remembered that 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 again," Decebel growled.

"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 have
the right to invoke Alpha rights, but you need to be sure that this
is really what you want to do. You do 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?" Alina asked him gently.

"I have, but then kids do not always know
what is best for them. If she comes with me I will get to spend
time with her. She 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 was 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," Dillon tried to reason.

"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, and 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 17, 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,
because 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
him.

"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 little
bit they will see that it would be good to wait to bond."

"You're trying to intervene what fate has
ordained. It's going to back fire 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 turned abruptly and fled the room, slamming the door behind
her.

Logan walked in just after Lilly's
departure.

"That went well," Dillon said
sarcastically.

"Vasile wants to speak with you," Logan told
him.

Dillon nodded his okay for Logan to let
Vasile in.

Vasile came into the room and his power
followed him. Dillon could feel it and it grated on his wolf as if
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 18. If she wants to be with Fane after
that, then I can't stop her. So from now until she leaves my wolves
will guard her. You will pull your wolves back, and 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 have no idea 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.

Chapter 16

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 was standing against the
wall, his look cold and promising death. Jen and Sally were sitting
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."