Blood Rites (29 page)

Decebel wasn't really sure how to respond to that. He
didn't know how to handle a discouraged Jennifer. Sarcastic,
bitchy, playful Jennifer, yeah, that he could deal with. But this
crushed, fragile spirit he didn't know what to do about it. He
pulled her closer and laid his chin on the top of her head. "I
would do anything to take the fear from you, to bring your friend
back to you unharmed."

Jen pulled back so she could look up at Decebel,
taken back by the words that were thick with emotion.

"I believe you," Jen told him as she stared into his
eyes.

Decebel leaned forward slightly and for a moment Jen
thought he meant to kiss her, but he caught himself. He coughed to
cover the awkward moment. "Well, I guess we better get back up to
the room and see if they are about ready to head to the
airport."

"Yeah, I guess we better." Jen stood and turned to
head back to the hotel. Despite Decebel's kind words she felt
worse. Not only was her best friend in the hands of a psycho wolf
but the guy she was falling for could never be hers. What had she
been thinking to even consider a fling with a guy, a man like
Decebel? It would break her heart when he found his mate. She
wasn't as strong as Lilly. Once Decebel was hers she would never be
able to let him go.

Fane watched as everyone boarded the plane .He had
reached for Jacquelyn several times since the last time she had
contacted him and still she would not let him in. He was beginning
to get angry at her rejection. Why would she not let him close to
her? Did she not understand how painful it was to be separated from
her? Did it not hurt her as well? For the first time since he had
met her Fane felt the fear of the possibility that she didn't want
him, didn't love him as he loved her. But he knew that couldn't be
true. She was his mate, the other half of his soul, she must be
feeling the pain at their continued separation. Something had to
have happened to cause her to keep him away. As soon as he was
alone and could concentrate he would, for the first time, force her
to let him into her mind. He knew he shouldn't but enough was
enough. He was her mate, how could he help her if she wouldn't let
him near?

Sally watched as Jen buckled into her seat on the
plane. Her face was devoid of emotion. It was the only time Sally
could remember ever seeing her sarcastic, outspoken friend look so
lost. She sat down next to her, buckled in, and then took her
hand.

"Talk to me, Jen," Sally said.

Jen looked at Sally and to Sally's surprise Jen
leaned forward, burying her face into Sally's neck. Sally felt
Jen's shoulders shaking and realized she was crying.

"Oh, Jen." Sally wrapped her arms around her broken
friend. "Sweetie, tell me, did that wolf hurt you? I'll kill him,
just say the word and I'll gut him like a fish."

Jen's shoulders shook harder. Finally she pulled back
and looked at Sally. "I'm just so scared for Jacque. What if that
piece of crap has hurt her? What if, god Sally, what if..." Jen
couldn't finish the thought, it was too horrible to even
consider.

"Then we will help Fane rip him apart, and then we
will love her so fiercely that she will know we will always be
there for her. No matter how long it takes for her to heal, we will
be there for her."

Jen nodded solemnly. "In the middle of worrying for
Jacque, I think, crap I don't know. I feel something for the big,
dumb wolf, but I shouldn't. He will only break my heart."

"Oh, my little Jen. Who would aim for the stars if
not for you? Don't give up, not yet, okay?" Sally told her.

Jen just shook her head. She wouldn't continue to
hope for something that would never be. She would focus on getting
Jacque back, and then she would have to seriously think about
whether she could handle being in Romania, where he would be.

Decebel looked over at Jen across the aisle from him.
Her face was blotchy from shed tears, her eyes swollen. He felt his
chest tighten and an unfamiliar desire to protect her, to rip
anything who dared to harm her to pieces. It was killing him not
being able to do anything about her pain. How did you fight an
invisible enemy? How do you repair an irreparable situation?
Decebel growled as he leaned his head back against the head rest
and closed his eyes, though he would glean no rest, not while Jen's
fear was pulsating over his skin. He wouldn't rest again until he
could see the light fill her eyes and the sarcasm roll easily from
her tongue once more.

Chapter 31

As
Cynthia ran the warm washcloth down
Jacque's back, trying to wash off the dried blood, she thought
about how when she had finally come to after being knocked out by
Logan, she had yelled until Logan had finally come back into the
room. She had shamed him for the treatment of his so called mate
and he finally had relented and brought her some warm water and a
cloth so she could clean Jacque's bloody skin. She had wanted to
try and talk Logan into letting her help Jacque take a hot bath,
but she hadn't been able to rouse the poor girl at the time.
Cynthia imagined she was in shock from the brutal treatment of the
wolf. Hell, she herself was in shock. Now that Jacque was awake she
feared how her mind would handle all that had happened to her at
the hands of Logan.

"Why did he do it?" Jacque finally raised her face
and looked Cynthia in the face.

"Oh honey, come here.” She pulled the chair her leg
was cuffed to closer so she could take Jacque in her arms. Jacque
began to cry silently, her face buried in Cynthia's shoulder.

"He made me drink his blood and then he took mine.
How will Fane want me now?"

"He will always want you, Jacque. You are his mate,
his and his alone," Cynthia told her as she gently rubbed her
back.

"I still hurt. I thought his blood was suppose to
make me better," Jacque told her.

Cynthia pulled back to look at Jacque. "Really? You
don't feel
any
better?"

Jacque shook her head. "No, I still feel like I'm on
fire, burning from the inside. He didn't do anything sexually to me
but I feel so violated, so dirty." Jacque closed her eyes as tears
slowly streamed down her face.

"In some ways what he did was more intimate than
sex."

"It was supposed to be Fane, Cynthia. God, it was
supposed to be Fane. It wasn't supposed to be like this."

"I know, sweetie. I know. It's my fault, Jacque." Now
Cynthia was crying. Cynthia knew what she said was true, it was her
fault. She had helped this monster get his hands on Jacque. How
could she live with herself ? "I was so angry at Fane for taking my
brother, I didn't want him to be happy, to have you. I didn't think
Logan would hurt you. I thought because he wanted you as his mate
he would treat you reverently as most males do their mate. But you
aren't really his, you aren't taking his darkness and it's only
feeding his madness. I'm so sorry. I did this and I will deserve
any punishment that your Alpha decides."

"I'm not mad at you, Cynthia. I don't have any
emotions left to be mad. I just want Fane. I just want my mate."
Jacque pulled back and leaned against the chair she was cuffed
to.

"Can you still feel him through your bond?" Cynthia
asked her.

"Yes, but I don't want him to know what happened.
What if he doesn't want me anymore? How will he ever want to touch
me after Logan has?"

"Jacque listen to me," Cynthia growled at her firmly.
"Fane is your true mate. There is nothing in this world that could
keep him from wanting you. He will never stop looking for you. You
have to believe that. Let him in, let him love you, that's the only
thing that will heal you emotionally and I suspect only his blood
will heal you physically."

"What if he doesn't find me in time? What if I die
before he can give me his blood?" Jacque thought she would be sick
at the idea of never seeing Fane or friends and family again.

"Don't spend this time separate from him. Reach out
through your bond. You have to know it's killing him for you not to
let him in and I can tell it's killing you."

Cynthia's head jerked towards the door a second
before it opened. Jacque couldn't help the whimper that emitted,
but steeled herself before she would let her fear over take her.
She decided then and there this asshole would not break her. She
wouldn't let him take Fane from her.

"You're awake, finally." Logan glared at her, the
contempt obvious on his face.

"Yes, well I'm sorry to keep you waiting but it takes
a little out of a girl when she's assaulted. You will have to
forgive my lack of consideration towards your feelings," she
growled out, knowing she shouldn't provoke him but unable to stop
himself.

Cynthia placed a hand on her leg, a silent
warning.

"Yes, well like I said, you pushed me Jacque. Now you
know. If you push, I will push back, and I will always win."

Jacque didn't respond, she simply glared at him,
meeting his stare without flinching.

Logan chuckled. "I see you really are an Alpha, good
to know. I would hate for you to be so easily broken. Where would
be the fun in that?"

"Logan, I told you earlier that if you want her as a
mate then you are not going about it the right way," Cynthia tried
reasoning with him.

"I will feel better once my mate no longer bears the
marks of another. I will have you give Jacque some of that
sedative, Cynthia. That way she won't be in too much pain when I
have them burned from her body."

Cynthia gasped. "You're not going to touch her,
Logan. I will die before you lay another hand on her."

"Oh, don't worry, Cynthia. That can be arranged. But
first I thought you would want to see this through, since you
helped me and all. Doesn't it feel good to know that the wolf who
killed your Alpha will never have his mate? I thought you would be
happy," Logan taunted.

"I can't wait to watch Fane rip your limbs off one at
a time. I will revel in your screams and then bathe in your blood."
The look Jacque gave him was feral and even she was surprised at
the bloodthirsty sound of her voice.

"You are a feisty one, I like that. I'll bring your
dinner in in a moment and then you should get some rest, love.
Tomorrow looks to be a rather trying day for you." Logan chuckled
as he turned to leave.

Jacque watched as he shut the door behind him. She
doubled over as pain uncoiled in her body.

"Jacque, is the pain getting worse?" Cynthia asked
gently.

"Yes, it just hurts. Will you talk to me, distract me
please."

Cynthia thought for a moment, trying to figure out
what to talk about, then she remembered about Jennifer and her
blood.

"I found out what was different with your friend's
blood."

Jacque looked up, genuine interest on her face.
"Really? What is it? Is she okay?"

"She has werewolf blood."

"Shut up," Jacque responded bluntly.

"Um, okay," Cynthia said, confused.

"Oh, no, I don't mean really shut up. It's more like
an 'oh crap' statement," Jacque quickly explained.

"Oh, well then, let me explain. Jennifer has werewolf
blood, although just a little bit. There is this thing called the
one drop rule. It was actually used to describe the amount of mixed
blood a person had back in the civil war days when there was
beginning to be interracial relationships and people were beginning
to see mixed children between African Americans and
Caucasians."

Cynthia spent the next couple hours explaining to
Jacque all about the one drop rule, and how it applied to Jen.
Jacque couldn't believe what she was hearing and undoubtedly had
been able to successfully keep her mind off of her pain. So maybe
it was possible that Decebel was her mate?

"Decebel has been acting so protective of Jen. Is it
possible he is her mate even though they haven't heard each other's
thoughts and she doesn't have his marks?" Jacque asked.

"I guess it's possible that since Jennifer's blood is
rather diluted. I guess it could require something more for the
mating signs to reveal themselves."

"What do you mean something more?"

"Perhaps a major physical or emotional reaction is
required to trigger the mating response," Cynthia explained.

"Huh, that sounds like what I learned in psychology
about how people with dormant genes of mental illness sometimes
have to have some sort of major life event to bring the gene to the
forefront."

"That's a good point, Jacque. It's quite possible
it's similar to that."

Both women were quiet after the long conversation,
both thinking of the possibilities. Jacque finally laid down,
grabbing a pillow off the chair. She turned onto her side facing
away from Cynthia, needing some time to think. She felt Cynthia lay
a blanket over her and said a silent thank you that the woman
seemed to understand that Jacque needed to be left alone for the
moment. That alone time didn't last long. She felt a hard push in
her mind and could have done nothing to keep him out.

"Jacquelyn, don’t shut me out. Please don't ever
force me to push into your mind like that again."
Jacque could
hear the desperation in his voice.

"I'm sorry I blocked you, Fane, but I don't know
how to face you right now."
Jacque bit her lip to keep from
crying. She wouldn't break down before she had told him everything,
he had a right to know.

"Tell me, Luna. Tell me whatever you need to, but
first hear this: I will always love you, always need and want you.
Don't you dare ever doubt that, are we clear?"

Damn that wolf, she thought as tears escaped her
eyes.
"Crystal."

"Good, now tell me."

Jacque decided she just needed to rip it off like a
band aid and maybe it wouldn't hurt as bad.
"He forced me to
take his blood and then he bit me. I tried to fight him, Fane, I
tried, but he was too strong. He clawed my back because he saw your
marks."
Before Jacque could stop herself she was pouring
everything out.
"He told me that tomorrow he is going to burn
your marks from my back. I was afraid you wouldn't want me anymore
because he bit me."