Piercing Silence (11 page)

“Why did I wait to come?” Fane snarled. “I
told you I wasn’t going to like what I found,” he said shooting his
Alpha a glare.

“You can’t dwell on what could have been,”
Vasile told him. “You are here now and you know without a doubt
that she is yours.” He turned then and looked at Decebel. “Why are
you challenging for the blonde female?”

Jacque’s heart broke all over for Decebel as
she saw him wrestling with the emotions he didn’t understand
because, just like the first time, there were no mating signs
between him and Jen.

“Honestly, Alpha, I don’t know. I saw that
mutt touching her and my wolf nearly took over. I’ve never
responded to any female that way. But I can’t get into her mind.
There’s a connection, but I don’t understand it.”

Vasile stared thoughtfully at his Beta. “I’m
sure there is an explanation for it. What happens when you win the
challenge? Will you leave her here?”

Decebel growled. “Until I understand what’s
happening, where she is, I will be.”

“That’s what I was afraid of,” Vasile
muttered.

“I don’t know what you
guys are fretting about,” Costin spoke up from the back of the
vehicle. “We’ve found our true mates
and
we get to wipe the floor with
some cocky wolves that need to be put in their place. How is this
not a win-win?”

Sorin clapped him on the back as he shook
his head. “The glass is always half full to you isn’t it?”

Costin shrugged. “Would you rather be like
those two who both look like they’ve found a pit of vipers instead
of their true mates?”

To Jacque’s surprise, Fane turned around so
fast that she felt the breeze of his movement on her face. His
glowing blue eyes and inhumanly long teeth had made an appearance
as he narrowed his eyes on Costin. “Of course, I’m thankful I’ve
found my true mate. But forgive me if it’s a little disturbing to
find her in the arms of another wolf,” Fane snarled. His posture
seemed to deflate as he sat back down. “I’ve already seen too
much,” he said, more to himself than the others. “Jacquelyn doesn’t
know to block her thoughts or memories and they’ve been together
for two years. I don’t blame her. She knows that she is half Canis
lupus, but she didn’t know about true mates. What I don’t
understand is why her mother didn’t tell her about them.”

“We don’t know everything, son,” Vasile
said. “I understand how hard it is to see your mate with another
male, but until you know everything, you need to save your
questions.”

“You’ve seen her thoughts about their
physical relationship?” Decebel asked.

Jacque saw the glint of violence in his
eyes. It was something she’d seen before and something she never
wanted to be on the receiving end of.

Fane’s jaw clenched as he gave a rigid
single nod.

“You can at least be glad he is a wolf. If
he was human, you wouldn’t be allowed to rip the arms that held
your mate from his body.”

“Or gouge out the eyes that have seen what
only you should be allowed to see,” Costin added a little too
eagerly.

“Holy crap, they’re a blood thirsty group,”
future Jacque whispered.

“You know how strong their protective
instincts are. I am actually surprised they have had this much
self-control, especially Decebel. The darkness is heavy in him. He
has been too long without his true mate at this point.”

“We are not animals!” Vasile snarled at the
males. “We do not lose control and act like ravenous beasts because
of jealousy!”

Jacque was shocked when Fane growled at his
father. “That is exactly what we are!” He smacked his chest with
the flat of his palm. “I have a beast inside of me and he is a part
of me. A part of me is an animal. Do not expect me to act like a
man! He knew the rules. Jacquelyn maybe innocent in this, but Lucas
Steele is not. He knew when no mating signs appeared that she
wasn’t his, which meant she belonged to someone else, and he
touched her anyway. He will be lucky if I don’t rip him apart piece
by offending piece.”

Jacque noticed that Decebel’s breathing had
increased with every word Fane spoke. The Beta obviously wasn’t
unaffected by the description Fane was sharing so eloquently.
Jacque herself was surprised by her mate’s anger. The first time
she’d met Fane he had been so calm and in control. The man before
her was more like the wolf; she gasped as the realization hit
her.

“He’s dealing with exactly the same thing
that he experienced in the In-Between,” she said to the Great Luna
as she rubbed her forehead. “Bloody freaking hell! It wouldn’t
matter what I did, he would still face the same thing.”

“But in this instance, he is dealing with
reality, not some horrible trick of the In-Between. The things he
has witnessed through this Jacque’s memories really happened.”

“Oh shit, please tell me I didn’t sleep with
Lucas.” Jacque’s stomach churned dangerously as she thought about
Fane having to see something like that in her mind.

“Not in the way that you mean,” the goddess
reassured. Though, truly, it didn’t give her any relief. Even if
Fane witnessed Lucas embracing her, that would be painful
enough.

Her attention was drawn back to the males
when Vasile pushed his power throughout the vehicle and had every
man lowering their heads unable to move.

“I am your Alpha and you will obey me. The
challenge is to the death. That is your recompense for the offense
of him touching your mate. You will not be overly brutal in taking
his life.”

“No disrespect, Alpha,” Decebel spoke but it
sounded strained and painful. Jacque was surprised he could even do
that much, but then she remembered that Decebel was an Alpha in his
own right. He submitted to Vasile because he had not wanted to be
an Alpha at one time. “It will take more than your command to keep
me from destroying the male who had his hand on Jennifer. There are
no mating signs, but my wolf recognizes her as his. No one touches
what is mine, especially a male who knew better. He forfeited a
dignifying death when he disrespected my female and me. Why should
I show him any mercy?”

The males raised their heads slowly as
Vasile pulled his power back under control. He met Decebel’s
glowing amber eyes and Jacque saw in his face the compassion that
her father-in-law was known for. “You, above all, deserve to
finally have your mate. I know that and I understand how
desperately you need her. Don’t let finding her turn you into what
you fight so hard not to become. I concede that we have an animal,
a beast, living inside of us, but the Great Luna also gave us the
spirit of a man. We have the ability to reason, to think beyond the
immediate moment. We have been entrusted with all of the strengths
of the wolf and that of man as well. We cannot abuse that power.
These wolves showed no self-control by attempting to take females
that were not their true mates. Do not lower yourself to their
standards by giving up your own self-control.”

“I can make you no promises,” Decebel
admitted coolly.

The silence in the SUV was so tangible that
Jacque was sure if she made a sound they would be able to hear her.
Her mind was drawn back to the reasons she’d thought it would be
best for Fane to have never met her and she realized how foolish
she’d been.

Fane was her mate. He held the other half of
her soul and she’d stupidly believed they wouldn’t have found one
another regardless of how long it took. They were as inevitable as
the rising of the sun.

She looked over at the future Fane. He was
hurting, just as the Fane in her reality was hurting. The pain that
she thought to save him from had still occurred.

He lowered his head and pressed his
fingertips against his forehead. His shoulders were tight and she
wanted so badly to reach out and rub the stress from him.

“I just need her with me,” Fane whispered
into the silence. “I can handle anything as long as she is by my
side.”

Decebel and Costin both nodded their heads,
the looks on their faces making it clear that they completely
agreed with his statement.

Decebel’s head snapped around to look out of
the window and Jacque followed the direction of his stare. That was
when she realized they were just down the street from her house. A
small smile appeared on her face; she should have known they
wouldn’t have been far.

“What the hell are they doing now?” Decebel
growled as they watched the three girls step out of her front
door.

The males waited until they were several
houses away before they climbed silently from the vehicle and
started to follow them. Jacque and the Great Luna were suddenly out
of the SUV, without having to lift a leg, and walking with the
males. They’d only gone about twenty feet when Vasile motioned for
them to stop.

All of the males lifted their noses into the
air and breathed. Snarls followed as they confirmed what Jacque
already knew.

“Lucas and some of his pack are here,”
Vasile said, speaking so softly that only werewolf hearing would
pick it up.

Decebel started to continue forward but
Vasile stopped him. “They will catch our scent as well if the
direction of the wind changes.” He turned to Fane and Costin. “Can
either of you track your mates through the mental bond?”

Fane nodded. “She doesn’t realize it, but I
have complete access to her mind.”

“Not like he would have stayed out anyway,”
Jacque muttered.

“Then we will follow them.” Vasile motioned
for them to get back in the vehicle.

“We’re just going to let the girls go with
those mongrels?” Decebel asked incredulously.

“A wise man not only picks his battles
carefully but also his battlefield,” Vasile said, placing a hand on
his Beta’s shoulder. “Trust me.”

After several tense heartbeats, Decebel
nodded and loaded up with the others.

The Great Luna placed a hand on Jacque and
they too were once again in the SUV with the males.

“Why would Lucas break the rules of the
challenge?” Fane asked as his leg bounced restlessly. “He knows now
that we don’t have to wait. We can attack immediately and it won’t
be just the three we challenged.”

“Heck yeah!” Costin hollered. “A good brawl
is just what we need. Well, really what we need is our females, but
I don’t think they’re just going to jump in our arms and let us
have our way with them, so a brawl is the next best thing.”

Jacque laughed as the others looked at
Costin as though he’d lost his mind. Of all the males, Costin had
always been the most laid back, but she’d seen that laid back did
not mean submissive. Costin would hold his own with the best of
them. His pretty smile and flirty ways only hid the aggressive,
possessive wolf beneath.

Fane gave directions to Vasile as he
searched through future Jacque’s mind. Every now and then he’d let
out a muttered curse and Jacque knew she didn’t want to know what
it was that was causing that reaction in him.

“Are you going to make me watch this?”
Jacque asked the Great Luna. “I’ve seen my mate in so many battles,
but judging by his mind set right now, I don’t know if I want to
watch him fight.”

The Great Luna looked back at her and Jacque
knew she saw everything. There was no hiding her fears, her joys,
her sadness, or pain. The goddess saw it all and Jacque hoped she’d
have mercy on her.

Jacque felt her hand once again on her arm
and again came the pulling sensation. She opened her eyes and saw
that they were in the woods, but she knew instantly it wasn’t
Romania. She heard the snarls and growls and turned to see a flurry
of claws and fangs. So, she wasn’t going to be spared the violence
after all.

“I have my reasons,” the Great Luna said as
she moved closer to where the males fought. They were in various
forms, some in their human bodies and some in their wolf. Jacque
recognized Fane in his black wolf form with crystal blue eyes as he
circled his prey.

It all seemed too familiar, except this time
Decebel, Sorin, Costin, and Vasile were fighting as well. It was by
no means a fair fight. Several of Lucas’ pack members had joined in
and were double-teaming some of the Romania pack males, but they
still weren’t as powerful and Decebel and Vasile who picked them
off like flies.

Jacque heard her own scream and looked up to
see her future self surrounded by Jen and Sally as they each
watched in horror. The guys they’d been dating were fighting for
their lives, and losing. Jacque blinked and suddenly she wasn’t
looking out of her own eyes anymore. She was seeing out of future
Jacque’s eyes and feeling her emotions. She felt her best friend’s
hands in her own and heard her own heartbeat pounding like a drum
in her chest.

She watched Fane fight and realized that
though future Jacque didn’t know him, she couldn’t stand to bear
the thought of him hurt. She was upset with herself for not being
worried about Lucas, but she couldn’t deny her connection with
Fane. So much confusion warred inside of her as they watched Fane
lunge forward and grab Lucas by the neck and shake him like a rag
doll. He released the wolf and jumped back out of the reach of
Lucas' sharp teeth. They danced back and forth like that for a few
moments with Fane scoring a bite here and there. Jacque realized
that Fane was just toying with Lucas. And her future self realized
it as well.

“Finish it all ready. You
aren’t a damn cat to play with your food. Can you not let him
live?”
Somehow Jacque heard the thought
that future Jacque sent to Fane.

“I realize you do not
understand everything because this fool kept you ignorant, and I’m
sorry that it will hurt you to see him die, but I cannot break the
rules of the challenge. He knew you were not his mate and yet he
claimed you anyway. In our world, that is forfeiting one’s
life.”
Fane continued to fight with Lucas
as he spoke to her but she noticed that he was no longer playing.
He attacked with a ferocity that future Jacque had never seen and
didn’t understand. In less than a minute from the time she told him
to finish him, Fane had Lucas by the neck as his body hung at an
odd angle.