by Quinn Loftis
Jacque’s hands had gravitated to her swollen abdomen on their own as her mom had spoken. She felt her child kick, moving about inside of her stomach, somehow reassuring Jacque that everything was indeed how it should be. Jacque pictured herself holding their baby for the first time and knew everything her mother said was true. She was still scared, but things seemed less daunting somehow.
“Thank you,” Jacque said as she wiped her own tears away.
Lilly nodded. “That’s what a mother is here for. We won’t get it right a lot of the time, but occasionally we actually have profound things to say. I’m convinced we should record those moments so the rest of the time when we are stumbling around just trying to make sure we put on matching shoes every day, we can be reminded that in the midst of those times we really are getting wiser.”
Jacque laughed. “Well, that at least is reassuring.” Jacque let out a breath that she felt as if she’d been holding since the moment the Great Luna began their little adventure. She knew she still had to face Fane, but she did feel more grounded.
Lilly patted her leg as she stood up from their spot in the gazebo. “I’m just a phone call away if you need me, day or night.”
Jacque stood and hugged Lilly. When they stepped back she saw a fleeting moment of worry on her mom’s face. The hairs of the back of Jacque’s neck stood on end and she was overcome with a sinking feeling. “Is everything really going okay with Cypher and the warlocks?” she asked.
Lilly started to nod but then stopped. She looked down at her fidgeting hands for a few seconds before answering. “Things between Cypher and I are good. I mean we’re working through the whole over protective yet inappropriate decision of sending me away during that stuff with his brother. We are growing closer, but it is an adjustment to go from being single for eighteen years to suddenly having someone else’s feelings to consider.”
Jacque could tell that her mom was holding something back. “I’m not a kid anymore, Mom; you can be honest with me.”
A tired smile played on Lilly’s lips. “Believe me, I know you aren’t a child anymore. That doesn’t mean that I have lost my need to protect you. But I suppose after everything you’ve been through, you can handle this.” She let out a deep breath before plowing forward. “Something is wrong with Cypher’s people―something hard to explain. It’s like. . .” She shook her head. “I mean, I don’t fully understand it but it’s like their magic is dying, and it’s causing something inside of them to die as well.”
“What kind of something?” Jacque’s forehead wrinkled as her brow drew together.
Lilly seemed to be searching for the right word or words. “I don’t know if you’d call it their humanity because they aren’t human after all. But it’s like whatever is in them that makes them rational, caring, and moral—something other than impulsive monsters— is fading away.”
Jacque’s mouth dropped open and then closed again. She opened it again and this time words came out. “Has Cypher told Vasile about it?”
Lilly shook her head. “You know how the different species can be. They are very protective of their own and Cypher is worried that if he lets the wolves in on what is happening then they will tell the Fae who in turn would feel the need to step in.”
Jacque crossed her arms in front of her as she nodded. “I can understand that. I mean the Fae are basically the supernatural police. They are not exactly known for their diplomatic skills. The Fae are just as likely to come in guns blazing and eradicate the warlocks as to help them find a solution.”
“Exactly,” her mom agreed. “Cypher wants to see if he can figure it out and solve it on his own.”
“Is it affecting Cypher? I mean, is he still normal, or well, normal for his yellow-eyed self anyway?”
Her mom laughed. “Saying Cypher is normal is like saying one of your Canis lupus males is reasonable.”
As they walked through the garden to the door that led back into the mansion, Jacque touched her mom’s shoulder. “You will tell us if things get worse?”
Lilly hesitated but finally nodded. “I promise.”
Jacque stepped out of the garden and into the hall to find Fane leaning against the opposite wall with his arms crossed in front of his broad chest and his head bowed. Lilly walked over to him and spoke softly into his ear, so softly that Jacque couldn’t make out what she was saying. Fane’s shoulders tensed briefly but then relaxed. As Lilly stepped away she winked at Jacque before walking down the hall leaving Jacque and Fane alone.
Fane raised his head and Jacque took it as a good sign that his eyes had finally stopped glowing.
“Are you ready to talk to me now?” he asked gently.
Jacque bit her lip as she nodded.
Fane reached for her hand, took it, and led her back toward their room. “I need to warn you, Luna, that my wolf needs action more than words at this particular moment.”
Jacque felt her pulse speed up. She knew what Fane was saying. Just like their animal cousins, the wolves craved touch―not just the intimate kind but also the reassuring kind: a pat on the shoulder, a hug, or even just a hand grazing across the back. They thrived on that touch and found comfort in it―especially during times of worry, frustration, or pain.
Jacque was pretty sure that Fane’s wolf didn’t just need the reassuring kind of touch.
“It is reassuring between mates to share themselves with one another through physical intimacy,” Fane pointed out silently through their bond. She knew he wasn’t going to be withdrawing from her mind anytime soon, not after she’d closed him out.
As they entered their room, Jacque turned to face Fane but that was as far as she got before her legs collapsed beneath her as a sharp pain ripped through her abdomen.
Chapter 16
Fane lunged forward as he watched his mate collapse. He caught her just before her head would have slammed into the floor.
“Jacquelyn!” Her name was a plea on his lips as he watched her face turn a ghostly shade of white. “Luna, talk to me. What’s wrong?”
She didn’t answer him. Instead she tried to curl in on herself as she clutched at her abdomen. With every groan that rolled out of her, Fane felt a piece of him wither away.
“Da!” Fane called out through the pack bonds. “Something is wrong with Jacque. I think it’s something with the baby.”
“I’ll send Rachel. Is there any blood?” his father responded immediately.
Fane’s heart plummeted; he hadn’t thought about blood. He glanced down attempting to see if anything was on her jeans.
“Not that I can tell.”
Fane carefully picked his mate up in his arms and carried her over to their bed. Perspiration was gathering on her forehead as she continued to writhe in pain. She still hadn’t said a coherent word but when he turned to go to the bathroom to get a towel, she grabbed his shirt. Her eyes were wide with panic. His own panic began to well up inside of him, but he fought to suppress it. He knew that he needed his wits about him right now.
“Don’t leave me,” she ground out between clenched teeth.
“I’m not leaving you, love. I’m not going anywhere. I just wanted to get you a towel.”
She shook her head at him and clutched his shirt tighter. Fane sat down next to her, realizing that he couldn’t walk away from her for any amount of time when she looked at him like that. With her large green eyes she was begging him to fix it―to take the pain away. He wanted nothing more than to do just that.
The door opened and Rachel and Gavril’s scents poured in mixing with the smell of pain and fear. Fane looked up as Rachel approached on the opposite side of the bed. Her face was one of concentration and calm. She looked at him and met his stare.
“Prince, may I touch your mate?” she asked formally, reminding him that she was very, very old.
Fane nodded once but didn’t back away when Rachel moved forward and placed a hand on Jacquelyn’s stomach. The healer closed her eyes and Fane tried not to growl at her to hurry up.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and nearly turned to snarl at whoever dared get near his mate in such a vulnerable state.
“Easy,” Vasile’s voice and power cascaded over him, allowing him to keep his anxious wolf from lashing out, but only just.
Rachel pushed her power into Jacque as she searched out the problem that was causing the female so much pain. The first thing that she felt was Jacque’s panic and fear. She was terrified for the life of her child.
“Easy, Jacque,” she whispered softly to her as she attempted to assuage some of her terror. “I’m going to see what the problem is, and then we are going to do everything we can to make sure that you and the baby are okay.”
“Please, please, don’t let my baby die.”
The desperate appeal made Rachel even more determined to protect the pair. After all her years serving the packs, how many young Canis Lupus had Rachel seen born? How many small gifts had they been given? It was only a handful. She returned her energy and attention to Jacque’s womb as she inspected the uterus, placenta, and then the child within. The infant’s heart rate was rising. Jacque’s own panic seemed to cause it to rise even further.
“Peace, little one,” Rachel crooned to the child as she let her power surround the womb. It was only a few minutes later that Rachel realized the source of the pain and why the heart rate was increasing. Jacque was having contractions, and not just minor ones. These were labor contractions that, if allowed to continued, would lead to an early delivery.
“It is not time yet. You have to stay safe and warm for a little longer.” Rachel attempted to stop the contraction but all she was able to do was to lessen the intensity of it. She was surprised that she couldn’t do more, but then she remembered that Jacque was half human, and it might take human medicine to help where her healing powers would not.
She kept her hand on Jacque and continued to focus on holding back the contractions as she pulled her consciousness back out. She looked at Fane and met glowing wolf eyes.
“She’s in premature labor. I am able to lessen the strength of the contractions but I cannot stop them.”
“What can stop them?” Vasile asked from behind his son.
Rachel glanced up at the Alpha and then back to Fane. “I think she will need human treatment of some kind.”
Jacque could hear the voices around her but it was difficult to make out what they were saying. Her attention was too focused on the pain and her distress for her baby. Her hands clenched down on her stomach as another bout of pain rolled through her, though it wasn’t as bad as the last one. She’d heard Rachel’s voice and caught the word labor. Jacque didn’t want to panic because she figured that losing control wouldn’t help the situation, but at six months pregnant, she was pretty sure going into labor was not a good thing.
The sound of Jen’s voice snapped her out of her internal musings. She kept her eyes closed because the one time she’d tried opening them the room had been spinning.
“Decebel, you have to wait in the hall. Crap, man, look at Fane’s face. Do you really think he wants another dominant male near his pregnant mate?” Jen sounded truly exasperated, which Jacque knew was a common occurrence between the blonde and her mate.
“Now,” Jen said, sounding closer than before, “would someone please like to tell me what is going on?”
Jacque listened this time as Rachel explained to Jen that she was in premature labor and would need human medicine to stop it. Once again she fought the panic that threatened to rise up and strangle her. She must have made a noise because she felt Fane’s breath on her face as he whispered to her.
“I hate that you are hurting, Luna. I want to take your pain.” He sounded frustrated and helpless all at the same time. “We’re going to fix this; trust me to take care of you.”
“Save our baby, Fane,” she sent the thought to him, still struggling to keep her thoughts clear.
“I will save you both. That’s my privilege and duty.”
She believed him. Fane would walk through the fires of hell, had walked through the fires of hell for her, and he would do it as many times as he needed to in order to protect her and keep her safe. He would do the same for their child. Of that she had no doubt.
Chapter 17
Jen glanced at Jacque but couldn’t offer her friend more than that. It was too hard to see her hurting like that. After all of the times they each had been in danger, after all of their close calls and by the skin of their teeth moments, Jen was gun shy. She knew that the females of their species frequently lost children—if they were able to conceive at all. But with a healer in the pack it was supposed to be less common. She had to bite her tongue to keep from snarling at Rachel and asking her why in the hell her friend was in such a situation now.
“Okay, so we get her the medicine,” Jen stated matter-of-fact like. Why were they all just standing here staring at her? Why hadn’t someone already gotten their asses in gear and done something? Maybe it was because she nearly lost her own child, or maybe it was because she was a mom now and she fully understood just how protective mothers were of their babies. Whatever the reason, the thought of Jacque losing her baby was beyond Jen’s comprehension. It just wasn’t an option, sort of like Dec being feminine or Vasile wearing a leotard; it just wasn’t going to happen, not on her watch.
“Just going and getting human medicine isn’t as easy as it once was,” Rachel told her gently.
Jen felt her heart stutter. She hadn’t forgotten what Cynthia had done for them, how could she? Her and Dec’s child was named after the doctor, but she hadn’t thought about the fact that Cynthia had been their only link to the human medical community.
“Dammit!” Jen slammed her hand down on the desk next to her. She heard Fane’s growl and Decebel’s answering snarl but she ignored the posturing males. They could suck it for all she cared. Her best friend was in labor; her other best friend was off goodness knows where doing whatever dirty work Peri— Jen froze as the fae’s name popped into her mind. Her head whipped around to look at Vasile.
“We need a fae.” She was pretty sure she looked half crazed as she stared down the Alpha, but she didn’t give a damn. This was her best friend and her baby. She’d do a lot more than stare the Alpha of all Alphas in the eyes if she had to.
“I’ve had a little contact with Peri,” Vasile admitted, “but not much, and from what I understand, the situation they are in is quite precarious.”
Jen propped her hands on her hips and tried hard not to growl. She failed miserably. “I don’t give a flying piece of horse poo what their situation is. Jacque needs help and Peri is the fae who can help her.”
“And Peri is who will come.” Alina’s voice filled the room as she stepped passed a frowning Decebel.
The words had barely left Alina’s mouth when the room filled with a bright light and then darkness. All of the males tensed and growls filled the darkness.
“It’s good to know that nothing changes while I’m gone.” Peri’s voice cut through the darkness and then the light was back. The high fae stood next to the bed where Jacque lay. “You males still have no sense of humor and you females can’t seem to keep your asses out of the frying pan. Alina,”―Peri bowed slightly to her―“you rang?”
“Jacque needs human medicine to keep from going into labor and popping out a furless pup and you need to get it for her,” Jen said before Alina could respond. Her arms were now crossed in front of her chest as she stared down the fae.
“Well, hello to you too, Jennifer. No, no, I’m fine, please don’t worry about me. And oh, Sally is doing great too. We’re just having a good old time dealing with the mess Lorrelle got us into before her much too easy death.”
Jen made a dismissive gesture with her hand. “I don’t have time for your sister issues. You are standing on your own two feet and Costin hasn’t called in the cavalry which tells me you and Sally are hanging in there. She,” Jen said and motioned toward Jacque, “on the other hand, is not doing quite as well. C
ould we please focus on that?”
A small smile touched Peri’s tight lips. “Jen, you are still just as lovely as ever. Like sitting bare assed on a cactus, you bring such joy to my life.”
“Yeah and I’ve missed you like I miss my last yeast infection,” Jen retorted.
“Like I said, it’s good some things do not change. Fine, Rachel,” the fae looked at the healer. “What do you need?”
Rachel’s eyes were wide as she looked between Jen and Peri. “I’m not sure the name of the medicine,” she said carefully, obviously worried that Jen was going to fly off the handle. “It’s a drug they use to stop the contractions of labor.”
“Good enough, I’m sure I can coerce some doctor to share his or her knowledge with me if you will―” Her words froze as Jen moved quickly across the room until her hand was clenched tightly around Peri’s wrist. “Um,”―Peri looked at Jen as though she were a slimy bug―“what are you doing?”
“You think you’re going without me? Uh, no. Besides you might need my help persuading the information out of someone.”
“Or you could just look the information up on the internet,” Decebel spoke up as he stepped into the room ignoring Fane’s growl. “She doesn’t need you to tag along, Jennifer.”
Jen’s eyes narrowed. “B, this is not the time. I’m going to help get Jacque what she needs. Deal with it.”