by Quinn Loftis
Lilly nodded. “I know this, Fane. At first I was angry and scared. However, now that I have spent some time with you, albeit not enough, I can tell you are a good man. I say 'man' because you can no longer be a boy, you have to protect my little girl.” Her voice sounded almost desperate now.
Jacque’s head snapped up when she heard her mom’s tone and saw the fear in her eyes.
“Okay,” Jacque started, taking a deep breath, “give me just a moment, ok? Let me process this…out loud.” She turned her head to look at Fane. “You, Casanova, give me some space, you’re freaking me out right now.”
Fane let go of her hand and moved away from her, though only a tiny bit. Jacque rolled her eyes.
“So my father turns all hairy once a month, is that what I hear you telling me?”
Fane and Sorin both let out a snort of laughter but pulled it together when Lilly glared at them.
“No, all the things you think you know about werewolves are false. Canis lupus can phase – they don’t call it changing – whenever they want to. They can phase their whole body into wolf form, or just their eyes, or teeth, or whatever. It has nothing to do with the moon.”
Jacque knew her mom loved interesting things, and she definitely found the whole werewolves-being-real bit interesting. She was past the whole trek down memory lane and moving right along onto the highway of the unbelievable.
“I can’t phase though, right?” Jacque asked apprehensively.
“No,” Lilly, Fane, and Sorin all said at the same time.
“Surround sound, nice,” Jacque said sarcastically.
What can I say? she thought to herself. I get sarcastic when I’m freaked out.
“Well, that’s a crappy deal. Here you have a dad who can turn into this cool wolf thingy and you can’t even get a sexy, bushy tail,” Jen said as she and Sally walked into the living room.
Jacque stood up, the relief very obvious on her face.
“What are you two doing here?” she asked them.
“I asked them to stay and listen in. I knew you would tell them anyway and figured you would need some support from people you didn’t feel like were hiding things from you,” Lilly told her.
“So you guys heard everything?” Jacque asked tentatively.
“Every page-turning word. I wanted to pop some popcorn. I figured there might be some tense moments and you know I eat when I’m tense, but goody two shoes here wouldn’t let me,” Jen said irritably.
Sally patted Jen’s hand in mock sympathy. “We know, sweetie. But see, since it was Jacque finding out it was her dad who gets hairy, not yours, I didn’t really care if you were tense.”
Jen took Sally’s hand off hers and bit into it hard enough to leave teeth marks.
“Hey! What the hell, chick?” Sally exclaimed.
“See, don’t you wish you'd given me the popcorn?” Jen retorted.
Jacque started laughing, she just couldn’t help herself. She was so grateful to have Sally and Jen giving her something normal to grasp onto.
Jacque turned and looked at her mom. “So my father left because he found his true mate, or whatever?”
“Yes, and I want you to know I don’t blame him. I knew that it would eventually happen,” Lilly answered.
“Did he ever know about me?” Jacque asked, not really sure if she wanted to know the answer because if he did, and he had never bothered to come meet her, it was really going to hurt.
“No honey, he didn’t know. After he left I had no way to contact him. If he'd known he would have wanted to be a part of your life. He is a good man, Jacque. Only problem was he wasn’t really a man. Just my luck, huh?” Lilly said with a sad smile.
Jacque thought for a moment and something Fane had said earlier came to mind – he had called her his mate!
She slowly turned to look at him and saw that his head was down, shoulders slumped as if he were deflated. It broke her heart to see him look so broken. Jacque walked over to him and got down on her knees in front of him. He still did not move. Jacque took her finger and placed it under his chin and raised his head so she could see his face. The look she saw brought tears to her eyes. She didn’t talk out loud, she felt like this was private, just between them, and for the next few moments there was no one in Jacque’s world but Fane.
“What’s wrong, Fane?” she asked him.
“You know what you are to me, yes?”
Jacque whispered her answer out loud. “Mate.”
Fane nodded his head. “Yes, meu inimă. You are my mate, the other half of my soul, and the thought of you not wanting me is more than I can bear,” Fane told her honestly.
“No pressure, huh?” Jacque said, trying to lighten the mood.
“I would never ask you to do something you do not want to, Luna, but I will not lie and say that I won’t follow you around like a sick puppy,” Fane said with a smile, though the tears were not quite gone yet.
“I just need time to sort through all this. I’m not saying I don’t want you, I mean, now that I’ve met you the idea of life without you makes it hard to breathe,” Jacque revealed.
Fane took her hands in his and said, “Time is the one thing I can’t give you, love.”
Chapter 18
Fane held the hands of his mate and hated to have to tell her that he couldn’t give her the one thing she wanted, but there was no time. He needed to complete the bond through the blood rites, especially since there was another Canis lupus attempting to claim her. Once the bond was complete, no other male could dispute whose mate she was.
Fane pulled Jacquelyn up off the floor and returned her to the seat next to him. He continued to hold one of her hands, taking comfort from the touch.
“I’m not trying to rush you, Jacquelyn. Under different circumstances I would give you all the time you need, but you are not safe un-bonded,” Fane explained to her.
“Ok, that was just clear as mud. Would you mind elaborating why I am not safe?” Jacquelyn asked.
“When I came here my father…wait, let me back up for a moment and tell you a little about who I really am so that everything fits together, okay?” Fane asked.
“Whatever gets us to the place we need to be. I’ll try not to ask 'are we there yet',” Jacque answered impatiently.
“I am Canis lupus like your father. My lineage is Romanian. There are many types of werewolves. But we are known as Grey wolves, as is your father,” Fane explained.
“How can you know my father is a Grey?”
“My father told me,” he answered.
“Who is your father?” Jen asked, enthralled in the conversation.
Everyone in the room turned to look at her. She just lifted her shoulders and said, “My bad. That was Jacque's line, wasn’t it?”
Sally shook her head and hit Jen in the shoulder. Jen scowled at her.
“My turn,” Jacque piped in. “So, who is your father?” she repeated.
“I’m getting to that. You two jumped the bullet,” Fane told them.
The three girls laughed. Sorin coughed, trying to disguise his laughter.
“Jumped the gun, handsome, not bullet,” Jen corrected him with a grin.
“Oh. Well, as you would say, my bad,” he told Jen.
“Let me continue. As I said I am a Grey and my Pack is in Romania. Every pack has an Alpha, just like our animal cousins. The Alpha is sort of like the king, he rules the pack. He keeps order so that dominant wolves don’t tear each other apart, and so that everyone, especially the non-dominants, also called submissives, are protected.” Fane was trying to make sure he made all this as clear as he could so that Jacquelyn would understand where she fell in all this – and what her new life would be like.
“My father is the Alpha of the Romanian Canis lupus. I am next in line to be Alpha and our Pack calls me Prince. I am a dominant, which means it is in my nature to want to protect those weaker than me. It is also in a dominant’s nature to be aggressive and very territorial. An Alpha has to be a dominant
or else he can not maintain order in the pack. Are you with me so far?” Fane asked her.
“You’re a Romanian werewolf prince, your dad is the werewolf king, you are bossy, possessive, and territorial by nature. Which, if you were just a wolf would mean you’d pee on whatever you wanted to mark as yours.”
Jen was nearly rolling on the floor at Jacquelyn’s description.
“And why exactly did you bring your royal butt to Texas?” Jacquelyn finished.
Fane was smiling, thankful that her sense of humor was still intact. He took that to mean she was handling this news rather well.
“Every male Canis lupus has one mate, only one. Sometimes they are drawn to a certain area. I think it’s natures way of helping us wolves out, because it can take years and even centuries to find your mate.” Fane let that sink in a minute, knowing the inevitable was coming. But Jen beat Jacquelyn to the punch…again.
“Hold on, put on the brakes, throw it in park, and set the emergency brake while you’re at it. Did you just say centuries?” Jen asked dubiously.
This time, nobody paid attention to the fact it wasn’t Jacquelyn who had asked. They were all too busy looking at Fane, waiting for an answer. Sorin, however, was just sitting in the ugly peach chair looking bored. He could throw his two cents in at any moment, Fane thought to himself. But Sorin just sat there.
“Yes, I said centuries. Canis lupus live much, much longer than humans,” Fane answered.
This time is was Jacquelyn who asked, “How much longer? ‘Cause you know I’m only good for like seventy five years, maybe eighty. If I sit any longer on the shelf, I expire.”
“Once we complete the blood rites your life is tied to mine and you will live as long as I do, just as I will live as long as you. You see, Jacquelyn, once mates are bonded one cannot live without the other. It is the way of our species that when one mate dies the other follows,” Fane told her.
“Oh my gosh!” Sally exclaimed. “That is so freaking romantic! Or depressing. It’s all in how you look at it. Do you have any cousins?” she asked him hopefully.
“I’m sorry, Sally, but you must have Canis lupus somewhere in your lineage to bond with a Canis lupus.”
“I can check. You know, like do some research, ‘cause there is no telling what’s in my blood. I could go back generations…” Sally was interrupted when Jen covered Sally’s mouth with her hand.
“Don’t mind her. She's missing that part in her brain that tells her when to shut up,” Jen said.
“You’re one to talk,” Jacquelyn said, smiling.
“Okay, keep going. I need to get this all out tonight so I can have tomorrow to freak out,” Jacquelyn told Fane.
“I came to Texas because my wolf somehow knew you were here, and that his mate, our mate, was in danger. Before you ask, I will try to explain this quickly. My wolf and I are one, but also separate. When I am not in wolf form, he is still there. I can still call on him for help and use his attributes. When I am in wolf form he uses my human attributes – I can still think and reason like a man. That is why we don’t call it changing, because that implies that when we are in our wolf forms we no longer retain any human attributes, and vice versa, which is not the case. We always coexist together. Does that make sense?” Fane asked.
“Yeah, I get that. Not that it’s easy to believe, but I understand the logistics of it,” Jacquelyn answered.
Fane let go of her hand and brushed her hair away from her face. She looks so tired, he thought to himself. He was so grateful that she hadn't thrown him out or told him he was crazy . But there is still more, so she might throw me out yet.
“I realize what you’re saying is that I’m your mate. You’ve mentioned this bond thing, and blood…what did you say?” Jacquelyn asked.
“Blood rites. Even though we are mates, we have to perform a ceremony to bond us to each other,” Fane began.
“Oh, Sally, get some popcorn now. It’s fixing to get rich,” Jen interrupted.
Jacquelyn rolled her eyes and Fane just ignored the comment. He didn’t want to be distracted, his Luna needed to know what was coming and know it had to happen very, very soon.
“Ok, back up. When you say perform a ceremony, are you talking behind closed doors type stuff?” Jacquelyn asked him, sounding embarrassed and nervous at the same time.
“If you are asking me if we must consummate our relationship to complete the bond, then the answer is no, Luna.”
He saw her take a deep breath and let it out in obvious relief.
“Put up the popcorn, Sally, things are staying stale,” Jacquelyn announced.
“Can’t you ever just drizzle on my parade or do you always have to have a full monsoon?” Jen asked her with obvious irritation.
“Is the idea really that bad to you, Luna?” Fane asked, honestly wondering.
“We are so so so NOT having this conversation right now. I may be your mate or whatever, but I've only known you three stinking days. What kind of girl do you think I am?” Jacquelyn thought back to him.
“Well in truth, love, it does please me to know that is something you do not take lightly,” Fane told her. Then, sounding a little unsure, he asked, “You haven’t taken it lightly, so to speak, with anyone else, have you?”
Jacquelyn closed her eyes and shook her head. She took a breath and Fane could tell she was trying to reign in her fiery little temper.
“If you absolutely must know, there hasn't been anyone I've wanted to take lightly…ever. And since you are being so stinking nosy, what about you? Is there a double standard in the Canis lupus world? Is it okay for a guy to take any and everyone lightly without repercussions?” Jacque threw back at him.
“Thank you. To answer your question, it is very uncommon for a male Canis lupus to take anyone but his mate lightly.” Fane grinned at the euphemism they were using to keep from having to actually say 'making love'. Jacquelyn caught that thought. “Nope, it’s called not taking it lightly, deal with it.”
Fane laughed out loud at her embarrassment, which caused everyone in the room to look at him. He couldn’t help himself, she was such a joy to his heart. He didn’t care if she never called it what it was, just so long as she would be his.
“Are you two ready to share the conversation with the rest of us, or would you like to take this to another room?” Jen asked sarcastically.
“Nope, no need to leave. We're just all one big happy family, sharing, talking, and getting all the gory details of life as a werewolf. Just another typical Wednesday night,” Jacquelyn rambled on nervously.
“Are you ready for me to continue, my Luna?” Fane asked her.
“Bring it on.”
“The blood rites ceremony is performed by the Alpha of the pack you are joining, so it will be performed by my father. In some ways it is much like a human wedding. There are usually only a few witnesses – family and close friends. We will exchange vows...” Fane took a breath because he knew what he was going to say next she would not like. “...and then we do the blood rites,” he finished vaguely. He knew she wouldn’t let him off that easy, but he thought it wouldn’t hurt to try.
“Fane, darling, what exactly are the blood rites?” Jacquelyn asked him with sweetness that he knew better than to believe.
“Understand, Jacquelyn, we are not human. There are some things that our wolf nature demands, one of those things is a blood rite. A male Canis lupus wants the world to know his mate is his. There are several ways this happens. For example, his mate takes on the markings that he has on his body. The markings on Canis lupus reveal their place in the pack. For instance, I am a dominate so my markings are on the right side of my body. They are also very elaborate and go to the front of my chest, indicating that I am an Alpha. My father explained to me that when an Alpha finds his mate he develops new markings that are visible even with clothes on, like on the neck, in order to tell all Canis lupus that he is mated. A mated Alpha is a much stronger Alpha.”
Fane paused to give her a chan
ce to ask any questions, and then just to humor her he turned and looked at Jen, who responded with, “Oh, I’m good. Carry on, this is great stuff.”
Fane winked at her and grinned.
To his and Jen's surprise Jacquelyn reached over and slapped his arm. “Quit winking at my friends. Jen’s gonna hyperventilate and Sally’s gonna pass out. Get on with this whole blood rites thing,” she growled at him.
“You’re a violent little thing, aren’t you?” Fane teased.
She gave him a look as if to say “I’m waiting.”
So he continued. “That is one way the male's mate is marked.”
Sally raised her hand like she was in school.
Jen rolled her eyes and said, “Put your hand down, you dork, and just ask.”
“How do the markings identify her to other werewolves if no one can see them unless she wears a low shirt like Jacque did tonight?” Sally asked.
Fane growled and that earned him another slap on the arm from Jacquelyn.
“Don’t growl at my friends, either.”
“I wasn’t growling at them, love. I was growling at the idea of another seeing your markings. The markings on the female are meant only for her mate to see, they are precious to him because it is the first thing that indicates she is his. Male Canis lupus do not like other males to see their mates' markings. It was very difficult for me tonight with yours showing, it helps that your hair covers up most of them,” he told her.
“So it’s kind of like some guy looking in her lingerie drawer and seeing all her hot little outfits, huh?” Jen stated with a grin.
“Only you would come up with that analogy. You know that, right?” Sally asked her.
“I’m just clarifying things. You know, breaking it down, making it chewable,” Jen responded.
“Jen, Sally, I love you guys but zip it, okay?” Jacquelyn asked them in exasperation.
Both girls ran their fingers across their lips as if to close a zipper and gave her the thumbs up sign. Jacquelyn nodded her thanks.