Just One Drop

by Quinn Loftis

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Jen muttered under her breath. "Knock, wait, be invited in – it's really a simple concept. But does the pissy werewolf get it? Noooo, of course not. That would be too damn polite."

  Decebel stepped in. His eyes landed on Jen and his large body seemed to cause the room to shrink. Jacque stood and started to walk away from the bed. Jen grabbed her hand, pleading with her eyes for Jacque to stay. Jacque shook her head and pulled her hand free.

  "Talk to him," she mouthed to Jen.

  As Sally and Jacque headed out of her room, Jen muttered under her breath, "Traitors."

  Jen heard the click of the door as it closed, an ominous sound that caused goosebumps to cover her arms. She continued to lie back on her bed, but after several minutes of silence she finally sat up.

  Jen looked at the wolf standing across her room. He had propped himself up against the wall, arms folded across his chest. The classic Decebel pose, she thought to herself with a mental chuckle.

  Neither spoke as they both continued to stare at one another. Jen met his gaze head on but eventually allowed her eyes to wander. She would never get tired of looking at him. His dark hair was cut short on the sides, and longer on top, sweeping gently across his forehead. His warm amber eyes she swore could stare a hole in a person. He had a straight, tapered nose and full lips. His face was chiseled and smooth, as if carved from stone. He was handsome – very handsome.

  She wasn't sure how tall he was but he matched Fane in height and Jen remembered Jacque saying Fane was 6'4". His broad shoulders filled out the snug, white t-shirt he wore. His skin tone was a warm golden tan, a color that would take Jen weeks of laying out in the sun to achieve. He had a narrow waist and long, powerful looking legs.

  Decebel cleared his throat, causing Jen's head to snap back up to his face. He looked smug, which only served to tick Jen off more.

  "What do you want, Decebel?" she asked, and was pleased that her voice sounded so steady when she felt anything but.

  Decebel continued to stare at Jennifer, emotions swirling inside him that he couldn't seem to get a grasp on.

  "I -" he started, but seemed to be confused about what to say. "You can't go around dancing on bars and downing vodka like it's water."

  Jen stood up, arms stiff by her side. "Says who? You? Well, here's a news flash: you aren't my dad, you aren't my brother, and YOU AREN'T MY KEEPER." Jen's voice got louder as her anger flared.

  "I'M YOUR M- " Decebel roared, pushing himself from the wall. But he caught himself before he finished his sentence, nearly biting his tongue in the process. His breathing had increased, he was shocked at the words that nearly flew from his lips.

  He didn't understand where it had come from but it felt true, right. These thoughts sped through his mind in a matter of seconds. He continued to glare at her and spoke again, no longer yelling, but his words were firm. They were law. "I'm your Beta, and as such, you do take orders from me and you will follow them." Decebel cocked his head to the side, suddenly remembering something. "And where in the world did you learn Romanian?"

  Jen grinned at that. "The internet is a wonderful place to learn new things, Beta. It would be a great place for you to learn a thing or two."

  Decebel took a step towards her. "I have a feeling I'm quite a bit ahead of you in the education department of most areas." His eyes sparkled wickedly.

  "Oh, my furry little friend, you would be surprised at what I know," Jen said, matching his suggestive tone word for word, syllable for syllable.

  Decebel narrowed his eyes at her. "What is that supposed to mean?"

  Jen shrugged as she turned her back on him, having learned from their lessons on pack etiquette it was a huge slap in the face to a dominant wolf. She heard Decebel growl and take a step towards her. My Beta, my ass, she thought as she continued to ignore the wolf stalking her.

  She could feel his nearness and knew that if she took one step back she would bump against his body. A delicious thought, but she cut that off abruptly as she reminded herself that he was on her shit list at the moment, and he possibly had found himself a permanent reservation on it.

  "Whether you believe it or not," Decebel's mouth was close enough to her ear that she felt the warm air from his breath cross her skin and it caused a shiver, "it's for your safety that I set such rules."

  "You aren't my Alpha. Vasile knew where we were going and he had no problem with it." Jen's voice was low but no less potent than his.

  "That may be, but once your behavior puts your safety in jeopardy I have every right to order it to cease immediately."

  Jen could feel her blood begin to heat, her face flushed. "My behavior?" she gritted through her clenched teeth. "I'm not a kid, Decebel. I don't need your orders."

  "You are a member of this pack. You will follow orders whether you like it or not, for the safety of the pack as well as yourself. You need to get used to it, Jennifer." Decebel placed his hands on her shoulders and gently turned her around. Placing two fingers under her chin, he raised her face to look up at him.

  Decebel clenched his jaw and briefly closed his eyes as he saw the unshed tears in her eyes.

  "I didn't mean to hurt you, Jennifer."

  "Don't flatter yourself, Beta. I'm not tearing up 'cause I’m hurt. I'm pissed." Jennifer didn’t take her eyes from Decebel's as she fumed, "You could really use a lesson in people skills. Add those to your puppy classes and learning to knock and not barge in, and that should keep you busy enough that you won't have time to worry about my extracurricular activities."

  Decebel's lips turned up in a slight grin and once more his eyes twinkled wickedly. Jen did not like the thought that was obviously skimming his brain.

  "Since you are so hell bent on me learning manners, perhaps you should be my teacher." Decebel took a step back and continued to watch her with a mischievous grin.

  Jen couldn't help her own small smile in response to him. So sue her, he was adorable when he smiled like that. "In your dreams, Beta."

  "Perhaps," he said softly. As he turned to leave, Jen heard him say under his breath, "Goodness knows I can't get other dreams about you out of my head."

  Jen flushed at his words but thought surely she had heard him wrong. He turned back to her before he pulled the door closed. "I hope you enjoyed your little escapade tonight, Jennifer, because on future occurrences I will accompany you." His words were unbending. "In fact, if you leave the mansion for any reason I will be your escort." Decebel winked at her, shutting the door just before a hairbrush flew across the room and smashed against it loudly. Jen's loud words followed the noise.

  "The only place you'll be escorting me is to the vet so you can have the foot I'm going to shove up your behind removed!"

  Chapter 8

  "I love you too mom," Jacque spoke into her cell phone as she snuggled into Fane's embrace. "Things are good here. The tutor keeps us busy and we are learning all sorts of things."

  "How is Jen doing?" Lilly asked her.

  "She's okay, just a little confused about things. It will all come out in the wash."

  Lilly chuckled, "My forever optimist," Jacque could hear her mother's smile through the phone.

  "I'll let you go, I just wanted to let you know I'm thinking about you and miss you so much," Lilly choked back tears.

  "I miss you too. I'm happy, I want you to know that," Jacque reassured her.

  "I know, and that's what I want for you. Be happy, live a wonderful life with Fane."

  "Will you come see me soon?" Jacque asked hopefully.

  "We'll see about this summer maybe."

  "Okay, love you."

  "Love you too Jacque, very much. Bye," Jacque hit the end button on her phone and closed her eyes briefly. She loved talking to her mom but sometimes it made her heart feel so heavy.

  "I love you Jacquelyn. I know it was a lot to ask you to come here," Fane told her gently.

  " I don't regret coming Fane," Jacque turned to look into his eyes, "I want to be with you. I just mi
ss her, and that's okay."

  He kissed her forehead gently and breathed her scent deep into his lungs.

  "What do you think is going on with Decebel?"

  Fane was quiet for a moment. "I don't really understand it, but he treats Jen as if she's his mate. All the signs are there. I think he's probably worse because he doesn't understand it either."

  Jacque thought about that. She felt bad for both Jen and Decebel. She knew that Jen was head over heels for the wolf, and couldn't imagine what it would be like to love Fane but not be able to be with him. Jacque prayed for both their sakes' that whatever it was that was going on would work itself out quickly.

  "Are you okay, love?" Fane asked her gently.

  Jacque turned so she could look into Fane's eyes. "I just hate seeing Jen hurt. And Decebel, for that matter," she told him honestly.

  "You're a good friend, Luna, but this is something that they are going to have to work out on their own."

  "If they don't kill each other first," Jacque added, only half joking.

  Fane chuckled. "There is that possibility. And its chances have actually greatly increased."

  Jacque watched his eyes as they clouded over in thought.

  "Hey, wolf-man." She traced his lips with the tip of her finger, drawing his attention. "What is it? What's going on?"

  Fane leaned down and kissed her gently before he answered.

  "In the meeting I attended with the other Alphas, we learned they have decided it's in the best interest of our species that we bring back an old tradition," he explained.

  Jacque pushed herself up into a sitting position, turning so she could see Fane's face clearly. "Why am I getting 'this sucks' vibes from you, babe?"

  "Well, love, essentially because although it could be beneficial, in light of the situation between Jen and Decebel it is more likely to be detrimental…to one of them. I'm taking bets on Decebel since Jen seems to have quite the mean streak."

  Jacque grinned briefly at that.

  "So what's this tradition?" she asked.

  "Over a century ago several packs used to have an event called The Gathering,"

  "Ooo, sounds very Stephen King-ish," Jacque interrupted.

  Fane smiled at his mate and her never ending commentary.

  "The Gathering was brought about for unmated pack members to come and meet in hopes of finding their true mate. It was written into pack law that if a pack was invited the Alpha could not decline or it would be considered an act against the species."

  "Bloody hell," Jacque muttered, staring off into nothing as she thought about how this would affect her best friend.

  "Does Jen have to go even though she isn't full blooded?"

  "Unfortunately, the four Alphas involved have decided that since my mate isn't full blooded it proves that any person with any wolf blood in their genetics must attend because they are possible true mates." Fane took a deep breath and let it out before he continued. "The good news is my parents have to go, and you and Sally can go and act as Jen's help. Naturally, where you go I go, so I will attend as well. There will also be some other mated pack members that will help with security."

  "Security?" Jacque asked, confused.

  "It's not really the best idea to put a bunch of unmated males together, particularly when there will be unmated females up for grabs," Fane explained.

  "Ahh, that's a valid point. So why are they thinking this is a good idea?"

  "They feel it's worth the risk since so many Canis lupis aren't finding their mates." Fane wrapped his hand around Jacquelyn's wrist and tugged her to him, pulling her into the curve of his body. She laid her head on his chest as she continued to think about this new development. Fane continued, "The mated pairs will help keep the unmated in line. There will be a pack meeting tomorrow night,"

  "What exactly did you mean by Sally and I being Jen's help?" Jacque interrupted.

  "Well, a century ago they called them ladies in waiting. They were basically there to help prepare the unmated female for the event by helping her dress, fixing her hair. That was when clothes for women were a little more elaborate. But the Alphas figure it would help the unmated females be at ease if they had a few friends with them."

  "So you're telling me that, essentially, we are going to be Jen's servants?" Jen asked dubiously.

  "For lack of a better term," Fane agreed reluctantly.

  "For the sake of my sanity and future friendship with that nympho, do not tell her that. Can you imagine how she would take that and run a stinking marathon with it?"

  Fane chuckled. "We will be delicate on how we broach the subject."

  "Of course, she may be too preoccupied with the whole unmated males checking her out thing to really care about having a servant," Jacque added. "Man, if Decebel wasn't in the picture she would be in her idea of heaven – a bunch of hot werewolves checking her out."

  "Love, you forget I'm the only wolf you are supposed to refer to as hot," Fane teased.

  Jacque snuggled closer. "It goes without saying, wolf-man, you are the hottest of them all."

  Fane growled. "Prove it," he challenged.

  Jacque leaned back to look into his eyes and saw the desire that filled them.

  "Now?" she asked, surprised by the abrupt change in subject.

  "We can't solve Jen and Decebel's problem tonight, love, nor can we change whether or not The Gathering will take place. What we can do is love one another. What I plan to do is forget about all others but you, Luna. For the rest of the night you will forget all others but me."

  Jacque smiled slyly at her mate. "Bossy much?" she teased.

  "I want you," he said simply, not attempting to gloss over his demand.

  "And so you shall have me," Jacque whispered as she clicked the bedside lamp off, leaving only the moon to light their room.

  "So, for clarification purposes..." Jen sat in the media room on one of the overstuffed couches the following morning. Jacque sat on the floor, leaning against a chair that Sally occupied. Vasile and Alina sat opposite Jen on another couch while Sorin and Decebel both stood on either side of the room, propped against the wall. "Because I have a teeny, tiny amount of werewolf blood in me I have to go to what essentially amounts to a mating dance and let other unmated wolves sniff me?"

  Sally snorted with laughter. "Sorry, got a visual."

  "Nice." Jacque high fived her.

  Jen glared at her two best friends. "If you two are done with your little moment could we please focus on this upcoming disaster?"

  "Sorry, Jen. Don't mind us. By all means, continue freaking out." Sally waved Jen on.

  "Thank you," Jen said matter of factly. "Okay." She looked back at Alina and Vasile. "So have I covered the basics?"

  "It's really not as uncivilized as you are picturing it, Jen," Alina told her gently. "It's like a social gathering. They will divide you into groups, as there are quite a large number of people. In the evenings everyone will gather in the great hall for dinner and dancing. But during the day you will be told where you are to be. A group of unmated females will be meeting in various locations on the estate with unmated males. There will be Alphas and mated pairs present at all times. You will never be alone with an unmated male unless you find your true mate. From Jacque and what you have been learning about the pack in tutoring, you know that there are distinct signs when you find your true mate."

  Jen couldn't help her gaze drifting over to where Decebel stood. When their eyes met, Jen felt chills run over her body at the intensity of his stare. Alina's voice drew her attention back.

  "You will receive an itinerary once we arrive."

  "Tonight at the pack meeting," Vasile continued for Alina, "you will meet some other unmated females who will be attending as well. I think you, Jacque, and Sally should spend some time with them and get to know them. We want you to feel safe, Jen. No one will force you to do anything, and if you happen to meet your mate don't panic, okay?"

  "Alpha," Jen smiled ruefully, "when have you eve
r known me to panic around yummy werewolves?"

  A growl resonated through the room.

  "Oh, stick a cork in it, B," Jen snarled at Decebel.

  Vasile cocked his head to the side as he looked at Jen. "B?"

  "Yeah. Ya know, for Beta. Although, I like it because I could also be calling him the technical term for a female dog and he wouldn't know it. So really, calling him B totally works to my advantage," Jen explained in all seriousness.

  Everyone turned when a quick burst of laughter came from the right side of the room. When Sorin saw everyone turn their eyes on him, he quickly began coughing. Holding up his hands, he finally composed himself. "Pardon me, Alpha. I seemed to have swallowed wrong."

  "You have to be careful while swallowing smart ass comments, Sorin," Jen teased. "They tend to have a choking effect."

  Sorin winked at Jen, who refused to look at the ominous wolf in the room currently staring a hole in her head.

  Jen looked back to Vasile. "Okay, so the moral of the story is find a mate, don't panic, and try to avoid any male pissing contests…literally." Jen winked at Decebel as she said this and he lifted his lip in a snarl.

  "That sounds about right," Vasile agreed. "I think today you should just go about the rest of your day as usual. Try not to worry about The Gathering."

  Jen snorted. "Yeah, I'll get right on that."

  Thad, the Alpha of the Serbia pack, held a cell phone to his ear as he listened to his contact.

  "There is to be a pack meeting tonight announcing The Gathering," the voice on the other end told him.

  "Will the three Americans be in attendance?" Thad asked.

  "Yes."