Den of Sorrows (7 page)

Jen pushed the door open so hard that it slammed against the wall and bounced back. Jacque had to throw out her arm to keep it from smacking them in the face as the blonde tornado marched further into the room.

"No need to waste time informing us of this tiny, itty, bitty issue," Jen bit out as she glared at her mate. "It seems since you all seem to have your heads up your furry butts you need some brains for this mission. So isn't it fortunate that we happened by just as you all were having your secret little powwow?" Jen's head snapped around when she saw movement from the corner. Alina stood biting back a smile. They hadn't known the Alpha female was there since she hadn't spoken. "You!" Jen pointed at her and took a step toward her. Vasile took a step to the side and blocked Jen's path. She gave the Alpha a dismissing motion with her hand and continued to address Alina. "How could you know this and not tell us? I thought you had boobs and ovaries which would put you solidly on Team Female. Did you grow a pair and suddenly switch who you were batting for?"

Jacque and everyone else in the room coughed covering up shock and amusement.

"Man, I've missed you," Peri said beaming at Jen like a proud parent.

"Can it, Fairy," Jen huffed. "You're officially on my list."

"Have I ever not been on your list?"

Jen shrugged. "Good point."

Jacque felt her mate’s eyes on her but she refused to look at Fane. She was just as pissed as Jen but she was afraid if she went on a rampage she'd go into labor, and she really didn't feel like having everyone see her water break all over Vasile’s office floor.

"Luna,"
he said, attempting to use their bond.

Oh, now he opens it, the butthead
, she thought to herself, keeping her attention on Jen.

"Don't blame your mate for keeping the information from you, Jennifer," Vasile said calmly. "I was the one who ordered them to keep silent."

Jen growled. "You know it only ticks me off more when someone attempts to be all calm and rational when I'm pissed, right?"

"I try to tell Lucian that all the time," Peri muttered. "Fleabag never listens."

Jen ignored her. "Calm and rational won't fix this and, yes, I will blame Decebel. He is a grown ass male. He's the Alpha of his own pack and two centuries old. If he can't think for himself and make his own decisions by now, then he deserves to be led around by his—"

"JENNIFER!" Decebel snarled.

Jacque took a step back. It had been awhile since she'd seen Jen's mate look that enraged. Then again, Jen had just majorly castrated her mate in front of everyone. Not. Good.

Jacque considered Decebel for a moment. "Hey, totally not on topic, I thought you were stuck in a doghouse?"

Decebel frowned and then his eyes narrowed on Jen. "You told them I was stuck in a doghouse?"

She tipped her head back slightly. "You looked stuck when I left you. How was I supposed to know you weren't really stuck and would wind up having another secret meeting where you would be ordered around like a freaking puppy instead of manning up and telling Vasile that you wouldn't be keeping things from your mate? I thought you grew a pair when you went through puberty but, perhaps, it takes wolves longer to mature."

"ENOUGH!" Decebel snarled.

Her head snapped back as though he'd slapped her but she stood her ground. Jacque could see that her friend knew she'd crossed a line. But there was no way she'd back down now. She might grovel later in private, maybe.

"I realize you are angry," Decebel said, but it was not calm by any means. "But disrespecting Vasile, or your mate, isn't the way to handle this situation. I love you. You mean more to me than anything on this earth, but I am the leader of our family and of our pack. The decision," he bit the word out with so much force that Jacque was surprised he didn't break some teeth, “is mine when it comes to the safety of our family and pack. You can question me in private, but I would appreciate it if you would not be so insolent toward me in public."

"Maybe we all just need to take a timeout," Sally said and Jacque felt soothing magic rush over her.

The faces on everyone in the room held surprise as they felt the magic as well. "What was that?" Jacque asked the healer.

Sally smiled at her. "I might have learned a few things while I've been away."

Jen was still seething but she seemed a tad more in control. She turned back to Vasile. "I'm sorry I was disrespectful. As Alpha female of the Serbia pack I think I deserve the respect," she practically spit the word out, "of being told when something so dangerous is happening. Especially since I have a child to protect. I'll be at the Serbia mansion taking care of my daughter. And I would also appreciate being apprised of the plan after Peri finishes gathering information tonight." Jen turned to Peri. "Could you take me home on your way out?"

Peri nodded. "I've been wanting to see your little poop machine anyway." Peri looked at Vasile. "I'll be back for anyone else that needs me to take them home."

She and Jen disappeared and Decebel didn't even try to stop her. Again. Not. Good.

Decebel closed his eyes and let out a long breath. "I'll be waiting to hear from you," he said to Vasile.

"Don't be too hard on her," Alina spoke up. "She's young and she has a lot on her shoulders."

"I understand that, but at some point she's going to have to accept my place in our pack and our relationship. You know I'm not trying to belittle her, Alina. She's my equal in every way, but I'm responsible for her, not the other way around. I will stand before the Great Luna one day and be questioned on how I led my family and how I loved my mate and those under my care. It won't be Jen's actions that are judged, but mine."

"You can't expect her to figure it all out in a year," Sally spoke up. "Jen is every bit as dominant as you. She's protective of those she cares about. She's determined and she needs to feel like you trust her. You guys have been through so much. I think you
both
have things to learn."

Decebel thought about it before finally nodding. "Fair enough, healer. I will consider your words before I talk to her."

Jacque stepped forward and placed a hand on his arm. "Remember her words were spoken out of hurt and anger not because she doesn't respect you or love you. I think you should consider it a good sign that she was yelling at you. The time to be worried is when Jen stops yelling because that's when she's decided it's no longer worth her energy. You don’t want to be in that place."

His jaw clenched but he didn't say anything more. He just turned and quietly left.

Jacque turned to her own mate and frowned. "We can talk after Vasile is done."

"Should I be worried because
you
aren't yelling?" Fane asked her.

Jacque smiled sweetly at him. "Who said I'm not yelling?" She opened their bond on her end and growled,
"HOW DARE YOU KEEP SOMETHING SO IMPORTANT FROM ME!"

Fane flinched.

"Vasile, Alina." Jacque gave them both a curt nod and then left. Jacque tried very hard not to imagine what those poor children must have looked like. She tried not to think about blood stained fangs dripping from the evil beings that were responsible for the atrocities. She tried hardest not to think about what those parents must have felt when they found their precious little ones drained of life.

Her stomach felt as though a huge rock had dropped to the bottom of it and her feet suddenly quit moving. Jacque stood stock still in the middle of the hall attempting to get her breathing under control.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't want you to feel like this," Fane said as he walked up beside her and took her face in his hands.

"You can't protect me from everything," she said quietly, blinking back tears.

Fane pressed his forehead to hers and let out a sigh. "But it's my job to at least try to. Just as I will try to protect our child from everything."

Jacque closed her eyes and took comfort in her mate’s strength. She was still upset with him, but she needed him.

"I'm always here for you, Luna."

S
ally stared at Vasile and Alina, feeling like she was looking at strangers rather than at the parent figures that she’d come to see them as. "Why didn't you want us to know? Why did you ask our mates to do something that you knew would only upset us?"

Vasile rubbed his hand over his face and leaned back against his desk. "Being a leader isn't all that it's cracked up to be. We make very tough decisions. My daughter-in-law will be having her first child in a month, my first grandchild. How was I supposed to tell her that there are crazed vampires out there eating children?"

"Maybe you just trust that she's stronger than she appears and would have been able to handle it," Sally countered.

"Maybe. But I didn't feel that was the best option."

"And what you feel is the best is always right?"

"Sally," Costin warned.

She ignored him.

Vasile's eyes flashed with irritation. "No, I'm not always right. But that doesn’t change the fact that decisions must be made. This is not a democracy. A wolf pack would not survive if it were. This is a dictatorship. I am Alpha. I am the strongest and those I care about will submit—period. I make decisions that I think are best for everyone. I listen to wise counsel, but ultimately the choice is mine and the consequences are mine as well. I realize that it is still difficult for you girls to understand. In the Canis lupus world, there has to be one leader and many followers. Otherwise, there will be utter chaos. The health of the pack is paramount. You may not like it, but you will accept it."

"Vasile, please," Alina said as she placed a hand on his arm.

Sally waited several heartbeats as she stared at the tired looking Alpha. Finally she nodded. "I get it. But it doesn't make it any easier."

"I never claimed it would be. Vent to your mate. Drink hot chocolate with your females, and think of all the ways you'd like to injure me because of your irritation. Ultimately, though, just like the males in the pack, you must obey."

"What about Decebel?" she asked.

"He can make his own choices for his own pack. But because he respects me and my mate, he listens to our counsel. That is his choice. His pack cannot question his authority. His mate may do so, but she should do it in privacy so as not to confuse the emotions of the others under Decebel's lead. That is something she will need to learn as she continues to grow into her role as Alpha female. I don't blame her for being upset, but her behavior today was unacceptable." He met her eyes and, after a minute, Sally dropped her gaze.

"Fair enough," she answered. She turned to Costin. "Ready?"

He looked at her wearily. "Uh, sure." Then he turned back to the Alphas. "Guess we will talk to you guys tomorrow. Cypher," he said and nodded to the warlock king and then took Sally's hand and led her from the room.

Sally followed quietly, still processing Vasile's words.

"Are you mad at me?" Costin asked quietly.

"Irritated," Sally corrected. "I get that you have to obey, but it sort of makes me feel like you put Vasile's wants before mine, though I know that's not really what you were doing."

"We aren't human," Costin reminded her.

"And I am not Canis lupus, so I suppose we should both cut each other some slack."

P
eri flashed back into Vasile's office and looked around. "That party broke up fast. Guess that's what happens when Jen flips her lid." She took a step toward Cypher. "You ready for me to take you home?"

He nodded.

Then Peri looked back at Vasile as she took Cypher’s hand. "They will come to realize you were right to withhold the information," she assured the Alpha.

"Was I though?" He glanced at his mate and then back to Peri.

She shrugged. "Doesn't matter if you were. You're Alpha. You own your decisions and stand by them. You must."

"But I am to protect them and nurture them in all ways."

"You aren't perfect, wolf. You, of all people, know that sometimes the difficult decisions we, as leaders, must make will be the most unpopular decisions. But that doesn't matter. They are still decisions that have to be made by someone. Suck it up and move on."

Vasile chuckled. "Thank you for the advice."

Peri saluted him. "It's what I do."

She left him and Alina and dropped Cypher off before heading back to the veil of her realm. Four pixies awaited her.

"How is it that you guys weren't in your realm when it went into lockdown?" she asked them before they could begin giving their report.

"Ainsel likes to keep a presence in the human realm so we can let him know what the other supernatural beings are doing," the leader of the group answered.

Peri nodded. "He's a wise king for doing so. So" —she folded her arms across her chest— "what info do you have for me?"

"It isn't good," the smallest one answered.

Peri rolled her eyes. "Good to know I can count on some things to never change. Hit me."

"Word has traveled through some of the trolls that guard the entrances to the In-Between. It seems that there have been more killings of the little humans in the land called Canada. The vampires have grown in numbers while they've been in hiding."