Just One Drop (13 page)

"What if they just haven't appeared yet because you are a dormant?" Mariana offered.

Jen propped her elbows on the table and then put her face in her hands. "I've thought of that. But seriously, it's been several months since we met and in those several months I was in a major car crash and burned, found out I had werewolf blood, moved to a new country, oh and turned eighteen. You would think that something in there would trigger, well, something."

"After I woke up from the coma. He came into my room to check on me. Which was bizarre, to say the least. I remember thinking 'wow, that is yummy'."

Sally shook her head. "Don't mind her. She's lacking in brain cells lately because they've been fried by hormonal overload."

Jen rolled her eyes and made a "W" sign with her fingers while mouthing, "whatever".

Mariana looked at her watch. "Well, it's getting late so I guess we should head out. Look for us at Mate Fest and we'll hang out. Us wallflowers need to stick together."

Jen smiled. "Sounds like a plan. It was really nice to meet both of you."

Sally and Jacque piped in their agreement and said goodbye as the two other females left the dining room.

"I guess we should call it a night," Jacque said, downing the last of her hot chocolate. "One day left before we head into the testosterone-coated hills of Transylvania."

All three girls rinsed their cups and headed to their rooms.

Jen had just reached her door when she felt it. Someone was watching her. There was no doubt in her mind who it was. She turned to see Decebel standing at the other end of the hall, staring at her. Neither moved for several minutes. Then he started walking towards her.

Jen didn't know whether to go into her room, run, or stand frozen and quite possibly pass out from lack of oxygen. His long strides ate up the distance between them quicker than she would have thought possible and suddenly, he was there – less than a foot away from her.

Decebel's right hand came up and pushed her long blond hair back away from her face and neck. He leaned forward and placed his nose against her neck, just below her ear, and took another deep breath. Jen seriously thought she was going to pass out.
This cannot be happening.
She wanted to pinch herself to make sure she was really awake. When Decebel pulled back, she saw that his amber eyes were now glowing.

"I don't know what's going on between us, ţinere de meu inimă," Decebel told her, his voice husky. "I will tell you it scares me."

"Scares
you
? How can anything scare
you
?"

Decebel chuckled as he gently cupped her face, his thumb tenderly caressing her jaw line. "There is much you don't know about me, Jennifer, much about my past that has shaped who I am today." He paused as he watched her. "I can't stay away from you, and now our blasted Alpha has made me your protector."

"And you don't want to be my protector," Jen interrupted with a whisper.

Decebel heard the insecurity in her tone, but admired her for not looking away from him when she voiced it. "The problem isn't that I don't want to be your protector, it's that I want to be more."

"Oh," Jen breathed out.

"I don't know how I'm going to get through this, this..." Decebel searched for the words.

"Mate Fest?" Jen offered, which brought a heart stopping grin from Decebel. She nearly swooned.
You have got to get a grip,
she told herself.
Jennifer Adams does not swoon. Drool, definitely. Stare without shame, for sure. But swooning is forbidden.
She decided her inner dialogue was really beginning to get out of control.

"Yes, this Mate Fest. I don't know how I'm going to get through it without killing another wolf."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Don't touch another male. Don't let another male touch you." Decebel's lips were tight as he spoke, betraying the carefully conveyed control.

"Okay, no touching. Got it."

Once again they stared at one another in silence. Gradually Decebel began to lean into her and Jen realized he was going to kiss her. It was also then that she realized how desperately she wanted, craved that kiss. Her eyes drifted closed as she waited, and waited.
What the - ?
, she thought as she opened her eyes.

"It's not that simple, Jennifer." Decebel started to pull back but Jen grabbed his hand and pulled it back to her face. She held it next to her cheek and let his heat seep into her. She had never felt anything better than his touch in her life.

"It is that simple. You either do or you don't. It's a choice, Decebel.
Your
choice. So don't tell me you can't. Unless your lips are super glued to some object, they are up for grabs. So what gives?"

"I think you need to speak with Dr. Steele, then you will understand what's at stake from something as innocent as a kiss."

Jen entered her bedroom after watching Decebel walk away until she couldn't see him any longer.

"See you on the flip side, Jen? Really?" she asked herself out loud. "Do you want someone to ask you to write an expert account on how to be effectively lame? Because let me tell you, blondie, you are all over it."
Pathetic
, she thought,
I'm a groupie and I'm talking to myself.
"Ughh."

She quickly went through her routine of getting ready for bed, the whole time remembering the feel of Decebel's flesh on hers, his breath on her neck. There was no way she was going to survive this with her heart intact. She knew that when this was all said and done, she would come out an empty shell if she didn't come out with Decebel by her side.

The real question she found herself facing after her little encounter with the fur ball in the hall was, how do you go about looking for a mate when you would rather be trying to convince the one you want to pursue what was slapping him steadily in the face?

"Yeah, good luck with that," Jen told herself.

"So I guess I'll see you in a couple of days?" Jacque asked her dad through her cell phone.

"Yes. And I'm bringing Tanya. She really wants to meet you. You okay with that?"

"Yeah, it's cool. It was bound to happen one day, right? There's no time like the present," Jacque told him, her voice coming out unnaturally high. She felt herself settle as Fane wrapped his arms around her from behind and placed a gentle kiss on her neck.

"It will be okay, Jacquelyn, it's a large estate. If you and Tanya don't get on there will be plenty of places for you to slink off to."

Jacque pulled out of his arms and turned on him abruptly. "Slink? I do not slink, wolf-man."

Fane smiled and winked. "I knew that would do it."

Jacque growled and tackled him to the bed. "So you think if you prick my pride I will be less likely to evade the confrontation I so badly want to avoid?"

Fane nodded. "That about sums it up."

"How well you know me already, pesky flea ball."

"Again with the fleas." He growled and tickled her. Jacque squealed, unsuccessfully trying to fight him off. He finally relented and pulled her close.

"All will be well, Luna," he whispered.

"I know," she agreed, "but there's always a variable that isn't accounted for, ready to throw things off kilter. Then all is no longer well."

"Then there will be a blood bath," Jacque told him somberly. "Because the first man brave enough to lay a finger on Jen is going to see firsthand what happens when another touches a mate. Signs or no, Decebel's wolf has claimed Jen. And Jen's wolf, what little there may be, has claimed Dec. Not to mention her heart."

Both fell silent as they thought about the consequences that were sure to come. But like a speeding train without brakes, nothing short of a miracle could stop them.

Chapter 12

"Do you think it was wise of you to make Decebel her protector?" Alina asked her mate.

Vasile continued to stare at the road as he drove towards the site of The Gathering.

He knew it was a gamble placing Jen in Decebel's care. "I don't know," he admitted. "I guess I'm trying to force him into action. Maybe if he sees others pursuing her he will get over this fear and make a move. Or I could just be setting up some poor wolf's demise."

Alina watched him carefully while he spoke, noticing the faint lines that ran along his skin. Even after two centuries her mate was still unbelievably handsome, but it seemed the stress of life was catching up with him.

"Sometimes dominant wolves have to be pushed over the edge when they won't jump on their own. Why do you think that is?" Alina's tone was teasing.

Vasile's lips lifted slightly. "Even us dominants have to have one flaw, Luna, otherwise it wouldn't be fair."

Alina laughed and shook her head at her mate's forever cockiness.

Vasile had devised the riding assignments, and so Jen, Jacque, and Sally had been paired with Crina and Mariana as well as Decebel and Fane.
One big, happy family,
Jen thought as she looked around the cab of the Hummer. She was really glad that Crina and Mariana had turned out to be cool. It would have sucked big time had they turned out to be ninnies.

Before she could finish, Jen cut her off. "How about we discuss the plans for when we arrive at this little 'meet your baby daddy' festival."

The entire vehicle erupted in laughter at Jen's slang. Jen blushed ferociously when Dec gave her a heart-stopping grin.

"How do you all keep from peeing on yourselves when she's around?" Crina asked, wiping the tears that had welled up in her eyes.

"No doubt, it's tough," Jacque told her. "And sometimes it's wise to bring a change of clothes if you're going to be around her for any extended period of time."

After the laughing and bantering finally died down, Fane addressed Jen's earlier question.

"I think tonight there is a large gathering with all the packs to lay out the ground rules and purpose behind The Gathering," Fane explained. "There will be lots of mated pairs all around and Alphas to keep the males in check."