Just One Drop (31 page)

"Where are they going?" Sally asked she sat down next to Jen at the table.

"I'm assuming to eat with Dillon," Jen told her. "But I've been known to be wrong on rare occasions. There's the distinct possibility that this is one of those occasions."

Sally rolled her eyes. "It must be exhausting being you, Jennifer Adams."

"It's a big responsibility, no doubt," Jen said seriously. "I mean, the expectations would make a weaker woman falter."

Crina and Marianna ambled in, then Costin. Cynthia trailed in last. They were trying to break up their “together time,” so that it didn't look suspicious. It probably wasn't working since they all looked as guilty as Professor Plumb in the conservatory with the candle stick.

They ate quickly, all of them eager to finalize the plans for the next night. Jen was ready to have some alone time. She used the word alone loosely – she would quasi-be with Decebel. He'd been texting her all day, most of them the equivalent of growling her name. She hated to leave him hanging, but she'd had to do the stupid pool lessons.

Yes,
she thought.
Y
ou heard right. We had pool lessons, as in billiard tables
. The last thing she needed was Decebel imagining her leaning over a pool table with a bunch of unmated males surrounding her…which was exactly what had happened. She would conveniently leave that little bit out tonight when she texted him.

Jen's eyes widened and she was frozen in the stare of the Alpha. Her brain just stopped, the only thing she could hear was a little voice screaming,
Busted
.

"Oh, um," Sally started. "I think Jen was wanting to sit this one out, with all that's happened."

Jen looked at Sally and willed her to see the gratitude in her eyes.

"Well, I suppose I could say that you aren't feeling well," Vasile said thoughtfully. He looked back at Sally, "Am I correct in assuming that there are several other females who are wanting to sit this one out with Jen?"

Disaster averted
, Jen thought with a sigh.

Chapter 25

"Okay let's go over it one more time," Jen announced as she laid back on her bed. There was a collective groan throughout the room.

"Jacque will go to the gym and watch to see when the guys have thoroughly lost. Then we'll go door to door passing out the fliers," Sally continued.

"Finally," Jacque groaned as she stood up and stretched. "I'm out." She waved to Jen and headed out the door. Costin, Cynthia, Crina, and Marianna were all right behind her.

Jennifer jumped up and went about getting ready for bed. All she wanted in that moment was to crawl under the covers and then spend time with a certain brooding werewolf.

Throwing on sweats and a long sleeved t-shirt, she hurried into the bathroom, brushed her teeth and washed her face. As she patted her face dry with a towel, she paused to look in the mirror. Something was different, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. Her hair was as long and blonde as ever, her eyes crystal blue, skin fair and smooth, and yet there was still something. She shrugged her shoulders and tossed the towel on the counter.

As she climbed into the soft, big bed she snagged her phone from the bedside table. She propped herself up against the headboard with the many fluffy pillows that adorned the bed and hit the text message icon on her phone.

"Oh boy," she muttered as she saw text after text from Decebel.
I knew it was going to be bad,
she thought as her fingers began moving deftly across the small onscreen keyboard.

Jen txt: Hello?

Jen held her breath as she waited for his response. And waited, and waited. She frowned at her phone. "Okay, maybe he's asleep," she spoke into the darkness. A few more minutes went by with no response.

Feeling bereft and very empty, she snuggled down into the pillows and laid the phone beside her. She knew she should have answered his texts, but she also knew he was going to be upset and worried if he knew she was out among the other males.
Could have handled that better
.

Jen had just begun to drift off into a restless sleep when her phone chirped.

She looked at the screen through sleep-filled eyes. She nearly cried when she saw it was a text from Decebel. She didn't care if he yelled at her, she just needed to hear from him.

Decebel txt: Hey baby

Now she did cry. She was expecting him to rant and rave, but instead he sent her a simple “
hey baby
.” She could hear him in her mind, and see the half smile that would be on his lips. She sat back up and wiped her tears away before replying.

Jen shot straight up at the words on her screen. He was getting out? Tomorrow night? "Not good," she muttered. Okay, she was going to have to get Costin to intercept and stall him somehow. She snorted. "Yeah, that'll go over real well."

Jen set her phone on the bedside table and snuggled back into the covers. She was exhausted, but rest would elude her because now she had to figure out how she was going to keep Decebel from finding out about her plan. She knew that after it was said and done he would be angry, but her motto had always been “it's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission.”

Looked like that motto was finally going to bite her in the butt.

Decebel lay back on the bed in his temporary prison and thought about Jennifer's response to his release tomorrow. He'd expected a little more than “
that's good”
and since he didn't doubt her feelings for him, that only left one other explanation. She was up to something. He smiled to himself. His mate was going to keep him on his toes, no boring life for him. Oddly enough he looked forward to the havoc she was sure to wreak.

Decebel closed his eyes and chuckled to himself. Now, only to get out tomorrow and stop whatever plan she and her cohorts were implementing without killing some innocent – or not so innocent – males.

"How is Decebel doing?" Alina asked her mate as she curled up next to him in their bed, her head on his chest.

Vasile stroked her long dark hair gently. Even after centuries there was still nothing better than his mate in his arms, her scent surrounding him.

"He seems to be a little better since he can communicate with Jen."

Alina laughed. "I can't see Decebel texting like some enamored teenager."

Vasile smiled and chuckled with her. "I've no doubt she is his mate and like all of us males is utterly lost without her."

"Eu sint nimic fara tine (I am nothing without you). Fara tine nimic in viata aceasta ar insemna nimic (Without you, nothing in this life would mean anything)." Vasile pulled her up so that he could place both hands on either side of her face. Gently, he stroked her cheeks and loved the way her skin flushed under his gaze.

"Without you, Alina, colors would not be as bright, fragrances would not be as sweet, and food would be bitter ash in my mouth. For two centuries you have been by my side. Not behind me, but by my side, as my equal. During these two centuries I don’t know if I have ever truly expressed to you what you are to me, what you mean to me."

Vasile wiped the tears that had escaped from her eyes. He leaned forward and kissed her softly, then pulled back just enough so that when he spoke his lips brushed hers. "If Jacque and Jen are even half the woman you are, Fane and Decebel will be blessed beyond all measure. So never, ever doubt that without you I would wander through this world in darkness and hopelessness. I would be a shell of a man, unable to lead, unable to care for my pack. I love you, Alina mine."

They sat quietly, forehead to forehead, lips barely touching. Breathing in each other's air, literally being life to the other. When they finally turned out the light, wrapped in each other's arms, Alina whispered into the darkness the words she had spoken during their long ago Bonding ceremony.

"Sufletul meu pentru dumneavoastra, inima mea pentru dumneavoastra, viata mea pentru dumneavoastra (My soul for yours, my heart for yours, my life for yours)."

"Always, Mina,”
Vasile whispered into her mind.

Chapter 26

"Look alive, people." Jen clapped her hands as she walked into the small room she had requested, via text, they all meet her in.