Prince of Wolves (29 page)

“
Yeah, I suppose he has been a little preoccupied with the whole crazy, psycho alpha trying to get in his Kool Aid and steal his chick,” Jacque said, and then burst out laughing when Alina looked at her like she had grown a third arm.

“
Do you always talk like that?” Alina asked

“
Unfortunately. It’s a side effect of hanging around Jen. She’s much, much worse,” Jacque told her, shaking her head as she thought about her crazy best friend.

“
You care very much for Jen and Sally, and it’s obvious they care for you. I’m sorry that they won’t be able to be with you tomorrow,” Alina told Jacque.

“
I would rather them be safe. If it’s going to be dangerous for them to be there, then it’s not worth having them there. You are right, I do care for them. I love them. They're my best friends and I honestly don’t know what I would do without them.”

They walked a block in silence. Jacque was thinking about the question Alina had asked about what Fane had told her. Was she talking about the bonding or blood rites stuff? Or was there more that Fane hadn’t talked with her about? She would ask him tonight if there was more. She was really hoping it wasn’t something like, 'for the good of the pack you must produce a male heir within one year of the bonding', because that would really, really suck.

“
Fane has explained to you about the bonding ceremony and blood rites, I hope,” Alina said, finally breaking the silence.

“
Yeah, he told me about it. Not in great detail, but the gist. The blood rites thing is definitely non-traditional compared to what we do in our bonding ceremonies,” Jacque joked.

Alina laughed, appreciating the good humor that Jacque obviously took in everything.

“
So, because you're female I know that you'll break it down a little better. Will you give me a clue as to what to expect?” Jacque asked Alina.

“
In the ceremony, Vasile will first bond you and Fane. There are three things that must happen for a bond to be made. First you will say vows. I have a copy of the vows you will say to Fane and Vasile has a copy of the vows Fane will say to you. After the vows, the male presents the female with an offering, a way to show her that he can take care of her and provide for his family,” Alina was explaining her when Jacque interrupted.

“
He’s not going to give me a dead animal, is he?”

Alina laughed. “No, that is what a real wolf would give his mate. The symbolism is the same. The offering must be something of value that required him to sacrifice in order to get it. As a wolf sacrifices energy when on the hunt, so must a male Canis lupus sacrifice to provide for his family. Want to know what the catch is? Just as a female wolf can turn away a male wolf’s offering, so can we. You don’t have to accept what Fane offers to you.”

“
What did Vasile give to you?” Jacque asked Alina before she could tell her mouth not to say what her brain was thinking.

“
Before you hear it, you must first realize that Vasile and I have been mated for over two centuries, so what was ‘in’ then, is most definitely not ‘in’ now,” Alina teased.

Jacque was shocked to hear how long she and Vasile had been together.

“
Well, I must say you don’t look a day over thirty five,” Jacque told her.

“
Now that you know just how long ago it was when we bonded, I will tell you that Vasile gave me two things. The first was something I needed. My family was poor and we didn’t have much, so he gave me a horse. She was beautiful.”

Jacque watched as Alina’s face alighted with the memory of an animal she'd obviously loved.

“
She was sable with dark chocolate mane, tall and very elegant. I named her Cosmina, which means beauty. The second thing requires an explanation as well, maybe a small history lesson. In that day and age, wealthy families and nobility all had family crests or signets. Vasile comes from a long line of Alphas, which are our equivalent to royalty, and so his family has a signet. The signet was used to identify the family you were from, the social class you were in, and in our case, the pack you were in. Different families carried their signets in different ways. Vasile’s was a ring,” Alina held out her hand to show Jacque the gold ring.

It had an oval-shaped face and on the face was a grid of four diamonds. In each diamond there was a symbol. The top left was a crown, the top right was a wolf, the bottom left, a sword, and the bottom right, a full moon.

“
The crown represents the royal lineage, the wolf distinguishes that we are werewolves, the sword is to testify that as the Alpha family we are the sword of justice, and the moon is to acknowledge the importance of the females in the Pack,” Alina explained.

“
So what was the significance of giving you the ring?” Jacque asked.

“
It was his way of offering me a place in the royal line. He was telling me that no matter my lineage, if I bonded with him, I would be accepted as the Alpha of the female Pack members. In essence, he was offering me unconditional acceptance,” Alina answered.

“
I take it that was really significant,” Jacque said.

“
Yes, it was.”

“
And what is the last thing required for the bonding?” Jacque asked.

“
Since you are human, this final act might seem very weird. The third thing is the blood rites, where you will exchange blood and Fane will put a visible mark on you for others to know you are his.”

“
Ok, you’re right. It is quite freaky-deaky to me because we don’t go around biting each other, but I’m trying to keep an open mind. Does it hurt?” Jacque asked, sounding very nervous.

“
Well, I’m not sure how it is going to be for a human. It does cause some discomfort. It is a bite, after all, but some find it pleasurable because it is so significant to the bonding. It’s the way you complete becoming one with your mate,” Alina said, making it sound so normal, even though it was definitely so not normal.

“
Well, I’m not going to say I’m not nervous because that would be the understatement of the year. I'm trying very hard to keep an open mind,” Jacque told Alina.

“
I think Fane is very blessed to have you as his mate. I know it is going to be a big change for you, especially once you move to Romania, but…”

“
Wait, wait, throw it in reverse. What do you mean move to Romania? Fane has not said a single thing about moving to Romania!” Jacque didn’t realize she was yelling, on the sidewalk, in the middle of her neighborhood.

“
That’s what I was afraid of. Fane is next in line to be Alpha of the Romanian pack. He has to be there in order to learn what that entails. You also need to learn what it means to be Alpha to the females. It's going to be hard for some of the females to submit to one who is half human. You are going to have to learn to hold your own,” Alina told her.

“
What about my senior year? What about my friends, my mom? What the crap, man?” Jacque said, once again yelling.

“
The plan is to get you and Fane private tutors for your senior year. When you are not studying, you will be learning about the Pack and traditions and how to be Alpha. As for your mom, she is welcome to come with us, and if she doesn’t the Pack will pay to fly her out any time you want. Your friends are welcome to come, too. The tutor would work with them as well. We realize we are asking you to give up a lot and we want to make every effort to make it easier on you.”

Jacque just stood there, staring at Alina in total disbelief. She felt completely blindsided. Why hadn’t Fane said anything to her? How could she possibly leave her life here? Would her friends parents even consider allowing them to go with her?

“
Fane is so busted,” Jacque said aloud, although really only saying it to herself.

“
Is everything okay, Luna?
” she heard Fane ask.

“
You have been holding out on me. And just to prepare you, it might be wise of you to get anything I could use as a weapon as far from me as possible,”
Jacque told him.

Fane did not respond to the thought. She was already getting angrier because she knew he wasn’t going to argue with her, that he would surrender. She wanted a good argument. She needed to vent her own frustrations at the injustice of it all.

“
Jacque, are you okay?” Alina asked her.

“
Not real sure just yet, but I’m not going to have a melt down or anything,” she answered.

“
I think we should head back now. It’s nearing lunch time, and I’m sure Fane is probably edgy with you not in his sight,” Alina told her.

“
Right now it might be a good thing that I’m not in his sight,” Jacque muttered under her breath.

Chapter 28

Fane knew he
was in trouble for not telling Jacquelyn that she would need to move to Romania after the bonding, but there were so many changes happening all at once, he hadn’t wanted to throw more at her. Obviously he had been wrong not to tell her.
Man, this whole mate thing is difficult.
Even if they were meant to be together, apparently that did not mean things would be smooth. Although he would still rather have her, even if she was mad at him, than not have her at all. She was actually pretty cute when she was mad. Hopefully he could smooth things out when they talked tonight.

Fane’s father had talked to Lucas Steele and set up the time and location for the challenge. Lucas had asked several times if Jacquelyn was going to be there and that had set Fane and his wolf on edge. He also had the nerve to ask if she received his offering. This caused Fane to let out a ferocious growl, and his Alpha chastised him for it. “You never lose control. It gives the other wolf the upper hand,” he told Fane.

Fane had to step outside to calm down and his father had followed him out. At first his Alpha didn’t say anything to him, he just let him wrestle with his emotions. But then he spoke.

“
Some of the intensity of your emotions is because the bond is not complete. Once it is, you will have much more control. Until then you are going to have to reign it in. Tomorrow during the challenge, if you lose control you will not be able to think clearly. The rage will fog your brain and that will slow your movements. You have to separate your emotions from your fighting. Do you understand what I’m telling you?” Vasile asked.

“
Yes, but it’s easier said than done. I will try.” Fane lowered his head and in a very soft voice, told his father, “I’m afraid. Does that make me weak?”

Vasile went to his son and wrapped him in a tight hug, like he used to when Fane was a pup.

“
That you are able to admit your fears shows how strong you are. Only a fool pretends not to fear difficult and frightening things. I am Alpha of the Romanian pack, the largest Canis lupus pack in the world, yet I am afraid too. All will be well, Fane. You are strong and able, you have trained all your life to fight in both of your forms. You will win, you will be bonded with Jacquelyn, and one day you will be Alpha,” he told Fane with complete confidence.

Fane took in the comfort that came from having his Alpha hug him, pouring his power over him. For wolves, touch was a major part of their comfort, and he appreciated his father’s willingness to give him such a gift.

As Vasile pulled away from Fane, they both turned toward the sound of a door opening.

“
Sounds like your mother and Jacquelyn are back. Let’s go fill them in on what is planned for tomorrow,” Vasile told him.

Fane hesitated, he couldn’t believe it but he was actually nervous about seeing Jacquelyn. He knew she was upset with him and he felt ashamed that he had withheld information. Okay, more than that, very important information from her.

“
Is something wrong, Fane?” his father asked.

“
While Jacquelyn and mom were out, she learned about having to move to Romania,” Fane explained.

“
Ahh,” Vasile said in understanding. “You did not tell her yourself, and now she is upset with you. Rightfully so, I might add. You know that there should be no secrets between mates.”

“
I was trying to spare her any further stress, at least until the challenge is over. I wasn’t trying to be deceitful, but I see now I should have put more faith in her ability to handle it,” Fane admitted.

“
You will learn, son. Granted, you may fail a lot in the process and even spend nights in, as the Americans say, the dog house, nonetheless you will learn,” his father told him, patting him on the back.

“
Come, let’s go face the wrath of your little fire. Once she gets it out of her system she will feel better.”

Fane walked cautiously into the living room, feeling like prey, which was a really weird feeling since he was a predator. He didn’t like it at all. Jacquelyn was seated in the ugly chair, as he had heard her think of it. That told him that she didn’t want him sitting by her. He couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. As if she felt his presence, she looked directly into his eyes and that look pierced him to his soul. She was his…and she was angry. In fact, if it were possible, he imagined steam would be coming off those red curls. Before he could go to her, Jen walked right into his line of vision. She didn’t look too happy either.

“
A word, fur ball,” was all Jen said as she turned to walk into the dining room. Obviously she expected him to follow.