Decebel grabbed her hand and tugged her to him. He wrapped his arms around her and inhaled her scent deep into his lungs.

"You already stand out with your beautiful blonde hair, long legs, and stunning eyes. Could you please not draw more attention to yourself?" he pleaded.

"You left out one of my best attributes," Jen began but Decebel cut her off.

"Jennifer." His voice was a growl.

Jen laughed. "You just outed yourself, wolf."

Decebel couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face. Only she could calm him and make him forget he was even angry.

"I'm going to take you back to your room and I want you to stay there until I come for you in the morning."

Jen stepped out of the shelter of his arms. She rolled her eyes. "Fine, geez. Always cramping my style."

Decebel walked her back to her room. Right before she went inside, he stopped her with a hand on her arm. He leaned in close and Jen's breathing quickened. He skimmed his nose against her neck, causing a shudder to ripple through Jen's body. He pulled back and said the last thing Jen ever expected.

"As much as I hate for you to take another shower now that you bear my scent, it would be best. Apparently your little dance made you hot."

Jen grinned wickedly. "If it got me hot, it most certainly got you -"

Decebel laid a finger against her lips. He shook his head, letting her know he knew exactly what she'd been about to say.

"Keeping your words in check is becoming a full time job," he teased. She stuck her tongue out in response, bringing a chuckle from him. "Sleep well," he told her as he turned to go.

Jen blushed heatedly as she began to push the door to her room open, but before he got too far she muttered, "Wouldn't be such a hard job if my mouth were busy with other things." She knew with his wolf hearing he would hear her.

Decebel didn't turn around. "Look forward to scenting – I mean seeing you in the morning, Jennifer."

Jen quickly closed the door. Grinning as she leaned back, she said out loud, "You are seriously poking the beast, Jen. And if I were a betting girl I would say you want to get bit." She laughed breathlessly. "That about sums it up, Sherlock." She shook her head and once again headed for the shower.

Cynthia's head rose at the sudden knocking on her door. She looked at her watch and wondered who would visit her at midnight. She got up and opened the door to find Sally on the other side.

"Sally." Cynthia didn't hide the surprise in her voice. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes," Sally said initially, but quickly recanted. "Well, honestly, I don't know. Can I talk to you for a minute? I realize it's late." She couldn't stop wringing her hands and shifting from one foot to the other.

Thegirl's behavior did not go unnoticed by the doctor.

"Sure. Come on in." Sally scuttled through the door and Cynthia shut it softly. "So, what brings you here at this hour?" she asked, though not unkindly.

"It's about Jen and Decebel..." Sally started.

"Ah, yes. The celebrities of the ball," Cynthia joked.

Sally smiled. "You can always count on Jen to either make an entrance or an exit. One of them will always be epic."

Cynthia waited patiently for Sally to continue.

"After Jen left the dance, Decebel followed her and they talked."

"Only talked?" Cynthia's eyebrows lifted as she leaned forward.

Sally nodded. "Yeah, there was no funny business. Contrary to her appearance and big talk, Jen actually has high standards when it comes to being physical in a relationship."

Cynthia had to admit she was surprised. Jen's mouth often suggested otherwise.

"When Jen came back to her room, Jacque and I were waiting for her. We wanted to make sure she was okay, ya know?" Sally continued to fidget with her hands as she spoke. "Jen said that Decebel just came out with everything."

Cynthia sat up abruptly. "What do you mean 'everything'?"

"He told her he wanted her and that his wolf had claimed her as his mate. Of course, we all saw it a mile away, but I'm just wondering what would've made him change his mind about pursuing it so quickly."

Cynthia crossed her legs as she leaned back and watched Sally. It was obvious that the girl really cared for Jen, and even Decebel. How good it must be to have that kind of friendship, she thought. "Well, there could be a couple of reasons for his abrupt change of heart. I know that Alina and Vasile have tried to impress upon you all the differences between Canis lupis males and human males, as well as dominant Canis lupis males from non-dominant."

Sally nodded.

"Because of that, I will try not to be too redundant. So the dominant male is controlling, obsessive, protective, fiercely loyal, extremely intense, and very, very possessive. Sometimes these traits are an absolute inconvenience and frankly, a pain in the – well, you get my drift. There are other times, however, that these are necessary traits in our world. These qualities can be the difference between life and death in some situations." Cynthia paused, gathering her thoughts. "I will tell you that, at times, a dominant male might seem a bit bipolar in personality because they can switch at the drop of a hat. They are conditioned to think quickly and under pressure, to make snap decisions for the good of the pack and those they love. So what they think might be the right thing to do one minute can be nullified in the next by a change in circumstances or players on the field. With me so far?" she asked.