And just like that the atmosphere lightened and the three girls laughed until they had tears. Of course, Jen could never stop at just one perverted or smart ass comment, so when they had all caught their breath she added, “Jacque, you could always throw your friends a bone or, heck, even just a kibble and find out for us.”

“Is that all you ever think about, Jen?” Sally asked in exasperation.

“What, how big Fane’s are? Good grief, no. I think about other things,” Jen defended.

“Anything not pertaining to the opposite sex, or for that matter sex itself?” Jacque asked sarcastically.

Jen started to open her mouth then abruptly shut it. Looking at nothing in particular, thinking, she finally answered, “Nope, huh-uh. Don’t think so.”

They all broke out in laughter again until they finally drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 14

Fane woke up early and decided to go for a run. Running always helped him clear his mind. He got up, resisted the urge to reach out to his Luna, figuring she was probably still asleep, and changed into some workout shorts. He decided against a shirt, knowing he wouldn’t leave it on long anyway. He brushed his teeth and went downstairs to the kitchen. Brian and Sara were still asleep so he tried to make as little noise as possible, which was easy for him do, being a werewolf and all.

He peeled a banana and nearly ate it whole, then poured himself a glass of orange juice. He rinsed the glass and put it in the dishwasher and picked up his phone from the counter. After putting it in his pocket, he headed out the front door.

Because he was Canis lupus, Fane could run for very long distances even in human form. He didn’t have to work out to keep his muscular physique, it was just the way all Canis lupus were built. Some were leaner than others, but all were very muscular. He glanced up at Jacquelyn’s window and, giving into his desire, reached out to her mind briefly. He decided if she was thinking about something he thought she wouldn’t want him to know, he would retreat quickly. As it was, she was still asleep and her thoughts were scattered. He kept seeing his own face and then another, unknown male's face. He assumed this was the Trent she'd been dating previously. She didn’t seem to be interested in him anymore, but it was obvious he had hurt her. Fane and his wolf did not like that.

He pulled back from her thoughts and started up the street. He had to restrain himself from running full speed because he was much, much faster than a human. The wolf wanted to run, wanted to hunt. Fane pushed down the urge and kept it at a nice fast jog.

He found his mind going over the previous night, when the car had driven by Jacquelyn’s house. He'd seen two males, one of which was the salesman from the dealership he had gone to earlier, so he knew it had something to do with the Greys. He still didn’t know what they wanted fromJacquelyn, but from what his father could tell him, they wanted Fane out of their territory.

So far his Alpha had not given the command to leave, so Fane wasn’t going anywhere. The problem was that once his Alpha did give him the command to leave he was going to have to convince Jacquelyn and her mother to come with him. There was no way he was going to leave her here unprotected.

As he continued to run, Fane’s thoughts would switch back and forth between thinking about Jacquelyn and their date tonight, to thinking about the local pack he had not known existed. When he finally made it back to the Henrys' house, he had been running for over two hours.

He went through the front door and as he walked in he saw Sara coming down the stairs in workout shorts and shirt, her hair up in a ponytail.

“We’re going out to run some trails at the park across town. You’re welcome to come but it looks like you’ve already been out and about,” Sara told him.

“Thank you for the invitation, but I did just finish running so I will pass for today. I wanted to check with you and make sure this was okay. I asked Jacquelyn out on a date for this evening so I will be out. Will that be a problem?” Fane asked.

“No problem at all. Jacque is a one-of-a kind girl and we all love her. I don’t think I have to tell you to treat her good, you seem to have impeccable manners. Do you have a helmet for her or did you want to borrow our car?” Sara offered.

“That is most generous, but I did buy two helmets when I bought my bike.”

Once the Henrys left and Fane took a shower, he sat down to call his father again and see if they could come up with some sort of plan.

The phone rang one time and his father’s voice was on the other end.

“Da.”

“It’s me,” Fane told him. “I need to know what you want me to do. Do I need to request a meeting with this Alpha and find out what his interest in my mate is?”

“I have been thinking about it a lot and have decided to send Sorin back to you. I think his experience as a werewolf will be of some help, not to mention it will show them you are not on your own,” his father told him.

“As my Alpha, what are you telling me to do?” Fane asked him.

“I want you to protect your mate and her mother, but do not act on anything unless provoked. If it gets out of hand, I don’t care how you get your mate and her mother on a plane, but you do it fast,” his father said firmly.

“Okay, so when will Sorin arrive? And where is he going to stay?” Fane asked him.

“He should be there sometime around eight pm. You might find this interesting, but he is staying with Lilly Pierce.”

“That’s my mate’s mother,” Fane said, confused.