“Jacquelyn, I am not without defenses. I am from a strong bloodline, I am a dominant and I stand to be Alpha to the largest pack of Greys in the world. All of these things make me stronger and I have found my mate. Please, love. I don’t want you to be upset,” Fane implored her.

Jacquelyn didn’t say anything, just stood with her back to Fane, head down, looking utterly defeated. It broke Fane’s heart.

“I think a hot bath is in order. What do you think, Sal? Hot bath for the wolf princess?” Jen posed to Sally with a look that said 'get up off your butt.'

Sally was a quick study. “Yep, most definitely. Hot bath is just what the doctor ordered…or something like that.”

Fane watched helplessly as the two girls took his defeated and worried mate upstairs, away from him. His wolf was protesting, and so was the man. We should be the one comforting her, she is ours to protect and love. Fane began to step toward them, but stopped when Jen pierced him with a stare and gave a shake of her head that was most definitely a command for him to back off. He couldn’t help the growl he let out.

“Don’t you growl at me, White Fang, I’ll have you neutered and de-clawed so fast you won’t know what hit you,” Jen retorted.

Fang cocked his head to the side and then shrugged his shoulders. “At least you got the species right.”

Fane let the girls go without further protest and sat back down on the loveseat. He let out a deep breath and laid his head back. He was tired, and to his chagrin he was worried. Not worried about winning the challenge, he felt confident he could beat Lucas. No, he wasn’t worried about that. He was worried about Jacquelyn wanting to watch. He was sure that she had no idea just how messy it would get and he knew it would scare and anger her. He was learning that when his Luna was angry she tended to be impulsive. His only consolation was that his mother would be there to keep Jacquelyn from doing anything that would put her in harm's way. The thought of something happening to her caused him to be short of breath, like maybe he was having a panic attack. Okay, Fane, get a grip, he told himself.

After several more deep breaths he was beginning to calm down. He closed his eyes and tried very hard not to slip into Jacquelyn’s mind to see if she was okay. It took all of the manners his mother had beat into him not to listen to her thoughts. Instead he laid there, humming the tune of one of his favorite artists. Believe it or not Fane, a Romanian, was a Willie Nelson fan. Who knew? It was a song that he wanted to share with Jacquelyn because it described so well how he felt. Soon, he thought. Not tonight. Tonight she didn’t want to be with him, but soon.

Chapter 25

Jacque lay in the tub her two best friends had filled with hot water and bubble bath. She felt bad for walking out on Fane like she did, but she was hurt, scared, and worried. No amount of telling her she shouldn’t worry was going to make it better. Tears ran down her cheeks as she imaginedall the horrific possibilities of what could happen at the challenge. He expects me not to worry. As if, she thought.

She stayed in the tub until the water became cool. As she dressed and combed through her curls, she was trying to decide if she should go to Fane or just go to bed. If she were honest with herself, she would do what every bit of her was craving to do. To crawl up in his lap and let him hold her, to spend as much time with him as possible. It really truly was a no brainer, as much as she loved Jen and Sally, a hot Romanian prince and, as fate would have it, her soul mate was waiting for her. She knew what Jen would say, something along the lines of, “If you don’t go to him, you better believe I will.” Yep, mm-hmm, that’s what she would say. Okay, decision made. She winked at herself in the mirror as she turned to leave the bathroom.

Before she went down to Fane, Jacque stuck her head in the door of her bedroom to tell Sally and Jen thank you and let them know she would be downstairs. But before she could even open her mouth to speak, they were already answering her unspoken thoughts.

“You’re welcome, we love you, you love us, we’re the best friends ever, and all that sap,” Jen said without looking up from the magazine she was flipping through.

“Yes, we’re okay if you go down to Fane. No, it won’t hurt our feelings, and we all know if you don’t, Jen will,” Sally said with a wink.

“True dat,” Jen threw in there for good measure.

“Ok, you two are the best friends ever. I mean that. I’ll be back in a little while,” Jacque started.

“Don’t hurry on our account. You know we'll want details, and if you come back up here with nothing juicy, I might just throw you out the window. Any questions?” Jen said, again without looking up.

“You haven’t looked into that medicine we’ve talked about, have you?” Sally asked her sarcastically.

“Details, ok. Got it,” Jacque said as she turned to go.

As she got to the top of the stairs and began to descend, she heard Jen yell, “Don’t think I won’t know if you’re lying. I know how many bases you’ve been on, you red-headed puritan. I will be able to tell fact from fiction.”

“Oh, shut up already,” Sally scolded.

Jacque laughed and shook her head. She knew that what Jen was really trying to do was lighten the mood. Jen knew how hot-headed Jacque could be, and if she went to Fane already upset it would be hard for her to calm down and be reasonable. Being reasonable just wasn’t one of her stronger attributes, much to Jacque's frustration.

As she walked into the living room, she saw that Fane was still sitting on the loveseat. His arms were stretched out on the back of the seat, and his head was resting back. His eyes were closed and because his breathing was so slow and even, it was hard to tell if he was awake.