“I’m going to be with my father when he calls Lucas and then I think I will sleep for a little while. I didn’t realize how tired I was until the Pack left and I was able to relax,” he told her.

“That reminds me, are you going to tell me what the whole staring contest was about? And about the guys leaving and you suddenly deflating like a balloon with a hole in it?”

“I will tell you about it, Luna, but not right now. You go take your shower. I know my mother is eager to get to know you and seeing as how I plan to have you all to myself tonight, she better get her fill during the day,” Fane said as he pulled her close one more time and kissed her.

Jacque pressed closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, pressing her lips firmly against his. She loved it when he kissed her, his lips were so soft and gentle. Fane pulled back much too soon for her liking, but she let it go.

“I’ll see you later,” he told her.

Just like when he had left to go back to the Henrys' earlier, Jacque felt this impending sense of doom at the idea of him not being with her. She hated how desperate it made her feel. She was not the desperate type. She'd never had a problem if she and Trent went several days without talking. At the sound of Fane’s growl, she realized her mistake.

“Remember, love, when you are emotional you tend to broadcast your thoughts. I try not to listen, but sometimes it’s a little too tempting not to, and when I hear his name in your mind I can’t tune you out,” Fane explained. “I know I don’t need to be jealous, but the wolf in me considers you mine even when I didn’t know you.”

Jacque grinned at him, having just realized that she would probably be able to get some dirt on him about past girls from Alina.

“I guess I'll just need to be more careful about not broadcasting when I’m emotional,” she told him innocently.

“That’s a thought, or you could just not think about him,” Fane told her, his voice getting deeper as they continued on this topic.

“That’s a thought, too. Albeit not a reasonable one, but a thought nonetheless.” Jacque winked at him as she turned to climb the stairs.

“See you later, wolf-man,” she called over her shoulder. Jacque heard him growl and couldn’t help the grin that stretched across her face. If nothing else made her smile, she could count on aggravating him doing it every time.

“Glad I can amuse you, my love,” she heard Fane’s voice in her head.

“Me too,” was the only reply she gave, which got her another growl.

As Alina and Jacque walked down the sidewalk, Jacque had a hard time not looking back at Sorin, who followed at a distance – their guard as it were. She was amazed at the fact that four days ago she was just Jacque, small town teenager, fixing to be a senior in high school, and then BAM, she’s the mate to a werewolf prince who'sgoing to have to fight another werewolf to keep her. Seriously, what had happened that fate somehow got a wild hair up its butt and decided to throw her a curve ball. She was truly baffled by it all.

“Jacquelyn or Jacque? Which would you prefer I call you?” Alina’s voice pulled her from her disbelieving thoughts.

“Well, everyone but Fane calls me Jacque. For some reason he's called me Jacquelyn since we met and I just haven’t bothered to say anything. Then again, he rarely calls me my name, usually it’s Luna, or love, or some other Romanian word I have no idea the meaning of,” Jacque told her, smiling at how much she liked the different endearments Fane called her.

“I think that’s a mate thing,” Alina told her. “Vasile almost never calls me Alina.”

“What does he call you?” Jacque asked, and then her manners caught up with her. “I mean, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“I don’t mind. He calls me 'mina',” Alina told her.

“What does it mean?”

“You’re going to laugh when I tell you because it just solidifies the fact that werewolves are indeed pushy, bossy and possessive. It means 'mine.' How ridiculous is that?” Alina said, laughing.

Jacque couldn’t help laughing with her.

“I haven’t known werewolves for a week, and I still see the significance of that,” Jacque told her.

“What has Fane told you about us?” Alina asked Jacque.

“Well, obviously he’s told me about the whole werewolf family trait thing, and about ya’ll being the royal family, so to speak. But other than that, not really anything.”

“Fane never has been the talkative type,” Alina said. “I suppose, too, all he’s really been able to think about is keeping you safe. Grey males tend to be a little obsessive when it comes to their mates and children.”

“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.”