Chapter 30

Fane pulled Jacquelyn closer to him as he held her in her bed. The night had gone so quickly and he refused to close his eyes knowing that in the morning she would leave and he would not be able to hold her again until after the challenge. Her scent swirled in the air around him, her heart beat in rhythm to his own. Mine, his wolf told him. Yes, he agreed, she is ours. Not realizing it, he began to hum the same song he had been humming for the past two days.

“What song is that?” he heard Jacquelyn ask.

“You’re going to laugh at me if I tell you,” he told her, grinning to himself

“Why would I laugh at you?”

“It’s a song by Willie Nelson and Kimmie Rhodes. Yes, I’m Romanian, I’m a werewolf, and I like Willie Nelson,” Fane said, sounding forlorn.

“Well, admitting it is half the battle,” Jacquelyn teased.

“It’s a song that makes me think of you, of us.”

“Will you sing it to me?” she asked.

“Only if you don’t laugh,” Fane agreed.

Jacquelyn didn’t say anything in response and Fane took that as his cue. So he began to sing to her.

“Put your arms around me,

Listen to my heart beat now.

If you want to love me,

Baby, I can show you how.

Love me like a song,

Sweet as a melody,

Learn all the words to me,

And sing along.

Find the harmony

The rhythm and the rhyme to me,

On and on,

All night long,

Love me like a song

I want to be the melody,

You can’t get out of your head.

Think of me as words of love,

A poet might have said and,

Love me like a song,

Sweet as a melody,

Learn all the words to me,

And sing along,

Find the harmony,

The rhythm and the rhyme to me,

On and on,

All night long,

Love me like a song.”

While Fane had been singing, Jacquelyn had rolled over to face him and was watching him, tears streaming down her face.

“That was beautiful. Your voice is absolutely beautiful. Thank you,” she blubbered on and cried even harder.

Fane pulled her tightly to him and kissed her forehead. In between kisses he whispered to her, “Un pretios (precious one), dragostea mea (my love), va rog sa nu strige (please do not cry).”

But Jacquelyn continued to cry and it just seemed to get worse. “I don’t know what on freaking earth you are saying, I just know that it isn’t supposed to happen like this. You’re not supposed to meet the love of your life only to have them have to go fight some delusional werewolf, with the possibility of him dying. Dammit, it’s not supposed to happen like this.” She sobbed and sobbed.

Fane felt the tears that had been hiding in his eyes finally spill over, he could feel the wetness run down his flushed cheeks. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know how to fix it ormake her feel better. So he decided to just be honest.

“I’m scared,” he whispered. “I’m so scared. What if I lose? What if the other wolves attack and my father and the Pack aren’t able to protect you? What if I lose you? I can’t lose you, it would kill me. I don’t want you there tomorrow, because at least if you aren’t there they can’t hurt you,” Fane told her as he let the tears fall, completely unashamed. This was his mate. He had only just found her, he loved her, he treasured her, and he would do anything to protect her.

Jacquelyn looked up at him. She took her hand and wiped away his tears. Leaning forward, she kissed each eye. For a moment they just looked at each other, as if to memorize each other’s face.

“I’m scared, too,” Jacquelyn told him. “If I could fight Lucas for you, I would. I don’t want to see you hurt. I can’t even begin to think of seeing you die. How am I going to do this tomorrow, Fane? I’m so scared that we won’t have all the things I’ve imagined having with you.”

At those words, Fane couldn’t help the images that ran through his thoughts and he heard Jacquelyn weep as she watched them in her mind.

Fane and her at the bonding ceremony, with their family all around them. Then Fane and her in a room alone, one of his hands cradling her head, the other resting on her waist, him leaning down and biting her neck to complete the blood rites.

Jacquelyn shook with sobs as she continued to see his thoughts. She and Fane were walking through a beautiful house, hand in hand, then they were wrapped in each others arms, tangled in bed sheets with passion in their eyes. Then Jacquelyn was in a hospital bed, Fane was holding her hand, her belly was swollen with child. Next she saw Fane rocking a baby to sleep as Jacquelyn sat watching. Then they were wrapped in each other's arms, laughing, kissing, touching, loving.

Fane’s shoulders shook as he wept, crying over what might never come to be.

“I’m sorry, Luna. I shouldn’t have let you see all that. When you mentioned thinking of all we could have, it made me think of the things I too have dreamt about having with you.”

The next thing Fane heard was a whisper so soft he almost missed it.

“Fane, make love to me,” Jacquelyn said, almost too soft for even wolf ears to hear.

Fane froze. This was the rock and a hard place no man wants to get into with a woman. If he says no then he’s rejecting her and she will be embarrassed. If he says yes, then he’s a jerk because he’s taking advantage of her vulnerability. Jacquelyn would not have asked this of him if it were just another night, and he would not make love to her until she asked him when there was no threat to any lives and nothing was creating passion that might not be as fervent as it seemed at that moment. Now, how exactly do you word that to a seventeen year old female who already has self-esteem issues? Good luck with that, Fane, he thought.