Prince of Wolves (The Grey Wolves #1)(34)

“The Alpha Lucas Steele broke the challenge rules by harming Jacquelyn. Sorin stopped me from killing him and now he has left four dead animals in Jacquelyn’s yard.”
Fane heard his father growl. “How did he harm your mate?”
“I wasn’t there to protect her,” Fane told him with obvious shame in his voice. “He saw the markings on Jacquelyn’s back and neck. He got angry and grabbed her arms and gripped her hard enough to leave bruises on both arms. Imi pare rau am ratat ai, tatalui (I am sorry I failed you, father).
“Tacerea (silence). You have not failed me, son. You had no choice but to honor the rules of the challenge. You don’t have time to sulk over what has happened, do you hear me?”
Fane took a deep breath. He knew this is what he needed to hear and was thankful that he'd decided to call his father.
“I hear you, Alpha,” Fane answered.
“You have a fight to prepare for and a mate to protect. What has happened is past. Take whatever anger you have over this and use it to fuel you during the challenge, but do not dwell on it.”
“Thank you, Tata (father). I will see you soon.” Fane ended the call.
Fane took Jacquelyn’s hand to lead her back into the house. “Ladies, I don’t think our furry friends need an audience any longer,” he said as he held the back door open for them.
Without saying anything to each other and without any conscious choice, they all went and sat in the living room. Jen and Sally each took an end of the couch while Jacquelyn and Fane sat on the loveseat. Fane was absently tracing the markings on Jacquelyn’s neck.Sally finally broke the silence. “So what now?” She directed the question to Fane.
Fane was staring at Jacquelyn and had to pull his gaze away to look at Sally.
“My father and mother will be here around one thirty or two. Tomorrow he will call Lucas to make him aware of his arrival, and then they will set the time and place for the challenge,” Fane explained.
“Are you nervous?” Jen asked him.
Fane felt Jacquelyn tense at the question, the anxiety came off her in waves.
“Inima mea, va rog sa nu faceti griji. (My heart, please do not worry),” Fane thought to her.
“I have no idea what you just said, but I have a feeling you are telling me to chill out. Am I right?” she asked him.
“I didn’t exactly put it like that. What I said was, 'my heart, please do not worry'.”
Turning to look at Fane, Jacquelyn said, “How can you tell me that? You're going to fight another wolf to the death and you tell me not to worry. Yeah, I’ll get right on that.”
“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 imagined all 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.
“I like the smell of your shampoo,” Fane said suddenly.
Startled by his unexpected words, Jacque tried, without success, to suppress the squeak that emerged from her. Fane had not moved, nor had he opened his eyes. He just continued to sit there all calm and collected. Jacque rolled her eyes and went around to the couch to sit down.
Fane slowly raised his head and pinned Jacque with those piercing blue eyes. Her heartbeat sped up and her breathing got a tad bit more shallow. She had to look away from him before she made a fool of herself by drooling. Yeah, that would be so cute, Jacque snorted to herself.
“Does being near me repulse you, Luna?” Fane asked her
Jacque knew she must look confused, because, frankly, she was. How could he possibly think he repulsed her? If anything he should be the one repulsed.
“Why would you ask me that?” she asked him.
“I know no other reason why my mate would choose to sit away from me instead of by my side,” Fane told her, sounding so formal and old fashioned.
“Oh throw me a bone, Fane,” Jacque said in exasperation. “Did it occur to you that maybe I just needed some space because it’s hard for me to think when I get close to you?”