“Did you take your meds this morning?” Jen snorted as she rolled her eyes.
“It just sucks that I won’t be with you guys,” Jacque whined.
“Yeah, but you’ll get to see that hot little number, Adam,” Jen responded.
“Once again, Jen, you baffle me with your ability to see the big picture.” Jacque shook her head at her blonde friend.
“I’m just trying to show you that the glass is half-full. You got great eye candy. I mean, for an old dude Vasile’s easy on the eyes, and we all know Fane is drool-worthy. Adam is just the cherry on top.”
“Man, I wish I had recorded that so I could threaten to let Decebel hear it,” Sally huffed.
Jacque nodded, agreeing that any ammunition on Jen was always a plus.
“Oh, I heard that,” a voice in Jen's head said. Jen shivered, but didn't mention it.
“Sally, you and I've got to go.” Jen pulled Jacque into a firm hug. “You take care of yourself, Red. No heroics, okay?”
Jacque nodded. “Will do. You try to keep your clothes on in that bar.”
Jen snorted. “No worries. I’m under contract with Dec, and Sally is a witness.”
Sally nodded. “She’s locked in tight. No loopholes.”
“Sally, you know better than that. Jen always has an out. Always,” Jacque pointed out.
Sally hugged Jacque once Jen stepped back.
They all headed to the foyer, where the others had already gathered.
Vasile and Decebel were off to the side, talking quietly while the bags were being loaded into the vehicles.
“Vans?” Jen snorted. “Hey, babe, at least the Hummers were cool. These are just so 'juvenile detention, here we come'.”
Decebel didn’t outwardly acknowledge that but she felt the swat on the butt he directed at her in her mind. She still thought that stuff was freaky. Freaky, but definitely had potential for freaky in the right variety.
“I’m just saying,” Jen muttered. “If we’re going for bad ass then this is definitely not the way to go. But then nobody asked me, now did they?”
Sally stood off to the side as she watched everyone wait to load up into the vans. Peri walked up beside her and smiled.
“Are you nervous?” Peri asked.
“Not really,” Sally answered. “What’s the point? It won’t change anything.”
“True,” Peri conceded, “but sometimes nerves are what keep us on our toes.”
“Peri, are you going to tell me more about the stones? I would feel more comfortable using them if I knew more about them.”
“I will tell you more about them on our drive down,” Peri answered.
“You’re going with us?” Sally asked as her eyebrows rose in surprise.
Peri nodded. “Decebel, Vasile, and I decided that you need me more than Rachel at this point. Vasile doesn't want two healers in the same place. Too risky. That is why he is splitting you up.”
“That makes sense.” Sally nodded.
Decebel had decided to temporarily house the Serbian pack in a mansion located in the Romanian city of Ramnicu-Valcea. He wanted to be close to Vasile’s pack until things had settled down and the Serbian pack was more stable. The drive from the Serbian mansion was going to be an hour shorter to Ruse than it would have been from Brasov, where the Romanian pack mansion was. To Sally this was both good and bad. Good, because obviously that meant less time cooped up in a van. Bad, because it meant they would arrive at the bar sooner. The bar, which was close to the forest where who knows what waited for them. Although, she decided this trip was much better than the ten plus hours that Jacque and the others would spend on their way to the Carpathian Mountains. That was going to be a doozy.
“You ready to go, beautiful?” Sally jumped when she heard Costin’s voice directly behind her.
“You okay?” he asked as he gently turned her to face him.
“Yeah, I was just lost in thought. You surprised me.” She smiled at him.
“Peri has informed me that I am not allowed to flirt with or distract you,” he told her as he raised his eyebrows in question, a playful grin stretched across his face.
Sally laughed. “She said she was going to talk to me more about the Fae stones. I just want to understand their power a little more. I think I would feel more comfortable using them if I understood where the power comes from and how I can direct it. Does that make sense?”
“Definitely. It’s always important to know and understand the weapon you are wielding.” Costin grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the vehicles and helped her inside.
Fane and Jacque got into the van they would be sharing with their group and watched as she stared longingly at the other vehicle.
“They will be fine, love,” he assured her.
“I know they will, but who’s going to keep them out of trouble?” Jacque asked.
“I’m sure Costin and Decebel can handle it.”
Jacque shot him a look, her eyes narrowed. “Really, Fane? The Alpha who can’t get his mate to keep her clothes on and the bartender who encourages such behavior? These are the individuals you are suggesting can keep those two out of trouble?”
Fane shrugged. “I see your point. Perhaps Sorin and Peri will be able to help.”
Jacque groaned a she flopped into her temporary home for the next ten hours. “It’s going to be a disaster. I can see Jen now, dancing on the bar, Sally trying to be a bartender and spraying some poor guy with beer, Decebel trying to kill every guy looking at Jen, and all the while Costin is trying to keep Sally from wasting more alcohol than they sell.”
“And where are the others in this little scenario of yours?” Fane asked with a crooked smile.
“They’re standing in the back of the bar laughing their supernatural asses off,” Jacque grumbled.
Fane laughed. “You are right, Luna. It is going to be a disaster. I will have to ask Sorin to video some of it on his phone.”
“Well, at least I won’t be the only one on film,” she muttered, remembering the pixies.
Fane looked at her curiously.
“I’ll tell you later.” She shook her head as she rolled her eyes.
“Stop worrying, Jacqueline. Everything will be fine.”
“I’ll remember you said that.”