Blood Rites

"We just heard what sounded like a tornado ripping through this hall and you really want to ask me if something is wrong? Really? That's all ya got? Are you seriously going to stand there and act like everything is peachy keen jelly bean?"

Decebel raised a single eyebrow at her. "Which question would you like me to answer first?"

Jen growled at him. "Oh forget it," she said as she grabbed her IV pole and began to walk past him. "I'll find out what the hell happened without the help of Mr. 'I'm a big bad werewolf, I will eat you'." Her voice got deeper with each word.

As she passed him, in a voice so low she nearly missed it, she heard him mutter, "You might like it."

Jen whipped her head around, nearly losing her balance and knocking her IV pole over.

"Did you just make a joke? Because if you did then we need to get on the phone with air traffic control to tell them to be on the lookout fat little pigs with wings, and maybe even channel hell to see if the lakes of fire have frozen over."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he told her, his face dead pan as he gently took her arm and led her back to the room. He gently pushed her inside and pulled the door shut behind her.

Jen stood there completely dumbfounded.

"Did you find anything out?" Sally asked. Both her and Jacque were looking at their friend in expectation.

"I..." Jen couldn't get her mouth to spit out what her brain was trying to piece together, so she just stood there looking thoroughly confused.

Sally got up and walked over to Jen and began to help her back to the bed. "Is it just me, Jac, or does it look like little miss thang has been rendered speechless?"

"Never thought I'd see the day," Jacque agreed. "But for clarification purposes, Jen, snap out of it and tell me if you found out anything."

Sally snapped her fingers in front of Jen's face. This finally brought her brain back online. "Okay you," Jen pointed a finger at Jacque, who in turn pointed to herself and mouthed "me" to Sally. Sally just shrugged her shoulders. "I have no information to give you other than the hall is a mess, that is all I know." Jen then turned and looked at Sally. "I did however find out Decebel has a sense of humor…I think, maybe, sort of, crap I don't know."

Before Sally and Jacque could ask Jen to clarify, the door to their room opened and Lilly walked in, looking very tired.

"Mom, what's going on?" Jacque asked her mother.

"We need to talk."

"That's never a good sign," Jen said.

"Sally, Jen, you both need to stay and listen, this will affect you both."

"No Jen, that is never a good sign. The last time she asked you guys to stay I found out I was half werewolf," Jacque said, her voice wavering.

Before Lilly could get started there was a light knock on the door.

"Come in," all three girls yelled.

Alina walked in apprehensively. "Lilly I thought maybe I could help explain things if there were any questions."

"That would be great, Alina, thank you," Lilly told her.

"Ok," Lilly said, pulling up a chair to sit down. She placed her elbows on her knees and leaned her head down, running her hands through her hair. "let me get this out before Fane gets here because once he gets here no one will be getting near you, Jacque."

"Mom, you're making me nervous, what's wrong?"

"Dillon is invoking Alpha rights as your father because you are a minor," Lilly told her, frustration from her earlier encounter with Dillon leaking into her voice.

Jacque stared at her mother blankly, knowing she should be outraged she just wasn't sure about what exactly. "Alina, translation please," Jacque asked, turning to look at Fane's mother.

"First, I want you all to promise not to say anything until I have explained completely," she told them. "Do I have your word?"

"Word," all three said dryly.

"Dillon does not think you and Fane are old enough to mate."

Jacque started to interrupt, her face full of obvious outrage, but the look in Alina's eyes was pure Alpha and Jacque's mouth snapped closed. Alina nodded her head in approval and continued. "Since he is your father, it also helps that he is the Alpha of his pack, and you are under the age of 18, he can invoke what is called Alpha rights. Basically, he is saying he can keep you and Fane from becoming bonded until you are 18. He wants you to go back to Colorado with him and his pack for the next two months until you turn 18. He thinks that you and Fane need to mature some, that Fane is not ready to be a mate and protect you as you ought to be protected." After Alina finished talking, she waited for the inevitable but it didn't come. Instead, Jacque sat still as stone, her breathing even, her lips drawn tight in a straight line.

"Fane, I know you can hear me. I need you." Jacque sent the thought to Fane, allowing him to feel her anger, her fear and worry.

"I am on my way. You need to know, Jacquelyn, I will kill anyone who tries to take you from me. Anyone." Fane's voice was like death itself, cold, dark and unrelenting.

Jacque shivered at the sound of it in her mind. "Just hurry, please," was her only response to his edict.

"Well, if Jacque is not going to share with the room the fury which she is undoubtedly feeling, by all means allow me," Jen announced. "Dillon Jacobs and what furry army is going to try, and let me just reiterate that, as in will, endeavor, strive, aim, seek, and albeit unsuccessfully attempt to take Jacque away from us?"

Sally looked at Jen and couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. "Your vocabulary never ceases to amaze. Just when I think all you know is profanity and perversion you come out with a speech worthy of Braveheart. Well done."

Jacque would have acknowledged her friends efforts to defend her had the door not flew open and a raging, pissed off werewolf prince walked in. His power swirled around them so strong that Alina let out a whine, sounding alarmingly like a wolf in pain. Even Jacque felt the dormant wolf gene in her wanting to submit to the power of the Alpha wolf in Fane. It was getting hard to breathe the air was so thick with his anger. He walked over to Jacque, whose head was bowed and turned so that her neck was bared. It was like she knew instinctively to submit so as to not provoke the dominant wolf and hopefully she would subdue him in her surrender. Fane's wolf must have been the one in control of the wheel because he leaned down over Jacque and growled low. He placed his face against her neck, breathing deep, and his voice was guttural when he spoke. "Mine."