Just One Drop

Jen and Sally had listened to the doctor explain that maybe something as traumatic as the accident had triggered the very dormant gene – perhaps that was why her wounds had healed so quickly. Jen asked if she thought she would develop any other werewolf characteristics. Cynthia felt that since Jacque hadn't, and she was half-were, that Jen was in the clear. But she truly didn't know what it would mean for Jen or her future. "You are the first dormant I have ever met," she told Jen.

For two months after learning about the werewolf blood that lay dormant in her blood, she had been constantly watching for any other wolf-like attributes. The only thing that she felt was different was that she could sense emotions. Well, strong emotions to be exact. She didn't really understand it, but she could almost smell them and each emotion smelled differently. Jen mentioned it to Sally and Jacque and they both had wanted her to go to Dr. Steele. She never did.

Jen heard a car door slam, which brought her back to the present, to the wonderful fact that she was sitting in a plane, a plane that would take her away from all this werewolf stuff.

She tapped her foot impatiently and drummed her fingers on the arm of the seat. "What could possibly be taking so freaking long," she said to the empty plane. With an exaggerated huff she undid the seat belt and stood, tired of waiting. It was time to take things into her own hands.

She looked out a window and her breath froze in her lungs at the sight. Where there had only been one black Hummer, now sat two. No way, she thought. It's not him. Vasile has, like, a million black Hummers. She had long ago decided it was a wolf thing.

Jen stepped back from the window, taking some slow, deep breaths. She closed her eyes and tried to regain her bearings. I got this. Finally ready, she walked towards the exit sign.

To what, she didn't know.

Chapter 3

"Don't you think you should call him?" Jacque asked Fane as they walked out to the car, moving slowly, trying not to slip on the snow covered ground. Fane opened the passenger door for Jacque but she didn't get in. He realized she wasn't moving until he answered all of her questions.

"My father will be the one to decide if Decebel should be called."

"That's not good enough," Jacque growled. "Not when it's my friend making possibly the biggest mistake of her life." She turned and, holding her arms out for balance on the slick ground, headed back into the mansion.

Sally stood next to Fane, her arms folded around her waist in an attempt to ward off the cold. She watched her friend leave. "She's going to tell your father what he should do, isn't she?"

"I keep telling her it's going to bite her in the butt one of these days.”

Jacque pushed the door to Vasile's office open without knocking. Alina stood in front of Vasile's desk and Jacque stopped beside her.

"Don't mind me. Carry on," Jacque said to them when they both stopped talking to stare at her.

"Did the concept of knocking somehow diminish when you left your country?" Vasile's eyebrows were raised.

"I apologize, Alpha, but it's important," she answered and was proud when her voice came out without wavering.

Alina wrapped an arm around Jacque's shoulders. "What is important?"

"I think Vasile should call Decebel and tell him to go talk to Jen. I think Jen would listen to him," Jacque explained.

"What would lead you to believe that Jen would listen to Decebel?" Vasile asked. "It was my understanding he was the reason she was leaving."

Jacque's jaw dropped open. "She told you that? She actually told you about how she felt about him?"

"Well, not in so many words, but I saw how she looked at him at your ceremony. There is only one reason a woman looks at a man like that." Vasile winked at his mate.

"Vasile, quit torturing your daughter-in-law," Alina admonished. "Go on and tell her."

"Tell me what?" Jacque asked eagerly.

"I called Decebel just after you left my office."

"You did?" Jacque asked as her brow furrowed. "What did he say? Is he going to go and get her? Did he care at all?"

"Slow down, little one." Alina chuckled.

Vasile stood from his desk and walked around to Jacque. "I can't speak for Decebel's feelings. Although, the snarl he let out when I told him Jen was leaving would lead one to believe he felt something for her. And yes, he is going to see her. Hopefully Sorin can continue to stall the plane without Jen getting suspicious."

"Crap," Jacque whined. "She's probably already snuck off the plane and decided to swim to North America. This is Jen we're talking about. She's suspicious of everything."

"I would advise that you three stay here and let Decebel handle this for now," Vasile said soberly, making it clear to Jacque that it was really more of an order.

Jacque nodded and left his office in search of Fane and Sally. They were where she'd left them, standing next to the car.

"Well?" Sally prompted.

"He had already called him," Jacque told them.

"There is a reason he's Alpha," Fane teased.

"Yeah, yeah. Soak it up, wolf-man," Jacque said, narrowing her eyes at her mate. "Your dad advised that we stay here and let Decebel handle it."

"So he's going to get her?" Sally's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"According to Vasile."

"If I could be a fly in that plane..." Sally said as she rubbed her hands together.

"I know, right?" Jacque agreed.

With her mind made up, Jen quickened her steps towards the plane exit. She grabbed the handle, yanked it open, and walked into a solid wall.

"Ummph" Jen grunted, then froze. She knew that smell. Great, she thought, there I go with the smell thing again. But she did know that smell: woodsy, spicy, and male. A very, very pissed off male. She took a step back and slowly raised her chin to look up into the face of the wolf whose memory had haunted her for the past two months.

"Going somewhere, Jennifer?" Decebel asked, eyes narrowed and lips drawn tightly.

Jen stared up into glowing, amber eyes. She couldn't speak, couldn't move, and at this point even breathing seemed to be too much for her body to ask of her. The spell was broken when she heard Decebel growl and realized that she was staring him straight in the eyes. His wolf would see that as a challenge. She took a step back but, challenge or no, did not avert her eyes. Slowly, the anger and hurt that plagued her came rushing back in, flowing through her numb body, giving her life and the ability to speak again.