Blood Rites

"What?" this remark had Dillon's head snapping up.

"You didn't know?" Vasile asked him.

"No," Dillon said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"If you try to separate them Fane will just come after her, and he will kill every wolf that gets in his way. He may be young, Dillon, but he is more dominant than any wolf I know, myself included," Vasile admitted.

Dillon clenched his jaw and ran his hand through his hair, he felt like he had aged twenty years overnight. He still hadn't told his mate what he was really up to. That conversation was going to add another twenty years to his shortening lifespan. He took a deep breath, let it out, then looked at Vasile. "Let me think about it tonight. I'm tired, everyone's tired. Fane can stay with her tonight. Your wolves can guard her if that's what you want. I will talk to all of you about it in the morning." Dillon paused as he was opening the door to leave. "Tell Jacque goodnight for me, I have a feeling it wouldn't be the best idea to go see her right now."

"Considering she's probably thoroughly lip locked with white fang, then, no it would definitely not be a good idea to go see her. Oww, WTH Jen?" Sally rubbed her arm where Jen had smacked it.

As Dillon stood very still in the open door, Jen glared at Sally. "Did you have to point out to him that his daughter was making out with a boy, alone, in a bed, alone?" she muttered.

"Jen," Decebel grumbled.

Jen continued as if she hadn't heard. "I mean, geeze, Sally, why not suggest he go give them a condom just to, ya know, be on the safe side and while he was at it he could take a banana and demonstrate how to put it on, and-"

"JENNIFER!" Decebel finally snarled.

Sally and Jen both jumped and turned to look at him and they heard the guest room door clang shut. "What?" Jen growled right back.

"I think he was just trying to say that we all got the point, Jen," Alina said gently.

"Oh," Jen said taken aback. "Well, why didn't you just say so? You didn't have to snarl at me," she huffed.

"I didn't snarl at you." Decebel's voice was low and tight.

"Yes. You. Did," Jen argued.

"I have to agree Dec, there was definite snarlige going on," Sally said, nodding her head.

"Okay," Decebel said calmly. "I'm sorry I snarled at you," he told her.

"My name."

Decebel cocked his head and looked at her quizzically. "What?"

"My name," she told him. "If you are going to apologize to me, than you need to say my name." The look on Jen's face was completely wicked.

Decebel clenched his jaw. His eyes were beginning to glow gold, but he managed to say politely, "I'm sorry, Jennifer, for snarling at you."

Jen grinned and held up the phone she had been holding. "That's going to be my new ring tone, the big bad wolf apologizing to widdle ole' me." She batted her eyes innocently.

Sally was coughing back a laugh, at the same time hoping that Jen had not just prodded a sleeping lion.

Decebel didn't say anything as he rose. He walked towards Jen who had the good sense not to run from a predator, although her eyes did get a little wider. He stopped just beside her and leaned down so that his mouth was next to her ear. "A banana, Jen, really?" He whispered and then was walking away.

The door was nearly closed by the time her brain started functioning again. "Oh, Come On! It was all I had!" She yelled, knowing his wolf hearing would pick it up.

Alina and Vasile had sat quietly through the exchange. "Have I ever told you how glad I am that we don't have a daughter?" Vasile asked her under his breath.

Aline slapped his leg. "Hush, did you just see what I saw?"

"Yes," Vasile answered sounding very tired. "I saw it. I haven't decided what to do about it."

Alina looked at him dubiously. "Do about it? Alpha, you're going to leave it be and let fate take its course."

"Mina," Vasile started to argue, but Alina was already turning her attention back to Jen and Sally. Obstinate woman, he thought to himself.

"I will be home in a few days, Tanya," Dillon was telling his mate over the phone. She had called his cell phone several times and sent him text messages as well, all of which he had not responded to. To say the least she was ticked off.

"Why can't you tell me what you are doing? And don't tell me its pack crap, you always tell me what's going on between the packs." He could almost see her snarling at him as she spoke.

"It's not something to discuss over the phone, you are just going to have to trust me." Dillon was losing his patience.

"Dillon, just tell me."

"Enough!" Dillon growled.

Silence came across the phone, all he could hear was her breathing. "Tanya, I'm sorry love, I didn't mean to yell at you. I’m just a little stressed at the moment, will you please trust me? It wasn't right of me to leave without talking to you first, but what's done is done."

She didn't respond right away and Dillon was beginning to think she just might have hung up on him.

"I trust you, but you won't do this to me again, Mate. I am your Luna and deserve more than that." Her voice was calm and unwavering; she once again showed why she was his Alpha female. She was deceivingly small and quiet, but when Tanya needed to be Alpha she had no problem delivering.

"You are right, Luna. I won't let it happen again. I love you," Dillon told her just before he hung up.

He stood in his hotel room, nursing the scotch he had poured himself. He had called Logan and told him to pull the wolves back for now, that they would regroup in the morning. Logan insisted on staying at the hospital just to keep an eye on the Romanian pack. Dillon told him to make sure he stayed out of sight and didn't cause any problems. Dillon had underestimated Fane's reaction to his announcement that he would be taking Jacque home with him. He had no doubt what Vasile said was true, Fane would kill anyone or anything that kept him from his mate. Which is the way it should be, right? He would move heaven and earth for Tanya, the only reason he hadn't told her about Jacque was because he knew it was going to be one more reminder that she was not able to conceive. He didn't want his mate to hurt, to feel inadequate that she had not been able to bare him any pups. Dillon didn't care, he was perfectly happy with their life, or was, until he found out about Jacquelyn.