Blood Rites

She hesitated but then looked him in the eyes with her chin held up. "I hate to be weak and to feel helpless, and I refuse to always be this needy, but right now the idea of you where I can't see you terrifies me. If that makes me pathetic then so be it." Fane could tell it took so much of her to admit her fear to him.

"None of what you just told me could ever make you pathetic and if you think that then you are going to think I'm completely psycho, because I'm never letting you out of my sight again, nor will another male ever be close enough to touch you."

Jacque couldn't stop the small laugh that escaped her lips.

"Why do you find this funny?" Fane asked, truly confused by her response.

"You can't very well keep every male away from me forever."

"Yes I can. I am the next Alpha in line. I'm the prince of the Romanian Grey wolves. If I say they are to stay fifty feet away from you at all times then that is what they will do."

Mischief glimmered in Jacquelyn's eyes. "Fifty feet? Are you sure that's enough? Maybe you should make it, I don't know, several hundred feet. That may be more reasonable."

"Are you making fun of me, Luna?" Fane asked with a low growl.

"Why yes, Fane, I am. However could you tell?"

Fane glowered at her as she smiled innocently, then surprised her by kissing her on the nose. "I'm glad to see that you haven't lost your sense of humor."

"Wolf-man, if you keep making outrageous statements like that then my sense of humor will only improve because I will have you to make fun of."

Fane stood and walked again towards the motel room door and as he pulled it open he said, loud enough for everyone to hear, "So glad I could be of service to you, Jacquelyn."

Jacque turned bright red as everyone filed in, their eyes darting between the two.

"Is that what they're calling it these days?" Jen asked. She looked at Sally. "That's what I've been doing wrong. I haven't been saying I wanted to be serviced."

Every male in the room coughed to cover up laughs as Sally swatted Jen's arm.

"I'm just saying, you learn something new every day," she said, winking at Jacque.

Fane shook his head, a smile on his face simply because his Luna was smiling.

Vasile was the first to recompose himself as he looked at Jacque. "How are you feeling?"

"A little better. I was telling Fane the pain is bearable."

"So you think you can travel? It's a long flight to Romania," Vasile told her.

"Yeah, I'm good. I'm ready to get off this continent. I'm convinced it has something against me."

Fane looked at Cynthia, who stood off to the side looking like she wanted to crawl in a hole. "Do you think it is okay for her to travel?"

Cynthia looked at Jacque and then at Fane. "If she says she feels up to it then, yes. If she begins to hurt badly again you will just need to give her more of your blood."

Jacque blushed as Fane looked at her with a wicked grin.

Jen looked between the two and then at Sally. "Do you see that fine wolf grinning wickedly at our best friend?"

Sally looked apprehensively at Jen. "Yes," she answered cautiously.

"I thought I told you I wanted one. Where is he?" Jen asked dryly.

"And I thought I asked if you wanted fries or tots with that and you said you preferred whipped cream. Much as it pains me to tell you this," Sally took Jen by the shoulders and looked into her eyes in all seriousness, "and you might want to brace yourself, apparently wolves don’t do whipped cream. They all said it makes their hair sticky."

Jen grinned at Sally as the entire room erupted into laughter, holding out her fist for her to bump. "Niiiiiice."

Vasile turned to Fane still grinning, obviously enjoying the lightheartedness after so many days of worry and fear. "Get them ready to go, Sorin has the plane waiting."

Fane nodded, still smiling. "As you say, Alpha."

Chapter 34

Jen and Sally boarded the private plane Vasile had charted. Jen whistled while Sally's jaw dropped open at the sight of such luxury.

"Sally, I take it back. I don't just want a wolf and whipped cream. I want a rich wolf with whipped cream.

"Ok, let me just write that down for you since you seem to think I'm your personal assistant," Sally responded, her tone clipped.

"You ever noticed how assistant starts with ass? Do you think that’s a coincidence?" Jen shrugged her shoulders as she raised her eyebrows at Sally.

"Oh, how I've missed my two snarky best friends," Jacque quipped as she boarded the plane, closely followed by Fane.

Jacque had begun to follow Jen and Sally when she felt Fane tug her hand. She turned back to look at him.

"Let me check the plane before you and your friends go exploring." He gave her hand a quick squeeze and then walked towards the back of the plane. Jacque noticed that there was a small hall that was blocked off from the front of the plane.

"This thing is huge. Where do you think that goes?" Sally asked pointing in the direction Fane had disappeared down.

"I don't know, but I intend to find out," Jacque said to her friends with a wink.

The three girls sat down on a plush seat that ran the length of one side of the plane. On the opposite side of the plane were bucket style seats, two to a row. Each set of two faced opposite another and there was a small table in between each set. Jacque counted three sets. To the right of her on the wall that separated the back of the plane from them was a large flat screen television and below that was a bar with various drinks in the glass case.

Fane came and stood next to Jacque, apparently finished with his inspection. Jacque, Jen, and Sally watched as the others began to board the plane. Alina and Lilly took one set of the bucket seats while Sorin and Vasile sat across from them. Jacque had to pinch Sally when she started laughing because Boain had attempted to sit on the bench seat next to Jen, and Decebel snarled something in Romanian at the poor wolf, causing him to pale and jump up so fast it looked like he had been stabbed in the butt with a hot poker. Jen acted as if she didn't notice.

Cynthia sat next to Skender across from the now trembling Boain and the frowning Decebel. Fane reached down and grabbed Jacque's hand, tugging at her as he indicated the bucket seats for them to sit in. Jacque stood up, motioned to Jen and Sally to join them in the seats across from each other.