Chapter 11
Fane had gone back into the room with the girls, Lilly had her mini panic attack and was able to calm down when Alina told her she would slap her if she didn’t. “So he’s on his way here, as in now?” Lilly asked Vasile.
“Yes, as in now. He will be here in about 10 minutes,” he told her.
“Did he say what he wanted?" This time her voice was stronger, more determined.
“All he said was that he wanted to talk with you and that he wanted to meet Jacque.”
“Yes, but we both know there is more to it than that, Vasile. He has to have an ulterior motive to travel all this way. I’m sure he wants to meet Jacque, but that’s not the only reason he has come,” Lilly told him.
“Decebel is going to go down with you. Even though I don’t think he would hurt you or allow harm to come to you I want Decebel to get a feel for things. I have called Sorin, Skender and Boian to see if they could scout around the hospital parking lot and get a look at Dillon’s men,” Vasile explained.
“I’m ready when you are, Lilly,” she heard Decebel say, which was really weird because she couldn’t recall a time when Decebel had ever spoken to her. There was a first time for everything.
“Ok, let's do this,” Lilly said, rolling her shoulders as if she were getting ready to fight.
“She has worn off on you, too,” Decebel said to her as they got into the elevator to go to the lobby.
“Who has worn off on me?” Lilly asked him.
“Jen. She always says these weird comments that make no sense to the situation, and I notice you do it too. She’s like a virus that just keeps spreading.” The last part was said more to himself than Lilly.
“If she is a virus than she is the only one of her kind in existence, and she’s a virus I would catch any day,” Lilly told him, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.
Decebel growled something imperceptible but said nothing else. As the elevator doors opened, Decebel put a hand in front of Lilly so that she would not exit before him. He stepped out and looked around and then motioned to her to emerge, evidently deciding it was safe.
“What happen to ladies first?” Lilly teased, just trying to expel her nervous energy. She knew what the answer was but she just needed something to keep her busy for a few minutes before she saw the man she had once loved with every fiber of her being.
“I don’t know what idiot thought it was smarter to let a woman enter a room before him. How does he know if it is safe for her to enter if he does not check it out himself? It’s actually a much more caring act to go before her, therefore ensuring that nothing will harm her,” Decebel explained, his tone of voice at first sounded with disgust and then it was almost tender when he finished speaking. He might just make a fine catch one day, minus the grumpiness and bossiness that seemed to plague all things furry, Lilly thought.
They hadn’t been standing in the lobby long when the front door opened and Dillon Jacobs stepped through. Decebel started to move in front of Lilly, one of those 'I must protect hear me roar' moments, but Lilly pushed him aside, never taking her eyes off Dillon. She couldn’t help the hurt tinged with betrayal that bled into her eyes. It was 17 year old hurt, but hurt nonetheless.
Lilly straightened her spine and strode forward, trying to cloak herself in confidence that she didn’t feel. Decebel trailed just behind her, a silent reminder to Dillon that she was protected.
Dillon spoke first. “Lilly, it’s good to see you,” he said with sincerity dripping from his voice. That only made his presence worse, to know that he really meant what he said, but regardless of any words he could give her, the fact was he belonged to another woman. Sometimes Lilly just wanted to give life the finger.
“It’s good to see you as well, Dillon,” Lilly managed to force that out, fake smile and all without vomiting all over his shoes. “I don’t want to do small talk ,Dillon. We both know you aren’t here to catch up, or to reminisce about old times, so just get to why you are here,” Lilly told him, realizing that she didn’t have the patience for bush beating today.
“I know about our daughter. I sort of know why you didn’t tell me about her, but I want to meet her, I think I deserve that much.” Dillon’s voice held honest hurt.
“I was going to tell you that night.” She didn’t have to specify what night it was. “But I came home and telling a note you are pregnant isn’t quite the same as telling the father.” Lilly knew she shouldn’t be a butt head, she had made the choice to stay with Dillon after she knew that he would one day have no choice but to leave her.
Dillon tilted his head to the ceiling, closing his eyes. He inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly. When he looked at Lilly again she could tell that he was struggling to keep his emotions in check.
“I didn’t want to leave. You know that I didn’t have a choice. Lilly, I would have stayed, I would have married you, been the father Jacque deserved. I would have.”
Lilly cut him off. “I know that, ok, but that is not what this is about. You want to meet Jacque, well, that will be up to her. I will tell her you are here, and if and only if she wants to, you can meet her. But you’re going to have to give her some time to process this, Dillon.”
“I know it’s a lot, but I want to see her today. I need to speak with her about some important things she needs to know about being a wolf.”
“She has people to tell her about being a wolf,” Lilly snapped at him, letting her frustration at the situation get the best of her.
“Right, the pup who allowed her to be harmed.” Dillon’s voice held obvious contempt for Fane.
Decebel growled low and stepped forward, pushing past Lilly’s arm. “You will not disrespect the prince, he has done nothing wrong.”
Dillon seemed to gather himself and back track. “I was wrong to assume it was his fault, Beta. I meant no disrespect, but you have to understand that as her father it was difficult to learn that your daughter was injured while in the care of another wolf.”
“You may be her father, but only in blood,” Decebel shot back at him, then turned to Lilly and took her arm. “We will go back and discuss this with Jacque and let you know something in the next hour.” Decebel didn’t give Lilly a chance to say anything more, he simply took her by the arm and started dragging her to the elevator.
“Bossy much?” Lilly glared at him as the elevator doors closed with a ding. “Why did you tell him we would contact him in an hour, Decebel? That isn’t going to give Jacque much time to think about whether or not she even wants to consider meeting her father.”
“The longer it takes for her to decide, then the longer he is here, and he has plans. He wasn’t being completely honest about why he is here,” Decebel explained.
The elevator gave a slight lurch as it made it to the floor where Jacque and Jen’s room was. The doors slid open and once again Decebel exited first and then motioned for Lilly to follow.
“What do you mean he has plans?” Lilly ground out.
Decebel continued to walk towards the girls' room without answering her question. As they approached the door, Vasile and Alina stood from the chairs they had been sitting in front of the room where Jacque and Jen were recovering.
"What did you learn?" Vasile directed the question to Decebel.
"He wasn't telling the whole truth. He does want to meet her, his emotions are sincere, but he is definitely hiding something," Decebel explained.
"I don't understand how you could tell all that," Lilly spoke up
"When a person is dishonest their body gives off cues. Human senses cannot pick up on them, but wolf senses can, and are highly attuned to them," Decibel explained. "When you lie, generally your heart rate is quicker, your body gives off a slight odor from perspiration that you might not even know is on your skin, but it's there, your pupils dilate slightly, and your nostrils flare out. Dillon being a wolf can hide some of that, but I think seeing you threw him off and he wasn't protecting his emotions as well as he normally could, especially for an Alpha."
"So the million dollar question is, what does he want with Jacque?" Alina asked.
Just then the door to the room they had been guarding opened with a slight, but noticeable creak. "What does who want with Jacque?" Jen asked as she stepped out of the room into the hallway.