Chapter 31
Cynthia ran the warm washcloth down Jacque's back, trying to wash off the dried blood, she thought about how when she had finally come to after being knocked out by Logan, she had yelled until Logan had finally come back into the room. She had shamed him for the treatment of his so called mate and he finally had relented and brought her some warm water and a cloth so she could clean Jacque's bloody skin. She had wanted to try and talk Logan into letting her help Jacque take a hot bath, but she hadn't been able to rouse the poor girl at the time. Cynthia imagined she was in shock from the brutal treatment of the wolf. Hell, she herself was in shock. Now that Jacque was awake she feared how her mind would handle all that had happened to her at the hands of Logan.
"Why did he do it?" Jacque finally raised her face and looked Cynthia in the face.
"Oh honey, come here.” She pulled the chair her leg was cuffed to closer so she could take Jacque in her arms. Jacque began to cry silently, her face buried in Cynthia's shoulder.
"He made me drink his blood and then he took mine. How will Fane want me now?"
"He will always want you, Jacque. You are his mate, his and his alone," Cynthia told her as she gently rubbed her back.
"I still hurt. I thought his blood was suppose to make me better," Jacque told her.
Cynthia pulled back to look at Jacque. "Really? You don't feel any better?"
Jacque shook her head. "No, I still feel like I'm on fire, burning from the inside. He didn't do anything sexually to me but I feel so violated, so dirty." Jacque closed her eyes as tears slowly streamed down her face.
"In some ways what he did was more intimate than sex."
"It was supposed to be Fane, Cynthia. God, it was supposed to be Fane. It wasn't supposed to be like this."
"I know, sweetie. I know. It's my fault, Jacque." Now Cynthia was crying. Cynthia knew what she said was true, it was her fault. She had helped this monster get his hands on Jacque. How could she live with herself ? "I was so angry at Fane for taking my brother, I didn't want him to be happy, to have you. I didn't think Logan would hurt you. I thought because he wanted you as his mate he would treat you reverently as most males do their mate. But you aren't really his, you aren't taking his darkness and it's only feeding his madness. I'm so sorry. I did this and I will deserve any punishment that your Alpha decides."
"I'm not mad at you, Cynthia. I don't have any emotions left to be mad. I just want Fane. I just want my mate." Jacque pulled back and leaned against the chair she was cuffed to.
"Can you still feel him through your bond?" Cynthia asked her.
"Yes, but I don't want him to know what happened. What if he doesn't want me anymore? How will he ever want to touch me after Logan has?"
"Jacque listen to me," Cynthia growled at her firmly. "Fane is your true mate. There is nothing in this world that could keep him from wanting you. He will never stop looking for you. You have to believe that. Let him in, let him love you, that's the only thing that will heal you emotionally and I suspect only his blood will heal you physically."
"What if he doesn't find me in time? What if I die before he can give me his blood?" Jacque thought she would be sick at the idea of never seeing Fane or friends and family again.
"Don't spend this time separate from him. Reach out through your bond. You have to know it's killing him for you not to let him in and I can tell it's killing you."
Cynthia's head jerked towards the door a second before it opened. Jacque couldn't help the whimper that emitted, but steeled herself before she would let her fear over take her. She decided then and there this asshole would not break her. She wouldn't let him take Fane from her.
"You're awake, finally." Logan glared at her, the contempt obvious on his face.
"Yes, well I'm sorry to keep you waiting but it takes a little out of a girl when she's assaulted. You will have to forgive my lack of consideration towards your feelings," she growled out, knowing she shouldn't provoke him but unable to stop himself.
Cynthia placed a hand on her leg, a silent warning.
"Yes, well like I said, you pushed me Jacque. Now you know. If you push, I will push back, and I will always win."
Jacque didn't respond, she simply glared at him, meeting his stare without flinching.
Logan chuckled. "I see you really are an Alpha, good to know. I would hate for you to be so easily broken. Where would be the fun in that?"
"Logan, I told you earlier that if you want her as a mate then you are not going about it the right way," Cynthia tried reasoning with him.
"I will feel better once my mate no longer bears the marks of another. I will have you give Jacque some of that sedative, Cynthia. That way she won't be in too much pain when I have them burned from her body."
Cynthia gasped. "You're not going to touch her, Logan. I will die before you lay another hand on her."
"Oh, don't worry, Cynthia. That can be arranged. But first I thought you would want to see this through, since you helped me and all. Doesn't it feel good to know that the wolf who killed your Alpha will never have his mate? I thought you would be happy," Logan taunted.
"I can't wait to watch Fane rip your limbs off one at a time. I will revel in your screams and then bathe in your blood." The look Jacque gave him was feral and even she was surprised at the bloodthirsty sound of her voice.
"You are a feisty one, I like that. I'll bring your dinner in in a moment and then you should get some rest, love. Tomorrow looks to be a rather trying day for you." Logan chuckled as he turned to leave.
Jacque watched as he shut the door behind him. She doubled over as pain uncoiled in her body.
"Jacque, is the pain getting worse?" Cynthia asked gently.
"Yes, it just hurts. Will you talk to me, distract me please."
Cynthia thought for a moment, trying to figure out what to talk about, then she remembered about Jennifer and her blood.
"I found out what was different with your friend's blood."
Jacque looked up, genuine interest on her face. "Really? What is it? Is she okay?"
"She has werewolf blood."
"Shut up," Jacque responded bluntly.
"Um, okay," Cynthia said, confused.
"Oh, no, I don't mean really shut up. It's more like an 'oh crap' statement," Jacque quickly explained.
"Oh, well then, let me explain. Jennifer has werewolf blood, although just a little bit. There is this thing called the one drop rule. It was actually used to describe the amount of mixed blood a person had back in the civil war days when there was beginning to be interracial relationships and people were beginning to see mixed children between African Americans and Caucasians."
Cynthia spent the next couple hours explaining to Jacque all about the one drop rule, and how it applied to Jen. Jacque couldn't believe what she was hearing and undoubtedly had been able to successfully keep her mind off of her pain. So maybe it was possible that Decebel was her mate?
"Decebel has been acting so protective of Jen. Is it possible he is her mate even though they haven't heard each other's thoughts and she doesn't have his marks?" Jacque asked.
"I guess it's possible that since Jennifer's blood is rather diluted. I guess it could require something more for the mating signs to reveal themselves."
"What do you mean something more?"
"Perhaps a major physical or emotional reaction is required to trigger the mating response," Cynthia explained.
"Huh, that sounds like what I learned in psychology about how people with dormant genes of mental illness sometimes have to have some sort of major life event to bring the gene to the forefront."
"That's a good point, Jacque. It's quite possible it's similar to that."
Both women were quiet after the long conversation, both thinking of the possibilities. Jacque finally laid down, grabbing a pillow off the chair. She turned onto her side facing away from Cynthia, needing some time to think. She felt Cynthia lay a blanket over her and said a silent thank you that the woman seemed to understand that Jacque needed to be left alone for the moment. That alone time didn't last long. She felt a hard push in her mind and could have done nothing to keep him out.
"Jacquelyn, don’t shut me out. Please don't ever force me to push into your mind like that again." Jacque could hear the desperation in his voice.
"I'm sorry I blocked you, Fane, but I don't know how to face you right now." Jacque bit her lip to keep from crying. She wouldn't break down before she had told him everything, he had a right to know.
"Tell me, Luna. Tell me whatever you need to, but first hear this: I will always love you, always need and want you. Don't you dare ever doubt that, are we clear?"
Damn that wolf, she thought as tears escaped her eyes. "Crystal."
"Good, now tell me."
Jacque decided she just needed to rip it off like a band aid and maybe it wouldn't hurt as bad. "He forced me to take his blood and then he bit me. I tried to fight him, Fane, I tried, but he was too strong. He clawed my back because he saw your marks." Before Jacque could stop herself she was pouring everything out. "He told me that tomorrow he is going to burn your marks from my back. I was afraid you wouldn't want me anymore because he bit me."
Jacque could feel Fane's rage emanating through their bond and she tried to reassure herself it wasn't directed at her.
"There is nothing that could keep me from wanting you. Nothing you could do or not do would stop me from being with you. You are mine, Jacquelyn. Mine no matter what." Jacque felt the tears run down her cheeks. She felt Fane's lips on her own as he sent her the thought of him kissing her, holding her.
"I miss you, wolf-man," she whispered.
"I'm coming for you. We know where you are."
"What! Where? Where am I? When will you be here?" Jacque couldn't believe what she was hearing. He'd found her. She knew he would, never doubted he would, but to hear it brought a relief she had never known.
"You are in Missouri in the Ozark mountains. We don't know your exact location but we arrived in Springfield a couple of hours ago and are on our way to Ozark now. If I have to search every cabin in the Ozarks I will find you."
"I know you will. I'll be waiting."
"Don't provoke him, Jacquelyn. You survive, do you understand? That's your job, to survive." Jacque could feel the intensity behind his words and knew what Fane was asking of her. To do whatever it took to stay alive. No matter what Logan wanted, Fane just wanted me alive.
"You just worry about getting here, let me worry about me. I need you, Fane. Be with me now, talk to me, and tell me how my mom is, and Jen and Sally."
Fane told her everything she wanted to know. He told her about how strong her mom was and how Jen was driving Decebel crazy. He told her how Sally had actually stood up to him about going with him to see Dillon's wolves. When he ran out of things to tell her about her friends he began to tell her about the history of the Grey wolves.
"Where did they come from?" she asked him.
"The legend is we were created by the goddess who lives in the moon. She is the great Luna. The wolves in Romania were growing extinct due to hunters killing for their pelts. In order to help save the species she combined the human spirit with the wolf spirit, creating the werewolf. She gave the human the power and strength of the wolf and the wolf the intelligence of the human. Since then the wolves have thrived."
Jacque thought about the legend and wondered if it were true. She figured anything was possible since werewolves even existed. That thought ignited another. "Fane, are there other things besides werewolves?"
"Do you really want to know the answer to that, Luna?"
"At this point, wolf-man. the things that go bump in the night are the least of my worries." Jacque couldn't help but think that it was her own species that she needed to fear.
"Then yes, my love, there are other things besides werewolves. But I think right now you need to get some sleep. I will be there soon."
"Stay with me." Jacque yawned then flinched when she felt pain ripple through her body.
"Always, Luna. You are still hurting." It wasn't a question.
"Just hurry, wolf-man."