“The wolves do not know there is a Grey in the house. If I had gone out they would have scented me immediately. We do not want to provoke them any more than we need to until we are a little more matched in numbers,” Sorin explained to her patiently.

“Oh, right. Got it,” Jacque said with a nod.

Despite what Jacque told Fane, she was very tired. She didn’t know what time it was, and frankly didn’t care. She just wanted to lie down and sleep. Sally and Jen must've picked up on that because they got up and took their mugs to the kitchen and came back to lead Jacque upstairs. Jacque hardly noticed them help her lie down and cover her with a blanket. She had scarcely laid her head down before she was asleep.

Jen and Sally sat on Jacque’s floor. They were worried about her.

“I know she’s tough, but I think this is really wearing her out,” Sally said.

“Well, duh!” Jen responded. “Wouldn’t it wear you out if you'd just met the man of your dreams? Then it turns out he’s a werewolf, then it turns out you’re his mate or whatever, then it turns out there’s this other pack of wolves with a psycho, werewolf leader who wants you as his mate, and then it turns out…” Jen paused. “You get the picture.”

“When you put it like that, it is a lot to take in,” Sally agreed.

Jacque woke up to the sound of Fane’s voice, and for a moment she thought he was in her room, but quickly realized he was talking to her in thought.

“Luna, wake up please,” Fane said.

“Haven’t we talked about this whole 'waking me up way too early could be hazardous to your health' thing?” Jacque teased him.

“I’m sorry to wake you, love, but I wanted to talk with you before Lucas arrives.”

“Uggggh! I was really hoping this was all a bad dream,” she moaned.“Well, not you. I mean the part about this Lucas dude and the challenge.”

“I’m sorry, Jacquelyn,” Fane told her sadly.

“Ah well, that’s how it goes. I’m too irresistible for my own good.” Jacque tried to lighten the mood.

“That you are, Luna,” Fane replied.

Jacque picked her phone up to look at the time and saw that it was eight thirty. Crap. She needed to get up and get dressed. What do you wear to talk to a crazy, Alpha werewolf? she thought to herself.

“As much clothing as possible,” Fane answered her thought.

“I was thinking maybe I should wear that bikini you like so much,” she teased him.

“That would be a very poor choice, Luna. I want your marks covered completely,” Fane replied.

“I think a please is in order,” Jacque told him.

Fane growled but then relinquished. “Please, love.”

“Oh, all right, since you’re not being all jealous or possessive,” Jacque smarted off.

Jacque got up and tiptoed around her two best friends. She wondered if their parents knew they were at her house. She figured they must know or else the National Guard would be out looking for them. She stepped into her closet and flipped through the shirts she had hanging. She honestly hadn’t realized how many t-shirts she had with smart ass sayings on them. Go figure, she told herself.

The one she finally settled on made her smile. It was a black baby tee that had a picture of Edward from Twilight on the front and on the back the words, “Team Edward.” That made her laugh out loud. “Take that, you mangy werewolf.”

“You’re just too pleased with yourself, aren’t you?” she heard Fane say.

“Hey, get out of my head, you perv. I’m trying to get dressed.” Jacque feigned outrage.

“Sorry, love. I was just curious to see what you would pic. Your sense of humor is one of the things I love most about you. Please be safe, don’t provoke Lucas – oh, and maybe it would be wise to keep Jen away from him,” Fane told her.

“Good idea. I feel like I should say bye, or talk to you later, but that’s just weird,” Jacque told him.

“How about I just tell you I love you?” Fane asked her.

Jacque smiled. “I love you, wolf-man.”

The last thing Jacque heard was Fane’s deep chuckle. She could feel him pull away from her thoughts and she felt bereft. She took a deep breath and started going through her jeans and picked out a low-rise pair of cargo pants.

She walked out to the bathroom to dress and throw her hair up in a pony tail. She realized once her hair was up that the marks on her neck came above the collar of her shirt.

“Hells bells,” she huffed as she pulled her hair back down. She pulled her bangs out of her face and secured it back with bobby pins. “That’s as good as it’s gonna get,” she told her reflection in the mirror.

When she walked back into her room, Sally and Jen were both up, stretching and yawning. They both took one look at her shirt and cracked up laughing.

“You're my hero,” Jen told her.

“Kill 'em with sarcasm. I always knew that was your motto.” Sally still laughed.

“I’m sorry I crashed on ya’ll like that last night. I was just so tired. I don’t think I've ever been that tired,” Jacque apologized.

“Well, it’s not like you’re under any stress or anything,” Jen said sarcastically.

Jacque grabbed a pair of flip flops from under her bed and slipped them on. As she reached for her phone she heard Jen’s phone start playing the Jaws theme song. Sally and Jacque looked at her.

“It’s my mom's ring tone.”

“Nice,” Sally and Jacque said at the same time.

Jen answered her phone and then stepped out in the hall to talk to her mom.

“Do your parents know you're still here?” Jacque asked Sally.

“Yeah, I called them last night. Your mom talked to my parents and Jen’s,” Sally answered.

“She did? What did she tell them?” Jacque asked.

“She asked them if they minded if we stayed the rest of the week for a final vacation before school starts. Just the girls, doing girl things like facials and pedicures and whatnot. They totally bought it and thought it was so nice of your mom. You know, to let us all get one final week of relaxation before our stressful senior year starts.” Sally put the back of her hand on her forehead and swooned.

“My mom totally rocks,” Jacque said.