Blood Rites (35 page)

“Hi,” she whispered breathlessly.

“Hello, Luna.” His voice was a caress across
her face. Fane took her hand and then turned to face Vasile who had
been standing there the whole time, but Jacque only had eyes for
Fane.

“Fane, Jacquelyn,” Vasile began, his voice
strong and deep, “you are here today to complete the mate bond.
Though fate has brought you together and destined you for one
another, you have both chosen of your own free will to be here to
profess your love and commitment to your mate.”

“We have,” Fane answered for them. Jacquelyn
looked up at him and he squeezed her hand in reassurance.
“As
the Alpha I will answer for us as a mated pair. When my father
addresses you directly, then you will speak.”

Jacquelyn nodded her head once in
acknowledgment to his thought. Fane returned his attention to his
father just as Vasile said, “Fane, it is time for you to recite the
formal vows to your mate. Jacquelyn, you will sit in the chair
while Fane recites the vows and while doing so he will wash your
feet. This symbolizes his willingness as the leader and Alpha to
serve you, his mate. To care for your most basic needs no matter
how big or small, and to give you the honor you are due as his
Luna. Once she has answered you, Fane, you may stand and recite the
vows you have written.”

Holding her hand, Fane led her over to the
chair for her to sit down. Jacque pulled her dress up, baring her
calves and feet. Jacque watched as he brought the basin of water
and set it on the floor next to her. Next he removed the slippers
she had been wearing and took one of the towels and placed it under
her feet. She watched in awe as he took a small cloth and dipped it
in the water, picked up her foot and began to wash it with the
cloth. As he washed her feet he spoke, “On this day I kneel before
you, as a servant to my mate, to ask if you will make me whole.
Will you give yourself to me? Finally calming the beast inside,
bringing order to chaos, shining light where there has been only
darkness? Will you bind your life to mine, your fate to mine, and
your soul to mine and in doing so complete the mate bond?” As Fane
waited for Jacquelyn’s response he rinsed her feet and began to pat
them dry with the final towel. When she finally did respond it
knocked the breath out of him.

Jacquelyn got down on her knees so that they
were face to face. She placed her hands in his, holding his gaze
with hers and recited the response that Alina had taught her. “On
this day I kneel with you, my mate. I will make you whole as you
will make me whole. I will give myself to you, calming the beast,
bringing order to chaos, and shining light where there has been
darkness. I will bind my life to yours, my fate to yours, and my
soul to yours and complete our mate bond. I will take you for my
own, my mate, and my Alpha.” Fane couldn’t breathe and for a moment
his mind went blank as he stared into the face of his own personal
miracle. He realized he had been quiet too long when Jacque
squeezed his hands to get his attention. She waited patiently for
him to read the vows he had written to her. Neither one of them
stood but instead remained on their knees, staring into each
other's eyes. He cleared his throat and then he spoke.

“Jacquelyn, Luna, Mate. You have many names.
Each of them holds a special meaning, but the only thing I want to
call you is mine.” Fane paused briefly, watching the emotions play
across Jacquelyn’s face. He wanted to look into her mind and see
what she was thinking, instead he continued to look into her deep
green eyes. “I wasn’t sure how to tell you all that I feel for you
and the depth of those feelings, but someone very wise helped me
and so I pass on her words and add some of my own. I don’t know if
there is any way to explain or truly understand the bond between
mates. It’s not human; it’s beyond the realm of reason and that
makes it hard to believe it is even possible. I know I haven’t
known you long. I know we are both young. But we will grow closer
faster than either of us can imagine. You will become my best
friend, my lover, and I will become yours. Even now I know you feel
it, that no one in this world will ever love me as you will and no
one will love you as I will. We were born to love each other and
that love will grow stronger as time goes on. I worry that I won’t
make you happy,” Fane’s voice was so soft, laced with tight
emotions, “but that wise voice helped me see that I will. I will
also make you mad, sad, annoyed, and probably a little
claustrophobic at times.” Jacquelyn grinned at him, full of
adoration and he pressed on encouraged by her response. “But I will
do everything in my power to make you happy. My wolf will step in
when my human side steps out of line. The wolf only sees black and
white. All he understands is that you are our mate. He will love
you, protect you, provide for you, play with you, and make you
content while my human side fills in the gaps of emotions the wolf
does not understand. You will make me a better Alpha, a better man.
I will give you what no other man ever could, the other half of
your soul.” When Fane finished he saw that Jacquelyn had tears
running down her cheeks, her eyes full of love. He reached up with
the hand that was holding hers and gently wiped the tears away.

“Jacquelyn, it is time for you to recite the
vows you have written to your mate,” Vasile told her gently,
mindful of her emotions.

She had to let go of Fane's hands as she
unfolded the piece of paper she held in her hand. When she looked
up and saw Fane watching her she grinned. Fane winked at her which
made her heartbeat pick up.
“Easy, love. It’s just me, just us.
Talk to me,”
Fane whispered in her mind, helping to calm her so
that she could unfold the paper and read it to him.

“Fane, there is so much I don’t know about
you, so many secrets I have yet to discover, but there are a few
things that I do know. I know that your face is the first thing I
want to see in the morning and the last thing I see before I close
my eyes at night. I know that your smile is the one I want to see
when life fills you with joy. I know that I want to be the one to
hold you when you are hurt or discouraged, and when life knocks you
down I want to be the one to help you get back up. I know that if
we are so blessed, I want you to be the father of my children, and
I hope they have your beautiful blue eyes. I know without a doubt,
out of the millions of people on this earth, you were created for
me and me for you. All these things
I
know. What
you
need to know is that I am yours and yours alone. You hold my heart.
You have the power to fill it with love and you have the power to
destroy it. You need to know that not a day will go by that I don’t
thank God that you are mine. You need to know that I will get mad
at you, I will give you hell when you need it, but I will also love
you unconditionally and without reservation. I will give you
everything I am and I expect nothing less from you.” Fane looked at
his mate, speechless at her precious words. He didn’t even realize
his father was asking him a question until Jacquelyn turned to look
at Vasile.

“Fane, what offering do you bring your mate
to show her you will provide for her and care for her needs both
physical and emotional?” Vasile asked him.

Fane stood up and brought Jacquelyn with him.
He reached into his other pocket and pulled out a little black box
and heard Jacquelyn’s breath catch.

Fane opened the black box and knelt back down
on one knee. He took Jacquelyn’s left hand into his and felt her
shaking. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it and held it
to his lips until the shaking stopped. “I have brought a ring.
There is no other like it in all the world just as there is no
other like my Luna. Engraved all the way around the band in
Romanian are the words: finalizarea (complete), for without you my
soul is incomplete; absolut (absolute), that is how my love is for
you; chiar (unmovable), there is nothing on this earth that will
separate me from you; and intreg (whole), you have filled the void
in me making the man and the wolf whole. In the center is a very
rare red diamond. I chose red for two reasons. One, you are my
micul incendiu (
little fire). And two, it is a reminder of
this day when we both shed blood to bind our souls to each other.”
Fane looked at Jacquelyn, pleading with his eyes for her to
understand how much he needed her. “Jacquelyn, I love you. You are
my mate and from this day forth every wolf will know that you are
mine. But because I am selfish and a barbarian just as my mother
called me, I don’t want just the wolves to know you are mine. I
want every man to know you are taken. I realize you are not ready
to marry me right now. That is okay, I will wait. But I am asking
you to tell me that you will be my wife in the human sense of the
word one day. Wear this ring as a symbol that your heart is spoken
for. Jacquelyn, will you marry me?”

Jacquelyn’s eyes were closed and when she
opened them he saw them glisten with unshed tears. Fane stood up
and pulled her close to him. He pressed his lips to her ear and
whispered, “Please tell me those are tears of joy.”

Jacquelyn nodded her head but that wasn’t
good enough for Fane. He needed to hear it from her lips.
“I’m
going to make you say it out loud, my love. I need to hear it from
you.”
Fane sent her his thought and then waited for her
response.

She pulled back away from him so she could
look into his eyes, “I will marry you, Fane.”

Fane could see a little sparkle of mischief
in her eyes; she had something up her sleeve. “When Luna? When will
you marry me?” he whispered.

“I would marry you now, here, in this place,”
she told him, her eyes filled with determination.

There was a gasp that rippled through out the
room, reaching far into the darkness where the faceless stood.
Fane's breath caught, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He
turned to look at his father. "Alpha, marry us," he said firmly.
Jacque laughed at the urgency in his tone. He turned back to look
at her. "I don't want you to have the chance to change your mind."
His voice was playful but Jacque could see in his eyes that he was
serious, he wasn't ever letting her go.

Vasile’s voice brought them both from their
private world back to where and what they were doing. “Before the
marriage vows are spoken, that is only one offering, Fane. Where is
your second?”

“I have another offering but I wish to give
it to my mate in private when we complete the blood rites.”

Vasile turned to Jacquelyn.“You accept this
request?”

“Yes,” Jacquelyn answered, her eyebrows
raised as she looked at Fane.

"Alright, I suppose now we will do the
marriage vows," Vasile said as he grinned at Jacque.

"Hey, it seemed a good a time as any," she
told him as her cheeks flamed with heat. "Oh, and you can do the
quick version. I'm pretty sure what we've already said covers all
the rest." The crowd laughed at her words and then quieted when
Vasile looked out into the darkness. Bringing his attention back to
Fane and Jacque, he spoke the marriage vows and everyone listened
once again as Fane and Jacque bound themselves in the human way as
well.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife."
Vasile finished the wedding vows and then added, "Fane, it is time
for you and your mate to perform the blood rites. Once done your
bond will be complete."

Fane turned to her and took her face in his
hands and kissed her soundly on the mouth. The kiss seemed to last
forever and Jacquelyn was sure that even Jen would be blushing.
When he finally pulled away he placed one more soft kiss on her
lips and said, “Mate, come. I have waited long enough.” Jacquelyn’s
eyes popped open as she looked into the face of her mate, the face
of her wolf.

Chapter 36

Jacque
couldn’t say that she wasn’t nervous
as Fane led her to his suite in the mansion. When Fane had ended
that kiss and spoke to her, she realized that Fane had been out of
commission and the wolf was in control. As they reached the door,
Fane turned and looked at her. “Don’t be afraid, I am here. I am in
control but the wolf has pushed forward because the blood rites is
a bonding between the wolf and his mate, you. We will not hurt you,
Jacquelyn.”

Jacque smiled up at him and leaned forward to
gently kiss his lips. She whispered, “Mate, I trust you.”

A low growl rumbled from Fane as he gently
pulled her into the suite. Jacque could smell flowers and when she
looked down at the floor she knew why. There was a path of rose
petals that lead into the suite. She had been in his room several
times over the past two weeks. It was basically like a hotel suite,
only very fancy.

It had a sitting room with a fireplace, which
Jacque noticed had a blanket spread out in front of it with a
basket full of food. The suite also had a small kitchen and dining
area. As they followed the path of flower petals on the floor she
found herself in awe of all the candles lit everywhere giving off a
soft glow. Arriving at the room Jacque knew to be where Fane slept,
she felt her stomach drop to her feet and her breathing
increased.

Fane pushed the door open and the sight
momentarily took Jacque's mind off her fears and took her breath
away. There were candles of all different shapes and sizes around
the room. There had to be 50 or more. The bed had been covered in a
bedspread Jacque had never seen; it was a quilt with two wolves in
the center. One larger than the other. The smaller wolf was tucked
into the front of the chest of the larger wolf as he sheltered her.
It was a beautiful quilt and it spoke volumes. As she looked around
the room Fane stepped away from her. She watched him take a basin
of water that was on a warming plate and place it on the bedside
table. Next to it he placed several towels. He must have felt her
confusion because he turned and grinned at her. “It’s to clean the
bite marks, love, that’s all.” Jacque felt heat rush up her neck
and face as he had picked up on her thoughts.