Out of the Dark (14 page)

"I hoped that one day you would be bonded to me so the sheet was no longer necessary."

Jen felt blood rush to her face, the heat of embarrassment washin
g
over her. Yep, Sally was a dead gypsy healer.

"Don't be embarrassed, Jennifer. I think you are beautiful."

"Yes, well, I didn't exactly expect the first thing shown to my mate who doesn't remember me to be me in a sheet."

"I'm not complaining."
She heard laughter in his voice and she soaked it up as if it were the last drop of water she would ever feel on her skin.

"I'm sure you're not."

Decebel grew serious.
"Jennifer, how did you know who Gavril was?"

Jen didn't know how much she was allowed to tell Decebel. Rachel and Gavril had stepped out, not concerned about her leaving since she couldn't walk. But how could she keep anything from Decebel? Whether he remembered her or not he was still her mate.

"Jennifer?"
His voice sounded more and more like the Decebel who loved her.

"I don't want to put the ones who have rescued me in danger."

"I understand that and you can trust me. How did you know?"

Jen took a deep breath and let it out. She decided there was no way she couldn't tell him.

"I knew who he was because he and his mate Rachel are the ones who saved me from the cavern I was in. I'm in their home right now."

Jen winced at the alarm that rushed through their bond.

"How? How can they still be alive? No one has seen or heard from them in centuries."

"I know. Rachel explained everything to me."

"Then explain it to me,"
Decebel demanded.

"I can't yet, Dec. I don't know what they are comfortable with me telling."

"I’m your mate. How can you keep anything from me?"

"Oh, now you want to claim the mate card? Well you can just cram that back into your back pocket, buddy, because not long ago you were like, 'blah, blah, I don't remember you, blah, blah I should remember my mate'. So loddy freaking da!”
Jen growled at him.

"I may not remember, but I do believe that you are my mate. Jennifer, you will submit to me in this."
Jen could feel the shock that filled him when she laughed at him through their bond.
"Are you laughing at me?"

"Yes, my furry mate, I am most definitely laughing at you. 'Submit' – man that is classic Decebel. Makes me want to kiss you."

Jen heard the door begin to creak open.

"Hey, Dec, I gotta go. They're back and I need to talk to them."

"Don't you dare block me out, Jennifer."
Jen loved the bossiness in his voice; it made her feel like nothing had changed between them.

"Sorry, but the connection is kind of getting fuzzy, Dec, you're cutting in and out. May some...can't...got to...talk...late..."
Jen broke her words up with silence in between to mimic a bad connection on a cell phone, then quickly slammed a wall up between their minds. It hurt to be separated from him, but Jen trusted Rachel and Gavril, and she needed to know what to do about letting her friends and mate know about her rescuers.

"How are you feeling?" Jen heard Rachel ask.

Jennifer laid on the bed with her eyes closed, smelling the cool, crisp air that had swirled in when Gavril and Rachel entered their home. While they had been gone Jen had tried to get a look around the room. She'd observed that the bed she occupied was in the area where a breakfast table would be. The kitchen was right next to it. The floors were wood and the island in the middle of the kitchen was wood with shelves all along the base of it that housed all sorts of different bottles with names written across their labels. Above the island hung a round wrought iron pot holder, but instead of pots, plants and herbs hung from it. The counter that ran on either side of the kitchen was the same wood as the island and the cabinets about it were open with no doors on them. It was a very cozy room. The smell of burning incense permeated the air and the crackle of the warm fire that she couldn't see around the corner warmed her.

Jen's mind returned to Rachel's question when she saw her standing over her bed.

"Weak," Jen answered honestly. She figured she had no reason to lie.

"I'll make some more tea for you. "

"Thank you." Jen cleared her throat before she continued. "So, Rachel, I need to know what I'm allowed to tell Decebel, my mate, about you guys. He and I were talking through our bond while you were gone and I've found out why he felt so weird to me."

"He's lost his memories," Rachel finished before Jen could reveal it.

Jen's mouth dropped open. She closed it and shook her head. "How do you know that?"

Rachel handed her the tea and Jen took a sip. Gavril came and stood beside his mate.

"There are eyes and ears everywhere in the forest," Gavril told her mysteriously.

Rachel nudged him. "Don't try to scare her, you oaf."

Gavril gave his mate a mock snarl, but there was humor in his eyes.

"Gavril and I went to see the woman I told you about, the one who helped us all those centuries ago," Rachel explained. "We knew she would know what was going on. And it's not good. Not good in the least." Rachel walked over to Jen and placed an arm behind her shoulders as Gavril took her ankles gently in his hand. "You need to sit up for a little bit. All that lying on your back could cause pneumonia."

After Jen was all settled, the pillows behind her propped against the wall, she looked up into Rachel's worried face. "So lay it on me. Don't sugar coat it and please trust me. I trust you guys and don't want anything to happen to you."

Rachel smiled. "Thank you, Jen. The first thing you need to know is that you need to be here. Only I can heal you and keep you from getting sicker."

"Why would I get sicker?"

Rachel ignored the question and continued on, "Second, the witch I was telling you about is indeed the one from so long ago. She is powerful and she wants a healer. She will stop at nothing to find me. I need you to understand how horrific it would be if she got her hands on me. I have to prevent that at any cost."

Jen began to feel her head get foggy. She wasn't sleepy but she felt off. And then she felt it. Her bond with Decebel snapped in half. It was so bizarre. It was as if she could see the cord that led her to him – like a string being pulled too tight it snapped. Jen took in a gasp of air at the sudden loss of connection. Her eyes shot to Rachel.

"What have you done?" Jen growled.

Gavril stepped forward, a protective stance in front of his mate. As if Jen was in any shape to do anything.

"I'm sorry, Jen. I can't have you telling your mate too much. You might not even realize you are giving up clues to where he or your pack might find you."

Jen was trying very hard to see it from Rachel's point of view, but the dark hole inside her was not making her particularly understanding.

"There will be some consequences to the bond being severed. And it isn't permanent. But I can keep the effects to a minimum."

"What consequences?" Jen narrowed her eyes at the healer who she'd so wanted to believe wouldn't hurt her. Now she wasn't sure.

Chapter 9

"My love." Fane caressed Jacquelyn's face as he tried to wake her. "We need to get ready."

Everyone else had already gotten up and begun getting ready for the journey they each had ahead of them. Fane had let Jacquelyn sleep an extra ten minutes, knowing that emotions were going to be running high today. It was going to be exhausting.

To his surprise, his usually morning-hating mate sat up abruptly. She looked at him, her hair a mess from sleeping. Instead of a smile he saw the hard glint of determination in her emerald eyes.

"I know you want to jump and run out the door, Luna, but we can't help Jen or Decebel if we don't take care of ourselves. So a quick shower, then food. Okay?"

"Tell me we are going to fix this, Fane. I know you told me last night, but I've slept since then. So please tell me that we will find her and get his memories back."

Fane stood up and walked around to the other side of the bed. Taking her hand, he pulled her up to stand in front of him. He tilted her chin so that he was staring into eyes that he could stare into for the rest of eternity.

"I give you my word. I will do anything and everything to get Jen back to us and Decebel restored. They are as much my family as yours and they are pack. I protect what is mine. And though I am not Alpha, I am prince of the Romanian Greys. Decebel and Jen are mine. Are we clear?"

Jacque looked into the beautiful face of her mate. She could feel the love, concern, unbending determination, and single minded focus to do exactly as he said he would.

"We're clear. I trust you."

Fane pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her. One hand held her firmly on her lower back and the other caressed the nape of her neck. When his lips met hers the world and all the worry, grief, strife, and pain melted away. It was just her and Fane. She wrapped her arms around his neck, running her fingers through his hair. She pressed her body closer to his and was rewarded with a low growl. After several minutes, Fane pulled back, his lips moist from their kiss. She smiled when she realized he was just as out of breath as she was.

"I could kiss you every day, all day, and I would never get enough." Though he had stopped the kiss he had not loosened his hold on her.

"You are in luck." She grinned wickedly.

"And why is that, Luna?"

Jacque stood up on her toes and pressed her mouth to Fane's ear. She felt his body tense against hers. "Because I plan to let you kiss me – often and mostly on the mouth," she told him with
a
gentle breath of air against his ear and neck

Jacque started laughing when Fane growled at her words. She loved that she could still rattle his cage, loved keeping him on his toes.

"Thank you,"
Jacque whispered in his mind.

"For what?"
Fane honestly didn't know what she could be thanking him for.

"For giving me that. For continuing to show me affection and love, even with all of this going on."

"Jacquelyn, look at me." Fane's words were gentle but still a command.

She did as he told her.

"You always come first. Always. And it isn't only you who needs to feel loved, wanted, and needed. We are wolves – love, touch is essential to us." Fane kissed her forehead and released her. "You go shower. I will meet you downstairs for breakfast."

"Hold up." Jacque realized Fane wasn't wearing the clothes he had gone to sleep in. He had on a pair of green cargo pants and a black, long sleeved shirt. "Where'd you get those clothes and where can I get some?" She needed to get out of her soot-covered ensemble in the worst way.