The Burning Claw: Book 10, The Grey Wolves Series (43 page)

When they were far enough away, they stopped, both wiping their faces.

“Well, that was painful as hell,” Jen rasped.

Jacque nodded. “Costin is good for her. He’s the perfect mate to deal with this. It’s going to take time, probably a long time, but that man will never let her go through it alone.”

“Thank the Great Luna for that,” Jen muttered.

“Sorry I dragged you away from Fane,” Jen said as she shifted from foot to foot and looked down at her nails.

“I would have been mad if you’d gone without me,” Jacque told her and then pulled her into a hug.

When they stepped back from each other, Jen motioned with her head toward Jacque’s suite. “Go calm the beast. You know he’s in there pacing like a mad man.”

“Well, you did give him an Alpha command not to leave the suite. That took balls.”

Jen laughed. “Sometimes it pays to be head bitch.” She winked at Jacque and then went to her own suite and her mate who she desperately needed.

J
acque was dragging her feet on the way back to her suite. And since Fane was all up in her business through the bond, he knew she was stalling. Her emotions were still running high and Fane was a little less than happy with her for avoiding him for so long.

She took a deep breath as she finally arrived outside their door. She reached for the knob but stopped when she heard his voice in her mind.

“Are you nervous, Luna?”

She was afraid to answer.

“If you’re not, you should be.”

Okay, so that just went all over her. How dare he try to intimidate her. Jacque turned the knob and practically threw the door open. She sort of hoped he’d be right on the other side so it would smack him in the face.

“Such harsh thoughts, love,” Fane said as he stood from the couch and walked toward her.

“What the crap, Fane? Why should I be nervous?” she barked.

“Because I’m not happy with you. In fact, I’m quite angry.”

“HA! You’re quite angry? Is that right? Well, guess what, wolf-boy, I’m beyond quite angry. I have crossed into the city limits of pissed the hell off.”

Fane clucked his tongue at her. “Language, Jacquelyn.”

She was going to kill him. She was seriously going to murder the father of her child. Jacque turned to head to the bedroom but only made it four steps before an arm was wrapped around her waist, pulling her tightly against a muscular chest.

“We aren’t done talking,” he whispered in her ear.

Jacque was determined not to give him the satisfaction of knowing what he did to her. Unfortunately, what he did, he did really, really well.

His teeth scraped across his mark on her neck and she bit her bottom lip to keep from making a sound.

“I say we are done talking,” she finally bit out and pulled out of his hold. Jacque was just about to be home free as she started to close the bathroom door and lock it when Fane pushed his foot into the doorway.

“Jacquelyn,” he growled. “We need to talk.”

“Fine. I’ll talk to you if you’ll let me close the door.”

He was taken off guard by her comment and nearly pulled his foot back. “You don’t want to look at me while we talk?”

“Nope.”

“You don’t want me to touch you while we talk?” he asked.

Jacque rolled her eyes. “When you say it like that it sounds so freaky.”

Fane grinned. “We could make it freaky. I still want you even when we’re fighting.”

Jacque shrugged. “Good to know. Now move your foot.”

“Nope,” he mimicked her early word.

Jacque decided she was going to have to fight dirty. She leaned forward a little and motioned with her finger for him to come closer. When he leaned close enough for her to whisper in his ear, she bit down, hard. Fane yelped and instinctively backed away which gave her the time she needed to get the door closed and locked.

Jacque began getting ready for a much-needed shower and was just about to step under the spray when the door was suddenly kicked open. Wood splintered from the door frame and the walls shook. Fane stepped in looking like a bull who’d been kicked in his boy parts. He turned to look at her and his eye were bright blue.

“Oops,” she whispered. Apparently Fane wasn’t the only one ticked off, his wolf looked pretty ticked too.

“It has been two months since I have held you, kissed you, spent time with you, listened to your voice, or held you while you slept, and you dare keep a door between us?” His voice was cool and stiff.

“I dare?” Jacque growled. “I am a grown woman. If I want a damn continent between us then that is what will happen.”

“You are
my
woman,” he snapped back.

Jacque pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a breath. “Sally needed me, Fa—”

“I NEEDED YOU. YOUR SON NEEDED YOU.” he roared.

Oh, he did not just pull the mommy card
. Jacque growled as her wolf perked up at the insinuation that she hadn’t cared for their pup properly. “It would be wise of you, mate, to go until we are ready to speak.” It wasn’t Jacque’s voice that came out of her. It was her wolf and she was pissed.

Fane’s head turned as his eyes glowed brighter. “You are mine.”

“Yours to protect, love, provide for, and respect—not command,” her wolf snarled back. “We do not take orders from you. We do not walk a pace behind you. We do not turn belly up to you. We do not take the lead. We stand beside you as your equal.” Jacque felt her wolf give her back control. When she spoke it was her own voice. “Please let me take a shower and then we will talk.” He didn’t move. Jacque knew part of it was that he didn’t want her out of his sight.
Stupid, possessive wolf
.

He looked in pain when he spoke. “My wolf doesn’t want to leave.”

Jacque sighed. “Whatever,” she huffed as she slipped the towel off and climbed into the shower. She was tired. She was shaken. She missed her son and her mate and she didn’t need him projecting his drama onto her.

Jacque didn’t realize she was crying until a choked sob broke through. Half a minute later, she was in Fane’s arms as the hot water beat down on them.

“Shh,” he purred in her ear as he held her face to his chest. “I’m sorry. I let my fear and worry for you overwhelm me.  I should have considered what you were going through. I’m sorry, Luna. Shh, please don’t cry, love.”

But that just made her cry harder. “Am I a bad mother?” she asked through a sob.

“No,” Fane said quickly. “You’re the best mother ever. I was an ass to say that. I shouldn’t have. I couldn’t ask for a better mother of my child.”

After a while, she calmed down and Fane was able to coax her out of his arms. “Turn around and let me wash your hair,” he told her.

She was too tired to tease him about being bossy. And besides, she really didn’t want to raise her arms to wash it herself; she was just too tired. So she let her mate tend to her. In fact, Jacque let Fane handle everything because he was willing to and she was worn out.

By the time he had her in one of his t-shirts and in their bed, she felt as if she’d had a day at a spa. Fane was staring at her with adoration and hurt in his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he said for the millionth time. “Please forgive me,” he whispered as he slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

“I’ll forgive you this time,” she murmured against his neck where she’d tucked her head.

“And what about the next time?”

“It might take more than pampering me to get back in my good graces.”

He chuckled and it was dark and rich. “I’ll give you anything you want.”

“I just want you to refrain from flipping your lid, and I don’t want to be the cause of our son’s future counseling.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” he teased her as he let his hands wander.

“Hey, whoa, mister. What do you think you’re doing?” Jacque growled.

“Having a little fun,” he said against her ear. “It’s what I should have done instead of wasting time fighting.”

An hour and a half later, Jacque lay glowing and sated in his arms. “You are so forgiven.”

Fane laughed. “Good to hear, love.”

A
lina snuggled into Vasile’s arms as they sat on their couch.
When I Fall In Love,
by Nat King Cole, played quietly in the background and candlelight danced softly around the room.
It was peaceful
, Alina thought, though they were far from peace.

“Everyone is safe tonight,” Vasile told her gently. He thought it was cute that she felt protective of everyone that they’d grown close to, even Cyn and Thalion.

“But for how long?” Alina whispered.

Vasile pressed a kiss to her neck. “We can talk about the future tomorrow. Tonight we will give thanks that we are all alive. And though some aren’t whole, they have already begun healing.”

“I love you, Vasile.” Alina turned to look up at him. “I love you so very much.”

Vasile leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead, her cheeks, and then her lips. “Mina,” he whispered against her lips. “Without you there is no life in me. There is no joy or light or peace. You bring those things to me. Please, love, stop worrying just for tonight and focus on us.” He pressed another kiss to her lips, this one lasting longer. “I love you just as much, Mina, if not more.”

C
ypher wrapped his arms around his mate as she snuggled close to him. She was his world and he’d missed her while she’d been taking care of their grandson. Yes, he claimed Slate, just as he claimed Jacque, because they were a part of Lilly. And he would do anything he had to in order to keep Lilly and those she loved safe and happy.

“It’s good to have you back,” he said into the darkness of their room.

He could feel her smile against his chest. “It’s good to be back. Although I did enjoy the time with Slate, Thia, and Alina.”

Cypher didn’t like to push her about her visions, but he was truly curious about this one. “Lilly, what did you see? If Jen, Jacque, and Peri hadn’t been there at that bar, what would have happened?”