Prince of Wolves

by Quinn Loftis

  It was a minute before she finally answered.

  “I know it, right? And it still covers too much to give me a good tan with as few lines as possible,” she retorted with a smirk.

  Jacque heard him growl at her. Was he actually jealous? If so, jealous of what exactly? He didn’t know her from Adam.

  “I have told you before, you are my Luna,” she heard him answer her thought. She realized then that she hadn’t been trying to block her mind from his.

  “And I’m telling you now I don’t know what that means, and I’m not your anything!” she growled back.

  “If nothing else could you at least be mindful of the fact that you are going to burn if you lay out in practically nothing and fall asleep.” Fane sounded very annoyed.

  What did he mean if nothing else? Was he implying that she was trying to lie out and show off her body to just any passerby? Jacque sat up and glared up at Fane’s window, and sure enough, he was standing there staring at her. Frustrated with herself for allowing his disapproval to actually bother her, she stood up and with as much sarcasm as possible, curtsied to him, then picked up her things and marched back into the house.

  “Meu inimă, did you just curtsy to me?” Fane asked in astonishment and amusement.

  “Well, seeing as how you seem to think you deserve something from me, I thought I would indulge you just a little, but I assure you my intentions were completely rude!” Jacque responded.

  Jacque heard him chuckle at her sass.

  As Jacque walked into the house, she set her things on the couch and went to the kitchen to get a drink. She hadn’t realized just how hot she had gotten while lying out in the sun, which didn’t make her happy because it only confirmed what Fane had said. “I mean seriously, who is he, the bathing suit police?”

  “No, micul incendiu (little fire). I am simply trying to look out for you. Who knows what wolves lie in wait to pounce on unsuspecting sun-bathing beauties?” Fane said knowingly.

  “And just what is that suppose to mean? Do you always talk so vaguely?” she asked in exasperation.

  Just then she realized that their whole conversation had been thoughts back and forth to one another. Man, had her life gotten weird…no, actually it wasn’t just weird, it was bordering on bizarre.

  “Don’t you have something you need to be doing?” she asked him as she went upstairs to take a shower. She realized that even though all she had done was lay outside, she smelled like the outdoors and sweat.

  “Actually, yes. I am going with Brian to look at motorcycles. My parents have given me the money to purchase one so I will be able to get around on my own,” Fane told her.

  “Why not a car? And what if it rains, won’t you get soaked?” Jacque asked.

  “It’s cold most of the time in Romania. Why would I want to be cooped up in a car when I could be on a motorcycle with the sun on my face? And they make rain gear,” Fane explained.

  “Oh. Well, I guess if you lived somewhere cold all the time, it would be nice to ride out in the sunshine,” she answered.

  Jacque began gathering clothes to take to the bathroom. As she walked into the bathroom and closed the door she discovered she was reluctant to undress while they were talking through their thoughts. Somehow that felt way too intimate. As if sensing her discomfort, Fane asked her, “Is something wrong? Did I do something to upset you…besides imply your bathing suit was a bit skimpy?” Fane asked with little remorse.

  “No, no, I’m fine. Just, um, got things to do is all. People and places, you know how it is,” she said awkwardly.

  “Jacquelyn, why are you acting so strangely?” Fane asked.

  Jacque rolled her eyes. Could he just leave it alone? If she had to spell it out for him she was going to be mortified. She could just hear herself explaining how she was sweaty from the sun and needed a shower and the thought of talking to him through their thoughts while she was butt freaking naked was just a tad beyond her comfort zone.

  Fane must have caught her passing thoughts. Man, she really needed to learn how to block him out somehow.

  “I will leave you alone since you have things to take care of. Just so you know, I may be a teenage guy, with teenage hormones, but I assure you I am not dishonorable, nor would I abuse our thought connection,” he said with firm conviction.

  “I know you can hear my thoughts, but can you like, ‘see’ through my eyes?” she asked apprehensively.

  “No, but I can see the things you think. Just as you can see what I think if you want. When your emotions are strong I feel you and hear your thoughts very loudly, even when you aren’t trying to communicate with me. You might want to bear that in mind,” Fane told her.

  “How do I keep you out of my mind?” Jacque asked.

  “All you have to do is imagine a wall in your mind between mine and yours. I will not be able to get past it. The same goes for me if I don’t want you to hear my thoughts.”

  Jacque was surprised to find herself a little hurt at the idea of him not wanting her to hear his thoughts, but then she thought how absurd that was because everyone needed privacy.

  “Okay, I'll keep all that in mind. And since we are in mind reading 101, could you answer me this? Who else can you do this with?” Jacque asked, not realizing how jealous she sounded.

  “No one, meu inimă, only you. You will not be able to do this with anyone else as well,” Fane stated possessively.

  “Talk to you later, be safe,” Fane told her.

  And just like that she “felt” him leave her, and fell instantly bereft. She undressed and, without looking into the mirror, got into the steamy hot shower, letting it wash the feeling away. It was silly to feel so empty without him in her mind, she knew that, and yet she couldn’t shake it off. It just seemed so natural to talk to him, like she had done it all her life. She found it so odd that she was jealous at idea of him talking to another girl through her thoughts. She had only known him a day, after all, but the thought irked her to no measure. Ok, Jacque, she told herself, move on to another topic. She hadn’t heard from Sally and figured she’d better call her to make sure she was still going to be able to come over.

  She got out of the shower and toweled dry, flipping her hair over and drying it first, then standing upright to dry her body. Turning to look into the mirror, she froze. Then, without realizing she had done it, she reached for Fane’s mind. “Fane, what the hell is on my back!”

  No answer.

  Slowly calming down, she began to examine the design that looked like a tattoo. The thing ran from shoulder to shoulder and up her neck. It was scrolled lines arching and curving, coming to a point at the nape of her neck, with definite places that appeared would fit into a puzzle. It was very beautiful and feminine – it was also very not there before she tanned. Had Fane done some Romanian voodoo on her? ‘Cause she would so do some voodoo up on his ass if he had.

  He still hadn’t responded to her after a few minutes, so Jacque got dressed and combed out her wet hair and put mousse in it. She went back to her room, still trying to think about how the marks could have appeared on her back when her phone rang. For a fleeting moment she hoped it was Fane, but that would be ridiculous when he could just talk through his thoughts. Shaking her head in frustration, she answered the phone.

  “So I’m thinking bikini, towel, tunes, and catching rays. You in?” Sally’s cheerful voice came through the phone.

  “You’re a little late, Charlie Brown. I’ve already cooked, rotated, and cooked some more. I just got out of the shower. So I assume you are going to be able to come over soon?” Jacque asked, relief in her voice.

  “That’s the rumor. You free?” Sally asked.

  “Free, crazy, completely deranged…take your pick.” Jacque answered.

  “I’m on my way over now, be there in five.” Sally hung up.

  Jacque looked around her room and decided to pick up from the impromptu sleepover. She folded the blankets and laid them on the bed. No sense in putting them away si
nce the girls were staying the night again. She picked up the dirty clothes on the floor and threw them in the laundry basket. Her mind was restless and she decided to write her thoughts out. Sometimes writing down what was floating around upstairs helped her put things in perspective.

  She got out a notepad from school and opened to a blank page, grabbed a pen off her desk, and sat down on her bed and began to write.

  I’ve met a guy. Not just any guy but a really unusual one. He’s from Romania. He is beautiful, and he can talk to me through my thoughts, and I can talk back. It’s so unreal. To top it all off, I have these strange markings on my back that came out of nowhere. I don’t know what to even begin to think about the whole thing. But I know for the sake of my waning sanity I need to talk to him face to face and see if he will answer any of my questions. My other problem is I seem to be…

  Jacque’s phone beeped. She had a text message:

  Sally: @ star bcks, frap moca?

  Jacque: def.

  Grateful that her friend could recognize a much needed caffeine binge when it was called for, Jacque turned back to her writing.

  …jealous over a guy I barely know. I feel like we are somehow connected, like we’ve known one another our whole lives. I also feel like my mom knows something. She’s been acting a little weird, or maybe I should say she’s been feeling weird since I can feel her emotions. Funny, I haven’t felt Fane’s emotions when I’ve been around him – which has only been one time – and I haven’t felt them when we’ve been “talking” either. I don’t know if it can possibly get any stranger, but I'm thinking that it likely will….

  Chapter 10

  Fane and Brian were getting into the car when he felt Jacquelyn’s alarm and heard her scream at him, “Fane, what the hell is on my back!”

  For a brief moment he got a picture in her mind of her back, but he quickly shut her out, not wanting to intrude on her privacy. He decided then not to answer her, even though it broke his heart to leave her in a state of confusion and fear, but he felt like some things were better said face to face. Especially if you’re going to be telling someone that they have Canis lupus markings on their body because they've found their werewolf mate they didn’t know even existed. You know, the standard ‘hey, let’s get to know each other bit.’

  He flinched a bit when she screamed and Brian asked if he was okay.

  “Yeah, I’m good. Just had some ringing in my ears for a minute,” Fane lied.

  “So do you know where you want to go?” Brian asked.

  “Just stop at the first dealership you see that has motorcycles. I’m not picky and I’m good at fixing them up, so it’s okay if it needs a little work,” Fane explained.

  As they drove past Jacquelyn’s house, he found himself looking at it, fighting the urge to slip into her mind and see how she was. It felt weird when she had called out to him; it was the first time she had done so with out him prompting her first. It pleased his wolf that she was turning to him for help, he was her protector after all. He quickly reminded the preening animal inside that she didn’t exactly have anywhere else to go. That got a growl out of him that he quickly disguised as a cough.

  Brian, as requested, pulled into the first dealership he saw that had motorcycles out front. As Fane got out of the car, his eyes fell instantly on a solid black Honda shadow with chrome pipes and wide wheels. It was used but still looked to be in good shape.

  Fane liked his bikes to be simple. Nothing flashy or fancy. He just wanted to ride, not show off.

  A salesman came walking out into the heat and went immediately to Brian, the adult, and Brian pointed him in Fane’s direction.

  “Can I help you?” the salesman asked and in that same instant took a breath. Fane was positive he heard a low growl as the salesman abruptly stepped back, turning his head ever so slightly so that his neck was exposed to Fane.

  Fane looked at him, briefly confused, and then it hit him. The thought nearly sent him to the ground: Canis lupus.

  Brian, thankfully, had begun to wander around the car lot and was not paying attention, so Fane stepped toward the salesman, “Steve,” his name tag said, and sniffed. Sure enough, he was a Grey.

  Instinctively, Fane growled as his wolf perked up at the presence of another male Grey in an area Fane had deemed his territory. After all, he was not aware of any Greys in Coldspring.

  The Grey named Steve asked, “Who are you? Why are you in the Alpha’s territory?”

  Alpha, Fane thought. What Alpha is he talking about? Fane didn’t want to divulge too much to this Grey, in case he and his Alpha were a threat.

  “I wasn’t aware there were any Greys in this area,” Fane stated vaguely.

  “Who are you that you think you deserve to know what Greys are where? You’re just a pup, and with a human at that,” he spat at Fane.

  Fane’s wolf pushed to come out and he let him just a little. Power poured over him and the Grey felt it instantly, nearly bowing involuntarily as his wolf realized he was not more dominate than the “pup” he had so hastily named.

  “I don’t have to dignify you with an answer, but just so you know what you have provoked, I will oblige you. I am the Prince of the Romanian Canis lupus. I am next in line to be Alpha and I submit to no one but my Alpha.” Putting as much push in his words as he dared without unleashing the full power of his line, he asked, “Who is your Alpha and how long has there been a pack of Greys in Coldspring?”

  The Grey whined just a little but answered, “I have heard of your father. It is said he makes all Alphas bow just by his presence.”

  “Answer my question, Steve. Now.” Fane glared.

  “My Alpha is Lucas Steele. I have been a member of this pack for three years. I don’t know how long it has been active. Why are you here? You’re a teenager from another country. What could you possibly be doing in Coldspring, Texas?” Steve asked, bewildered.

  “My business is not yours. Setting aside this interesting turn of events for a moment, please, I would like to purchase that black Honda Shadow. How much?” Fane asked.

  “Don’t you want to test drive it?” Steve asked.

  “No. How much?” Fane asked again.

  “$2,500. There is no warranty left on it. It has five thousand miles, the tires are new, never been in an accident,” Steve rattled off like a recording.

  Fane pulled out his credit card and handed it to him. As Steve walked off with his parents’ credit card Fane realized he had just made a big mistake. Steve now had his father’s full name. He imagined this might be a moment when his fiery little Luna would say something along the lines of, “Go directly to jail, do not pass go and do not collect $200.” Yes, she would definitely say something like that.

  Brian wandered back over to Fane but Fane didn’t realize it until Brian said something. “So you find something to buy?”

  “Yeah, actually. I’m going to purchase that black Honda Shadow. It looks to be in pretty good shape. Do you think you could take me to wherever it is that I get the license and whatever else I need in order to finalize the sale?” Fane asked.

  “That’s not a problem. Let me know when you are ready,” Brian responded.

  “Ok. Mulţumesc, Brian. I really appreciate your help,” Fane told him.

  “You’re welcome,” Brian said with a smile.

  Fane turned to see Steve coming across the lot toward him. He had some paperwork in one hand and Fane’s credit card in the other. He handed Fane the credit card first once he reached them.

  “Could you step inside for a moment to sign these papers?” Steve asked Fane.

  Fane simply nodded and started to follow Steve in the direction of the building. They stepped inside and just a few steps to the right was a table. Steve sat down, Fane did not. He simply leaned down and signed the places Steve had marked. Once everything was signed, Steve stood back up and handed Fane the keys. Before Fane turned to leave, Steve said, “I have a message from my Alpha.”

  Fane turned back and lo
oked Steve in the eyes. The less dominate Grey instantly dropped his gaze but continued. “He says don’t unpack.” With that Steve turned and walked away.

  Fane pushed the door open and walked back out to where Brian stood.

  “Okay, Brian, I’m ready if you are.” Fane was trying very hard to contain his anger. His wolf was not happy. There were other wolves in a territory he had claimed based on the information that there were no other Greys here. On top of that, his mate was in the same area, un-bonded. He would say things couldn’t get worse, but that would be a huge mistake when it came to talking about Canis lupus.

  As Fane pulled into the driveway to the Henrys' house, he was pleased at how well the motorcycle ran. Brian had insisted they go straight to a motorcycle shop and buy a helmet since they didn’t have one at the dealership. He opted for a full face helmet with a dark visor and bought a clear visor to change out for when he was riding at night. It feels so good to be on a bike again, Fane thought to himself. He parked behind Brian’s car and locked his helmet and the helmet he had impulsively bought Jacquelyn on the side of his bike.

  As he was walking to the front door, he saw Lilly pulling into her driveway across the street. He hadn’t realized she left.

  As she was getting out of her Volkswagen convertible, she turned and saw Fane and waved.

  “Fane! Hey, I wanted to invite you over for dinner tonight,” she hollered across the lawn. “The girls are having pizza. You are welcome to come if you don’t mind hanging out with a group of teenage girls,” she said with a wink.

  Fane was a little surprised at the invitation but he was not about to miss an opportunity to spend time with Jacquelyn.

  “I would be honored. Mulţumesc,” Fane responded.

  “Great. We'll order the pizza around five. Oh, and tell Brian and Sara they are invited as well. We’ll make a night of it and play some games,” Lilly said enthusiastically.

  Fane couldn’t really put his finger on it, but Lilly seemed a bit edgy. Maybe he was imagining it, but something was definitely off with her. She waved and turned to go into her house as he did the same.