by Quinn Loftis
Suddenly, Lucas was on Fane. He'd managed somehow during their dance to get a good grip on Fane’s rear right leg. Fane snarled and turned hard, trying to bite at Lucas. Lucas hung on with a death grip. Fane shook his leg violently. When that didn’t work, he began to roll his body, twisting his leg at the same time. Jacque froze. If he kept that up he was going break his leg. Jacque felt Alina tense, and when she looked at her face she could tell that Alina realized the same thing. Jacque started to say something but Alina growled, so Jacque put her hand over her mouth as a physical barrier to keep quiet. But just as soon as she covered her mouth, she wanted to cover her ears because the snarls and whines coming from Fane were breaking her heart. Finally she heard a crack and a whine, mixed with a growl. When she looked up she saw that Fane had managed to get free of Lucas, but he had done it at the price of his leg. He was now fighting with his leg held limply off the ground.
Despite his leg, Fane still looked fierce, and quick as lightening he lunged forward and literally had half of Lucas’ face in his mouth. Fane made a ripping motion as if he was tearing meat from a bone and jerked his head to the side. Jacque saw fur and flesh sling out of Fane’s mouth and heard Lucas howl in pain. Lucas was shaking his head violently and desperately trying to keep an eye on Fane as he tried to recover from the attack. As they circled again, Jacque saw that Fane had nearly ripped Lucas’ right eye out. There was blood all over his face and there was no way he could see from that eye. Fane had just evened the playing field.
Okay, wolf-man, let's finish this, Jacque thought to herself. But when she saw Lucas take a running leap and land on Fane’s back, she knew it was far from over. Lucas didn’t stay on his back. Instead she saw him bite into Fane, tear, and jump back. Lucas did this over and over and with in a matter of minutes Fane was bleeding all over, his fur was matted. Blood was all over the ground. Jacque was shaking from the effort it was taking not to scream, not to beg someone to stop this. Tears streamed down her face, her lips trembled behind her hand. This can't be happening. She squeezed her eyes tight and then opened them.
She saw Lucas lunge again and bite into Fane’s right side. Fane stumbled and snapped as Lucas jumped back, but only got air. Blood poured from the bite in his side and she watched Fane fall on his front paws. That was all she could stand.
“STOP! STOP THIS!” Jacque began to yell as she fought against the grip the other wolves had on her.
“Jacque, be still,” she heard Alina say.
Jacque swung around and glared. “I WILL NOT BE STILL, DAMMIT! LOOK AT WHAT HE IS DOING TO YOUR SON. DO YOU NOT SEE?”
Jacque had tears pouring out of her eyes. She didn’t care, she was broken inside, and she couldn’t stand it any longer.
She saw Fane struggle, but finally get up. The two wolves continued to circle. Fane got a couple of good bites in and now Lucas' fur was coated in blood as well. Both wolves stopped and were very still, just staring at each other. Jacque was still crying and fighting the grip that Vasile’s wolves had on her. But just as quickly as the stillness had come, it was gone. Lucas moved in low, this time grabbing Fane under his muzzle on his throat. As he grabbed him, he slid and pulled Fane up and over him so that Fane landed on his side. There was a tremendous thud, a low growl, and a high whine.
Everyone was still, almost like someone had pushed the pause button on a movie. Then someone hit play. Fane lay still beneath Lucas’ jaws. Lucas’ wolves had all begun to growl and howl. Alina stood next to Jacque, still as a statue. No tears streaked her face yet. Then Jacque lost it. She screamed and cried and pulled against the wolves.
“FANE GET UP! GET UP NOW! DON’T YOU DARE LEAVE ME, DON’T YOU DARE.” Jacque shook with her sobs. The wolves holding her got distracted for a moment and it was her window. She tore lose from their grip, running as hard as she could. She plowed into Lucas, pushing with all her might. “GET OFF HIM, LUCAS. GET OFF OF MY MATE OR SO HELP ME I WILL RIP YOUR THROAT OUT WITH MY BARE HANDS!” Jacque yelled and pushed to no avail; Lucas did not budge. Jacque was vaguely aware of someone wrapping an iron-strong arm around her waist and jerking her back. Jacque frantically grabbed at anything she could get her hands on. She got a grip on Lucas’ fur and pulled against whoever was trying to pull her away. Instead of being able to hold on, Jacque just ripped out handfuls of hair from Lucas, and under different circumstances she would have found it gratifying. However, at the moment, all Jacque could see was Fane. Fane on his side, blood pooling around him. Fane not moving. Fane under the other wolf, whose teeth were still sunk into his neck.
“PLEASE,” Jacque sobbed. “VASILE GET HIM OFF OF FANE. GOD, HOW CAN YOU LET HIM DIE. I’M BEGGING YOU, PLEASE DON’T LET HIM DIE.”
“Get her out of here,” Vasile turned and growled at the wolves holding Jacque. When they didn’t move he snarled, “NOW! GET HER OUT OF HERE NOW!”
“NO! I WON’T LEAVE HIM. FANE PLEASE. PLEASE GET UP.” As the wolves began to drag Jacque away, which they literally had to do her because of her struggles, her pleading got softer but lost none of the desperation.
“Fane, I love you. Do you hear me? I love you. I don’t want a life without you. Please, love. Don’t leave me.” Jacque’s tears stained her face and shirt. It was no use. Jacque was not strong enough to fight the wolves. She gave up struggling and instead turned inward to her pain. She began to cry so hard that she started throwing up, and when she had nothing left in her stomach, she simply retched up air over and over. The wolves must have gotten close to where Jen and Sally were parked because in between sobs and retching, she heard Jen’s voice.
“JACQUE!” Jen shouted as she came plowing towards her. “Get the hell off her. you mangy mutts!” Jen began yelling at the wolves all around her. In turn the wolves growled. “Oh, hell no. You did not just growl at me. I will castrate you while you sleep and then hang them on your car antenna, so BACK THE HELL UP!”
The wolves must have decided that Jen was crazy enough to act on her words. They backed up, hands in the air in surrender.
“We will not leave her, but we will let you take her into your care,” Dorian told them.
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Now what happened, where is Fane?” Sally asked.
The wolves all bowed their heads and their shoulders slumped in defeat. It was Dorian again who spoke. “He has fallen.”
With those words, Jacque once again felt overwhelming dread pour over her. She jumped up and turned back towards the circle and began to run. The wolves were there in a flash, once again holding her around the waist, only this time Dorian turned Jacque towards him and held her. It made her think of how Fane had held her just like that when she'd been crying in fear and it only made her cry harder. Jacque began to pound her fist on Dorian’s chest as the pain seeped out of her into the night air.
“This cannot be happening, it just can’t be.” Her body shook and that made Dorian hold her tighter. He spoke to her softly in Romanian and once again she thought of Fane. She couldn’t take it, her brain was not able to control her emotions, and so it finally just shut down. Jacque blacked out. The last thing in her mind was Fane’s voice. It said, “soon.” She didn’t know if it was her imagination or if it was really him. Whatever it was, she clung to it as the darkness took her.
Chapter 33
Fane lay beneath Lucas’ jaws, weak from all the blood loss. He heard Jacquelyn’s sobs, her pleading. He had seen her run into Lucas in an attempt to push Lucas off of him, and all the while he'd had to lie still. If he had moved his plan would not have worked. He kept his mind separate from Jacquelyn, making sure he did not give her any sign that he was okay. He hated seeing her hurt, but if she knew that he wasn’t dead, she would not have struggled so much which would have tipped off Lucas. As soon as Jacquelyn was out of sight, Lucas gave Fane one final shake and then let go of his neck. The fact that Lucas had not bothered to make sure Fane’s heart stopped was his mistake. Fane was holding his breath, which made Lucas think he had killed him.
Foolish, cocky Alph
a, Fane thought.
Lucas released Fane’s throat and turned his head up towards the moon and howled. While he was distracted, his vulnerable throat was completely exposed to Fane, and Fane took full advantage. With all the strength Fane had left, he lunged up and sank his teeth deep into Lucas’ throat. He tasted blood and that fueled his anger. Fane gripped even tighter and felt his jaws crush the vocal cords and the wind pipe, silencing Lucas’ howl. Then Fane jerked his head violently to the left, pulling so hard that his teeth ripped Lucas’ throat wide open, severing arteries. Blood poured like a rushing river from Lucas’ throat, pooling on the ground. In less than a minute, Lucas collapsed on his side. Fane would not make the same mistake Lucas did. He took a paw and pushed Lucas onto his back, exposing the most vulnerable part of a wolf. He leaned down and once again sunk his teeth into the wolf’s flesh, tearing though skin and muscle until he disemboweled Lucas. That was an injury Fane knew Lucas would not get up from.
Fane turned to look at his father, who nodded his head once. Fane turned his head upward and howled in victory. Then he collapsed.
“Sorin, Alina. Get Fane and take him to the Henrys'. Clean him up. I will be there as quickly as I can to heal him,” Vasile ordered.
“Forgive me, Alpha, but why do you not want us to take him to his mate?” Sorin asked apprehensively.
“Jacquelyn was hysterical when she was dragged out of here. She is not likely to be any calmer yet, and she does not need to see Fane in his current state,” Vasile explained.
Sorin nodded his understanding. Then he, with Alina’s help, gathered Fane to take him to the Henrys'.
Vasile turned back to the wolves that Lucas left behind with his death.
“Who of you is Lucas’ second?” Vasile asked them.
A tall, bulky man stepped forward. “I am his second,” he answered.
“What is your name?” Vasile asked the man.
“Jeff Stone,” the wolf answered.
“You are second no longer, Jeff Stone. You stand Alpha of the Coldspring pack. You are to keep a record of your pack as is Canis lupus law. I will check on your pack to make sure you are abiding by these laws. If you do not know them,” Vasile reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, from which he pulled out a card, “here is my card. Call me and I will inform you of them. Are we clear?”
Jeff nodded and turned his head, exposing his neck in submission to Vasile.
“Good. Now take your former Alpha and give him a proper burial. Let this be a lesson to each of you that you cannot claim women who are not your mates. Lucas would have never found comfort or peace with Jacquelyn because she was not his true mate. He would have eventually resented her for not being able to give him what he so desperately needed,” Vasile explained to the wolves. Then he simply said, “Go,” and watched as they collected Lucas’ body and left.
Vasile took a deep breath, preparing for the task before him: heal his son and somehow explain to his mate that they had intentionally planned for Fane to appear dead. This is not going to be pretty, he thought.
Fane moaned as he struggled to sit up. He was back in his human form and as he looked around, he realized he was in his room at the Henry’s house. He started to stand, but got very dizzy. and had to quickly sit back down.
“Take it easy, son. You’ve had quite a night,” Fane heard his father tell him.
“Where is Jacquelyn?” Fane asked the first question that now burned a hole in his head. He wanted her there with him so he could hold her and reassure her that he was fine. She had been so hysterical the last time he saw her, he knew she must still be a mess if she did not know he was alive.
“She is at her house. We did not take you there because I wanted you to look somewhat healthier than you did when Lucas was finished with you,” Vasile told him.
That makes sense, Fane thought. He gingerly tried standing again and was successful. He was thankful that someone had thought to put boxers on him so he wasn’t naked. He walked over to look in the mirror to survey the damage.
“It’s not too bad, after healing you up a bit. You still have some ugly bruising and minor cuts, but no broken bones,” his father told him.
He was right about the bruising. He looked like someone had taken black, gray, and blue paint and splattered it on him. He had deep cuts on his face, neck, back, and legs. Overall, though, it could have been so much worse. Fane was so thankful that he had been the victor. The thought of Jacquelyn came again to his mind and he felt bile rise up in his throat at the memory of her sobs. He had to see her, she needed to know he was okay. Then he would have to beg her forgiveness.
“I need to see her, Tata,” Fane told his father.
“I know, but you need to be prepared for-” before Vasile could finish Fane’s door swung open so hard that it hit the wall with a loud bang.
What came through it was the picture of pure, unadulterated rage, otherwise known as Jen. Sally followed, looking every bit as angry, but in a much more controlled way.
“What on, I mean, how in the – WTF Fane!” Jen finally yelled. “How could you not tell her that you were going to go all armadillo on her? Did you not trust her? Did you think she couldn’t handle watching you lay there not fighting back? What on earth was going through that pea sized, canine mush you call a brain?”
Fane looked confused and really he was, he didn’t understand.
“Um, Jen, I hear you and you have every right to be angry, but, well, I don’t know what you mean by 'going armadillo'.”
“You do realize that when I have to explain my comparisons and insults it takes a lot of the thunder away, right?” Jen rolled her eyes. “Armadillos play dead when they feel threatened. They fall on their sides and go all stiff, they really look dead but they aren’t. Are you with me now, flea bag?”
“Yes, okay. Now I understand. There are a couple of reasons I didn’t tell her. The first is that we didn’t decide on that plan until about fifteen minutes before the challenge started. The second was we needed her reaction to be authentic.” Fane realized as soon as Jen’s face began to turn shades of purple that that last part might not have been necessary.
“Please, please, for the love of all things that are not werewolves, tell me you did not just say you wanted her reaction to be authentic.” Jen sounded so calm, and calm was actually scarier than her yelling.
Fane didn’t get a word out before a fist suddenly connected with the left side of his face. He was truly in shock. He had never been hit by a girl, and although it didn’t hurt, he felt really bad that she felt his behavior deserved physical violence.
When he turned his head, he looked at Jen only to see that she was in turn looking at Sally, who was jumping up and down, shaking her hand, and growling out any and all expletives she could think of.
“Holy crap, man. Why is your face so freaking hard!” Sally yelled.
Jen’s mouth was wide open in disbelief and then a sly grin spread across it. “That was so bad ass! It’s about time you recognize that my way has some definite pluses to it.”
“Well, other than my hand being broken, it was definitely worth it,” Sally told her.
Fane knelt down on one knee in front of the two girls. startling them into silence.
He laid his hand across his heart and bowed his head.
“I am truly sorry that my actions caused so much pain. It truly wasn’t my intention and it tore a hole in me to see my love so broken. I beg your forgiveness, but I understand if you do not give it,” Fane told them with all sincerity.
Jen and Sally looked at Fane and then at each other. Then they looked at Vasile who had silently been watching the whole thing.
“Is he for real?” Sally asked Vasile.
“I ordered him to do it, therefore he could not disobey. Ultimately your anger should be at me. And yes, he is for real, as you put it,” Vasile explained.
“Fane,” Sally began and then used her hand to tilt his head up so that he was looking at them, “we know why you
did it, and it was actually an awesome strategy. It’s just that we had to watch as Jacque sobbed so hard that she was puking up her guts, and then she just passed out. It was like her brain just couldn’t handle what her emotions were doing to her body, so it just turned off. It was horrible. So even though we know it was probably the best strategy, we had to defend our girl. Of course we forgive you. I wish I could tell you how Jacque is going to react when you tell her what you had to do, but it could go either way. She may be so thankful you’re alive that she doesn’t care, or she may be in such shock from the pain that she tries to kill you herself. So good luck with that.” And with that Jen and Sally turned and left him in silence.
“She doesn’t know yet?” Fane softly asked his father.
“No son, that honor has been left to you. As the two avenging angels who just left said, good luck with that,” Vasile told him. “Get dressed. It’s time for you to go see your mate.”
His father left him, and Fane stood up, feeling very numb. He was so broken at having hurt Jacquelyn. How was he going to face her? Without any thought to what he was doing, Fane got dressed, brushed his hair and teeth, and then headed over to Jacquelyn’s. It was the longest walk he’d ever made, and yet it was the shortest as well.
Fane opened the front door to Jacquelyn’s house and nearly turned back and shut it behind him. Everyone, save Jacquelyn, was sitting in the living room, and as he walked in all their eyes landed on him. He took a deep breath and walked in. His mother was the first to move. She came over to him and exposed her neck. Fane took a step back in disbelief at her action.
