“I can neither confirm nor deny your claim. Shh, the Alpha is talking,” he whispered to her.
Jacque rolled her eyes but did direct her attention back to Vasile, who was answering Jen’s question.
“We do have a … Helm’s Deep, as you call it,” Vasile confirmed. “But we call ours the Den.”
Jen shook her head, and Jacque knew what was coming before her best friend spoke. “The Den isn’t going to work. It’s not even close to dramatic enough. I mean, the world could come to an end as we know it, man! The name of a place has serious repercussions on how effective that place will be as a stronghold.”
“I’m thinking that’s a new level of B.S., even for her,” Sally said with a crooked grin.
“I’d have to agree. She’s definitely upped her B.S. output,” Jacque said.
“What about,” Jen began, completely ignoring the two girls, “the Deep Den?” Her voice took on a spooky quality as she spoke, and her eyes narrowed on Vasile.
“You do realize saying it like thatdoesn’tmake it somehow more mysterious, right?” Sally asked.
“And it can’t have the word deep in it, otherwise we’re just being copycats,” Jacque pointed out.
“Pixies forbid we be copycats,” Costin said with a feminine gasp.
Jacque glanced at him. “Don’t ever do that again.”
“Have to agree, Dimples. That was disturbing,” Jen said and then looked back at Vasile. “Okay, so when are we evacuating to the … yet-to-be-awesomely-named-by-me stronghold?”
“I want everyone ready to go in four days,” Vasile said.
Jacque felt the tension in the room go up as they realized the time for waiting was over. They were taking the fight to the Order.
“You will begin evacuation that morning. It will take some time to get there,” the Alpha continued. “You’ll need to get an early start.”
Jacque raised her hand and waited until Vasile acknowledged her. “Why can’t we just have the fae flash us there?”
“Right now, as far as we know, the only supernaturals near us that are in league with the Order are in our basement. But there’s no way to know for sure, and using magic leaves—”
“A trace,” Jacque finished for him. Peri had explained the fingerprint magic left behind and how supernaturals could be traced that way.
“So, we’re going to be hiking?” Jen asked.
“Yes, you will,” Vasile said.
Jacque noticed, not for the first time, that he said “you” and not “we”. “Why do you keep saying ‘you’, instead of ‘we’? What do you and Alina have planned?” She felt Fane’s body grow tense as a fleeting thought rushed through his mind. “You’re leaving us here?” she asked her mate quietly.
Vasile cleared his throat and crossed his arms in front of his chest. He seemed to be gearing up for a fight.Smart man,Jacque thought.
“Alina and I have discussed this, and we’ve spoken with your mates. Not all of us will be attending the summit. Some will have to stay behind and supervise the evacuation.” He looked at Sally, Jen, and Jacque in turn. “We need you three to remain here and care for the pack. As your Alpha, I am assigning you and the rest of the females to evacuate the pack to the Den and protect the stronghold. This decision is final.”
“No offense, Alpha,” Jen said with a slight growl in her throat. “but where B goes, I go.”
“You’re not coming with me,”Decebel said, his voice tight as his eyes began to glow with his wolf. Everyone in the room had frozen at his cool words, and the air itself seemed to chill.
Jen briefly thought she needed to get her ears checked because she knew her mate had not just said what she thought he had said. “B, I really want to give you the benefit of the doubt and toss up your momentary insanity to lack of action of the marital kind. Please tell me you did not just say that I wasn’t coming with you. Please tell me you haven’t forgotten that where you go, I go. Please freaking tell me you aren’t trying to protect me by tucking me away as if I am a precious, fragile possession you’re scared might shatter at the slightest bump.” Her voice rose with every word, and she knew it was not only anger fueling her outburst, but also fear. Jen, the she-wolf, was terrified of being separated from the man who held the other half of her soul. “Please tell me that you—”
“Of course, I’m trying to protect you!” Decebel’s roar cut her off and reverberated off the walls of Vasile’s office. “Bloody hell, female, I. Love. You! I love you so much there are times I can’t breathe for fear of something happening to you. Already, I have endured losing you, seeing you hurt, feeling your pain and anguish. How many times do you think a man can take failing to keep his woman safe? You’re damn right I’m trying to protect you. You aren’t the only one who is afraid, Jennifer. And youareprecious to me! There isn’t a day that goes by that the sun doesn’t rise and set because you are by my side. You and Thia are my world.” He stepped closer to her and cupped her face in his large hand. “I’m not telling you to stay because I think you’re weak. I’m not telling you to stay because you’re fragile. I’m not telling you to say because I think it’s your place. I’m telling you to stay because I need you to protect our pup, protect our pack, and make sure that there is a place for me, for the other males, to come back to. Don’t you see?” he nearly whispered.
“See what?” Jen asked softly, all the anger now dissolved under the weight of her mate’s words and the emotions coming through the bond.
“Don’t you see it is precisely because youarefemale that we need you to stay?” He pressed a finger to her lips to keep her from speaking knowing she was about to protest. “Let me finish,” he ordered. “You are going to have to organize an evacuation of not only the Romania mansion but of the Serbia one as well. You will have to ensure that there are provisions, food, clothing, blankets, weapons…”
“Feminine products,” she muttered quickly.
