“I’m not sure if you’re trying to threaten me or turn me on,” he replied.
Jennifer raised her head and narrowed her beautiful, blue eyes on him. Decebel couldn’t resist as he ran the back of his fingers across her cheek. “You’re the loveliest thing I’ve ever seen,” he murmured.
She flushed as her glare softened. “How am I supposed to be irritated with you when you say stuff like that?”
Decebel shrugged. “I’m just speaking the truth. You’re stunning. Every time you walk into a room you take my breath away.”
Her lips turned up into a sweet smile. “Where is this coming from? Not that I mind, but you’re not usually so eloquent in your compliments. What brought this sentiment?”
Decebel tried to bury the strong emotions before she could feel them but, as her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open, he knew he’d failed. He tilted his head back toward the ceiling and squeezed his eyes tightly shut.
“Dec,” Jennifer said gently. He could feel her moving up his body until she was resting on his chest. She slid her hand under his head and pushed up so his face was no longer pointed up to the ceiling. “Open your eyes, B,” she chided.
Decebel let out a sigh as he opened his eyes and met his mate’s.
“We’re going to be fine,” Jennifer told him. “You don’t have to be scared. I’ve no doubt that we are going to kick the Order’s ass and all come home.”
He loved her strength. He admired her ability to stand strong even when facing impossible odds. Decebel flipped them over, ripping a surprised squeak from Jennifer. She laughed as he covered her body with his own. He pushed the hair away from her face and ran his fingertips down her neck. “If I die, you die,” he said and watched Jennifer’s face sober. “Thia would be left without any parents. That terrifies me.” His voice had dropped to a whisper. “To not see her grow. To be unable to protect her. To leave her in world that can be so cruel and dangerous. It’s enough to make me wish that our lives were not bound so if one of us died, at least Thia would have one parent to care for her.”
Jennifer lifted her hand and ran it through his hair, down his neck, and then back up to cup his face. “We aren’t going to die. We’re going to fight and, we’re going to win because that’s what we do. We win. When it gets hard or you get tired, then you dig in deep and remember these fears and you draw strength from them. We aren’t done in the life, Dec. For one, I haven’t had near enough time to thoroughly drive you crazy. I mean, I married you so it’s sort of my right to get to drive you insane for at least sixty years.”
Decebel smiled. “Is that so? Is that in a marriage book somewhere?”
“Damn straight. It’s in the marriage book I wrote.”
“And what’s the title of the book?”
“Marriage Rights for Women.”
“Is there aMarriage Rights for Men?”
Jennifer frowned at him. “Pssht, no. Since when have I ever given you the impression that you had rights?”
Decebel laughed as he stared down at his mischievous mate. He could tell she was pleased with herself because she’d gone about trying to make him quit worrying, and he could see in her eyes she knew she’d succeeded.
“I love you, B,” she said, suddenly serious.
“I love you back,” Decebel murmured as he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.
“But,” she said, pulling back just bit, “I do want you to know if you get yourself killed, then there will be no rest and peace in the afterlife for you because I will make your afterlife a dead hell. Not a living hell because, duh, we won’t be alive. But my point is you will be eternally miserable.”
“Duly noted, baby. Now hush and let me make love to you again.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“When I was twelve and people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer was something like a lawyer or … a lawyer. Okay, so lawyer was pretty much it. My point is, there was never a time when I thought, ‘Hey, I want to be mated to a werewolf with a child at nineteen and constantly fighting demented, evil supernatural beings.’ Nope. Not once did I think that. Funny how life laughs at your plans while it kicks you in the ass.” ~Jen
Costin thoughtabout what Vasile had said to him early that morning when the pack evacuees had been preparing to go to the Deep Keep. Costin had gone to see his alpha, expecting to have to argue his case. But as he’d walked into Vasile’s office, before Costin had even said a word, Vasile had simply said, “You should stay with Sally and your son.”
The statement completely derailed him. Costin was prepared to give an emotional speech on why he couldn’t stand the idea of leaving them, and Vasile had just blown it out of the water. “Isn’t it unfair to the other males?” Costin asked.
Vasile shook his head. “We don’t measure our actions based upon what others are doing. We measure them based upon what is best for everyone in the pack. Separated from your mate after the ordeal you and Sally have experienced would not be good for anyone. It would cause you to be distracted, reducing your ability to fight effectively. You could wind up getting yourself or someone else killed. The pack will understand your decision, and there isn’t a single one of us that would be able to walk away from our mate if we were in your shoes.”
“You okay?”
Sally’s voice pulled him from the memory, and he looked down at her. “I’m good. You?”
“I’m okay, although if Jen sings ‘On the Road Again’ the entire time we’re walking, I may push her off a cliff. It wouldn’t kill her. She’d just break some bones and maybe get a concussion,” Sally said dryly.
