Decebel nodded. Arms came around him, and his wolf picked up on the scents. Costin, Sorin, Adam, Wadim, Drake, Gavril, and Lucian surrounded him. Their strength rushed into him through the pack bond, and he took a deep breath. For the first time in what felt like days, Decebel could breathe.
There were no words spoken, and yet he heard his pack mates’ thoughts loud and clear.We’re here. We have you. You’re not going through this alone. We are pack, and we stand together.Decebel absorbed it all. His wolf reached out for the comfort of the males who had become more than friends. They’d become his brothers. He took what they offered and felt the rage subside, leaving only the sorrow behind.
By the time he walked back into the healing room where his mate lay, he had once again regained control. He’d stopped in and checked on Thia, though she was sound asleep in the nursery. Rachel, the ever-watchful and protective momma wolf, assured him that Thia would be fine for the night. And so he’d kissed his beautiful daughter and then headed back to Jennifer. She was sitting up on the bed with a cup of hot chocolate in her hands. Jacque and Sally both sat on the end of the bed, holding their own drinks. None of them were crying, and that felt to Decebel like a small victory.
“B.” Jen looked up at him, her voice hesitant and her blue eyes pleading with him to stay, not just physically, but mentally as well. He’d tried to block his thoughts from her while he’d been fighting Fane, but he knew some of it had slipped through.
Decebel dipped his head to her and repeated what his alpha had said to him. “I will be whatever you need me to be.”
She reached out a hand to him. “I just need you.”
Jacque and Sally both stood, gave her quick hugs, and then hugged Decebel as well before leaving them alone.
He walked over and took her hand, sitting down beside her. Decebel reached up and cupped her cheek, looking at her beautiful face. “I’m sorry I left.”
She shook her head. “No apologies. We support each other unless either of us is doing something that we should totally have our asses kicked for. Otherwise, we will just be there for one another.”
A small smile turned up on his lips, one he didn’t expect because he wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to smile again. But he should have known better. Though he could still feel his mate’s pain, and they were far from out of the ocean of sorrow, he should have known that his Jennifer could always find a smidgen of light in the darkest places. She could find humor in the most unlikely moments. He treasured every second of those moments and every moment in between.
“No apologies.”
She nodded, then set her cup on the table next to the bed and laid down. “Is Thia okay?”
“She’s safe and sound. Snoozing until it’s time for her to wake up and raise hell tomorrow.” He hoped to reassure her that their daughter would be fine without them for tonight.
She let out a deep breath and then patted the spot beside her. “Hold me, B. I’m not finished crying yet.”
Decebel did as she asked and let her tears wash away the rest of his anger. “I love you, baby.”
She didn’t answer with words, but Decebel felt her response in the way she clung to him and how she let him comfort her. She let him be strong for her and gave him her vulnerability, trusting that he would protect her, that he would shelter her through this storm.
The door opened, and Decebel raised his head to see who was there. A massive wolf stood in the doorway. Fane. Decebel’s alpha bowed his head tohim.Then he walked in, followed by the rest of the pack males, all in their wolf form, each with their mates in human form standing beside them. To his surprise, Boain, a male Decebel had known and fought bedside for a very long time, also stepped in, though he was in his human form along with his mate.
The group took up spots all around the bed as close as they could get. The room seemed to expand from the amount of love each of his pack members brought with them. Decebel clenched his jaw and met the eyes of every member, each of them bowing their heads to him and his mate, acknowledging the loss of their child.
“I love you all,” Jen said softly.
If the people in the room hadn’t already had his respect, loyalty, and love, they did now, every ounce he possessed.
Chapter 16
“There comes a point in the life of every scientist where they must contemplate the consequences of their research. They must consider if the knowledge they are uncovering will make the world a better place or a worse one. They have to look at their internal moral compass and ask themselves if there’s a line they’re not willing to cross. And if they step over that line, can they live with the consequences of their actions?” ~Alice
“Iwasn’t planning on eating you, but you are seriously trying my patience. And the more irritated I become with you, the more you look like a tasty midnight snack.” The vampire king clenched his fist. Within his palm was a glass slide containing two samples of blood—one vampiric and oneCanis lupus. He threw it to the ground, where it shattered. Once again, the two species failed to unite.
Alice’s head pounded like a jackhammer was rattling around in her skull so hard she feared it might explode. Perhaps death by vampire would be less painful than head explosion. At the moment, she really didn’t give a flying pig’s ass about Cain and his threat to her and Willis. They were doing their damndest to figure out what was going wrong. They were missing something, but she didn’t have a clue as to what. It wasn’t like she was purposely failing to give him the results he wanted. Her father had called two days prior and raked her over the coals because she had made no progress. The conversation had left her shaken. She hadthoughtthe government had sent her in to keep tabs on Cain. Alice had no idea they would actually want her to succeed at mixing werewolves and vampires. She should have known that dear old dad would have another agenda.
Alice’s elbow rested on the table, with her chin propped on her palm. She dropped her head to the side so she could see her partner. “You seriously want to bethat?” She pointed at Cain. In all the hours—many, many hours— they had spent together in the lab, Willis had confided in her that the main reason he’d agreed to work for the government and Cain on this project was because Cain had promised to turn him into a vampire. Alice had thrown her shoe at him and called him a dumbass.
“Think of how much you could discover if your life was longer than a mere seventy to eighty years.” Once again he attempted to appeal to the researcher in her. As a scientist, Alice was driven to figure out the whys, hows, what ifs, and isn’t-that-freaking-awesomes of the world. And yes, to think that she could have endless time to do that would be amazing. But at what cost?
“You know you’re going to have to change your name, right?” She smirked. “Willis is no kind of vampire name. You’ll be laughed at by all the other vampires, and they won’t include you in any vampire games.”
He rolled his eyes. “Did you seriously just reference Rudolph?”
Alice shrugged. “If the fangs fit…”
“Bloody hell!” Cain yelled. “Are you two even listening to me?”
