Just One Drop (4 page)

That just made his smile bigger.

"Jen, wake up." Sally pulled the covers off her sleeping friend, allowing the cold air to flow over her. "If you don't get up, I'm getting some water and we'll relive some of those fond memories from the hospital."

"I really think you need help, Sally," Jen mumbled. "Throwing water in my face, throwing my suitcase out of the window, and you think I'm disturbed? It's time for the wicked witch to look in the mirror and ask who's the fairest of them all."

Jen sat up and tried to rub the sleep from her eyes. "What time is it?" she groaned.

"It's nine a.m. and we are supposed to meet with the tutor in thirty minutes. Get moving. We all know how long it takes you to become a person in the morning. I swear you're as bad as Jacque," Sally admonished as she grabbed Jen's hand and pulled her off the bed, pushing her in the direction of the bathroom.

"Bloody hell, Sally. I'm up," Jen whined. As she closed the bathroom door, Sally heard her mumble, "Note to self, lock bedroom door at night to keep perky morning people out."

Jen stood in front of the bathroom mirror, a towel wrapped around her, and combed the tangles from her wet hair. She wasn't going to lie to herself and say she wasn’t nervous about today – she was beyond nervous knowing he was here. Decebel, the werewolf she couldn't seem to let go of, no matter what her mind was telling her. Her heart was giving her mind the finger.

Jen jumped at the sound of Sally banging on the bathroom door.

"Okay, sleeping beauty, let's go. You're not going to a beauty contest."

Jen snatched the door open. "Try a different Disney character Thelma, 'cause in order for me to be Sleeping Beauty I would have to be asleep." Jen's words came out a little louder than she intended, but Sally didn't seem to be phased by it.

"Okay, Jen. Talk. What's up?" Sally narrowed her eyes. Her best friend was wound tighter than a roll of fishing twine.

Jen stepped out of the bathroom and headed towards the closet. She grabbed a pair of underwear and a bra from the dresser and began sifting through clothes. Finally settling on a pair of low rise Levi's and a warm fleece pullover, she stepped out of the closet and took a deep breath. "I'm nervous. Decebel's back, as in he's here in the mansion, which means the chances of me seeing him are much greater than when he was gone."

Sally stepped up to her friend and wrapped her arms around her for a quick hug. "He's really gotten to you." It wasn't a question. Sally had never seen steady, confident Jen in such turmoil.

"I need to do something, Sally. I don't know what but I can't stand this. I've never wanted a guy I couldn't have. As conceited as that sounds, truth is truth."

Sally's finger was tapping her lips as she closed her eyes in thought.

"Um, what's cooking in that sadistic brain of yours?" Jen asked nervously.

Sally's eyes snapped open. "I was just thinking that maybe if you met someone else then you could get past your furry problem."

"My furry problem? Really? You make it sound like I have abnormal leg hair growth or something." Jen rolled her eyes.

"Look." Sally stopped Jen before she could walk out of the room. "Let's just give it a go. You, me, and Jacque – tonight. We'll get Sorin to take us somewhere where there are going to be guys. Then you can do your thing."

Jen growled as she threw her head back. Sally knew she couldn't stand to be called a chicken. Jennifer Adams was many things, but a chicken was not one of them.

"Fine, I'll go." She paused, thinking about Sally's idea. "I think a night out is just what the doctor ordered."

"Excellent." Sally grinned, rubbing her hands together in suppressed glee.

"Man, you scare me sometimes, Sal. Truly, you do." Jen grabbed Sally's hand and began walking towards the bedroom door. "Let's do this."

"If that tutor tries to cram anything else into my head, I swear it's going to explode," Jacque whined.

"I feel ya. This three hours a day is kicking my super fine butt." Jen groaned as she slid into a seat in the dining room. "I mean, I get that she has to get seven hours of school into three, but seriously."

"I know, right?" Sally agreed as she laid her head on the table after taking a seat across from Jen.

Jacque sat at the head of the long table and leaned back against the chair.

"How are you, Luna?"
She heard Fane's voice in her mind and felt his fingers run across her cheek. It made her shiver involuntarily.

"Oh, ya know, aside from my brain feeling like it's going to become mush and ooze out of my ears, I'm great."
She heard him chuckle which made her grin like an idiot.

"I see you've been working on that constipated-looking face when you talk to Cujo," Jen teased.

Jacque just rolled her eyes at her friend.

"The girls are wanting to go out tonight. That okay with you?"
she asked Fane.

"Sure, what time? My father has a conference call that was supposed to take place this afternoon, but has been pushed back to later this evening."

"That's fine. We were going to get Sorin to take us. They kind of want it to just be the girls."

That really made Fane laugh.
"I'm sure Sorin will be so happy to know that you all consider him one of the girls."

Jacque laughed out loud, causing Sally and Jen to roll their eyes at her. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"So you cool with that, wolf-man?"

"I guess as long as Sorin is with you then I can deal with it. I love you, Jacquelyn."

"Funny that. I was just thinking the same thing about you."
Jacque felt Fane's lips against hers. She was still getting used to being able to feel him even though he wasn't with her.

"Houston, we are clear for take off." Jacque grinned.

Jen looked at Sally, then back at Jacque. "Did you smoke something this morning and not share?"

Jacque rolled her eyes. "Do you really think I have to smoke something to get happy when I wake up next to Fane every morning?"

"Okay, point to you," Jen said, waving Jacque off.

"So I take it what you were saying with the whole Houston reference is that we're a go for tonight? Operation 'forget bossy werewolf guy' has been green-lighted?" Sally asked.

Jen covered her face and groaned at Sally's words. "Did you seriously just say that? Operation forget bossy werewolf guy? Really, Sally?"

Sally nodded in all seriousness.

"Well, if you're going to call our night out an operation – and you know how I love ops – at least get it right. It's operation 'forget freaking fine, brooding, bossy werewolf guy'," Jen supplied.

"Good call." Sally bumped fists with Jen, glad to see her friend was regaining her snarky sense of humor.

"Okay, girls. I think we need to head out and begin phase one of operation triple F, double B, WG." Jacque tried to say it with a straight face but as soon as she realized that B and G rhymed in her little abbreviation she lost the battle. Jen and Sally were laughing along with her as they all headed up the stairs.

Jen shook her head. "I think the air is thinner here because you two are clearly not getting enough oxygen to the brain."

"Oh, come on. Give us a break. Out of all of us, you've got inner skank-embracing down to an art form," Sally told her.

"True, very true, Sally. I am expert on all things skank." Jen was laughing as hard as Jacque and Sally when Decebel came around the corner.

Jen took a step back, surprised at his words. Decebel had seen the clothes in her suitcase, and by clothes she meant her womanly garments. She knew her face must be bright red because Decebel's eyes were glowing as she looked back at him. Before she could respond he leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"Please don't allow your friends to throw your clothes out the window. I had to make sure the wolves who found your things gave up all of the souvenirs they took – souvenirs that would cause your beautiful face to turn ten shades of red." She felt his breath on her neck, and he inhaled deeply before walking away.

Jacque had once told her that when a werewolf pulled that little stunt, he was taking in a person's scent. She shivered at the thought and couldn't help turning to watch Decebel walk away.

"Bloody hell, you two. Don't just stand there. Get in my room so I can give you the 411." Jen pushed her two best friends towards her bedroom door, all the while trying to figure out what had just taken place in the hall.

Once in the room Jen shut the door and leaned back against it. Head pressed back, she closed her eyes and slowed her breathing. Blasted wolf was going to give her a heart attack. Frustration rippled through her. Why him? Why did her heart have to pick the one guy she would never be able to have?

"What did he whisper in your ear, Jen?" Jacque questioned.

Jen shook her head, trying to clear it. "He told me to not let my friends throw my clothes out of the window," she paused and looked pointedly at Sally, who had the good sense to look sheepish, "because he had to get my clothes back – which he called souvenirs – from the wolves who apparently found them." She chuckled to herself, knowing she was once again the color of a beet. "And from the tone in his voice, said souvenirs must've been my womanly garments."

Jen pondered on this only briefly before she decided it was time to move on. "Let's forget it all. I don't even want to get into the fact that Decebel has seen -"

"Your undergarments," Sally snorted as she interrupted Jen.

"Oh, shut up, Thelma," Jen snapped as she headed towards the closet in search of the night's outfit.
Okay
, she thought to herself,
need to draw on my inner skank
. She laughed as she started flipping through her clothes. Sally and Jacque joined her in the large closet and began their own searches.

Jen pulled out a pair of low rise Lucky jeans. She and Jacque shared a love of the brand. Next she grabbed a deep plumb colored sweater with a plunging neckline. It had a fitted cut for a snug fit.

"I like." Jacque nodded in approval.

Jacque and Sally each borrowed shirts of Jen's. Sally chose a deep red sweater with wide arms that hung elegantly off her shoulders. Jacque picked her color of choice, a hunter green sweater dress that she planned to wear with dark grey leggings and boots. With their choices made, they headed off to their prospective bathrooms to change.

"Okay, meet back here in twenty for phase two," Sally advised.

"Dare I ask what phase two is?" Jen asked apprehensively.

"It's been too long since we've been out if you have to ask," Sally told her. "Hair and makeup, Jennifer. We have to take all this natural beauty up in here and make it shine."

"Riiiiight, shine. I'm on it, boss," Jen teased.

Chapter 6

"Come on! Really, Skender? That's all you got to give these pups?" Decebel growled as he watched the wolves he was training spar.

Decebel knew that his frustration wasn't really coming from the wolves' inadequacies but from a certain mouthy blonde who had her claws in him so deep he could feel the blood running down his back. The sad thing about the whole situation – he liked it.
Yeah
, he thought,
there is definitely something wrong with me.