Authors: Quinn Loftis
Peri reached out and snatched Jen’s arm before she could grab Sally’s pony tail. “Calm down Jen or you’re going to go into labor and get Lilly’s pretty floor all bloody with your pregnant body fluids.”
Jen looked at Peri and smirked. “Did you seriously just say pregnant body fluids?”
Peri rolled her eyes. “Yes, I did, and why do you three always insist on asking if someone seriously said something? Do you think that they didn’t seriously say it and therefore feel the need to double check your hearing by asking?”
“Did you seriously just ask that?” Jen asked and the room erupted into laughter.
Peri huffed as she pushed past Jen, “Why the hell did I decide to come with the girls?”
“Because we are entertaining,” Elle told her.
“Yes and so is a cage of chimpanzees. I’m just waiting for you all to start crapping on the floor and then throwing it at each other, all the while squealing and pointing.”
The laughing jumped up a notch and when the knock on the front door of the store finally came, Jen was doubled over holding her stomach as she giggled. She wiped the laugh induced tears from her eyes as she prepared herself for all hell to break loose in a completely different way than she was used to. Put her before a psycho witch, a bossy possessive werewolf, or a deranged warlock and she smirked. But put her before her parents who didn’t know that she was married, let alone pregnant, and she wanted to crawl into the deepest hole she could find.
Lilly unlocked the door and pushed it open. Sally’s mom walked in and squealed when she saw Sally. Jen’s mom was next and then her dad. Her mom’s eyes lit up as they landed on her and then dropped to her stomach.
“Surprise,” Jen said lamely and let out a deep breath when Alina walked up next to her and put an arm around her and then smiled at her parents. Alina’s charms were legendary, but they were about to be put to the test.
“Jennifer.” her mom smiled and moved towards her wrapping her in her arms, effectively pulling her from Alina’s.
“Hi mom,” Jen said and it came out muffled as her mom tucked her head into her shoulder.
“Oh, I’ve missed you!”
“You too,” Jen said as she pulled back and attempted to untangle herself from her mom. Her dad came up next and gave her one of those one arm hugs that were equally awkward and annoying.
“Hey Dad,” she said as she quickly hugged him back and then pulled away.
The room was completely silent after the brief reunions and all eyes were on Jen and her parents.
“Jen’s pregnant,” Sally suddenly blurted out. Heads swung around and eyes landed on her and she slapped her hand over her mouth as if it had acted without her consent.
“Thank you for that,” Jen muttered as she glared at Sally and then looked back at her parents. It was obvious by the looks on their faces that they had really just been hoping that Jen had suddenly developed a love for Pork Rinds and had been eating enough of them to support North American sales all by herself.
“Surprise again!” Jen said in a sing song voice and a shoulder shrug.
Jen’s mother’s mouth dropped open and then closed, only to do it again, making Jen think of a fish that had been taken from water and was desperately gasping.
“How,” she finally sputtered.
“Well, mom,” Jen’s voice took on the patronizing tone that seemed to always tick her parents off, “when two people love each other, they want to show it. And sometimes they show that love by taking their clothes off and going at it like rabbits.”
Jen looked past her now shocked mother to the forms of Jacque and Sally, who were making cutting motions across their necks and mouthing for her to shut up. She simply shook her head. She was eighteen. Her parents could look at her like she had lost her mind, but they couldn’t punish her, not any more.
“You’re really pregnant?” her dad finally asked.
“Yes dad, I’m really pregnant. I’m pretty sure there is no such thing as sort-of pregnant, but I could be wrong. It’s been known to happen once or twice a year―me being wrong, not being sort-of pregnant.”
“Is it this Decebel guy?” her mom asked.
“Yes it is Decebel’s baby.” Jen couldn’t help the huge smile that spread across her face at the mention of her mate. Regardless of all their crap, she was caring his child, made out of love and that was definitely something to smile about. And she had just shocked the hell out of her parents and that was just a bonus, like when you find a couple fries thrown in with your order of tots from Sonic. Bonus fries were the best.
“Where is he?” her dad asked with a frown.
“He didn’t come,” Jen told him.
“He let you travel by yourself in that state?” her dad growled and pointed at her stomach.
Alina stepped forward, and though she had a smile on her face, her eyes told a different story. “Jen is perfectly safe with me, with us,” she amended as she motioned to all the women in the room. “Decebel and the other males had business that required them to stay in Romania, and the girls wanted to take a little break. We have a doctor with us,” she motioned to Cynthia who waved and smiled. “Dr. Steele keeps a close eye on her.”
Jen’s parents continued to stare at her. Their eyes darted every now and then to Lilly, giving her looks that clearly said they blamed her for their knocked-up daughter. The tension in the room was palpable.
“I think Peri’s suggestion earlier of crap throwing and squealing is sounding really appealing right now,” remarked Jen. “So who’s going first, Mom? No, okay Jacque, come on we all know your bowels are irregular. You should have something ready to go.”
A snort erupted from Sally and she turned away as Elle patted her on the back while she and the others snickered at Jen.
Peri coughed as she tried to cover her laugh. “Jen it wasn’t a suggestion, you twit, I was being sarcastic.”
Jen smiled at Peri as a single brow rose. “Oh come now, fairy Peri, you know you love a good crap throw as much as the next person.”
“So,” Lilly suddenly jumped in, “who wants hot chocolate?”
At least three hands shot into the air.
“Bloody hell, that was torture,” Jen whined as she climbed into Jacque’s bed.
“I have to agree,” Sally said as she took the sleeping bag on the floor.
“But hilarious as hell,” Jacque laughed.
“Please, pray tell wolf princess, which part was hilarious?” Jen growled. “Was it the part where my dad asked if Decebel had any other children or a wife or was it when my mom asked if we had been using protection?”
“No, it was when you told your mom that yes you had been using protection and not to invest stock in the flavored condoms because they just weren’t as strong as the box claimed.”
All three of the girls shook with laughter. “And then hot chocolate came out of your dad’s nose!” Sally added breathlessly.
“That was a MasterCard moment,” Jen sighed. “Flight home-$300, cup of hot chocolate- $1.50, Dad snorting up cocoa because of discussing daughters sex life…,”
“Priceless!” they all said in unison and erupted into laughter all over again.
As their laughter died down, another feeling began to pool in their stomachs.
“Is anyone else sick of hurting?” Jen asked.
“Totally.”
“Entirely.”
Sally and Jacque said at the same time.
“Then why are we still here?”
“Because this is where they obviously want us,” Jacque said.
“What do you mean?” Sally asked as she leaned up on her elbows.
“If our men really didn’t want us to be here, you know there is nothing-no amount of screaming, whining, or threatening - we could have done to make them let us. They may have thrown their little tantrums, but some part of them wanted us away and that is why we are here.”
“Ugh,” Jen groaned, “we so got played.”
“Jen, babe, are you okay?” Sally asked softly. “You seem to be a lot worse off than Jacque or I and don’t tell me it’s because of your pregnancy.”
“You know, ever since you got this whole gypsy title, you’ve become very bossy,” Jen told her and Sally could hear the smile on her friend’s face.
“Quit avoiding the question.”
“He’s shut me out completely, even from his sleep,” Jen finally admitted and when the words finally emerged she felt the flood gates give way. She rolled onto her side as the tears began to slide down her cheeks and she bit her bottom lip to keep them from trembling. “I feel like he’s slipping away from me. Like every day, every hour, the thread between us gets thinner and thinner.”
Sally’s breath caught at the pain she heard in Jen’s voice. She crawled up into the bed on the other side of Jen as Jacque took the opposite side so that they had sandwiched her in. Both girls wrapped their arms around her and just held her as she cried. There were no words spoken, no false promises that everything would be fine. The reality was that more than likely nothing was going to be fine. So instead they simply took comfort in knowing that in everything they had been through, they had always had each other. Their friendship had stood the tests of life, death, bloodshed, war, and love, and it would continue to do so.
Sally pressed her hand to Jen’s head, brushing her fingers through the blonde locks. She slipped silently into Jen’s mind, trying to keep her friend from realizing what she was doing. As she closed her eyes and opened her spirit to Jen’s, she had to bite her tongue to keep from gasping. Jen’s bond, the thin chord that linked her to Decebel, was stripped, like a rope that had been shredded until there were only a few strands holding it together, so was Jen and Decebel’s mate bond. She could see the emptiness in Jen where Decebel’s soul should be, the other half of hers now nearly gone. Sally was surprised that Jen didn’t simply lie around groaning in pain. It was a miracle that her wolf hadn’t taken over in a desperate attempt to get back to her mate. Sally took her hand away from Jen and rolled onto her back and listened to the slow even breathing of her two best friends.
What did it mean? What could be doing this to their bond and was that why Decebel had been acting so out of character? She didn’t know, but she had an idea of who might. She slid out of the bed, careful not to wake Jacque or Jen and then hurried quietly from the room.
She knocked on the spare bedroom door and was surprised when she heard a muffled,
come in
. She wasn’t expecting anyone to be awake. She pushed the door open to find Cynthia sitting up in the bed with a book in her lap. She glanced up at Sally before looking back at the book and slipping a piece of paper in the pages to save her spot.
“Sally, is Jen alright?” she asked quietly. Of course she would assume that something must be wrong with Jen because of her state, but she didn’t answer right away.
Sally walked over to the end of the bed and sat down without saying anything. She tried to gather her thoughts but then decided there really wasn’t any easy way to break this.
“Jen and Decebel’s bond is dying.” She watched the doctors face for any sign of outrage, surprise, or shock, but there was none. “You knew?” Sally asked with a frown. “And still you let her come?”
Cynthia laughed bitterly. “Like anyone can keep Jen from doing something she wants to do. And no, I didn’t know, but I had my suspicions.”
“What’s going on doc? What’s wrong with Decebel?”
Cynthia pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them as her eyes met Sally’s. “I don’t really know any more than you.”
“How is Decebel keeping Jen out of his mind while he sleeps?”
“That is a question you should be asking me.” Sally turned at the sound of Elle’s voice and saw that Peri was right behind her.
“Sorry to bust up this little sleepover, but if you want answers, Healer, then you need to go to those in the know.” Peri leaned against the wall, looking more awake than anyone at that hour should and definitely looking like she was in the know.
“So what happened to Decebel?” she asked again, this time directed at Elle.
“He asked for me to make it so that when he slept Jen could not get past his barriers.”
“Why?”
“Do we really have to go through this again?” Peri groaned. “Because he has…,”
Sally held her hand up stopping the fae from going on. “I know, I know, he has man parts. I get it, but that doesn’t fully answer my question.”
“He has a secret and he doesn’t want her to be able to go snooping and find it,” Peri told her and appeared very put out at having been interrupted.
“Decebel isn’t the type to keep things from Jen,” Sally argued.
“People will often become very different from who they really are when life and death matters are at hand,” said Cynthia.
“I thought that people showed who they truly are when they are in life and death situations.” Sally’s eyes narrowed at the doctor.
Peri waved her hand as if batting away a fly. “Sally, really, do you think we can possibly unravel the workings of the alpha male Canis lupus, especially starting with Decebel?”
Sally didn’t answer; she simply stared at Peri as if everything she wanted to know was going to explode out of her head at any moment. Then the words hit her again.
“You said life and death,” Sally pointed at Cynthia. “This has to do with their baby, wait,” Sally gasped and covered her mouth. “He wouldn’t,” she muttered around her hand, not speaking to anyone but simply staring at the ground as her mind tried to grasp what she was realizing. “Oh,” she whispered slowly, “but he would. They all would.”
“He’s going to sacrifice himself. But he can’t do that if their bond is intact,” Sally finally spoke up loud enough for everyone to hear.
Peri smiled like a proud parent. “I knew she was the smart one in the bunch. Didn’t I tell you Elle,” she nudge the other fae. “Didn’t I say that the quiet, innocent one is the smart one?”
Elle nodded. “Yes Peri, you did,” she said dryly.
“Jen’s going to kill him.” Sally’s eyes locked with Peri’s.
“You can’t tell her, Healer,” Peri’s face suddenly went very serious. “It is not the place of any of us to meddle in the Alpha’s business.”
“She’s my best friend, Peri. That makes it my business,” Sally argued.
“No,” Cynthia spoke up. “If she were only your best friend, then yes, it would be your business. But she isn’t only your best friend. She’s Decebel’s mate, Sally, his wife. There are some things that are between husband and wife that the friend card no longer holds any sway over.”