By the time he was done telling his pack what would take place, they had arrived at the airport and were boarding the charter plane that Colin had secured for them.

As the plane took off, Dillon sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. He tried to envision what Jacque would say when he introduced himself to her. Would she be angry that he had not been a part of her life? Would she be happy to finally meet him? He was usually so confident in himself but at this moment he couldn’t remember ever being so unsure of himself.

Logan was trying to work out in his mind at what point would be the best time to take Jacque from the hospital. He decided he was going to suggest to Dillon that after he invoked his Alpha rights to have Vasile pull his wolves from guard duty and instill his own. Since he was the head of the pack enforcers he would set the guard rotation for the night, which would be the most vulnerable time, when the staff was minimal, and the cover of darkness would aid him in his task. He was so close to his goal, so close to having the first thing he had truly wanted in a long time, and he would have her. No matter what it took, Jacque Pierce would be his.

Chapter 9

Once the plane had landed at a small private air strip Colin had found, they had a rental car waiting. Dillon found himself wondering, not for the first time, what he would do without Colin, he seemed to think of everything.

Logan knew the location of the hospital so he drove while Dillon found Vasile’s number in the directory of Alphas. Yes, they had a book with all the Alpha’s numbers in it. Dillon couldn’t help but think that somebody else had a Colin as well who had come up with the idea. Dillon dialed the number and as he listened to it ring all he could think was how this was going to be interesting. Vasile answered on the fourth ring.

“Vasile,” he answered with his name instead of a hello.

“Vasile this is Dillon Jacobs, Alpha of the Denver Pack. I wanted to inform you that I am in Coldspring. Is there another Alpha I need to call?”

Vasile was silent for several beats before he responded, “No, the pack here in Coldspring is not official yet. I will notify the Alpha that you are here.” Dillon heard Vasile take and audible breath and then let it out slow.

“Do I want to know why you are here, Jacobs?” Vasile asked, using his surname.

“I have a feeling you know. I want to speak with Lilly and I want to meet my daughter. It is my understanding that she has been in an accident.” There was a slight growl in Dillon’s voice as he answered Vasile.

“How, may I ask, did you learn about Jacquelyn, or the accident for that matter?” Vasile asked, his voice laced with skepticism.

Dillon decided to let Vasile draw his own conclusion by giving half truths to his questions.

“Pack members talk, Vasile. You know how it is. A group of wolves together is worse than a beautyshop when it comes to gossip. So naturally, when I heard that there had been a challenge given to the strongest Alpha’s pup, and it was in Lilly’s home town, I checked into things.”

Dillon did not mention that he'd had Logan following Jacquelyn, or that he'd been at the scene of the accident. He didn’t think Vasile needed those details.

“We are on our way to the hospital now. Would you please ask Lilly to meet me in the entrance? And I would ask, Vasile, that you not let Jacque know I am here yet.”

“I will let Lilly know, however, I will not guarantee that she will see you." Dillon started to interrupt but Vasile cut him off. "Jacque has been unconscious for a month. Lilly has been through hell for that month, she is stressed out enough right now. Nevertheless, I will let her know. If you get here and she isn't waiting in the lobby, then call me tomorrow, we will go from there. However, I must know, how is your mate going to feel when Lilly sends you home in a pine box, because you have to know this isn’t going to go well,” the Alpha told him.

“I will deal with Lilly. I have five of my wolves with me, my Beta and my first four. We are not here as a challenge in any way to you or yours. I simply want to meet my daughter,” Dillon told him, his voice never betraying the subtle lie. He didn’t just want to meet her, he planned to take her home with him.

“Understood,” Vasile answered. "I would ask that you and your wolves lay low, and treat this as if it were my permanent territory. In other words, don't give me a reason to regret having let you remain here. My Beta, Decebel, will be waiting with her as he is the most neutral party when it comes to Jacque and I think you will need some neutrality while you are, as you said, dealing with Lilly. You will have to let me know how that goes,” Vasile said in sarcastic amusement. “What is your ETA?”

“My Beta says we will arrive in ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes, how courteous of you to give ample notice of your arrival.” Vasile had hung up before Dillon could respond to the jab.

“Did that go as you expected?” Logan asked him.

“Pretty much, although Vasile seems very calm for such a dominant Alpha. Those are often the most deadly ones. They never betray their emotions, so one never knows what their next move is.”

“Sounds like he would be a good poker player,” Logan said dryly.

Dillon didn’t acknowledge his Beta’s words, instead he thought about the best way to keep Lilly calm enough to let him see Jacque before he dropped the whole 'I’m here to take my daughter away' bit. Unfortunately there were no bright ideas that fell from the sky, nor had he come across a book called how to appease the lover you scorned for dummies.