"My name," she told him. "If you are going to apologize to me, than you need to say my name." The look on Jen's face was completely wicked.

Decebel clenched his jaw. His eyes were beginning to glow gold, but he managed to say politely, "I'm sorry, Jennifer, for snarling at you."

Jen grinned and held up the phone she had been holding. "That's going to be my new ring tone, the big bad wolf apologizing to widdle ole' me." She batted her eyes innocently.

Sally was coughing back a laugh, at the same time hoping that Jen had not just prodded a sleeping lion.

Decebel didn't say anything as he rose. He walked towards Jen who had the good sense not to run from a predator, although her eyes did get a little wider. He stopped just beside her and leaned down so that his mouth was next to her ear. "A banana, Jen, really?" He whispered and then was walking away.

The door was nearly closed by the time her brain started functioning again. "Oh, Come On! It was all I had!" She yelled, knowing his wolf hearing would pick it up.

Alina and Vasile had sat quietly through the exchange. "Have I ever told you how glad I am that we don't have a daughter?" Vasile asked her under his breath.

Aline slapped his leg. "Hush, did you just see what I saw?"

"Yes," Vasile answered sounding very tired. "I saw it. I haven't decided what to do about it."

Alina looked at him dubiously. "Do about it? Alpha, you're going to leave it be and let fate take its course."

"Mina," Vasile started to argue, but Alina was already turning her attention back to Jen and Sally. Obstinate woman, he thought to himself.

"I will be home in a few days, Tanya," Dillon was telling his mate over the phone. She had called his cell phone several times and sent him text messages as well, all of which he had not responded to. To say the least she was ticked off.

"Why can't you tell me what you are doing? And don't tell me its pack crap, you always tell me what's going on between the packs." He could almost see her snarling at him as she spoke.

"It's not something to discuss over the phone, you are just going to have to trust me." Dillon was losing his patience.

"Dillon, just tell me."

"Enough!" Dillon growled.

Silence came across the phone, all he could hear was her breathing. "Tanya, I'm sorry love, I didn't mean to yell at you. I’m just a little stressed at the moment, will you please trust me? It wasn't right of me to leave without talking to you first, but what's done is done."

She didn't respond right away and Dillon was beginning to think she just might have hung up on him.

"I trust you, but you won't do this to me again, Mate. I am your Luna and deserve more thanthat." Her voice was calm and unwavering; she once again showed why she was his Alpha female. She was deceivingly small and quiet, but when Tanya needed to be Alpha she had no problem delivering.

"You are right, Luna. I won't let it happen again. I love you," Dillon told her just before he hung up.

He stood in his hotel room, nursing the scotch he had poured himself. He had called Logan and told him to pull the wolves back for now, that they would regroup in the morning. Logan insisted on staying at the hospital just to keep an eye on the Romanian pack. Dillon told him to make sure he stayed out of sight and didn't cause any problems. Dillon had underestimated Fane's reaction to his announcement that he would be taking Jacque home with him. He had no doubt what Vasile said was true, Fane would kill anyone or anything that kept him from his mate. Which is the way it should be, right? He would move heaven and earth for Tanya, the only reason he hadn't told her about Jacque was because he knew it was going to be one more reminder that she was not able to conceive. He didn't want his mate to hurt, to feel inadequate that she had not been able to bare him any pups. Dillon didn't care, he was perfectly happy with their life, or was, until he found out about Jacquelyn.

In truth he was once again being a coward, just like when he walked out on Lilly without a word. And now he had left without a word to his mate about a child he didn't know he'd had because he was afraid she wouldn’t want him to have a relationship with Jacque. He had a lot of groveling to do when he got back. First he had to set things straight with Jacque and Fane. He didn't want to lose her, but forcing her to come with him wasn't going to make her stay, he realized now, it would only drive her further away. He would tell her tomorrow that he had been wrong, and weren't those the hardest words for any Alpha to choke up. It seemed like those were the only words Dillon needed to say to the women he cared about.

Logan stood in the parking lot of the hospital. He had been watching and listening to any information he could get about what Vasile or Fane's plans were regarding Jacque. They didn't suspect anything of Dillon or his pack, even after Sorin, Fane's apparent childhood bodyguard, had found the mechanism he had placed on Lilly's vehicle. Vasile had decided it must have been the Coldspring pack retaliating, and sent two of his other wolves out to meet with their new Alpha. Of course, the new Alpha had no clue of the mutiny taking place in his own pack, so Logan was safe on that end. His next move was going to be to call Dr. Steele as plan B was going to have to be executed. Fane would not be leaving Jacque tonight, so they would just have to get Jacque to leave Fane. He pulled out his phone and mashed the number two where he had put the doctor on speed dial.

"Dr. Steele," she answered.