The look on Decebel’s face told her that if he could touch her in that moment he probably would have throttled her. She smiled to herself as she enjoyed the rage she brought out in him. Rage meant emotion, passion, and need. Maybe if she pushed just a little more he would finally let her in.

“Sally this is…” Costin took a step towards her but she was done listening. She turned on her heel and continued at a pace slightly faster than before.

Two long, and extremely frustrating days later…

Night had fallen more quickly Peri noticed and the hairs on the back of her neck rose. They'd finally stopped to make camp, though she hadn’t wanted to, because they were within a day, day and half tops, from the Romanian mansion. She had considered several times calling and just having one of those blasted males come get them, but she knew that would be a blood bath waiting to happen. So, because of the possessive, stubborn, albeit almost broken, werewolves, they got the wonderful experience of nearly running through the Carpathian Mountains . She watched as the males prepared the camp, gathering wood for a fire, and laying out pallets, all the while darting glances at their mates.

Jacque tried to keep her eyes from Fane, but since she had laid eyes on him from her window, her gaze had been for him and him alone. At one point, as she was empting her pack, she swore she felt his hot breath on the back of her neck and she had to bite her lip to hold back a moan. When she had turned to look at him, he had been on the other side of the fire, with an all too knowing smirk on his face. She had narrowed her eyes at him and, being the mature woman that she was, shot him the bird. She realized her mistake when he was suddenly in front of her, still not able to touch her, but that didn’t mean he didn’t affect her.

“Is that an offer, Luna? All you have to do is ask. Ask me baby.” His voice was a purr that made her shiver clear down to her toes. She hadn’t realized that she had been leaning towards him until Jen’s voice broke through the lust induced fog.

“Walk away from the sex on a stick Jacque,” Jen’s voice carried authority brought on by her Alpha status and it was almost enough to make Jacque obey—almost.

When she didn’t move she watched a triumphant smirk tug at his full, bitable lips.

“JACQUE!” Jen snarled. “I know it’s tough sweetie, believe me, I know how badly you want his hands on you, and his lips and his tongue and…”

“Jen!” Sally smacked her friend's shoulder.

“What?”

“Get to the point.” Sally rolled her eyes.

“Right, Jacque,” she started again, “as I said very truthfully, I know it’s hard.” Jen paused as she bit her lip. “Do you have any idea what I could do with that statement?” Jen groaned throwing her arms in the air.

“Jen, focus honey,” Sally tried a little more softly.

Jen nodded. “I’m good, I got this. Jacque, if you give in now, for the next hundred years every time you tell him no he’s going to be pulling up your skirt.”

That gotJacque’s attention. She pulled her eyes from Fane’s smoldering gaze and turned to look at Jen. The other girls around her were covering mouths attempting to keep laughter at bay.

“Did you just say…?”

Jen nodded. “Yes, yes I did. If he knows that rocking your world, well technically it would be your bed,” Jen tapped her cheek with a finger, “or the couch, or the kitchen table…”

“JENNIFER!” Decebel’s voice, bossy, dark, and sexy, brought chills to her skin.

“Right, focus,” she told herself. “If he knows that he has a sexual hold over you he will wield it fiercely. Oh damn,” Jen exclaimed, with a slap to her thigh. “There’s another one, can somebody please write this stuff down?”

Jacque took a step back from Fane, and then another and another. Jen let out a sigh of relief. “Finally, if I had to discuss sex as a weapon in any more detail to you I was going to have to give in and go rape my mate.”

A ripple of laughter flowed through the females and even the males cracked smiles at Jen’s words.

While Jen had been distracted, Decebel had moved silently behind her. He leaned as close to her ear as the magic would allow. He blew gently on it, knowing it was one of the things that drove her wild. He watched her shoulders tense. A slow smile formed and a feral gleam glowed in his eyes as he spoke. “You can’t rape the willing, baby.” Her moan was so low that he doubted anyone but him had heard it, and that was a good thing. He didn’t like her making those sounds with other males around, but it did stroke his ego to know that he, and he alone, could affect her this way.

Jen heard the low chuckle behind her and she fought through the desire as she whipped around to glare at her mate, only, he wasn’t there. Her eyes were pulled to where he stood, calmly leaning against a tree, arms folded across his chest, eyes glowing. He raised a single eyebrow at her and ran his tongue across his bottom lip. Jen cursed under her breath as she turned her back on him and stomped over to where Alina was sitting.

Decebel watched across the dancing flames of the fire as his mate turned away from him. His wolf snarled and he bristled at the blatant rebuff. He calmed himself with the knowledge that he had affected her. She may be able to push him away now, but it wouldn’t last. He was going to have to play dirty with his female. He grinned to himself at the pun that he knew she would appreciate. Once she was back in his arms, he would share it with her. He felt a bone deep ache at the thought of her in his arms, sharing laughs, whispering in her ear, enjoying her warmth, and her light. His wolf was becoming more and more insistent that they do whatever it was their mate needed to get her back where she belonged. He wanted to share everything with her, needed that closeness. Decebel closed his eyes as he felt the darkness inside him, invading his mind, fighting for his control. He knew what he needed, knew that if he didn’t take it, then the darkness that had nearly crushed him before Jennifer, and would consume him.