Jericho took his leave and made his way back up to the front of the bar. His nose twitched at Sally’s scent lingering in the hall. She’d been there very recently. As soon as he rounded the corner, he saw the note under the bottle of vodka; it was the only bottle out of line of the others. He snatched it up and unfolded it. His eyes scanned it and he let out a breath.

“Jericho, I know you wanted to do lunch but I really just want a break from the bar. I’m going to head to the beach for the day. I’ll call you when I get home. Xoxo, Sally.”

Nothing in the note aroused his suspicions. There was no hint that she might have heard their conversation earlier. He was actually glad she wasn’t going to be hanging around the bar today, just in case Peri or her little spies were watching.

Cross was right, Perizada was a game changer. He’d have to move up the timetable. When Sally called him tonight, he’d seduce her and claim her as his own. He didn’t have time to make sure she was head over heels in love with him. He already knew she was infatuated with him. That would have to do for now.

Chapter 16

“Yes, I would like fries with my order of the world is coming to an end, just quit trying to save it. I think that’s the #544 value meal.” ~Jen

Jacque had no clue what Cyn was talking about, but by the looks on some of the other faces it was clear that she’d just dropped a bomb on them and the aftermath wasn’t pretty.

“What is the Order of the Burning Claw?” she asked Fane silently.

Her oh so helpful mate just shrugged his shoulders. He and Decebel had both been short and snarly with her and Jen since they’d returned from the horrible scene in the forest. Something was wrong and it wasn’t just the shock of Costin going feral.

“The Order?” Vasile’s voice had deepened as his wolf, who he rarely lost control of, surged forward. His eyes flashed and his canines lengthened as he visibly fought for control. Jacque found herself taking a step back from her father-in-law. It wasn’t until Alina placed her hand in his that he was able to bring his wolf to heel.

“Interesting you should say that, Cyn,” Peri spoke up, though she looked like she’d rather shoot herself in the foot with a nail gun than address this audience. “I too seemed to have stumbled across something that has to do with the Order during my own investigations.”

“Spill it, Peri Fairy,” Jen called out. She started to take a step toward the fae but Decebel’s large arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her to his chest. Jen looked down at the offending appendage and then turned her head to look up at her mate. He was looking at Peri. When Jen’s eyes landed on Jacque, all she could do was shrug.

“First, can we please thin out some of these stragglers?” Peri asked. “The information I have is only for absolute need-to-know individuals. The babes and their nursemaids can be on their way.”

“Oh man, you did not just call Alina a nursemaid,” Jen laughed, still stuck in the hold of her mate.

Alina smiled at Jen before turning to say something in Vasile’s ear. Then she kissed him and moved toward Fane and Jacque.

“Say goodnight,” she told them as she held Slate out. Jacque took him and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. Then Fane did the same, but he was very reluctant to give over his son.

Jacque nudged him. “We need to be here. Slate will be fine with your mom.”

Fane handed the little bundle to Alina and then pressed a gentle kiss to his mother’s cheek. He watched her until the door closed behind her blocking his view. She started to step around him to talk to Jen but Fane pulled the same act as Decebel. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back to his chest.

“What’s up, wolf-man?” she asked him as she turned her neck so that she could look up at him.

“You’re mine,” he said simply.

Jacque frowned. It was something he hadn’t said in quite a while, mainly, she thought, because it wasn’t necessary. She bore his marks, his bite, and even his child. How much more his could she possibly be?

“Yes. Are you worried that my status is going to change?”

He growled and his blue eyes lit up as his wolf stared down at her. Okay, so that had been the wrong thing to ask. If his comment had surprised her, it was nothing compared to what he did next.

To Jacque’s complete shock, Fane used his free arm to move her hair off of her shoulder, exposing her neck. She knew what he would see, what anyone would see—his bite mark. But him looking at it wasn’t what shocked her. Fane turned them so that his back was to the room and no one could see her smaller frame. His breathing was rough and there was a persistent rumble in his chest.

“Fane?”

He didn’t answer. He bit.

She felt his teeth before she felt his lips latched onto her skin. He was marking her, again, in a room full of people. Jacque stood very still as her own wolf stirred inside of her. Her wolf wanted to submit to him, to comfort him, and calm the wildness that was riding him. Jacque wanted to know what the hell was wrong. Sometimes she and her wolf didn’t see eye to eye.

When he finally pulled his teeth from her flesh, he licked the wound several times. She felt the contentedness of his wolf, but she also picked up on the desire running through the man. She cleared her throat as Fane’s tongue moved from cleaning his mark to doing other things on her neck—things not okay to do in his father’s office, filled with people.

“Fane,” she growled at him. He didn’t stop licking her. His tongue was doing wicked things to her collar bone and now her wolf was perking up and definitely interested in what their mate was doing. Dang hussy, Jacque thought. When the arm that was around her waist started to move and his hand began slipping under the hem of her shirt, she knew it was a drastic measure kind of situation.

Jacque pulled her foot up and slammed it down on Fane’s. Nothing. He didn’t even flinch and his hand was still on a road trip to places that shouldn’t be seen by others.

“I really didn’t want to have to do this, babe. But you leave me no choice,” she muttered as she tilted her head back further, as if she was giving him better access. His own head lowered placing his ear within reach of her mouth. Jacque took it between her teeth and bit—hard.

Fane snarled as he pushed her away from him. His narrowed eyes were still glowing.