"She made you promise to get her friends to safety first."
"And I listened to her? I put her friends before my own mate?!"
Vasile laughed.
"Why are you laughing?" Decebel's brow furrowed as he watched his Alpha in confusion.
"You're mate can be quite convincing when she needs to be. She pretty much told you that if you came for her without taking care of her friends first that she would never forgive you. And you knew that she spoke the truth. If there is one thing Jen is, it's loyal, fiercely loyal to those she loves."
"So she's out there, hurt and alone in this freezing cold?" Decebel realized that even though he didn't know this girl, didn't know what he was supposed to feel for her, he still wanted to save her – he wanted a chance to meet her.
"We will find her." Vasile's words were absolute. He would accept nothing less than Jen's safe return and his Beta's memory restored. And the witch who dared touch what was his, well, he wanted her head on a stick. Violent, definitely. But then, he was Alpha and nobody hurt what was his.
"So what's the plan?" Decebel asked. He refused to sit idly by just because he couldn't remember things. She was pack. He would do whatever he needed to protect that pack.
"We do need to make a plan. Meet me in the back room of the tavern. I will go and get the others."
The Alpha and his Beta began to walk back towards the tavern.
Decebel continued on when Vasile stopped to talk with the tavern's owner.
"I will compensate you well for the time you allow us to stay," he told Nicolae, a short middle aged man with a round belly and five o'clock shadow. He had an easy smile and, from what Vasile could see, he was a gentle soul. Vasile spoke in their native tongue, wanting to befriend the gentleman and create a comradeship with him.
"I have heard you have a member of your family missing?" Nicolae asked.
"Yes. We were having a family gathering and the girl got lost in the woods. We will be here until she is found."
"Anything that I can do, I will. For now, I'll have meals readied for your family."
Vasile nodded. "That would be great. I will send some of my people to help you prepare and gather whatever you need. Thank you."
Chapter 5
Decebel watched as Vasile and Alina came into the back room. Following them was Sorin, Skender, and then others that smelled like pack, but that he had no memory of.
He noticed that the healer and the red head kept sneaking glances at him. It was obvious that they knew him, but no matter how hard he tried, they remained black voids in his mind.
"Alright, daddy-o. Let's get this party started." Jacque clapped her hands together, punctuating her obvious eagerness.
"Fane." Vasile's voice was a warning.
"Luna, sit," Fane growled at Jacque.
Jacque glared at her mate, but acquiesced while murmuring, "You are so going to pay for that later."
Fane groaned. "As my bonded mate you have way too much power over me."
Jacque laughed out loud. "That, my love, is because you are male and therefore easily distracted by all things female. Which works to my advantage when you are being a butt head."
Fane chuckled as he tugged a strand of her hair in mock retaliation.
Meanwhile, a semi-circled formed around Vasile and Alina at the front of the room. As everyone got settled in, Costin took the wall directly behind Sally, looking every bit the role of sentinel. A fire burned directly behind all of them in a large stone fireplace casting shadows over the room adding to the mystery that held them all captive.
As the room quieted, the popping of burning wood and crackling flames filled the heavy silence. Vasile stood, but remained silent as he looked at each member of his pack, each member that he had chosen because of their fierce love and loyalty for one another. Not that others in the pack wouldn't give their all, but Vasile knew this group had grown close. That's what happened when people went through the fire together. Like heated metal, they began to soften, and when pushed together, their emotions and loyalty became soldered, no longer separate pieces. As they left the fire, cooling, that joining was permanent and unbreakable.
That kind of bond was what it was going to take to get through this. Vasile was under no illusions that before the end, tears would be shed, pain would threaten to tear them apart, and blood would coat the walls. Yes, it would take the bond forged in fire to walk through the hell they were going to soon face.
Very soon.