"Who was your father?" Jen asked.
She almost could hear him take a deep breath before he spoke.
"He was the Alpha of the Western Romanian pack." Decebel waited for her response. He figured she probably didn't know that at one time the Romanian pack was divided.
"When was your father Alpha?"
Decebel's brow furrowed. Wasn't she going to ask him about the pack being divided?
"After the werewolf wars. The previous Alpha was killed during them. I think his name was -"
"Gavril," Jen finished for him.
Decebel couldn't believe she knew this. It wasn't something that was ever talked about in casual conversation. How could she know?
"Yes, Gavril. My father was his Beta.” Decebel paused uncomfortably.“...My father died in 1905 after my mother, Eveline, was shot and killed by poachers. They'd mistaken her for a wild wolf. I was only 20 human years old, making me one of the youngest Alphas in our history."
This time he did feel her surprise. So she hadn't known that he had been an Alpha.
"You were an Alpha?" Jen knew the awe she felt filled her voice.
"Yes."
"So what happened? Why are you not one anymore?" Decebel could feel her interest, her desire to know more about him. For some reason that made him feel proud. His wolf was strutting, like a young pup trying to catch a female's attention.
"When my sister Cosmina died I lost it. I went into a fit of rage that became dangerous to all those around me. I remember Vasile coming to me, I remember dissolving the Western Romanian Pack and declaring a merge, but after that I don't remember what happened. I do know gave up my last name. I had disgraced my family by not protecting my sister – I didn't deserve to carry my father's name."
Jen could feel Decebel's pain at losing his sister, and the shame he thought he should carry. But she knew better. Even Alphas couldn't save everyone.
"Decebel, Alphas aren't infallible. You should not be ashamed of what happened that day. No one could've predicted what some idiot wolf would do. You are an amazing man, and when you claim someone as yours you do everything in your power to protect them. But you aren't perfect and no one expects you to be."
"You speak as if you know me." Decebel couldn't hide the emotion that her words evoked in him.
"I do know you." Jen's voice was soft as she responded to the emotion she felt coming through their bond.
"I wish I knew you that well."
"You will," Jen promised. "I won't give you up, Decebel. Sorry, but you are stuck with me."
She could feel Decebel's joy.
"Sally showed me pictures of you on her phone," he mentioned suddenly.
Jen stilled at his comment. Her eyes flew open and met the ceiling she laid beneath, tracing along the wood beams that ran horizontally across the room. Her breathing increased and right then and there she planned to kill Sally as soon as she saw her.
"Did she now?" Jen asked carefully. "And what did you think?"
"I hoped that one day you would be bonded to me so the sheet was no longer necessary."
Jen felt blood rush to her face, the heat of embarrassment washing over her. Yep, Sally was a dead gypsy healer.
"Don't be embarrassed, Jennifer. I think you are beautiful."
"Yes, well, I didn't exactly expect the first thing shown to my mate who doesn't remember me to be me in a sheet."
"I'm not complaining." She heard laughter in his voice and she soaked it up as if it were the last drop of water she would ever feel on her skin.
"I'm sure you're not."