1

"Jen, you are not going back to the states so quit trying to pack your damn clothes," Sally growled. She intercepted Jen and snatched the pants she was carrying to an open suitcase, which lay haphazardly across the large four poster bed. Jen steadily ignored her and did an about face to the closet to grab more of her clothes.

"Would you please just talk to me? Please?" Sally's voice was beginning to take on a high-pitched whine.

"Oh, good grief. For the love of healthy ears everywhere, quit your belly aching," Jen snapped, the clothes in her hands growing more wrinkled by the second. "Sally, there is nothing to talk about, okay? It is what it is."

Sally threw her hands up in the air as she exhaled loudly. "No, it is not what it is, whatever the hell that means. It's a whole freaking lot more complicated than 'it is what it is'." Sally was beginning to get desperate, and although when Jen started this little stunt Sally thought that throwing her suitcase out of the window might be drastic – yeah, not so much anymore.

As Jen continued to throw clothes into the suitcase, Sally decided that desperate times called for desperate measures. She went over to the window and pushed it open. Without much grace, she managed to push the screen out and didn't blink when it tumbled down the side of the three-story mansion. Jen was still in the closet when Sally picked up her suitcase and began carrying it toward the open window.

"Put the suitcase down, step away from it slowly, and nobody gets hurt," Jen ground out as she came out of the closet.

"I'm sorry, Jen, but I can't let you leave. So, I'll risk your wrath and do whatever it takes to keep your cranky, sulky, continually pissed off butt in Romania."

Jen took a step towards Sally and the suitcase that was now teetering dangerously on the ledge of the open window.

"Back the hell off, Jennifer Adams." Sally tilted the suitcase back as if to let it fall. Jen continued to take slow, measured steps towards Sally, thinking that her usually mild-mannered friend wouldn't dare let go of the suitcase…She was wrong, so very wrong. Sally didn't just let go of the suitcase, she gave it a huge shove just as Jen lunged to grab it. Sally jumped back, slapping her hands over her mouth. She was nearly as surprised with herself as Jen was.

"What…how… why," Jen sputtered as she stared at Sally incredulously. "You bitch," she finally managed to spit out.

"It's for your own good, Jen. Really it is," Sally told her, backing away from the fuming Jen.

Jen leaned out the open window and saw the fate of her now scattered suitcase and clothes. She looked back at Sally, still shocked that her friend had pulled such a stunt. Shaking her head, she turned and headed towards the door of the bedroom.

"Where are you going?" Sally asked.

"Out," Jen growled as she pulled the door open.

"At least take a coat. It's cold out!" Sally yelled at Jen's retreating form.

Sally stood and stared. She didn't know if she had done the right thing, but she knew that Jen didn't need to leave. Sally couldn't explain the feeling, but something in her said that something bad would happen to Jen if she left Romania right now. She didn't try to examine the feeling; she just accepted it for what it was…for now.

Jen stormed down the long staircase, taking two at a time, all the while hoping she didn't pass anyone so she wouldn't have to talk. Once on the ground floor she made a right and headed down a long hallway. She passed the library, a sitting room, and the entertainment room before finally arriving at her destination. Without knocking, she threw the door open and walked inside.

"Jen, what can I do for you?" Vasile asked as he looked up from his desk.

Before she answered she shut the door behind her. Then, taking a deep breath, she turned back to Vasile.

"I can't stay here."

Vasile didn't look surprised at her admission and he didn't respond. Instead he waited for her to continue.

She took another deep breath and let it out slowly. "Look, I know you know what Dr. Steele told me about my blood results. Regardless of that, I can't change how I feel about a certain wolf. I can't change the fact that, wolf blood or not, I'm not his mate, and said wolf wants nothing to do with me. How do I know this, you ask?" Jen continued before Vasile could say a word. "Because he just up and left. Not so much as a 'see ya later, Jen', 'take care, Jen', 'goodbye, Jen', 'have a nice freaking life without me, Jen',"

Jen slapped her hand over her mouth, embarrassed that she had spilled all that to Vasile. She knew the only reason she was discussing this with Fane's father was because she was desperate to get away from this place. To get away from the only man – she’d come to realize over the past couple of months – that she loved. After Dr. Steele revealed to her that she had a minute, very minute amount of werewolf blood in her, she had thought that maybe there was a chance for her and the fur ball. That hope had been quickly doused when said fur ball up and disappeared. A week after Jacque and Fane's ceremony, Decebel had gotten in his Hummer and, without looking back, driven away from the pack mansion. And 62 days, 4 hours, and 22 minutes later he still hadn't returned. But who's counting?

"Didn't you just turn eighteen, Jen?" Vasile asked her.

Jen looked a little confused at his choice of response. "Umm, yes. I believe that loud racket you heard a couple of weeks ago was Sally and Jacque's idea of a birthday party. What does that have to do with me leaving?"

"If you are eighteen, Jen, you are an adult. I can't make you stay here. If you want to leave, if you really think that is the best thing for you, then you can go. I will allow you to use the pack plane to get back to the U.S. if that is truly what you want," Vasile explained.

Jen cocked her head to the side, eyes narrowed at the Alpha sitting calmly in front of her. "Just like that? No trying to convince me to stay, or telling me not to give up, or yada yada yada bull crap?"

"No 'yada yada yada bull crap'," he agreed.

"Huh, okay then. Let's do this," she stated.

"Now?"

"Yes, now. Is that a problem?"

Vasile picked up the phone, never taking his eyes off her. "Sorin, could you please come to my office?"

Jen took a seat in one of the chairs in front of Vasile's desk. Resting her hands on the chair arms, she couldn't keep her legs from bouncing up and down as she waited for Sorin to arrive. Vasile didn't say anything while they waited and that was just fine with Jen. She didn't want to listen to any more reasons about why she should stay. She heard the door open and close, and then Sorin stepped up beside her.

"What can I do for you, Alpha?" he asked Vasile.

"Jen has decided that she wants to go back to the U.S.," Vasile began, and to Sorin's credit he didn't so much as flinch in Jen's direction. "Could you please arrange for the plane to be ready? Get her things, drive her to the air strip, and make sure she gets on the plane safely."

"Of course." Sorin answered as if Vasile hadn't just told him Jen was leaving only two months after arriving.

As Jen stood up, she stopped Sorin from leaving with a hand on his arm. "Please, it's not necessary to get my things.” Sorin started to object but Jen cut him off. "Really, I'm good to go. Right now." She turned to Vasile, looking for some sort of confirmation that this was okay. After a moment of looking into her eyes, Vasile turned to Sorin and nodded once.

As they began to walk out of the office, Jen turned back to Vasile. "You won't tell anyone, will you? I mean, will you let me call them once I get back to the States?"

Vasile smiled gently. "I won't say a word."

She let out the breath she had been holding. "Thank you."

Jen sat in the passenger side of yet another Hummer, wrapped in a parka Sorin had grabbed. "What is with you wolves and Hummers?" she muttered grumpily.

"They do well in this climate," Sorin answered, never taking his eyes from the road.

Jen glanced at him briefly, then looked out the passenger window. Her mind wandered to a certain tall, dark, gorgeous werewolf that she so desperately wanted to see, yet longed to stab in the hand with a butter knife at the same time…funny how that temptation seemed to apply only to him.

Vasile waited until he heard Sorin pull away from the driveway before picking up his phone again. "I need to speak with you." He listened to the voice on the other end. "No, not necessarily right this minute, just in the next hour would be good." Ending the call, he immediately dialed another number and waited for an answer, a voice came on the line. "Stall," was all he said.

Vasile leaned back in his chair, folding his hands in his lap. He shook his head as he chuckled. Alina was going to scold him for meddling, as she would call it, but he was Alpha. It was his job to meddle, and he was good at it.