Out of the Dark
Page 20

Decebel held up his hand to the two girls as he listened to Jen in his mind.
"Why are you acting so weird?"
He could hear pain in her voice and wondered if he was the cause of it. "She wants to know why I'm acting weird," Decebel told Jacque and Sally.
"Okay, Dec, you need to tell her she's talking to methrough you," Jacque instructed.
At the same time Decebel heard Jen say, "Is Jacque around? Put Jacque on the line."
Decebel looked over to Fane. "Are they always this bossy?"
Fane and Sally both looked deadpan at him, and at the same time replied, "Yes."
"Jen, I'm going to listen to Jacque talk and you are going to listen through me. I will then give her your response." Decebel explained.
"Ask her why the hell you're calling me Jen."
"She wants to know why the hell I'm calling her by her name."
Jacque raised a single eyebrow at him. "Are you calling her Jen?"
Decebel nodded.
"Yeah, that's not what you call her. You call her Jenniferor babyor smart ass, and even once I think you called her a mouthy little thing." Jacque waved her hand as she said, "Moving on. Okay. So, Jen, Decebel's been cursed." Jacque waited for Decebel to pass it on.
The girls watched as Decebel bowed his head and started shaking it from side to side. They looked at each other, confused by his behavior. Then his shoulders began to shake.
"Are you laughing?" Sally asked, bewildered.
Decebel finally composed himself and looked up. "She said, 'So someone else has cursed him. What's the big deal? I curse him all the time'."
They all started laughing; not only Jen's words, but at the puzzled tone with which Decebel relayed Jen's words.
Jacque rolled her eyes. "No, you dimwit. Cursed as in its 'Leviosa' not 'Leviosa'. Not curse as in dumb ass."
"She's asking why the hell you're quoting Harry Potteragain?" Decebel was getting more and more confused by the conversation the two girls were having--through his thoughts.
"Man, this would be easier if she had a cell phone," Sally grumbled.
Decebel looked at Jacque. "Let me try and explain, okay?"
"Go for it, lover boy."
"Jen, I was hit with a curse by a witch. According to Sally it affected my memory. There are huge holes I can't remember so much... I'm really struggling with this because I feel like there are some things that I should not have been able to forget."
Jen didnt respond right away. If he hadn't felt her in his mind he would have thought she was gone.
"You for-forgot me? You really don't know who I am." A statement. Her voice was so full of hurt that Decebel felt like hisheart was being ripped from his chest. "So you feel like you shouldn't have been able to forget your true mate?"
"Yes," Decebel answered honestly.
Jen didn't respond.
"I think I hurt her," Decebel confessed out loud.
"Of course you hurt her, you oaf, " Jacque growled. "Now that the cat is out of the bag, ask her where she is, if she's okay, and how we find her." Jacque was nearly on her feet. Only Fane's hand on her leg kept her from jumping up and pacing.
"Where are you?"
Soon Decebel cringed and looked back at Jacque. "Does she always talk so, so..." He growled as he tried to come up with the word.
"So sailor-like? Get used to it, Don Juan. Whatever she said, I promise you she has said worse," Jacque snapped.
"It just gets worse when she's stressed," Sally tried to reassure him.
"She's asking, 'What the hell does is matter where I am if my damn hairy, flea-infested mate doesn't know me from the next hot blonde on the street?"
"You left out some words, didn't you?" Jacque raised a single eyebrow at Decebel. "'Cause that's pretty mild for Jen."
Decebel snarled. "There's no reason to repeat everything she says. And why does she think I have fleas?"
"She thinks everything with fur has fleas. Dont take it personally." Jacque's tone was sharp, but she knew she shouldn't be taking her frustration out on Decebel.
"Luna, ease up on him." Fane gentled his words by rubbing Jacquelyn's back. She looked over at him and stuck her tongue out.
"I intend to take you up on that offer later."
"I've created a monster," Jacque told him, rolling her eyes.
"Oh, you have no idea, my love." Fane's smile spoke of wicked things.
Finally Jacque turned her attention back to Decebel, who was looking more and more concerned by the minute.
"Now she isn't responding to me," he told them as his brows drew together and his shoulders grew tense. It was obvious he was trying very hard to hold it together. It was then that Jacque realized that even though Decebel had lost some of his memory, he was still the same man. A possessive, bossy, controlling, dominant wolf. She imagined that the idea of not being able to fix this situation, of not being able to comfort Jen, was driving him crazy.
"Jen, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." Decebel tried to make sure she could feel the frustration and worry he was feeling.
Finally she responded. "Please stop calling me Jen. Call me anything but Jen. I just can't stand hearing your voice saying it."
Decebel looked at Sally. Sally winced at the pain she saw pooling in his amber eyes.