Chapter 7

Mona's eyes were closed as she stood at the edge of the forest. Night had turned into day, and snow had begun to fall. The cold mountain air whipped her midnight hair around her face. Her body was relaxed, but her focus was relentless. While she had been casting the spells on the Romanian wolves, she had felt it. A current of power. Not dark power, not witch power. It had been centuries since she had felt the smooth, cool tendrils of Fae magic, but she had felt it early this morning while the moon still shown and the fire had roared through the silent sky. She had felt Fae power, and beneath that was something even more subtle. Gypsy. And this wasn't a young, new gypsy like the one in the Romanian pack. This was old blood-powerful magic.

Mona continued to send her will out into the trees and over the snow-covered mountains, over rocks, plants, dirt, and the lives of the wildlife seeking shelter there. As she sought her quarry, she thought back to the last time a gypsy healer was known. Three centuries had passed since then, nations had risen and fallen, civilization had grown and evolved, and all manner of technology now ruled the world. But even with all those changes, some things remained the same. Gypsy healers would always be where Canis lupus roamed. She knew that Melinda's daughter hadn't died. She had felt when Melinda had been slain, felt the life force drain from her body. But not Rachel.

Mona had searched for decades without so much as a wisp of power. She had come to the conclusion that the Fae must have helped the gypsy and her mate to hide. No mere gypsy healer could stand against Mona's power. She was the most powerful witch that her coven had ever known.

When the Fae came in and wiped out the covens that were scattered over the Eastern world, Mona had done what any smart predator does- she took to ground to bide her time.

The Fae had decided that the witches were becoming too powerful and needed to have their population downsized. It worked better than they anticipated. Mona knew of no other witches that had survived.

After her people had been wiped from the earth, Mona found refuge with the Serbian pack. The Alpha had wanted the healer from the Western Romanian pack, wanted her bad enough to hire a witch, and by doing so isolated himself and his pack from the other Canis lupus.

Mona had agreed to his terms. She would get him the healer and he would protect her from any foe until she could regain her power. She was still powerful, even after the Fae, but she had been cloaking herself for so long and it was draining her.

What the Serbian pack Alpha didn't know was that Mona had her own reasons for wanting the gypsy healer. These reasons had nothing to do with the Alpha and had everything to do with making her the most powerful witch ever to walk the earth. Mona was old. She'd been old three centuries ago. She remembered things long forgotten about the supernatural beings. She remembered why gypsy healers were prized not only by werewolves, but by witches and Fae alike.

"Where are you, little gypsy?" she whispered. "You can't hide forever." Mona opened her eyes, scanning the forest.

Whatever she had felt earlier was now gone. She wasn't discouraged; Mona knew that hunting supernatural prey took time. Luckily for her, time was something she had plenty of.

As she turned to leave, she began to hear the chorus of Electric Light Orchestra's song "Evil Woman." Mona smiled to herself. So, maybe the ringtone was a little much.

I'm a witch, she thought. Surely, no one would expect her ringtone to be "Lean on Me."

"What?" Her words were clipped as she answered.

"I need to know what your plans are," Thad answered.

Mona rolled her eyes. She was so sick of answering to the wolves. But when she finally had the healer, they would no longer hold any power over her.

"I've made my move. Now it's time to let the Alpha make his. Sometimes, Thad, the best course of action is to wait and watch."

"Fine. I expect you to keep me updated."

"Careful, wolf. Do not think to give me orders like I am one of yours. You do not want me as your enemy." Mona ended the call just as Thad began to respond. She didn't have time to argue with the overbearing wolf. She needed to do some searching through the archives that she'd rescued from the Purge. She needed to know who could have helped Rachel remain in hiding and she needed to find a weakness she could exploit.

Mona had plenty to do, but Thad didn't need to know that. The thought of doing her own research reminded her that Vasile, the Alpha of the Romanian Grey Wolves might be doing the same thing. Vasile was smart. He had to be to have lasted this long and be this powerful. It only made sense that he would do his own digging, especially since the Canis lupus seemed to have disregarded witches altogether. So perhaps it was time to pay a visit to the powerful Alpha's home. After all, while the wolf is away, there's room for the witch to play.

Mona laughed to herself. I must be getting old if something so simple is funny to me, she thought. She grinned as she swept her deep red cloak around her.

After sending out a mental call, she waited. Soon hoof stomps became audible and a second later there stood her black-as-night steed.

"Ahh, Octavian, my faithful friend." Octavian was the eighth in his line to serve the witches, hence his name. He was a steed of old, his life supernaturally long, just as his sires before him. The witches had begun breeding them further back than Mona could remember.

"Let's go on a journey," she told him as she swung up onto his back. She didn't disrespect him with a saddle. She knew that he didn't have to serve her. He, like any supernatural being, had magic of his own. Octavian turned and headed in the direction he had come, away from the crumbled mansion and the woods that held the secrets that Mona hoped soon to uncover.

Decebel took a deep breath as he waited for Jen to answer him. He didn't have to wait long.

"Where have you been? Why have you been blocking me? Do you have any idea how worried I've been? Do you know what I've been through?" Jen's questions were like a gun going off in his head.

"Are you talking to Jen right now?" Jacque asked as she watched Decebel's eyes get bigger and bigger.

Decebel nodded once, then with a wrinkled brow he asked, "Does she have an off switch?"

"We've been looking for one for years," Sally offered, "but it's a no go."

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 at Jen's words, but at the comical tone with which Decebel relayed them.

Jacque rolled her eyes. "No, you dimwit. Cursed as in its 'Leviosa' not 'Leviosa.' Not curse as in dumb ass." Decebel relayed the message.

"Now 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 that 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 didn't 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 simple but powerful statement. Her voice was so full of hurt that Decebel felt like his heart 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 correct 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 it 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 asked. "'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. Don't 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 that 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, and 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 that 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.

"She told me to quit calling her Jen; to call her anything but Jen."

"Just because you don't remember her doesn't mean that she isn't your mate, Decebel." It was Cynthia who spoke this time. "Do you feel anything when you hear her voice?"

"My wolf stirs at the sound. She brings him peace."

"Try to imagine how she is feeling," Cynthia told him. "She's just found out that the man she loves, the man who has done nothing but protect her, pursue her, and make her feel like the most cherished woman on earth, doesn't remember her. Give her this simple thing. Call her Jennifer."

Decebel tried to reach out to Jen again, but she pulled back. It was like a punch to his gut.

"I just need some time, Decebel. Please. Just -" He felt her pain-could nearly feel the tears that streaked her face. "I just need some time." And then she was gone.

Sally, Jacque, Fane, Costin, Cynthia, and Crina all watched in shock as Decebel-big, strong, immovable Decebel-lost control.

Decebel shot up from the ground and with wolf borne speed was across the room, grabbing chairs and shattering them against the wall. They splintered, hitting the walls with such force that the tavern shook. Decebel snarled, continuing to wreak havoc on everything in his path. His howl of pain swept through the building, bringing everyone to their knees as power rolled off of him.

Suddenly the door to the room flew open and Vasile stormed in. His own power filled the room, wrapping around Decebel and pulling him down.

"Settle, Beta." Vasile's words were firm, laced with the promise of retribution if his Beta did not get himself under control.

Decebel bowed his head.

"I've failed her. I don't remember her, but even as I stand here, I can feel my wolf snarling at me. My own wolf reprimanding me for not taking care of her."

"Are you telling me your wolf remembers her?" Vasile asked.

"I don't know if he remembers her as our mate, but he feels a connection to her, wants to protect her." Decebel looked around the room, shame filling him at the evidence of his loss of control. "I will fix this, Alpha," he told Vasile.

"Yes, you will. You can't help her if you can't keep yourself under control."

Decebel nodded but didn't say anything more.

"We will help him," Sally offered.

Costin looked over at her and she blushed at the approval shining in his eyes.

"That isn't necessary," Decebel told her.

"I didn't ask for your permission. We are pack. What's the point of being pack if we don't share each other's burdens?"

"Well said, healer." Vasile smiled at Sally. He could already tell that she was going to be a very special addition to his pack.

It had taken the rest of the day for Decebel and the others to get the room cleaned and salvage as many of chairs as they could. He'd met with the owner and told him that he would pay for the damage and buy the inn all new chairs. Thankfully, Nicolae was very understanding and took things in stride.

That evening, Decebel looked out of the second story window of the quiet room where he sat. Light from the lanterns flickered, casting eerie shadows across the walls; a fire burned behind him in one of the many fireplaces that occupied the tavern. His back was warm from the heat, but the cold that ran across his face and chest remained. There were beds lining the walls, side by side across both sides of the room. Later, he would share this room with the others from his pack, but for now he had told everyone that he needed to be alone. He needed to see if he could get Jennifer to speak to him. He was worried about her; about how she had sounded the last time they had spoken through the intimate bond they shared.

Decebel pulled his phone out when he felt it vibrate. Vasile had sent him a text asking if he was alright. Decebel smiled, amazed at how much Vasile cared for his wolves. Decebel responded and started to put the phone away before noticing a past text from Jennifer. His heartbeat increased as he opened up the text message and his breath caught as he read their playful correspondence.

When he scrolled through it, certain things grabbed his attention. He called her baby, told her she was his. He'd even told her to keep her clothes on. He would have to ask Jacque and Sally about that one. They teased each other through the texts and it was evident that there was an easy intimacy between them. His heart began to ache as he read the messages over and over. Before Cosmina's death he had longed for a mate, longed for what he had obviously just lost with Jennifer. He remembered that after Cosmina had died he had sworn that he would never take a mate. Never again had he wanted the responsibility for another's life, or the possibility that he might fail again. Now, reading these texts, he knew that he would do anything to gain his memories back. He would do anything to have this woman who obviously loved him, and he her, back in his arms.

"I found the text messages between us." Decebel pushed his thoughts as hard as he could against her shields. He felt bad forcing his way into her mind, but not bad enough not to do it. He felt empty, alone without her presence in his mind.

"Jennifer, please talk to me," Decebel pleaded.

"And what exactly would you have me say? Hey there, I know you don't remember me but I love you more than life itself and can't stand being without you. I can barely breathe from being away from you. I'm hurting and scared and pissed. Is that what you want to hear? Do you want to hear how my heart is breaking and my soul feels like it's been ripped in two? Or maybe you'd like me to tell you how all I can think about is the last time you held me in your arms, the last kiss you gave me, the last time I heard you speak to me with recognition. What should I say, Decebel?"

Decebel closed his eyes as he soaked up her pain.

"I know I've hurt you and I'm sorry. I can tell from these texts that I loved you,"

Jennifer interrupted him before he could say more, and the catch in her voice nearly brought him to his knees, "Loved - past tense. Wow, that is rich. That's the icing on the proverbial cake, fur ball. Thank you for that."

"JENNIFER STOP!" Decebel roared through their bond. "I'm not giving up on us. I'm not going to stop until I find you and until the curse is destroyed. No, I don't remember you, but everyone tells me you are precious to me. Something in me tells me that they are right. I will find you, but until then... just let me court you all over again."

"Um, news flash, Dec. You never really courted me in the first place. You pretty much told me that I was yours and nearly killed any other man or wolf who breathed too close to me." He could hear her sarcasm and took that as a good sign, like maybe he had gotten through to her.

"And how exactly do you plan to court me, B?" she asked him.

"B?"

"For Beta. Although I reserve the right to use it to call you a female dog when I deem it necessary."

Decebel grinned. She was a feisty one that was for sure.

"Well, I've got all night. How about we get to know one another again?"

He waited to see what she would say and didn't even realize that he was holding his breath until he released it when she responded.

"Okay."

"Before we go any further, I need to know, are you safe? Is anyone hurting you?"

"I'm safe. I'm hurting, but only because I fell into a deep hole in the ground."

Decebel decided to wait to address that. First, he would deal with her emotions and help put her at ease.