Jen flipped Sally off. "That's not the point. The point is that he thinks, for some reason, that he has the right to tell me what to do."

The girls headed up the stairs towards Jen's room.

Once behind her door, she threw herself on her bed and stared up at the ceiling.

"Are you okay?" Jacque asked with true concern in her voice.

"I'm just confused and all this vodka sloshing around in my brain is not helping matters."

"The vodka will do it every time," Sally put in. "Messes with the brain waves and whatnot."

Jacque looked at Sally."What the crap are you talking about?"

Sally shrugged. "I'm just saying."

Jen laughed. "That's my line, Thelma."

"My bad, Louise. I was just going with the moment," Sally joked.

Jacque sat down on the bed next to Jen. "I really think you need to talk to him. Be blunt. I mean, we both know you struggle with being blunt but you could give it a go."

Sally and Jen laughed at Jacque's sarcasm.

"I just don't know where it's going to get us," Jen said in exasperation.

"By the way..." Sally looked at Jen, crossing her arms across her chest. "When and where did you learn to speak Romanian exactly?"

"Yeah," Jacque added indignantly.

Jen laughed. "I got on the internet and picked out a few phrases that I knew, if I used at the right time, would get under Decebel's skin." Jen continued to grin. "Worked like a charm. Did y'all see his face?"

"What did you say?"

"When I spoke to Costin the first time – by the way, did y'all notice how drool worthy he is? Okay, not the point. Anyways, I said 'one little drink then, love?'"

Sally and Jacque both laughed.

"The second time I spoke to Costin," Jen continued, "I called him lover boy."

"Huh, no wonder Decebel blew a gasket," Sally voiced.

"So did you learn any more?"

"Oh yeah, but I'm saving them. It's got to be just the right moment and when he least expects it," Jen explained.

Jacque leaned her head down to her hands and rubbed her face, chuckling."I swear, Jen, I can't decide if you're a genius or a psycho."

"I admit it's a fine line," Jen said matter of factly, "and I'll be the first to confess that on any given day my toe grazes one side or the other."

All three laughed just as there was a knock at her door. They froze, looking at each other, then watched as the door opened.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Jen muttered under her breath. "Knock, wait, be invited in – it's really a simple concept. But does the pissy werewolf get it? Noooo, of course not. That would be too damn polite."

Decebel stepped in. His eyes landed on Jen and his large body seemed to cause the room to shrink. Jacque stood and started to walk away from the bed. Jen grabbed her hand, pleading with her eyes for Jacque to stay. Jacque shook her head and pulled her hand free.

"Talk to him," she mouthed to Jen.

As Sally and Jacque headed out of her room, Jen muttered under her breath, "Traitors."

Jen heard the click of the door as it closed, an ominous sound that caused goosebumps to cover her arms. She continued to lie back on her bed, but after several minutes of silence she finally sat up.

Jen looked at the wolf standing across her room. He had propped himself up against the wall, arms folded across his chest. The classic Decebel pose, she thought to herself with a mental chuckle.

Neither spoke as they both continued to stare at one another. Jen met his gaze head on but eventually allowed her eyes to wander. She would never get tired of looking at him. His dark hair was cut short on the sides, and longer on top, sweeping gently across his forehead. His warm amber eyes she swore could stare a hole in a person. He had a straight, tapered nose and full lips. His face was chiseled and smooth, as if carved from stone. He was handsome – very handsome.

She wasn't sure how tall he was but he matched Fane in height and Jen remembered Jacque saying Fane was 6'4". His broad shoulders filled out the snug, white t-shirt he wore. His skin tone was a warm golden tan, a color that would take Jen weeks of laying out in the sun to achieve. He had a narrow waist and long, powerful looking legs.

Decebel cleared his throat, causing Jen's head to snap back up to his face. He looked smug, which only served to tick Jen off more.

"What do you want, Decebel?" she asked, and was pleased that her voice sounded so steady when she felt anything but.

Decebel continued to stare at Jennifer, emotions swirling inside him that he couldn't seem to get a grasp on.

"I -" he started, but seemed to be confused about what to say. "You can't go around dancing on bars and downing vodka like it's water."

Jen stood up, arms stiff by her side. "Says who? You? Well, here's a news flash: you aren't my dad, you aren't my brother, and YOU AREN'T MY KEEPER." Jen's voice got louder as her anger flared.

"I'M YOUR M- " Decebel roared, pushing himself from the wall. But he caught himself before he finished his sentence, nearly biting his tongue in the process. His breathing had increased, he was shocked at the words that nearly flew from his lips.

He didn't understand where it had come from but it felt true, right. These thoughts sped through his mind in a matter of seconds. He continued to glare at her and spoke again, no longer yelling, but his words were firm. They were law. "I'm your Beta, and as such, you do take orders from me and you will follow them." Decebel cocked his head to the side, suddenly remembering something. "And where in the world did you learn Romanian?"

Jen grinned at that. "The internet is a wonderful place to learn new things, Beta. It would be a great place for you to learn a thing or two."

Decebel took a step towards her. "I have a feeling I'm quite a bit ahead of you in the education department of most areas." His eyes sparkled wickedly.

"Oh, my furry little friend, you would be surprised at what I know," Jen said, matching his suggestive tone word for word, syllable for syllable.

Decebel narrowed his eyes at her. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Jen shrugged as she turned her back on him, having learned from their lessons on pack etiquette it was a huge slap in the face to a dominant wolf. She heard Decebel growl and take a step towards her. My Beta, my ass, she thought as she continued to ignore the wolf stalking her.