As the girls continued to practice, changing up different moves to make it flow better, they were completely clueless to the gathering audience outside the gym doors. A couple males from the Serbia pack had been coming to work out in the gym when they heard the girls' cheer. They stopped to look in before they entered and were surprised to see three of the unmated females from the Romanian pack.
"We really should leave," one of the males said as he continued to watch.
"Yeah, we should," his pack mate answered.
There was a pause.
"Go get some of the other guys. Oh, and grab my phone. Let's get this on video."
Decebel lay in his bed after reluctantly taking a shower. He hadn't wanted to wash Jennifer's scent from his skin. But he took solace in knowing that he would see her, touch her again in the morning.
After he dropped her off at her room he had gone to the workout room and ran off some of the adrenaline flowing through his veins after having been in such close proximity to Jennifer. He had to admit that he felt lighter, more in control now that they had talked and put all their cards on the table. He was relieved to hear that Jennifer felt as strongly towards him as he did her. Sometimes he wasn't sure. It felt so strange to him to feel insecure and worried that a female wouldn't like him. He grinned to himself. She did like him. A lot.
The issue hadn't really changed. He was still going to have to deal with other wolves showing interest in her. But it made him feel better knowing that she wasn't interested in them. That in her heart, it was him. He figured maybe he should be worried that she would indeed find her true mate among the other packs, but truthfully, regardless of the lack of mating signs, Decebel would bet his life that Jennifer Adams was his true mate.
There it is, he thought. I'm admitting it and accepting it – better than that, I'm embracing it. Decebel felt his wolf settle down for the first time in months. Finally, man and wolf were in harmony again.
Just as he began to close his eyes and drift off there was pounding on his door. Urgent pounding, not just an average knock. Decebel was at the door in one bound.
Costin was on the other side, looking a little nervous.
"What's going on, Costin?"
"Beta, it's 11.30. Do you know where your female is?"
Decebel might have appreciated the little joke, but Costin was referring to Jennifer, and implying she wasn't where he had left her.
"Tell me." Decebel's voice was a knife.
Costin's eyes widened and he started talking very fast. "I was going to the gym to work out and when I got down there I saw a bunch of the males from other packs looking in the gym windows. I heard voices, cheering female voices. When I got close enough to see...well, there was Jen, Crina, and Marianna."
Decebel pushed past Costin and was trying hard not to run. He needed to calm himself before he got there.
"What exactly are they doing?" he asked as Costin tried to keep up with his Beta.
Costin hesitated, but the cutting look Decebel sent him loosened his tongue. "They're doing some sort of cheer and dance," he said vaguely.
"Do I want to know what she's wearing?"
"Probably not."
"Bloody hell."
Costin remained silent the rest of the way.
Decebel heard snickers and male voices as he rounded the same corner Costin had only minutes before. He walked right up and the wolves parted like the red sea.
They all stared at Decebel, waiting for him to come unglued. Instead he plucked the phone from the nearest wolf, then looked at them all with glowing eyes.
"If you have been recording this you have five seconds to delete it."
There was sudden movement all around as buttons were pushed on phones.
"If I hear that any of you have not deleted it and are showing it to others, I will call you out, I will challenge you, and you will lose."
Decebel met the eyes of the wolves and each dropped theirs quickly.
"Are we clear?"
"Yes, Beta," they said in unison. The power coming off Decebel was raw and strong. It took even the more dominant wolves effort to not collapse under it.
"Good. Now go before I decide that I don't care about keeping the peace between our packs."
The wolves were nearly all gone before he had even finished speaking. Smart wolves, he thought.
Before Decebel opened the gym door, he looked at the phone he had taken and pushed the play button on the video. Decebel's eyes grew wider with every word, every hip gyration, every bend, every come hither look he watched his mate perform. After standing in shock for a moment, he pressed the delete button and handed Costin the phone.
"When I open this door, Costin, I want you to escort Marianna and Crina to their rooms. You are to stay outside their doors the remainder of the night."
"Yes, Beta," Costin complied.
Decebel reached for the gym door. He took a deep breath and told his wolf to cool it, but he knew his eyes still glowed.
"Okay, this will be the last time," Jen panted, it had been a while since she'd gotten this much exercise. "Then I think we can call it a night."
"I'm pretty sure the night has been called."
The three girls froze at the sound of the voice behind them.
"Crap, crap, crap," Jen muttered to herself.
"Crina, Marianna." Decebel's voice was not harsh, but firm. He meant business. "Costin will escort you to your room. Do not leave it until it's time for breakfast in the morning."
Neither girl spoke as they walked towards Costin.
Crina looked up as she passed Jen and mouthed, "Sorry."
Jen gave a shrug, then took a deep breath and turned to face her Beta.
"Fancy meeting you here," she flirted.
The look in his eyes said that wasn't going to work. One thing Jen was quickly learning about Decebel – his emotions very rarely ruled him. With her, they occasionally broke free of their cage. And in times like this, when he'd decided he was right and that she was going to obey, nothing could sway him.
"I distinctly remember dropping you off at your room, Jennifer,"
"Well...I wasn't really tired and Crina and Marianna said they wanted to get some exercise, so -"
"Why is it that you did not procure an escort to the gym? Why exactly did you think it a good idea to prance around in your sleep attire without any sort of protection in a mansion full of unmated male wolves?" Decebel took slow, measured steps towards her as he spoke. "Please tell me, because I know there has to be an earth-shattering reason for why you did something so haphazard and dangerous."