Piercing Silence
Authors: Quinn Loftis
Piercing Silence
Grey Wolves Series Novella
Quinn Loftis
Published by Quinn Loftis Books LLC
@Smashwords
© 2015 Quinn Loftis Books
LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this
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this author.
Book Rangers - PleX
Lectio Facit Liber
Dedication
To all the readers who have stuck with this
series for 8.5 books!
Acknowledgments
As usual there are many
people to thank when it comes to finishing a book. Thank you to
God, first and foremost, for blessing me and for loving me. Thank
you to my husband for being so very understanding, patient and
helpful. I couldn’t do this without you and I’m so thankful that
you are mine. Thank you to my son Travis for his patience with me
for all the times I’ve had to say
I’m
writing right now, buddy.
You are truly
one of a kind and I’m blessed to get to be your mother. Thank you
to Candace Selph for being a great PA, an amazing friend and sister
in Christ. Your opinion and input is invaluable to me. Thank you to
Kelli Cole, the greatest nanny ever and an amazing friend. I truly
appreciate your encouragement and help, there are many days I
wouldn’t have been able to get any writing done had you not been
there. Thank you to everyone who has put up with me throughout this
pregnancy, while I wrote a book about a pregnant character. I know
I’ve been a total pain, and frankly I’ve gotten on my own nerves. I
truly am thankful for so many people who love me through the
difficult times.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
“MAKE IT STOP! FANE,
PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!” Jacquelyn’s cries pierced to the deepest part
of his soul. Fane stood frozen, staring at his mate, unable to move
any closer to her as she reached for him and begged him to make
it—make
them―
stop. His heart was being squeezed by an invisible fist as
his stomach threatened to crawl out of his throat. How could it be
happening again? Hadn’t they been rescued from the In-Between? How
had he managed to find himself deep in the bowels of hell once more
unable to save his mate?
“Fane.” A soft voice reached into his mind
attempting to block out the screams of agony.
“Fane. Wake up, wolf-man. Wake up and come
back to me.”
He fought for the consciousness that his
mind so desperately needed in order to escape the memories, and if
it wasn’t for her― Jacquelyn, his mate, his love―he would be lost
to them.. Only her voice, only her touch, or only her soul could
soothe the wounds that just kept coming back.
His eyes slowly began to open and it took a
moment until his vision was clear and he could see her face―her
unmarred, tear free, beautiful face―staring down at him. The room
was dark around them with only the soft glow of the moonlight
reaching through the window. It lit up Jacquelyn’s hair in a soft
fiery glow, as though a halo of flames framed her features.
“Are you back with me?” she asked softly as
she picked up his hand and pressed it to her cheek. She was warm
and full of life, and not just her own.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked as he took his
free hand and pressed it to her stomach. Now in her second
trimester, she was finally beginning to show signs, more than just
nausea, that she carried their child.
“You weren’t moving this time, just
growling.” Jacquelyn smiled down at him as if he were her world and
not her unbalanced mate that was, once again, slowly coming
undone.
“I need to speak with my father.” Fane
pressed a kiss to her lips and gently laid her to the side as he
got up from their bed. He knew it was still hours until daylight,
but this couldn’t wait. For a time he had gotten better.
Jacquelyn’s light seemed to be able to keep the darkness from
consuming him, but gradually, over the past few months, it had
slowly begun to return. He slipped on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt
and glanced back over his shoulder at his mate. Jacque didn’t move;
she only stared after him. There was no condemnation in her gaze
only complete adoration.
“I’ll be waiting for you,” she told him with
a patient smile. “Just remember I’m here if you need me.”
“I always need you, Luna. I just—” he
paused.
She shook her head. “Don’t worry about me,
or us. As long as you keep the lines of communication open, we’re
fine. Go talk to your father; see if he can help banish your
demons.”
As he walked the long hall toward his
Alpha’s room, Fane tried to figure out what exactly was causing all
of the turmoil. “Demons is right,” he muttered under his breath
when he could not pinpoint any one thing that could be triggering
the nightmares. He thought he’d let it all go: the pain, horror,
and fear of all that he’d seen. He’d thought the torture that
Desdemona had inflicted upon him had died right along with her. He
had been wrong.
Once he reached his parents’ door he paused
and raised his hand to knock. But before he could, Fane heard his
father’s voice.
“It’s unlocked, Fane. Come in.”
Fane pushed the door open and found his
father sitting on a large couch in front of the fireplace, though
no flames danced in its depths. He glanced toward his parents’ bed
and saw a large hanging curtain drawn shut separating the room.
“She’s still sleeping,” Vasile said softly
as he motioned for him to sit.
“Did you know I was coming?” Fane asked. He
took the seat to the left of his father, though he didn’t sit back
and get comfortable. He sat perched on the edge with his elbows
resting on his knees.
“I woke feeling a disturbance in the pack
bonds. It’s hard to go back to sleep when that happens. I had a
feeling it was you,” he answered honestly. “Are things with you and
Jacque alright?”
Fane rubbed his hands together roughly as he
nodded. “We’re fine, better than fine, actually. Except for the
nightmares.”
“They’re back.” Vasile didn’t voice it as a
question.
“It is as real to me as if I was still
there,” Fane admitted. “The smells, the sounds, and even the things
I touch seem real. I honestly don’t know if I would be able to wake
from it without her help.”
Vasile’s lips turned up in an understanding
smile. “True mates, they are an amazing blessing. We need them more
than we realize.”
“Is this to be my life now? Am I to be
forever traumatized by something the other males have been able to
move past? What kind of leader will I be if I can’t vanquish a
memory?”
Vasile leaned forward, mimicking his son’s
pose. His eyes narrowed as his face grew taunt. “Memories,
especially painful ones, are often more difficult to defeat than a
living, breathing foe standing before you. A foe cannot seep into
the depths of your mind and poison you by replaying the slight over
and over. It’s like riding a Ferris wheel that never stops, but
only gets faster and faster. With each rotation, you get sicker and
sicker. It does not make you weak, Fane. It simply makes you a man.
We are not gods, though we are blessed with long life. We are
neither all knowing nor infallible. We are but mere men, with a
beast living inside of us. And so it is not just the man that has
to defeat the memories, it is the wolf as well.
“The fact that you are seeking out help
tells me you will be a great leader. A wise man never tries to do
on his own what he can instead do with the help of those who love
him and want to see him succeed.”
Fane held his father’s stare for three
heartbeats before finally dropping his eyes. The words his Alpha
spoke were true, he knew that, and yet it didn’t give Fane the
power to release whatever it was he was holding onto.
“How is my grandchild doing? Growing big and
strong and driving his mother crazy already?” Vasile’s voice had
lost its edge and instead was full of playful mischief.
“You do realize that she hasn’t given birth
to him yet, right?” Fane asked with a small smile of his own.
Talking about his pup was one of the few things that could put a
smile on his face as of late.
“Yes, yes.” Vasile waved absently. “But that
doesn’t mean he isn’t giving her hell while still cooking.”
Fane chuckled. “You are so sure it is a boy,
and yes he, or she, does keep Jacquelyn on her toes with all the
kicking and squirming.”
“It’s a boy.” Vasile nodded firmly. “A
grandfather just knows these things.”
Fane let out a deep breath as he stood.
“Whatever you say, Da.” He headed for the door but stopped midway
and turned back to Vasile. “Thank you, for listening.”
Vasile bowed his head once. “You are much
loved, Prince of Wolves, mate to Jacquelyn, son of mine. Whatever
it is that wants to have you cannot, not any part of you―mind,
body, or soul―because you are mine. You are pack. You are Jacque’s
and none of us share very well.”
***
“How do you think Sally is doing?” Jen asked
Jacque as she sat in the floor dangling a rattle in front of Thia
who was cooing at her mother like she was the best thing since
sliced bread.
“Well, it’s been three months since she
headed off on her mission with Peri and two weeks since we’ve
received any texts…but we haven’t gotten her back in a body bag
either,” Jacque replied from her lazy sprawl on the couch. “So I
guess that’s a positive sign.”
She and Jen were doing one of their weekly,
okay daily, play dates. Decebel continually gave them a hard time
about it because he claimed the play dates were supposed to be for
children. Jen happily informed him that play dates were also for
she-wolves that needed to vent about their overbearing mates. That
earned her a growl, which she took as a promise for fun things to
come. Jacque had given up trying to reason with Decebel or Fane or
any other male wolf. She’d come to the conclusion that their heads
were just too thick for anything reasonable to penetrate through.
It was amazing how much less frustration she felt when she wasn’t
trying to bang her head against the stubborn, unmoving will of a
male Canis lupus.
“Wow Jac, tell us how you really feel,” Jen
snorted. “You went down the body bag road and all.”
Jacque shrugged. “I’m pregnant. I get to use
the ‘I can be as blunt as I want’ card because I also carry the
membership card of ‘I’m making a life, what’s your excuse?' ”
Jen held up her hand balled into a fist to
her best friend. “I’m totally digging you prego. I think Fane
should keep you on a continual baby making schedule. Pop one out
and bam, put one back in that oven.”
Jacque bumped Jen’s fist as she laughed.
“You are seriously disturbed, Jen.”
“I could have been a tad more anatomically
correct in my baby making description,” Jen pointed out.
“True, you definitely showed restraint.”
“So.” Jen cleared her throat and Jacque
could tell she was hesitant to say whatever it was that was on her
mind, which was weird for her blonde friend. “How is your fur ball
doing? Still reliving the hell of the In-Between at night?”