Free Out of the Dark by Quinn Loftis Page B

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 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 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 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. 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 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.
    "She told me to quit calling her Jen; to call her anything but Jen."
    "Just because you don't remember does not mean 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 Jennifer 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