“Hurry, Dante.” He put the object away.

The wolf knew the scent coming from the Alpha male—panic. When he moved toward her, she growled again. This male who had challenged her was dangerous. Would attempt to dominate her, would hurt her and take her away from safety. From the pup, from “Kye.”

“Dominic, we can’t wait for him. On the count of three, I’ll dive at the wolf. You dive at the crib and protect Kye.”

The Alpha female’s voice lost its softness. “What am I, chopped liver?”

“I don’t want you near her. She’s unstable. You didn’t see what my mother did to Marcus.”

“Jaime isn’t rogue.”

“She almost is. There’s not much difference between the two, trust me.” He turned to the male.

“On the count of three, Dominic. One…two…thr—”

“No!”

The wolf flinched at the noise, surprised. Her mate was there now. He was in front of her. The Alpha couldn’t reach her. Her mate had protected her. Again.

Dante had never been so damn scared in his entire f**king life. Who could have blamed Trey for attacking the wolf before she had the chance to attack his son? But Dante just couldn’t allow any harm to come to Jaime. He couldn’t. Everything inside him rebelled against it, balked at it.

“Dante, move,” gritted out Trey.

“I can’t,” he said in an agonizing whisper.

“Hey, look.” Taryn sounded surprised, intrigued, and amused all at once.

Dante turned to look at his mate, who had now hopped down from the chair. She gave Trey a disgruntled look and settled beside Hunk at the base of the crib.

“I can’t believe I never thought of it before.”

He turned back to Taryn. “What?”

“My grandmother was the same.”

“Taryn, what the hell are you talking about?” demanded Trey.

She rolled her eyes at his tone. “Our son’s a healer.”

“A healer?”

“My grandmother was a healer, but she could only heal psychological wounds. She was the only reason my father survived my mother’s death. She didn’t help me with it because the other person has to want her help, and I didn’t want help from anyone. I was too deep in grief.” Dante frowned, still a little confused. “So…Kye’s an empathic healer?”

“No, that’s different. He won’t be able to help with emotions. Only mental scars. I thought Hunk followed him around because he was being protective, but Hunk was an abused cat, right?

Clearly he’s still got a little mental trauma, and so he’s drawn to Kye. It’ll make him automatically protective of Kye, too. That was how it was for my grandmother, anyway.” For the first time in a month, optimism flowed through Dante. “You’re saying he can heal Jaime’s wolf?”

“Um…no.”

“No?”

“He’s just a baby, Dante. But clearly, Jaime’s wolf finds his presence soothing, calming. You need to take advantage of her lucidity and try to gain her trust now while she’s receptive to you.” Trey shook his head. “No chance will I let her anywhere near my son while she’s in that state.

I’m sorry, Dante, I really am, but just as you need to protect Jaime, I need to protect Kye.”

“That’s the thing, though, Flintstone—she’s not in a state anymore. If there’s one thing I can guarantee she won’t do, it’s hurt Kye. Like Hunk, she’ll be protective of him.” Trey ground his teeth, scowling at Taryn. “We can’t—”

“Zip it, Trey. If that was me needing help, you’d be singing a different tune. Do you really think I’d do anything that would put our son in danger?”

Seeming to accept her point, albeit begrudgingly, he turned back to Dante. “We’re not moving from the room, and if she tries to hurt Kye, you won’t save her from me. Understand?” Dante gave him a curt nod, though he had no intention of letting Trey harm her. He looked at the wolf and then back at Taryn. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Sit with her. Talk to her. Touch her.”

“She never wants me near her.”

“Probably because she didn’t feel safe before. You can’t expect her to feel safe when she’s in a cage—it totally negates the chance of it. I’m not judging you for it—you didn’t have a choice. She wasn’t in a state that meant you could free her. Now she is.” Still unsure and off-center, Dante scrubbed a hand down his face and inhaled deeply. Taryn was right, though: the wolf did find Kye’s presence calming. Well, that was a start.

Slowly he crouched down, expecting the black wolf to growl and warn him away from her.

She didn’t, to his utter shock. She just watched him with alert eyes, keeping her chin resting on her forelegs. Hunk, on the other hand, hissed loudly at him. Dante was so close to hating that cat.

Feeling reassured, he sat cross-legged in front of her. The wolf continued to watch him, but she didn’t move or make a sound. It was strange not being growled at after four weeks of it. “Hey.” No more words came to him, most likely because there were other people in the room. He felt awkward and stupid. But they weren’t important, he told himself. All that was important right now was his mate.

He concentrated solely on her, blocking out everything else around him. “So you got out, huh.

I’m looking forward to hearing the story behind that. I know why you still haven’t retreated. I know you still feel like you have to protect yourself and Jaime. But you don’t. Not anymore. All the danger…it’s gone. It’s all over now. And I’m right here. I’ll keep both of you safe. Jaime knows that.

She trusts me, and now you need to, too. Because I miss her. Really, really miss her. Miss waking up with her and holding her and having her ignore every word I say. You have to trust that I’ll protect you both. You have to let her come back. I love the stubborn, willful, hotheaded bitch.” Dante might have felt embarrassed about the tears trailing down his cheeks if it hadn’t been for the fact that he wasn’t the only one sniffling. He was surprised when her wolf whined, even though he could sense a hint of sadness from her. He could also sense something else quite strongly. Jaime, he could sense Jaime. She was a contrary mixture of hopeful, sad, and content. The feeling was so f**king amazing that more tears filled his eyes.

What surprised him even more was that the black wolf lifted her head from her paws and placed it on his lap, peering up at him with eyes that were slightly guarded but no longer fearful and angry. In a cautious movement, he moved his hand to the spot between her ears and scratched lightly.

She didn’t growl or flinch or snap at him. Instead, she relaxed a little at his touch, half closing her eyes. For him, it was the equivalent of a miracle.

Dante stayed like that with her for hours, not daring to move for fear that the moment would be broken. When it came time to feed Kye and the baby had to be moved, Dante had expected the wolf to change back into her fearful, defensive state. Instead, she watched Taryn carefully as she scooped Kye from the crib and took him to the bed to feed him. The wolf remained at the foot of the crib with Dante, apparently content enough to simply be around Kye.

Thankfully, Taryn and Trey agreed that Dante could sleep in their room later that night. Not that he would have moved from that spot no matter what anybody said, but it was easier that they were okay with it. Being cautious, Trey insisted that Kye sleep in the huge bed between him and Taryn, but the wolf was happy to stay near the crib and Dante. So, leaning back against the chair near the crib, Dante fell asleep with his mate’s head still resting on his lap.

A huge impact to his chest and head woke him with a start later. But, strangely, there was no pain whatsoever. A millisecond later, he understood why, and he also realized that there was a na**d woman on his lap wrapped around him. Instantly his arms were locked around her so damn tight he wouldn’t be surprised if he broke a few ribs. He’d promised himself that the second he had Jaime back in his arms, he’d tell her how much he loved her, but he couldn’t say a word because he found himself sobbing into the crook of her neck just as she was sobbing into his.

He didn’t need to ask how the bond had clicked right into place. He could feel why. Could feel her wolf’s trust, her clarity, her total acceptance of him, and her faith in his ability to protect her. He could also feel Jaime’s heartbeat totally in sync with his own, feel her inside him, a part of him.

He didn’t remember moving, but soon he was carrying her back to their room, wanting nothing more than to be alone with her. It wasn’t until they were inside the room that he finally lifted his face from the crook of her neck, searching out that smoky-blue gaze he’d missed so f**king much. Then his mouth was on hers, taking it almost violently. He clutched her to him, running his hands over every part of her, unable to stop touching her.

Not a word was spoken as he pressed her against the wall, reached down to snap open his fly and free his cock, and then slammed into her. It didn’t last long. It wasn’t about pleasure. It was about a need to reconnect, to know it was real, to know that she was really with him and he had her back.

Maybe that was why when his cl**ax hit he came harder than he ever had before in his life. He had his crazy, stubborn bitch back.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Opening her eyes the next morning, Jaime found Dante wide-awake and staring at her. The fatigue on his face told her something she already knew through their bond—he hadn’t fallen back asleep after he brought her to their room. All night he’d watched her sleep, frightened that if he closed his eyes, she’d be back in her wolf form before he could do anything to stop it. Softly, she ran the tips of her fingers across his jaw. “You needed the sleep as much as I did.” His voice came out gruff. “Don’t care. I wanted to look at you. I’ve missed looking at you.

And I’m not moving from right here unless I absolutely have to.” She gasped when he flexed his c*ck inside her. After taking her against the wall last night, he hadn’t pulled out of her. Instead, he’d lain down in bed, still joined with her, which had suited Jaime just fine. Then—absolutely exhausted—she’d gone straight to sleep like she’d been dealt a blow to the head.

“You don’t have to worry so much,” she told him. “My wolf…She’s not healed, but she thinks of you as safe, as ‘home.’ The bond…she’s letting it center her now. Before, she was content with it, but she wouldn’t relax into it. I think if anything can heal her, it’s the bond, our bond.” That very bond allowed Dante to know these things were true. After having her wolf distrust him for so long, it was the biggest relief to know that she now regarded him as safe. “It’s weird to think that just a little time around a baby could change everything.” Jaime shook her head. “No. It started when you rejected Bitch Face. We’ll be having a separate conversation about her in a minute, by the way. My wolf saw it as a demonstration of loyalty. When you slung Bitch Face out of the room, you also slung out Trey. I know it was because they were suggesting you put me out of my misery—I’m not feeling good about Trey right now. But what my wolf saw was you chasing away two people who she regarded as threats to her. The fact that you protected her went a long way. You might have realized that if you hadn’t walked out in a huff.” He ran a hand over her hair, wanting, no, needing to touch her. He still couldn’t quite believe she was back. “I just needed to have a minute somewhere alone to pretend that none of it was happening.”

She kissed him lightly. “I know. She was intending to follow your scent and find you, but then she scented Kye. It’s hard to explain…his scent was like a calling for my wolf. It’s comforting and inviting. When I first held Kye, my wolf felt drawn to him, but I hadn’t wondered about it. Anyway, when you protected her from Trey a second time while we were in his room, she again saw it as a demonstration of loyalty. She saw you as someone who would protect her. If it hadn’t have been for any of that, no amount of time around Kye would have made her very receptive to you right then.

Kye…He oozes safety. At that moment, she felt safe, and it meant that she wasn’t defensive or feeling too threatened by everyone else to be open to you.”

He joined his forehead to hers, tightening an arm around her. “I was so scared that you wouldn’t come back.”

“So was I. Thank you for not giving up on me or my wolf.”

“I would never have given up on either of you. Don’t be too pissed with Trey. What he suggested might have seemed cold, but Trey’s a guy who functions on logic. You’re one of his wolves, he felt some of your pain, and he could relate to what was happening to you. Logic told him that you were suffering and that it was fairer to you to put that to an end.” She huffed, though she did see his point. She never used to huff. Greta must be rubbing off on her—a scary thought. “Whatfreakingever.”

“You’ll be pleased to know that Laurie’s gone.”

Both Jaime and her wolf growled. “What? I can’t believe you let her leave! She was the one who—”

“Let your wolf out of the crate,” he finished, stroking her cheekbone with his thumb. “We know. Dominic smelled her scent on the key and then caught her trying to sneak out in the middle of the night with Leif, so she’d most likely heard you were alive and calming. There was no way she was going anywhere. Trick and Ryan found out from one of Glory’s relatives who we kept captive that Laurie had conspired with them. Apparently, when Taryn and Trey confronted her about everything, she eventually admitted it, hoping it would lighten her punishment. Did you know she was also the one who hired the lone wolf?”