Wicked Cravings

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Jaime grumbled as she let Shaya and Taryn lead her to the oval full-length mirror. “Can I open my eyes now?” she asked when they finally halted.

“Yes, now,” urged Shaya excitedly.

Opening her eyes, Jaime couldn’t help smiling at her reflection. Lydia had been right—the dress she had designed for Jaime was amazing. Showing a hint of cleavage, the knee-length silk dress was an unusual shade that was somewhere between ice-blue and violet; the color deepened or lightened depending on how the light captured the material. The back was V-shaped so it exposed a fair amount of skin but stopped at her lower back, hiding the tattoo she’d had done as a surprise for Dante.

The tattoo wouldn’t have been a surprise for long if they were ending their ceremony with a chase, but as there was no way Jaime could shift into her wolf form, Dante wouldn’t be able to claim her in front of the pack anyhow. Looking at the beautiful dress, she was glad of that now. It meant it wouldn’t be torn from her body and ruined.

“Well?” Lydia looked like she might combust.

“I love it.”

Lydia clapped her hands twice. “I knew you would.”

“You look beautiful, Jaime.” Grace wiped a tear from her eye.

Shaya kissed her cheek. “There’s no way Dante will be able to concentrate on a single word Trey says in the ceremony.”

Taryn chuckled. “I was like that. The ceremony was pretty much a blur. I was too busy staring at Trey and imagining getting down and dirty.”

“I was going to offer to put your hair up in some kind of fancy arrangement, but it’s too beautiful to be all scrunched up,” said Shaya. “Leave it down.” A knock on the door was soon followed by Gabe’s voice. “Are you all dressed yet?”

“Yes, come in,” called Grace.

On entering, her brother, who was planning to give her away, gasped. “Wow, sis, you look amazing.”

Lydia smiled proudly. “She does, doesn’t she.”

“I hope you’re ready,” he said, “because it’s nearly midnight.”

“She is.” Shaya placed her hands on Jaime’s shoulders and held her gaze. “Now stop being nervous and enjoy this. It’s not like there’s any chance of him not turning up.” Perhaps that was true, but every insecurity Jaime had was taunting her that just maybe he’d realize what a big risk she was and decide to call the ceremony off, even if only for a while. Those same insecurities teased her that he might even decide that he still felt a connection with Bitch Face and would rather go back to her. Speaking of Bitch Face…“Has she been to his room yet?” They had all wondered if she might.

Gabe suddenly looked a little awkward. “Okay, yes, she did. But don’t let it get to you.

Dominic has been manning the door and sent her on her way. Plus, Hope’s keeping an eye on her, too.”

“I can’t work out what she’s doing here.”

Shaya shrugged. “Maybe she just doesn’t like that the person she thought was forever pining after her no longer wants her and has totally moved on. She’s vain enough for that to bother her. Some women get off on luring away other women’s guys. Glory’s like that, too.” That just didn’t add up for Jaime, though. “But she’s mated.” Shaya gave her a look that said, “And?”

“Shaya’s right,” said Taryn. “Being mated won’t change her nature.” Jaime held up her hands. “Let’s stop talking about her. This is my day, not hers.”

“Exactly. That’s the right attitude.” Shaya kissed Jaime’s cheek again. “We’ll see you down there.” Quickly the girls all scampered away.

“He’s ready for you, sis.” Gabe held his arm out, a gesture that asked if she herself was ready.

She was. With every step that they took as they exited the caves and descended the steps of the cliff face, Jaime felt herself calm more and more. Strange. She’d kind of expected the opposite response, but then, she would naturally feel calmer the closer she got to her mate, wouldn’t she? Her wolf didn’t totally understand what was happening, but she knew that her mate was near, and that was enough to halt her pacing, though she remained as watchful as ever.

Once they were at the bottom of the mountain and heading through the trees toward the lake, excitement began to fill Jaime. When she was a little girl, she had constantly imagined this day, just as most little girls did. But when it seemed that her wolf would never heal, Jaime had believed that she would never have her mate or experience this ceremony. It made this all the more special and all the more moving. Damn if she’d cry in front of everyone, though, even at her own mating ceremony.

As the trees began to thin out, Gabe stopped and howled. It was answered by several other howls—an announcement that they were ready and the ceremony was about to start. She and Gabe then proceeded through the final few trees until they arrived at the clearing. All her packmates had made a huge circle that Jaime knew centered on Trey and Dante.

She had to grit her teeth at the sight of Laurie, but maybe it was a good thing that she watched the ceremony; maybe she would then understand that Dante belonged to Jaime and that was that. There were some gasps and murmurs of appreciation as they saw Jaime—well, as they saw the amazing dress. The only other sound was the occasional cry from Kye, who was nestled comfortably in Taryn’s arms.

As Jaime and Gabe neared the circle, Dominic stepped aside to give Jaime room to walk through. It was only then that Gabe released her. Giving him one last smile, she turned and her eyes immediately landed on Dante. He swallowed hard, gazing at her hungrily, possessively, and almost deferentially. She imagined that her own gaze was pretty much the same. He looked unbelievably hot in his silvery-gray shirt—that wouldn’t stay buttoned for long if she had anything to do with it—and black chinos. They wouldn’t be on for long either.

When she came to stand before the two males, staring deep into her mate’s brindle-brown eyes, she felt a sense of total rightness wash over her. He was hers, he was safety and security and home. Her wolf wasn’t so at ease. In fact, Jaime’s sense of calm seemed to agitate her. She was suddenly anxious, perhaps feeling vulnerable to this male. The more power he had over her, the more of a threat her wolf considered him to be.

Sensing Jaime’s wolf’s nervousness, Dante gently snaked his hand around her throat and leaned in to brush his lips against hers. “It’s okay.” He couldn’t help feeling a twinge of hurt that her wolf was still wary of him, particularly since he knew that until her wolf accepted him, the bond would never be fully developed. But Jaime, the woman he loved—he hadn’t yet told her and was hoping she’d say it first—had fully accepted him. She was here, too beautiful for words, looking at him with complete trust. That was more than enough for Dante and his wolf.

Jaime nodded, still smiling. “I know.”

Dante released her as Trey began to speak the ritual words. He knew that the short ceremony was merely a gesture from a shifter to their mate that they were totally committed and wanted to publicly announce it to those who mattered to them. There was no magick or power in the ceremonial words being spoken by Trey, Dante, or Jaime, but just the same, he felt goose bumps spread across his arms and nape.

All too soon, the rest of the pack was joining in, echoing the words that Trey had said, and Jaime knew the ceremony was almost over. Good. Although she loved this moment, the intensity and sacredness of the event was heightening her arousal. She sensed that it was having the same effect on Dante, and that knowledge only fed her aroused state.

Once the last words had been spoken, Dante closed that small space between him and his mate and curled his arms around her. The kiss he gave her was soft, reverent, and loaded with more emotion than he wanted to reveal. Ready to mark her for all to see, he bit down hard on her lip.

People usually bit the neck or shoulder, but she had a mouth made for biting—among other things—

and he knew how much she and her wolf loved it when he did that. Smiling, she returned the bite and sucked his lower lip into her mouth to soothe the sting.

Dante pulled back, giving her a wicked grin, but then her eyes widened in horror and he knew why. Trey, Taryn, and the enforcers must have also sensed it, because Dante had barely yelled, “Breach!” before they had all shifted into their wolf forms, followed closely by Rhett, Cam, and Gabe. “I have to shift, baby,” he told Jaime. “Go.” Then he gave his wolf his freedom.

Yeah, like she’d leave her pack when there was danger. Jaime joined the ten wolves in circling the rest of the pack protectively. Seconds later a large number of wolves—fifteen, her mind quickly calculated—came barreling through the trees. A black one launched itself at Jaime, but one hard, preternaturally fast punch to the muzzle sent him sprawling with a yowl. A gray-black wolf with a white undercoat—her mate—tore out her attacker’s throat before he even had the chance to rise.

Then he was on top of another wolf, clamping his paws around his neck and wrestling him to the ground, where he slashed open the intruder’s belly.

The sight was too much for her wolf, who was suddenly thrown back to all those years ago when she and Jaime had been surrounded and attacked. In her confused, enraged, fearful state, the need to surface was worse than ever for her wolf. She struggled madly within her cage—she clawed it, leaped at it, slammed into it over and over. Calling on everything Dante had taught her, Jaime ignored her wolf and slipped into that zone where the only thought in her mind was survival.

Each time another wolf came at her, Jaime fought using every technique she knew—she fought dirty, she made them bleed, she broke bones, she even attacked from behind when she had to. This wasn’t a moment when fairness counted. These wolves shouldn’t be there and would hurt or kill her pack if she didn’t hurt them first. That was all there was to it. Naturally, it would have been a lot easier to battle in wolf form. Thank God Dante had trained her for this, should it ever happen.

All around her there was growling, barking, yelping, the sounds of bones breaking and bodies slamming into one another. She was covered in scratches, bites, blood—some hers, some not—and was pretty sure that she’d fractured her wrist and had a few broken ribs. She ignored all of it—the noises, the agony, the worry, the struggle that her wolf continued to put up. But there was a certain noise coming from behind her that she couldn’t bring herself to ignore, particularly when it was accompanied by her name. Turning her head slightly, she saw Shaya clutching a screaming Kye tightly in her arms.

“Taryn told me before she shifted that when the number of wolves was low, I should ask you to escort Kye and me back to the caves.”

Damn it. She couldn’t ignore what was, effectively, an order from her Alpha female, but Jaime didn’t want to leave the fight, didn’t want to leave her mate’s side. Looking around, she noticed that the number of intruders was now at eight. Although Rhett, Cam, and Marcus were badly injured, they were still battling hard, totally high on adrenaline. The intruders were therefore outnumbered, and there was no excuse to wait any longer.

Suddenly it felt as though a car crashed into her back, and she found herself flat on her stomach while sharp teeth dug deep into her shoulder. She screamed through her clenched teeth. Breathing and thinking through the pain, she reached back with her good arm, gripped a foreleg, and yanked hard. It was enough to make the wolf above her release her shoulder with a yelp. This time she yanked even harder on the leg, unbalancing the wolf, who ended up sprawled at her side. Growling, he looked ready to sink his teeth into her other shoulder when a huge gray—and very feral Alpha male—wolf barreled into him. Then the gray wolf was on top of her attacker, ripping out his throat.

“Jaime, come on!” pleaded Shaya.

The feel of a cold nose nuzzling her face made her turn her head. Her mate nudged her with his head, growling. He wanted her gone.

“Fine.” Besides, Kye and Shaya needed help. Dragging herself to her feet, she ran to the panicky redhead. Lydia, Grace, Hope, Greta, Leif, and Bitch Face—did she really have to help that venomous woman?—were also waiting. “Come on. Laurie, stay at the rear.” She was a dominant female after all, so she should have joined the fighting. Jaime went to lead them out of the circle, but stopped dead as three of the intruders gathered near the path that Jaime intended to take.

The normally playful salt-and-pepper wolf—Dominic—followed closely by a jet-black male wolf—Tao—and their creamy blonde Alpha female charged at the three wolves blocking Jaime’s path. Not bothering to stick around to watch the intruders be ripped to shreds, Jaime took advantage of the situation and led the group of females and two pups through the trees toward the caves.

Conscious that going too fast would quickly tire Greta and Leif, Jaime kept at an even, doable pace.

But that soon became a problem when she heard the sounds of menacing growls closing in on them.

“Shaya, you know the way. Go.” With that, she hung back as the females continued to run toward the caves. Jaime stood in wait, determined not to let the approaching wolves pass. Bitch Face, strangely, remained with her. Well, whatever. Common enemies and all that stuff.

As a large wolf came darting toward her, she forgot about Bitch Face and dropped into an offensive stance. But she didn’t have the opportunity to attack, because no sooner was the approaching wolf leaping in the air than a black wolf with creamy markings—Ryan—smashed into it, sending it colliding into a large oak. Then suddenly two gray-brown-yellow wolves—Marcus and Trick—joined him, growling at her and Bitch Face. Jaime understood; they wanted her to concentrate on protecting the other females and the pups while they took care of the remaining intruders.

Nodding, Jaime raced toward the caves, conscious that Bitch Face was close behind her. It was as she reached the foot of the mountain that she smelled a familiar scent that both she and her wolf instantly recognized as a threat. She immediately halted and watched as a dark-skinned, curvy female appeared out of the shadows. Glory.

“You took your sweet time,” the female said, huffing. Turning her attention to Bitch Face, she grinned. “I wasn’t sure if you’d really come through for us. I guess you must want her dead as much as I do.”

Jaime flicked her gaze between the two females. “What does she mean?” she demanded, snarling at Bitch Face.

Glory answered for her. “I mean that she agreed to create an opening in the perimeter fence so we could get inside pack territory. Your ceremony provided the perfect distraction.” Jaime shook her head at the female who was edging away from her. “You weren’t satisfied with betraying Dante once? You had to do it all over again?”

“It would have been a lot easier if you’d just died from that bullet,” she replied.

Suddenly it all became clear. “You were the one who hired that lone wolf.”

“I want Dante, and you’re in my way. As Glory and I had a common interest—getting rid of you—we decided to band together.”

Jaime frowned, incredulous. “How can you band together with someone who also wants him?” Glory gave Jaime a pitying smile. “No, honey, I don’t want Dante. Not really. But nobody gets to disregard me the way he did. It seemed a fun idea to put my brothers on his tail. Then I saw him with you and realized that an even better mode of revenge would be to scare you off. That was all I’d really wanted. But instead, you attacked me. You drew blood. What kind of dominant female would I be if I let the shifter community believe that a submissive wolf could take me? I’d be targeted for the rest of my days. That can’t be allowed.

“Once everybody hears how my brothers, my cousins, and I all penetrated the Phoenix Pack’s defenses and I killed their Beta female, I’ll be basically untouchable. And admired. And wanted by just about every alpha male around. Maybe I’ll even earn myself a position as Alpha female of a pack. Imagine that.”

Jaime’s tone was dry. “I can’t. It’s too unrealistic.”

“Glory, just get on with it already before the others come,” urged Bitch Face, glancing around.

“Your relatives aren’t going to keep them distracted for long.”

“You do realize that if I’m killed, it’ll kill Dante too, right?” Jaime asked Bitch Face, who waved a hand dismissively.

“The bond isn’t complete, Dante will easily survive it. Especially when he has me to pick up the pieces. He still loves me, he never stopped. But he’s too honorable to admit it and leave his mate.”

The woman was insane. “What is your damage?”

“I still can’t work out what it is about you that made him move on,” she said, looking at Jaime like she was a bug. “You’re nothing like me.”

“What, you mean someone who would betray a guy they’re partially mated to and then relish the idea that this guy is hung up on her?”

Ire flashed across her face. “There was no way I could’ve resisted that pull to go to Blane.”

“Bullshit. Being partly mated to Dante meant there was no way you could have felt that pull.

You cheated on him because you wanted to, because you’re selfish and wouldn’t know the meaning of loyalty if it bit you on your conceited ass.”

“You never would have kept him anyway, you know. Dante needs someone like me. Someone who won’t fight his need for control despite being a dominant female.”

“You and Blane aren’t together anymore, are you? That’s the real reason you’ve showed up.

You thought you could get Dante to take you back.”

Bitch Face growled. “He was mine before he was ever yours.”

“Now, see, that’s where you’re wrong. He’s been mine since the second I was born. It just took a while for us to figure it out.”

Her smile was ugly. “Just think how easily he’ll recover from your death when he finds out about Leif. Dante would fight to stay alive for his son.”

Jaime gave her an “Oh please” look. “He’s not Dante’s, and we both know it. He would have scented the pregnancy before you skipped off with Blane.”

The dumb bitch blushed. “Dante will still raise him as his own.”

“Sure, sure. I almost feel sorry for you. I say almost.”

“All right, all right,” interrupted Glory. “As much as this is fun, Laurie’s right—the others will soon get here. Let’s get this over with, Jaime.”

Jaime really didn’t like that Glory was so confident that she’d win. “You didn’t say pretty please.”

She smirked. “Since you’re already badly injured, I’ll go easy on you.”

“Your kindness overwhelms me.”

She shot at Jaime like a bullet out of a gun. If her senses hadn’t been so attuned to Glory, Jaime might not have been able to sidestep her in time. Just that one simple dodge left Glory skidding along the ground in an effort to halt her forward momentum. Jaime smiled sweetly at her.

Glory came at her again, this time with a series of backflips. Heaven knew what she intended to do once she’d reached her. Jaime didn’t wait to find out—though she was curious. Her timing just right, she darted at her so that in that small millisecond when Glory’s body was upside down—

midflip—Jaime wrapped an arm around her waist and slammed her down, face-first, onto the ground.

To Glory’s credit, she recovered quickly, jumping upright, flexing her facial muscles, and wiping away the blood that trickled from her nose.

“You’re fast,” Glory admitted through her teeth.

“Please don’t follow that up with some sort of cheesy line like, ‘But are you fast enough?’”

“I don’t need to ask you that. I already know the answer.”

“Does that mean you surrender?”

She curled her upper lip at Jaime. “I’d sooner fight to the death than surrender.”

“Do your brothers know about this suicidal streak of yours?” Glory flew at her with such speed that she almost clipped Jaime with that big fancy kick, but her movement was fueled by anger, and Dante had taught Jaime that acting on anger always resulted in mistakes. Dodging the kick, Jaime slammed her balled-up fist into Glory’s jaw and followed it up with a kick to the knee.

Looking dazed, Glory staggered and easily lost her balance when Jaime then swept out her foot and took both of Glory’s legs out from under her. She hit the ground with a loud thud, cradling her knee. Seconds later, however, she sprang upright and lunged at Jaime with a flurry of punches, kicks, strikes, and overhands.

As much as Jaime hated to admit it, Glory was good. Just as Dante had predicted, the female had moves of her own and liked to fight dirty. Jaime managed to block or dodge most of the blows aimed at her while landing plenty of blows of her own, but it was fair to say that they were evenly matched. Although Glory was tiring, so was Jaime. If it hadn’t been for Dante’s training, the female would have easily overpowered her.

After a particularly hard palm-heel strike from Jaime, Glory stumbled backward and blood gushed from her nose. The sight pleased Jaime’s wolf, who was lunging at her confines, wanting the freedom to defend and attack. Growling, Glory rocketed at Jaime and again delivered punch after punch, kick after kick, and dirty move after dirty move.

A fast, hard uppercut sent Glory staggering backward and into a tree, but quickly she righted herself and dealt a hard blow to Jaime’s solar plexus, right where her broken ribs were. Jaime sucked in a breath and fell to her knees, gritting her teeth against the pain. Almost failing to notice the kick aimed at her face, Jaime quickly captured the foot and unsheathed her claws, slashing at Glory’s Achilles tendon. With a loud, stunned cry, Glory swayed on one leg and quickly ended up flat on the ground. With effort, Jaime got to her feet, taking a moment to regulate her breathing.

“Glory, they’re coming!” declared Bitch Face. “Fine, I’ll take care of it myself.” Jaime turned in time to grip the hand that had been aiming for her throat. Bending it backward and ignoring Bitch Face’s squeal of pain, she demanded, “Retract your claws.” But that distraction cost her big time. The breath whooshed out of her as a hard, painful impact smacked into her body, making her back hit the ground hard. Then Glory was on top of her, shimmering as bones cracked and her body reshaped. Milliseconds later a russet wolf was growling down at her, eyes fixed on her throat. Knowing what was coming, Jaime did the only thing she could do. She shifted.

Dante sensed the exact moment that Jaime changed into her wolf form; he sensed her wolf’s rage, pain, anxiety, and determination, and knew she was battling someone and battling hard. He looked at Trick, who was helping him hold up Tao—although back in human form, the Head Enforcer was passed out and had a broken leg. “Can you hold him up without help?”

“Sure. Whatever it is, go.”

Dante wasn’t sure what it could be. The intruders had all been defeated, and most of them were dead, except for the three who had surrendered. So who was she—?

Glory! How could he not have considered that she might have sneaked in too? Fuck.

Remaining in human form and ignoring the shards of pain knifing through him from his wounds, he sprinted ahead and let the bond lead him to Jaime. Clearly sensing that something was happening, Trey, Taryn, Ryan, and Gabe followed behind him. He caught a glimpse of two balls of fur wrestling when suddenly Laurie launched herself at him from nowhere.

“Oh God, Dante, I’m so glad you’re here. I was so scared. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to leave Jaime behind, but—”

Forcibly he pushed the female away and handed her to Ryan, only concerned for the black wolf with a tail tipped with gray. His mate. He watched as she slashed the muzzle of a russet wolf, spraying blood onto the ground. The bleeding wolf leaped at the black wolf, attempting to clamp her paws around her neck. Dante stiffened in fear, knowing that if she managed that, she would wrestle the black wolf to the ground, and his mate would then be vulnerable.

But the russet wolf didn’t manage that. His mate bit down on her ear and yanked hard enough to make the russet wolf whine loudly and jump away. Relief filled him, but he didn’t relax. Then the two wolves were leaping at each other, bodies slamming, claws clashing, teeth sinking into fur and flesh. Dante wanted nothing more than to intervene and help his mate, but he couldn’t. This was her fight, and he couldn’t take this from her. “Come on, baby,” he murmured.

Finally the black wolf was able to get her opponent flat on her back on the ground. Quickly she straddled the russet wolf, but before she could pin her down, claws came swiping at her muzzle.

Feeling her pain, Dante winced, but she didn’t react to the pain at all—she was too focused on her need to kill her opponent.

His mate sank her teeth into the offending foreleg, wrenching a loud yelp from the other wolf.

Dante sensed his mate’s satisfaction—a satisfaction he shared until the russet wolf used her other paw to tear a strip into his mate’s shoulder. The pain and surprise of it made the black wolf bounce back, inadvertently giving the other a chance to right herself. “Little bitch,” he muttered.

Dante clenched his fists and ground his teeth against his wolf’s constant attempts to resurface.

His wolf wouldn’t involve himself in the fight, he understood the dynamics, but he wanted to be near his mate now that she was finally in wolf form. He wanted to bring her back from the dark place she was in right now. Both his wolf and Dante could feel her emotional state through the bond. It wasn’t good at all.

The black wolf was so far gone it was actually frightening. He remembered Jaime’s fear that if her wolf got control again, she wouldn’t let Jaime come back. He hoped to God that her fear was unfounded, but as he looked at the black wolf now, he realized that calming her was going to be the main battle tonight.

He inhaled sharply as a well-aimed body slam from the russet wolf sent his mate sprawling.

“Get up, baby.” To his relief, she was quickly on her feet again. Growling, she bounded at her opponent, crashing into her hard. He winced, flinched, snarled, cursed, and grimaced as he watched the two wolves continue to battle.

After a series of struggles, the black wolf again forced the other to her back. “That’s it, baby, end it.” His mate pinned the wolf down by pressing her paws down onto her shoulders. Then, in one sharp move, his mate slashed open the other wolf’s belly at exactly the same moment that she clamped her jaws around her throat. With an abrupt yank, the black wolf had ended the fight. Won.

Thank God for that. His wolf’s relief was just as profound. But the hard part had only just begun, Dante knew. “Jaime? Jaime?”

The black wolf swerved, hackles raised and ears flattened outward, growling threateningly at him with her lips peeled back, showing teeth and gums. Not good.

“It’s okay,” said Dante in a gentling tone. He knew that the wolf wouldn’t understand the words, but his hope was that she would find his tone soothing. What she needed now was to calm down and pull back so that Jaime could resurface. So far it didn’t seem as though there was a chance of that happening as her eyes darted from person to person, curling her upper lip at them.

He knew what the wolf was feeling: rage, pain, fear, confusion, and a belief that danger was all around. Everything she saw and heard she was interpreting as a threat. Even him. Shit if that didn’t hurt. Remembering the time that Jaime approached the Doberman at the sanctuary, Dante crouched down to her wolf’s level of height so that he didn’t seem so intimidating. “It’s okay. It’s safe now.” She growled at him again, a chilling, menacing growl that said, “Mate or not, stay the fuck away.”

“Jaime, please fight this,” pleaded Gabe. The wolf snarled at him, despite recognizing him as family. Her frightened gaze darted between each of them, expecting one of them to attack her any second now.

Dante tapped the ground with his hand to get her attention. It worked. Again she growled at him. “Shh. It’s okay.” Another growl. “Come on, Jaime, fight her for me.” He could sense Jaime, sense her frustration and helplessness. But she wasn’t giving up as she once might have, believing she was succumbing to the inevitable. She was battling for freedom. Unfortunately, her wolf was too sure that they were still in danger for her to even entertain Jaime’s struggles as important.

“Dante,” said Ryan quietly. “I think she’s lost it.”

“No. She’s scared and she’s on the offensive, but she’s not feral.”

“But—”

“Dante’s right,” said Trey. “I know feral. That’s not feral.”

“Maybe we should all back up, give her some space, and make it clear we’re not here to hurt her,” suggested Taryn.

“Or maybe I should shift into my wolf form. I’m her Alpha. She’ll respond.”

“I don’t think she will, Trey.” Dante shook his head. “Right now, she doesn’t see her pack. She sees threats. She doesn’t even trust me near her or I’d shift and let my wolf try his luck with her—

God knows he’s eager to try. Jaime told me that whenever she shifted and another shifter was around, her wolf would attack them, believing that she was eliminating a threat before that supposed threat had the chance to harm her.”

Trey was quiet for a few moments, but when the black wolf growled again he sighed. “I’m going to try it.”

“Trey, I’m asking you not to—”

“Just trust me on this, Dante. I think it will work.”

Before Dante could again object, Trey was shifting into his wolf form. As Dante had expected, his mate immediately froze and released a loud, lengthy “stay the fuck back” growl. He felt as her level of fear spiked. Simultaneously, though, her anger also increased, and Dante knew right then that he’d been right. This would only make her mood worse.

The huge gray wolf advanced a step toward the black wolf, ignoring her cautioning growl.

Dante and the others flinched as dominant vibes poured from the gray wolf, aiming to direct and control the black wolf. Instead, her growl deepened in an unnatural way, and she took a challenging step forward. Quickly Dante situated himself between the two wolves. “No.” He picked up on his mate’s surprise. She interpreted his behavior as protective. Good. He wanted her to regard him as an ally, if nothing else. “Taryn, I need you to bring Trey back before the situation worsens.”

“Already on it,” she assured him.

Again Dante crouched down and patted the ground. “Come on.” The black wolf stiffened and growled at him once more. It occurred to him then that maybe his best option was to go to her, to move away from those she thought of as potential threats. “All of you stay exactly where you are. I’m going to move toward her.”

“Dante, that might not be wise,” said Ryan.

“Maybe not. But she’s my mate.” Nothing more needed to be said. Still crouching, he very slowly inched toward her at a sideways angle, just like he had seen Jaime do with the Doberman. As he’d expected, she growled, but it wasn’t as fierce and threatening as before. It was more “mind how you behave” than “I’ll kill you if you come any closer.” She wasn’t exactly welcoming him, but she was at least considering him as more of a potential ally than a potential threat.

With long pauses in between each step, Dante slowly moved toward the black wolf. She never moved her eyes from him, but he knew her senses were also attuned to those around her. Occasionally she growled, but they were still sounds that told him he was on thin ice and needed to tread carefully.

Optimism filled him and his wolf each time he got that little bit closer to her. Not that Dante was relaxed or sure of his safety. He doubted that she would kill him, but she’d certainly hurt him badly if she believed she needed to in order to protect herself and Jaime.

When he was only a few feet away from her, she stuck her head out at him and her nostrils flared. Then suddenly she was baring her teeth and growling loudly at him. Instantly he stilled, wondering at the abrupt change. It took a moment for it to occur to him. Not only was he covered in blood—not exactly a calming smell—but he had Laurie’s scent on him from when she’d thrown herself at him just moments before. Shit. From the wolf’s perspective, her mate had come to her with his skin smelling of another female.

“It’s okay,” he drawled soothingly. It didn’t work. Anger surged through her wolf. Anger, betrayal, and a sense of isolation now that she was again without allies. Jaime’s mood wasn’t much better. “You know I only want you.” The words were for Jaime. He sensed that she believed him, but this didn’t matter to her wolf. To her wolf it was a simple equation: he’d hurt Jaime, which meant he was a threat that she needed to be protected from.

His instincts—not to mention sheer common sense—told him that the best thing to do would be to back away from her. To give her some space and a chance to calm a little. But this was his mate, damn it, and he didn’t want her feeling like this. Although Trey’s wolf had a tendency to turn feral during battles, Taryn was always able to bring him back from that state. It stung that Dante couldn’t do the same here.

Desperate, frustrated, and exasperated, Dante moved toward her again. “I’m not going to hurt you, I—” He stopped as a cold, unnerving growl emitted from the black wolf as she bowed down, sticking her rear in the air, preparing to pounce on him. “No, st—” Ignoring him, she sprang.

Dante braced himself, ready to bear the impact and do his best to restrain her before she did much damage. Midleap, her body jerked and a loud whine thick with pain filled the air. He caught her as she fell on him. Rather than attempting to claw at him, she tried only to rise and escape. He locked his arms tight around the wolf, but she didn’t put up much of a fight. A second later, he realized why —there was a fucking dart sticking out of her flank. Already the tranquilizer was working and she was close to limp in his arms.

Swerving his head to the direction that the dart had to have come from, Dante found a sight he wouldn’t have expected. There in the trees was Shaya, sobbing, with a tranquilizer gun in her hand.

“Shaya, what the fuck?”

“It’s not like I wanted to do it,” she cried as she cautiously approached. “She made me promise.”

“Huh?”

“Jaime came to me one night after she’d decided that she was going to challenge Glory. She was worried that when it happened she might have to shift. She said that there was a chance her wolf wouldn’t let her come back, and that if it looked as though she might attack someone I had to shoot her with one of these.”

Dante felt himself blanch. “Christ, Shaya, she could have been lying to you! It could have been fatal!”

She rolled her tear-filled eyes. “I’d already thought of that. I made her shoot me with one of them to prove they weren’t. When I looked out of the window and saw what was happening, I grabbed the gun and came down. And I brought this.” She opened a bag that he hadn’t even realized she was holding and handed him something he never would have guessed was in there.

“No way. No fucking way.”

“It wasn’t my idea. She made me promise to give it to you. She wanted to be sure that her wolf couldn’t bite you.”

“I am not putting a muzzle on my mate.” He continued stroking a hand down the short, coarse fur of her graceful neck.

“She said you’d say that. She also said to tell you that you can take it off again once you’ve put her in the cage.”

Dante shook his head, setting his jaw. “I’m not putting a muzzle on—Wait, what cage?”

“Well, she calls it a crate, but it’s a cage. Apparently, it’s from the sanctuary. The workers use them to transport any animals they rescue to the sanctuary”

“I can’t believe I’m hearing this.”

“But don’t you see that this is a good thing?”

He looked at her disbelievingly. “How could this possibly be a good thing?”

“It means she doesn’t intend to give up, she intends to fight her wolf. But she won’t have much luck with that until her wolf has calmed down a little. Jaime wanted you to have somewhere that you could put her while her wolf calmed.”

On one level, Dante could acknowledge that Shaya was right. Still, how was he supposed to put her through this? It seemed cruel. Her wolf wasn’t acting out of a wish to cause pain, she was frightened. She was traumatized enough, and he didn’t want to add to that.

Gabe stepped forward and lightly stroked her between her ears. She didn’t move at all.

“Dante, I don’t like this any more than you do. But it’s move her and confine her so that she has a chance to calm down, or risk her hurting someone or running off. Unless her wolf calms, Jaime will fade until eventually she’s gone, and her wolf will turn rogue.”

“He’s right,” said Trey, his voice uncharacteristically sensitive. “The tranquilizer will wear off soon. If we’re going to move her, it has to be now. I know you don’t want to do this, Dante, but you have to. Do it for Jaime. Give her an opportunity to come back from this.”