Dreaming of the Wolf

Chapter 13

Danny stood before Mario in his Breckenridge condo as Mario forked up another sausage link, trying to keep his temper under control. “What I want to know is why you failed to bring the woman back with you and how two of my men died. Hell, it took seven weeks just to locate her.”

Mario’s voice was low and cold, and he was ready to kill Danny with his bare hands. He hadn’t murdered anyone like that since he was in his teens. For years, he’d had his henchmen doing his dirty work. Looked like he was going to have to get this job done himself, if he wanted it done right.

He still couldn’t believe the woman had given up her chance to earn the bounty on him just to turn him in. He smiled evilly at the thought. Too bad she’d had her information wrong and the police had arrived at his old residence only hours after he and Danny had split.

He shoved his clean plate aside, grabbed his pen, and pulled the newspaper crossword puzzle closer.

Ten across, nine letters: Extremely unpleasant experience.

Danny looked peeved, not at all like a man whose head would be on the chopping block next. “I told you, boss.

She shot Smithie and escaped. A vicious dog was in the room, and when me and Cicero tried to storm the place, the dog attacked. I got Cicero to the car and he died. I didn’t know he had a heart condition. But that’s what Doc said. The damned dog crushed Cicero’s arm, and it triggered the heart attack.”

Mario wrote in the word purgatory on the crossword.

“Describe this dog to me again.” He lifted his eyes from the newspaper.

“It looked like a German shepherd. The same kind of head. But… not exactly the same kind of colors.”

“Could it have been a wolf?”

Danny stared at Mario as if he was crazy.

“Could it have been?” Mario demanded.

“I guess so. I never seen a wolf up close.” Danny’s face looked drained of all color, the notion that a wolf might have gotten the best of him probably crossing his mind.

“Yeah, it could’ve been.”

Mario looked back at his puzzle. Two down, six letters: Vibration.

“When you killed your brother, there wasn’t any sign of a dog in his place, was there?”

Thoughtful-like, Danny’s eyes stared at the floor. “ No. I didn’t see any water dishes, dog-food dishes, nothing.”

Mario shook his head. “Just a dog.”

“No. Ferdinand was alone. He wouldn’t have had a dog.

He didn’t like kids or animals.”

“Before you killed Jimmy, he said Ferdinand had grabbed a woman. That she’d been following me. Jimmy didn’t know her name, but it had to be Alicia Greiston. So where was she when you located Ferdinand at his place?”

“I swear I looked through the place. She wasn’t there.”

Mario just bet she had been. Damn, if only the henchman he’d sent to murder Ferdinand in the first place hadn’t gotten himself killed instead. And he wondered now if the man had bitten Ferdinand somehow in the process and turned him.

Mario pondered that as he stared at the crossword puzzle, not really seeing it. If the idiot had attacked Ferdinand as a wolf, but Ferdinand had managed to kill the assassin instead, Ferdinand had to have turned into a werewolf later, too. No wonder he’d been so good at tracking Mario.

Mario had turned some of his men himself, thinking they might become better assassins, but the experiment had proved fruitless. Three turned gunmen on his payroll were now dead; all three had had problems with shape-shifting at the most inconvenient times. He’d considered changing his cousin, but Mario didn’t think Danny could handle it any better than his other men had. He thought about Cicero, too. If the man had survived the heart attack, he probably would have been turned when the wolf bit him.

But if Mario’s men had trailed Alicia to her hotel in Crestview and she’d been alone, where had the “dog” come from? Mario allowed himself a small smile as the crossword puzzle came back into focus and he wrote tremor. Crossword puzzles were his daily regimen—an attempt to keep A lzheimer’s at bay, as working the puzzles was supposed to do, since the insidious curse had affected both his parents.

His thoughts shifted back to Alicia Greiston. He assumed she was a wolf now. Ferdinand must have shape-shifted, then bit her and turned her, wanting her for a mate. Maybe even realizing Mario wanted Alicia.

Since Mario had murdered Ferdinand’s girlfriend, Candy, turning Alicia would be a way of getting back at Mario.

With Ferdinand dead, Alicia was Mario’s. He’d been a wolf for five years, since one of his adversaries had bitten him. He’d been angrier than hell at the time, but he’d soon realized how beneficial his newfound traits were.

Except for the need to have a mate. The gorgeous bubbleheads he’d turned all had ended up being liabilities. Until he’d had them eliminated.

“What do you want me to do, boss?”

Alicia had to be running as a wolf. Newly turned, she might not be able to control her shape-shifting ability.

Until the new moon appeared. Then she wouldn’t be able to keep her wolf form. Danny wouldn’t be able to locate her as well as Mario could. Not without wolf instincts.

This was one job Mario had to take care of on his own.

Although he’d send his men out looking for her just the same. Didn’t hurt to be sure. But in the end, he had to do this alone.

One thing was certain: he had no other competition in the area. The she-wolf would be his, especially after all the trouble she’d caused him.

Jake had had a devil of a time forcing himself not to pace while Lelandi was still upstairs with Alicia. He wanted Alicia alone, but Darien insisted on speaking with her. As much as Jake hated to admit it, Darien was right. The pack leader always had to know what trouble his pack might be up against. Jake knew that, yet he was having a hard time letting go of his need to be with Alicia after their forced separation and her near-death experience.

When he heard two pairs of footfalls on the stairs, he turned to watch for the women.

Darien rose from his chair and Tom joined them from the kitchen. Sheriff Peter had solicited some of their men for outdoor guard duty so he had already left the house.

As soon as the two women appeared, Jake had eyes only for Alicia. Her eyes were dark and shadowed, her skin pale despite the red T-shirt reflecting off it. Her brown curls swept her shoulders, but his gaze quickly took in her clothes. The T-shirt fit her nicely, showing off her perky breasts, and the jeans fit snugly. She wasn’t wearing the flip-flops, though. Her bare feet made her appear even sexier, like she was ready to shuck the rest of her clothes to be with him.

His gaze lifted to her face, and she gave him a tremulous smile. He crossed the room at a quickened pace, drew her into his arms, and when she tilted her face up to his, he kissed her.

Nothing gentle about it—his need to see her safe and protected was warring with his craving to make her his own. He didn’t care that his brothers or Lelandi were undoubtedly watching him unabashed. His kiss was just as greedy as Alicia’s was, yet tender in the way they pressed and nuzzled and opened up to each other, exploring and loving all over again.

“Guess we don’t need a Gathering,” Tom said, his tone amused.

Jake ignored him. No way in hell were they having a Gathering to give any other eligible bachelors in the pack the chance to court her. She had been Jake’s the moment he’d laid eyes on her, and she had shown her interest in him right back.

He finally broke free from the kiss, saw the tears in her eyes, and gave her another heartfelt embrace.

In pack-leader mode, Darien said, “I know it’s late, but we need to talk.”

Jake slipped his hand around Alicia’s with a firm possessive grip and led her to the love seat where they sat down together, thighs touching. But it wasn’t enough.

Jake wrapped his arm around Alicia and pulled her against him, wanting to feel her warmth and breathe in her heady fragrance, to enjoy the softness of her body against his, to know she was truly all right and wouldn’t leave him again.

He wanted to tell his brother to hurry up with the questions because Alicia would be his mate tonight, but he held his tongue. She needed to see the workings of a viable pack, and Jake butting heads with his brother wouldn’t help her cope.

Darien took Lelandi’s hand and sat with her on one of the couches while Tom sat on a wide-winged chair.

Darien kept his hand on Lelandi’s, resting it on her thigh.

For the first time since Jake had lost Alicia, he felt comfortable seeing the intimacy Lelandi and his brother shared. But it was only because Alicia was with him again. He wondered how Tom felt being the odd man out, but his expression remained neutral.

“So what are we up against?” Darien asked Alicia.

Alicia honestly didn’t know what to think. After all the questions Darien had asked her, and all the questions she’d asked of him, no one in Jake’s pack, nor Jake himself, seemed to have known of Ferdinand Massaro or his brother, Danny, or Mario and his thugs.

Which meant? Jake truly had been interested in her for herself when he first caught sight of her in Breckenridge.

Lelandi patted Darien’s thigh. “It’s very late, and I’m exhausted. Let’s go to bed. If you have any more questions, you can ask them tomorrow.”

Darien looked from her to Alicia, then to Jake. Alicia wasn’t certain, but she thought some unspoken communication was going on between the two brothers.

She and her mother had been capable of giving each other a look, a subtle raise of an eyebrow, or slight gestures to send each other some secretive message or another. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed that special connection she’d had with her mother until she saw the nonverbal communication pass between Darien and Jake. If she ventured a guess, Darien was warning his brother against her.

Darien had nothing to worry about there. She’d already had two failed marriages. She wasn’t about to embark on a third with Jake or anyone else, for that matter. So big brother didn’t have to worry about her blemishing the family tree when they were all born lupus garous and her werewolf abilities had come about because she’d been forcibly bitten.

Lelandi said, “Jake’s always an early riser and makes a delightful breakfast.” She suddenly flushed a brilliant red, quickly said good night, and hurried off with Darien, his arm wrapped around her waist. He chuckled low next to her ear and kissed her there.

Tom gave Alicia and Jake a nod, then headed up the stairs after them.

As soon as they were all out of sight, Alicia said, “Your brother seemed concerned about me.”

But Jake didn’t seem interested in any further conversation. He cupped the swell of her breast in an unassuming manner and captured her mouth with his in a totally assuming way. His tongue demanded entrance as his hand hovered near the tip of a breast that was already swelling and tingling in anticipation.

His eyes were closed as if he was memorizing the feel of her, the taste of her, the scent of her, just as she was of him. Her tongue flirted with his, and he took charge and dove deeper, the pad of his thumb barely touching the tip of her breast. When she moved into his mouth as his tongue caressed hers, the erotic sensation set off a firestorm in her belly. He groaned with need.

“Alicia,” he said, sounding damned desperate.

She threaded her fingers through his hair, wanting him as she’d never wanted any man before he’d come into her life, but— She pulled her mouth from his, saw his eyes glazed with lust, and worried that she’d shift in the middle of making love to him. She was burning up, just like when she’d shift. His hands cupped her face, and he leaned down to kiss her again as he trapped her against the soft cushions of the sofa.

She put her hands on his chest and said, “No,” against his mouth. “We can’t.” Her voice was breathy and barely there.

His actions seemed to be on auto drive as he again tried to kiss her.

“No,” she said louder and kept her hands planted against his chest.

She seemed to break through his lust-filled gaze as he looked down at her inquiringly. “Alicia?” His voice was thick with need.

“We can’t.”

His hands dropped from her face to her shoulders, and he rubbed them lightly. “What’s wrong?”

“Your brother doesn’t like it that I’m newly turned and would become part of the family like this.”

“Nonsense.” He leaned down to kiss her, but she held him at bay again.

“He gave you a look,” she insisted.

Jake frowned at her, appearing puzzled.

She said in exasperation, “He gave you a frown, telling you to watch yourself with me.”

Aslow predatory smile curved Jake’s mouth. “He wanted me to take it easy with you because you’re newly turned. He doesn’t know anything about our nighttime fantasies.” He lightly pinched one of her nipples through the T-shirt and bra. “Which bra are you wearing?”

“What if I shift in the middle of making love?” she asked, frowning.

“You won’t.” He drew her T-shirt partway up her tummy and slid his hand underneath the fabric, feeling first the underside of the lace bra, then higher to the swell of her breast, feeling her exposed breast, his touch making her blood heat and her skin tingle with an aroused sensation.

He smiled in a way that looked inherently smug and immeasurably pleased. “You’re wearing the push-up bra.”

Jake kissed Alicia then—melting away the pent-up frustration of not finding her for so long, the unwavering need to know she was all right, that she was with him again. Holding her, touching her, overpowered any sense of renewing their acquaintance at a more leisurely pace.

Hell, from the beginning, he hadn’t been able to restrain that need to have her now and fully.

Her mouth was instantly pliant when his lips pressed gently against hers as he tried his utmost to coax a willing response instead of battering down the defenses she had initiated.

His tongue briefly licked hers, his fingers threading through her thick hair, cupping the back of her head, pressing her body against the couch. “I’ve dreamed about you like this ever since you vanished from my life.” He kissed her again, this time conquering and possessing, her lips and tongue drugging him.

She responded in such a way as to prove she craved his touch as much as he wanted hers. Her fingers clutched at his back, pulling him against her, and her insistent, frantic touch was just as needy.

Dragging his mouth away from hers with the utmost willpower, he huskily said, “Let’s take this upstairs.”

“They’ll hear us.”

“They won’t.” He took her hand and pulled her from the couch. “I thought I’d lost you for good until you came to me in the dreams.”

“I wanted to be with you so badly,” she admitted, and Jake swept her up in his arms and carried her up the stairs to a bedroom of dark, rich burgundy.

He caught her astonished look at seeing the photographs of predominantly purple wildflowers on the walls.

“I love it,” she whispered.

He pulled away the bedcover. “If it wasn’t so late and I didn’t think you were a bit tired, I’d take you to the lake where we could do some skinny-dipping.”

She laughed, the first true expression of happiness she’d made since they’d found each other again.

Fully clothed, he laid her down on the mattress, then pressed his body against hers onto the soft bedding. He fanned his fingers over her nipples in that delicious way that made them tighten with need.

He smelled so good, like the pines that they’d run through as wolves, when he renewed his probing of her willing mouth with his insistent tongue. His arousal pressed hard against her parted legs, and she stirred against him, rubbing him, inviting him in.

“Alicia,” he mouthed against her lips, his hand sliding up her T-shirt and pushing down the lace cups of the push-up bra. His hands swept over her breasts gently, almost reverently. Her fingers slid up his T-shirt and combed through the dark hair on his chest, more desperate than anything as she felt the muscles flex beneath her fingertips. His warm breath tickled her breasts, caressing the flesh, his hot tongue teasing a highly aroused nipple. He rubbed his erection against her thigh as if showing her just how turned on she’d made him.

Fire consumed her as she tugged at his shirt to get it off. And when he yanked it over his head, he was again kissing her throat, his hand pressed gently down her belly, slipping under the waistband of her jeans and lower until he was stroking her through the red satin panties.

She writhed under his fingers’ skillful touch, tugged at his belt, which he quickly jerked free, then pulled her hand across his rigid length and pressed hard. She caressed him through the soft jeans, and he quickly yanked off her T-shirt as if he’d lost any restraint he’d managed to have until now. Until he saw the red lace push-up bra beneath her breasts, now reddened from his lightly abrasive two-day growth of beard and all the kissing he’d been giving them. He unfastened her jeans and pulled them off. Then he removed his own jeans in haste.

She tsked as she saw his nakedness.

He smiled. “I was in a hurry to rescue you.”

“I nearly died when you came for me as a wolf,” she whispered.

“It was the only way I could catch you.”

But then he feasted his eyes on the red bra and the red silk panties, groaned in needy approval, and slipped her panties off.

She felt irresistibly beautiful to him, loved and desired, just as much as she felt about him.

His fingers found her wet and willing, and his strokes made her wild. The feel of his touch was so much more pleasurable than in the dreams, so much more real and exquisite, reminding her of their love bouts before she’d left him. Without being able to cling to the moment, the climax crashed over her with ecstatic fervor, and she felt that elusive high she always had with him. Before she could cry out, his mouth was on hers, and he was pressing his erection inside her, thrusting, savagely claiming her as much as she was taking him in deeper, holding him, wanting him, claiming him back.

Her senses were revved, she realized with blissful shock. Because of the wolf in her, every sense she possessed was stronger, more alert, more attuned. The musky male scent of him, the sound of his heart beating rapidly, of his breath coming hard, the feel of the hairs on his chest and his chin brushing against her sensitive skin—and she felt the earth-shattering climax hit her once again. She moaned with pure pleasure as he thrust one last time and sank against her, spent only for the moment. Because with Jake, once was never enough.

Late the next morning, Alicia woke to the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and eggs and ham cooking in the kitchen. She looked up at Jake, whose arms and legs were wrapped around her, but she wasn’t sure if he was being protective or purely possessive.

She loved being with him like this, yet she felt an odd sense of disquiet. She thought it might be because she still worried about Mario and his men causing trouble for Jake and his people.

Jake smiled sleepily down at her and kissed the top of her head. “I think they finally gave up on waiting for me to cook breakfast for them this morning. You were sleeping so soundly that I wouldn’t have disturbed you for the world.”

She sighed. “They’ll be annoyed with me then.”

He chuckled. “No. We all love to cook. I just tend to get up earlier than anyone else.”

She slid her hand between them and touched his rigid erection. “I know,” she said coyly.

He grinned at her. “Waking up to you has been my fondest desire.”

She stroked his chest with her fingernail and looked up at him. “I didn’t dream last night about you. The first time in seven weeks. Did you dream about me?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t need to.” He kissed her cheek.

“What time is it?”

“Late morning. Everyone will be heading to work—

should have been already—all except Lelandi. She’s working on a psychology degree through an online college program so she can study at home. Sheriff Peter and some other men are hanging around outside in the event Mario or his men learn you’re here.”

“I didn’t want to cause trouble for you and your family,” she said with regret.

He held her tighter. “I wouldn’t have allowed any harm to come to you. You shouldn’t have left your hotel like you did. I saw Mario’s note to you in your hotel room, Alicia. I know you thought Mario would have me killed.

But it couldn’t have happened.”

“I couldn’t know that,” she said quietly. “You said you didn’t even have a gun.”

“Not on me. I realize you were afraid for my life. I realize, too, how hard it had to have been for you to have left me. And I know you couldn’t quit thinking of me.”

She chuckled and tweaked his nipple. “You think so, do you?”

“I know so.” He gave her a smart-ass smirk. “That’s why,” he said, brushing his thumb softly against her cheek, “you’ve been dream mating with me. And that’s why you went to the art gallery to find out where I was living. Then when they were after you, that’s why you headed toward Silver Town—to find me.”

She took a deep breath and snuggled against his chest, her breasts feeling heavier than normal and the tingling renewed again. She’d missed her period, thinking at first that it had to do with her werewolf changes. But with every passing day, she feared that might not be the reason at all.

She couldn’t deal with this right now and tried to pull away from Jake. But he wouldn’t let her go.

“Can you get my bags from the police in Crestview today?”

“They’ll need to talk to you about what happened first, most likely.”

“I will. But I need my bags.”

“I told you I’d take you shopping as soon as you can manage. When the new moon appears, you won’t change at all.”

“I won’t?” She relaxed a little. Was that why she hadn’t shifted for two of the weeks out of the past seven? There was hope for her to live a seminormal life yet.

He caressed her shoulder with his fingertips in a slow, lazy pattern. “No. Only royals, so called because they have so few human links in their past, can change at will during any phase of the moon. The rest of us can’t. So it’ll be a good time for you to enjoy seeing the area, circulate a bit, and get to meet the pack.”

“That’s why for about a week, on two different occasions, I thought the virus had passed. That I was cured.”

He raised his brows.

“I guessed I wasn’t cured of the condition when I shape-shifted at the art gallery. I’m so sorry Mary thought you had gotten me pregnant.”

“I will get you that way,” he said, smiling, rubbing his hand over her belly. “Just a little later than she would believe.”

For a minute, Alicia barely breathed under Jake’s skillful caresses. She took a deep steadying breath. “I swore after my first two disastrous marriages that I’d never get married again. That was before I ran into you, or I should say, you began to follow me. I kept bemoaning the fact that I’d met you too late—after I’d gotten myself into this mess with the Mob—and I was afraid they’d kill you.”

His fingers stilled on her belly, and he finally really looked at her. “It’s not happening. Trust me in this. From the moment I met you, we were in this together.”

She sighed. “Then I was a werewolf. And if I came to see you in Silver Town, even though that’s exactly where I was headed because I had no other alternative, I knew I’d bite you and turn you.”

He smiled. “So see, that proves you wanted me.”

“Yeah, in the worst way. But I couldn’t do that to you.”

“No worries there.”

She looked anxious, but he couldn’t figure out what was still bothering her. Before he could ask, she blurted out, “I don’t want to have a child out of wedlock.”

“We couldn’t have had a child before you were turned.

Well, except in rare instances. Lelandi’s brother, Leidolf, was telling us about a case he learned of on the Oregon coast. But it’s so rare that there’s nothing to be concerned about. If you conceived werewolf babies, they wouldn’t be considered born out of wedlock anyway. Not once you’re mated.”

She stared at him, then pulled free and sat up in bed.

“Don’t tell me the rules for marriage are different for werewolves.”

Jake frowned at her. Then he slowly rose to a sitting position. “We’re dream mated, which means we were meant to be together. We consummated the relationship last night—several times, I might add. We’re mated, Alicia, for life. That’s how werewolves do it. Just like our wolf counterparts do. We don’t have a wedding per se.

No divorces either. I thought you knew that.”

She closed her eyes and groaned, then opened them and tried to leave the bed, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her close. “I thought you understood.”

“How could I?” She pulled her hand free, and this time he let her go. She grabbed her clothes and headed for Jake’s bathroom and shut the door behind her.

Jake stared after her in disbelief. She was his. He was hers. Had to be, according to the dream-mating scenario.

Hell. He would never have taken her without her first agreeing to the conditions. Although he would have worked damn hard early on at convincing her to agree.

They were meant to be together, but he would have waited until she realized the truth.

He cursed himself for not better understanding her newness at being a werewolf. And vowed to make it up to her. But there was no taking back what they had done.

For life, that’s how werewolves mated, just like their wolf cousins. He wanted to join her in the shower and convince her how right they were for each other. But the shower turned off, and he waited instead.

She finally emerged from the bathroom. He caught sight of her reddened eyes, and he felt his whole world deflate.

“Alicia,” he said, moving to take her into his arms, “we’re meant to be together.”

“I think I might be pregnant,” she sobbed, her tear-

streaked cheek planted against his bare chest, her fingers curled into fists at her side, her whole body language showing defeat. “I should have let you know before we were… mated. Now from what you say your kind practices, you’re stuck with me.” She gritted her teeth and looked at him with such a woeful expression, he quickly moved in close to her.

Being stuck with her forever was just how he wanted to be. He gathered her in his arms and tried to console her, but his thoughts were swirling as he tried to sort out the possibility of her being pregnant. “I wanted you from the first time I saw you. This changes nothing between us.

But you said you only think you’re pregnant? You don’t know for certain?” he asked cautiously.

“Yeah. I don’t know for certain, but… it’s possible.”

“I couldn’t have made you pregnant,” he said, glumly.

“So you already said.”

That’s what was eating at her. Only one person could have made her pregnant, he thought, if she was right in her assumption. The bastard who bit her.

“Ferdinand Massaro?” He tried to keep his tone consoling, but if the bastard had made her pregnant, he had raped her.

She let out a ragged sigh. “I didn’t think he’d done anything to me. Except bitten me. But I’ve been feeling… different. And my… period is… late. But I thought maybe it was all this stress with the werewolf shifting that was making me feel strange and had thrown me off my regular cycle.”

Jake hugged her tight. “No matter what happens, I love you, Alicia. If you’re pregnant, the child will be ours.”

She sniffled but wouldn’t look at him. He tilted her chin up and looked into her red eyes. “It doesn’t matter. Do you hear me? I’ll love our child as much as I love you.

A ll right?”

She nodded, but she didn’t look like she believed him.

He sighed and kissed her lips, then gently caressed her face with his thumbs to brush away the tears trailing down her cheeks. “Do you want to get breakfast?

She hesitated.

“I can bring something up here to you.” He hated to suggest it, feeling that she needed to be with the family, but he realized how difficult this might be for her.

“I don’t want to say anything about this to anyone,” she said. “Not until I know for sure one way or another.”

“A bout the baby?” he questioned. He wasn’t hiding the fact they were mated.

Her lips parted, then she nodded.

“Certainly.” But that didn’t mean he wasn’t checking into Massaro’s background. And deep down, Jake was disturbed about this whole matter. Not only about the fact she might be carrying Massaro’s child, although he’d love the child as his own, but because of the way Massaro would have gotten her with child. But also because she was reticent about being mated to Jake. He felt bad that he hadn’t given her a choice about that.

Although ultimately, there would have been only one choice to make.

“You might want to dress before we go downstairs.”

She gave his nude body an assessing look, then gave him a small smile.

He laughed. “Sure you don’t want to stay up here, and I’ll make us a special breakfast after everyone’s left for the day?” He waggled his brows.

“It’s tempting,” she said with a sigh.

He took a deep breath. “You’re really not upset about our mating?”

She gave him a watery smile. “When all I’ve wanted is to be with you, night after night? I could think of hardly anything else, and now I’m with you for real.”

“You’re worrying about being pregnant then?”

She gave a shallow nod.

He took her hand and kissed it. “Everything will be all right, Alicia. You’ve got me, and you have a whole pack to be your family now. You’re not alone in this. You’ll never be again. I’ll grab a quick shower, and we can head downstairs. I’ll show you my grandfather’s home where we’ll live once we resolve some other issues. We’ll have lunch and an afternoon nap after that. How’s that sound?”

“You don’t have to work?” She sounded as though she was afraid he’d leave her alone.

“Not anytime soon. Darien won’t need me for a few days, time enough for you to get acclimated to the pack and to our ways. Besides, until we know that Mario and his men aren’t coming after you, I’m staying with you.”

She shook her head, a small smile appearing that cheered him, and gave a breathy little laugh. “You must have thought it was funny when I said I’d protect us both because I had a gun.”

He chuckled and ran his hand through her thick curls, then held a handful with reverence. “I was thinking, ‘If you only knew.’”