“You’ll get it,” insisted Nick with utter confidence.

“—it’ll mean I get to go traveling. Maybe I’ll even see some of the places you used to tell me all about when I was little.”

Stone’s smile was genuine this time as he took Shaya’s free hand in his. He gave Nick a small nod, which could be translated to “I’ll accept you for now.” It might not be a gushing reception, but it was enough to lift her spirits. Then Gabrielle went and spoiled the moment.

“Traveling? Have you not learned anything from watching my relationship with your father? Mates shouldn’t be separated for long periods at a time.” She looked at Nick then. “You’ll soon have an idea how I’ve felt all my life.”

“I’ll be going with Shaya,” Nick told her, barely refraining from snapping at the woman. “Where she goes, I go.”

“Nice idea,” said Stone.

Gabrielle turned to her mate, spluttering. “You never took me with you.”

“I couldn’t have taken you into war zones, despite that it was an appealing idea at times. Then you’d have known what suffering really is. And maybe you would have stopped being so self-centered and paid attention to our daughter.”

Gabrielle gasped in outrage, but it was Shaya she snarled at. “It’s difficult to give attention to an ungrateful, inconsiderate—”

“Enough,” said Nick quietly, his voice still filled with authority. Gabrielle’s eyes widened. “No one speaks to my mate like that. Not even her mother. In my opinion, though, I shouldn’t have to order her mother not to do so.”

“You don’t know what it’s been like for me,” claimed Gabrielle. “You don’t know how hard it is to lose one child and then find that the other is selfish and—”

“One more insult,” rumbled Nick, “and you leave.”

Shaya rubbed her jaw against his upper arm, hoping to calm him. “I’ve never asked you for anything, Mom. But I’m asking you now…if you can’t be happy for me, if you can’t be part of my life without trying to hurt me, leave me alone.”

“Trying to hurt you?” echoed Gabrielle, her tone incredulous, but Nick was aware the female knew what Shaya meant.

“You displaced your guilt onto Shaya.”

Gabrielle gawked at Nick. “Excuse me?”

“You were heartbroken when your other daughter died in the womb—of course you were. You felt responsible, felt guilty. But you couldn’t handle the weight of that guilt, so you transferred it onto Shaya. And she’s carried it all her life, and you let her. The times you left her alone in the house…you did that because that was what your mate did to you, left you alone. You wanted someone else to suffer. All your life you’ve escaped your own pain by dumping it on Shaya. No more. As she said, if you can’t be in her life without hurting her, you need to leave it.”

Gabrielle spluttered again and looked at her mate, expecting him to defend her. He didn’t. Nick knew it wasn’t because the guy feared him; it was most likely that he knew Nick was right and that Shaya deserved better than what Gabrielle had to give.

“Well, what will it be?” Shaya asked, her voice strong.

Gabrielle averted her gaze, concentrating on a spot on the wall. She was quiet for a minute. “When is your mating ceremony?”

“In a couple of days.”

Without looking at Shaya, she said, “We’ll be there.”

Shaya knew that was the equivalent of Gabrielle saying she was backing down and wished to stay in her life, but it wasn’t the “sorry and I love you” that she would have preferred—not that she had expected, or would ever expect, to hear that, but a girl could dream.

Abruptly, Gabrielle rose to her feet and headed for the doorway, where she waited as Stone said his good-byes to Shaya and Nick.

Just as she was about to leave, Nick called out, “If you hurt her again, Gabrielle, the choice of whether or not you remain in Shaya’s life will be taken out of your hands.”

Again Gabrielle looked to Stone for support. Again, she got none. Still, she claimed haughtily, “Her father would never allow that.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that. Like me, he has Shaya’s best interests at heart. But you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” Swallowing hard, the woman left with her mate following behind her, who was shaking his head at the woman—looking exasperated.

Nick turned back to Shaya, pulling her into the cradle of his shoulder. “Okay, baby?” When she nodded, he nipped her earlobe. She gave a cute little yelp. “Don’t lie.”

She sighed, shrugging. “What do you want me to say? Sure, I wish things could be easier between my mother and me, but they’re not. At least she’s willing to try. That was more than I would have expected. It’s a relief my father seems to like you.”

“I’m not so sure he likes me, but he’s reconsidering the idea of shooting me with the Glock he’s carrying, which is good enough.”

Shaya smiled. “I wondered if you’d notice. He carries it everywhere.” She waved a hand. “No more about them. We have more important things to worry about.”

“Yes, unfortunately, we do.”

As it was important that Nick knew every inch of pack territory in preparation for the attack, Shaya took him on a thorough tour of the land while they were in their wolf forms after breakfast. She showed him every lake, every clearing, every hidden entrance to the caves. She even showed him the “hut”—the small building where trespassers were taken to be interrogated by Dante.

When they stopped at a particular lake, she shifted back to her human form. “This is my favorite spot on Phoenix land. Come on, I want to swim.”

Back in his human form, Nick glanced around, taking in his surroundings. Instantly, he understood. “You used to come here to be alone, didn’t you?” he asked, smiling. It was almost funny, considering she was so sociable.

“Yes,” she admitted, slowly going deeper and deeper into the lake. “Sometimes a girl likes a little alone time.”

He gasped in mock outrage. “All this time you’ve been poking fun at me for preferring solitude, and you actually have your own secret spot. I feel so betrayed.”

She laughed. “The main reason I used to come here a lot is that it reminds me of a spot in the land my dad and I used to go hunting on.”