There were so many uniformed men and women running around, slamming the APL members to the ground. No matter what her packmates or Jayce thought, she was thankful that they had involved law enforcement.

A man in uniform strode toward Kat and Jayce, stretching out a hand as if to help her up, but Jayce snarled and nearly bit his hand off.

Jerking back, the man’s eyes widened and he immediately went for his gun.

“No!” Kat tightened her grip around Jayce. “Just step back. He won’t hurt you as long as you stay away from me.”

Jayce’s change to his animal form had been stunningly beautiful. He was a silvery gray, the color of his eyes. All sleek, powerful animal. All hers.

It suddenly registered that everyone was staring at them. Moving underneath Jayce, she changed positions so that she was half-sitting up. Surveying the space, she saw all the APL members in handcuffs. One looked as if he’d been shot. The rest of the Feds and a few local cops were looking at Kat and Jayce, their hands resting uneasily on their weapons.

Kat soon realized why. Jayce hadn’t moved off her, but his head was turned toward the others, his lips pulled back, his teeth bared in a blatant show of aggression. He was a huge wolf, probably standing five feet tall on all fours. Maybe taller. He had her caged in and was practically daring anyone to make a move. If she didn’t love him and trust him so much, she’d have been scared to see this giant, menacing animal too. But she knew he wasn’t dangerous to anyone who kept his distance or didn’t pose a threat to her.

He’d told her once that the reason he didn’t shift as often as others of his kind was because he wasn’t completely in control when he was a wolf. Unlike most shifters. He was aware of his surroundings, but his beast dominated his logical human self. She knew without a doubt that if anyone approached her, Jayce would attack.

Right now she understood on her most primal level that he was protecting her. It didn’t matter that these people were here to help them. To him, they were threats. She was his mate and he would kill for her, would die for her.

The knowledge brought hot tears to her eyes. Tightening her grip, she turned his face until he looked at her, surprised that he’d even let her pull his gaze away from the others he viewed as a possible danger. Beautiful gray eyes stared back at her. But the animal was definitely in control now. She could see it clearly.

She stroked a hand over his head tentatively. Not only did he allow the caress, but he immediately lowered his head and pushed into her palm, letting out a soft growl.

“It’s okay, Jayce. I’m okay, I’m alive, and these people are here to help us. There is no more threat.” She tried to inject all the love she felt for him into her words.

There was a slight movement behind him, someone’s feet shifting against the dirty floor. Jayce whipped around, a territorial growl filling the room, which had gone very quiet. Except for the harsh breathing of a few individuals and the rapid sounds of heartbeats, no one, not even the APL members, made a sound.

It was as if everyone knew that a terrifying violence lurked inside the wolf she held in her arms. One wrong move and blood would spill.

“I love you, Jayce,” she whispered, continuing to stroke him, needing him to believe it, to protect him from himself. “Please come back to me. I need you right now.”

There was a flash of awareness, understanding, in his gray eyes. After a brief beat of silence, Jayce let out a long, eerie growl and then shifted back to his human form. Gray eyes that still held a bit more animal than human stared at her as he crouched over her in all his naked glory.

His muscles were bunched beneath his smooth skin, a predator ready to attack at the slightest provocation. “I’ll kill him for you. I’ll kill them all, right here and now,” he said quietly. Before she could speak, he continued. “I don’t give a damn about the consequences. If you need Mayfield dead for closure or vengeance, I’ll give it to you.”

It wasn’t just his inner wolf talking. He meant it. No matter that it would cost him his freedom, maybe his life. He would do this for her if she asked. The truth was crystal clear in his eyes.

Tears tracked down her cheeks as she shook her head and wrapped her arms around his neck. She wasn’t surprised that he would do that for her, only touched. “I just need you. Here, now, forever. Thank you for coming back to me,” she whispered, her heart close to bursting.

Jayce growled low in his throat, and she could tell he wanted to kiss her. But something told her that if he did, he wouldn’t stop, regardless of their audience. Despite the blood streaking down his torso, he jumped to his feet, scooped her up, and strode to the exit, totally uncaring about his nakedness. She didn’t even try to protest. It felt too good to be held in his arms, claimed publicly by this amazing warrior.

“You need a medic.” Parker took a step forward, but Connor grabbed his arm and forcibly pulled him back.

“Fuck off, Parker,” Jayce growled and gave Connor a questioning look but didn’t pause in his stride.

Kat had no idea what the look was for, but her Alpha seemed to understand. “Keys are in the SUV. I’ll be by in the morning.”

A man in a blue jacket stepped forward, flashing his badge as if they didn’t know whom he worked for. “You can’t leave. You have to make a statement, to fill out a report—”

“They’ll do it in the morning,” Parker snapped. “If it wasn’t for them you wouldn’t be getting all the credit for this takedown. Leave them alone. You’ll have plenty of paperwork to keep you busy tonight anyway.”

Kat wasn’t sure if it was because of what Parker said or because Jayce snarled at the man, flashing his sharp canines, but the guy immediately backed off, mumbling something about a breach in protocol under his breath.

Outside they were greeted by police cars and SUVs with tinted windows and flashing lights. A lone SUV with no lights sat near the edge of the dirt road leading away from the place.

She figured that one belonged to Connor and she was proved right when Jayce went straight to the passenger side and placed her gently on the seat. Staring down at her, he took a deep breath. “I want to kiss you right now, but I know I won’t stop. Soon, though . . . Soon.” A soft growl preceded his words, and a delicious thrill coursed through her body.

As soon as he slid into the driver’s seat, she reached for his arm, gently holding it. “You’re injured. Parker was right about that. You need medical attention and—”

He snorted. “I’ve already pushed the bullets out of my body.”

She drew back. “You can do that?”

He let out another snort, not responding as he started driving. She was concerned for him, for the amount of blood covering his naked, sleek, muscular body, but he didn’t seem fazed at all.

Still, all her protective instincts surfaced even as she tried to ignore what the sight of his naked body and sinewy muscles was doing to her. “Please don’t shut me out,” she whispered.

He shot her a surprised look, those gray eyes darkening. “I’m not. Just want to get you home. To myself.”

When he spoke in partial sentences, barely able to get words out, she knew they were going to have a long night. But first, she wanted to talk about what she’d said, to thank him for what he’d offered her. “Jayce, what you did back there . . .”

“Don’t want to talk about it,” he growled.

“Well, I do,” she snapped. “You were willing to give up your life for me. If you’d killed Mayfield with all those Feds around, they’d have either killed you—”

He laughed, the sound sharp and amused.

“Or they’d have locked you up.”

“They could have tried.”

“Stop being so freaking male about this,” she demanded. “What you did . . .” Her voice broke, earning a swift curse from Jayce.

He reached out, stroked the back of his knuckles down her cheek. “Don’t cry, honey. We’re almost home.” His voice was a soothing balm for her frayed emotions.

But it wasn’t their home. It was December’s. And she didn’t know how long he’d be there. He’d said he loved her, but she needed to know exactly what he meant by that. Because she wanted everything from him.

“I want you to live here with me, in Fontana, preferably on the ranch, with the Armstrong pack. I was hoping Connor would let us build a house. Something that’s ours. I know you don’t have a real home, but I hope you’ll consider moving here. If not, I’ll go wherever you want. I just want to build a life with you. I want . . .” She wanted everything, but she couldn’t figure out all the words she needed to say. “I just want you.”

His fingers tightened around the steering wheel, the white knuckles painfully visible. For a moment it seemed as if he’d rip it right off. “You meant what you said? About loving me?” Quiet words.

Batting away runaway tears, she nodded.

“You didn’t say it just so I’d return to my human form?” There was such a vulnerable note in his voice, it pulled at her heart.

“Of course not. I love you, Jayce. I have for a long time.” It was one of the reasons she’d run from him when she found out he’d lied to her.

He pushed out a harsh breath and then seemed to gather himself before speaking again. “I have so many enemies, Kat. You might not ever be truly safe,” he said.

“No one’s truly safe, but I have a strong pack to surround me and an even stronger mate. We can’t live in fear because of what might happen.” That was no way to live, not when she had the man she loved right in front of her, willing to spend the rest of his life with her.

“Will you bond with me, Kat?” The abrupt question had her digging her fingers into her palms.

This was the one thing she’d always wanted from him. She swallowed past the lump of emotion in her throat and whispered, “Yes.”

His shoulders relaxed, and it stunned her to realize how afraid he’d been that she would reject him. “I won’t be an easy man to live with,” he continued, his voice rough with emotion as he kept his gaze on the road.