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?”

Jaime nodded. “What punishment was decided?”

“I think it would have been death if it wasn’t for Leif. The poor kid’s already lost one parent.”

“Blane’s dead?”

“No. But he was involved in a bar fight with a human, so he was dealt with by human laws.

He’s in a maximum-security prison, where he’ll stay for a very long time. Laurie’s parents spoke with Trey over the phone. They asked if he’d accept her punishment as being isolated to a cabin on the border of their territory, where she’ll be away from her pack but Leif can still visit. It gives her the opportunity to try to earn a place in her pack in a few years, but she’ll forever be confined to pack territory.”

Jaime winced. Being confined was one of the worst punishments that any shifter could have.

“Who’ll be caring for Leif?”

“His grandparents. They’re good people, and he loves them. They’ll give him the stability that his parents could never have given him. From what I understand, he more or less lived with them anyway. They’ve got no problem with me staying in contact with him.” That was good news. “I really need to take a bath.” When she felt his arm contract around her, she rolled her eyes. “I’ll only be in the next room.”

“I know. But I don’t want to let you go yet.”

“I know. But I desperately need one, and then I need food.” He nipped at her mouth. “I’ll ask Grace to bring some breakfast for us.”

“Why? We can go to breakfast with everyone else.”

“I don’t want to share you with everyone yet.”

That made her smile. “I have to at least see Gabe. He’ll be a mess until he knows I’m okay.” Dante couldn’t deny that. He’d received several text messages from her brother in the past hour—among many more from others within the pack, all of which he’d ignored. He would bet that the only reason Gabe hadn’t barged in was that he knew his sister needed rest. “Fine.” Smiling, she kissed him. “Thank you.”

“But can we do something about this first?” He flexed his c**k inside her again, grinning wickedly at her loud moan.

“Oh yes, we certainly can.” At that moment, there was a knock at the door. “Or not.”

“Who is it?”

“I just need a quick word,” called Trey. “Of course if you’d have just answered your phone, I wouldn’t have had to come here.”

Frustrated in every sense of the word, Dante carefully pulled out of Jaime, dabbing a kiss on her mouth. Once he’d buttoned up his fly, he opened the door. “What?” he griped.

Trey arched a brow at his tone, but his expression was amused. “I didn’t want to interrupt,” he said quietly. “I just thought you and Jaime should know something.” The way Trey’s expression quickly became serious made Dante’s hackles rise. He stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind him. “What is it?”

“Shaya’s leaving in an hour.”

“Leaving?”

“You must have seen this coming.”

Yes, he had, and so had Jaime. It didn’t mean this would be any easier for either of them, particularly Jaime, as she had grown quite close to Shaya.

“Taryn thought you and Jaime might want to stay in your room all day doing that reconnecting thing. I wanted to tell you about Shaya so that you at least left the room to say good-bye to her. Plus, I figured Jaime would do better with the news if she had prior warning.”

“Thanks. I’ll see you soon.” When he reentered his room, he saw that his mate was gone from the bed. He found her in the en-suite bathroom, lying in a bath that wasn’t even a quarter of the way full. Approaching with a smile on his face, he asked, “You couldn’t wait until there was some water in it?”

No, thought Jaime, she couldn’t, because then he would have seen the tattoo that she’d had done as a surprise. He’d been so distracted by their reunion that he hadn’t noticed yet. “Shh. I’m trying to relax.” When he squatted and dipped his hands into the shallow water, skimming them over her legs, she guessed, “You’re not going to leave the room, are you?” Nope, not at all. Maybe it was unreasonable, but Dante didn’t want to be away from her. He’d only just got her back, and the fear of losing her was still fresh in his system. Feeling her skin against his and smelling the unique smell of their combined scents were the only things keeping his anxiety at bay. He couldn’t let her out of his sight yet. Didn’t want to.