When he and Jaime had returned from the animal sanctuary after he’d worked another shift with her, Laurie resumed her odd behavior throughout lunch and was doing it again now as they sat in the living area where most of the pack was congregated. Even though he wasn’t giving Laurie any encouragement, he could feel that the whole situation was hurting Jaime. When she hurt, he hurt.

His protective instincts were going crazy, and it had become automatic to pretty much curl himself around Jaime whenever Laurie was near, just like he was now on an armchair. One thing he wouldn’t allow the female to do was make his mate doubt his commitment to her. So whenever Laurie reached out to him, he drew back and avoided her touch. Whenever she spoke to him, he responded politely and then turned his attention to Jaime. At no point would he add to the hurt that his mate was already going through.

Burying his nose in the crook of her neck, he took that caramel-and-honeysuckle scent into his system. His dick twitched instantly. He licked at his claiming mark before whispering into her ear,

“You’re too tense.” When he sucked the lobe into his mouth, a tremor ran through her and she squirmed in her seat, making him smile. He loved that he had such an immediate effect on her.

Quietly, she explained, “I’m just worried for Shaya.”

So was he. Taryn’s uncle Don, his mate, and Nick—as he was their Alpha—were due any minute now to visit Kye. “Originally I decided that if he ever ignored my warning and tried coming here again, I’d tell Trey everything. But it’s hard to not feel a twinge of sympathy for him.” Jaime nodded. “Maybe we should give the guy one last shot to do the right thing.”

“If he doesn’t, well, we’ll make sure he understands that this is his last visit.”

“Sounds fair.” Jaime sighed. “I still don’t like the idea of Shaya being in pain.” He pressed a calming kiss to her temple. Not that he thought it would truly work. Jaime was very protective of those she considered hers, and now that she was Beta female, they were all her wolves to look out for. As such, not much could soothe her right now.

“Hey, Dante, do you remember that time when you and I went ice-skating and I got a concussion after falling?”

He sighed inwardly. Laurie liked to talk about “old times” a lot, something that agitated the hell out of Jaime, who was now stiff in his arms. Ignoring Laurie, he curled himself even tighter around his mate. “You’re doing so much better than I would be if the situation was the other way around,” he said quietly.

“No, I’m not. I just know perfectly well that the best way to annoy an attention seeker is to not give them a reaction.” That wasn’t to say that Jaime didn’t often visualize cutting off the bitch’s air supply until she resembled a Smurf. And it would be so easy to do it now that Bitch Face had moved to the end of the sofa, putting herself within arm’s reach.

Laurie continued, “Do you remember how you picked me up and took me to—”

“It won’t work,” Greta told Laurie with a huff, gaining the attention of most in the room.

Laurie smiled nervously. “I’m sorry?”

“You want to cause a little rift between my Dante and Jaime. It won’t work. They’re solid.”

“I’d never hurt Dante like that.”

Dante almost laughed as snorts erupted from both Greta and Jaime, who gave each other looks that said, “Is this female for real?” Apparently, they were prepared to band together against a common foe.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you did to him all those years ago,” Greta snarled. “You and Blane deserve each other, in my opinion. You could never have made a good Beta female. That requires loyalty, you see. That’s something you don’t know anything about. Not like Jaime. No. Our Beta female could wipe the floor with you any day.”

Jaime exchanged a stunned look with Taryn, who was on the reclining end of the sofa, chuckling silently. “Thanks, Greta.”

“No problem, sweetheart.”

“She’ll be vile to me again when Bitch Face is gone,” Jaime whispered to Dante.

“Yep,” he agreed with a smile before reading the text message he’d just received from Ryan, who was guarding the gate. “They’re here.”

Wanting to give Shaya a warning so that she could be as prepared as possible, Jaime looked over to where she was seated next to Taryn and gave her a subtle nod. She responded with a tiny, but grateful, smile.

A few minutes later, Don entered the living area with Tia, Nick, and Nick’s Beta behind him.

Their eyes ran over everyone in the room as they smiled, and everyone exchanged polite greetings—

other than Nick and Shaya.

“Where’s my nephew?” Don gave Taryn a gentle kiss on her cheek and peered down at the sleeping baby in Shaya’s arms. His smile was filled with pride. “Look at the little guy. He’s so tiny.

Can I have a hold?”

“Sure.” Shaya carefully handed him to Taryn’s uncle.

“Meet Kye River Coleman,” Taryn told Don.

“His name suits him. I like it.”

“Give him here,” said Tia excitedly. Disgruntled, Don handed the baby to his mate. “Aw, he’s so gorgeous.”

“Don’t you be getting broody,” Don told Tia. “The girls are hard enough to deal with.” Nick shook Trey’s hand and gave Taryn a smile. “Congratulations.” Peeking at Kye, his brows arched. “Wow, he’s just Trey with Taryn’s hair.”

Tia nodded in agreement. “Want a hold?”

“Um—” But Tia was already placing Kye in his arms. A little awkwardly, Nick cradled the baby and a little smile surfaced.

He peered over at Shaya, and what passed between them was a longing so deep and so primal that it made Jaime hitch in a breath, bringing back a lot of memories. It had been pain and pleasure.

She had no idea how they’d both ignored it for so long. Jaime wondered if this moment might do to him what it had done to her and Dante: strip him of his defenses and doubts and give him a moment of pure clarity.

Apparently it did, because quickly Nick looked away and handed Kye over to Grace, who was waiting impatiently for her turn. “Um, I have some things I need to get done. Don, I’ll send an enforcer to pick you and Tia up in a couple of hours.” In other words, he needed to get out of there and away from Shaya fast.

Looking confused, Don said, “Okay.” Then the Alpha and his Beta were gone.