Wicked Cravings (45 page)

Surprising the wolf again, her mate left. He never left. Her mate was supposed to stay with her. He had gone. Left her and Jaime alone. A whine escaped her and she lay down again, uncertain and wary.

She lifted her head when the door suddenly opened. But it was not her mate. It was again the female who coveted him. The wolf growled, wanting her to leave. The female halted and the wolf smelled her fear, but the female didn’t go.

“I know you don’t want me here, but I’ve come to let you free. Won’t that be fun? I know you can hear me, Jaime, and you’re probably wondering why I’d free your wolf. The answer’s simple.

Dante doesn’t seem to have any intention of killing you. So I figure I’ll let you out, let you attack someone, and then they’ll have to kill you, won’t they? Imagine how much fun it will be for you to watch while your wolf tears apart one of the people you love.” The wolf growled again when the female moved. Still, she came close and picked up the object beside the prison. The female touched the prison with the object. There was a noise, a click.

The wolf growled louder, curling her lip to expose teeth and gums. The female quickly moved away.

“Done. Try not to attack Dante if you can help it. He’s gone off to cry, poor guy.” The female left, but did not close the door. The wolf saw freedom. Instantly she attacked the prison again and again and again. A wall of the prison opened. The wolf was out.

Instinctively the wolf was quiet, fearing the unknown, fearing the scents, though they were familiar. The scent of her mate was heavy, tempting. But there was another scent that was tempting. A scent, a…presence. Familiar and inviting. It promised safety. Comfort. The wolf needed safety.

Silently, the wolf padded through the large den, following the scent. Midway through a tunnel, she heard voices in the room nearby and slowed her pace. Her mind recognized the voices, linked them with names “Grace” and “Shaya.” She recognized the scents coming from the room—food. The scents were appealing, but not as appealing as the other scent. It was stronger now. Safety was close.

The wolf passed the room slowly, quietly, stealthily. Jaime approved, she sensed. The wolf continued to follow the inviting scent. She silently went through more tunnels, careful to avoid detection. Turning a corner, she stopped.
Packmates
. She reversed until only her head was visible, observing those she scented as her Alphas and “Dominic.”

They were threats, danger, they made her frightened. Instinct said “flee.” But safety was so near now. So tempting. As the packmates spoke, facing the other direction, the wolf lowered her body and moved forward. She stayed close to the wall, pausing when the words stopped. Always silent, careful, and stealthy, the wolf moved until the scent was overwhelming.

The packmates were still speaking when she followed the scent into a room. Slowly she padded along soft ground. There was another strong scent here. “Cat,” she knew. “Hunk.” It hissed when she neared the large object that contained safety, but it made no threatening move.

The wolf knew that she needed to climb to get to safety. There was another object. It smelled much like a tree. “Chair.” She hopped nimbly onto it and saw that the large object containing safety was like her prison. But there was no wall at the top. The wolf looked inside and inhaled deeply. A pup. “Kye.” Just like when Jaime had held him, the pup smelled to the wolf like safety and—

Movement caught her eye.
Packmates
. She froze. They froze.

“Dominic” spoke. “Trey…Tell me that’s not Jaime.”

“She must have attacked Dante and gotten out.”

The Alpha female spoke then. “I don’t smell blood.”

“Dominic” scented of nervousness. “What do we do? I don’t want to hurt Jaime, I really don’t, but what if she hurts Kye?”

“I wonder what made her come here.”

The Alpha male growled at his mate. “That’s not the important part of the situation we have here, Taryn.” He put an object to his ear. “Dante, you okay? Jaime got out. She’s in mine and Taryn’s room, hanging over the crib.”

The wolf didn’t like that the Alpha male’s voice was now loud and angry. She growled warningly. He growled back.

“Hurry, Dante.” He put the object away.

The wolf knew the scent coming from the Alpha male—panic. When he moved toward her, she growled again. This male who had challenged her was dangerous. Would attempt to dominate her, would hurt her and take her away from safety. From the pup, from “Kye.”

“Dominic, we can’t wait for him. On the count of three, I’ll dive at the wolf. You dive at the crib and protect Kye.”

The Alpha female’s voice lost its softness. “What am I, chopped liver?”

“I don’t want you near her. She’s unstable. You didn’t see what my mother did to Marcus.”

“Jaime isn’t rogue.”

“She almost is. There’s not much difference between the two, trust me.” He turned to the male.

“On the count of three, Dominic. One…two…thr—”

“No!”

The wolf flinched at the noise, surprised. Her mate was there now. He was in front of her. The Alpha couldn’t reach her. Her mate had protected her. Again.

Dante had never been so damn scared in his entire fucking life. Who could have blamed Trey for attacking the wolf before she had the chance to attack his son? But Dante just couldn’t allow any harm to come to Jaime. He couldn’t. Everything inside him rebelled against it, balked at it.

“Dante, move,” gritted out Trey.

“I can’t,” he said in an agonizing whisper.

“Hey, look.” Taryn sounded surprised, intrigued, and amused all at once.

Dante turned to look at his mate, who had now hopped down from the chair. She gave Trey a disgruntled look and settled beside Hunk at the base of the crib.

“I can’t believe I never thought of it before.”

He turned back to Taryn. “What?”

“My grandmother was the same.”

“Taryn, what the hell are you talking about?” demanded Trey.

She rolled her eyes at his tone. “Our son’s a healer.”

“A healer?”

“My grandmother was a healer, but she could only heal psychological wounds. She was the only reason my father survived my mother’s death. She didn’t help me with it because the other person has to want her help, and I didn’t want help from anyone. I was too deep in grief.” Dante frowned, still a little confused. “So…Kye’s an empathic healer?”

“No, that’s different. He won’t be able to help with emotions. Only mental scars. I thought Hunk followed him around because he was being protective, but Hunk was an abused cat, right?

Clearly he’s still got a little mental trauma, and so he’s drawn to Kye. It’ll make him automatically protective of Kye, too. That was how it was for my grandmother, anyway.” For the first time in a month, optimism flowed through Dante. “You’re saying he can heal Jaime’s wolf?”

“Um…no.”

“No?”

“He’s just a baby, Dante. But clearly, Jaime’s wolf finds his presence soothing, calming. You need to take advantage of her lucidity and try to gain her trust now while she’s receptive to you.” Trey shook his head. “No chance will I let her anywhere near my son while she’s in that state.

I’m sorry, Dante, I really am, but just as you need to protect Jaime, I need to protect Kye.”

“That’s the thing, though, Flintstone—she’s not in a state anymore. If there’s one thing I can guarantee she won’t do, it’s hurt Kye. Like Hunk, she’ll be protective of him.” Trey ground his teeth, scowling at Taryn. “We can’t—”

“Zip it, Trey. If that was me needing help, you’d be singing a different tune. Do you really think I’d do anything that would put our son in danger?”

Seeming to accept her point, albeit begrudgingly, he turned back to Dante. “We’re not moving from the room, and if she tries to hurt Kye, you won’t save her from me. Understand?” Dante gave him a curt nod, though he had no intention of letting Trey harm her. He looked at the wolf and then back at Taryn. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Sit with her. Talk to her. Touch her.”

“She never wants me near her.”

“Probably because she didn’t feel safe before. You can’t expect her to feel safe when she’s in a cage—it totally negates the chance of it. I’m not judging you for it—you didn’t have a choice. She wasn’t in a state that meant you could free her. Now she is.” Still unsure and off-center, Dante scrubbed a hand down his face and inhaled deeply. Taryn was right, though: the wolf did find Kye’s presence calming. Well, that was a start.

Slowly he crouched down, expecting the black wolf to growl and warn him away from her.

She didn’t, to his utter shock. She just watched him with alert eyes, keeping her chin resting on her forelegs. Hunk, on the other hand, hissed loudly at him. Dante was so close to hating that cat.

Feeling reassured, he sat cross-legged in front of her. The wolf continued to watch him, but she didn’t move or make a sound. It was strange not being growled at after four weeks of it. “Hey.” No more words came to him, most likely because there were other people in the room. He felt awkward and stupid. But they weren’t important, he told himself. All that was important right now was his mate.

He concentrated solely on her, blocking out everything else around him. “So you got out, huh.

I’m looking forward to hearing the story behind that. I know why you still haven’t retreated. I know you still feel like you have to protect yourself and Jaime. But you don’t. Not anymore. All the danger…it’s gone. It’s all over now. And I’m right here. I’ll keep both of you safe. Jaime knows that.

She trusts me, and now you need to, too. Because I miss her. Really, really miss her. Miss waking up with her and holding her and having her ignore every word I say. You have to trust that I’ll protect you both. You have to let her come back. I love the stubborn, willful, hotheaded bitch.” Dante might have felt embarrassed about the tears trailing down his cheeks if it hadn’t been for the fact that he wasn’t the only one sniffling. He was surprised when her wolf whined, even though he could sense a hint of sadness from her. He could also sense something else quite strongly. Jaime, he could sense Jaime. She was a contrary mixture of hopeful, sad, and content. The feeling was so fucking amazing that more tears filled his eyes.

What surprised him even more was that the black wolf lifted her head from her paws and placed it on his lap, peering up at him with eyes that were slightly guarded but no longer fearful and angry. In a cautious movement, he moved his hand to the spot between her ears and scratched lightly.

She didn’t growl or flinch or snap at him. Instead, she relaxed a little at his touch, half closing her eyes. For him, it was the equivalent of a miracle.

Dante stayed like that with her for hours, not daring to move for fear that the moment would be broken. When it came time to feed Kye and the baby had to be moved, Dante had expected the wolf to change back into her fearful, defensive state. Instead, she watched Taryn carefully as she scooped Kye from the crib and took him to the bed to feed him. The wolf remained at the foot of the crib with Dante, apparently content enough to simply be around Kye.

Thankfully, Taryn and Trey agreed that Dante could sleep in their room later that night. Not that he would have moved from that spot no matter what anybody said, but it was easier that they were okay with it. Being cautious, Trey insisted that Kye sleep in the huge bed between him and Taryn, but the wolf was happy to stay near the crib and Dante. So, leaning back against the chair near the crib, Dante fell asleep with his mate’s head still resting on his lap.

A huge impact to his chest and head woke him with a start later. But, strangely, there was no pain whatsoever. A millisecond later, he understood why, and he also realized that there was a naked woman on his lap wrapped around him. Instantly his arms were locked around her so damn tight he wouldn’t be surprised if he broke a few ribs. He’d promised himself that the second he had Jaime back in his arms, he’d tell her how much he loved her, but he couldn’t say a word because he found himself sobbing into the crook of her neck just as she was sobbing into his.

He didn’t need to ask how the bond had clicked right into place. He could feel why. Could feel her wolf’s trust, her clarity, her total acceptance of him, and her faith in his ability to protect her. He could also feel Jaime’s heartbeat totally in sync with his own, feel her
inside
him, a part of him.

He didn’t remember moving, but soon he was carrying her back to their room, wanting nothing more than to be alone with her. It wasn’t until they were inside the room that he finally lifted his face from the crook of her neck, searching out that smoky-blue gaze he’d missed so fucking much. Then his mouth was on hers, taking it almost violently. He clutched her to him, running his hands over every part of her, unable to stop touching her.

Not a word was spoken as he pressed her against the wall, reached down to snap open his fly and free his cock, and then slammed into her. It didn’t last long. It wasn’t about pleasure. It was about a need to reconnect, to know it was real, to know that she was really with him and he had her back.

Maybe that was why when his climax hit he came harder than he ever had before in his life. He had his crazy, stubborn bitch back.