Shaya leaned her head against his shoulder, and his arm instantly came around her. “It always amazes me when you do that,” she told Taryn. “Thanks.”

“Yeah, thanks,” said Nick.

“Unnatural, that is,” muttered Greta.

Clearly offended on Taryn’s behalf, Jaime frowned at the old woman. “So is your life span, not to mention your moustache.”

Keeping Taryn in his arms, Trey got to his feet. “Come on, you need to have a small nap.” After that, she would be her normal hyper self again.

“But Kye—”

“Is half the reason you’re so tired,” finished Trey. “He kept you awake for most of the night. He’ll probably still be asleep when you wake up. If he does wake early, he’ll be absolutely fine with all these people to fuss over him.”

“I know, but he looks for me, so I feel bad when I’m not there for him,” whined Taryn. The kid, though extremely sociable, was very tightly bonded to Taryn, just as Taryn was to him—which was most likely why she continued to complain as Trey strolled out of the living area with her in his arms, en route to their bedroom.

Shaya turned to Nick, who was clearly attempting to smile at a talking Jaime, but it looked more like a grimace. Taking pity on him, she said, “Come on, let’s go take our stuff up to my room.” Nick’s relief was visible in his expression, which made Jaime smile.

Entering Shaya’s bedroom, Nick studied his surroundings and noticed that the room was a lot like the bedroom in the house she’d been renting in Arizona—pine furniture, gold and cream color theme, satin sheets, and a bed adorned with decorative pillows. He still had yet to figure out why anyone would bother with decorative pillows, but the last time he’d complained about it, she’d smacked him over the head. So he would stay quiet about it this time. Instead, he tugged her to him and ravaged her mouth like he’d been dying to do since they arrived. “We need to christen that bed.”

In the aftermath of a session of wickedly slow, leisurely sex that made Shaya come so hard she saw stars, she simply lay—totally sated and somewhat resembling a limp noodle—in Nick’s arms, content. “I don’t think I can move for a while.”

“Good. Let’s just stay here until it’s time for the evening meal.”

She chuckled. “So you don’t have to interact with the others?”

“That and I like having time with just you.” He nipped her bottom lip. “I don’t like sharing you.”

“It’s a good thing I have no intention of asking you if we could live here permanently—it would kill you.”

The total lack of privacy would in fact drive him insane. “If you really want to, I could try.” This was the only family Shaya had ever really had, and he wouldn’t take her away from it if it would devastate her. “Any other ideas of where you’d like to live?”

“I don’t know. I guess that depends on whether or not you’ve decided yet if you want to be an Alpha again?”

Rolling onto his back, he groaned. “Not you too. You’re supposed to be on my side.”

“I am on your side.” She rested her chin on his chest. “That’s why I’m bringing it up. You need to talk about it.” When he didn’t speak, she said gently, “Hey, if you don’t want us to form a pack, we won’t.”

“But…?” he prodded, sensing there was one.

“But I think that you do. You’re a natural alpha. I think, deep down, a part of you must want it, must want to be part of something and want to give your wolf the sense of purpose that any alpha likes to have.”

“My wolf does want it,” he admitted, “but he wants you more, so it doesn’t matter.” She smacked his shoulder. He winced. “Hey!”

“Of course it matters. I don’t want your wolf feeling in any way unfulfilled.” She didn’t want their bond to always remain incomplete.

“He doesn’t feel unfulfilled. Besides, you don’t want to be an Alpha female since you’ll need to travel a lot for the job I’m confident you’ll get. I’ll be traveling with you.” He was no longer worried that her being an Alpha female would place her in danger, not after witnessing her strength over and over, and not when he knew that the people who were sneakily trying to make him their Alpha would never challenge her anyway. They saw her strength, and they respected her. Plus, they knew she was talented with weapons, and they didn’t want to die.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t be an Alpha. There are some dispersed packs out there. I know usually shifters don’t like their packs to be that way, but if people are trying to influence you into forming a pack while knowing that’s the only way it could be, it’s obviously not going to be something they’ll care about. I can’t promise I’ll be any good at the Alpha female thing.”

He dropped a kiss on her mouth. “You could do anything.” He was certain that she’d make a good Alpha female, just as Taryn had said. Shaya wouldn’t be loud and forward like dominant Alphas; she would lead in a diplomatic, calming, supportive way. He could give the pack the feeling of physical safety, and she would give them the feeling of emotional safety. Providing the people in his pack could totally accept that, it could work. “I thought you wouldn’t want that position.”

“Miss a chance to boss people around?”

Toying with her curls, he told her, “It’s not something I need, Shay. Wanting something and needing it are two different things. You’re what I need.”

“Ah, but if you can have what you want and what you need, why shouldn’t you?”

Unsure what he wanted, he said, “Let’s talk about something else.”

“Like what?”

“Like the fact that I don’t want you fighting against the humans with us on Thursday night.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I knew you were going to say that.” She wasn’t exactly surprised. He was her mate; he wouldn’t want her in any form of danger. “I know you like to have your own way, and I know that sometimes I compromise, and I know that sometimes you sneakily talk me into consenting to what you want”—he smiled, not in the least bit apologetic—“but I won’t budge on this: I will be part of what happens Thursday night.”

“Shay—”

“I’m just as angry as you are about that preserve. Those bastards did things they deserve to die slow, agonizing deaths for. On top of that, one of them tried over and over to rape you in juvie. Then there’s the little fact that he wrecked the salon and had someone shoot at us. I’m not letting that slide.” To her surprise, he wasn’t scowling, he was smiling. “What?”

“You should hear how righteous and very Alpha-female-like you sound.”

She blushed. “Females feeling vengeful on their mate’s behalf can sound a lot like that.”

“It’s not just me who has a problem with this. Your wolf doesn’t like it either, does she? She’s nervous at just the idea of it.”

Her wolf was, indeed, pacing anxiously. “Granted, she’s not keen on the idea of being in a situation that violent. But she’s also reassured”—okay, slightly reassured—“by the fact that I have no intention of shifting and expecting her to deal with it.”

He frowned, confused. “You don’t intend to shift?”

“It’ll be kind of hard to use my rifle with paws and claws.”

“Rifle?” he echoed disbelievingly.

“Thanks to my dad and our hunting trips, I’m a really good shot. I deserve to be a part of this just as much as the others do. The other males haven’t asked their mates to stay behind—it’s unfair to expect me to stay behind just because I’m submissive and—”

He silenced her with a look. “This has nothing to do with your submissive status, so don’t even go there.” He was becoming increasingly offended by her repeated accusations of him thinking less of her due to her submissive status. “Trey and Dante aren’t asking their mates to stay behind because the situation isn’t personal for them. My wolf has wanted to get a grip on Logan for a long time for a long list of reasons, and he’s none too happy with the shifter who created the preserve either. During the attack, his sole focus will be on getting to them. You’re the only thing that could distract him, the only thing that would matter more to him than ripping those f**kers apart.”

“You’re saying I’ll place you in danger.”

He cupped her chin. “You’re my only weak spot, Shay. Logan will know that. On that battlefield, it’ll be you who he’s looking for. If you’re there, my wolf will be distracted and anxious and won’t be able to focus on getting to Logan or the shifter—and that will make it easier for them to get to one of us.”

Well, when he put it like that…“What if I promise not to enter the battlefield? What if I promise to stay on a spot out of sight? It’s not like I need to get close to use my rifle.”

That placated him and his wolf slightly, but the idea of her being anywhere near Logan still turned his stomach.

“You can even help me choose which spot.”

He scrubbed a hand down his face. “I don’t like it, Shay.”

“Of course you don’t. Just the same, I don’t like the idea of you playing a part in the battle, but I haven’t asked you to stay out of it, have I?”

Twisting the situation to get what she wanted? “Baby, that’s sneaky.” Because she made a very good point.

“This is my fight too, Nick.” He was silent for a long time, and she thought he was going to object again, but he instead released a sigh of resignation.

“I can’t deny that your skills will be needed.”

Knowing that was Nick’s version of an “oh, all right,” she kissed him hard. “I appreciate you not being an overprotective caveman. Dante used to do it to Jaime a lot in the beginning—God, they argued like cats and dogs about it.” Although Nick was even more overprotective than Dante, he didn’t play the “I’m a male, I have a dick, and therefore I will make all the decisions” role like the Beta male had.

“This doesn’t mean I’m happy about it. My wolf’s pretty pissed with you too.”

She petted his chest patronizingly. “Don’t worry; when we go down for dinner later you can tell your best friend, Jaime, all about it and she’ll—”

“You keep that woman away from me. She’s chatty and does that sympathy thing.”

“And that’s bad?” chuckled Shaya. Although Jaime genuinely did sympathize with Nick and liked being around someone who could sort of relate to her predicament with her wolf, Jaime also found it hilarious just how uncomfortable it made him.

Nick moved Shaya so that she lay on top of him, fitting her body to his. “I don’t want sympathy, and I don’t like to chat unless it’s with you.”

“Why? What’s so different about me that my company is okay?”

He smoothed his hand up and down her back. “You’re perfect to me. They’re not. You’re important. They’re not. You’re mine. They’re not.”

“Your family is important to you,” she reminded him.

“But not in the same way you are. I care about them, but you’re something I need.” That was the only way he could explain it.

It scared Shaya that he needed her, felt so strongly for her. She knew that he’d kill for her, die for her, and do anything he had to do to keep her, no matter what it cost him. She had never been that important to anyone before. No one had ever needed her like that—it was scary, but it was also fulfilling. “Then prove it.” Entering her a second time that day, he did exactly that.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

A knock at the door the next morning was quickly followed by Trick’s voice. “Shaya, you’ve got visitors. If Taryn’s right, you might not be too happy about it.”

As those words penetrated her sleep-dazed brain, Shaya groaned. She didn’t have to ask who the visitors were. Her mother had been trying to contact her nonstop over the past two days, but Shaya had ignored her calls. Caleb would have told her that Shaya had returned to Phoenix Pack territory. It had only been a matter of time before the woman showed up. Sleepily, she called out, “I’ll be down in a minute.”

“They’re waiting for you in the kitchen.” The sound of Trick’s footsteps faded down the tunnels.

Any other time, she would have been stumbling around the room on just waking. But knowing her parents were here was enough to galvanize her into action. Hopping out of the bed, she told Nick, “It’s got to be my parents. You might want to sit this one out.”

Frowning at the anxiety rushing through her, Nick instantly jumped out of the bed. “Your parents are here?”

“It’s okay, just stay here, I won’t be long.”

Following her into the en suite bathroom, Nick said, “No way. I don’t care how upset they are with me for not claiming you in the beginning, I’m not letting you deal with them alone.” Like her, he quickly washed up and brushed his teeth.

“It’s not just about that,” she told him as she returned to the bedroom and retrieved some clothes from her wardrobe. “My mother…she’s difficult, Nick. She likes to belittle me and insult me. I don’t want you to lose it with her—all you would be doing is giving her the drama she loves so she can act the victim of the world.”