Jaime growled, “Tell Dominic to go jump up his ass. It’s too early for phone calls!” Though she supposed she should probably get used to waking up earlier each morning if she was still going to make it for breakfast after training.

Dominic chuckled. “So she’s not a morning person?”

“Ignore her, she’s just horny.” He grunted when she flung her hairbrush at him.

“I take it her training session will be delayed by you having to take care of her condition.” Dante grinned. “I wouldn’t be much of a protector if I didn’t take care of all her needs, now, would I?”

“Oh the sacrifices we make.”

“You two are dicks,” snapped Jaime.

“I’ll show you a dick,” growled Dante as he ended the call and leaped on her. There was nothing gentle about their union; it was hard, fast, and wild, and he came so hard he’d been close to passing out—something that had been a reoccurrence throughout the night. It seemed that Jaime was an aphrodisiac to him.

He had expected to her to give him plenty of grief throughout the training session, but although she struggled and was nearing unconsciousness, she only rarely snapped at him. Apparently, she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. Her wolf, on the other hand, reacted plenty of times. Her wolf tried several times to surface and attack him, clearly viewing him as a threat.

Although it pained Jaime, she managed to keep control of her wolf. He was so proud of her, and he ensured she knew it by f**king her with his tongue during their shower afterward.

Entering the kitchen fifteen minutes later, Jaime’s good, just-had-an-extremely-satisfying-orgasm mood dampened as she saw Greta at the long dining table. Jaime had thought that as they were a little late for breakfast, most people would be gone by now. She’d kind of hoped that Greta would be included in that number, because she had no doubt in her mind that the old woman would torment her about her wolf’s state.

“Good morning,” drawled Grace from the stove of the modern kitchen. The twinkle in her eye said she knew about Dante and Jaime, and she approved. Yet she lacked her usual enthusiasm, and Jaime knew it was because the woman was now wary of her.

“Thanks,” said Jaime, inhaling the coffee. She decided to ignore the fact that Lydia, Cam, and Rhett wouldn’t even look at her. Gabe, Hope, Shaya, and Dominic gave her genuine smiles and gestured for her to sit with them—like she would have sat anywhere else. It didn’t take a genius to work out why the others had been sure to sit at the opposite end of the table.

Jaime’s ass had barely touched her seat before Greta started speaking.

“Fornicating all night, were you?” spat the old woman, to which Shaya rolled her eyes. For whatever reason, Greta never used the word sex.

Taking some toast from the selection on the table, Jaime gasped at Greta in mock outrage. “We were simply bouncing on the bed to test the endurance of the springs. Is your mind always in the gutter?” Dante snorted a laugh, but said nothing. She was thankful for that. She liked to fight her own battles.

“In my day, we didn’t share a room with a male unless we were mated.”

“Oh, here we go,” grumbled Shaya.

“There was none of this sleeping around,” continued Greta. “We saved ourselves for our true mate. Anyone who didn’t was branded a jezebel.” She huffed. “As if it’s not bad enough that you’re a jezebel, you’re unstable. A ticking bomb is what you are.”

Her wolf growled, but Jaime just cocked her head as she said, “I suppose I’d find you kind of interesting if I was a psychologist, huh.”

“There’s that bad attitude again.”

Jaime gave her a sympathetic look. “Aw, Greta, haven’t you figured out yet that I’m bad with or without the attitude?”

“That’s another problem: you’ve no respect.”

“It doesn’t feel like a problem.” Hunk suddenly jumped onto her lap and snuggled against her, making Jaime smile even in spite of the drivel she was listening to.

“You think you can behave however you want because my Dante’s protecting you, don’t you?

Humph. I’ve got news for you. He can’t protect you against Trey, and I know my grandson doesn’t want you here. The last thing he needs when Taryn’s nearing the end of her pregnancy is any danger or trouble, and that’s exactly what you are. Dante’s mad to keep you around.”

“Greta,” murmured Dante, cautioning her with his eyes to stop.

“It’s true,” she insisted. “She could turn on any one of us at any time. How can you let her fool you like this? She’s only fornicating with you to make you keep her around. And she’s constantly disrespectful to me—you’ve heard how she talks to me.” She sneered at Jaime. “You’re jealous of the relationship I have with Dante.”

Jaime cocked her head, looking at Greta curiously. “You know, I used to think you were snarling at me, but now I see that…it’s actually just your face.” Dante’s coffee sprayed out of his mouth and over the table. Jaime patted his back as he coughed and laughed at the same time.

“Dante, son, can’t you see the danger she brings to the pack? She’s unstable, for God’s sake!

Crazy!”

Jaime turned to Shaya. “Ever played that game, ‘hit Granny with the polo mallet’?”

“Forget it!” Greta jumped to her feet. “If you’re not willing to listen, Dante, there’s no point in me continuing. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Now that he’d recovered from his coughing fit, Dante drained the last of his coffee and ran a hand over Jaime’s hair. “You okay, baby?”

She smiled. “Fine.”

“I’ll drive you to work. Don’t argue, I hate the thought of you in that tin can.” Of course she argued. It was what she did best. Eventually, though, she caved and let him drive her—mostly because she liked being around him, even when he was subjecting her to that gruesome training that she was aching from. He kept his hand on her thigh throughout most of the journey and gave her a deep, drugging kiss when he finally arrived at the sanctuary.

“I’ll pick you up at the end of your shift.”

“You have enough things you need to be doing.”

“I’m still picking you up. Deal with it.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, by the way, the Toyota SUV is parked outside Ivy’s house. I drove it there last night before we went clubbing, but I had to leave it there. No way would I drive when I had every intention of drinking.”

“I’ll have one of the guys pick it up later.”

She told him Ivy’s address and was just about to hop out of the vehicle when he suddenly gripped her neck and tugged her to him, bringing his mouth down hard on hers. It was a devastating kiss with an edge of possessiveness to it. The second he released her, she understood why. Shawn was watching from the door of the main building. “One night of f**king doesn’t give you a right to mark me as your territory,” she told him, growling.

He collared her throat with his hand again. “I told you at the club, you’re mine. I want more than one night, and I want more than just f**king. We’ll discuss it later. Go on.” Unsure whether to be happy or doubtful, Jaime got out of the SUV and headed to the main building to change into her work clothes. Shawn never said a word to her, and she hadn’t expected him to. Ivy and Riley, on the other hand, grilled her for information. Was he good in bed? How many times did he make her come? When did he bite her neck?

“He said he wants more than one night.”

“More?” Ivy’s brows shot up. “You don’t believe him,” she surmised by Jaime’s expression.

“I don’t know. I mean, I don’t think Dante would lie about something like that, but he never does relationships. I know there must be some kind of story behind it, but I’ve no idea what.”

“Why are you finding it so difficult to believe that he’ll make an exception for you?”

“Look at me, Ivy. I’m not saying I think I’m ugly, but I’m plain and I know it. If it wasn’t for the big br**sts, I doubt I’d get much attention at all. Dante’s own words were that I’m not his type. Plus, it’s worth noting that it wasn’t until he thought I was with Shawn that he showed any interest in me at all. Maybe it’s one of those guy things.”

Ivy went to object, but then sighed. “I get what you mean. It would make sense that his ego got stepped on and so he wanted it stroked. But it would also make sense that he’d make an exception for you. Jaime, I’ve told you, like, a million times, you are not plain. I know you think of yourself as a bad catch because of your situation with your wolf, but that doesn’t mean that guys will think so.” Jaime snorted. “You’re kidding, right?”

“I know better than to keep up the compliments. Your low self-esteem stops them getting through to you. But what I will say is that I saw the way Dante looked at you last night. He looked at you like he thought you belonged to him. I honestly thought he was going to tear the falcon apart limb by limb.”

“Yep,” agreed Riley. “He’s kind of scary. So what are you going to do?” Jaime blew out a breath. “Talk to him, I guess. He said we’d discuss it later.”

“Good idea,” said Ivy with a nod. “Right, we need to get to work. I just want to say one thing.

Last night was the first time I’ve ever actually been up close to Dante, the first time he and I have ever made eye contact. He wasn’t drawn to me, Jaime. The magick didn’t work on him. The only guys who can resist it are those who are totally hung up on another person. You might want to think on that.” With those words, Ivy turned and walked away.

Not knowing what to do with that information—her thoughts were jumbled enough—Jaime simply put it to the back of her mind and got to work. But apparently she and those jumbled thoughts didn’t quite have an understanding, because soon enough they were tormenting her again. In all fairness, though, how could she not be feeling confused right now? The guy she wanted with every ounce of her being had gone from being aloof to suddenly wanting some kind of relationship with her.

What made it even more confusing was that he was fully aware of just how broken she was—a broken female wouldn’t be attractive to a dominant male. None of it made any sense. Of course a relationship with Dante was what she wanted, but not if that relationship didn’t mean anywhere near as much to him as it did her. And it wouldn’t mean as much to him. It would eat at her to be with him, care about him, and want to mean something to him, when he only saw her as a convenient body.

When her shift was almost over, she took out some garbage bags as usual. It was as she threw them into the huge garbage container that several unfamiliar scents surrounded her. Spinning, she found seven male wolf shifters, smirking and chuckling. All were clearly related, and all closely resembled Glory.

“Hello there, honey,” said the one in the center who was the tallest and stockiest of the seven.

His eyes surveyed her body, and a creepy smile took over his face. Looking in his eyes, she couldn’t help but get the feeling that someone else was driving. “I can see why he might be tempted to ignore his mate for you.”

“How’s your sister doing?” she asked tonelessly. Her wolf paced restlessly, recognizing their posture as threatening and beginning to feel overly anxious. In truth, Jaime wasn’t feeling particularly calm either, but she wouldn’t let them see that.

“You hurt her pretty badly. As you can imagine, I can’t have that. And since you’re Dante’s girl, that means you’re a way to hurt him, too. By dealing with you, we’re killing two birds with one stone.”

Her wolf lunged at her confines, but Jaime breathed through the pain and ignored it. “So you’re going to gang up on and beat up a girl. Huh. Your bravery staggers me.” His nostrils flared. “You messed up her face.”

“I’d do it again. What your sister fails to realize is that the huge circle of fire in the sky is what the world revolves around, not her. She wants Dante and thinks that she’s therefore entitled to have him, even if he doesn’t want her. It’s kind of sad and pathetic, really.” He looked at her curiously. “There has to be something wrong with you. Here you are, confronted by seven male shifters who have every intention of beating you to a pulp, and yet…you’re giving us attitude and insulting our sister. In a way, I kind of respect that.” Seeing that he was about to signal to his brothers to move toward her, she sighed and held up a hand. “Look, guys, you might want to think twice before doing this. I’m not an easy target. And I’ve seen CSI. I know how to get rid of the bodies and everything.” The crazy asses actually laughed, which only served to anger her wolf, who was now howling her frustration as she continued to attack her cage, wanting out. For once, she wasn’t overreacting.

One female against seven males was, undeniably, bad odds. She couldn’t call Ivy and Riley. With their ear protectors on, they’d never hear her. The only thing she could think to do was distract them until one of her coworkers came out.

Jaime looked at the empty space beside her. “I’m pretty sure they intend to hurt us badly, Mr.

Dungworth. We don’t like violence, do we, Mr. Dungworth? What course of action would you suggest?” She let her face take on a speculative look, as if she was considering an opinion.

“Interesting. Illegal and immoral, but interesting.” When she turned to the brothers, it was to see the seven glancing at each other with expressions that begged “What the f**k?” The middle brother looked to the others, gulping hard and seeming nervous. “Let’s get this over with.” None of them moved.