She turned to her mate. “Do you believe her?”

He shook his head. “I can’t work out what her game is. But, like Trey, I’m not comfortable with slinging Leif out of here. I know what Blane is capable of. Even if he’d never hurt them before, he’ll undoubtedly be furious when he finds out that they’ve run off, particularly that they ran to my pack. I don’t think you’re any more comfortable with throwing him out of here than we are.” He was right, she wasn’t comfortable with it. “Have you already agreed to let her stay?” she asked Trey.

Trey shook his head. “I wanted to talk to you both first. I can understand why this might be hard for both of you, and if you find it too hard, then I will—despite that it doesn’t sit well with me—

tell them to leave. My pack comes first.”

So if she really wanted Bitch Face gone, if she explained just how hard she’d find being around a woman whom her mate had once loved and been partially mated to, Trey would insist that Laurie leave. As much as she appreciated that and truly wanted Bitch Face gone, she—damn her freaking morals!—didn’t consider her feelings to be more important than the safety of a ten-year-old boy. “I can handle it.”

Proud of his mate, Dante curled an arm around her and tugged her to his side. He knew through their bond that she didn’t believe she’d handle it well, but she was willing to deal with it for Leif’s sake. He was sorely tempted to tell Trey to refuse them sanctuary. He wanted to spare his mate this pain and just order away this woman who was nothing more to him than a bad memory. Ten days, he reminded himself. Ten days and she’d be gone from their lives for good.

“But there’s something she needs to hear first.”

Before Dante could ask Jaime what she meant by that, she was out of the office. He and Trey followed behind her as she made her way back into the living area. Then she was in front of Laurie’s chair and bending over so that they were eye to eye.

“As you’ve already guessed,” Jaime began to the rightfully wary female, “the decision is that you and your son can stay. But hear this and don’t forget a word of it. You do not ever, ever touch Dante again. Ever,” she hissed. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m hoping you ignore me, because then I’ll have the perfect excuse to drag you out of here by your hair and proceed to smack the shit out of you.

But if you don’t want that, keep your slutty little hands off my mate.” Dante blew out a breath and shook his head a little as he reminded himself that it would be very, very bad to bend Jaime over the sofa and f**k her right there in front of everyone. His wolf growled his disagreement. Her show of dominance had gone straight to Dante’s cock, and if the pained expressions on the faces of the enforcers were anything to go by, it had had the same effect on them. Dante gave them a “Don’t even think it” look. He wasn’t like their Alpha; he didn’t like the idea of others admiring what was his.

“Your mate?” Laurie repeated numbly.

“My mate.”

She looked at Dante, who had come to stand beside Jaime. “I didn’t think you’d imprint again.”

“Neither did I, but I would have imprinted on Jaime. As it turns out, that wasn’t necessary.” Utter shock took over Laurie’s face. “You’re true mates?”

“Yes,” confirmed Jaime. “So you might want to think about that the next time you have an urge to leap at him, which, for the record, was downright pathetic.” With that, Jaime sharply turned and left the room.

Dante’s brows arched as every single female in the room rose from her seat and, casting withering looks at Laurie, also left. It was a show of loyalty to Jaime. It was a gesture that said that Laurie wouldn’t be thought of as one of the females here. It was also their way of saying that they didn’t agree with Trey’s decision. Dante turned to him. “If the other females don’t like it, Taryn isn’t going to either.”

Trey’s smile of agreement was strained. “And since she’s just given birth, I can’t even play Hiding Pedro with her to calm her down. Damn.”

“Dante, thank you so much for letting me stay.”

Dante looked down at his brother’s mate. “It’s not me you should be thanking. If Jaime hadn’t assured Trey that she could deal with you being around, you’d be gone.” Before she could say anything else, he trailed after Jaime, following her scent to their room. He wasn’t surprised to find that she had locked herself in the en-suite bathroom. He got the hint. She wanted time alone. Surely she’d learned by now that Dante didn’t accommodate the “time alone” thing for long.

He waited until he knew she was immersed in the bath before picking the lock on the door. She didn’t open her eyes when he crouched down near the bathtub, but he knew that she was aware of his presence. He dipped his hands into the water and stroked her bubble-covered arm. “I’m sorry, baby.”

“It’s not your fault.” In a way, she wished it was, because then she’d have someone to take it out on. But she’d sensed what Dante felt when he was around Bitch Face…nothing. He’d felt nothing.

He’d been suspicious and frustrated with her. But for her? Nothing.

Even so, it was freaking hard to be around someone whom her mate— her mate—had once loved enough to imprint on. Making the whole thing worse was that she and her wolf already felt insecure because the mating bond wasn’t fully developed.

“I hate knowing you feel like this.” So did his wolf. A dizzying concoction of anxiety, infuriation, jealousy, unease, and dejection was coursing through her. “It doesn’t mean we have to hold off with the mating ceremony, does it? I don’t want her presence to affect things.” Jaime’s gaze shot to his. “You want a mating ceremony?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” The answer quickly came to him. He slid a hand around to hold her nape and squeezed. “Stop thinking of yourself as broken and no good.”

“I am broken. And I’m a bitch.”

“You’re not broken. Your wolf is traumatized, but she can heal. You are strong and caring and kind and, yes, a bitch. You’re my bitch. I’m proud that you’re mine, and I want everyone to know that.” Leaning over, he fused his mouth with hers, licking along the seam of her lips, coaxing her to open for him. When she did, he swept his tongue inside and indulged in a thorough tasting of her.

“You’re not going to leave me for her?” Despite feeling that he meant every word and that he felt nothing for Bitch Face, she needed to hear him say it.

He cupped her face and stared right into those smoky-blue eyes. “Nothing and no one could make me leave you. You made your choice that night when you tried to run from me and your tin can broke down. You’ve been irreversibly mine since then.”

“Choice,” she echoed, snorting. “Like you would have accepted a no.” He smiled. “Of course I wouldn’t have. I’d already decided you were mine.” He kissed her again before skimming his nose along the crook of her neck. Nothing and no one should smell that good. Searching out her gaze again, he scrutinized her face. “Are you sure you can deal with her being here? If you think it will be too much for you and your wolf, just say the word and I’ll make her leave.”

“I’d make her leave myself if it wasn’t for Leif.”

“If I thought he’d be willing to stay here without having his mom with him, I’d ask Trey to send her to stay with one of her relatives and keep Leif here until her parents are back from wherever they are. But although I’m his uncle, I’m still a stranger to him.”

“And we don’t know for sure if there’s some truth in what she’s saying. We know what Blane’s capable of doing, and we know that he’d have no problem with hurting a kid.” It made no sense to her that people like that existed. What importance could they possibly have to the world?

“Even so, if you can’t deal, we’ll tell her to find an alternative. You come before everyone else and everything else. You’re more important.”

Knowing he truly meant that almost brought a lump to her throat. “I can deal. For the kid’s sake, I can deal.”

He kissed her gently. “Ten days and she’ll be gone.”

“I can’t guarantee the bitch will still be alive in ten days,” she said, curling her upper lip.

“Especially if she touches you again. Skank.” A groan of annoyance escaped her when she sensed a vibe of heat through the bond. “I can’t believe you’re horny right now.”

“Baby, I’m always horny when you’re around, especially when you’re all na**d and wet like this. But seeing you all assertive, possessive, and protective of our mating gets me instantly hard. Want to play gynecologists again?”

That pulled a reluctant smile from her. “Only if you make me scream so loud that there’s no way she won’t hear me.”

He flashed her a cocky smirk. “Oh, that won’t be a problem.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The next morning, Dante smiled as Jaime announced to everyone at the table—Laurie in particular—

that they had set the date for their mating ceremony as a week from now. He knew she was hoping that Laurie wouldn’t want to be around for the ceremony and would give up on her game and leave. He had yet to figure out just what that game was. Right now he was more concerned about finding a way to get that damn cat away from his mate. The ugly, furry thing gave Dante the evil eye each time he touched Jaime. As he sat on her lap being petted, he actually looked kind of smug.

“Is he yours?” Leif, who was sitting opposite Jaime, asked.

“Yep.” She smiled. Jaime liked the kid; she was surprised that he was so centered and friendly given who his parents were. “His name’s Hunk.”

“Hunk?” echoed Bitch Face with a snicker. Jaime decided to ignore her. She’d quickly learned over the past hour that paying the woman no attention ticked her off.

“What happened to him?” Leif’s eyes took in all the scars.

“We’re not sure exactly. All we know is that he was badly abused.”

“My gran has lots of cats.” His face lit up. “She loves them, but my grandfather hates them.” It was clear that he cared deeply about his grandparents.

“Dante’s not very fond of Hunk, are you?” Jaime glanced at her mate to see that he was frowning down at the cat on her lap, probably thinking up ways to get rid of him.

“I think it’s jealousy more than anything else.” Shaya’s smile was playful. “He doesn’t like anyone or anything else having your time, attention, or affection.” Dante’s expression was unrepentant. “Damn right I don’t.”

“You never liked cats, did you?” Bitch Face’s expression suddenly became nostalgic as she reached across the table. Her hand didn’t touch Dante’s, but it came close. “I remember when—” She jerked back when Hunk hissed at her. “Oh.”

Jaime shot her an apologetic look. “Sorry. It’s just that he can sense evil.” Leif laughed aloud at that but stopped when his mom gave him a reprimanding look, returning his attention to his third bowl of cereal. The kid was like Marcus in that he ate like a horse. His mother, on the other hand, appeared to be one of those people who survived on celery sticks and plain crackers.

With a sensuous smile, Bitch Face spoke. “So, Dante, I was hoping you could give us a tour. I know we’re only here for a short time, but this place is huge and I’d hate for Leif to get lost somewhere.”

“A tour’s probably a good idea.” Dante turned to Ryan, who sat at his left. “You can spare an hour to show them around, right?” Ryan’s ever-present scowl deepened, but he nodded, grunting.

“You’re not going to do it?” she asked Dante, sounding both disappointed and frustrated.

“I’m Beta. I have a lot of things to do.”

“Oh. Well, you know if you ever need any help—”

“If he needs any help, he has Jaime.” Taryn’s smile wasn’t pleasant, and Bitch Face had the sense to lower her gaze. “She’s Beta female of the pack, after all.”

“I want to be Beta when I’m old enough.” Leif licked a stray Cheerio from his spoon.

Dante smiled at him while combing his fingers through his mate’s hair with the hand that had been resting on her shoulder. “You could be.”

“My grandfather says I’d make a great Beta one day. My gran thinks so, too.” Again his face lit up as he spoke of them.

Bitch Face played with his hair. “You can be whatever you want to be, honey. You’ve already got what it takes to train to be Beta one day.”

Leif looked at her curiously, as if praise from his mother was a totally new thing. It made Jaime think back to the night of Josh’s birthday when Leif had seemed both uncomfortable and confused when his mom showed him affection.

“The Beta role is in the blood,” his mother continued. “Just look at your Uncle Dante. You could be just as great as he is one day. Couldn’t he, Dante?” Dante ignored her attempt to take the attention from her son. “When your other grandfather, my dad, was Beta, he—”

Leif’s brows shot up. “He was Beta, too? Really?”

Dante cocked his head. “You didn’t know?”

“Blane doesn’t—” Leif stopped short when his mom interrupted him.

“Have you finished your cereal?”