Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 107670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Gently turning Harley to face him, Jesse began to massage her shoulders. “I knew Kathy would have problems with you being here. I didn’t expect her to pit you and Roni against each other. I don’t think anyone would have expected that.”
“Maybe Nat and Kim riled up Kathy, who then riled up the others.”
“Whatever the case, Shaya’s going to freak.” His Alpha female liked Harley and didn’t tolerate shit like that. He continued his massage, but the tension didn’t leave her. And he quickly sensed . . . “Your cat’s pissed.”
“Very.” The cat had a wicked temper and was raking Harley with her claws, wanting out.
“How do you usually calm her down?”
“Give her freedom for a few hours. But if I did that now, we both know what she’d do with that freedom.”
Hunt down the wolves who had challenged her. “Let her out.”
“Look, I know you’re pissed at Kathy and might find some satisfaction in seeing her mauled—”
“I never meant give her the freedom to go hunting. I meant, let her out, trust me to calm and soothe her.”
Harley grimaced. “I’m not sure that will work.”
“My wolf would calm for you.” He rubbed his nose against hers. “Trust me. Shift. I’ll calm her.”
“It takes her hours to truly simmer down, and you have to go back to work.”
He shook his head. “I’m done for the day. I’m not leaving you.”
“You think there’ll be more trouble?”
“No.”
“But your protective instincts are doing a frenzied dance after that little confrontation, so you don’t want me out of your sight,” she guessed.
He kissed her. “I never want you out of my sight. Now, come on, let her out.”
Dubious, Harley nonetheless stripped naked and placed her folded-up clothes on a dining chair. “Good luck.” Then she gave her cat the freedom it craved.
Jesse crouched down so as not to seem so intimidating to the angry margay. “Hey, pretty kitty.” She spat at him, repeatedly smacking the floor with her tail. “I know, I know. But you can’t go hunting.” Risking his eyeballs, Jesse scooped her up and held her against his chest. She squirmed and let out a low guttural growl; sharp claws pricked him, but she didn’t draw blood. He took that as a good sign.
“Shush,” he soothed, petting her with firm strokes all the way from her head to her tail. The writhing soon stopped, but she kept on growling—it was one continuous sound. “I’m mad at them too.” He scratched the top of her head. “But you still can’t kill them.” And so the growling continued.
When some of the tension finally left her, Jesse lay on the sofa, legs crossed at the ankles, and rested her on top of him. He scratched her behind the ears and under her jawline, until the growling turned to purring and she relaxed.
Grabbing the remote from the coffee table, he switched on the TV. The cat opened one eye and, apparently uninterested in the choices that Netflix had to offer, closed it again and drifted off. They stayed like that for hours as Jesse had his own movie marathon. The Wolf of Wall Street was just finishing when there was a knock at the door.
Still pissed with his pack, Jesse wasn’t in the mood to get up and greet anyone. “Who is it?” he called out gruffly, stroking the waking cat sprawled on his chest.
“Me,” said a female voice hesitantly. Shaya.
He silently swore. If it had been anyone else, he could have told them to fuck off. But he found it practically impossible to be mad at Shaya. “Door’s unlocked.”
It slowly opened a little, and Shaya stepped halfway inside, clearly unsure of her welcome. “Hi.” She smiled at the cat. “Hi, there.”
The cat released a quiet growl.
Shaya’s smile wavered. “Not a happy kitty.”
“No,” agreed Jesse.
The Alpha female blew out a long breath. “Can’t say I blame her. Our pack let you both down today—hell, they let themselves down. Bracken and Zander feel truly awful.”
Jesse frowned. “They had nothing to do with it.”
“No, but they were part of the last pack that ganged up on Harley. It’s eating at them that ours did the same thing. That’s why they’re both currently guarding the perimeter of your lodge, refusing to let anyone near it. I had to prove my intentions were honorable before they’d let me pass. I mean, hello, I’m Alpha female here.”
Jesse’s mouth kicked up into a smile. He wasn’t surprised. He, Bracken, and Zander had been friends since childhood and were as close as brothers.
“They’re also making Eli and Roni hang behind until you agree to see them. I can understand if you’d really rather not, but I’d appreciate it if you’d let them fix this. They feel bad about it, and they don’t want a divide in the pack.”
Neither did Jesse. As Nick said, they needed to be a unit right now. Hector was the enemy. Eli might have acted like an asshole, but he was a decent guy who’d had Jesse’s back in battle more than once. Jesse sighed. “All right.”