Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 137004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
“See, now, if you’re reacting that way and I’m not your mate, is it any wonder that she wanted to draw blood?”
“I guess not. But you didn’t answer my question.”
He sighed. “Laurie threw herself at me when I was trying to get to Jaime’s wolf. She was afraid because of the duel between Jaime’s and Glory’s wolves, and she didn’t know what to do.” His wolf snarled at the memory.
“Afraid? Really?”
In response to the skepticism in her voice, he arched a brow questioningly.
“You don’t think that she did it on purpose?”
“Why would she?”
She gave him an impatient look. “Dante, honey, for a very observant person you have such a blind spot. The woman is jealous. I don’t know whether it’s because she’s still slightly possessive of you because you were once mated—”
“Partially mated.”
“—or whether it’s something else, but it wouldn’t surprise me if she did it on purpose so that there was no way Jaime would let you near her.”
“But she stayed with Jaime to fight when she could have just gone back to the caves with the rest of you.”
Grace shrugged. “I didn’t say I had all the answers. I just know the woman is jealous and doesn’t want you with Jaime. Did you know she came to your room just before the mating ceremony?
She wanted to see you alone. Dominic chased her off, and then Hope did her best to keep her away from you.”
He hadn’t known that, but at the moment he didn’t care to try to understand it. “Grace, I really can’t think of all this right now. All I care about is Jaime and making sure that she comes back.”
“Can you sense her?”
“Yes. She’s tired and irritated. Her wolf isn’t being very receptive to her right now.”
“She still feels unsafe. Unless that changes, she won’t pay much attention to what Jaime thinks or feels.”
He nodded. “I know. I’ve kept the number of visitors to a minimum. I figure the fewer people and scents around her, the better. It might help if she doesn’t think strange shifters are going to be hanging around what’s now effectively her den.” Only Taryn, Shaya, and Gabe had been inside the room. None of them had received a welcoming greeting from the black wolf. “I tried giving her one of my T-shirts that Jaime wears to bed, thinking she might find it comforting the way Jaime does. She ripped it to shreds.” Hearing Grace’s heavy sigh, he looked at her curiously. “What?”
“It’s just that seeing her like this…it reminds me of…”
“Louisa,” he easily supplied, since he’d been thinking the same thing. “Jaime won’t turn rogue.” It was an adamant statement, but he wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince more—himself or Grace.
“I hope not, honey. I really hope not.”
Dante spent the rest of the day simply talking to the black wolf. Most of the words were for Jaime, but the gentling tone was for the wolf. She didn’t calm as he’d hoped. When she wasn’t pacing or attacking her cage, she was huddled in a ball growling at anyone who came even remotely close to the crate—him included. So far he could only get three feet from the cage without the wolf growling and baring her teeth. Two feet, he promised himself before he went to sleep that night on the chair in the examination room. I’ll make it to two feet away tomorrow.
But he didn’t. The wolf’s state was worse in the morning rather than better, though she did actually eat the food Grace brought for her. Again he spent his day with her, talking to her, remaining at her side in a gesture that said he was there for her, only her. The fact was that he had no idea how to win her wolf’s trust. Trust was something that had to be earned, but how did he earn it in such a short time without being in a situation where he was tested? He had no freaking idea.
The only plan he had been able to come up with was to become a permanent fixture in that room, and one that was never once threatening or frightening. He ate his meals in there, he showered in the en-suite bathroom when he needed to, and he slept in either the chair or the bed. He also ensured that he was the one who fed her and cleaned her cage—though she had to be tranquilized each time they needed to clean it. He would see to her every need, would make the wolf see that he could and would care for her.
Day three was also a bad day. The wolf jumped at every noise, every voice, every unexpected movement. It broke his heart to see her so frightened and anxious. He understood then why Jaime had been so compelled to sit with that little dog, Ben, in the sanctuary—that was all Dante wanted to do right now. Just sit with her and hold her, pet her, and comfort her. The problem was that each time he went near the crate, she attacked it. Answering his wolf’s desperate need to have contact with his mate, he had shifted forms. That hadn’t worked well. Her wolf had recognized him as her mate, but she didn’t associate him with safety or security, so she hadn’t wanted him close.