him again.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Dante wouldn’t have guessed that Laurie had developed suicidal tendencies since they parted, but apparently she had. Why else would the odd female have repeatedly leaned across the table toward him at breakfast, trying to engage him in conversation? She had been careful not to touch him, but only barely. Anyone could tell that Jaime was close to snapping her in half, yet she persisted. He could have spent some time alone with her to try to figure out her game, but he knew that would be hard for Jaime, and he didn’t want to be around the confusing woman anyway.
When he and Jaime had returned from the animal sanctuary after he’d worked another shift with her, Laurie resumed her odd behavior throughout lunch and was doing it again now as they sat in the living area where most of the pack was congregated. Even though he wasn’t giving Laurie any encouragement, he could feel that the whole situation was hurting Jaime. When she hurt, he hurt.
His protective instincts were going crazy, and it had become automatic to pretty much curl himself around Jaime whenever Laurie was near, just like he was now on an armchair. One thing he wouldn’t allow the female to do was make his mate doubt his commitment to her. So whenever Laurie reached out to him, he drew back and avoided her touch. Whenever she spoke to him, he responded politely and then turned his attention to Jaime. At no point would he add to the hurt that his mate was already going through.
Burying his nose in the crook of her neck, he took that caramel-and-honeysuckle scent into his system. His dick twitched instantly. He licked at his claiming mark before whispering into her ear,
“You’re too tense.” When he sucked the lobe into his mouth, a tremor ran through her and she squirmed in her seat, making him smile. He loved that he had such an immediate effect on her.
Quietly, she explained, “I’m just worried for Shaya.”
So was he. Taryn’s uncle Don, his mate, and Nick—as he was their Alpha—were due any minute now to visit Kye. “Originally I decided that if he ever ignored my warning and tried coming here again, I’d tell Trey everything. But it’s hard to not feel a twinge of sympathy for him.” Jaime nodded. “Maybe we should give the guy one last shot to do the right thing.”
“If he doesn’t, well, we’ll make sure he understands that this is his last visit.”
“Sounds fair.” Jaime sighed. “I still don’t like the idea of Shaya being in pain.” He pressed a calming kiss to her temple. Not that he thought it would truly work. Jaime was very protective of those she considered hers, and now that she was Beta female, they were all her wolves to look out for. As such, not much could soothe her right now.
“Hey, Dante, do you remember that time when you and I went ice-skating and I got a concussion after falling?”
He sighed inwardly. Laurie liked to talk about “old times” a lot, something that agitated the hell out of Jaime, who was now stiff in his arms. Ignoring Laurie, he curled himself even tighter around his mate. “You’re doing so much better than I would be if the situation was the other way around,” he said quietly.
“No, I’m not. I just know perfectly well that the best way to annoy an attention seeker is to not give them a reaction.” That wasn’t to say that Jaime didn’t often visualize cutting off the bitch’s air supply until she resembled a Smurf. And it would be so easy to do it now that Bitch Face had moved to the end of the sofa, putting herself within arm’s reach.
Laurie continued, “Do you remember how you picked me up and took me to—”
“It won’t work,” Greta told Laurie with a huff, gaining the attention of most in the room.
Laurie smiled nervously. “I’m sorry?”
“You want to cause a little rift between my Dante and Jaime. It won’t work. They’re solid.”
“I’d never hurt Dante like that.”
Dante almost laughed as snorts erupted from both Greta and Jaime, who gave each other looks that said, “Is this female for real?” Apparently, they were prepared to band together against a common foe.
“Don’t think I don’t know what you did to him all those years ago,” Greta snarled. “You and Blane deserve each other, in my opinion. You could never have made a good Beta female. That requires loyalty, you see. That’s something