Chapter 9

“Never underestimate the strength of solidarity found in a pack of women. It can put a pack of wolves to shame any day of the week. Poor, poor, little male fur balls. The Great Luna help anyone that hurts one of our girls. We will de-man you, de-fur you, de-pride you, and de-anything else we can think of to remind you that we will not be silent, passive mates bending to your every whim. Get over yourselves, dudes. Contrary to what you think, you are not all that. You’re just flea-infested, overbearing, pompous jackasses. Hot? Yes. Sexy? Yes. Irresistible? Sorry, but no. And because we care so much, we will gladly bring you down several notches from the high horses you sometimes put yourselves on. Courtesy of your friendly female pack leader.” ~Jen


Jen laid back and stretched out her legs, hanging them over the armrest of the loveseat. Her long, blonde hair flowed down over the side of the opposite armrest. This was a familiar pose for the she-wolf when she was in the library hanging with her friends. Tonight, however, it was friend, singular. Jacque occupied the other couch and there was an emptiness to the room without Sally’s presence.
“So is Bethany okay, then?” Jacque asked after Jen brought her up to speed on the evening’s drama.
“I think so. She won’t be scarred for life or anything. Although teaching her what and how to use a tampon was not one of my best moments.”
“Well, it was something practical and non-sexual, so it’s understandable that you wouldn’t give it your best effort,” Jacque quipped.
“Shut up, Red. Like you could have done any better,” Jen glowered. “Speaking of the new she-wolf, I invited her tonight.”
“And I’m sorry I’m late.” A sweet voice came from the doorway. Their heads whipped around as Bethany closed the door behind her and then turned to stare back at them.
“Better late than too early,” Jen sang. “Come in, come in. Join us if you dare.”
“If I dare? Are you two planning a murder or hatching some evil plan to take over the world?” Bethany joked, as she came further in and took the empty chair between the couches.
“Been there, done that.” Jacque waved her off. “We’ve moved on to ways to torment our mates.”
“Well, that is a lesson I’m totally on board with. How can I help?” Bethany asked, rubbing her hands together eagerly.
Jen flung herself up and spun on her butt to face the newcomer. “What did that future rug do?” she growled. She knew her eyes were glowing because Bethany’s brow rose and her mouth dropped open. If Drake had hurt her, Jen was going to castrate him, without anesthesia.
Jacque sat up as well and faced her. “Did he hurt you? I mean, there’s no way he would physically hurt you. It’s ingrained in their DNA to be unable to strike their mate, but stupid wasn’t bred out of them, so hurting us emotionally, that, they are totally capable of.”
Jen could tell that Bethany needed to talk about it. There was a burning ache in her eyes and yet she wasn’t sure if she should.
“I don’t want you guys to think I’m stupid.”
Jen rolled her eyes. “Girl, please. You have a vagina. We’d never think you’re stupid.”
“What,” Jacque quickly interjected, “my weird friend is trying to say is—”
Jen interrupted. “Hoes before bros. Chicks before dicks. Sisters before misters. Girls before…” Jen paused. “Well, whatever rhymes with girls, you get the picture.”
“Wow,” Jacque said with wide eyes. “Well, if you weren’t scared before, you probably are now. Jen has no filter. As in nada, zero, completely absent of.”
“Like that needed to be explained,” Jen chastised. “Now, back to the future eunuch werewolf. What did he do?” she asked again.
“We had a fight.”
“About?” Jacque prompted the obviously reluctant girl.
“Touching.”
“Did that ass touch you without your consent? If he so much as laid a fingertip on a body part that you did not authorize, I will—”
“No,” Bethany interrupted Jen quickly. “No, in fact, it’s the exact opposite. He won’t touch me.” A single tear slid down Bethany’s face and it tore at Jen’s heart.
“What do you mean?”
“He thinks of me like a child, a little girl, because I don’t have knowledge of the physical aspects of a relationship. I mean, I know a little. It’s not like the vampires didn’t talk…a little too vividly at times. I understand the mechanics of how babies are made but—”
“You’re unknowledgeable about foreplay,” Jen offered.
“Since I don’t even know what foreplay means, yes, that.”
“Well, my little blossoming flower, you have come to the right place,” Jen grinned.
“Good grief,” Jacque flung herself back on the couch and pinched the bridge of her nose. “This is going to be—”
“Beyond awesome,” Jen interjected. “You are my greatest dream, Bethy-bug. A blank slate. A completely uninfluenced specimen.”
“Dude, she’s not a freaking lab experiment,” Jacque pointed out.
“Red, shut it. You’ve had your moment. You were like practically dead. Everyone worried over you. Blah, blah, blah, Let me have mine.”
Bethany looked at Jacque. “Should I be scared now?”
Jacque nodded. “If I didn’t think she’d chase you, and be totally hot and bothered by it, I’d tell you to run.”
“What?” Bethany laughed.
“Don’t mind her,” Jen said. “She’s just bitter that she can’t be as adventurous as I am in the bedroom. She’s not able to let go of her inhibitions and truly take pleasure in married, mated, whatever, physical bliss.”
“And how would you know?” Jacque challenged. “Have you been watching me and Fane?”
“Yes, you’re totally vanilla.”
“Jen you have better be joking or I swear I’ll dye your skin blue,” Jacque turned to Bethany. “She has an irrational fear of Smurfs all of a sudden.”
“Well, if you had some weird sexual dream about your mate and that female hussie Smurf, then you’d have a hang-up too,” Jen snapped.
Bethany was practically rolling as she held her stomach. Jen was glad they were easing her pain, but she still wanted to get to the bottom of what was going on between her and Drake.
“Enough with the deflection, Jacque. Bethany,” —she snapped her fingers at her— “spill your guts. What happened between you and the berserker?”
Bethany took a deep breath and then dove in. “I really like him. I mean, I know it’s only been a week, but there’s something about him that connects with me.”
“He’s your soul mate. Of course, you connect,” Jacque told her. Jen shushed her and motioned for Bethany to continue.
“Not for a moment have I been scared of him or felt uncomfortable. In fact, it’s sort of weird but up until the whole period thing, I’ve never really even been embarrassed or shy in front of him. I feel like…like he’s an extension of myself, and I trust him as I trust myself. I don’t understand it, but I lived with vampires for eleven years, so I know fear. I lived and breathed it every day. I feel just the opposite around Drake that I felt with the vampires. With Drake, I feel safe, protected. He shelters me. And, well, I mean he’s really good looking and I really like his body.”
“I love her bluntness,” Jen said absently but then quieted.
“And because of those things, I want to be close to him. But the only thing I’ve longed for in my life was my freedom. It’s all I thought about. Every moment of every day. It was a desperate cry of my soul and nothing, no desire, had ever surpassed it until Drake. I crave him. I want to feel him. It’s like his touch would be able to quench my thirst. It’s intense, but I accept it. I even welcome it. For once, I have something I never ever thought I would have—a future. I thought I was going to die in those tunnels with those monsters. And now, now, I actually have hope.”
The room was silent when she finished talking until Jacque finally spoke up. “That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Okay,” Jen said, suddenly all business. “You said he won’t touch you because he doesn’t think you know what all that could lead to, correct?”
She nodded.
“He’s got some hang-up that if he touches you, it’s like touching a seven-year-old girl.”
“Ew,” Jacque groaned. “Don’t say that.”
“No,” Jen smacked Jacque. “I’m not saying he’s a perv or anything. I’m saying he sees her mental state as innocent, like a child’s. I’m sure he doesn’t actually think of her as a child.”
“I’m not seven,” Bethany said adamantly.
“Sweetie, with tattas like those” —Jen motioned to her chest— “it’s quite apparent that you aren’t seven. You’re what, a D, a double D? I don’t remember what size bra I gave you. Point is, you’ve got goods and he’s noticing them. But he can’t reconcile the goods with the young girl who was taken eleven years ago and kept from being a part of a world where she would have matured naturally and learned about these things. You see?”
“I guess. But I don’t feel like a young girl. I feel old.”
“Well, that’s to be expected. You’ve been through more crap than most people will ever face in a lifetime. So in some ways, you are very mature. We just need little Drakey to see that.”
“Don’t call him little Drakey,” Jacque said dryly. “Ever.”
Jen pressed on ignoring the redhead’s comment. “So let’s start your education. Let’s get you knowledgeable so that Drake no longer feels like a creeper around you.”
“Again, ew,” Jacque said.
“And, you will be able to decide, after learning about these things, whether or not you’re truly ready to complete the Blood Rites and be joined with him. It might be that after we unveil the mysteries of the sexual world, you decide that you need some time, like years, to process it. If that’s the case, then Drake will have to wait those years to be intimate with you, because, sorry, honey, in my crib, people have to seal the mated deal before they get to roll around in the sheets.”
“Okay, stop.” Jacque held up her hand. “I swear your analogies get more and more ridiculous.”
“You’re just jealous you don’t have my mad communication skills.”
“Yes, I’m totally jealous. I’m jealous of your bedroom activities. I’m jealous of your ability to spew BS. I’m jealous of your black-op skills, your anagram making skills, and, hell, I’m even jealous of your ability to give birth to a baby and not die. Oh please, Jen, teach me your ways,” Jacque pled in a breathy, desperate voice. “Please, oh wise one, share your knowledge and skills.”
Jen stared at Jacque with a single brow raised and then turned back to Bethany. “Ignore her,” Jen told Bethany. “And I know you’ve got questions. So let’s go.”
“I do have some questions. Drake said some things when we were arguing. He asked me to name things that married or mated couples do. Of course, all I can think of is kissing and sex. But there’s obviously more. I need to know what that ‘more’ is.” Bethany said. Her face was red and Jen could tell she was hesitant.
Jen looked at Bethany, really looked at her. She was truly dying to learn. She wanted to be with Drake so much that she was willing to sit there with two women she barely knew and talk about things as intimate as lovemaking and all that went with it. Drake was a lucky son of a wolf and Jen was going to happily point it out to him the next time she saw him. Stupid werewolf butthead, she growled to herself.
Well, if Bethany wanted to learn, then Jen would not deprive her of the opportunity. “Does Drake make you feel all tingly in places you aren’t supposed to talk about?”
Jacque choked on the drink she was taking, and Jen patted her on the back while still looking at Bethany.
“Yes,” she answered.
“And, you aren’t sure what to do about the tingling because you don’t know what those things are?” And with that question, the dam broke.
With a huge sigh, her mouth opened and out flowed the words that Jen was sure had nearly been choking her. “Exactly. Drake makes me happy. He makes me laugh. He makes me feel things that I don’t understand. I like when he touches me—”
“Whoa, whoa,” Jen interrupted at the same time Jacque said, “Stop there.”
“I thought you said he doesn’t touch you?” Jen asked as she leaned forward and rested her forearms on her knees.
“He holds my hand, he puts his arms around me, he touches my face. There’s no pain when he touches me. But he only touches me certain places. My thigh, where the markings are, for example, he can’t touch me there apparently.”
“Oh, no the markings are like catnip to a cat. Their wolf sees them and all he can think of, at that point, is that you’re his and he wants to claim you. It becomes primal, which is harder for him to control. Okay, so we’ve established he hasn’t touched you, touched you?” Jen asked.
“Touched me, touched me?” Bethany questioned.
“She means has he touched you anywhere that makes you gasp, groan, or turn into a shameless hussy begging for more?” Jacque asked before Jen could answer.
Jen looked over at her best friend. “Wow, being nearly dead changed you.”
Jacque shrugged. “It’ll do that to a person.”
“I feel sort of like that when he kisses me,” Bethany admitted. “I just feel like there’s more. I want more and I don’t understand exactly what that means and he won’t tell me. Every time I ask him, he says that I’m not ready to know those things. He treats me like I’m fragile.”
“I’m sure Drake is confused about how far to take things because, as we’ve already talked about, he knows that you aren’t knowledgeable about a lot of things, including our species, and he doesn’t want to take advantage of you,” Jacque explained. “And they all think we females are fragile. It’s our job to remind them that we are anything but.”
“How do you do that?” Bethany asked.
“You hit them,” Jen answered.
“And throw things at them,” Jacque continued.
“And make them build a dog house for dogs that don’t exist,” Jen added.
“Also,” Jacque interjected, “you can go to a bar without their knowledge.”
“Or do a striptease in a room full of people,” Jen laughed. “Yep, that one will hit them where it hurts every time.”
“Every time?” Bethany’s eyes widened. “You mean it’s happened more than once?”
“Clothes are annoying. My philosophy is the less you’re wearing, the shorter the show, which has the added benefit of giving you a head start on the pursuing furball—because they will be pursuing, believe me.”
Bethany was speechless.
“Oh!” Jacque said, snapping her fingers. “There’s also the your touch is uninvited card.” She smiled at Bethany, whose eyes widened.
“Burn,” Jen said. “They hate that one. I think they’d rather you kick them in the balls than tell them they aren’t allowed to touch you.”
“How do those things make them see you as not fragile?”
“Listen up, sweet cheeks,” Jen said as she stood and walked to one of the shelves in the library and grabbed a book. She set it on one of the tables and flipped it open, continuing to flip pages until she came to what she was looking for. “Ah, here it is. Fragile, of an object, easily broken or damaged, flimsy or insubstantial.” She snorted a laugh. “Yeah right. Where was I? Oh, yeah, easily destroyed. Fragile, of a person, not strong or sturdy; delicate and vulnerable. Synonyms include tenuous, shaky, insecure, unreliable, flimsy, weak, delicate, and frail. There’s more but I think we get the picture.” She slammed the book closed and sauntered back over to her seat.
“As you can see, it takes a woman with large jewels to stand up to a werewolf. We do not have the luxury of being flimsy or easily destroyed. So when they begin to think we are, we remind them that we are not passive, vulnerable bitches. We are she-wolves, and we will bite if we have to. Whether it’s a real bite, which hey back to that whole foreplay thing, or it’s only a figurative bite, they will feel our strength, our durability, and our robustness. Love that word by the way—robustness. Makes me want to strut around while nodding and saying ‘Yeah, I’m robust. What’s it to ya, punk?’ ”
“Oh holy troll tongues, please do,” Jacque begged as she laughed.
Bethany covered her mouth as she tried to keep from rolling.
“You totally got those from the antonym section, didn’t you?” Jacque asked through her fit of laughter.
“Totally,” Jen agreed still feeling robust.
Once they’d pulled themselves back together, Bethany leaned forward. “What else?”
“My, my you’ve become an eager little beaver. Oh man, that’s frickin—” Jen started to say but Jacque slapped a hand over her mouth and shook her head.
When she removed the hand, Jen’s lips puckered. “Too soon?”
Jacque nodded. “Way too soon. Teach her the slang after she’s mated.”
“You’re no fun,” Jen whined.
“Yeah, and you’re a flipping Ferris wheel of laughs.”
Bethany let out a growl, much to everyone’s surprise. “How can I become knowledgeable if you two keep arguing?”
Jen leaned back on the couch. She couldn’t help the sly smile. Bethany was like a shiny wrapped Christmas present with Jen’s name on the tag. “You really are too good to be true,” she purred. “Eager and you have a backbone? Now I finally get to impart my knowledge to someone who will appreciate it.”
“Jen, NO.” Jacque placed a hand on her arm as if to hold her back.
“Oh no, wolf-princess, you aren’t taking this from me. She needs my help,” Jen pointed to Bethany. “She is frustrated and she doesn’t even understand why. That’s just cruel. I won’t leave her ignorant. She has wants and needs that only her mate can fulfill, and her mate is being a coward.”
Jacque covered her face with a hand and groaned. “I don’t know if he’ll thank you or curse you.”
“Oh, he’ll definitely thank me, eventually.” She winked at Jacque and then turned back to Bethany. “If you can feel him, tell your mate to get out of your head and give you some privacy,” Jen said as she stood and walked over to a wall of bookshelves.
“Oh, he’s not there. I think he’s pretty ticked off actually.” She paused before adding, “I sort of told him that he wasn’t allowed to touch me and that maybe another male should be the one to, you know, well, yeah…” Bethany said, her hands fidgeting restlessly in her lap. “He got pretty upset at that point and broke a lamp. So, sorry about that,” she told Jen, who had a huge smile pasted on her face.
“Wait, put on the brakes and back the truck up. You told him that he wasn’t allowed to touch you? You used one of our foolproof, kick ya where it hurts and laugh, I am woman hear me roar, and I’m not fragile, dammit, cards?”
Bethany nodded, looking very unsure. “I think so. I said he’d lost the privilege.”
“Oh this is rich,” Jen laughed as she threw her head back. “I’m sure he was beyond ticked. He flipped his lid no doubt. Wait.” She sat up. “Did you say he broke a lamp?”
“I don’t get what the big deal is. He said something about me not understanding about your magic,” Bethany admitted.
“Pack magic is powerful. Words can be very powerful if fueled by the right emotion. He’s your mate and he’s bitten you. That bite created an even stronger bond than just the mental one that you two share. You are part Canis lupus. All of those things factor into your ability to wield pack magic. If you truly meant that you didn’t want his touch, that it is unwelcome, and you spoke those words to him, then he will not be able to touch you. Literally, he cannot touch you. We’ve, uh, had experience with that particular magic, isn’t that right, Red?”
Jacque snorted. “Oh yeah, we’ve been down that road. The fur balls were not happy.”
“Understatement,” Jen cooed.
“Truth,” Jacque agreed.
“What will happen if he tries to touch me?” Bethany asked with a raised brow.
“He’ll be thrown into next Saturday onto his overbearing backside.”
“Can a backside really be overbearing?” Jacque asked.
Jen snapped her fingers at her friend, though her eyes stayed on Bethany. “Nobody asked for your commentary.”
“Technically, it was a question, not a comment.”
“I think I liked you better when you were almost dead,” Jen huffed.
“The feeling might be mutual,” Jacque countered.
“Wait, what?” Bethany’s eyes widened. “You’ve both been almost dead?”
“I actually was dead,” Jen admitted. “Peri brought me back. It was no big thing.”
Jacque started to open her mouth but Jen threw her a look causing her to snap her mouth shut.
“Can we please get back to Tinker Bell?” She motioned to Bethany who frowned. “Well, you’re kind of small. Curvy, but small, like Tinker Bell. Have you seen that chick’s hips? She’s got this tiny waist and—”
“Jen!” Jacque growled.
“Right, sorry. Let’s start with what you do know,” she began. “You know, obviously, what kissing is?”
Bethany nodded.
“Okay, well everything from that point on needs to happen after the whole life commitment happens, because, honey, once lines start getting crossed and your momentum gets going, it is hard to take the wind back out of the sails and nearly impossible to put the ship in reverse. Anything we talk about from this point forward will be subjects intended to be experienced with your mate alone. Only the person willing to bind himself to you and vow to put you first, to protect you, to love you, and to cherish you, only he should have the right to your body, which is a gift. Never forget that.”
Bethany seemed to consider this for a moment and then she said, “Agreed.”
“How can you be so deep and yet so shallow?” Jacque asked her best friend with a raised brow and awestruck eyes.
“It’s a gift, Red. A burden I must bear. A cross I must carry. A—”
“We get the point,” Jacque growled.
Jen stood and walked over to one of the many shelves that housed an array of books. She pulled out several books from the shelves, grinning to herself and humming. She walked back over to where the other two sat and resumed her place on the couch. Jen held the books in her lap and leaned on them as she looked at Bethany. “Let’s start with the basics. You know the difference between a man and a woman’s body, correct?”
Bethany’s slow nod was not reassuring.
“Okay, even more basic. Boys have a penis and girls have a vagina,” Jen said as though talking to a child.
“Jen,” Jacque groaned. “First of all, it was disturbing that you knew exactly where those books were and, bloody pixie balls, please keep the descriptions to an absolute minimum.”
“What? She needs to know this stuff.” Jen frowned. “Bloody pixie balls? Really, Jacque? I think being nearly dead has detached your brain from your mouth.”
“You’re one to talk, you filter-less heifer.”
Jen ignored her redheaded friend and turned back to Bethany. “So you know the differences?”
“Yes, I know that,” Bethany said with more confidence.
“Good, now do you know how they fit together?”
“What?” Bethany’s eyes widened.
Jen was practically bouncing in her seat. “This is better than I expected.” She opened one of the books on her lap and turned it to face Bethany.
Jacque leaned forward and gasped when she saw what was in the book. “That was in the pack library?”
“Told you Alina and Vasile were freaks,” Jen smirked.
“This is your library, you over-sexed, freak,” Jacque reminded her friend.
Jen shrugged. “It was never in question that I’m a freak. But a lot of these books were brought over from the Romanian pack library when Decebel took over the Serbian pack. Apparently, the previous Alpha was into keeping his pack ignorant on, well, pretty much everything concerning the history of their race. Personally, I think it was Vasile’s way of getting rid of the evidence,” she said, waving said evidence at her.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Jacque teased and then held up her hand. “No more. We could do this all day. She needs our help.” Jacque motioned toward a very still, very shocked looking Bethany.
Bethany hadn’t said a word. She was staring at the pictures with a look on her face that Jen couldn’t quite decipher. There was shock, maybe a tad bit of embarrassment, a drop of horror, and a whole lot of fascination.
“Is he—” Bethany started and began to point but then pulled her hand back. “I mean, that’s…” She stumbled over her words trying to process what she was seeing. Finally, she ended with “really?”
“Maybe you should have started a little slower,” Jacque muttered.
“They’re pictures,” Jen huffed. “How much more elementary can you get?”
“They’re pictures of intimate positions, Jen, not freaking Dr. Seuss books.”
Jen laughed. “Can you imagine if Dr. Seuss published a book like this? Instead of Horton Hatches the Egg it would be Ferguson Fertilizes the Female. You’d never look at those books the same.”
Jacque screeched and hit her with a pillow. “I have a kid who’s probably going to want those books read to him and you just totally messed it up.”
“I never claimed to be sane,” Jen chirped. “Now, getting back to our not Dr. Seuss picture book. Do you have any questions?”
“Just a few hundred,” Bethany answered with a straight face.
Jen grinned. “Excellent. What do you want to know?”



Drake needed to move. He needed to turn on his heel, walk away, and give his mate privacy. That’s what he needed to do. But his feet stayed planted firmly on the ground beneath him. Bethany had floored him with her actions. First, she’d declared him unable to touch her which infuriated him and tore at his soul. His wolf longed for that touch. Then she’d gone and talked with other females about their intimate, or lack thereof, relationship. Why couldn’t she see that he was just trying to respect her and do the right thing? Did she honestly believe that he didn’t want her? She was his true mate. He couldn’t not want her even if he wanted to, which he didn’t. He wanted her with every breath he took. His wolf cried out for her but she wasn’t hearing him because, unfortunately, she’d mastered closing the bond down quite efficiently.
When the girls’ conversation moved on to other topics, Drake decided that another run and maybe even some one-on-one fighting would do him some good. His feet started moving before he even finished the thought. As soon as he was outside and into the first layer of trees, he stripped from his clothes and phased. He welcomed his wolf and allowed him to take over, pushing aside the emotions of the man. He shook out his fur and stretched out his legs and back. Then his wolf threw back his head and let out a long howl. All of the things that had bombarded him, all the human emotions warring within him, were pushed into that howl. He felt free after the howl died away—as though his mixed up emotions had been carried away on the wind, dissipating with the howl into the atmosphere—at least for a little while. He heard his pack brothers and sisters join in response and felt the comradery of their kind. Peace flowed in his soul as his wolf took comfort from their pack.
Drake tucked his hind legs down and then lunged forward. His powerful muscles propelled him much further than a natural wolf, and when his paws hit the ground, his motions were as smooth and effortless as breathing. The wind blew through his coat and cooled the rage inside of him. The familiar smells and sounds of the forest comforted him, not in the same way his true mate was capable of, of course, but comforting all the same.
Drake ran around fifteen miles, covering the distance in about twenty minutes, much faster than his natural brothers in the wild. Just when he was turning back toward the mansion, he felt her. She’d opened the bond enough that he could feel some of her emotions. She was tired. His feet stumbled as another wave of emotion hit him. She didn’t want to see him. Wow, talk about a knife to the heart, he thought. He didn’t know what she was thinking, because she wouldn’t let him in that far. But when he felt her mounting frustration and agitation begin to grow, Drake picked up his speed. He wouldn’t deal with things tonight. They were both too emotional and exhausted. But he wouldn’t stay away either.
By the time he’d made it back to the mansion, his wolf was much more relaxed, and the man felt much more reasonable, despite what he’d felt from Bethany. Drake found his shed clothes, dressed, and walked back inside toward the suite he was sharing with Bethany. As soon as he opened the door, her scent hit him, and the contentment he’d felt while running through the forest increased tenfold.
He closed the door quietly behind him and walked over to the bedroom door. It was closed— not a good sign. He pressed his ear to it and could hear her steady breathing. Drake desperately wanted to see her, wanted to hold her, but she’d made it perfectly clear that that is not what she wanted. So he would accept, for now, that she was safe in their suite and he could keep her safe.
Drake eased onto the couch and laid back, letting out a tired sigh. There wasn’t much time left in the night so sleep would be short, but it would be better than nothing. With thoughts of his mate filling his mind, he let the call of sleep pull him under.