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)
“I know,” the Alpha bit out.
“Then stay away.”
He didn’t say “I can’t,” but his expression said it for him. Jaime felt her mood soften slightly at the sheer and utter torment on his face. Not claiming Shaya was killing him. Still, there was only one way this could go. “Stay away. You owe her that.”
“You’re right, I do.”
But he still wouldn’t stay clear of Shaya. Jaime could tell that much. She could understand that he would feel compelled to seek out his mate, but he was choosing not to claim her, and that meant he had to ignore the draw. Jaime knew exactly what Shaya would do if he didn’t. “There’s a lot you don’t know about Shaya. You think her being submissive means she’s weak? Pfft. There’s nothing weak about that female. If you push her, she’ll react, and not in a way you’ll like.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Unwilling to elaborate, she simply said, “Exactly what I said.” Dante nodded his agreement. “Claim her or leave her alone. Not just because it’s unfair to Shaya, but because it could end up causing a war between our packs.” The Alpha snickered. “Who are you either of you to preach to me about claiming your mate?
You’ve both forsaken yours. Forsaken them and shacked up with other wolves.” Inwardly, Jaime flinched. He was right—there was no escaping that or buttering up what she was doing. As if Dante sensed the twinge of guilt she was feeling, he took her hand in his.
Dante inclined his head at Nick, allowing that. A part of him felt bad about it, but there was no way he’d let Jaime go, and that was that. “But we’re not insisting on sticking our noses into their business and hanging around them, are we?”
“Don’t kid yourself into thinking that if your true mate comes along you’ll be able to ignore her. No matter how content you are with another female, the draw will be there. No matter how many times you tell yourself to keep a distance from her, you won’t be able to. If I were either of you, I’d get out of this relationship while you can. Before one of you gets hurt.” He was gone before either Dante or Jaime could respond. Jaime wasn’t exactly sure if, or how, she would have responded. Nick had been right again. If Dante’s mate appeared tomorrow, she would lose him. Even if he didn’t leave her, Jaime would still be hurt, knowing that he was with her and thinking about someone else. He’d said he didn’t want to find his mate, but Jaime knew that if he did find her, things wouldn’t be so black and white to him anymore. It was one thing to know your mate was out there and another altogether to actually see her, wasn’t it?
For Jaime, to find her mate truly would be the worst thing ever. Although she was determined to fight her wolf’s desire to take over, she knew there was still a chance that she could. To join with her mate would therefore be to risk his life, and she couldn’t do that. In Dante, she had found someone she cared for who wouldn’t demand more than she could give. Someone who would care enough to be upset if anything happened to her, but who wouldn’t die along with her. In him, she had found what she needed. And losing that would break something inside her, even if it was kind of melodramatic.
“Hey,” said Dante gently as he skimmed his thumb over her jawline. He didn’t like how quiet she was, knew that what Nick said had gotten to her. “You okay?” Nodding, she let him lead her outside to the Chevy. When she didn’t object to him driving, he knew her mind had to be racing like crazy. His usually animated Jaime was mute as he drove. Halfway to pack territory, he pulled to the side of the road. “Talk to me.”
“I’m fine,” she said without looking at him.
“You’re not fine.” He cupped her chin and turned her head so that he could see her eyes. So much confusion and anxiety there. It caused a weird tugging sensation in his chest. “Talk.” After a tense pause, she finally asked, “Dante, are you sure this is what you want? You, me, this relationship?”
“You know me well enough to know that I don’t make important decisions without giving them clear thought.”
“I know but…Look, you said you wanted a relationship, but, I mean, what constitutes a relationship to you?”
“I’ve told you, I don’t have much experience with them. For me, this is permanent. Exclusive.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about. You’d have been this possessive no matter who I was.
Relationships—permanent or not, exclusive or not—can be casual, or they can be semiserious, or they can be something much deeper.” She wanted to know just how much he was willing to emotionally invest in this.