CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER NINE

Watching the kids running around while Bruce yapped at their heels, Harley smiled. The play area looked awesome with all the fake green and brown foliage twined around the wood. Camo fabric, inflatable banana trees, and animal-print balloons added to the jungle feel. The large stuffed jungle animals were also a nice touch . . . right up until the kids each claimed one and ran off with them.

Sadly, the party hadn’t been a surprise, since Cassidy had foreseen it. Still, she was thoroughly enjoying herself, leaping around in her leopard costume. Willow was always close behind in her tiger costume, roaring or laughing.

All four of the other children were in fancy dress getups. Well, they had arrived in costumes. A toddler with a mop of blond curls named Dexter had long ago stripped off his giraffe suit and was dashing around in his underwear.

The only outsiders present at the party were Shaya’s human father, two cat shifters who worked at a shelter for lone shifters, and of course the Phoenix Pack. Some looked at Harley with curiosity, others with wariness. But they all looked away whenever the tower of overprotectiveness at Harley’s side turned a glare on them.

Shifters without a fully formed mating bond could be pathologically possessive and protective—it was something to do with being insecure in the mating. Since she had yet to return Jesse’s claim and they didn’t even have the beginnings of a bond, it was really no wonder that he was finding it difficult to have so many unmated males around her.

“Cassidy’s so happy here,” said Makenna. “It’s great to see her settled.” Her hot yet deadly-looking mate grunted. Ryan seemed to prefer communicating in grunts, and Makenna seemed able to translate them.

“She’s also pretty fast; even Kye can’t catch her,” commented Taryn, referring to her son, who was dressed as a monkey. Perched on her hip was the infant daughter of Grace, one of her pack mates.

Considering the Phoenix Alpha female was Shaya’s best friend, Harley had expected Taryn to be cool toward her, given the trouble Harley could bring the pack. However, both Taryn and her mate, Trey, had been nothing but pleasant. To look at, the couple was an odd match; Taryn was a tiny little thing and Trey was built like a Highlander.

“Savannah, down!” ordered Kye, every inch the alpha, making his parents chuckle.

That was when Harley saw a little girl with caramel pigtails hanging upside down from a tree branch, dangling her elephant costume with her fingers. “Is she okay up there?” Her cat badly wanted to join her, a little overwhelmed by the large number of strange shifters.

“Sure,” replied Riley, a small female with enviably dark iridescent hair who was also a raven shifter. “Savannah’s a viper.”

“I thought I could smell ‘snake.’ I just hadn’t figured it was one of the kids.” Harley had never met a viper before, since they were fairly rare.

“Dexter’s a cheetah,” said Riley. “He and Savannah are from the shelter, like me.”

“Our pack gave them and Riley sanctuary,” said Taryn. “It was supposed to be a temporary arrangement, but we adopted the kids into the pack and are hoping Riley will join us too.”

Riley shifted uncomfortably. “I’m still unsure.”

“If you do decide to leave, I don’t think you’ll find it easy.” Trey gestured at a wolf who was staring at Riley with a possessive gleam in his eyes, a wolf who had earlier been introduced to Harley as the Phoenix Pack’s Head Enforcer.

Riley sniffed. “That hot-and-cold motherfucker has no say in what I do. When I first arrived at his territory, he whined about it and wanted me gone. Now he growls at me whenever I talk about leaving—all the while scowling at me because he doesn’t like that he wants me to stay. How messed up is that?”

Taryn chuckled. “That’s just Tao for you. His mind works in mysterious ways. Still, we all hope you’ll stay.”

Loosely hooking an arm around Harley’s neck, Jesse said into her ear, “See, other species of shifter can survive well in wolf packs. So will you.” When she gave him a “we’ll see” look, he nipped her earlobe, smiling at her little yelp. “They’d better open the buffet soon. I’m starving.”

“I don’t think the cooks will make us wait much longer; Marcus is driving them crazy, harassing them for food,” said Harley, unsure how someone who ate so much could look so hot. “Ally did a good job with the birthday cake.” The huge chocolate monstrosity was decorated with standing edible trees and jungle animals. With Roni and Marcus hovering around it, Harley would be surprised if there was any left for the others to taste.

All was well again between Roni and Harley. The she-wolf and her mate had appeared at the lodge earlier and, with a “please forgive me” expression, she’d handed Harley some catnip. Like that, the tension was broken and Harley burst out laughing. Marcus sagged in relief, and she suspected he’d worried that Harley wouldn’t “get” his mate’s somewhat offbeat sense of humor.

Eli had also come by again and apologized to her, which wouldn’t have been all that surprising if he hadn’t had Kathy at his side. She’d said a very terse yet sincere apology to Jesse and then handed Harley a box of books she’d had “lying around.” With that, she’d stomped off. As the collection of books included works by Stephen King, Harley was willing to accept the silent act of contrition.

Caleb and Kent had also made their apologies, asking if said apologies could also be passed on to her cat, who they seemed to be absolutely petrified of. Harley had taken pity on the couple. They were impossible to dislike, even though they’d acted like idiots by following the crowd instead of thinking for themselves.

Since then, all had been fine within the pack. Jesse explained the previous night: “You’ve earned their respect by proving you’ll defend me—even against our own pack mates—you won’t take shit, you can protect yourself, and you’ll gracefully accept their apologies even when they might not deserve it. They consider you officially one of us now.”

Well, whatever.

Feeling eyes on her, Harley looked to see Nat, Kim, and an old woman staring at her like she’d pissed in their shoes. Yeah, it was safe to say that Nat and Kim hadn’t joined the Mercury Pack in accepting Harley. But the more she’d watched Nat interact with people, the more Harley had decided it would be wise not to take a single thing personally when it came to that woman. She seemed to detest all people equally with the exception of her children. She might be polite and respectful to those around her, but that didn’t mean she liked them.

As for Kim . . . well, she still seemed to have her sights set on Jesse and, as such, saw Harley has an interloper. But why the old woman standing with Kim and Nat was scowling at Harley, she had no idea. “Who’s that?” Harley asked.

Trey sighed tiredly. “That would be my grandmother, Greta.”

“Or, as I affectionately refer to her, ‘the antisocial, psychotic, prudish agent of Lucifer,’” said Taryn, to which her mate sighed again.

Harley vaguely remembered Shaya and Ally mentioning that Trey’s grandmother was very possessive of him, his Beta, and his enforcers—referring to them all as “her boys” and disliking unmated females around them. Roni was the only female she had accepted.

Something about the way Taryn was glaring at Greta made the woman choose that moment to march over. She did a double take at the sight of Savannah. “Will someone get that child down, for goodness sake!” Greta shook her head at Riley. “You have no control over her at all; you let her go around attacking people.”

Riley crossed her eyes. “She only hurt one person—that was you. And all she did was bite you. Get over it.”

“Greta, this is a kids’ party,” Trey reminded her. “Tone it down for once.”

Lifting her chin, Greta sniffed haughtily. Then her eyes landed on Harley and narrowed. “I’ve heard about you. I respect your father and I respect that he avenged his son, but I don’t respect your actions. You’ve put good people in danger by coming here. Clive would be very disappointed in you.”

Harley snorted. Here was yet another person who didn’t know the real Clive Vincent. Her cat unsheathed her claws and wiggled them.

“Greta,” drawled Jesse. “This has nothing at all to do with you. Stay out of it.”

“I’m disappointed with you, Jesse,” Greta told him. “I would have thought you were more protective of your pack than to take a risk like this. Although I respect Clive, I don’t respect his pride. She’s just like them—selfish. How can you not see that? For God’s sake, she spent most of her life around drugs, alcohol, partying, and bar fights.”

“It builds character,” said Harley.

“Then she went off to live with a bunch of rich, high-and-mighty humans,” Greta went on. “Why should you lot be the ones protecting her when she’s got them?”

Harley gave her a smile filled with mock pity. “Your parents didn’t hug you enough when you were a pup, did they?” Before Greta could speak again, Harley asked, “What’s it to you anyway? You’re not part of this pack.”

“No, but my Roni is. My other boys didn’t find themselves a decent mate, but Marcus didn’t let me down; he’s mated with a good, strong female who’s a loving mate and takes care of him.” She gestured at the couple.

“Ow! Stop hitting me with spoons!” Marcus whined at his mate.

Roni hit him again. “Stop trying to cut the cake!”

Harley turned back to Greta. “I see what you mean.”

Flushing, Greta humphed. “You’re no better than her.” She stabbed her finger in Riley’s direction. “She moved to our pack for sanctuary, knowing it could bring trouble our way. Some people are just selfish through and through.”

Riley rolled her eyes. “Look, Gretchen—”

“It’s Greta.”

“I don’t care,” said Riley.

Greta looked back at Harley. “See, selfish. And rude. She’s not—”

“Buffet’s open!” Shaya called out.

Just like that, Greta’s scowl fell and she turned to Trey with a shark’s grin. “Ooh good, I’m starving.”

As the woman walked away, Harley said to Jesse, “And I thought Lily was dramatic.”

Jesse snickered and guided his mate to the long table, where they both filled their plates with food before finding an empty bench. As they ate, he watched her, admiring the almost orgasmic looks she displayed after every bite. She was a female who enjoyed her food and made no apologies for it. As conversation went on around them, Jesse licked barbeque sauce from the corner of Harley’s mouth. “Watching you eat makes me hard,” he said in a low voice.

She chuckled. “Then prepare to stay that way for a while because I’m having seconds.”

“So am I.” At the buffet table, they grabbed another plate of food and then returned to the bench. Dominic—a Phoenix enforcer and born flirt—was in their spot, so Jesse just stared at him until he moved, laughing.

“When are they cutting the cake?” Dominic asked Jesse.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Why?”

“I called dibs on the lion.”

Trey frowned at him. “The animals are for the kids to eat.”

Dominic blinked. “What’s your point?”

Sighing, Trey shook his head. “Have you met Jesse’s mate yet?”

“Yeah, I’ve had that pleasure,” said Dominic, grinning. “Hello again, Harley.”

“Hello,” said Harley. The blond wolf was seriously good-looking, long and lean with a wicked grin that spelled “trouble.” And Jesse was glaring at him.

“You’re a lucky guy, Jess,” Dominic told him.

Jesse narrowed his eyes. “I know.”

“I was surprised to hear her dad was Clive Vincent,” continued Dominic. “I actually thought her father might be a lumberjack.”

Confused, Harley repeated, “A lumberjack?”

“Yeah, because whenever I look at you, I get wood in my pants.”

Before Jesse could make a grab for the little fucker, Trey fisted his hand in the back of Dominic’s shirt and yanked him aside, almost making the blond drop his beer.

Jesse pinned the pervert’s gaze. “Fuck off, asshole.”

Dominic looked at him with mock hurt. “What’s with the hostility, dude?”

“You’re breathing my mate’s air,” said Jesse. “That’s enough.”

The blond just chuckled. Jesse wasn’t exactly surprised by Dominic’s behavior. The Phoenix enforcer always annoyed mated males by dishing out cheesy lines to their mates. No one quite understood why Dominic did it, though the general consensus was that he just wasn’t right in the head. Why else would he flirt with mated females?

Hearing her cell phone ring, Harley fished it out of her pocket. “It’s Tess,” she told Jesse. “I’ll be back in a sec.” On answering, she said, “City Morgue, you kill ’em, we chill ’em.”

Jesse watched his mate walk away to take the call in private, purely because he loved that ass. It was an ass that fit perfectly in his hands, an ass that turned a gorgeous shade of red when he spanked her. His cock twitched as he remembered doing just that the previous night when he took her hard from behind, his teeth biting into her nape as he kept one hand bunched in her hair. He’d left yet more marks of possession over her body, had learned and tasted and worshipped every inch of it until—

“Here, peace offering.”

Jesse looked up to see Kim holding out a plate of food . . . which might have been a nice thing to do if it weren’t the kind of thing a mate would do. His wolf snarled at the offering. “No.” Before she could try to take Harley’s seat, he put his hand there.

Kim perched herself on the arm of the bench, as if he wasn’t emitting an unwelcoming vibe. “I’m sorry.”

Reminding himself that this was Bracken’s baby sister and he could, at the very least, hear her out, Jesse sighed. “For what?”

“Judging you so harshly for taking Harley as your mate.” She bit her lip. “It was a shock and . . . I guess I’ll just always feel that you should have been Torrie’s.”

“Is that right?”

“I shouldn’t have jumped down Harley’s throat like that and said the things I said,” added Kim, looking sincerely regretful. “I’ll bet she hates me now.”

“She doesn’t hate you. Or like you. Or dislike you. Or anything else.” The female wasn’t a ping on his mate’s radar. And that seemed to piss Kim off.

“You may not think of me as a friend, but I’ve always thought of you as one. We both loved Torrie, and I saw how devastated you were by . . . I just want you to be happy.” She looked at him from beneath her lashes. “You’re sure imprinting will work?”

He bristled. “My relationship with Harley is not your fucking business.”

She swallowed. “Let me just say one last thing. I have a feeling that imprinting will be hard for you. If you ever need to talk, need someone to listen without judgment—”

“He’ll talk to Harley,” finished Ally, making Kim’s head snap up.

“I’m just saying he could find imprinting hard,” Kim told her. “But that doesn’t mean he can’t still have a strong mating bond with a female who isn’t his true mate. I want that for him.”

Ally stepped forward. “No. I think you want it with him.”

Kim flushed. “Torrie was my friend—”

“Great, but you can stop dragging her into conversations. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you kept mentioning her in the hope of making Jesse feel guilty for mating with Harley.”

“Look,” began Kim, standing upright, “it seems like you and I got off on the wrong foot, Ally. Or maybe I offended you somehow. If so, I’m sorry; it wasn’t intentional.”

A slow smile surfaced on Ally’s face, but it wasn’t pleasant. “As I’ve already explained to you, it offends me that I take time out of my life to train you and you don’t even take it seriously. But that’s not the issue here.”

“Isn’t it?” challenged Kim, eyes flaring.

“No. And you know it.”

“I just came over to apologize. I don’t want to cause trouble. I’m trying really hard to fit in here and—”

“There’s no reason for you to fit in; you’re not one of us. Harsh, yeah, but it needs to be said. Now I suggest you scamper before I shove this chicken wing up your ass for making me mad at a kids’ party.” Ally exhaled heavily when the female finally stomped off. “Just two more weeks and she’ll be gone,” the Seer reminded Jesse.

Taryn, who’d been listening intently, leaned forward. “Ten bucks says Harley will have clawed her before then.”

Jesse wasn’t going to bet against that.

The kids suddenly whizzed by with Willow droning, “He wants you too, Malachai.”

Shaya’s eyes widened. “Tell me she didn’t just quote Children of the Corn.”

“Sweetheart, how are you?” Tess asked.

Standing in the shadows, Harley said, “I’m good. How about you?”

“Fine, fine. But I’ve missed you. I was thinking of coming to California to see you. What hotel are you staying at?”

Crap. “Um . . .”

“Oh God, what’s happened?”

“Well, to cut a long story short—”

“No short stories. I want the full, uncut version.”

So Harley told her about the hate mail, Cassidy’s vision, and that Jesse had brought her to Mercury Pack territory to protect her. Before she could add that he’d also claimed her, Tess was speaking.

“You’re telling me you’ve been receiving hate mail from extremists and you’re only telling me this now?”

“I didn’t want to worry you.”

“You didn’t want to worry me or you didn’t want to trouble me with shifter problems? I’m not your grandparents, Harley. I accept that part of you.”

Harley sighed. “I know you do, and I appreciate that more than you know. But you’re a sweet person who blushes and hums and laughs like an angel. I didn’t want to unload this twisted crap on you. I didn’t want it to touch you. Is that so awful?”

“No,” said Tess before grumbling, “it’s that shifter protective streak at work. So, you didn’t say a lot about this Jesse guy other than he’s Mia’s brother and that a pup in his pack had a vision of your car exploding.”

“He’s one of the very few people in his old pack who didn’t accuse me of introducing Mia to drugs.”

“Well, it was nice of him to offer to protect you on his territory, but that’s not necessary. Ask him to drop you at my house tomorrow. You’ll always have a home here.”

Harley chewed on her nail. “Um . . . yeah, I don’t think he will.”

“You only ever say ‘um’ when you’re uncomfortable. Why are you uncomfortable talking about him? What aren’t you telling me?”

“Um . . .”

“Sweetheart, just because he’s a shifter doesn’t mean he can protect you better than your family. I have excellent security here, and I can hire bodyguards.”

“I know, but it’s not about that.” And she didn’t dare risk leading the extremists to Tess’s door anyway.

“So tell me what it is about.”

Harley rubbed her forehead. She wouldn’t be so nervous if Tess’s approval wasn’t important to her. “Are you sitting down? You should sit down.”

“Harley, I’ve had all the bad news I can take for one day.”

“It’s not bad news.”

“Go on.”

Taking a deep breath, Harley said, “Jesse would rather I stay here because . . . he claimed me.”

A pause. “He claimed you? He’s your true mate?”

“No, his true mate died when they were kids, but, well, he wants me as his mate.” Total silence greeted that statement. “Tess, you there?”

“Oh, Harley, you never fail to surprise me. Where is this Mercury territory? Give me directions. I need to see you with my own eyes.”

“Directions? Not a good idea.”

Tess huffed. “I don’t always get lost.”

Harley snorted softly. “Sure you don’t.”

“Stop distracting me from the real issue. I told you, I need to see you.”

“The Alpha male isn’t real big on visitors. I’ll come to you.”

“And you’ll bring Jesse? I want to interrogate him and see for myself that he’s good enough for you.”

Harley smiled. “You don’t know how to interrogate someone.” Tess was a marshmallow.

“I need to see him around you and decide for myself if he cares for you the way you deserve—I will not rest until this happens.”

“How about we come see you Monday?”

There was an excited squeal. “Come at noon.”

“Okay, but, Tess, please don’t cook. Leave it to Ria; that’s why you hired her.”

A huff. “Fine. See you then!”

Harley grabbed another plate and piled it with goodies before returning to the bench. She handed Jesse one of her cinnamon twists, and he smiled.

“Thanks, sweetheart.” He gave her a long kiss before biting into the pastry. “What did Tess want?”

“Who’s Tess?” asked Taryn, ignoring her Beta female’s “Don’t be so nosy” admonishment.

“My aunt,” replied Harley.

Greta sniffed. “I take it she’s one of the rich ones. Haughty through and through, I’ll bet.”

Harley sighed. “Maybe you could take a trip to the library to brush up on your prejudice. Now what’s with all the tension?”

“We had ourselves a little problem.” Roni gestured with her spoon to Kim. “It’s gone now.”

Ally put a hand on Harley’s arm. “Don’t worry about Kim. She’s no threat whatsoever to your relationship with Jesse.”

Harley knew that. Of course, that didn’t mean that she and her cat wouldn’t happily tear the bitch apart with every claw she possessed.

“The thing is,” began Ally, “she finds his level of dominance so hot that when he’s forceful with her, it turns her on. She’s not at all discouraged by how cold he is with her. The poor guy can’t win.”

“How about we just stop talking about her?” suggested Jesse. With a few “Fines” the conversation switched topics. Uninterested in anyone other than his mate, he said into her ear, “What did Tess want?”

“To meet you.”

“I thought as much.” He bit into his cinnamon twist, inwardly groaning. His mate could bake like a pro.

“I told her we’d go for lunch at her house on Monday.”

“We’ll use the jet.”

She blinked. “You have a private jet?”

“It belongs to one of Nick’s contacts.” Jesse took another bite of his pastry. “He lets us use it.”

“Your Alpha seems to have some really useful contacts.”

“He met most of them in juvie, including Derren. Shifters in places like that form little ‘packs’ of their own and often keep in touch afterward.”

“Huh.” She was curious about how Nick and Derren had found themselves in juvie, but it didn’t feel right to ask. It was none of her business. “They have my respect for surviving the experience.” Many shifters died at the hands of the abusive human guards.

“And mine.” He shifted in his seat, wincing as his back muscles flexed.

Harley looked at him, expecting to see pain on his face. Instead, there was smugness. “What?”

“Sometimes when I move, it tugs on the claw marks you left on my back.” They were marks of possession and were deep enough to be permanent.

“You like that I branded you, even though it hurts?”

He snorted. “Of course. And I like that I branded you. I’m going to enjoy doing it again.” And again and again, until she finally accepted that there was no going back for them.

Later that night, Harley sat on the porch swing with Jesse. Neither said much, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. Her cat basked in the sense of peace she found in that very moment. Being without her own territory had never been easy for her cat, but Harley hadn’t realized just how important it could be to the animal until she came here. Her margay had already bonded with the land. And who could blame her? “It’s so quiet here.”

Beside her, Jesse stiffened. “You don’t like the quiet?”

Frowning at his sudden tension, she said, “What’s not to like about it?”

“Some people prefer hustle and bustle.”

“I’m not one of those people.”

“Good.” He began playing with her hair as the tension slipped away from his muscles.

“You worry I miss living among humans,” she realized.

“Don’t you?”

“No. I miss performing at the club, though.” She missed it a lot. It was something she loved. Of course she still played her violin at the cabin, but that wasn’t the same thing at all. And not having a job or the sense of urgency to make money to afford her outgoings . . . it was odd. She was just about to share her plans to buy the club when he spoke.

“You can’t go back there.”

“I know I can’t now. But after this whole thing has blown over—”

“No,” he clipped.

She bristled at that one-word answer that was the verbal equivalent of a door being slammed shut on the conversation. She sat upright, meeting his gaze. “Excuse me?”

“Harley, your cousins may hunt down and kill the extremists who targeted you, but there are plenty of other extremists out there,” he pointed out impatiently. “Now that they seem convinced your father leads The Movement, you’re not safe from them.”

“You said they don’t mess with this pack.”

“They don’t. They won’t come here. But they’ve already demonstrated that they have no problem targeting you while you’re at the club. I can’t be sure they wouldn’t be so desperate to hurt Clive through you that they won’t try that again.”

“You’re right.” She leaned forward and spoke sharply as she added, “But if you think that I’ll hide out here and never leave this territory again, you’re out of your damn mind.”

“Harley—”

“There’s no way I’m going to hole up here forever just because they’re crazy motherfuckers.” Their mental issues were not her problem. “Do you honestly expect me to?”

“No, of course not.” But it wasn’t a bad idea. “They’re only focusing on you at the moment because Clive is big news right now, since people are speculating that he founded The Movement. Soon enough, they’ll be suspecting someone else. That’s the way it works. But even then, it will be safer for you to not spend a lot of time in the human world.” Done with the subject, Jesse rose from the swing and went inside the lodge.

“Safer for me?” she repeated, following him.

“Yes. If you ever want to go somewhere—shopping, a restaurant, the movies—I’ll take you. Not a problem. But working in the human world isn’t a good idea for any shifter, and I’m not prepared to risk you.”

“I’m planning to buy the club.”

Shock rooted him to the spot. “Say again?”

“You heard me just fine.”

He slashed a hand through the air. “No fucking way.”

A hot wave of anger washed over Harley. Her cat hissed, swishing her tail. “Jesse, be very sure you want to continue dictating to me. It won’t end well.”

He spoke clearly, enunciating every word, “You are not going back to that club. And you are definitely not buying it.”

She folded her arms as she slowly walked toward him. “You know what I think, Jesse? I think the real reason you don’t want me anywhere near the club is that you want me to leave my old life behind. You feel threatened by it.”

“Why would I feel threatened by it? When you accepted my claim, you chose me over that life.”

“When I accepted your claim, I chose to give returning to the shifter world a chance,” she corrected, halting in front of him. “But when I made that decision, I didn’t think you expected me to give up my dream. Considering how well informed you were about my life, you’ll know that, no matter where I lived, I always performed at clubs. It’s what I do.”

He clenched his fists. “You don’t need a job. You don’t need to earn your own money. You’re part of a pack. We support each other.”

“This has nothing to do with money and everything to do with how much I love what I do.”

“You can play your violin here.”

Her cat took a swipe at him, angered by the way he’d so easily dismissed how important this was to her. “I do, actually.” She practiced often when she was alone. “But that’s not the same as playing it for people who appreciate that kind of music. I like playing alongside DJs and bands—”

“And I like knowing my mate is safe,” he snapped. “My priority is your safety. That means no returning to the club. End of conversation.”

“End of conversation? Damn fucking right. This is all pointless because I will make the owner an offer and there is no way for you to stop me. Whatever rights you thought you had to rule my life, I hereby remove,” she sniped. “But if there ever comes a time when I need you to think for me, I’ll let you know.” With that, she stalked out of the room.

“Already lost two people, Harley. I’m not losing anyone else.”

The gut-wrenching agony in those gruff words pulled her up short. He hid the pain so well beneath that blank expression that it was easy to forget how tortured he was. Without turning to face him, she reminded him, “I lost someone too, Jesse.” She missed Michael every day. “But I don’t let that loss rule my decisions, and I definitely wouldn’t expect it to rule anyone else’s. And you really don’t need to be so overprotective. I’m not weak.”

“You’re not weak,” Jesse agreed. He crossed the room to her, pressing his front against her back. “Far from it. But you’ve never been as protective of yourself as you should. It means you don’t always think before you act; you make decisions with your heart instead of your head. You can’t be careless with your safety anymore, Harley. Not when you belong to someone. Not when that someone needs you.”

She tried to hold on to her anger, not wanting to let him off the hook so easy. But she hated hearing pain in his voice. Hated it. “You’re an enforcer, and you’re proud of it. You like the sense of importance that comes with it. What if you no longer had that?”

Jesse’s wolf stilled. “Are you asking me to give up the position?”

She turned and smacked his chest. “No, idiot. I’m asking you to imagine how it would feel to suddenly lose that position. You’d have nothing to do, no real contribution to make, no purpose to ground you. How would it make you feel?”

“Bored. Unfulfilled.” Jesse cupped her jaw. “I don’t want you to feel those things. I don’t want you to be unhappy.”

“I didn’t say I was unhappy. I’m fulfilled in other areas of my life. I like it here. But without being able to do what I love doing, I’ll feel like I’m just sort of floating around.”

“You’re strong enough to be an enforcer, but I don’t think that would fulfill you.”

“Nah, not my thing. There’s too much routine involved. Routine bores me. And I don’t like being micromanaged.” She placed her hands on his chest. “I don’t need a role. But I need to play. It’s part of who I am, just like being an enforcer is more than a role to you.”

Snaking his arms around her, Jesse rested his forehead on hers. “I just want you safe.”

“No one’s saying you can’t keep me safe. You can be with me every time I’m there if that’s what it takes to keep you from losing your shit. This little thing is called ‘compromise.’ Work with me here.”

He groaned. Every instinct he had screamed no. Panic, anxiety, fear, anger—all of it sat like lead in his stomach. He wanted her here at all times, where he knew she was safe. But he also knew—always had known—that she’d never be totally happy if she were isolated. And if he fought her on this and cut her dream short, it would create enough bitterness and resentment to eat at what they had until there was nothing left. He had more chance of losing her if he didn’t do that dreaded thing she called “compromise” than if she reappeared in public.

“We wait until the focus of the extremists has shifted to someone else before you go anywhere near the place, okay?” he said. “If you want to make the owner an offer, I’ll support that.” Even though he’d hate it. “But I’ll take care of the security measures. And there must always be me and at least one other wolf with you.” Sensing her pride balking at that condition, he added, “If you won’t consent to that for your sake, do it for mine.”

She sighed, and her shoulders lost their stiffness. “I can live with that.”

“Good. It won’t be easy getting Nick on board. Unlike me, he doesn’t have an undying need to give you whatever you want and make you happy.”

She smiled. Jesse could be sweet sometimes, although she doubted many would believe that. “No, but Nick does have an undying need to do those things for Shaya.”

“If you get Shaya on board, he won’t stand a chance.” Jesse scooped her up. “Now let’s move on from this and get to the makeup sex. I’m hungry.”

Sounded good to her.