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“If you hear anything, let me or War know, yeah?”

“Will do.”He was quiet a beat.“We good?Had a conversation with War, heard a few of my pack got rough with your female?”

“We’re good, as long as you dealt with that shit.”Draven was a good male, a tough but fair alpha.If he hadn’t been those things, we’d have a problem.

“I’m still dealing with it.That shit does not fly with me.Won’t happen again, I assure you.”

“Appreciate that.”

We disconnected, and I strode back to War and Dirk and told him what I knew, which wasn’t a whole fucking lot.

“We’ll search in shifts,” War said.“I’ll lead the first shift, you stay here with Rome and Fender and guard the females and pups.Keep everyone in the dens.We’ll switch when I get back.”

“Sounds good.”

His gaze slid to my hands, still covered in Poe’s now dried demon blood.“That’s a lot of blood, brother, anything you need to tell me?”

“Nothing to report.”

He held my gaze, then nodded.“You know where I am if you change your mind.”

I lifted my chin and waited while Willow kissed her mate goodbye, then I ushered her and Elena down to the dens.Not that Willow needed protection.The female could kick ass.

Once everyone was situated and Rome and Fender were on guard duty, I headed to my den to wash that fucker’s blood off.The females wouldn’t like it, and I didn’t want to scare the pups.

Reaching back, I tugged off my shirt, then turned on the shower.Now that everything was quiet, Sutton filled my mind once more.She never left it, though, did she?Even when I was trying to fight our connection, deny it, she was always there.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and was about to put it on the bathroom counter when I got a proper look at myself.There were a few scratches on my side and shoulder from Poe’s claws, but they’d already healed and only red streaks remained.There was plenty of blood spattered across my tattooed skin, up my forearms and some streaked across the side of my throat, though.None of it was mine.

I didn’t know how to please Sutton.I didn’t understand what she needed from me, and I doubted I’d know how to give it to her even if I did.But I could give her this—I could protect her.The blood on my skin, from the male who dared touch her, who dared touch what was mine, filled me with pride.

Not sure what the fuck I was doing, but needing to do it for some reason, I opened the camera and snapped a picture.She said she didn’t need my protection, but that wasn’t true, and deep down I had to believe she knew it as well.She needed me.She needed me to be this for her.

Clicking open the Nightscape app, I opened our messages, the only one there now was the one I’d sent her that morning, after delivering the herbs to her.Did she like them?I had no idea.I hoped she did.I wanted to make her smile.I wanted to make her happy, to give her something she needed.So she wouldn’t have to steal from the Ellis coven cemetery, anymore.

Attaching the picture, I thought about what to say.I liked seeing pictures of her, so I had to assume she’d like seeing one of me.She’d sent me so many over the three months I’d been away, and she’d always written something cute or silly to go along with it.I wasn’t capable of either of those things.I didn’t know how to be funny.I wasn’t like Relic.I tried to think of what he might say, then something Sutton had messaged me popped into my head.She’d been angry at the time, yes, but it was definitely something Relic would find funny, something he wouldn’t hesitate in sending to his mate to make her smile or laugh.

I quickly typed out the message.I stared down at it.Would it piss her off?She was already angry at me.Anything was worth a try at this point, right?

I hit send, and a weird feeling filled my stomach.Fuck.I was nervous.That’s what this sensation was.I’d never been nervous in my life.

I stared down at the message, focused on the icon with her profile picture on it sitting beside my last message, letting me know she’d seen that one.There was a little yellow dot beside it, letting me know she was on the app now.I was literally holding my fucking breath?—

The icon dropped down beside the picture I’d just sent.

She’d seen it, and my message.

I waited, my fingers curling and uncurling at my side.The seconds ticked by, then turned into minutes.

The yellow dot vanished.

She’d gone.

Heat washed over me, not for the first time.I’d made the wrong play.I’d fucked up again.This female had me in knots, had me fucking sweating, and—I looked at my face in the mirror—blushing.I was a motherfucking hound, lieutenant of this pack, I did not blush.

Slamming my phone down on the counter, I stripped and got in the shower.

How the fuck was I going to get through to her?