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He let out a low sound of frustration. “Do you know what I want to do to you?”

“I feel your little buddy poking me—I’ve got a pretty good idea.”

“They’ll protect you.”

“I don’t need any protection, not from you.”

He tightened his grip in my hair, the action making my scalp sting in the best of ways.

I laughed, the sound breathless. “Is that supposed to scare me? Jokes on you—I’m into that. Look, it doesn’t matter what you try, what you do, I’m not going to go running scared.”

“You don’t understand.”

“Don’t I? Whatever fucked-up thing you want to do, I’ve probably done a dozen times already, so stop worrying so much. I’m not afraid of you and that isn’t changing.”

He rolled his hips, the action causing his erection to grind against me. Damn, that was a nice sensation. It excited me, made me want to press back against him. It distracted me from the pain in my arm, from the questions of what was going to happen.

Fuck, it felt like I hadhimfor a moment, at least. Despite the questions, the fears of losing him, for right now, he was here with me. Sure, he was half-crazed—and that was probably being generous—but he was here.

So I pulled against his grip and kissed him, the touch gentler than what he’d done before. In fact, I hardly could reach due to how he held my hair. He let out a rough, warm breath, the tension leaving his body, before he sagged on top of me. I nearly toppled under the sudden weight.

He must have realized it as well because, just as fast, he turned, twisting us both until I rested on my side, him behind me, the fire before me, my head pillowed on his arm. He trembled, as though more energy coursed through his body than he could make use of. He held me tightly, and I had to admit, being the little spoon wasn’t so bad.

Sure, getting fucked would have been a pretty good way to spend the rest of the night, a good send-off to sleep, but amazingly…I didn’t mind this, either.

So instead of asking anything, instead of trying to get him to talk to me, I just let us have this moment and fell asleep. He might not understand it, no one else might get it, but I knew that this was the safest place in the world.

Galen

Her body was soft against mine, and she’d somehow fallen asleep. Even after what I’d done to her—what I’d almost done to her—she’d never rejected me, never pushed me away. Was she foolish or brave?

Was there a difference?

She’d fallen asleep an hour before, her breathing evening out, somehow able to let her guard down around me.

It made no sense. Instinct guided me, and that instinct told me to never turn my back on anything that might attack me. I would never allow something as dangerous as me in this position, yet she’d not only done that, but also just fallen asleep?

I often ended up wondering what happened inside her head. Was she naïve? Clueless? Did she trust me because it was me, or was she just foolish enough to not recognize danger even when it rested this close to her?

My cock was still hard, as though trying to reassert itself. I knew, without a doubt, that if I’d kept going if she’d have allowed me to.

That terrified me more than anything, that she wouldn’t have fought me even when she should have. It wasn’t that I thought I wouldn’t harm her, that I would have stopped, but I knew that even if I couldn’t, she wouldn’t have.

The idea made me want to pull her closer to me and shove her away all at once.

Hours passed, with the others coming up to check in. Even if I could feel their disapproving looks, no one bothered us. Even Kelvin only snorted, leaving me like a dog with a toy he didn’t want to risk taking away. Normally it would have bothered me, but I didn’t know what I’d do if they tried it, either.

When light bathed the space again, she still hadn’t woken.

“We need to get moving.” Porter crouched in my line of sight.

My fingers curled around Grey, hating the idea of anyone else getting close to her. I’d suffered with this same feeling for months—for years. Wolves were extremely territorial, known for our possessive nature when it came to our mates, but that was made significantly worse when the bond wasn’t complete, when she wasn’tmineyet no matter what instinct said. A part of me, the primal, wild part, feared that someone would take her from me. It made it difficult to focus, and without the normally logical part of me in control, it made it impossible.

I bared my teeth, but Porter didn’t seem intimidated by it at all. Instead, he turned his gaze to Grey. “She’s still asleep?”

I inhaled slowly, grappling with my instincts that demanded I tear him apart.Calm.I pulled away from her, sitting up to give Grey some space.

“Grey, it’s time to wake up.” Porter reached in and touched her arm, shaking softly.