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Chapter One

Jess

“It’s not safe, Jess. Not anymore.” Dom ran his hand through his hair, staring at me firmly. “You need to go. Get away from here and start college. Be a teenager.”

I rolled my eyes, ignoring him as usual. “You’re going to give me a complex, Dom,” I said sweetly. “Or whiplash with the way you keep changing your mind.”

“I want you to be safe,” he groaned, dropping to his knees in front of me. “Can’t you understand?”

“What I understand is that on your knees is a good look for you but I’m not going anywhere.” I shoved his shoulders, not even rocking him in the slightest as I scooted past him. He turned to follow my path as I headed into the apartment’s kitchen, my stomach rumbling. “Do we have any cookies left?” I mused, tapping my chin.

“Jess,” Dom said forcefully and I spared him a glance.

“Not going,” I said succinctly.

A knock on the door interrupted him from whatever he was about to say and I went to the door, not bothering to check the peephole with Dom right behind me.

I yanked it open and blinked at the person standing in front of me. “What are you doing here?” I asked harshly and her lips made a small moue of disappointment.

“Is that anyway to speak to your mother?”

“Mother no, you yes,” I replied, blocking her from coming in any further. Her presence was the absolute last thing we needed right now. Between Dom’s sudden ascent to Alpha, the Hanley threat that had yet to be eliminated, and the million other problems we faced, I couldn’t handle my mother and her drama. And there was no doubt in my mind there would be drama as her gaze shifted over my shoulder, her eyes widening as she looked up, way up and took in the formidable form of Dominic behind me. “Don’t even think about it,” I bit out, as I fought the sudden overwhelming urge to slap her as she ogled my man.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she denied even as her eyes lingered, and my own narrowed in response.

Jess, Dom whispered in my mind, the mental link we shared from our bond strong after the events of the last few days. His voice sounded urgent and a little shocked, and I sent an inquiring nudge to him as I glared at my mother. She’s a, he started and my eyes drifted closed already anticipating what he was about to tell me.

Don’t say it, don’t say it, don’t say it, I chanted internally, knowing it was useless.

A breeding female, he finished, either not hearing the mantra I was screaming inside or choosing to ignore it.

“Fuck,” I said aloud, the word summing up my emotions nicely.

“Someone would think you were raised in a barn,” Mother sniffed and it was all I could do not to bash her face into the wall. The realization that she knew about shifters and had said nothing began to seep in and an incoherent rage formed inside of me. Dom must have sensed it because he grasped my shoulders in a tight grip, immobilizing me.

“And since Jess seems to have forgotten her manners, who might you be?” She purred to Dom, not seeming to understand his hold on me was the only thing keeping her alive at the moment.

“Her mate,” he said tersely and the shock on her face was almost enough to calm the shimmering rage inside of me.

Almost.

He relaxed his grip, giving me just enough leeway to bring my clenched fist up and into her face. The responding crunch sent a visceral satisfaction through me as she reeled back, clutching at her nose as blood seeped through her fingers, a stunned expression on her face the last thing I saw as I slammed the door in her face.

“Feel better?” Dom asked in amusement as he crossed his arms over his broad chest.

“Immensely,” I responded pithily, flicking my fingers at him as I tried to hide my wince at the motion. Punching someone in the face hurt. He caught my hand, his thumb smoothing over the reddened knuckles. Before I could jerk my hand away, he brought it to his lips, his tongue darting out to brush over my stinging knuckles. Tingles shot through me and I swallowed hard as my fingers heated and the pain vanished.

“I didn’t think you could heal in human form,” I whispered, my voice shaky as his tongue continued to trace over the cracked skin. He pulled back, a small smile playing on his lips.

“There are exceptions,” he murmured and I arched an eyebrow. “Mates are one of them,” he enlightened me, his thumb running over my now unmarred knuckles.

“You staked your claim in front of my mother,” I commented neutrally and he eyed me carefully. I wasn’t upset by his decision, in fact it had sent a little thrill through me, but I also didn’t mind watching him squirm a bit.