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CODY

I was aware of everything, but I couldn’t move without hurting or speak for several hours. During that time, Levi and Kyle carried me to Riley’s bedroom and cleaned up my blood before they called the coroner in for the dead body. Kyle’s living room was now a crime scene, and it had to be processed.

Riley curled up on the bed beside me, her fingers burrowing in my fur, her delectable scent filling my nostrils. Reminding me what I had to live for, as Levi said.

Not that I had any doubt. Levi was right, I would take a thousand bullets for Riley. Even a fatal one .

When I could finally breathe, and the physical shock started to wear off, I shifted back to human form, so I could hold my girl.

I had so much to tell her.

It sounded like she might forgive me, but I needed to be sure. It was one thing to say what she had in a panic. I needed to know she believed in our bond the way I did when I didn’t have a bullet hole in my body.

She inhaled sharply. “Cody!”

I reached for her, but one of my ribs was probably broken, and I didn’t have the strength yet to pull her up against my body. “Come closer,” I murmured. “I won’t bleed on you.”

She scooted closer to me, slowly and very warily. “I don’t care about that.” She still sounded teary.

My wolf hated that sound.

“Please don’t cry, sugar.” I buried my nose in her hair and let her scent fill me. Fuck, she smelled good. “I’m so proud of you. Keeping your head and calling me like you did. Warning me.”

“I never want to call you daddy again.”

I chuckled and fuck was that painful. “I’m sorry I hurt you tonight. I never, ever meant for you to feel manipulated. I didn’t mean to cheapen us or what you mean to me.”

She shifted so I could see her tear-stained face. Her big brown eyes were intent on me, but she didn’t say anything. She was listening. She would hear me out.

It was a million times better than her walking out of my bar like she did earlier.

“Listen and know what I say is true.” I stroked her hair back from her face. Moving made the rib and my lungs hurt, but I didn’t care. “The one week thing was just to get Rob off my back. He was pissed at me for disobeying orders. I was supposed to wipe your memory, and I didn’t. I didn’t want to betray your trust that way or mess with your brilliant mind. But know this” –I cradled the side of her face and looked straight into her eyes. “I would’ve come for you whether you remembered you saw a wolf or not. This was never about buying your silence. Never .”

Her chin wobbled. “Okay.”

“Do you believe me?”

Her eyes met mine as she nodded.

I cleared my dry throat. “I’m gonna prove to you how serious I am. It’s been less than a week, so you’re not sure of me yet. I understand th–”

“No,” she cut in with a ruthless shake of her head. “I am sure. Cody, you just saved my life.”

“I’ll always protect you. ”

Her eyes swam with tears again.

I shifted and winced. “Please don’t cry, baby. It kills me.”

She forced a smile through her tears, and I was certain she was the most beautiful female on the entire planet.

“I’m going to prove it all to you. I’m sorry you felt humiliated at the bar tonight. That was never my intention. I would never willingly hurt you. Not ever.”

“It’s okay.”

“No. It’s not okay, but I’m going to make it right.”

I kissed the bridge of her nose. “You said something else earlier, too. Something about throwing yourself into teaching because I don’t want to have kids.”

Her eyes grew bright again, and her lips trembled, but she sniffed and seemed to will the tears back.

“Fuck, sugar. You want to have kids? We’ll have kids.”

She stiffened, like she was bracing against something, but I pushed on.

“I would love to have kids with you. Fuck–I can’t believe I said I was done with kids at the bar. Hank’s words surprised me. I just hadn’t considered it yet. You agree this all has happened so fast? ”

A rueful smile twisted her lips, and she nodded.

“I was focused on winning your love. If you were a she-wolf, you would’ve known you belonged to me the same instant I knew. But mating a human is a different process. We have to follow your courtship customs. So that’s what I was focused on. Making you see what I already knew–that we’re made for each other. I didn’t get past my need to claim you. But yeah–I am definitely gonna put my pups in that belly of yours.”

Riley laughed, relief flooding her expression. “Pups?”

I nodded. “That’s what we call them.”

“Shifter babies,” she said with wonder. “They’ll be wolves like you.”

I considered it. “Hopefully. Not all half-breeds can shift, but they’ll be welcome in the pack regardless. As will you, of course. Even your dad.”

“I’m not ready yet for kids but someday.” She lowered her lashes, and her lips took on a sultry look. “But I’m all for practicing.”

I groaned as my dick grew rock hard. I was naked from shifting, and my cock prodded her belly. “Aw, sugar. You are going to kill me.”

She smiled. “I don’t want that. But I do want to make you feel good.”

I caught her wrist as it traveled south. “Tomorrow,” I promised. She was too hard to resist, but I wasn’t close to fully healed to give her the attention she deserved. “Tomorrow, you can ride me all day long.”

She lifted her lips and stroked them over my mouth. “Oh, I’m gonna do more than that. I’m going to make you claim me.”