Dreaming of the Wolf (Heart of the Wolf #8)(59)

“I didn’t want to cause trouble for you and your family,” she said with regret.

He held her tighter. “I wouldn’t have allowed any harm to come to you. You shouldn’t have left your hotel like you did. I saw Mario’s note to you in your hotel room, Alicia. I know you thought Mario would have me killed. But it couldn’t have happened.”

“I couldn’t know that,” she said quietly. “You said you didn’t even have a gun.”

“Not on me. I realize you were afraid for my life. I realize, too, how hard it had to have been for you to have left me. And I know you couldn’t quit thinking of me.”

She chuckled and tweaked his nipple. “You think so, do you?”

“I know so.” He gave her a smart-ass smirk. “That’s why,” he said, brushing his thumb softly against her cheek, “you’ve been dream mating with me. And that’s why you went to the art gallery to find out where I was living. Then when they were after you, that’s why you headed toward Silver Town—to find me.”

She took a deep breath and snuggled against his chest, her breasts feeling heavier than normal and the tingling renewed again. She’d missed her period, thinking at first that it had to do with her werewolf changes. But with every passing day, she feared that might not be the reason at all.

She couldn’t deal with this right now and tried to pull away from Jake. But he wouldn’t let her go.

“Can you get my bags from the police in Crestview today?”

“They’ll need to talk to you about what happened first, most likely.”

“I will. But I need my bags.”

“I told you I’d take you shopping as soon as you can manage. When the new moon appears, you won’t change at all.”

“I won’t?” She relaxed a little. Was that why she hadn’t shifted for two of the weeks out of the past seven? There was hope for her to live a seminormal life yet.

He caressed her shoulder with his fingertips in a slow, lazy pattern. “No. Only royals, so called because they have so few human links in their past, can change at will during any phase of the moon. The rest of us can’t. So it’ll be a good time for you to enjoy seeing the area, circulate a bit, and get to meet the pack.”

“That’s why for about a week, on two different occasions, I thought the virus had passed. That I was cured.”

He raised his brows.

“I guessed I wasn’t cured of the condition when I shape-shifted at the art gallery. I’m so sorry Mary thought you had gotten me pregnant.”

“I will get you that way,” he said, smiling, rubbing his hand over her belly. “Just a little later than she would believe.”

For a minute, Alicia barely breathed under Jake’s skillful caresses. She took a deep steadying breath. “I swore after my first two disastrous marriages that I’d never get married again. That was before I ran into you, or I should say, you began to follow me. I kept bemoaning the fact that I’d met you too late—after I’d gotten myself into this mess with the Mob—and I was afraid they’d kill you.”

His fingers stilled on her belly, and he finally really looked at her. “It’s not happening. Trust me in this. From the moment I met you, we were in this together.”

She sighed. “Then I was a werewolf. And if I came to see you in Silver Town, even though that’s exactly where I was headed because I had no other alternative, I knew I’d bite you and turn you.”

He smiled. “So see, that proves you wanted me.”

“Yeah, in the worst way. But I couldn’t do that to you.”

“No worries there.”

She looked anxious, but he couldn’t figure out what was still bothering her. Before he could ask, she blurted out, “I don’t want to have a child out of wedlock.”

“We couldn’t have had a child before you were turned. Well, except in rare instances. Lelandi’s brother, Leidolf, was telling us about a case he learned of on the Oregon coast. But it’s so rare that there’s nothing to be concerned about. If you conceived werewolf babies, they wouldn’t be considered born out of wedlock anyway. Not once you’re mated.”

She stared at him, then pulled free and sat up in bed. “Don’t tell me the rules for marriage are different for werewolves.”

Jake frowned at her. Then he slowly rose to a sitting position. “We’re dream mated, which means we were meant to be together. We consummated the relationship last night—several times, I might add. We’re mated, Alicia, for life. That’s how werewolves do it. Just like our wolf counterparts do. We don’t have a wedding per se. No divorces either. I thought you knew that.”

She closed her eyes and groaned, then opened them and tried to leave the bed, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her close. “I thought you understood.”

“How could I?” She pulled her hand free, and this time he let her go. She grabbed her clothes and headed for Jake’s bathroom and shut the door behind her.

Jake stared after her in disbelief. She was his. He was hers. Had to be, according to the dream-mating scenario. Hell. He would never have taken her without her first agreeing to the conditions. Although he would have worked damn hard early on at convincing her to agree. They were meant to be together, but he would have waited until she realized the truth.