“A mate,” finished Taryn with a sigh. “Okay, I get it; he’s been a good Boy Scout. But how do you know that will last?”

“I don’t. I can only give him the chance he’s earned.”

“And if he messes it up?”

“I make a margarita with his balls.”

Taryn laughed. “I have to say I was impressed when I heard he’d given up his position for you. I’d expected him to return to his pack at some point. But he never did. He kept searching for you. What are you going to do about your living situation? You only took on the lone-wolf lifestyle to hide from Nick. Does this mean you’ll come home now?”

Shaya ran a hand through her curls. “I don’t know. Nick offered to join the Phoenix Pack.”

Taryn’s jaw almost hit the floor. “You’re shitting me. He hasn’t asked you to go back to his old pack?”

Shaya shook her head. “He knows his wolf would find it hard to obey someone less dominant than him, and he doesn’t want the position of Alpha, so he has no intention of returning. I’m just going to take things one step at a time. If things turn out badly, I’ll probably come home. But if they don’t…well, that’s a decision Nick and I would have to make together. But I couldn’t ask him to join the Phoenix Pack, Taryn. I couldn’t ask someone as powerful as him to serve and obey someone else.”

Taryn nodded in understanding. “It wouldn’t be right. Well, there’s no denying that he’s trying hard to win you over. I still don’t like him for how miserable he made you.”

“But you’ll give him a chance just like I am. You’ll wish me luck, like I did for you and Trey,” prodded Shaya.

Rolling her eyes, Taryn said, “Fine.”

Smiling, Shaya threw her arms around her best friend, who returned the hug. “I’ve missed you.” She pulled back. “And I’ve missed Kye. How is he?” Although the fact that she chatted with her pack over Skype at least once a week meant that Shaya had watched Kye grow, it wasn’t the same as being with him.

“You can find that out for yourself,” said Taryn, urging Shaya to follow her to the pack’s Toyota Highlander that was parked behind Nick’s Mercedes. “Now that I know there’s no chance of a fight breaking out and no blood will be shed, I can get him out of the SUV.” When Shaya’s face lit up, Taryn snorted. “I wouldn’t get so excited if I were you. Old Mother Hubbard, who has spent the past five hours driving me insane in the SUV, is waiting with him—she insisted on coming.” Taryn was referring to Trey’s grandmother, who was very possessive of Trey, Dante, Tao, and the enforcers and didn’t like females around them. “She hovers around him unhealthily like she does with Trey and her other ‘boys.’ It’s disturbing.”

As Taryn slid the side door open, Greta huffed at the Alpha female. “I heard that, hussy. No respect.” The arguing that went on between them happened daily.

Taryn gave Trey’s grandmother a sweet, mocking smile. “Oh, I’m sorry, was I supposed to break the habit of a lifetime and bring joy to your day?”

Cuddling a sleeping Kye to her chest, Greta huffed once more at Taryn before turning to Shaya and smiling fondly. “Shaya, sweetheart, how are you?”

“Oh, you’re nice to her because she’s not going to mate with one of your boys.” Taryn growled. “Give me my son before your old-lady breath bleaches his hair.” As Taryn took the adorable eight-month-old baby into her arms, his lids fluttered open to reveal a set of arctic-blue eyes exactly like his father’s. As Nick had once said, Kye was literally Trey with Taryn’s hair—which made him one absolutely gorgeous baby who would undoubtedly break many female hearts when he was older.

“Hey there,” whispered Shaya, playing with his hair. “Recognize me?”

“Of course he does,” said Taryn. “It’s so cute how he points to the laptop and waves—I know it means he wants to wave to you on Skype. Can you do it for Auntie Shaya again now?” Taryn waved her hand slightly, and Kye mirrored the move, flashing Shaya a huge smile. “Now that I can visit you without worrying that Nick will have people following me who will then know where you are, we can come see you whenever I want, and you can visit us whenever you want.”

A smile spread across Shaya’s face. She liked that idea. After only a minute of gentle coaxing, Kye went willingly into Shaya’s arms. “He’s such a sociable kid.”

“It’s only natural given that he’s part of a pack that spoils him rotten and treats him like he’s at the center of the entire universe,” said Taryn. “He’s used to being handled by different people.”

With Kye in her arms, Shaya led Taryn and Greta into the house. She found the guys all gathered in the dining area. Her eyes instantly went to Nick, who was sitting at the table. His smile had a hint of relief to it, and she realized just how worried he’d been that she might leave. As she entered the room, Dominic straightened from where he’d been leaning against the wall and came toward her wearing a devilish grin—yep, he had every intention of flirting with her to annoy Nick, just like he did to all the mated females to provoke their mates. Well, it wasn’t so much flirting as delivering cheesy lines, but it had the desired effect on the mated males.

She halted him with a look. “Dominic, if you value your life, you won’t aggravate him right now.” Not while Nick was being forced to cope with her being in the presence of a number of males, particularly when two of them were unmated. Possessiveness would be haunting him, just as it did her when Amber was around.

Dominic, to her surprise, raised his hands in surrender and dropped his smile. “Okay, fine, but I was just going to give you a little kiss. If you don’t like it, you can always return it.”

“Dominic.”

“Watch it, blondie,” warned Nick, his voice like a whip.

“You sure like to live dangerously, don’t you?” said Tao, shaking his head at his packmate.

Dominic just grinned. “There’s no better way to live.” Noticing Nick’s evil smile, he asked, “What?”

“I’m just thinking how much fun your pack is going to have when you meet your mate. I could be wrong, but I’m guessing the males will be getting some payback.”

Nodding, Trey said, “Damn right.” At that moment, his son held out his arms to him, and Trey took him gladly.