It was fair to say that he hadn’t given her any reason to believe that these insecurities were rational. In fact, over the past month he had made her feel nothing but cherished. Not with soppy words or actions, but by the way he gave her his total and utter attention—an unwavering focus that both ate her up and comforted her. When he thought she needed or wanted something, she suddenly had it. When he believed there was a problem, he took care of it.

She’d been right to think he wasn’t a guy who could ever be “managed”—his iron will wouldn’t allow it—but he didn’t try to manage her either. He didn’t try to walk all over her as other dominant males had done, and he was quick to snap if he thought anyone else tried to do it. He made her happy. But could she make him happy? Could she really hold someone like Nick? Could a mating bond ever truly be enough if it might mean he and his wolf were forced to live packless and with no territory to call their own? When it would mean that any children they had would be also be forced to live that life?

“You’re thinking too hard.” Nick lifted her head and bit her lip. “Stop.”

“Like it’s that simple.”

“If it’s a distraction you need,” he began with a devilish smile, grinding her against him, “I can happily help you out with it.” Taking her upstairs, he did just that.

A few hours later, Shaya was sitting on her sofa drinking coffee and watching with a smile as Roni lay protectively where Kye was playing with his toys on the carpet with Dominic and Taryn. Although Kye wouldn’t be able to use his gift of healing psychological scars until he was much older, he still oozed a feeling of safety that attracted anyone with such scars. It was safe to say that Roni had some.

As was often the case, the living area was pretty crowded. Shaya, Derren, and Trey were on the sofa. Greta and Kathy had each taken an armchair. And Tao and Amber had each dragged in one of the dining chairs. Amber had also brought in a spare chair, and Shaya was pretty sure it was supposed to be for Nick—who was currently in the kitchen speaking with Eli on his cell phone. Shaya had to give it to her, the bitch was certainly persistent.

She supposed that in Amber’s eyes, it was Shaya who was the one interfering. Amber had most likely viewed Nick as hers for a very long time and may have even convinced herself they had a chance of imprinting one day. Having felt the sting of rejection, Shaya would have sympathized with Amber—okay, she might have sympathized with her—if Nick hadn’t made it clear to his entire pack that he didn’t intend to mate with anyone but his true mate. If Amber had convinced herself otherwise, it was her problem.

“This is bad, isn’t it?” asked Kathy, referring to the news report that was practically dedicated to making shifters seem like a species that needed to be completely eradicated. “The extremists might just win this fight and have the laws put in place.”

“They won’t win the bigger fight,” stated Derren. “No shifter is going to allow themselves to be chipped or confined somewhere. All this is about control. It’s in our nature to want freedom—we need it.”

“You think a war will break out between us and the humans?” asked Dominic.

Derren raised a brow at him. “Would you be prepared to let them take away your freedom like that?”

“Hell no.”

“Then there’s your answer.”

“But the humans have to know how bad things could get,” said Tao. “They can’t be so stupid as to pass laws that will lead to a war.”

“Why not?” Derren snorted. “They battle among themselves often enough—much more so than shifters do. And they’re arrogant enough to believe they’ll win because they know there’s a higher population of them than us. What they don’t know is that not all shifter packs have come out of the closet. There’s a lot more of us than humans can even imagine, and many different species of shifter.”

Trey exhaled a heavy breath. “The problem is, though, that although we’re stronger than them, it won’t mean shit in a full-scale war. They have all kinds of fancy weapons. We fight with tooth and claw. There’s likely to be more damage done to us than them.”

“You’re right there,” said Greta with a sigh. “But spending our time grumbling about it isn’t doing us any good. I say we find something to take our minds off it instead of watching this garbage.”

“Like what?” asked Tao.

“I don’t know…something constructive and fun.”

Taryn smiled cheerily. “Great, I’ll help you pack.”

Greta narrowed her eyes at Taryn, who simply shot her another cheery smile.

At that moment, Nick entered the room, and Shaya’s wolf lolled onto her side, happy. As always, his presence demanded attention. It certainly got Amber’s attention, who flashed him a huge smile and patted the chair beside her. But it was Shaya he went to. He carefully lifted her and then took her seat before placing her on his lap. Content, she lounged against him, enabling him to nuzzle her neck.

“How’s Eli doing?” Derren asked Nick.

“Wishing he could be up here, part of the action,” replied Nick. It was typical of his brother—the guy feared nothing and loved any kind of action. “Other than that, he’s fine.” Nick couldn’t resist licking over the fresh bite he’d delivered to the soft flesh of Shaya’s neck earlier. She shuddered, satisfying both him and his wolf.

“When are you going back to work, Shaya?” asked Amber pleasantly, most likely looking forward to Shaya and Nick being separated during the daytime so she could get him alone. Tramp.

“Not until the place is fixed up,” replied Shaya just as pleasantly. The insurance company was dragging its heels, which was infuriating Kent.

Unlike with Amber, Kathy’s friendly tone was authentic. “Have you thought of applying for another job?”

“That’s already covered.”

At her mate’s shocking words, Shaya slowly turned her head to look at him. “Already covered?”

“Yes. You’ve already applied for another job.”

“What does that mean? And did it occur to you that I might want to keep the job I have?” She couldn’t help feeling slightly affronted.

Nick merely shrugged. “If you don’t want the other job, you don’t have to take it. It’s simply an option for you to consider.”