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  A bang sounded and she turned to look before another pain nearly shattered her. A large wolf ran into the room. Red, and brown spotted he looked at her with deep blue eyes.

  “Homer.” She cried, bending her knees. He was there, in his wolf form, and she couldn’t say anything else because the baby was coming. Right. Then.

  His transformation was swift and soon he knelt before her. Her mate’s eyes were huge. “Gods, Camille, how much time has passed?” He touched her knee. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea. It feels like an hour. Clearly, it’s not.”

  She couldn’t deal with that information, all of her focus shifted as she pushed. And pushed and pushed.

  Camille looked up. She couldn’t stand the pain any longer. Where was the baby? Why wasn’t it coming? She looked up and found Homer’s eyes.

  Whatever had happened, whatever reason he stayed away she didn’t care. He was there and the sturdy, sure glance of his gaze gave her power. She could get the baby out.

  And just like that—she did.

  One second she was pregnant, the next Homer held their baby in his arms. And there was crying, both hers and the baby, and a flurry of activity she could barely understand but her mate seemed to know what to do.

  The baby was wrapped up and in her arms and she was off the floor, back in their bed where she had never spent the night with her mate, resting.

  “She’s beautiful.” Homer lay down next to her. “Looks just like you.”

  Camille didn’t know if the baby resembled her. All she knew was their daughter, Paige, was the most gorgeous creature she’d ever beheld. Dark haired, dark eyes, the most beautiful plump lips she had ever seen. Ten fingers, ten toes. A heartbeat. Perfection.

  “I’m sorry.” He stroked a hand over the baby’s soft head. “I don’t know what happened.”

  “I don’t care about it.” She raised her lips and he kissed her. “You showed up when I needed you. And you look better. Your color is good. You’re not yelling. Whatever happened, let’s put it behind us.”

  “You’re amazing. So strong.”

  She should be tired only she couldn’t stop looking at her daughter. “I can’t get over she’s here.”

  “Ten fingers, ten toes. She smells like honey.”

  His words caught her attention. “Your sense of scent is back.”

  “Seems to be.” He grinned. “Which is how I know yours has altered. It’s deeper. You’re still mine. Only changed.”

  She yawned and Homer extended his arms to take the baby. She placed Paige in his arms. “Thank you for trusting me with her.”

  “Never occurred to me not to.” She meant what she said. “You’re her father. You came to us when we needed you. I don’t know why your wolf kept you away. I don’t care. You seem better. I’m so over the moon, Homer.”

  He leaned over her, pressing his lips to hers. “I’m going to be a worthy male to you.”

  His words made her warm. Was it possible? Had Paige’s arrival brought on better times? “You already are.”

  ****

  Homer passed the baby to Lena with a nod. His mate was out cold upstairs. The baby would wake her when she needed to be fed. Homer planned to be back before anyone noticed. His wolf had vanished him for weeks, that wouldn’t be happening again.

  He turned to Robbie who waited in the dark. “You got it together, Homer?”

  “I do. For the moment. Day by day, I think. You’ll never have to worry about me because I’m going to let you know if I have a problem.”

  He wouldn’t let Camille, Robbie, or the entire pack down.

  “I’m really the luckiest Alpha. All four of you have made the same damn pledge, totally unasked for. I’m not sure I’m deserving, but I’ll take it. You should know your captors have been...dealt with.”

  Homer wouldn’t have expected anything else which was why he’d never asked. “Painfully?”

  “The leaders. The rest were pathetic. I got rid of them fast.”

  Funny. Homer could have predicted Robbie would have said that. A lifetime at war had taught them the same thing. You punished the leaders and rid the world of their followers with kindness. Sometimes fast ends were the best he could do.

  Homer nodded. He was glad to hear the other four were making it, too, and that Robbie rid the world of the hill wolves. “I have something I need to do.”

  “I know.” In the darkness, Robbie nodded. Homer didn’t know if he saw it as much as he felt the agreement. “Get it done, brother. Come back. Time to live the life we earned.”

  ****

  Homer waited until he was sure the poison had done its job. As wolves, he wanted to fight. Meet a challenge, tear an opponent to shreds. But the dragons had come and ended the world they lived in where everything could be as clean as they wanted it to be. Derek had beat up Homer’s mate. Ultimately the man had fallen for a deal he should have known better than to take. Homer lived because of Derek Dresden’s foolishness.

  Homer’s mate wanted the male gone. One night Derek wouldn’t wake up. Homer poured the drink to make it happen.

  With not even a little bit of guilt, he turned his back and left. He had a mate and child waiting for him at home.

  ****

  The sun came through the window as he walked through the door. Camille sat, the baby latched to her breast. He was struck by the perfection of the moment. He’d never thought to see such a sight. His mate, his baby, waiting in the early morning sunlight. A true family to come home to.

  He’d almost lost it all.

  “Is it done?” Camille patted the couch next to her and he sat where she indicated.

  Homer did her the courtesy of not pretending he didn’t understand what she asked. “He’s dead. He won’t wake again. His role as the largest drug supplier in the region will be replaced by someone else as long as there is supply to be found. Hopefully, someday, Auggie will have destroyed all of it. Until then, Derek’s successor will prove to be a problem unto himself. But it won’t be Derek.”

  She laced their fingers together and he ran his hand over her pulse. “That’s good enough for me, Homer.”

  “We don’t live in a world where I can make things perfect. So, yes, good enough for me as well.”

  His mate leaned down to kiss their daughter. “You doing okay?”

  “I made Robbie a promise. I’ll tell him if I’m not. Before then, I’ll tell you.”

  His wolf was back on the job. The canine would likely force a shift before he let him go down the rabbit hole of addiction again. Homer didn’t know what would have happened if he’d picked option B and taken his withdrawal all at once. Would the addiction have killed him? Would his wolf have never come back?

  Homer didn’t have answers for what ifs.

  But he had Camille and he had a tomorrow. He opened his arms and Camille moved into them holding their baby.

  The sun had come up. One of their problems was dead.

  Good enough in the world in which they lived.

  Chapter Six

  Six weeks had never passed so quickly. Homer took the stairs to his house two at a time. If Camille wanted to do what he planned, he’d finally get to see her shift and get to know her wolf who had waited so patiently for a long time.

  His timing looked to be correct. Camille sat in the living room with Paige snoozing on her shoulder.

  “Hey.” He could hear the surprise in her voice. “What are you doing back at this time of day?”

  Thinking routine would be a really excellent way to deal with the occasional bouts of need he had for the dragon drug, he fell into a work rotation which would usually have him hours away from getting home in the middle of the afternoon. Their borders needed protection and he was happy to help see to their safety.

  His sheer lack of thinking caused them all enough pain. No one would be getting kidnapped on his watch again. His wolf pushed against him, agreeing with the sentiment. He’d be always be grateful for his other half’s help in getting him as close to fixed as he
ever would be. But when he thought about what he’d almost missed, his heart clenched.

  “I asked off.” He walked toward her. “She sleeping okay?”

  Her little baby snores hit his ears and he grinned, reaching out to stroke the back of her head. Camille grinned up at him. “She’s out like a light. I wish she would sleep this soundly at night.”

  “I tried to get to her last night before she woke you only as I discovered halfway through trying to soothe her, I don’t have the right tools to make her fed.”

  Camille grinned. “I appreciated the sentiment. Having the baby brought to me so I didn’t have to jump up? Priceless.”

  “So the reason for my daytime arrival. Lena can watch her for the next few hours, which means you and I can shift and go for a run.”

  He heard her catch her breath. “Really?”

  “If you think you’d like to.” He didn’t want to push. She might not be ready to leave the baby, she might not want to spend alone time with him yet. He had a lot to prove before he showed her he was a worthy male again. She could trust him.

  She got to her feet slowly. “Let’s do it.”

  “Great.”

  ****

  They padded together, each on four feet through the valley. It was his favorite part of the pack land. Quiet, serene. He could sometimes believe the dragon wars had never touched the pastures. For then, they belonged to only Homer and Camille.

  In her wolf form, she was white and brown, stripes covering her legs and back.

  Homer had lost himself to his wolf for the weeks he’d needed to heal, but that would never be happening again. Particularly with Camille by his side, he shared his consciousness with his animal half. They both needed to protect her and Homer couldn’t envision a time he’d be able to take his human senses off protecting her entirely.

  She stopped running and whirled around to regard him. Was she okay? Why had she stopped moving? Had she hurt herself?

  Camille walked toward him, bumping her head against him before she shifted.

  He immediately followed. “Are you okay?”

  Camille’s eyes were bright, her skin practically glowed in the afternoon sun. “I don’t know that I’ve ever been so fine in my whole life. My muscles are loose, my head feels clear. This was a great idea.”

  She flopped down on the ground, lying out on the grass like a woman without a care in the world.

  “I’m so glad.” Homer sat down next to her, sniffing the air to be sure they really were as alone as he thought they were. Nothing but the birds and bees met his test. “That’s just what I wanted for you.”

  “Well, there is something I want that I’m not getting. It occurs to me, Homer, that as my mate it should be your duty to give it to me.”

  Anxiety traveled through his body, causing him to sit up straighter. What had he missed? He was preoccupied so much. What part of his duty and love toward her had neglected?

  She touched his arm. “That was a bad joke. I didn’t mean to make you so tense with what was supposed to be a flirty remark.”

  “I don’t understand.” He forced his heart rate back down. She said she was fine. Flirty? “Can you explain?”

  “Everything between us has been great since you’ve been back. I feel like we’ve finally fallen into a place where I can see our future. I’ve fallen in love with you. You act like I need to forgive you, I can’t see for what. You chose none of what happened, fought back as best you could. Okay, you got a little snippy when you didn’t feel well. Somehow, I survived, didn’t I? My years on the street gave me the chance to hear much worse language than you used.”

  “Camille.” He covered his eyes. He’d known they had to have these conversations. They were important. Only, he wasn’t certain he’d ever be able to adequately express himself. “My father was a monster to my mother. Not physically but emotionally. I swore if the universe ever gifted me with a mate she would know the treasure she was to me, she would never endure my temper, or have to live wondering about my true love for her.”

  She sat up. “Your mate knows all these things. And someday I’m probably going to get really angry with you. I’ll even yell. I might curse. Should I believe you’re going to be so upset by the occurrence I’ll have to spend the rest of my life making it up to you?”

  “No.” She made a good point. “Okay. I’ll work on getting over it. I don’t want to be annoying in my apologizing. I could see how my feeling sorry about something you don’t deem a problem would get wearing after a while.”

  She stroked her fingers up his arm. “You’re not that. There was one thing which happened when you were away I would like some help handling.”

  “Tell me.” The movements of her hand on him were soothing, like balms of happiness being digested by his skin with a direct line to his soul. “What can I do?”

  “I went out for a walk. Just around the houses and I stumbled upon a couple, having sex. I didn’t know them at the time. Meeting them was slightly awkward later, particularly because they had no idea I’d frozen in my tracks and watched them for so long. You see, my mate, seeing what he did to her was so different than anything I had experienced myself. The way he...fucked her...was so hot.”

  Homer’s temperature rose tenfold. “You liked to watch them have sex.”

  His cock jumped to attention. He’d give her whatever she wanted. If his mate wanted a little voyeurism in her life, she’d get it.

  “No. I don’t really want to watch other people going at it again. What I did was rush home, jump into bed, and touch myself over and over until I exploded from thinking of you.” She sat up on her knees, pressing a long kiss to his cheek. “You told me I would pant for it. Homer, my pregnancy is over, my year with Derek feels long behind me—you made him go away—assuming you want a true mating with me, I can assure you I’m ready for it. I want you.”

  His mouth was on her lips almost the second she finished talking. Homer had denied himself the need to kiss her, to stroke her, to touch her in any sexual way. She’d had a baby and he needed to prove himself.

  But if she wanted it? He would never say no

  She moaned beneath his lips and he gentled the pressure. He was starved for her but he wouldn’t ruin their first time together by proving to be no more adept than the treatment she was already used to.

  Camille grabbed at his shirt, pulling him closer even as she inched back her face from his. With a smile, she bit down on his bottom lip.

  He jolted at the pinch and his cock surged to life.

  “Damn. You want to play.”

  “So much.” She lay back on the grass. “Worship my body, Homer.”

  With shaking hands that had nothing to do with dragon drug and everything to do with the surge of electricity pounding through his veins, he tugged off her pants and threw them to the side. It took him a second to recognize what he saw. “You’re not wearing panties.”

  “I had no idea we were leaving the house today.” She shrugged one delicious shoulder. “Sometimes I don’t wear them at home.”

  Homer shook his head. “I’m going to be hard all the time at home. Wondering if you are wearing underwear.”

  “You’ll have to spend your time finding out.”

  “When you pictured us together.” He stroked a finger over her neck. When they were finished, he would bite her. His mark would display proudly for all to see. She belonged to him. “How were we doing it? I want to fulfill all of your fantasies.”

  “Before, I had to get on my knees and just grit my teeth through the whole thing. The couple I saw was face-to-face, eyes meeting all the time. I want to look in your blue depths and see your soul there.”

  Homer nodded. He knew exactly what she needed and she was going to have it. “Come here, love. Up on your knees. Face me.”

  She raised herself up, doing as he asked. He tugged her shirt over her head, baring her swollen breasts to his very hungry eyes. He drank her in.

  “They’re not always this big.”

/>   He ran his finger down the front of his, tweaking her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. She gasped, her neck falling back to expose her throat. “I guess I’m really sensitive.”

  “You’re lovely. Stay where you are.” He rid himself of the rest of his clothes fast. When he finished he lay flat on the ground on his back. “My body is yours. You do with it as you want.”

  Homer hoped she really didn’t kill him with pleasure. His control wasn’t what it once was but he’d be damned if his mate’s pleasure didn’t always come first.

  With a small smile, Camille crawled over him until she lay on top of him completely. Her breasts pressed against his chest, her core touching the top of his cock. He bit back a groan. She got to say how, she got to say when. He wanted nothing more than to see her come on his cock.

  The sight would be glorious.

  She kissed him, running her tongue around his lips while her hands ran up and down his arms. “You’re so strong. I’ve loved seeing your muscles coming back these past weeks. You’re such a powerful werewolf. I think even you don’t know how much. I crave you, Homer. And never thought I would want this the way I do.”

  Her words were an incredible aphrodisiac. She kissed him again and he held the back of her head to draw her closer. Camille moaned, her body rubbing against his.

  Raising her mouth, she trailed kisses down his body starting at his chin until she caressed his chest, his straining abdomen, stopping just before his cock.

  “You had me in your mouth.” Her voice sounded huskier. “Can I have you in mine?”

  He shivered with need. “If you want to, of course. I’d love it. And I meant it when I said you should do as you want. But if you do that, I’m going to come fast. And I’d love for this to last. I don’t want our first time to be me disappointing you.”

  “I don’t think you could ever be anything but incredible simply by being you.”

  She ran her hand up and down his length and he groaned. Pleasure made him want to spill himself while sheer force of will kept him from doing so.

  “You’re so hard. I should be afraid. Only, I’m not.”

  He hissed out his breath. “You own me. I would slit my throat before I hurt you.”