She was stunned. “Happy fighting all the time? Happy always having to fight for even a little independence?”
Her mother gave her a frank, assessing look. “Even as a little girl, you always were a peacemaker,” she murmured. “I may be your mother, but I’m not perfect. We argue, sure. A lot of the time it’s over stupid little stuff. Most of the time it’s even good-natured. It’s never physical, and we’re rarely angry for more than an hour.” She took a deep breath and stared out the window.
“I think I understand where this is going,” her mother continued finally. “You’re one of the strongest in the pack. Willing to fight, but you hate personal conflict. That peacekeeper gene again.” She smiled. “That’s the problem with your mates, right? You’re afraid it’ll be a constant struggle for dominance.”
“I don’t know how to deal with it,” Gabby whispered. She couldn’t deny her concerns.
“The other high-ranking females, they all seem to have these relationships that are a constant struggle. I don’t want to live like that.”
“You could submit,” her mother said. Gabby growled. Submitting was impossible. Not in her nature. Her mother smiled and shook her head. “Does it have to be all or nothing? Who says it does? Be the she-wolf defender when it comes to pack defense, but when you go home? Be whoever you want. You think they don’t know the difference?” She looked out the window to watch the men, her gaze assessing. “I think they know. And I think they will give you whatever you need.”
Gabby wasn’t so sure about that, but she knew they had to find a way to make this work.
Standing, she bent to kiss her mother’s cheek. “Thank you, Momma. I’m getting them out of here before there’s bloodshed.”
Her mother laughed. “Call me, baby. I’m always here for you.” Gabby knew she was. She left with a smile, collected her men with minimal conversation with her fathers, and led the way home.
Chapter Seven
She took them to her cabin. Shaky. Nervous. Was her mother right? Could she be one thing to the pack and something else in her private life? She’d never thought that possible. Never even considered it. She was strong and independent. A soldier. Didn’t that bleed into every aspect of her life? Except, she remembered with her pussy clenching, in bed. She clearly did not like being in charge there. Even her wolf side liked the mastery of her two mates.
The question was, how far could she take it? Privately how much could she bend and still feel like herself. Like she wasn’t betraying herself. No. That wasn’t the question. She could bend, she already knew that. The question was how much she could adapt to their needs and still respect herself. Huh. She’d never looked at it like that. It had always been an either-or question.
She was lost in thought when she opened the door and wandered in. They seemed to realize she needed some space, and no one protested when she went to her room and ran a bath.
The idea intrigued her. Dominant publicly, submissive privately. She liked it. Liked it more than she thought she would. Or should. Shit. She was in trouble if she was giving in so easily. If they were going to make this work—and it was too late to back out now—there had to be some ground rules.
She sank into scalding-hot water, leaned her head back, and closed her eyes with a moan.
The water felt great. Soothing. Relaxing. She was always sore and tired when the heat was over.
This time more than ever, after slaking her desire on two men. She smiled. Who would have thought this would happen to her? Despite her unanswered questions, her concerns, Harris’s potion, despite everything…she’d never felt so sexually satisfied. It went bone-deep, and she wondered how long the effects would linger. She felt languid and sexy here alone in her bath. So good, in fact, she didn’t react at all when Ethan walked in. His scent wrapped around her, bringing the forest and an odd sense of comfort inside.
“Did you get to talk to Kade today?”
She turned her head and cracked an eye open. “I got there right before y’all. I had a ton of stuff to catch up on today.”
He grunted. “Me too.”
“Did you see him earlier?” Something made her ask.
He gave a brief shake of his head and scrubbed his hand over his face. “No.” He sounded down.
“What’s wrong?”
His smile was forced. “Nothing. Not a thing.”
“Liar.”
She expected him to deny it. He laughed, but he sounded more resigned than amused.
“Yeah. It’s just…Kade and I were best friends for so long. I don’t think he’ll ever forgive me for mating his sister.”
She scowled, suddenly suspicious. “That doesn’t sound like him. What did he say after I went inside?”
He flashed her a grin, his amusement a sharp scent in the air, on her tongue. “That if I ever hurt or upset you, he will rip me into tiny little pieces.” She rolled her eyes and stood up, reaching for a towel on the nearby shelf to wrap around herself. “Like I need someone to defend me.”
“Oh, I don’t know, baby,” he drawled, stepping forward and pulling her towel loose. “We could all use someone to stand up for us every now and then.” He first dried her front with slow, soft rubs of the towel, then moved to her back.
“Someone to take care of us,” he whispered against her nape.
Even as her mind rejected the idea, her body responded with a delicious curl of heat. She turned in his arms and looked up at him, for the first time not irritated that she
The fleeting contact made her heart race and her middle somersault. And, damn the man, he knew it. His smile was sexy and satisfied, his eyes yellowed with an answering heat, and his scent changed to match hers. Spicy. Alluring. Inviting.
