Sally felt Costin’s hand run down her hair as he sat on the couch next to where she still knelt.
“You are my only light. Without you, I am in utter darkness,”Costin told her through their bond.
“I’m not anyone’s light at this point. I’m a mess.”
“Maybe, but you’re my mess. And I love you. You’re beautiful. I adore you as does our son.”
Costin’s words were like a tiny balm to a gaping wound, but they were a start. And where else can you begin to heal than at the start?
Jen clung to her mate as the night faded away into morning. She’d slept very little; her head was too full of worry. It had been a long time since Jen had felt such heaviness inside of her. But no matter how she tried to find the good in all they’d been through, all she could see was Sally’s devastated face.
“You didn’t sleep hardly at all,” Decebel told her as he pulled her tighter against him.
“How do you know?”
“Because my wolf didn’t sleep. His mate was restless, and when my wolf refuses to sleep, the man doesn’t get much either. Baby,” —Decebel grabbed her chin and tilted it to look up at him— “Sally is not alone. Not only does she have her mate but she has all of us. We won’t let this destroy her. Can you trust me on that? Trust me as your mate and her Alpha. I won’t let her slip away.”
After a few heartbeats of holding his stare, she finally nodded. “Okay, I’ll trust you. But if you let me down, B, I will totally have babies with the mailman and name all of them after you.”
“And there’s the woman I love,” Decebel growled. “You scare me if you don’t threaten me with my manhood, stripping, or having another man’s babies, at least twice every twenty-four hours.”
She smiled up at him and patted his cheek. “Sorry about that. I’ll be sure to add extra threats to make up for the lost time.”
He chuckled. “So what do you want to do today before the meeting?”
Jen tapped her chin. “Well, remember how you built those dog houses for Thia?”
“Jennifer,” he warned.
“I’m thinking that she needs some doll houses too. So I ordered two kits for you to put together. That way if one falls apart, you at least have a backup.”
“She can’t play with dolls or doll house stuff yet. She’d wind up eating the tiny lamp or plastic people,” Decebel argued.
“Dec?”
“Yes, baby?”
“Build the doll houses.”
“And if I decline?”
“The mailman gave me his number, like a month ago.”
He scoffed.
“It’s in the top drawer of my dresser.” She pointed as if he didn’t know where her dresser was.
He looked at her and she could tell he was trying to gauge whether or not she was telling the truth. Finally, he snarled and threw the covers back as he climbed out of bed. He pulled open the drawer she indicated and removed a piece of paper with the Serbian postal service logo on it, a name, and a number.
Decebel’s eyes turned a dangerous shade of amber. “You were telling the truth?”
“About which part?” Jen asked innocently.
“What time does the mail run?”
She rolled her eyes. “Quit being dramatic. I’m hot. Do you really expect guys not to hit on me?”
“Jennifer, the mail?” He wasn’t being dissuaded.
