He sat her upright and kissed her forehead. “I think it’s best that you wear a diaper. I promise there will be other Little girls wearing one. I’ll even put a pair of leggings on you to give you a bit more modesty. Can you be strong and do that for me?”
“Yes, Daddy.” She was trembling, though.
“I won’t force you. If it really unnerves you, you can wear panties, but I think you’ll be far more embarrassed if you wet yourself than you will be from people knowing you’re diapered.”
She nodded. “I understand.” Tears sprang to her eyes and trailed down her cheeks. A little sob escaped.
“Oh, sweet mate of mine. I’m so sorry.” He swiped at the tears with his thumbs. “This is so challenging for you. It’s not fair. I wish I could make everything go away.”
She lifted her arms and threw them around his neck. “Thank you, Daddy. You’re the best.”
“Like I said earlier, I won’t set you down unless it’s absolutely necessary. I’ll hold you in my arms as much as I can. You’ll have your pacifier around your neck. If you get stressed, pop it in and suckle.”
“Okay, Daddy.” She sniffled.
“Of course, I won’t be able to hold you while we’re traveling. When we get outside, I’ll give you space to shift. You haven’t gone for a run yet, so it might be awkward at first. Stay right onmy flank the entire time. I’ll go slow for you while you get your footing. When we arrive, we’ll shift back, and I’ll pick you up, okay?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
“Good girl.” He kissed her forehead again. Man, he hated this. It was killing him to have to share his new mate with so many people. They should be sequestered in their bedroom, lying around naked, feeding each other from a snack board, lounging in the tub, snuggling on the back porch. Not this.
He prayed whatever was causing such tremendous unrest in the atmosphere could be challenged and defeated soon so he could begin his life with his mate in a more traditional way.
The truth was, Jayce was as unnerved as anyone. They all feared that something truly bad might happen. It had been centuries since any of the wolf packs in the area had been challenged by an outsider. Is that what was happening? Were the lions going to challenge the wolves and the bears? For what? Territory?
There was nothing inherently special about the land any of them occupied. There was no reason for another group of beings to descend on the area and upset anyone’s way of life. For what end goal?
He feared the lions were the root cause of all of this disturbance. It wasn’t the bears. Sure, they’d had issues with a few rogue bears. One of them recently killed another and was in guarded custody while the bears tried to decide what to do with him.
At this point, Jayce didn’t really believe anything happening had to do with Drow—the rogue bear. It seemed unrelated. But there was no way to be sure.
The amount of trust Jayce and the rest of the Alpha Protectors had extended toward the bears was tremendous, but with the arrival of so many mates who could verify with nearcertainty that the trust was not unfounded, everyone felt more confident.
The bears couldn’t do anything without the knowledge of the newly mated females. They couldn’t have a conversation out loud or even telepathically without one of the wolves listening in. When they ate, Rylee smelled it. When they moved, Amber saw it. When they spoke, Molly heard it. When they made decisions, Khloe had a flash of their intentions. Leah was having dreams. Olivia could speak to them telepathically when they visited. And Suzette had recently developed an odd sense of touch. When she set her hands on things, she could see who else had been there across time.
The only recent mate who had no powers anyone could discern was Jezebel, and Jayce was sure she worried every day that something would change, and she would suddenly find herself with new abilities. It was unnerving for her and for everyone.
What was Sienna’s role?
Jayce hated not knowing. That was the worst part. He wanted answers and solutions. Strange visions of a bear pressuring her made no sense to Jayce. The oddness was compounded by the fact that Surge denied being aware of the scenario Sienna had described.
“Daddy?”
He shook himself out of his thoughts and leaned her back to look into her eyes, pasting on a fake smile. “I’m sorry, Little one.”
“It’s going to be okay,” she said calmly.
He furrowed his brow. “I know, Baby girl. Everything will be fine,” he fibbed. He had no way of knowing that, but he wanted to sound confident for his mate.
She shook her head. “No, I mean it really is going to be okay. I know it.”
“What do you mean, you know it?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know how, but I know everyone is going to be safe soon, and the threat will be gone.”
He forced himself to smile. “I certainly hope so, Little one.”
She grabbed his face with both hands. “Daddy, I mean it. Iknowit.”
