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Quick as a whip, Anarchy darted forward off Jasper’s lap and snatched the bottle from his hand so he could use both to wrestle his frightened bunny against his body, pinning her until her senses came back into alignment and her flight or fight instincts balanced out.
“Ssssh, bunny. It’s okay, it’s okay. You’re safe, I’ve got you. Just breathe, little rabbit.” Arms wrapped tightly around her, Saul rested his chin on her shoulder as she shuddered. Her fucking heart was hammering against her ribs, so viciously he felt it echo in his own. “It’s okay. Jasper just lost his temper for a second. You’re fine, bunny. I’ve got you.”
Caera gulped down air, damn near hiccupping with shock.
“Easy, that’s a good girl. Slow your breathing before you make yourself sick.”
“I think I peed myself,” she blurted between panicked breaths.
“Dry as a bone,” he reassured her, for her ears only. “Just keep breathing slowly, Caera. No one’s angry with you. It was just a shock, that’s all. There we go, that’s better.”
In the other armchair, Anarchy had returned to Jasper, comforting him quietly. Her hands were stroking his rigid shoulders, but the fury in his pale blue eyes was glowing like frozen embers.
Thane’s expression was unreadable, but his anger shone through in the way his fists clenched.
Connie just looked distraught.
“I’m sorry,” Jasper told him through gritted teeth. “I didn’t mean to…”
“It’s okay. It’s understandable. No harm done.” Saul loosened one arm, bringing his hand to Caera’s face and tilting it back. It helped, he discovered, to brush his lips over hers. That small connection soothed and calmed them both. “Do you want me to continue?”
Jasper’s lip curled. “I know where this is going. Might as well finish it.”
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Chapter Eight
“All right. The rumors were that the facility was a high-class orphanage, catering to families with a lot of money but no heirs. The woman didn’t want to do too much searching in case it raised flags and brought attention down on the child she was given to hide.”
Caera barely heard the words as Saul spoke. She had to concentrate on something else before her heart ruptured from the strain of her rude awakening. She couldn’t stop the trembling, but she focused on the steady beat of Saul’s heart and fisted her hands in his shirt to ground herself.
That shout had snapped her from sleep like a wrathful clap of thunder.
“Why that woman?” Connie asked. “Why would the man—ah, Darius—choose that particular woman?”
“We don’t know. There’s no explanation. All I can think of is that he’d seen her somewhere or he just took Caera as far as he dared and picked a house to drop her off at. Caera’s mother said that the woman—we never got a name—couldn’t handle a troubled child.”
“So she just gave her away instead of involving child protection? Jesus.” Thane did not sound pleased. “The adoptive parents obviously didn’t help the situation.”
“No. They simply compounded the issue.”
“Jasper.” Connie said his name quietly. “What do you think?”
Braving a peek at the new man in the room, Caera blinked at him. For a moment, the memory of Darius seemed to shimmer and settle over the angry individual sitting in the opposite armchair, merging past and present into one.
“Kitten, go sit on the couch.” Jasper pressed a kiss to her temple.
“Yes, Sir.” Anarchy obeyed immediately, surprising Caera.
When the white-haired beast rose from his chair, all power and grace, Caera shrank into herself and tried to be invisible. The dominance radiating from him was overwhelming, making her feel ridiculously small. That aura grew closer until she all but felt it running sharp claws down her spine.
“May I?”
Please don’t say yes. Please don’t say yes.
Saul didn’t. Apparently whatever confirmation Jasper needed was given silently.
Strong hands picked her up effortlessly, plucking her off Saul’s lap and stealing her away from safety. She kicked and struggled as Jasper cradled her gently, carrying her back to his chair. “Please don’t. Please don’t.”
