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Hours later, after a hot meal and a steamy bath, Faith awaited Jacob in their bedroom. She sat in one of the chairs, facing the door. Some of Jacob’s plans and preparations would of course have to be revised. His latest bombshell in regards to her would be shelved, or she was going to shoot him herself.
Provide protection for the home base. She snorted rudely. As though any would be needed. Every man, woman and child was trained to protect and
uphold the security of the home base. And Hope would never allow Wolfe to leave her behind, this Faith was certain of. Just as she would not be left behind either. It was time her mate learned that they were now a team, no longer separate entities. He was going to have to get over this protection issue he seemed to have problems with.
She didn’t have much longer to wait for him. He entered the bedroom quietly, closing the door behind him as he took a deep breath. Faith reached over and flipped on the small lamp, catching a glimpse of his haggard, worried expression before it cleared.
“Everything ironed out?” she asked, keeping her voice carefully bland.
“Wolfe and Aiden will be here in the morning. We will hit the Labs three days from now. ” His voice was cold. Hard.
“And is he leaving Hope behind?” She tilted her head, watching him curiously as he cast her a fulminating glance.
“You are going to get just as stubborn as our Leader’s mate, aren’t you?” he bit out furiously.
And he was angry. She could see it pulsing in the air around him, glowing in his pale eyes.
“You know, Jacob, being a mate to you is becoming particularly frustrating. You cannot protect us the way you want to. You can’t wrap me in wool and set me on a shelf, only to take me down when you wish to play. ”
She settled herself back in her chair, watching him with lazy amusement. He was snarling silently, the strong points of his canines gleaming in the dim light of the room.
“Did I say I wished to do this?” He removed his shirt with short, furious movements.
“There are some things you don’t have to say, Jacob,” she pointed out. “I will not return to the Pack home base. I will fight by your side, or I will leave you. And I promise you, there will be no returning when I do so. ”
Shock held him rigid. Faith watched his body tense, his eyes widen as he faced her.
“Why?” he whispered roughly. “Why would you do this, Faith, when you know I want only to be assured of your safety?”
She wondered if he was aware of the edge of pain, or fear that ran through his voice. She was, and though it broke her heart to see him come to terms with what he felt was a weakness within himself, she refused to back down.
“Because you can’t assure my safety,” she told him bleakly. “Because our lives have been a fight from the time of our creation. Because there is no protection for me or for you. I am your mate. I was created by man, but nature made me compatible to only one male. And that male is you. I will not stand alone while you risk yourself, time and again. I won’t wait in silence, wondering if or when you will return. I won’t do it, Jacob, because I can’t bear the separation. ”
“So you would risk yourself?” he bit out. “Risk any child you would conceive, and my sanity by rushing into danger beside me?”
“The same as you risk yourself, and protection a child of ours would have if you died,” she snapped back. “Should I conceive, then I will of course reconsider my options. But until that day arrives, if a separation occurs between us, then consider it permanent. ”
“I would have no other woman—”
“Do you think this has something to do with jealousy or trust?” she asked him, furious now as he stared at her with dark hunger. “Do you believe I do not trust that you would never touch another woman? I do trust you, Jacob. But my place is at your side, not locked in a compound away from you. I will not do this. ”
She watched as he plowed fingers through his hair in frustration. His face was lined with pain and bitterness, and his own worries for her safety. A safety he was well aware that he could never ensure.
“I stayed away from you to protect you,” he finally bit out roughly. “Six years I denied everything I was, because of my fears for you. You expect me to forget these overnight. To go on, as though the danger to you does not exist. ”
“No, Jacob, you stayed away from me because you were a coward,” she argued fiercely, ignoring his surprised anger at her claim. “Too cowardly to admit that I mattered, and that you needed me as desperately as I needed you. I am growing tired of this, I want your love, as well as your cock. I do not want one without the other. ”
“And you think you do not have my love?” he yelled out to her, striding to her and jerking her from the chair as he stared down at her, angrier than she had ever seen him. “Do you think I do not know now exactly what you are to me, damn you! I would die, Faith, literally put a bullet in my head were something to happen to you. Do you think for one moment you do not hold everything I am?”
He was yelling at her. Jacob, who never lost control enough to yell unless during the heat of battle, was yelling at her. His face was flushed, his eyes glowing as he snarled down at her.
“Do I have your love, Jacob?” She couldn’t stop the hope that filled her, the whisper of dreams that raced through her system.
“My love?” He shook her just slightly in exasperation. “Faith, you are my love. You are my heart. When I saw those bastards so intent on taking you, knowing if they killed me they could take you, I nearly lost my sanity. ” His voice lowered to a whisper. “I did not even know how much a part of me you were, until I knew I could lose you. Forever, Faith. One careless move, one stray bullet, and I could lose you. ”
He was trembling, but so was she, Faith realized. Shaking in reaction, and emotional overload. His hand moved to touch her cheek, as though he cherished the feel of her.
“When you were thirteen, your skin began to chafe. Do you remember?” he asked her.
