Page 74 of Taming of a Wolf

Quiet sobs reach my ears, making me wince.

“Jace,” Jamie says, voice soft and devastated.

Tears cascade down Jace’s face, his lips trembling violently. The poor lad’s tears make my heart break. I long to go to him and hold him close, but Jamie is there, pulling him in for a much-needed hug as he breaks down. “I… I m-miss Mom and Dad!” Jace wails, hiding his face in Jamie’s stomach.

“I know.” Jamie’s voice cracks, his eyes damp before he tucks his chin to his chest, hiding his face from my view.

Unable to bear it a second longer, I go to my hurting family and envelop them both in my arms, squeezing tight. I wish I knew the right thing to say, the perfect words to take all their pain away. Mayhap if I were Wulfric… but I’m not. All I can do is hold them, and if that’s what they need, I’ll give it to them, no questions asked.

Jamie helps me get a distraught Jace into the car. During the drive home, the lad cries on and off, and the sound of his sorrow tears into me with claw and fang. I’m almost relieved when Jace falls asleep, surely overcome by the toll such heavy emotions took on his little body. Suddenly, Jamie pulls us over, even though we’re nowhere near home yet. His sadness floods the car, so overwhelming it feels as if I will drown in it.

“Once we’re home, can you take him upstairs?” Jamie asks, scrubbing a hand over his exhausted face. “I need to head to the shop and cover the lunch shift.”

Shocked, I say, “You can’t work today. You’re miserable, pet. Stay home.”

“Anders, damn it, would you just stop! I can take care of myself. I’ve done it for fucking years. I don’t n-need your—”Jamie’s tone is sharp, but the crack in his voice gives away just how much today is weighing on him. A shuddery gasp falls from his lips. “Fuck. I’m so sorry, Anders. I just… fuck!” He wrenches off his seat belt and lurches from the car.

“Jamie, wait,” I hiss, fighting with my damned seat belt until the stupid thing comes off. Closing the door quietly so I don’t wake Jace, I walk around to the driver’s side of the car and freeze. Jamie is hiding his face in his hands, but his heaving shoulders betray his anguish.

“I miss them so much.” He gulps in a breath. “If—if they were here, they could comfort Jace. They knew how to comfort him, and make him laugh, and how to take care of him, and I’m just—” Suddenly, he slams a fist on the hood of the car. Tears dampen his puffy cheeks, and his nose is bright red.

“Pet.” My own voice shakes as I reach for him. “You are amazing with the lad. You—”

“Just stop, Anders!” Jamie’s voice is sharp and pleading. “I don’t deserve Jace. I… I don’t even deserve to be alive when my parents aren’t. I d-don’t deserve you.” His voice thickens, and he lifts both hands, curling them in his hair. A strangled noise escapes him that cracks my heart in two.

All I can do is shake my head. “That’s enough. I won’t stand here and listen to you talk this way about yourself. Jamie, you’re… you’re the best person I know. You’ve made this time feel more like home than anywhere else.”

Gods. No one I have ever known has stirred up such feelings within me. The moment I met him, I knew he was mine, but that was the extent of it. All my life, I wanted to be an Alpha, like my father and my brother. But with Jamie, I finally feel like I am good enough. I may not be an Alpha in the official sense, but I’m Jamie’s. His. And somehow, that’s become more important than anything else.

I just want to be a man who can make him happy, a man deserving of him.

Gripping his hands, I tug them gently from his hair and turn him toward me. His jaw is tightly clenched, his lips pressed so firmly together they’ve turned white. Pulling him close, I wrap my arms around him and hold him to me.

“Sorry.” Jamie’s voice shakes. His arms twitch like he wants to hold me back, but they remain pinned to his sides. “Fuck. I’m such a mess.”

Kissing his hair, I murmur, “You care deeply. There is no shame in having a big heart.”

“I’m… I’m so ashamed of myself.” He hides his face in my chest.

“Ashamed? Why?” I comb my fingers through his hair.

“Never wanted anyone to see me like this.”

I press my lips to his temple. “Even the sun has days where it doesn’t want to shine, pet. That doesn’t make you undeserving of love.” I need to get him home, away from the demands of the world. Nobody will ask for anything from him today, or I’ll bite their damn head off. “Get us home.”

“What?” Jamie looks up, wide-eyed. “I can’t! I have to—”

A growl from me silences him as I slide my palm over the nape of his neck, gently squeezing. “Listen to your Alpha. Get us home so I can care for you the way you deserve. Understood?”

Calm settles over Jamie. With a shuddery exhale that sounds a lot like a wolfish whimper, he tips his head back to show his throat. “Y-Yes, Alpha.”

I watch him until he’s made it to the car. My mate has no idea how to put himself first, and that is going to change. I’m going to get him home and care for him in every way I can.

I won’t leave Jamie’s side until I know he’s okay.

Chapter 19

Jamie

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