Page 85 of Firedrake Betrayal
“We compromise.”
“And what if?—”
I turn from the back door and face him head on. “Look, you’re clearly not getting this. Jade isn’t a thing we pass from person to person. She has wants and needs. Sometimes she will want to be with me, or Patten, or Isaiah. Sometimes one of us will want to be with her. Do you know how this compromise thing works?”
He peers back at me, curious. “How?”
“Wetalk.”
A sudden gust of wind whips through the trees, stirring the leaves and drawing the scent of the fox my way. The little shit came back to do more marking during the night.
“She’s going to be giving birth to my child.”
“And your point is?”
“She won’t be available for?—”
I growl. Not a human one. The sound that emerges from my mouth is all wolf.
“You are still not getting it. Jade isn’t an object. Isn’t just someone we fuck. She is ours. That means we take care of her. Listen to her needs. And that means we intend to make sure she and the baby have everything they need.”
“Even though that child isn’t yours.”
I swallow my next growl. Maybe Dominik is a lone wolf who cannot understand because he is alone. Or used to being alone. “Do you have a pack?” Shit, I’m tired. “I meant family.”
The briefest flicker of amusement is there one second and gone the next. “No.”
“Then maybe that’s why you don’t get it. We don’t just care about Jade, and she doesn’t just care about us. We care about each other.”
That’s why I haven’t thought about going home to Florida. My life is in Chicago with Patten, Isaiah, and with Jade. I’ve found something with them that I didn’t have with my pack, and I don’t want to give it up.
I ask myself why Dominik hasn’t walked away yet. He’s had plenty of chances to do it. But he’s still here.
“Have you tried apologizing to her?” I ask.
His expression shutters. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Yes, you do. I’ve found Jade to be surprisingly forgiving.”
Interest stirs in his eyes. “You did something wrong, and she forgave you.”
“Not me. Isaiah.”
“Ah, he fed on her.” His tone hardens.
“Which he apologized for, and as you can see, Jade forgave. I wouldn’t have been so quick to forgive, but that’s the difference between us.”
He turns away. “She doesn’t trust anything I say to her. She won’t even listen to what I have to tell her about her powers.”
“I ask again, did you apologize?”
He doesn’t respond.
I pull open the backdoor, leaving him outside as I ask myself why I’m bothering. I’m tired, hungry, and I need a shower.
24
JADE
