Page 48 of Love Bites

CHAPTER12

Brie wasn’t the best baker in the world—in her opinion, that title went to her mother. However, since she was nervous about the upcoming meeting andstillnot allowed to venture out in the den without a guard, she decided that baking cookies would be just the thing. Hopefully, after today, she would feel a little more secure in her own skin when it came to her new Pack, but she didn’t put much into that.

Actually, it wasn’t her as much as the males in her life. Gideon and his brothers werenotgood with letting others have control. That meant that unless someone was watching her to keep her safe, they wouldn’t be able to focus on the task at hand. That burden was on them, but since she was trying to find her place, she let them act overprotective.

For now.

That would change.

Soon.

The problem with mating someone so much more dominant than she—other than the Pack issues—was that Gideon could run right over her without meaning to. He was just so…strong that he wouldn’t be able to help it if he did something out of protection that ended up hurting her wolf. It was in his nature to care for her in ways that sometimes put boundaries up where she needed to roam. Maybe she was wrong to let him have the control at first, but she hadn’t seen another choice. He wasn’t the usual dominant wolf, bringing with him a huge gap between them in terms of strength. He was also the Alpha, and she had to take into account his Pack needs as well. That, after all, was why they’d mated in the first place.

The Pack had needed a mate for the Alpha, and she’d stepped up.

Now, though, she needed toactuallystep up and be the mate. Their bond was there—she could feel it—but that was only one part of it. The Pack would eventually be able to feel the bond as well, not like she could feel Gideon, but in a different way. They would be able to feel an extra layer of protection and foundation because they now had two wolves on the top tier. She had felt it with Kade and Melanie, and one day, she hoped her new Pack would be able to feel it with her and Gideon.

In order to do that, though, they needed to accept her as their Alpha female.

Gideon, she thought, was just now beginning to see the need for her to be her own person within the Pack. He’d been so caught up making sure no one hurt her when he brought her in that he hadn’t thought about the emotional toll. Today he would take her to the maternals’ part of the den where she’d be able to talk to them privately. She couldn’t wait to get to know the women who helped with raising the Pack’s future. She especially couldn’t wait to see the pups. It had been far too long since she’d had an adorable baby wolf in her arms.

She blushed, thinking about what her and Gideon’s pups would look like. Would they be dark and strong like their father or submissive and pale like their mother?

Okay, Brie, one step at a time.

She pushed those thoughts to the side and folded the chocolate chips into her batter. She’d already made a few batches of peanut butter cookies, and now she was making oatmeal chocolate chip. She didn’t know Gideon’s favorite—that hadn’t been one of the questions they’d played with a few nights before—but she hoped he’d like one of these. She was making enough to bring with her to the maternals and also keep some around the house for the Brentwoods. The brothers seemed to eat her out of house and home.

She called them brothers, rather than brothers and cousins, considering Mitchell and Max were so ingrained into the family they weren’t treated any differently than the others. She liked the closeness they had and the inside jokes she hoped one day to be fully part of. It reminded her of her uncles and cousins.

Tears pricked at the backs of her eyes, and she blinked them away. Though she video conferenced with her family daily, it was still hard not to be able to be with them physically every day. She especially missed Finn since she’d lived with him for over a decade. Her cousin was her best friend, and she hoped that one day soon he’d be able to come for a visit. She wasn’t sure that it would be easy, though, because he was the Heir. It didn’t matter that the Talons and Redwoods were friends. Sometimes wolves needed to keep that space so their aggression didn’t get out of hand. They weren’t human after all.

“What’s wrong?” Gideon asked.

She jumped a foot and dropped the bowl. Gideon managed to catch it before it hit the floor, his quick reflexes oddly making her hot. Everything about this man apparently turned her on. He set the bowl on the counter then put a bouquet of wild flowers next to it before cupping her face.

His thumbs brushed under her eyes, wiping up the tears she hadn’t meant to let fall.

“Why are you crying, little wolf? What happened? Who do I need to hurt?”

She closed her eyes and let out a watery laugh. There was so much wrong with what he’d just said, yet the woman in her relished it. He was just so damnprotective.

“Nothing is wrong,” she said when she opened her eyes. His bright blue gaze studied her without blinking, and she put her hands on his chest. “I’m fine. Just a little homesick.”

Something flashed in his eyes, and he gave her a tight nod. “I know this has been hard for you. I’m sorry that you’re missing your home.”

She cursed herself then wrapped her arms around his waist. “I didn’t mean I missed my home, I meant my family. Familysick just doesn’t have the same ring to it as homesick. Plus, I don’t even think that’s a word. Gideon, my mate, Iamhome.”

He let out a breath, and her wolf relaxed. He didn’t let go of his tension often, and never around others, but the fact that he seemed to do it around her meant the world. One day soon, she hoped he’d be able to fully let his guard down in her presence. Then again, one day soon, she hoped to do the same.

“I don’t know when we can plan a visit with your family, little wolf. Not with the Pack in jeopardy such as it is.”

She leaned forward, though his hands were still on her face, and nipped at his chin. He growled, softly, but didn’t kiss her.

“I know, Gideon. It’s okay, really. Things happened fast, and we’re in a different situation than most. Technology lets me speak to them regularly, so that’s not a worry. I know I’ll see them again soon.” She smiled and leaned into his touch. “You know, I’m in a new family now. Right?” She held her breath, knowing she was being an idiot waiting for him to say something.

New matings were not for the weak. Mating an Alpha was even more unnerving.

He tilted his head then leaned down and brushed his lips against her own. “True. You have a new family now. Once we take care of Leo and those who spoke out against you at the circle, we might be able to actually feel like one fully.”

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