Dallas leaned in and kissed the side of my neck, his hands still pressed against my back, before leaning back a bit and smiling at the two of us.

  “Fuck me, that was…amazing.”

  Jules kissed both of us, whispering, “I love you”.

  I leaned back, careful not to touch his foot.

  “Shower time.”

  Jules got the water adjusted while I helped Dallas into the shower, and the three of us took our time, washing and caressing each other.

  Dallas insisted he could not lie in bed one more day, so after dressing, Jules and I managed to get him down the stairs and set up on the couch in the family room. He looked much better and I thought he’d probably be good as new tomorrow, which made me emotional again to think how close we’d really come to losing him.

  “You okay Raife, you looked upset for a minute?”

  “I’m okay sweetheart, just thinking about how fortunate we are, wondering what I ever did to deserve you and Dallas.

  “I intend to show you just how cherished you are, every day.”

  She pressed her lips to mine before whispering in my ear, “I cherish you”.

  Dallas smirked at us, “I will cherish whoever brings me some food!”

  “How about I have someone pick you up some food and Jules can take care of the juice.”

  Trey picked up almost every type of breakfast food I could name from the diner and Dallas attempted to eat it all, before groaning.

  “I can’t eat another bite. Fuck, that tasted good. Nothing like being at death’s door to give you an appetite.”

  I chuckled and moved to clean everything up before Jules could get to it.

  “You sit with Dallas sweetheart, make sure he doesn't bust a gut with all the food he just ate.”

  Dallas laughed and I thought how comfortable it was, the three of us, and for the moment I refused to think about what was coming next.

  Chapter thirty-eight

  Jules

  Dallas had fallen asleep on the couch, so I took a moment to go outside and get some fresh air. I stood in the field behind the house listening to all the sounds that not more than a month ago I was unable to hear. I heard the soft padding of paws as Ren emerged from the trees in her beautiful red wolf form.

  She walked straight up to me and nudged my hand with her muzzle. I stroked the soft hair between her ears and her eyes slid closed. She made a soft rumbling sound and her tongue lolled out of her mouth. I smiled, enjoying the pure joy of pleasing another.

  She sat on her haunches before lowering her belly to the ground and I sat beside her, absentmindedly rubbing her fur.

  “I haven’t been a very good friend to you Ren. I should have checked on you after you were injured, I should have been there for you. I have no excuse, except to say I could not leave Dallas’ side. I mean it was physically impossible to leave him. Just thinking about it almost paralyzed me with fear.”

  She whined and put her muzzle on my thigh.

  “It’s not an excuse, I feel like a shit friend, even if Raife had let me know you were okay. I’ve never been so terrified for anyone as I was for Dallas. I wasn’t afraid fighting the vampires, or facing that fucking bitch Danielle, but when I thought he could die, I didn’t know if we’d gotten there in time…it fucking terrified me.”

  A tear slid down my cheek and I brushed it away. Ren stood and took two steps before shifting and sitting next to me, back in her human skin…her naked human skin, and she was really gorgeous.

  “What the fuck girl. Who knew you were hiding this”, I waved to indicate her body, “under your clothes.”

  She just grinned.

  “Jules, I don’t know what you think you’re apologizing to me for. We were in a fight, shit happens. I was fine the next day. I understand why you had to stay with Dallas, he’s your mate, well one of them”, she grinned again.

  “Trey took me home, got me in bed and stayed until I was asleep. It’s all good.”

  I grinned back at her. “Oh, he got you in bed, did he? You mean he carried you to bed.”

  “Haha, it’s not like that, he was helping me, just like he would anyone.”

  “Riiiight, I’m sure it was all purely innocent, just like you said.”

  I winked at her and she stood before shifting back to her wolf form and I laughed. She strolled away, her tail held high, waving back and forth and she glanced at me over her shoulder before trotting into the trees.

  “See you later Ren”, I shouted after her.

  Feeling much better, I went back into the house and attempted to make us something for dinner.

  Dallas and I were lying on the couch watching a movie, sort of, when we weren’t kissing, and Raife came in. It was after midnight and I could see his fatigue.

  “Raife.” I reached a hand up to him and he took it as he sat on the floor in front of the couch. I stroked my fingers through his hair, gently massaging his scalp.

  “Mmm, that feels nice.”

  Dallas slid his arm around me and began to knead the muscles of Raife’s neck and shoulders.

  “I could get used to this”, he murmured.

  Dallas chuckled, “All part of this cherishing thing we’ve got going on”.

  “I appreciate it, I truly do, and I just filled the fridge with pastries, a lemon tart and a chocolate cake. We never did get to the cake part of your birthday Jules. I think we need to fix that tomorrow.”

  “Chocolate cake, hell yeah! Who doesn’t love chocolate cake?”

  I immediately felt bad, obviously Raife didn’t love chocolate cake. I was such an idiot!

  “I didn’t mean…”

  “Jules, it’s okay sweetheart. I will love to watch you enjoy your cake.”

  He gave me such a sweet smile that I knew he meant it, and maybe I’d give him something that just he would enjoy after.

  Raife and I managed to get Dallas up the stairs and back into bed and I climbed in after him. Dallas lay on his back, his foot propped up on a pillow and I snuggled into his side. Raife lay down behind me, his arm wrapped around my middle as he big spooned me. Fatigue overcame us and we slept soundly through the night.

  The next day, Dallas was downstairs before Raife or I even woke up and I had a moment of panic when he wasn’t in bed. Raife squeezed my hip and turned me toward him.

  “He’s okay sweetheart. He’s downstairs with Jay and some other wolves, getting caught up.”

  “I don’t mean to be like this, it’s just that when I think about what happened, panic starts to overwhelm me.”

  Raife nuzzled into my neck, inhaling deeply.

  “I feel the same way sweetheart, but I remind myself that he’s here with us and he’s okay.”

  “You feel very close to him”, I whispered.

  “I do, and I will say that I never expected to have such feelings for an Alpha wolf.”

  I smiled at him, running my fingers through his silky hair.

  “It’s not that I’ve never found affection with another man, because I have. I should say vampires, not men, but I’ve never been this close to a shifter.”

  I continued stroking his hair, locked on his eyes. The color was deeper this morning, more like the ocean than the sky.

  “When I see you with him, the feelings I have for you, the love I have for you, it naturally spreads to Dallas also. It just feels right, we fit together.”

  “I’ve never fit in with anyone before, not even my family. I didn’t know it could be like this, I’ve never really experienced love. It’s like, when I think about you and Dallas, I think that I couldn’t possibly love you more than I do, but then, when I’m with you, my heart just opens more until it feels like it’s going to burst out of my chest.”

  Raife covered my face with kisses before trailing down my neck and my arm, lifting my hand to his lips and kissing each of my fingers. I shuddered and was overcome, tears slipping down my cheeks.

  Raife pulled me tight to him and kissed me before continuing.

  “I’ve lived for hundreds of years, Jules, and I have never had a love like this. My heart beats for you, you are half of my soul, and without you I would be dust.”

  I clung to him, not easing up on my hold until he said, “We’d better get downstairs before they eat all the pastries I brought for you.”

  I quickly wiped my eyes and jumped out of bed.

  “Oh, they better not!”

  After breakfast…. there were a lot of pastries, we headed out back for some sparring. Dallas was especially anxious to see my new gift. Ren joined us… with clothes on, and I was excited to get going.

  “Have you been maintaining your mental shields? Shall I test you?” Raife asked me.

  “Go for it.”

  I wasn’t sure if he was or not, because I couldn’t feel anything, so after a minute I asked.

  “Did you try?”

  He gave me a very big smile.

  “I did, and you passed with flying colors. I would like to try again as you’re sparring, randomly without letting you know if that’s ok.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “Sure.”

  Dallas thought he would work with me since he’d been lying in bed for four days, but I was hesitant.

  “Are you sure you’re alright for this? I don’t want to hurt you.”

  He threw his head back and laughed.

  “It’s alright love, you won’t hurt me.”

  I arched a brow at him before flicking my wrist and hitting him with just enough power to push him back a step. He laughed again, harder this time.

  “Oh, so you want to play like that, do you love.”

  He waggled his eyebrows at me, then sped toward me so fast he was just a blur, wrapping his arms around my hips and slinging me over his shoulder. He trotted around in a circle, pumping his fist in the air, while I bounced up and down on his shoulder, before I slapped him on the butt.

  “Haha, okay let’s go wolfman.”

  Raife grinned at me, clearly enjoying himself as Dallas set me back on my feet, roaring with laughter. Someone was certainly happy to be out of bed.

  We circled each other for a moment, neither wanting to make the first move. Dallas hesitated for a fraction of a second and I sprinted to him, but sidestepped as I reached him and leapt onto his back like a monkey. He barked out a laugh before grabbing my leg and twisting, bringing us face to face so he could kiss the daylights out of me!

  “Okay, so how about we have Ren spar with Jewel, because as amusing as this is, I don’t know that she’s learning anything.”

  Dallas slapped me on the butt before lowering me to the ground and I grinned at Raife.

  “What do you say Ren? Wanna give me a try?”

  “Sure, but I’m not kissing you. Just sayin.”

  I laughed and then Ren and I got down to serious sparring. She threw kicks and punches, pulled my hair and tried to trip me and I deflected all of it without resorting to using my power at all.

  After almost an hour, I’d barely broken a sweat but Ren was breathing heavily and we took a break.

  “What the fuck Jules, you’re like a goddamn super woman. I haven’t even gotten close to you and I feel like you’re barely trying.”

  I just shrugged my shoulders. “You wanna keep going, or you good?”

  Ren smiled at me and sat on the ground. “I’m good.”

  Dallas stepped closer to me before asking, “You think you can show me your new firepower without catching the forest on fire?”

  I hesitated. “I really don’t know. I have no idea how I did it before, it just happened.”

  Dallas and Raife looked at each other before Raife asked me, “Did you feel any great surge of power before the flames?”

  I thought about it, trying to remember my exact feelings at the time, but it was difficult because what I remembered most was the rage I felt at Danielle.

  “I don’t think so, what I remember is being enraged and wanting to protect Dallas before she could throw that knife at him. That was my main concern and I just threw everything I had at her.”

  “Okay, so let’s try an experiment. Jules, show us how you trim the trees, be precise and try to not feel any emotion.”

  I smirked at him before nodding and taking a few steps away.

  It was actually becoming quite easy to focus my power into a very small but deadly beam of power and I did just what Raife asked, trimming branches off the trees that were about five hundred feet away.

  “That was fantastic Jules, you have great control, very precise, and I was testing your mental shields the entire time.”

  He smiled at me and his praise felt good.

  “This time, I want you to try the same thing, but I want you to recall how you felt when we were in that cellar where Dallas was being held. How you felt when you saw Danielle about to hurt your mate.”

  I sucked in a breath as I pictured Dallas, chained to the wall, bleeding, suffering, and that bitch Danielle about to throw a knife at him. My hands snapped up to chest height, power flowing through my arms like lava, and white flames erupted from my palms, shooting about fifty feet in front of me. My arms shook with the force of the flames and I struggled to curl my hands into fists. Slowly, I pushed it back, shutting off the flow of power and my arms fell limp at my sides. My knees buckled and I landed on my butt on the ground, my eyes still fixed on the spot where my flames had scorched the earth.

  Dallas and Raife both rushed me, landing on their knees on either side of me, their arms wrapping around me. I looked away from the blackened ground and reached up to cup Dallas’ cheek.

  “You’re okay.”

  He held my palm to his lips and kissed it. “I’m okay, thanks to you both.” He dropped his forehead to mine while Raife pressed his cheek against mine.

  “I think it might be time for a break. Can you stand?”

  I nodded and the three of us stood, still wrapped together as we made our way back to the house.

  I sat on the couch, Raife insisting I drink a full bottle of water, while delicious smells wafted from the kitchen where Dallas was cooking. He joined us with a bottle of wine and three glasses.

  “What did you make? It smells so good.”

  “I hope you like lasagna, it’s your birthday dinner after all.”

  I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him to me. “I love lasagna!”

  We finished the bottle of wine about the same time the lasagna was done, and I heard voices approaching the back door.

  “Jay, Ren and Trey are joining us for your birthday dinner if that’s okay with you Jules.”

  They both looked at me expectantly.

  “That’s great, a real party!”

  “Wow, I can’t believe we ate all that!” I laughed. “Shifters can really eat!”

  The four of us had polished off two trays of lasagna while Raife and Trey had more red wine.

  I eyed Dallas. “I don’t know about you, but I left room for chocolate cake. How about you Ren?”

  “I always have room for cake.”

  She smiled at me, but I noticed that her gaze kept flicking to Trey and I got the feeling he was interested also.

  Dallas emerged from the kitchen with a chocolate cake that must have had at least six layers, topped with so many candles it was like a mini bonfire.

  “Shall I do this the easy way?” I raised a palm and quirked a brow.

  “Noooo”, everyone shouted at once.

  I laughed before letting the tiniest stream of air out of my palm, right at the tops of the candles, extinguishing them all at once.

  “Did you make a wish love?”

  “There is nothing I could wish for when I have you”, and I turned to Raife, “and you”.

  Ren clapped her hands, “okay people, concentrate. I need cake!”

  Trey laughed before sending Ren a scorching look. “Then you shall have cake.”

  I winked at Ren as she and I both tucked into enormous slices of decadent chocolate cake. I couldn’t stop the moan at the velvety smooth, dark chocolate and Raife and Dallas both stared at me, their eyes dark with desire.

  We drank more wine, ate almost the entire cake and just enjoyed each other’s company. It was almost like a normal night at home, except that as we sat enjoying my belated birthday, almost one hundred shifters and vampires patrolled the property to keep us safe.

  I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my belly.

  “I don’t know if I’ve ever been this full.”

  The sound of glass shattering had us all leaping to our feet, Jay and Trey streaked from the room in opposite directions, searching for the location of the break in. Dallas and Raife were instantly at my sides and Ren stripped, shifting to her beautiful red wolf. She stood in front of me, a deep growl in her throat, her teeth bared.

  The front door flew open, smashing into the wall and vampires surged into the house. Raife and Dallas ran forward and I was right behind them, Ren at my side.

  Vampires kept streaming in through the open front door as we battled. The air became clogged with dust as the four of us obliterated every vamp that got in.

  Raife moved in a blur, every movement precise as he stabbed some vamps while ripping limbs off others before I blasted them with a shot of power to the heart.

  Dallas battled, still in his human form, the crush of bodies too tight in the entry hall to allow his wolf room to move. Ren chased down any vamps that got behind us, her powerful jaws ripping heads clean off.

  I ducked and spun while slapping my palms to the chest or back of any vamp I could grab, blasting just enough power to turn them to dust. I was aware of noise coming from the back of the house, where it sounded like Jay and Trey were also fighting off vampires.

  Slowly, we made our way to the front door, maybe ten vamps left between us and the outside. We needed to see what was going on out there, what had happened to all our shifters and vampires surrounding the property.

  Dallas flung a huge vamp to the ground, his head cracking the hardwood floor, and I leapt onto him, slamming my hands against his chest as I let loose a good blast of power and my knees landed on the floor in a pile of dust.