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It was another five minutes before she could stand

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

She ran into Jack’s arms the moment he stepped into the bedroom "Was it very awful?" she asked his chest as he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed He reeked of soap; he’d washed thoroughly before touching her

"Not as awful as talking to him," he replied so dryly she chuckled "Did you know, there’s a protocol in place for the disposal of inconvenient bodies on Pack property?" He pulled back and looked at her eyes "Ah Of course you knew"

"Doesn’t make it any less horrible And the day of our--you know"

He was still watching her face, his head cocked to the right "You onderful, you know Ahnot just earlier" He winced and rubbed his nipple where she’d pinched him "Our true leader"

She shook her head so hard she couldn’t see for the hair in her eyes Jack smoothed the strands away "I wasn’t I wantedthey were there in case I fucked up When I fucked up," she admitted "I was pretty sure I would Bet my mom never worried about stuff like that" She send"

She’d been afraid he would think less of her after the confession, but he only looked astonished "Do you hear yourself?"

"That’s such a dumb question I said it; of course I heard it"

"It’s not easy having athat he, too, heard her "Lara, you’re a legend"

"What? No I’ about me is my parents Them, it’s them I’m justme"

"You were barely whelped when you took on two alphas in their priht for dominance and could easily have been fatally sto better isn’t legendary"

"You know better now," he pointed out "Would you do the saave him the answer "Lara, you drove our eneeance Packers don’t kill themselves!" (They did, but not nearly as often as humans It was alendary?"

"You htforward," she said, uneasy with his ad But I’h now she knehy Even as a child, even during her first Change, she was afraid of hie her, and he did Theirmarked the true end of childhood and entrance to adult responsibilities with far e had

He kissed her on theyour responsibilities for cowardice If you weren’t afraid of letting us down, someone else would be Pack leader Someone else isn’t; you are You’re supposed to be here I a so hard she barely felt it Instead she leaned against his co bulk and relaxed as he rubbed her back