As Tao passed by with Glory in tow, Jaime lunged at her with such strength that she managed to break out of both his and Gabe’s holds. Christ, she moved fast. Dante moved faster. He grabbed her just as she reached Glory and pulled her back against him. He kept his arm wrapped securely around her, pinning her arms to her sides. At the same time, he collared her throat again with his free hand. Like before, it transferred her focus to him, and she froze briefly before struggling wildly again.
“Stop,” he growled into her ear. She didn’t. He looked at the others who were all gathered near the door. “All of you out! She’ll feel cornered if there are too many in here!” Gabe lingered, looking anxious and edgy. “Out. I’ll take care of her, I promise,” he added reassuringly.
Once they were alone, Dante returned his attention to the writhing female in his arms. “Jaime, I know you’re fighting her, baby, or you’d be in wolf form by now. I need you to fight harder for me.
Concentrate on me, concentrate on my voice.” Very, very slightly, her struggles eased. “That’s it, Jaime, fight harder for me, come on.” Rocking her from side to side, he whispered things softly into her ear, hoping to calm her wolf’s mood even though he knew the animal wouldn’t understand the words.
Little by little, her struggles eased until, a minute later, she slumped against him. Sighing with relief, he turned her to face him, keeping her in his arms, and slid to the floor. Sitting there with her cradled against his chest, he continued to rock her slightly. “Jaime,” he breathed. He was surprised when her lids fluttered open. Smoky-blue eyes looked back at him.
“Now you know.” Then she passed out. Shit.
The creaking of the restroom door had him looking up. Tao was wearing an expression that was an equal mixture of concerned and wary. “Is she all right?”
“I don’t know.”
“What the hell is going on?” Tao’s voice was soft but demanding.
“I don’t know that either.”
“But you know she’s definitely not a submissive wolf, right? You must have sensed the dominant vibes—they were clogging the air.”
“Yes, I sensed them,” Dante said impatiently, irritated that he was again stuck with unanswered questions. “Look, I need you and the guys to make sure Shaya and Hope get home fine.
Gabe is coming with Jaime and me. I need some answers, and I seriously doubt I’m going to get any of them from her right now.”
Tao swallowed hard. “Are you sure it’s a good idea to take her to pack territory?”
“You’re suggesting I don’t?” His voice sounded dangerous even to him.
“Hey, look, I really, really like Jaime. She’s a great girl and she’s a good addition to the pack, and I don’t like the idea of her anywhere alone. But, well, she’s dangerous, Dante.”
“Maybe to females who challenge her, but not necessarily to anyone else.” He knew that Jaime didn’t go around picking fights. Glory had to have challenged her.
“You saw her, Dante. Her wolf lost it.”
“No, she didn’t.” He sighed. “I think something’s wrong with her wolf. She seems, I don’t know…damaged.”
“So you’re saying you think Jaime lost control of her? That still makes her dangerous. Trey’s not going to like that, especially since she’s been lying to us about being submissive.” He was right, Dante knew. The Beta in him agreed that the right decision for the pack would be for her to leave, but every cell of his body rebelled against it. His wolf, too, was angry at the idea of her leaving.
“Dante—”
“I gave you an order, Tao. Just concentrate on that and leave me to deal with this, all right?” It wasn’t actually a question. With a stiff nod, Tao left. Shifting Jaime’s weight slightly, Dante managed to stand upright. Then, curling her legs around his waist, he held her close as he exited the restrooms.
Instantly Shaya came forward, and Nick grabbed her arm, attempting to pull her back.
Scowling at him, Shaya shrugged Nick’s hand away. “Is she okay?” she asked Dante, looking both confused and concerned, as did Hope. Trick and Marcus appeared to be as wary as Tao. Gabe was looking guilty and awkward.
Dante simply gave Shaya a nod. “You, come with me,” he told Gabe, who then followed behind Dante as he made his way out of the bar and over to the SUV. It made more sense to lay Jaime across the backseat, but Dante found that he wanted her close. Not bothering to question the impulse, he placed her on the passenger seat and draped his jacket over her.
Impatient for answers, Dante only waited until he had reversed out of the parking space before he started to dig for an explanation. “Well,” he drawled, glancing in the rearview mirror at the male wolf, who was fidgeting nervously in the backseat. “It would seem that she isn’t submissive.”
“Nope,” Gabe confirmed.
“But Jaime keeps her wolf subdued?”
“Yeah.”
“Why? It’s clearly driving her wolf crazy and making her—” He broke off as realization dawned. “Her wolf was already this way. That’s why Jaime subdues her.” Gabe’s voice was sad as he spoke. “She doesn’t see that she has any other choice.”
“But I remember seeing her shift once when we were kids, and her wolf was fine. What happened to make her like this?”
“That’s Jaime’s story to tell.” Although Gabe’s tone wasn’t disrespectful, it was resolute.
Dante admired his loyalty to his sister.
“How long will she be out?”
Gabe shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen her have to fight her wolf so hard before. It’s usually a few hours before she wakes up. It drains her.”
“Wait a minute, what do you mean you’ve never seen her have to fight her wolf that hard before? Are you saying it’s getting worse?”
“She doesn’t talk about it much. She doesn’t want me to worry. It used to be months at a time before her wolf had the strength to put up a fight like that.”
“When was the last time?”
“A few nights ago. When she has nightmares, it freaks out her wolf.” Dante’s hands clenched around the steering wheel. “Fuck.”
“She wasn’t going to put any of you in danger,” he assured Dante, clearly worried that his sister was in trouble with the pack. “She’d planned to leave as soon as it got too bad. She didn’t say it aloud, but I know her. I wouldn’t be surprised if she leaves tomorrow.” His voice broke with the last words.