"I love you," he said fiercely. "Everything I've done since finding you has been to protect you, to save your life. I defied my own pack, my own father, to keep you safe."

I wanted to believe him. The mate bond made it almost impossible not to trust him completely. But I'd been betrayed by too many people who claimed to love me.

"Your father is coming here, isn't he?" I asked.

Xavier's silence was answered enough.

"When?"

"I don't know," he whispered. "Soon."

I closed my eyes, trying to think through the implications. Alpha Damien wanted to use me against the Tee pack, then eliminate me as a threat...