The Werewolf Lawyer's Human Mate

10- I Can't Leave Her Alone

Jeremy Anderson’s POV

Daniel is quiet, but his red eyes tell me he has been affected deeply by our ordeal. Breakfast between us alone is what I felt like we needed. Just father and son while Claire sleeps. It had not been Daniel and me for quite some time now, even though it had only been some days.

Since Claire entered my life, nothing feels the same. She feels new yet like she’s been with me forever.

Last night confirmed that to me as she sobbed in my arms. Her fragility just made me want to protect her more. Women have grown to be strong. Independent and tough as nails, taking care of themselves. In my world, they think fast and survive on instinct as well as any man I’ve known. I respect that and I expect it.

In fact, I admired it. It’s what I’ve been around my whole life.

But Claire…

Claire is different. Not weak, but fragile in a sense. She’s human in a way that makes me want to protect her, not because she can’t, but because I need to. Her femininity isn’t a liability. It’s a magnet, a flare that my instincts can’t ignore. It’s the way she moves, the way my son had taken to her. The little tilt of her head when she looks up at me, eyes wide and trusting, relying on me to keep her safe.

Most importantly, last night, when I held her for the very first time.

Her softness made my wolf bristle.

Made my chest swell. Made me want to shield her from every sharp edge of the world, from every shadow, every threat. The heat of her presence pressed against me, and I wanted to wrap her in my arms and never let go- not out of possession, but out of instinct, duty, and a damn stubborn need to be the one who keeps her alive, who keeps her unhurt.

Holding her while she cried shook me in ways I haven’t felt in years. Every sob, every shiver, every fragile inhale of her breath… it made me feel ferociously alive- the overwhelming urge to do more, to be more, to protect.

She’s tall, but when she curled up, small against me, she fits against my chest like she was always meant to. My wolf reacted instantly with pure, primal instinct. The strength under my skin pulsed, sharpening everything. I felt her heartbeat against my own, and it dragged something out of me that I’ve kept buried for years: the need to hold, to guard, to dominate in the most protective way a man can without hurting her.

Normally, I don’t let myself feel this. I don’t let someone make me this aware of what it means to want to protect them, to stand between them and the world. But Claire… she’s rewiring me, as vulnerable as she is, and every part of me knows letting her go will tear me apart.

Doing another quick scan around us, my eyes landed back on my son. Daniel tells me he’s ready to go back home, and I reach over and pull him into my chest. Hugging him, and feeling the hot tears against my neck, my wolf instincts are on alert, and a growl escapes my mouth. Daniel is not scared of me, used to this by now, and his tiny fists ball up against my chest as I stare at his half-eaten food. God, I don’t know how to erase this from his memory, and it pains me that I caused this upon him.

I replay the shots in my head, over and over. The angle, the trajectory, the way it tore through wood before it could reach us. Five shots, the third hitting me. A professional wouldn’t have missed, and the first bullet had not been aimed at me. That much is certain. Unconsciously, I flex the arm that was injured, almost healed now. I’d told Claire I’d already cleaned and bandaged it, and she’d only nodded through her tears.

So, who was the bullet really meant for? Claire or my son?

The thought twists my gut. If they wanted to scare me, that shot at Daniel would’ve sufficed. But why a second shot? They wanted more?

My wolf bristles when Danny makes another sobbing sound, and my arms around him tighten as I whisper words of comfort to him.

I think back to the sheriff’s words- the real sheriff, not that failure in his office, Chief Deputy Marcus Reed, who was now searching for my missing client.

The real County Sheriff, is my personal friend and a member of our pack, Thomas Hale, said to me, “Professionals don’t miss.” His tone carried warning, not reassurance, adding that, “If it was indeed professional, because I am a hot-shot lawyer-” his words, not mine- “the lodge isn’t safe enough. It’s exposed and too obvious for someone who might be tracking you.”

My eyes and ears are peeled for any sound that is off or for anyone who seems or smells a bit off. We need a place off the grid, which is what I thought I did by coming here.

Now I can only think of one other place. A place I control.

Home, with my rules, my defenses, and my pack to back me up.

A server comes to our table, and I glare up at him, cautious and annoyed that someone is disturbing my son’s private moment. My wolf reacts, coiled beneath the skin, muscles tense, senses heightened, and I have to close my eyes to shield him from my silver eyes, telling him we are done, and yes, he could clear the table.

__

My lungs feel too small, my wolf isn’t thinking logically, but in possession when we return to our room, reacting before my brain can process

Sleeping beauty is up, eyes red-rimmed, hair falling across her cheeks in a messy halo. Desire, protection, and ownership of her heart rock me all at once, and my jaw locks. I can feel my pulse spike just by being near her.

Her lips are full, swollen from sleep. Tempting, so soft…Her nose, small, almost not there, how neat it is, arches naturally, perfectly. Those brows, slightly arched and untouched by makeup, frame her face in a way that should be illegal. They match her look, organic, not crafted like everyone else’s these days. My wolf growls at me internally, and I want to sink my teeth into her neck, just to feel her warmth, to taste her.

I suppress it because my son is here, running towards her, but the pull doesn’t go away. “Claire,” I murmur, voice low and rough, her hands around Daniel, like she’s shielding him from everything.

And as if it’s the most natural thing in the world- to come home and do this, I drop to the bed beside them, careful not to crush Daniel, and slide my arm beneath Claire’s shoulders, holding her close. She doesn’t resist; she only leans in, her head resting against my chest, her hair brushing my jaw. The scent of her, the warmth, the lingering cold from the mountains, the faint trace of cocoa and pine from the lodge, hits me full force. My wolf surges again, strong, insistent.

I press a kiss to the crown of her head, just a brush, a whisper, but it’s enough to make her exhale slightly. Her warmth sinks into me, and my wolf growls low and rumbling beneath my ribs, even as I drop my hands to my side.

I can’t let her go. And yet I don’t know how to make her stay. I can’t tell her the whole truth about me, not about my wolf instincts, not about what being near her does to me because of it.

“Claire,” I murmur again, my voice tighter this time, catching a little as my chest swells. “You can’t leave- until the sheriff figures this out. Until it’s safe.”

Shaking her head, yes, her lashes flutter up at me, wary, questioning, vulnerable. I know she doesn’t fully understand me and thinks I’m just protective. That I’m just… careful and taking precautions with the sheriff’s department. She doesn’t know what my wolf would do if I let it loose.

That slight movement unclenches a relief inside me and a fierce, almost painful surge of need, all from my wolf hisses in satisfaction, muscles coiling as if the world has finally tilted right. I squeezed her closer, my chest pressing against hers, pulling Daniel together as well. Her hair tangles around my fingers, her warmth seeping into me, a fire I can’t ignore. She belongs with me. With us. And I will find a way to make her see that I am the man she needs in her life, not that punk she wanted me to beat up.

Not just because my wolf wants her, not just because my instincts scream, but because I cannot survive losing her.