She let him help her get dressed. She was already feeling better, but there was no denying she was tender. When she was dressed and she’d run a comb through her hair, she turned to find Finn frowning at her.
“What?” she asked.
“You’re too distracting.”
She smiled. “It’s a bad thing that you find me distracting?”
He gripped her shoulders in his hands. “I don’t want anyone else to feel this way about you.” His face hardened. “I don’t think I’d handle it well.”
She shook her head. “I’m yours.”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“Knowing that should help, maybe?” she asked, curious about this new, territorial Finn.
He shrugged. “Guess we’ll find out.”
…
He kept her hand in his. He felt more vulnerable now than before he’d claimed her. Touching her seemed to help. So, he kept touching her. He’d only left her to take Oscar to Anders. She needed sleep. He needed her. And Oscar needed a bottle. Anders had taken his son with a wink and a smile. But he’d come back to wake her, to take care of her, and she hadn’t been in bed.
He’d panicked.
Watching his scar mar her smooth skin had been a nightmare. It wasn’t enough that he’d claimed her, now his mark was on her skin. He wouldn’t have blamed her for running. It was the wolf that calmed him down. The wolf knew she’d never leave.
Instead, she’d held him close, let him come apart in her arms, and smiled over the scar. She liked being marked by him. And it filled him with pride to know it.
And shame. He should have told her about the condom, should admit there might be more to worry about. But he couldn’t, not yet. Tomorrow, after the moon, he’d lay it all out there and they’d face it together.
“He’s gone
through like four bottles,” Anders said as they walked into the great room.
“Four?” Jessa took Oscar, concerned. She ran her hand across Oscar’s forehead and stomach. “Diapers?” Finn followed her, standing at her side, needing her close.
“He’s filled a few,” Anders added. “It’s like he’s getting ready for winter or something.”
Jessa’s gaze flew to his.
“Or something,” Dante said.
“We suspected as much.” Hollis shrugged. “Theoretically, it won’t hurt him like it does the three of you. He’s an infant. His bones aren’t fused into place, and he’s limber. Yes, he will feel pain, but he’ll come through it okay.”
Jessa bounced Oscar in her arms, her anxiety reaching him.
“He’s eaten considerably more than an infant his age. No throwing up, no excessive bowel movements. And he’s been wide awake. I’d say he senses a change coming,” Hollis looked at Finn.
Finn’s arm slipped around Jessa’s waist. “Then we wait and see. You’ll stay close?” he asked.
Hollis nodded. “If I’m able.”
“I thought… Don’t you all change?” Jessa asked.
“Hollis has never been a wolf,” Finn said.
She glanced at each of them. “But you said—”
“Oh, he bit all of us,” Anders said. “Left Dante here almost without an arm.”