Night Play(90)

And in that moment as she watched him pet a dog that no one had been able to reach, she realized how much she loved him.

Just how much she needed him.

The very idea of living without him killed her.

She couldn't. In the last few weeks, he had become an integral part of her life. Most of all, he was an integral part of her heart.

Her eyes teared as the reality of that thought crashed down on her.

She really, truly loved him in a way she had never known a woman could love a man.

"You have no idea what you're talking about, Dee. Vane is kind and considerate. He takes care of me."

"You've only known him for a couple of weeks on the heels of breaking up with Taylor. It's shameless the way you hang all over him."

Bride looked back at her sister. She felt sorry for Deirdre, but that didn't give her sister the right to try and make her feel bad. "You're just jealous."

"No, Bride, I'm not. I'm a realist. Vane's way out of your league."

Bride glared at her perfect sister, but deep down, she felt so very sorry that Deirdre would most likely never know the love she had with Vane.

If she could, she would give her sister that gift. But it wasn't within her control.

"Whatever, Dee. I'll see you later."

Vane and Fury were outside in the yard with the Lab again.

"You wouldn't want to take him home with you, would you?" Paul asked as Fury played with the dog. "Valerius would piss his drawers," Fury said. "Can I?" Vane laughed. "Sure. But Cujo will probably end up at Sanctuary."

"You know," Paul said, "I should have thought of asking the bears about that myself."

Vane gave Paul a suspicious look. "Pardon?"

"But then, since he's just a dog and not a Were, I didn't think about the bears welcoming him in."

Vane couldn't have been more stunned had Paul kicked him.

"Close your mouth, Vane," Paul said in a fatherly tone. "I'm the leading vet in the state. Carson is still learning the practice. Who do you think he calls when there's something he can't deal with?"

Carson was the resident veterinarian at Sanctuary. A Were-Hunter himself, he was only fifty years old, which in their world made him not much more than a child.

"I know all about Fang, too," Paul continued.

Fury came forward to stand before the fence. He put his hand up on the links as he stared in disbelief at Paul. "Why did you let us come here?"

Paul took Vane's hand in his. The mark was hidden. "You didn't have to cover it. I knew the minute Bride told me your name what had happened. And I know how you guys guard your mates. I can't say I'm exactly happy about this, but at least I don't have to fear you will ever hurt her the way Deirdre was hurt."

Vane clenched his fists. "Does Joyce—"

"No. She knows nothing about your world and I want to keep it that way. I've never told anyone about Sanctuary." Paul let go of Vane's hand. "If you're looking for my blessing, you have it. I wasn't sure until I saw you two at dinner. It's been a long time since I've seen my little girl so happy. But remember, if you ever hurt her…" He glanced over to where a dog was in a cage with a cone around his head.

"Ah man," Fury breathed. "That's just sick."

"I definitely concur," Vane agreed.

"Yeah well, Bride is my baby and I know how to use a tranq gun and a scalpel."

Vane cringed as Fury cupped himself.

"Vane?"

They turned to see Bride walking toward them.

Paul stepped back. "Let me get you a leash for—"

"We won't need it," Fury said, opening the gate and letting the dog out with him.

"No, I guess not," Paul said. He went to pet the dog, who snapped at him.

"Behave," Fury said, pulling Cujo back.

Bride hesitated as she drew near.

"And you better not nip at Bride," Vane warned. "Or we'll leave you here."

The dog wagged its tail and sat down.

"Is he coming with us?" she asked.

Her father nodded. "They were kind enough to adopt him."

"That was sweet of you," she said to Vane.

Fury scoffed. "Not really. I feel for anyone who gets tossed into a ditch."

Bride reached out and hugged Fury. She felt for the wolf and what he'd been through.

Fury cleared his throat and stepped back. "Don't get mushy on me, Bride, I don't know how to handle it. Much like Cujo, my first instinct is to attack and that would cause Vane to make me look like that poor guy over there."

Bride saw the dog with the cone. "Ouch."

"Exactly."

Vane wrapped his arm around her and together they walked back to the house with her father, Fury, and Cujo following them.

Joyce looked up in surprise to see the dog with them, but didn't say anything as she handed Bride a large sack of Tupperware. "I split the leftovers with everyone."