    Sensing that Gio&quot;s wolf was far from at ease, Danica snuggled deeper into Gio&quot;s arms and began to softly pat his chest, scratching him lightly with her nails through his t-shirt. A growl of contentment rumbled up his chest and he curled his arm tight around her. They sat that way for the next few hours, chatting and laughing with everyone. James and Danica even did a little reminiscing, talking about her mom and sharing some of the many stories that perfectly demonstrated just how dizzy the woman had actually been. Even Lindy had laughed. It was because the atmosphere was so cheery and relaxed that Danica sensed the change the second it happened.
   &quot;What is it?&quot; she asked Gio who was speaking to Max &ndash; who was on guard duty &ndash; on his cell.
  &quot;What?&quot; he snapped into the cell. &quot;I&quot;ll be right there.&quot; Flipping his cell closed, he st

      Gio narrowed his eyes at the woman. The affectionate way Bethany was looking at him was making him uncomfortable. &quot;No. The only people in this world I trust to never betray me are those you see standing with me here. If any of you take offence to my not welcoming you all into my home with open arms, I don&quot;t much care. I&quot;m extremely protective of what&quot;s mine, but I won&quot;t let Kevin trick me into losing control and attacking him for going after Danica, you might want to pass that on.&quot; 
  Jefferson seemed to think on that for a moment and then nodded. &quot;Going by the fact that you didn&quot;t lose control&hellip;Does this mean you&quot;re not as, um&hellip; impulsive&hellip;as you once were?&quot;
  Gio had to smile. Impulsive wasn&quot;t the right word, but he knew what Jefferson was getting at. He went with the truth. &quot;No, it doesn&quot;t mean th

  Danica sat up and wrapped her arms around the neck of a growling Gio who clearly remembered James and was in an overly crazy protective state
  after her being attacked. Her own wolf wasn&quot;t too happy to see him either.
  &quot;Gio,&quot; she whispered into the wolf&quot;s ear, knowing Gio would be aware of what was happening and would hear her. &quot;I need you to come back to me
  now.&quot; Unfortunately, Gio wasn&quot;t in any rush to retreat and let his human half have control. Had she recalled arranging her uncle&quot;s visit, she would
  have postponed it for another time. It's too late now.
  Looking up at James, she said, &quot;If you could all just take a seat over there at the oak table we&quot;ll be over in a sec.&quot; Turning to the six wolves around
  her , she ordered, &quot;Change.&quot; Not looking all that happy about it, they shifted back to their human forms an

Sensing that Gio&quot;s wolf was far from at ease, Danica snuggled deeper into Gio&quot;s arms and began to softly pat his chest, scratching him lightly with her nails through his t-shirt. A growl of contentment rumbled up his chest and he curled his arm tight around her. They sat that way for the next few hours, chatting and laughing with everyone. James and Danica even did a little reminiscing, talking about her mom and sharing some of the many stories that perfectly demonstrated just how dizzy the woman had actually been. Even Lindy had laughed. It was because the atmosphere was so cheery and relaxed that Danica sensed the change the second it happened.
   &quot;What is it?&quot; she asked Gio who was speaking to Max &ndash; who was on guard duty &ndash; on his cell.
  &quot;What?&quot; he snapped into the cell. &quot;I&quot;ll be right there.&quot; Flipping his cell closed, he stood upright and then placed her on the chair. 
  &quot;Stay here, Danica.&quot;
  &quot;What? Why?&q

CHAPTER 58