Under the Alpha's Protection by Doris O'Connor

tissues Felicia pushed into her hands.
    "I'm sorry, it's just my mum always used to say to that to me, and I miss her."
    Felicia nodded in understanding, and patted her hand.
    "I understand, my dear. A woman needs her mother at this time in her life, or at least her female friends. That's why I insisted that the big lump of my son brought you back here to the old pack house. I swear he may be the Alpha, and I know he loves you to distraction, but he's thick as two planks at times."
    Nikita gave her a watery smile and latched onto those few words.
    "He loves me? Are you sure? Even after what I let Draco do to me?" Nikita hated how small and desperate her voice sounded, and Felicia rolled her eyes.
    "Of course he does. We all do, in fact. You're something of a hero in the pack's eyes. You defeated Draco and lived to tell the tale. That is some kick-ass stuff, right there, girl. You single-handedly saved this pack, the neighboring ones, and no doubt countless clueless and defenseless humans."
    "Clueless humans like me, you mean. You all must have had a laugh at silly little Nikita, making moon eyes at Raoul, when all this time there was this whole other world, I never knew existed."
    Felicia's deep sigh raised the ends of her sodden fringe, and she dropped a kiss on Nikita's forehead.
    "You're overwrought, my dear, which is understandable, and you're blowing this all out of proportion."
    Nikita pushed away from her and pulled her knees to her chest.
    "Am I? Tell me you didn't think that deep down. Tell me you didn't want Raoul to settle down with some nice she-wolf and raise an army of cute little cuddly cubs."
    A curious smile appeared on Felicia's face at that comment, and she stood to leave.
    "I won't deny that there was some concern among the pack, and especially the council at the thought of Raoul mating with a human. One never knows how these things will go, but you're wrong, if you think for one minute that I regret Raoul's choices. All I ever wanted was for my son to find a woman who makes him happy. Who can meet all his needs and still be the strong Alpha female he needs to take this pack forward." She paused and ironed out the creases on her skirt with a swipe of her hands. "You've proven to all of us how strong you are by defeating Draco and saving the pack. It remains to be seen whether you can make my son happy."
    The inherent criticism stung , and Nikita barely resisted the childish urge to stick her tongue out at Felicia.
    "Has it ever occurred to you that he might not make me happy? He lied to me after all, and it's because of him that I almost died how many freaking times already?" Felicia flinched , and Nikita regretted her words almost immediately. Felicia had shown nothing but kindness to her whenever they'd met in the past, and she was in the woman's house now, and she'd been nurse-maiding her for God only knew how long. Nikita had long since lost any track of time, and she had no clue what day of the week it was or how long she'd lain in the bed recuperating. In fact she had no recollection of anything after Draco's heart disintegrated in her hands and her own stopped beating at the same time.  By rights she shouldn’t even be alive, so none of this made sense.
    "I'm sorry. I don’t mean to be rude." She whispered the apology , and Felicia smiled.
    "Like I said, my dear, you're overwrought. I understand, and for the record, yes, Raoul should have told you from the outset, what and who he is, but tell me this. Would you have stayed? Would you even have believed him?"
    Her crystal blue gaze, so like Raoul's, held Nikita spellbound, and she didn't even dare breathe until Felicia spoke again.
    "My son has his faults. He is a man after all, but I know that he's loved you for years, has watched over you from the first moment he saw you. It's killed him seeing you go on dates that never worked out. It was his shoulder you cried on, always just his friend, and he never crossed that line, not once. So, yes, he