A Night Away by Carrie Ann Ryan Page A

hide the evidence of her exhaustion. Though she was a werewolf, little or no sleep took its toll.
    “I love you,” he whispered.
    “I love you, too, my Kade.”
    His wolf growled and clawed at his skin. Mel and Kade had only made love a few times since Finn had been born. Having only a handful of memories to sate a need of such intensity kept him and his wolf on edge. And being on edge in the times of war was dangerous, though he couldn’t use their war with the Centrals as an excuse. No, he wanted his wife. But between the Pack, Finn, work, exhaustion, and family…they’d grown apart.
    He couldn’t let that happen. They were mates, a connection far beyond the simplicity of a marriage. No, their souls were connected deeper than anything imaginable to a human. But though their souls and lives were connected, it took more than that to be happy. They needed to be together physically, and it was need so primal that his wolf wanted to take control and mount his mate any time they were together.
    Kade missed being with his mate. He missed sitting on the porch and talking about their day. He missed lying next to her when she slept and tracing his fingers along her brow, her breasts, down her stomach, and then waking her up with a release that would make them both beg for more.
    But they couldn’t do that anymore.
    “Kade? Will you burp Finn? I need to go clean up.” Mel leaned forward, depositing the warm weight of their son in his arms, and Kade pulled back and stood up, his other arm outstretched.
    Mel placed her small hand in his, and he pulled her close to his body. She sagged against him and sighed.
    “I miss you,” she rumbled into his chest, her warm breath tickling his chest hairs through the open collar on his shirt.
    He let out a breath and held his life close. “I miss you, too.”
    Mel pulled back and smiled a tired smile. “I’ll meet you in the kitchen. Willow left us some oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies.”
    His hunger for sugar couldn’t compete against the hunger for his wife, but he still let her go clean up. Kade rubbed small circles into Finn’s back before patting him. Finn released a loud belch and cooed.
    “Yeah, that’s my boy. A burp worthy of any Jameson male. And, well, Cailin too. I warn you now, don’t mess with your auntie. She may be small, but she can take most of us on a good day. But don’t tell her I said that.” Kade paced around the room, willing Finn to sleep.
    “You know I love you right? Because, Finn, I do. I know your momma and I seem tired when we’re around, but that doesn’t mean it’s your fault. You’re just an itty-bitty baby. You need us. So don’t feel bad that we look so out of it when we’re with you. We love you so much, Finn.” Kade paused and took a calming breath. “You are our everything. Never forget that.”
    The dangers that lurked outside their Pack wards were of such a dark power it scared the hell out of him. With each battle, they gained a lead, a new way to fight back. But it still didn’t seem good enough. And without resorting to inhuman and evil methods, Kade was afraid they’d never take the upper hand again and win. And what would happen then? What would happen to his mate and son?
    Kade’s body shook, but he tamped it down. He was the Heir of the Redwood Pack. The second-in-command, it was his job to set out his father’s orders and to take care of his Pack. Yet sometimes he didn’t feel good enough, even though it had been better recently. Before he had met Mel, he had drifted. Lost without a real cause or purpose. But then Jasper had made him go on a blind date with a lonely chemist…
    “And the rest, as they say, is history,” he murmured, gazing at his son.
    At this point, though, he’d like the history to be a bit less exhausting. He needed a night away with his mate.
    Kade smiled and put his sleeping son in his crib.
    Yes. That’s exactly what he and Mel needed. A night away from their home, the Pack, Finn, and their