by Dannika Dark
I waved before turning the Jeep around and departing tribal lands. I couldn’t help but smile as I looked back at Lakota standing beneath a canopy of trees in that adorable vest. Even though I felt a tugging at my heart, our friendship, if nothing else, would always keep us connected. We’d come full circle. The fates had finally privileged me with the opportunity to repay my debt for his saving my life twice over. Though he couldn’t be mine, he was my soul mate in all the ways that mattered.
Maybe that was all we were meant to be to each other.
A lifeline.
Chapter 23
Moonglow
Opening day
“They’re here!” I sang, searching the open doorway behind the counter. “Hurry up or you’ll miss the action!”
Hope appeared with a platter of homemade cookies that my aunt Lexi had brought over earlier that day. “The only action is going to be watching our family members collapse from heat exhaustion,” she said, nodding at the front windows, where everyone had gathered outside.
My uncle Denver put his mouth to the glass and blew hard.
I put my hands on my hips. “Trust me, the line will attract attention.”
She set the platter of sweets on a table next to the champagne. “So will Naya in that leather dress.”
“It’s all part of the plan,” I said slyly.
The clock on the wall read two minutes till nine. Saturday morning was a good day for an opening, and the weather couldn’t have been more agreeable.
Hope examined the table, which was filled with cookies, brownie bites, and champagne. We wanted the customers to feel welcome even if they didn’t buy anything on their first visit. Business cards were neatly laid out, and instead of wearing uniforms, we were modeling our clothing and jewelry lines. Hope’s brown harem pants lent too much mystery to a girl blessed with attractive curves and a round backside, but she was showing off her narrow waistline with a puffy blouse tied at the midsection. I’d decided to wear the same jean shorts we’d put on one of the mannequins. The lace hem went perfectly with my sheer white lace top and black undershirt.
Hope had displayed all my custom sneakers in the front-right window to attract the kids, and we’d put all the purses in the left window for their moms.
She dusted a few crumbs out of sight. “What if no one buys anything?”
“Are you kidding? I bet your dad is going to snatch up half your jewelry for your mother. I didn’t realize so many people in my old pack would actually show up,” I said with worry. “Especially my uncles. Shopping isn’t something they like doing. I hope they don’t crowd the store.”
“I’ll send them outside to sit at the tables,” she said decidedly, smoothing her long hair. “Your brothers had a good idea about putting those out front.”
“Yeah, but people are going to think we’re a café.”
She lifted a cookie off a plate, her hand shaking. “Today we are anything they want us to be, so long as they come inside. And who knows—maybe if it’s in the budget, we can buy pastries from your aunt and do this once a week.”
I took the cookie from her hand and put it back on the plate. “That’s not a bad idea. You see how good we are as business partners?”
Hope’s face flushed, and she wrung her hands. I sensed it was more than nerves.
“Are you okay?” I asked, noticing she was breathing faster than normal. “We can wait a few more minutes if you want. There’s no rush.”
I knew opening day would be overwhelming for both of us, but Hope suffered occasional panic attacks—particularly in public places with a lot of people. Hope had grown up more sheltered than I had, and she’d never been quite herself after the wolf attack she’d experienced as a girl. The episodes came on unexpectedly, and once she’d even shifted. Although it brought an unpredictable danger, she never allowed those fears to rule her life in a way that prevented her from living it. I admired her in so many ways for that.
Hope wrapped her arms around me. “Thank you for making my dreams come true, sister.”
Squeezing her tight, I said, “Same goes to you.”
“I mean it.”
Without even seeing them, I could sense her tears. The deal had meant so much to her, and we’d celebrated the night I came home.
Hope drew back and took a deep breath. “Shall we?”
I gripped her hand. “We shall.”
Both our packs were lingering by the windows, peering in and talking among themselves. My dad held a proud look on his face, and he’d even dyed a purple streak in his long hair that matched mine. My mother wiped away a tear and smiled in hopes of hiding all those mushy feelings, but I felt the emotion and support like never before. It wasn’t just that they knew I would be okay financially, whether I joined a pack or not. After years of watching a little girl digging for change to buy scrap material, my family was finally getting to see my dreams realized.
It looked like Lorenzo and my dad were going to beat the hell out of each other for the privilege of being the first inside.
I unlocked the door and opened it slowly. “Moonglow is officially open for business.”
Cheers erupted, and one by one, they piled in. Everyone gave us a hug and their congratulations as they passed by.
“Now this is what I’m talkin’ about,” Wheeler said, scoping out the boutique.
My handsome alpha brothers swaggered in next, their russet hair caught in a flash of sunlight. They were strong men with good hearts, but they would always be my little brothers.
“Thanks for helping.” I gave Lennon a hug, then Hendrix. They were incredibly tall and had inherited that trait from our father. “Try not to hit on all the female customers, but feel free to sit at the tables outside and draw them over.”
Hendrix chuckled. “Don’t worry, sis. There’s a line to get in.”
“We’ll save our good looks for a last resort,” Lennon added. “That champagne is calling my name.”
Arching a brow, Hendrix said, “Yum. Cookies.”
“Don’t eat them all!” I tried to keep my voice down as they hurried to the snack table.
Not everyone was there to buy. Some members of the pack gave their congratulations, grabbed a cookie, and headed outside to linger on the sidewalk and chatter. Others were doing some serious shopping. Our clothes were not only displayed on the racks but also hanging up on the walls to utilize space. We had long rods with hooks at the ends so we could reach the higher ones.
Hope and I greeted each new customer who came in, many of them people we didn’t know.
“I’ll work the register,” she said quickly when a line formed at the checkout counter.
In a sudden moment of panic, I thought, What if everyone cleans out the store in one day? We had plenty of merchandise in a storage facility, but I hadn’t planned on restocking the same day.
“Bow chicka wow wow. You bought the sexy ones,” my uncle Denver said to his mate. My aunt pinched his side, and he stole a kiss before heading over to the snack table.
My former Packmaster put his hand on my shoulder. “I’m real proud of you. Someday you’re going to join a pack, and this store is going to be a huge contribution.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell him that my plan for opening a store wasn’t a means to impress a pack, but I knew what he meant, so I thanked him. Our kind had a long history of slavery, so it was a big deal when a Shifter found financial success. Packmasters were more inclined to accept you into their pack because of it.
When the crowd thickened, two of my aunts ushered our family out the door so new customers could move around.
“Darling, this is fabulous!” Naya purred. “I’m going to tell all my contacts about the best little boutique in town.”
“Thanks so much.” I smiled down at her two bags. “You could have gotten that for free.”
She shook back her curly dark hair and winked. “Call me when you have that red shirt with the lace in stock. It’s fabulous. The wench by the counter took the last one.”
Two weeks ago, I’d placed an ad in an online Breed newspaper. Word of mouth wasn’t enough for me, and I wanted to make sure everyone knew about the new shop in town. By the looks of the crowd gathering outside, the ad had been worth every penny. A few Vampires in dark shades wandered in to check things out, as well as a few Relics I recognized. Most of the crowd were Shifters, and most importantly, several Natives were admiring the jewelry display. Two of them were from a prominent pack in the territory. We’d included a guarantee in the ad that all our gemstones were “Iwa tribe certified,” and since their reputation preceded them, that was all it took to get the message across.
Toward the end of the day, sales were stellar and spirits high. Hope and I kept busy assisting customers with questions, ringing up orders, cleaning, and handing out coupons for their next visit. My feet were killing me, and I planned to burn my sandals in a lake of fire as soon as I took them off.
Most of our former packmates had gone home, but a few remained. Three of my uncles had headed up the street to a hardware store and killed about three hours in there. My aunts and a few women in Hope’s old pack had gone to lunch at a nearby café, then later returned to help us clean up after the shop closed. Cookie crumbs were everywhere, not to mention the trash cans were filled up.
Lennon and Hendrix could have taken off early, but they’d sat outside, flirting with shoppers and coaxing them inside. Redheads were rare, but a common belief that they always produced alphas existed, and since alphas weren’t born into every family, redheaded males received plenty of attention from the ladies.
At six o’clock, we turned the sign on the front door and closed shop.
“Move those out of the way,” Lorenzo ordered, pointing at a rack of clothes. “I don’t want any food or drinks to spill on them.”
Denver and one of Lorenzo’s packmates dragged a few racks of clothes against the wall to make an open space in the middle of the store. We had temporarily rearranged things, moving the outdoor tables and chairs inside so we could have dinner as a family. Though we could have gone out for barbecue, Hope and I suggested gathering together for a meal in the store. We wanted to build memories in the store, not just around it. The long snack table filled the center of the room, and they’d bought a few cheap folding chairs from the hardware store.
Sitting at that table suddenly made me miss home—miss the feeling that only a pack could give. As much as I resisted the idea, I knew my uncle Will was right. Someday the calling would be too great, and I would have to make a tough decision about joining a pack alone or finding a mate who might not support my dreams. Maybe that was selfish, but my dreams were all I had. They were the very core of my identity.
Lexi turned a paper sack upside down and dumped burgers from the local Whataburger onto the table. They quickly got passed around. Hope and I sat across from each other, exhausted smiles on our faces. Her parents sat at the head of the table on my left, while my former Packmaster sat to the right with his back to the windows.
My dad nudged my shoulder. “You did good, Mel. This is a kickass place, and if you ever need a live band—”
I laughed and glanced to my right. “I’m not sure if we could manage the stampede of all your adoring fangirls.”
He kissed the top of my head. “Nothing I wouldn’t do for my baby girl. You dig?”
While everyone chatted, I managed to gobble down two junior burgers and a small fry. While listening to everyone chatter about the great turnout and the beautiful weather, I sat back and sucked on a chocolate milkshake, basking in the glow of a successful launch.
My father raked his fingers through his hair. “I still remember when she was six and went into that shoe store.”
I gripped his arm. “Please don’t tell that story. You swore you’d never tell that story.”
He stared at me straight-faced. “I paid over five hundred dollars for those boots. I earned the right to tell this story. So we’re going through this department store in the mall, and while I’m asking a saleslady where the belts are, I turn around and Mel’s gone.”
Everyone at the table chuckled. It wasn’t the first time I’d taken off in a department store.
My dad played with a bear claw hanging from a chain on his neck. “So after thirty minutes, I find her in the shoe department. Fancy shoes. Dolce & Cabana.”
“Gabbana,” I corrected.
“That’s what I said.”
Uncle Reno covered his face, a laugh caught in his throat. “Don’t tell me she had the markers.”
The ladies’ mouths dropped.
Hope’s brows knitted. “What markers?”
I laughed and shook my head. “You’ve never heard this story. I went through a permanent-marker phase. Blame Denver. He showed me how easy it was to make Reno’s boots look like new again.”
Reno glared at Denver, who smiled at his burger and said nothing.
“Anyway,” my father said, gathering everyone’s attention. “I walked up and found Mel coloring a pair of knee-high boots. White boots.”
Hope cringed.
“Not leather but some kind of lacy, expensive shit. When I asked her what she was doing, she said, ‘They did these wrong. I’m fixing them.’ So I had no choice. Mel needed to learn her lesson.”
Reno’s eyes narrowed.
My dad ate another fry, holding everyone’s rapt attention. “I don’t mess around. If you cross the line with me, I’ll kick your ass. The salesman grabbed her by the arm, and I gave him a close-up of my knuckles. Three times, just in case he missed the first two. Then I bought the boots for Isabelle. They didn’t fit, but she’s still got ’em up in the closet somewhere. The lesson Mel learned that day was that I’ll support her no matter what.”
He messed up my hair as if I were that little girl again, and I smiled nostalgically.
“Tell me how it is that you secured a deal with the Iwa tribe,” Lorenzo said, dipping his fry in his ketchup container. “Hope was evasive with her answers. I’ve met Shikoba, and he’s a shrewd businessman who’s turned down more people than he’s negotiated deals with.”
I scratched my throat. “Trade secret. I’m afraid I can’t discuss contractual details. It would be… unprofessional.”
Denver barked out a laugh. “You tell him!”
Lorenzo looked peeved and sat back. “Fair enough.”
I had a sinking feeling that he might call Shikoba to try to pry the answer out of him. Hopefully Shikoba would be discreet and not discuss what I’d actually done to lock in our deal.
My thoughts ran away with me, and I glanced wistfully at a man passing by the front window.
“Is something wrong?” Hope asked.
I swung my gaze across the table and feigned a grin. “No, I’m just exhausted.”
Lexi snorted. “Welcome to my world, ladies. Why don’t you look at your budget at the end of the month and see if you can afford hired help? Atticus has been a godsend, working at the bakery these past few years. You’re going to have days when you have to negotiate with vendors or just don’t feel good and want to stay home. It’s more stressful to close the shop unexpectedly, so think about hiring a part-time worker who can fill in when a bomb drops on your life.”
“What bomb?” I asked. “Nothing could possibly turn my world upside down overnight.”
Just then, knuckles rapped on the glass door. When I leaned back to get a look, I saw Lakota with his hands cupped around his eyes, peering inside.
Boom.
Chapter 24
“Lakota!” Hope’s mother flew out of her seat and rushed for the door, her long braid swinging behind her.
Lorenzo rose to his feet while wiping his hands on a napkin. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he remained quiet with a skeptical look on his face. Hope covered her mouth, her eyes filled with tears of joy as she sprang from her seat and ran over to greet him.
I scooted down in my chair, panic rising like a tide. After hugging his mother, Lakota lifted Hope off the ground in a bear hug that only a brother could give. I envied her in that moment.
“You did it, baby sister. I’m proud of you.”
When her feet touched the ground again, my heart began to beat so fast that I couldn’t breathe or think straight. I casually lifted my milkshake from the table. “Hey, Lakota.” My trembling hands belied my calm greeting, so I set the cup down without drinking from it.
He flicked a glance at me and smiled as he bowed in greeting to everyone. Caleb, Lorenzo’s second-in-command, gave up his seat so that the only thing between Lakota and me was my uncle Wheeler.
Hendrix coolly leaned back in his chair, balancing on the rear legs. “Good to see you, stranger. Do you want to sit with us at the kiddie table?”
Lakota set down a small box and looked at the round table behind me. “Let’s hang at Howlers tonight and catch up over a few beers.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Lennon said, returning to his conversation with William.
I felt sweat beading on my upper lip and the back of my neck. While I hadn’t expected Lakota to show up for our opening, I’d been preparing for it in my head. I would be sophisticated and greet him with a friendly kiss, ask him how life was treating him. We would drink champagne and laugh like old friends. But there I was, gripping my chair like a terrified passenger on a jetliner plummeting toward the sea.
Why does he have to look so damn good? That sleeveless blue shirt was practically married to his chest. His dark denims were a perfect fit for a man his size, and the leather choker with a silver arrow wasn’t a piece I’d seen on him before. The silver wolf belt buckle encased in turquoise pulled my attention right to his crotch. Even with my uncle between us, I could smell his cologne, and he’d never been big on that kind of thing. Then again, the old Lakota had wanted to repel women’s sexual advances, not invite them.
I peered down at his black boots, and when I realized that he was noticing me noticing him, I stripped my gaze away.
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