by Juniper Hart
Danica swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, feeling slightly disloyal. He’s not wrong. Gabriel lied to me about everything, but I haven’t exactly been forthcoming with him, either.
“Why have you been watching me?” Danica asked, swallowing the stone forming in her throat. “Who sent you after me?”
“No one is after you, Danica,” Wes sighed. “At least, not yet.”
Biting on her lower lip, she eyed him worriedly. “What do you mean, not yet?”
“I mean that as far as Landon Burke knows, you’re suffering the same amnesia that the other women suffered in regard to being turned. He has no idea that you remember what happened, and it’s probably for the best that we don’t tell him.”
“How did you know I remembered?” Danica demanded. She’d tried to be careful in her shifting, but in those early days, she hadn’t exactly had the proper guidance.
“I told you,” Wes grumbled. “I’ve been watching you. You’re…” He paused. “You’re my responsibility.”
“Because Landon Burke sent you to watch over me,” she concluded. He nodded, but a shadow fell over his eyes, making Danica wonder if there wasn’t more to the story than what he was saying. “Then why didn’t you tell him the truth, if you knew I remembered?”
Wes turned his head slightly, making it almost impossible for her to read the expression on his face.
“I wanted to talk to you first,” he replied shortly. “And see if I was wrong.”
Shit. I shouldn’t have said anything. I should have played dumb. He has no proof. But it was too late now. Wes was going to turn her over to Landon Burke, and Gabriel had warned her well about what would happen if the leader of the Lycans ever got his hands on the pack.
“Should I wait here while you call Landon?” Danica asked miserably. “Or are you going to take me to him?”
“I’m not telling Landon the truth,” Wes responded.
“Why not?” she asked worriedly. “I don’t have money or anything, if this is a shakedown.”
Wes grimaced and turned to meet her gaze again. “I don’t need your money,” he assured her. “I need your promises.”
“Promises?”
“Yes,” he said. “I need you to swear that you’ll stay away from Gabriel now. You’re done with the pack, no matter what happens to him.”
“What?” Danica gasped, her face waxen. “I don’t know what you’re—”
“Danica, I know you’ve been running with the illegal pack. Don’t lie to me.”
The weight of the world seemed to be falling down on her shoulders, and she shook her head in denial. Remembering the turn was one thing, but running with rogue wolves was quite another, and no matter what, Danica was sure Landon would not forgive her if he knew.
“He’s locked up,” Danica whispered, her eyes huge. “The pack is gone.”
“Are they?” Wes asked dubiously. “Or are they just biding their time because you helped break him out of jail?”
Danica’s face was almost translucent.
“He’s out of jail?” she breathed. Wes’ head cocked to the side.
“You didn’t know?” he asked. “Some woman broke him out, and I thought it might be you.”
A myriad of emotions washed over Danica at the news, and she eyed Wes warily. Is he just saying that to make me mad or jealous? What did he have to gain by that? Wes owed her nothing, and if he had known about her affiliations with the rogue pack all along and not sold her out, maybe he wasn’t as bad as she thought.
“I didn’t,” she said flatly. “But if he is out, he will likely come here at some point looking for refuge.”
“Fine,” Wes said. “Let’s get you out of here then.” He took her arm and marched her toward the door.
“Wait!” Danica said, wriggling free to look at him suspiciously. “Why haven’t you sold me out? Why don’t you just leave me here and tell Landon Burke what you know about me?”
A tight, mirthless smile formed on Wes’ handsome face.
“Because I’m sworn to protect you,” he replied. “And that’s what I’m doing. Come on.” He pulled open the door and peered down the corridor before nodding for her to follow, but Danica didn’t move for a long moment as she considered his answer.
Sworn to protect me from who? From Gabriel or from Landon Burke?
She wondered if Wes even knew the answer to that.
3
It was worse than Wes thought, and he knew he was playing with fire. All the suspicions he’d had about the woman he knew was his mate were now slapping him in the face without escape, and there was nothing that he could do but accept the fact that he’d let matters go too long.
He pondered why he had not intervened when he became aware of the fact that Danica was in cahoots with Gabriel and his pack. The answer was always the same—he was sworn to protect her, and protecting her meant protecting Gabriel, too, whether he liked it or not. However it had happened, his mate was fully aware of what Gabriel had done, possibly even participated in the shift willingly, which meant that when Landon learned the truth, he would not let her live.
It’s on me to ensure that Landon never learns the truth, Wes thought as he steered his Lexus SUV toward the spacious estate he had in Parkside. Silence hung heavily between him and his passenger as he pulled into the garage.
“Nice place,” Danica commented dryly when he stopped the car and closed the doors behind them. “Being a professor clearly pays more than a teacher’s assistant.”
He cast her a sidelong look, wondering if she was serious, but he heard the note of sarcasm in her voice. How much does she know about us? What did Gabriel tell her? There was only one real way to find out: by asking.
“It pays enough,” Wes said, opening the door to head into the house. “But a few decades of work in any fields will yield a good nest egg. The economy wasn’t always like this.” He pushed his way into the kitchen through the garage, waiting with the door open for Danica to follow.
“I was just joking,” she muttered, seeming embarrassed to have brought up his finances.
“Were you, though?”
She bristled and paused to fold her arms over her chest as she stared at him, the door closing behind her. “Why did you bring me here, Professor Vance?”
“I think you can probably call me ‘Wes’ now,” he offered, sauntering toward the fridge. “And I told you why I brought you here; if Landon Burke finds out—”
“No, I heard what you said, but it doesn’t really make a lot of sense,” she interjected. Wes eyed her with mild surprise. It was true—he hadn’t spent a great deal of time with Danica after she’d returned to the university, even if he had kept a constant eye on her. Still, he felt like he knew her better than she knew herself.
Why, then, was he so surprised by her boldness?
Because she was much meeker before she was turned, he remembered, thinking of the nervous, almost anxious girl he’d taught in class years earlier. She had been twenty and just starting college. Of course, she was still very young, and he was her professor, but even then, he’d been intrigued by her tenacity. She’d wanted to do well in school, as if she needed to prove herself to someone.
Back then, it had been difficult to get her to open up, despite her essays speaking volumes to her state of mind. Wes remembered how he’d pored over her works, wondering what had troubled her so much.
“What doesn’t make sense? That Landon Burke will kill you if he finds out that you’re not an innocent bystander in the mess that Gabriel made?” Wes asked flatly, returning his attention to the fridge. “Because I assure you, he will.”
“It doesn’t make sense why you would protect me when you were hired by Burke to watch me.”
The statement made Wes annoyed. “I wasn’t hired by anyone,” he replied shortly. “That’s not how things work—although I can’t say I’m surprised that’s what Gabriel told you.”
Danica seemed taken aback by the retort and sank onto a stool surrounding the
kitchen island as Wes continued to pull items out of the fridge.
“Are you hungry?” he asked. “I make a mean omelet.”
She shook her head, but Wes didn’t really heed her answer. She was looking a little pale. Food would probably do her good.
“You know what I mean,” Danica said quickly. “I mean that Landon Burke asked you to come for me. You wouldn’t have otherwise.”
“Wouldn’t I have?” Their eyes met, but Wes quickly turned away. He knew why he was going against the rules to keep her safe, even if it meant that he would suffer the consequences in the end. But Danica had no idea they were mates. How could she? She was far too new to being a shifter to understand how anything worked in their world.
What she saw as an attraction was nothing more than that, and Wes knew he couldn’t force the matter on her. She would have to learn her feelings for him herself, without his influence or persuasion.
All I can do is guide her away from Gabriel and hopefully figure out a way to keep Landon from eliminating us both now.
“Why don’t you tell me everything?” Wes suggested, turning on the gas stove, his back to her. “Starting from the day you were turned.”
There was a short pause before Danica spoke. “I thought you knew everything.”
“I know that you and three other women were turned,” Wes conceded. “I know that Gabriel started a pack that has no business being in existence and that he was probably hoping to procreate.” He heard Danica sigh, and he whipped his head around, his eyes narrowing. “What?” he demanded. “What did he do to you?”
Her eyes widened. “No! Nothing!” she exclaimed, and Wes exhaled, his shoulders sagging with relief.
“So you did go with him willingly,” he concluded, breaking eggs into a bowl. “How did it happen?”
Through his peripheral vision, he watched Danica collecting her thoughts and waited patiently.
“I don’t know,” she finally offered, her voice cracking as she spoke. “He and the pack approached me and…” She inhaled sharply. “He’s not that bad,” she continued quickly, as if she felt the need to defend the Lycan who had wreaked havoc on the population. “He can be quite charming.”
“How is it that you remember and the others don’t?” Wes asked, mixing the eggs. He fought to keep his tone neutral, even though his insides were twisting with her confession.
She has feelings for him. I can hear it in her tone.
“I really can’t answer that,” Danica replied. “I can only speak to my experience.” There was another short pause. “Are the others okay?”
“They’re safe—for now,” Wes replied. “But who knows what else Gabriel has planned for them.” He looked at her meaningfully. “Do you?”
She shook her dark curls quickly, and he was struck by the beauty of her opaque complexion.
“Are you ill, Danica?” he asked pointedly, concern flooding him. “You’re as white as a ghost.”
“I’m fine,” she answered, turning her head as if to block her face from his view. “I’m just tired.”
“I thought you overslept today.”
“You really are taking notes on me, aren’t you?” she snapped back irritably. “So I’m tired. Sue me. I’m still a graduate student, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“You’re more than a graduate student. You’re a Lycan who has been running with a wanted pack,” Wes corrected her with more forcefulness than he’d intended. “Gabriel needs to be found and terminated. So does the rest of the pack.”
“By your logic, so do I,” she reminded him, and Wes smothered a grunt.
“I’m trying to figure out a way so that doesn’t happen,” he said. “But I can’t help you if you don’t help me, Danica.”
“I didn’t ask for your help.”
His mouth turned in at the corners, and he wondered why she was fighting him. Maybe she didn’t understand the severity of everything that was happening, but he sure did. Landon Burke was not a man who was forgiving, and once the rest of the Council of Seven heard that Danica was party to Gabriel’s misdeeds, the matter would be purely out of his hands.
“You don’t have a choice but to accept my help,” Wes responded.
“It seems to me that you’re helping yourself,” Danica barked back. “If you turn me in, Landon will learn you’ve been lying to him, too.”
“Fine,” Wes agreed. “I’m in just as much trouble as you are. Maybe if we work together, we can get out of this together.” He flipped the eggs in the pan, the smell of the eggs wafting up to meet his nostrils, and when he turned back toward Danica, he saw that she was eyeing the food expectantly. “You are hungry,” he declared.
She shrugged. “Maybe a bit.”
“Good. I made these for you.” Wes slid the creation onto a black plate and placed it before her before turning back to the fridge. “I know it’s still early, but do you want a glass of wine or a beer?” he offered. “It might take the edge off.”
“Just water.” Her tone was short, but he didn’t question it as he pulled the Britta jug out of the fridge and poured her a glass.
“Ice?”
Danica shook her head and reached for the fork, gently putting the utensil between her lips, and Wes noted with pleasure that her dark eyes lit up with enjoyment.
Too bad that’s the only thing I know how to cook really well, he mused to himself, though his culinary skills were the least of his concerns in that moment.
“So are you going to keep me here under lock and key, then?” Danica asked after a few more bites. Wes scowled, his moderately good mood fading.
“I didn’t kidnap you, Danica,” he muttered. “You can go if you want.”
She smirked as she polished off the rest of her eggs before dropping her fork on her plate and meeting his gaze.
“If Gabriel really did escape from jail, he will come looking for me eventually,” she told him. “And for the rest of the pack.”
“I know that,” Wes replied. “I’m guessing you want to be there for him.”
Danica reached for a napkin and wiped her mouth. Then she deliberately and slowly placed it on top of her fork. “It’s not so much what I want, but what is expected.”
Wes gritted his teeth and steeled himself from losing his temper. “I don’t claim to understand why you chose to stay with Gabriel, except that perhaps you felt you had no other choice in the matter.”
She didn’t reply, but the expression on her face told him everything.
Have I got this all wrong? Is she happy with the pack and I’m overstepping?
“Seriously,” she said. “What are you going to do with me? Are you keeping me here or…?”
Wes felt a stab of disappointment as he realized that his mate was going to be more difficult than he’d anticipated. “Like I said, I can’t keep you here. I’m not the one who imprisons women. You’re thinking of Gabriel. If you want, I’ll take you back to your apartment right now. Sorry if I thought you might be in trouble and needed my help.”
Danica pursed her lips together and looked down at the empty plate before her.
“Landon Burke isn’t going to let up, is he?” she muttered.
“No. In fact, he’s closer to Gabriel than he’s been since this inane chase began. He’s got eyes on all of you.”
She seemed to be weighing her options, and finally, she exhaled her breath.
“Maybe I’ll just stay here until the heat dies down a bit,” she mumbled, but there was a deep reservation in her tone. She eyed him warily. “Is that okay?”
“I’ll arrange the guest room for you,” Wes said, a deep relief overcoming him. Maybe he hadn’t won the war, but he’d won this battle, and for the time being, he had Danica where he could see her. Gabriel wouldn’t dare come looking for her at the house of an Alpha, no matter how desperate he was. Danica was safe with him.
And that was all he could ask for, no matter how fleeting his sense of security might be.
4
The house was beaut
iful, and Wes had impeccable taste. Again, Danica wondered what had made him so wealthy, but she didn’t dare ask.
He’s been saving money for decades, she remembered, a faint smile touching her lips as she thought about it. I wonder how old he is.
The guest suite had its own ensuite bathroom. It was five pieces, including a jacuzzi tub and steam shower, and as much as Danica wanted to take advantage of them both, her body was fighting another wave of exhaustion. She could do little other than throw herself onto the king-sized bed and close her eyes after Wes showed her to her room.
I should go home, she thought, her mind falling into that place between wakefulness and sleep, but she couldn’t quite drift off entirely. There was too much happening in her head for her to comfortably fall asleep.
She asked herself who had helped Gabriel escape. Could he have found another female after everything? It seemed impossible, knowing what she did. Landon had ensured he was unable to turn anyone else, hence the killing spree he and the pack had embarked upon in hopes of finding more members. While Danica had had no part of it personally, she knew what they had been up to. Why hadn’t she put a stop to it?
For the first time, Danica began to consider that maybe Gabriel’s connection to her was not as innocuous as she had once thought. True, she had gone with him willingly, but would the mortal Danica have sat back and let him do what he’d done without batting an eye? And why was Wes taking all of it in stride?
What troubled Danica the most was that she wasn’t the slightest bit alarmed by Wes’ abrupt appearance in her life. That was not entirely true—he had always been around. Maybe that was why she didn’t find him all that threatening.
Or maybe it was because she’d always been so attracted to him. It somehow seemed fitting that he would swoop in when she was most vulnerable and save the day. Life isn’t a fairy tale. You thought Gabriel was your savior once too and look where that got you—running for your life. Literally.
Danica opened her eyes and sat up slowly, realizing the kind of danger she’d inflicted upon Wes. She shouldn’t be there. She should go home. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, and a wave of dizziness overcame her.
