“It’s not safe out there,” Dakota said. “Miles said there are lots of attacks in this territory.”
“I heard you say that Miles was a stubborn, stupid, pig-headed, stuck-up derpface,” John pointed out.
Oops. She might have expressed that opinion to Naomi a little earlier. “You weren’t supposed to hear that. And it doesn’t change the fact that he’s right about the danger, and if anything happens there’s no cell phones and no way for me to call for help.”
“Sarah told me that if a girl says lots of insults about a guy, it means she’s in love with him,” Sailor observed shrewdly. “You said…” she counted on her little fingers, “five insults. So you must reeaaally be in love.”
The children immediately started chanting. “Miles and Jamie sitting in a tree, K I S S I N G…”
All of a sudden, they heard a scream of terror ripping through the air.
Chapter Eight
Dakota and the cubs raced out of the cabin, dashing towards the sound of the screams. The rain from earlier had soaked the forest floor, and the leaves on the ground clung to their feet. Dakota shifted as she ran, her clothes splitting and tearing, and the colors of the forest dimmed but a million smells swirled through the air.
Fear. Lust. Rage. The coppery scent of blood.
Two male shifters in human form had Sarah in a net, in wolf form, and they were dragging her through the woods. She was snarling and snapping and thrashing. One of the men was bleeding from the arm. So Sarah had bitten him; good.
Dakota leaped through the air, tackling one of the men. Sarah’s siblings shifted as well, and swarmed over the other man.
Naomi, in coyote form, came racing up and nipped at one of the men’s heels. He tried to kick her, but Sailor, John, and Mary were tearing at him with their sharp little teeth, and he fell to the ground, screaming.
There was a sudden sharp yelp as he kicked John, sending the little pup tumbling through the air and landing among the wet leaves with a pained whimper. Still tangled in the net, Sarah growled ferociously and struggled like a mad thing.
Naomi bounded over to where John was tottering back to his paws. She nudged him gently with her nose to help him upright, nuzzling him as she checked him over for injuries and he shook his fuzzy little head to clear it, ears flopping comically. Naomi practically had to pick him up by his scruff to keep him from running back into the fight.
Dakota had her teeth at the other man’s throat, where he lay sprawled on the floor. When he tried to sit up, she growled softly but commandingly in the back of her throat. She was disgusted but satisfied when the pungent scent of urine met her nostrils. The coward had wet himself. He’d come to snatch a thirteen-year-old girl, and hadn’t been expecting a fight with a fully grown, mad-as-hell she-wolf.
The big man, the one who’d kicked John, had dropped the net holding Sarah and scrambled to his feet. He was backing away from the snarling cubs. He lashed out with his foot again, but failed to make contact. Sarah shook off the tatters of the net and bounded across to stand in front of Sailor and Mary, hackles raised and snarling. The harmonics of her growl thrummed through the air, an unmistakable message. You hurt these cubs, you die.
A sharp scent met Dakota’s nostrils and her head whipped up. Silver. The smell took a bite out of her brain, like a vicious ice-cream headache. Fear clutched her as she saw the man pulling something from his pocket. She heard a sharp, panicked intake of breath from Naomi. Moonlight flashed on the length of a razor-sharp blade. There was no way she could get to him and disarm him before he used the knife on one of the pups.
Dakota shifted back into human form and stood there, naked in the chill night air.
“We are under the protection of the Fenris Pack!” she shouted.
Both men froze where they were, and they glanced at each other uncertainly.
“No you aren’t,” one of them protested.
“Why aren’t you living on their pack lands, then?” the other demanded.
“Go ask Miles that question.”
The taller man muttered, “I’m not taking on the Fenris Pack. They’re fucking crazy.”
“Watch your language in front of the kids!” Dakota snapped at him before she could stop herself.
In answer, the man shifted into wolf form, and turned and ran. The other man cursed under his breath, but followed suit, shifting and vanishing into the darkness. Dakota helped Sarah to disentangle the scraps of net that still clung to her. She’d already shifted back into human form. She was bleeding from her mouth and trying not to cry.
Naomi turned human again as the men ran into the woods, and stood there waving her fists at them. “Yeah, that’s right, you’d better run!” she yelled at their retreating backs. “Attack my friend, will you?”
Then she glanced at Dakota and shook her head.
“You know, I’m not complaining or anything, but being your friend is hazardous to one’s health.”
“It kind of sounds like you’re complaining,” Dakota observed mildly as they all limped back towards the cabin. “Aren’t we having fun yet?”
“This is your idea of fun?” Sarah groused. “Of course it is. You think washing your hands every day is normal. Why am I surrounded by crazy people?”
When they were all inside, Dakota shut the door and propped a rickety chair against it, which was actually pointless, because one good kick would knock the whole shack down.
Then she turned and looked sternly at Sarah. “Do you see now why I don’t want you running around on your own? No more going out by yourselves. Any of you. I mean it,” Dakota said.
Sarah nodded, staring down at the ground. “Thank you for coming to get me,” she said quietly. She looked at her younger brother and sisters. “They don’t have anyone else but me.”
“Do you want me to run into town and get help?” Naomi asked.
Dakota shook her head, frustrated. She didn’t want to let the kidnappers escape, but she also couldn’t send Naomi out into the night by herself. The wolves might be lying in wait somewhere. It sucked that there was no phone service in town; she’d never realized how much she relied on having a cell phone, and phone lines hadn’t even been run to most of the new town’s buildings.
“It’s too dangerous. We’ll stay inside. There were only two of them, and they tried to go after Sarah when she was alone, so I think they’re pretty weak and cowardly. We should be okay if we stick together. First thing in the morning, we’ll head into town together,” she said.
They all crowded into the bedroom, and Dakota and Naomi sat up to keep watch. In the morning they packed up and started walking down the road towards town.
They hadn’t gone too far when a white SUV pulled up. David was driving, and Macy sat in the front seat next to him. He was looking at Macy like he wanted to write poetry for her. She grinned and waved at them.
“Turns out that nice is actually a refreshing change,” she said to Dakota. “We brought breakfast for you guys.” She held up a paper bag. “Why are you walking to town with your suitcases? What happened? Did the house fall down on you when it rained?”
“If only,” Dakota said, and told her what had happened.
“I wish I’d been there,” David said. “I would have ripped their hides off.”
Personally, Dakota thought he would have peed himself and then fainted, but Macy patted him on the shoulder and said, “You sure would have, babe.” He seemed like a nice guy, in a wimpy, artsy kind of way.
“So we can’t stay at the cabin anymore,” Dakota said, setting her suitcase down on the ground. “The next time, those guys might come back and rip the door off its hinges. Or just, you know, blow on it and knock it down.”
Macy frowned in thought. “You should go stay on the Fenris Pack property like Miles asked you to. He may be a jerk, but he’s the bad-assiest jerk in the territory.”
“Assiest? Okay. You’re right, even if your grammar is wrong,” Dakota said reluctantly. The cubs’ safety came before her own de
sire to avoid Miles and the dark, hungry desire he stirred up inside her.
As they drove, they scarfed down the egg and bacon sandwiches that Macy had brought for them. The Fenris Pack property was a couple of miles from the town center, at the end of a long dirt road that was hemmed in by trees and thick underbrush on either side. David and Macy dropped them off at the clearing at the end of the road and headed back towards town.
“Well, this is much nicer, at least,” Dakota said, looking around.
“Also less serial killery,” Naomi observed. “There was a definite serial killer vibe back at that cabin. Very creepy.”
There were cabins scattered around in the woods facing the clearing. In the center, there was a fire pit with a circle of chairs around it, and a big barbecue grill. Near the grill were half a dozen picnic tables with benches, and big steel trash cans. The grass had been mowed and the setting was rustic, but clean and pretty.
Dakota found herself scanning the area for Miles, without really meaning to. It was pretty clear which cabin belonged to him; it was the largest, and it sat on top of a hill. There were two other cabins set on either side of it, which most likely belonged to his Beta and Omega, if this was a traditional pack arrangement. There was also the usual meeting house off to one side of the clearing, a smaller version of the one in the center of town.
Miles himself was nowhere in sight, but she saw Anders and a few other shifters at the top of a hill cutting up a felled tree with a chainsaw. Anders looked up and waved at them. She waved back.
As they trudged through the clearing towards the hilltop, a pretty blonde in tight jeans hurried out of the meeting house and blocked their path.
Ugh. Destiny. The nasty blonde bully from the day before.
Dakota tried to walk past her, but Destiny moved to block her again.
“Figures you’d show up here. You’re the welfare case that Miles was complaining about. The fat one with all the kids.”
Dakota felt as if she’d taken a blow to the gut. Miles had said that about her? It wasn’t that she wanted to date him or anything, but she didn’t want him to think of her like that either.
“Things didn’t work out with your boyfriend Mickey?” she retorted. “That was fast.”
A spark of anger flared in Destiny’s eyes, but she quickly recovered.
“I’ve got my eyes on a bigger prize.” She smirked at Dakota.
Miles. Of course. Who wouldn’t want to be with the Alpha Prime?
“I don’t like the lady with the yellow hair,” Mary said to Naomi.
“Join the club,” Naomi muttered.
Destiny flicked a bored look at her, then returned her attention to Dakota. “Miles changed his mind about letting you stay here. He felt sorry for you, but then he thought about what a drag it would be having you and those whiny little brats around all the time. Run along, now.”
“Can’t I bite her?” Mary pleaded.
“Yes,” Sarah said.
“No,” Dakota said at the same time. “We do not solve our problems by biting.”
Sarah flicked her a dirty look and snorted in contempt. “That’s true,” she said. “Sometimes stabbing works better.”
Dakota looked for Anders and the other shifters, but they had vanished into the forest. Letting Miles’s new squeeze do the dirty work?
Well, this wouldn’t be the first time a guy had considered Dakota…and then found her wanting. She sure wasn’t going to stick around and beg for a place to stay, and the cubs shouldn’t be somewhere where they weren’t wanted either.
“Let’s go, Naomi,” Dakota said shakily. She turned and walked off quickly before the blonde could see that her eyes were full of tears. The kids were apparently used to getting shuffled around from one place to another; they sighed in exasperation and trudged after her.
“Hey, it’s fine,” Naomi said, patting Dakota’s shoulder. “We’ll find a place to stay. We’ll take turns watching the kids. It’ll work out.”
“Thank you,” Dakota sniffled. She glanced at Naomi. “You know, not that I care what Miles thinks about me or anything, but I would have been a lot more depressed if you weren’t here.”
“Really?” Naomi lit up. “Thank you. Usually nobody cares if I’m around because I’m kind of annoying.”
They’d only walked a short distance before Dakota felt that warm, tingling feeling that signaled that Miles was near. Then she scented him. Sure enough, Miles came jogging towards them. He was wearing jeans and a black T-shirt and construction worker boots, and he looked as handsome as sin.
“Where are you going? You just got here,” he said.
Dakota pointed at Destiny, who was running towards Miles at full speed. She moved surprisingly fast considering she was tottering on high heels.
“She said you’d changed your—”
The blonde quickly interrupted. “Miles, baby, no need to bother with them. I’m getting rid of them for you. They were just leaving.” She flashed Dakota a threatening glower and let her fangs descend, then quickly retracted them and smirked up at Miles.
Baby? Dakota swallowed the irrational fury that swelled inside her.
Miles shrugged Destiny off and glared at her. “You dared to speak to them on my behalf?”
Destiny stifled a whimper as waves of fury rolled off him, and Dakota flinched, catching the hot, raw edge of his rage. “No, I mean, I knew you didn’t want them here and I was just trying to help…”
“I didn’t want them here? Says who?” he snarled.
She tried to stroke his arm, and he batted her hand away. “Let’s just forget about them and go back to your cabin and I can show you a new trick I learned.” She ran her tongue around her lips.
“Easy,” Naomi said to Dakota, and Dakota realized she’d just snarled.
“Hey, when she said easy, she was talking about you,” Sarah yelled to Destiny.
“Sarah!” Dakota gasped.
“What?” Sarah raised an eyebrow.
“Umm…solid burn. Eight out of ten.”
Miles looked at Destiny with disgust. “I already told you no. I saw you less than twenty-four hours ago sticking your tongue down Mickey’s throat.”
“But what I want is a real man. An Alpha Prime.” She petted his arm and simpered up at him. “I’d do anything for a man like that.”
Dakota felt a short, sharp flash of disgust zapping from Miles, and then Destiny made a gagging, retching sound and vomited on the ground.
“That’s how I feel when you touch me,” Miles said coldly.
Anderson and Baldwin came trotting up towards them, and both of them winced at Miles’s wave of anger.
“Give her a ride back to town,” Miles said to Baldwin, who grimaced but nodded gamely. “And she’s banned from pack property.” As Destiny stormed off with Baldwin, Miles turned his attention back to Dakota.
“I knew you’d change your mind. Just didn’t think it would take you so long.”
“I did not change my mind!” Dakota glared at him. “We’re here because we were attacked last night.”
He still looked smug. “Of course you were. Whatever you say.” Then he saw the look on her face. “Wait. You’re serious?”
Dakota shook her head in amazement. “Of course I’m serious. You actually thought I made that up as an excuse to come bask in your macho glory?”
He shrugged. “Why not? I mean, not that you need an excuse. The invitation’s there. Anyway, tell me what happened.”
As she told him, she could see his expression growing angrier and angrier.
“Right,” he said abruptly. “I’m going to have one of my men take you to a cabin to get settled in. From now on, you’re all living on Fenris Pack property.” He turned and stormed off, and she could feel the fury crackling around him like hot little sparks in the air.
* * * * *
That afternoon, while Miles and his crew were tracking the kidnappers, Dakota got one of his packmates to give her a ride into town so she could use one of
the phone booths in the general store.
When she got there, the store was crowded with shifters of all species, but fortunately the area around the phone booth was clear.
Dakota looked around to make sure nobody was listening before she placed a call to Tina’s cell phone.
The cubs were back on the Fenris Pack property, safe and being watched by Naomi. They’d unpacked and settled in for now, the cubs all staying in one of the bedrooms, Naomi and Dakota staying on bunk beds in the other. But how long would they be safe? This wild frontier was no place for them.
Maybe she could take the children back to her home pack. Surely her father would have to take pity on a group of orphaned cubs. Even if he was so mad that he wouldn’t let Dakota come back, at least the children would be safe.
However, the news she got from Tina made her heart sink.
“Your father has completely flipped out,” Tina said. She spoke in a low voice, as if fearful of being overheard. “He feels like you challenged his authority, and he’s in a total rage, twenty-four hours a day. If somebody so much as sneezes around here, he goes mad and beats them half to death. He is literally saying that he will end your life if you come back here.”
“What about Percy? Is he using his Omega to help him stay calm?”
“No, he is not. He won’t let Percy anywhere near him. He wants to be pissed off.”
Dakota felt her throat closing in panic. “But…I’m taking care of some orphaned cubs, and they need a home. I was hoping I could at least send them to stay with our pack. Not me. Just them.”
“Are you listening to me?” Tina’s voice rose in panic. “Do not do that. He would kill them.”
“Kill cubs? No way. He would never do such a thing,” Dakota said, horrified.
“You haven’t seen him. Nobody has ever seen him like this. You need to be invisible,” Tina said in a low, urgent voice.
“This is hard to believe,” Dakota said, dazed. “I mean, I know he’s gotten worse over the years, but the idea that he’d actually harm me, or helpless cubs… This is terrible, Tina.”
“I know,” Tina said grimly. “But it’s been a long time coming, and your leaving pushed him into madness. Don’t blame yourself – it would have happened sooner or later no matter what you did. He was extremely abusive to people when you weren’t around, Dakota, and I don’t mean as punishment. He’d just lash out violently for no reason. We just didn’t want to tell you because he’s your father.”
Shiftily Ever After: A BBW Paranormal Romance (Alpha Prime) Page 6
