Four Days (Seven Series #4)

by Dannika Dark

  An hour later, someone burst through the front door and entered the room. Cold air rolled off him as he pulled off his gloves with his teeth. “We’ve got a situation. A Shifter is at the end of the property, and he wants to see our visitor.”

  “Is this your friend?” the woman across from me asked, tugging a curl of hair that had fallen loose.

  I rose to my feet. “Do you want me to go out and meet him or bring him here?”

  “Bring him here,” someone suggested in a dark voice.

  “You can’t hurt him if he comes in peace,” I said. “Those are the rules.”

  They knew the rules, but they were also mad as hell that someone had tried to infiltrate their home.

  “Well,” Aaron said, rising to his feet, “I can’t promise Lorenzo won’t try to take him down.” He stroked his black ponytail and crossed the room. “Let’s just see what happens.”

  When I turned to follow, Lorenzo’s wolf—whom I’d been calling Thunder—did a peculiar thing. He turned with me so that he remained on my left side. At first I touched his head to get my balance. But then I felt him push back and raise his head higher, as if he were offering me full support.

  His alpha wolf let me use him as a crutch. It’s not as if I walked with a hard limp, but I also couldn’t keep up with everyone else. And without something to hold to keep my balance, I risked falling if I moved too fast.

  The men suggested I wait in Lorenzo’s room on the opposite side of the house. It was a simple room with a chair and Native American furnishings. Watcher said that Lorenzo’s wolf would feel more in control in this room and be less likely to attack Fox, so long as our visitor remained submissive.

  I took a seat in a large wooden chair facing the window, and Lorenzo sat beside me to the left. I didn’t pet him as if he were a dog but anxiously waited, wondering if he would lunge and rip out Fox’s throat.

  The wind howled outside and tiny taps clattered against the window from the freezing pellets of sleet. Nothing had accumulated on the ground except a light dusting. I remembered hearing rumors that large congregations of Breed could influence changes in the weather, bringing more dramatic temperature changes. Something about our energy, but I spent little time listening to hearsay.

  I traced a few patterns on the rug below with my toe, admiring the handwoven designs. I wondered how many of these artifacts had belonged to his grandmother. Something about that melted my heart. The fact that someone as formidable and seemingly cold as Lorenzo could have such respect for an older woman in his family—such love—that he wanted her possessions to be part of his new life and home really touched me. Yet he kept this side of himself hidden from the outside world.

  When the door opened, Lorenzo stood on all fours and drew in heavy sniffs, taking in the scent of a stranger.

  Fox slipped inside, lowering the hood from his green jacket and revealing salt-and-pepper hair. He kept his jacket on and approached with caution.

  “This is the Packmaster,” I said, hardly needing to tell him that. He could no doubt sense the alpha power in his presence. “Lorenzo Church.”

  “Is he gonna stay that way?”

  “It’s his turf, so I’d say yes. Have a seat.”

  Irritation flashed in his eyes. “You want me to sit on the floor?”

  The thought of him sitting at my feet was empowering. “Yes. I don’t think Lorenzo is comfortable with you standing taller than him.”

  Fox grumbled some profanities and sat down with his right leg bent at the knee. He avoided direct eye contact with Lorenzo, but I could tell the growls had him on edge.

  “I’m told three of your men are dead,” I began. “Is that enough to make you quit and go elsewhere?”

  He rubbed his red nose. “Winners never quit and quitters never win.”

  “Obviously a human made that up, because they never lived in the Breed world,” I said, touching my braid. “You’re going to lose all your men if you keep coming at us. Lorenzo’s numbers are strong.”

  “Yeah? And how attached are you to that wolf? Making yourself a nice home? Because I have a feeling this is just temporary and you’ll be heading back home to your Packmaster soon. So you can get off your high and mighty rocker.”

  I could hear a low growl coming from Thunder Wolf, but it was almost inaudible. That let me know Lorenzo was awake and aware of what was happening.

  A knock sounded at the door and Caleb inched in. It made Fox sit up straight, ready to spring into action if needed.

  Mostly because Caleb was holding a bloody spear. A grin spread across his angelic face. “Everything okay in here?”

  “We’re fine, thanks for asking.”

  “Thought you could use this,” he said, walking forward and handing me the spear.

  I blushed and suppressed a rising laugh as I settled the blunt end of the spear on the floor to my right, the arrow tip pointing up.

  Fox’s eyes rose to look at the stained blood on the end.

  “She got one of yours last night with that spear, so you better behave,” Caleb said, warning Fox before leaving the room.

  Fox. Looked. Pissed.

  “You took out one of my men?”

  “It doesn’t look dignified to lead a pack who would tear out the throats of women. Your man advanced on an unarmed woman and I didn’t hesitate in protecting her. If these are the only men you can get to follow you, then it will lead to your downfall. And deservedly so.”

  “Keep yapping your mouth, Ivy. We both know I’ve got claim on you.”

  I rotated the spear between my fingers, wondering how much of this conversation Lorenzo could understand. Some alphas had the ability to access areas of the brain in control of interpreting language and memory, while others had to rely on scents, tone, and posture.

  Fox laughed quietly. “You’re afraid he can understand us, aren’t you? Why don’t you ask him?”

  “Why don’t you tell me why you’re here so we don’t waste anyone’s time? There are wolves outside the door, hungry for a fight.”

  “You see, Ivy, I’m more clever than you give me credit for. I’ve always known how to get what I want, but your mother was the only exception. Ivan had money and no woman will turn down a Packmaster. Before you were born, we both courted her. Naturally she chose the alpha, and we put it to rest.”

  “Don’t you dare talk about my mother,” I spat out. “You drove that woman to suicide. She meant the world to me and you took that away.”

  “Is that what you think? Your mother came to my bed and spread her legs for me. Ivan wasn’t enough, and yet she still wouldn’t leave him.”

  “Why would she? My father offered her protection, love, and a home. What could you have offered? She told me what happened, Fox. She said she was pregnant with your baby and she knew it would shame my father and the pack. When I found out you were the father, I had no choice but to tell her what you did to me. She was devastated. She went to a Relic to get an abortion but couldn’t do it. Grief consumed her. I don’t fault my mother for having loved you, because you deceived us all. I just wish I had told her sooner—maybe then she wouldn’t have given herself to you.”

  “Jesus Christ,” he said. “So that was it. She was ready to leave Ivan and suddenly, out of the blue, decided she wanted to keep the baby and stay with the pack. I should have known you had something to do with that. She promised herself to me—she was mine.”

  “She was never yours!”

  “That child made her mine. Ivan would have strung me up in front of the pack and castrated me if she had told him, and he would have cast her out. She was foolish to think he’d forgive her; Ivan would have known the baby wasn’t his. They hadn’t had sex in years. Years!”

  My stomach soured, and I looked at the ashen wolf on my left. Maybe my mother had felt she had no way out, but her suicide had affected me profoundly.

  “Couldn’t have that,” he continued. “I tried to get her to leave one night and told her we could start our own pack. The baby this
, the baby that. All she cared about was what would happen to you and that damn seed growing inside her. She wrote a note to Ivan and said how unhappy she was and that she was leaving. Your mother was willing to leave you, Ivy. How’s that for love?”

  “That’s before she found out what a deceptive animal you are, but I would have respected her choice,” I said, averting my eyes.

  When my mother had told me about her pregnancy and who the father was, I had no choice but to tell her what Fox had done. What if she chose to love him and they had a daughter? What would Fox do to her? After I’d confided in my mother, she locked herself in a guest room for two weeks. My father just assumed she was going through her heat cycle and left her alone. I couldn’t imagine how guilty she must have felt for loving a man who had hurt her own child. She’d tried to go to a Relic to take care of the baby but couldn’t bring herself to do it. Eventually the pack took notice of her change in behavior. Then one morning, a scream poured out from the bathroom and they found my mother slumped over the bathtub with a knife in one hand and her jugular cut. Blood filled the bathtub, and two lives ended with one clean slice.

  A tear rolled down my cheek, and I quickly wiped it away.

  “Aww, such affection for a whore. Like mother, like daughter.”

  Thunder stood up and stepped forward with his ears back. I leaned the spear against the wall behind me and sat up straight, uncertain if he was going to attack Fox. But Thunder sat down just a little closer, keeping a steady eye on our enemy.

  “This is going to get ugly if you don’t come with me, Ivy. We both know this isn’t where you belong. I did a little investigating of my own, and I know one person who might be able to change your mind. It would be a shame if something were to happen to Lakota.”

  In a swift movement, I launched to my feet and grabbed the spear, swinging it around until the pointy blade pressed against his neck. “Don’t you dare,” I hissed.

  A rivulet of blood trailed down his neck and he pushed the spear away, rising to his feet. “Oh, I dare. Think about it, Ivy. Your mother wasn’t too good for me, and I know with a little patience, you’ll warm up to me too. We’ve known each other a long time, and I’ve always treated you better than the other girls. I know you don’t hate me like you pretend to. You’re naïve if you think what we did was wrong. There’s nothing wrong with a little rough play between two Shifters. Let’s be real—you were old enough to know better than to wear a dress like that around an experienced wolf. But that’s in the past, and I’m offering you a high position in my pack—one you’d never be able to get otherwise. I’ve never hated you. You’re the spirit of your mother with all her beauty, if not more.”

  “Get out.”

  He turned away and then lingered for a few moments before looking back at me. “We both know how this is going to end. I wouldn’t want anyone you love to get hurt. Come peacefully and I’ll take some of Cole’s bitches into our pack—maybe even the lower-ranking males if they submit. You’ll still have your family. Refuse, and I’ll rip a hole wide open in your universe, and I won’t stop until the floors are stained with their blood.”

  Fox left the room with a slam of the door, and the moment he did, Lorenzo shifted into human form. I was in such a state of shock that I paid no attention as he left the room and yelled out for Caleb.

  I sat down in the chair and realized that the power I had reclaimed from Fox would not help me defeat him. Not if he knew where to find Lakota.

  Even I didn’t know.

  Chapter 11

  When Lorenzo returned to the room, he found Ivy’s clothes in a pile by the wooden chair and her silver wolf facing the window. He knelt down beside her and noticed a mournful longing in her faraway gaze. Lorenzo cradled her neck with his hands and she lifted her snout higher.

  “Stubborn. What’s wrong, nashoba? Why won’t you come out and speak to me?” he said in gentle words.

  Lorenzo remembered the conversation she’d had with Fox. It had taken every ounce of focus to comprehend what they were saying because his wolf had fought against him.

  Ivy had only one more sunrise under his protection before he would release her to Austin and Fox would hunt her down. That is, if she didn’t go to him first. Fox held something over Ivy. Or someone. The details of her mother’s suicide sickened Lorenzo. He couldn’t fathom a wolf being driven to that kind of desperate violence, but he could understand the insurmountable pain she must have endured knowing that the man she had freely given herself to had raped her own daughter. And then to be with child, forced to see him every day as a reminder unless she confessed the truth to her mate.

  Lorenzo wondered if Fox had tried to force himself on Ivy more than once. What had Ivy told her father? Why did he call her the pack whore?

  Maybe there was more to Ivy than what he’d first thought. Perhaps a vulnerable young girl had become promiscuous and gone into another man’s bed, like this Lakota that Fox had mentioned. Did she love him? He must have realized his error in judgment and left the pack, unless Kizer had forced him out.

  Still, Lorenzo couldn’t blame her. If Ivy’s innocence had been taken at such a young age, then she couldn’t have known better. With the loss of her mother, it wouldn’t surprise him if she had sought comfort and protection in the arms of another man. Someone who would keep Fox away from her since they lived in the same house.

  He stroked her ear and suddenly felt listless. Ivy had awakened new emotions within him, and now that he knew her heart belonged to another man, it hollowed him out. Lorenzo hadn’t realized until that moment how much he was beginning to respect this courageous woman who was a fighter in every aspect of her life. She possessed a quiet strength that even his pack admired.

  “Don’t make me force you out of there,” he whispered.

  The silver wolf closed her eyes and released a high-pitched whine—one that could shatter a man’s heart. When her brown eyes opened, they glittered with pain. He didn’t want her to shift in front of the cold window, so he stood up and coaxed her to follow.

  “Come with me,” he said, patting his bare leg and moving toward the door.

  She stood up and trotted toward him. Her wolf walked better than Ivy did, but she also had three other legs to help her along. When they reached the stairs, Lorenzo called out for Caleb.

  After a minute, Caleb jogged downstairs with a phone in his hand. “What’s up?”

  They stood close and Lorenzo lowered his voice. “Collect the dead wolves on the property from the rogue pack.”

  “What do you want me to do with them?”

  “Take their pelts.”

  Caleb glanced down at Ivy. “An offering?” he said with an arch of his brow.

  Lorenzo nailed him with an intolerant gaze. “I need a new blanket.”

  “That’s not really our custom.”

  “It is in my culture,” he quickly said.

  The human tribes of Native Americans didn’t share the same beliefs as Shifters, although they did in some regards. Shifters had their own subset of beliefs that were passed down from wolf to wolf. As a whole, their Native Americans had become a melting pot of language and beliefs, but over time, split up into tribes. Lorenzo’s grandfather had once told him that when you killed an enemy who sought to take your life, their spirit roamed in the afterlife, seeking you out. Spirits stay away from their lifeless bodies because they’re afraid of them, so the Shifters in his family would bury the bones in their campsite or wear a tooth around their neck. Lorenzo could do the same, but perhaps having their fur in the home would keep them away.

  He’d scoffed at Ivy for her superstitious notions about bad spirits, but she was right. Ivy’s beliefs differed from his because she didn’t come from the same tribe, yet they spoke the same language of history and spiritualism that other Shifters didn’t understand.

  Before ascending the stairs, he put his hand on Caleb’s shoulder. “Bury the bones of one of those wolves on Cole’s land. Don’t let them see you do it, and cover up th
e scent.”

  Caleb’s brows popped up, but he didn’t question his Packmaster’s orders. “You have my word.”

  “I’m proud of you, Caleb. You’ve shown leadership in William’s absence and have risen to the challenge.” Lorenzo patted his shoulder twice before heading upstairs at a pace that would allow Ivy’s wolf to keep up with him.

  “Why have our destinies collided?” he murmured when they reached the top floor.

  She waited and allowed him to enter the room first before trotting inside behind him, her toenails clicking on the floor. When Lorenzo had burst into the house the previous night, his instinct told him to cradle Ivy in his arms and carry her away from danger. But he’d foolishly allowed her father’s poisonous words to enter his mind and germinate.

  The layers of complexity to this woman brought him back down to earth. Or maybe it was the prophecy his grandmother had told him based on recurring dreams. She’d said, “On a full moon, I have seen a great change in your life. Spirits will come at you from all directions. There will be a power shift within your pack, and your wolf will love a woman whose heart belongs to another. Blood will cover the moon, but I cannot see whose it will be.”

  Not so long ago, Lorenzo had thought that female was Alexia. His grandmother had said his wolf would love this woman, but his inner wolf hadn’t cried out for Alexia when they met.

  The first time he laid eyes on Ivy at Austin’s peace party, his wolf sang. She’d spoken poetic words under the influence of narcotics that were floating around at the party, but it was as if he could see her spirit wolf. The second time was at an outdoor gathering, and his wolf had almost lunged out of his skin to attack a drunk who had put his hands on her.

  It had been Ivy all along.