by Dannika Dark
“Doesn’t Reno have a bazooka?”
Austin chuckled and stepped closer to Prince. “It’s getting dark, and I need to get this wolf off my land. Any ideas?”
Prince tucked his hands in the pockets of his wool coat. His face tightened when a blast of cold wind hit him. “I wouldn’t recommend using one of your cars. If they send a tracker after him, they’ll pick up his scent in the trunk. It’s better if we do this clean so they’ll assume he’s either a deserter or he defected.”
I made an exasperated sound. “I can’t believe this is my life. I’m standing around trying to figure out what to do with a dead Shifter. I don’t remember signing up for this.”
Lorenzo got on his phone and walked out of earshot. I was worrying about the children, the pack, my mother, and my baby.
“Problem solved in ten minutes, Cole,” Lorenzo said with a haughty lift of his chin. His long hair blew forward before settling across his shoulders. “Lakota is on his way.”
My jaw slackened. “You’re having Ivy’s son help out with hiding a body?”
“Aside from my mate, I trust no one more.”
“What about Caleb, your second-in-command?”
Lorenzo nudged the dead wolf with his foot. “He’s motivated by money. He’ll work me over to upgrade his car for helping out. He won’t get a new car, but I have no desire to listen to him braying like a donkey for the next four weeks.”
“Maybe this isn’t the kind of thing a kid should be involved in.”
Lorenzo folded his arms. “Lakota is now a man, and he’s strong enough to be a second-in-command if he finds someone worth serving. These are things he’ll be expected to do in his position; trust and secrecy are a part of that.”
“Why can’t you just call all your men over and we’ll take on these guys?”
Prince positioned himself as if blocking the wind from hitting me. “Because, young wolf, while we might win that battle, we do not know the repercussions of taking down an entire unit. They’re likely in contact with other units and know each other’s locations. That could bring a swarm to your territory. They’ll take you out for spite and make it look like a house fire, returning to their hiding spots until their leader gives them orders to begin the attack. Shifter wars don’t operate by the same rules you see on television. My woman is intrigued by human movies.”
“Sorry. I thought—”
“You’re a strong alpha, and it’s only natural you want to fight to protect your family. Once the war begins, each unit will be busy attacking their assigned targets, so they won’t have the resources to pool together like they do now.”
Pale storm clouds brewed overhead, and Lorenzo’s voice crackled with anger. “When the time comes to go to war, blood will stain our land—seeping into the ground and nourishing the roots of our trees. There will be no hiding bodies and concealing our actions. We’ll rise up and fight to keep what is ours.”
Prince glanced at his watch. “We wouldn’t be feuding with ourselves if Shifters had been given opportunities instead of closed doors. You cannot return a man’s freedom and yet deny him the same liberties that you enjoy. I’ve seen the struggles and know why it’s come to this.”
I shivered and leaned against Austin. “What if the Council were to give them land?”
“Doesn’t work that way, Lexi,” Austin said. “If you give a screaming child a toy, all it teaches them is that misbehaving earns them a reward.”
I laughed. “We’ll see what you think about that when you have your own screaming baby to contend with.”
Austin was right though. We’d discussed the topic before, but the negotiator in me kept looking for an out.
After several minutes of waiting and listening to Austin talk about his car, a rustle in the dry grass drew our attention upward.
A young man crested the hill, wind blowing the shoulder-length hair jutting out from his oversized beanie. He also didn’t have a coat—just a red T-shirt, which showed off his tan complexion. He grinned from ear to ear and spread out his arms. “We should hurry before Caleb notices his car is missing.”
Lorenzo huffed out a quiet laugh. “If I didn’t know better, I’d swear Lakota was my son in another life.”
***
While the Packmasters disposed of the rogue, Reno ordered Denver and Trevor to guard the property that afternoon and evening. Meanwhile, my mom and Katharine were arguing with George in the kitchen over who was going to cook dinner. You couldn’t pair two more opposite women, and yet they got along famously.
George’s skills in the kitchen were legendary, and he considered himself the master chef of the Cole clan. I preferred his cooking over Katharine’s simply because he bought his meat at the grocery store and made the best pot roast on the planet. After a brief squabble, he finally capitulated and sulked on the living room sofa, watching Transformers with Lennon and Hendrix—his favorite (and only) grandsons.
Sometimes a girl needs to get away from the chaotic world inside a pack, so just after sunset, I decided it was a good time to take care of some business.
April adjusted the car heater and held her fingers in front of the vents. “Are you telling me that you don’t have any problem working with a Vampire?” she asked skeptically.
My pink bunny slipper pressed on the gas pedal. “No, and I think you’ll like him. That’s why I asked you to come along with me tonight, so you can meet him. I thought I’d show him around the shop and give him the grand tour of the kitchen.”
“At night?”
I smirked. “I didn’t want a bunch of customers to be there. And besides, if sunlight bothers his eyes, then I should be a considerate boss and respect his differences. Right?”
She glanced at her blue fingernails. “I suppose.”
I pulled into the parking lot and switched off the headlamps. “If Austin wants two wolves guarding the house all the time, then there’s no way we’ll be able to keep the bakery open every day. There’s too much work to do and not enough of us to do it. At least you have the girls at the candy store. I can’t hire humans in the bakery; you remember what happened when Britt ran the store a few months back.”
When Maizy first introduced her wolf to the pack, we’d celebrated at the house. I’d foolishly thought it wouldn’t hurt to have one of the part-timers fill in at the bakery for just the day, but later that evening, my employee called me in hysterics after witnessing a customer shift into a hawk. Ned was an elderly Shifter who visited the shop infrequently. Sometimes he got overexcited while waiting in line, and he’d shift. Usually we’d put him outside and he’d eventually fly back to gather his clothes and finish placing his order. We’d had to hire a Vampire to scrub Britt’s memory.
“It’s not easy to find part-timers,” I continued. “Not to mention all the baking we have to do. That’s going to change with Atticus around.”
“You don’t think he’ll drive sales away?”
“He can wear sunglasses if he’s uncomfortable, but I’m considering putting a No Jerk sign on the door. I want him to work alongside Izzy for a few days so he can learn how to run the register in case we ever need him. Otherwise, he’ll be the baker.”
“What if he can’t bake?”
I laughed, unbuckling my seat belt. “I have exact recipes, so it’s not rocket science. Whether he likes to bake or not will be another thing.”
April shivered and stared at the dark building in front of us. “Has Charlie showed up or called?”
“No. Austin spoke to him, but I don’t know what about. He hasn’t brought him up out of respect for your feelings.”
She tugged at a strand of her hair. “If he’d told me back then in my twenties, I probably would have hated him forever. But… accidents happen. I still think what he did to cover it up was deplorable, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive him for that.” She twisted the strap of her purse between two fingers, clearly disenchanted by the truth.
“Did you tell Maddox? Charlie still owes him m
oney.”
“Heck no. Maddox would hunt him down and skin him alive. This whole thing is so screwed up. Maybe I should be furious at Maddox for covering up the accident… I don’t know.”
I had a feeling April was having a change of heart. Once the emotions settled like dust, she recognized how much Charlie had meant to her. She had always looked up to him like a father in a time when she had personal struggles and no parental figure. Personally, I was nonplussed about the whole situation. But given I was a Shifter, pregnant with an alpha’s baby, hiring a Vampire to knead my dough, preparing to go to war while living with a pack of wolves and wildcats… stranger things have happened.
“There he is,” I said.
April focused on a shadowy corner and then clutched her heart. “That could be anyone. That could be a serial killer.”
The man stepped forward in a long trench coat, but I recognized his bright hair when the lamplight hit it. Cold temperatures didn’t faze Vampires, but they dressed appropriately to blend in.
“That’s not a serial killer. That’s my new employee.”
“Might be one and the same,” she murmured with a small laugh.
We hopped out of the car, and I hustled up to the door. “Hi, Mr. Rain.”
“Atticus,” he said, still keeping his distance. “Brisk evening.”
My teeth chattered as I fumbled with the keys and opened the door. “What is it with this cold weather? This is supposed to be Texas.”
We moved inside and I turned on the dimmers.
Atticus shut the door behind us. “There’s an old wives’ tale that when we congregate in the same area in large numbers, it makes the temperatures extreme.”
April unwound a white scarf from her neck. “Pfft. If that were the case, then it would be snowing in Austin all the time. It’s like the Shifter capital of Texas.”
Atticus chuckled and approached the counter, watching her take a seat at one of the wooden tables on the right. “True, we have many Breeds here. But it takes a lot to make a difference. So I’ve heard. If you’ve ever been to Cognito in the Northeast, you just might believe it’s true. Sometimes they get a blanket of snow while surrounding cities are drowning in sunshine. It’s as if they’re living in their own snow globe where winters are fierce and summers are blazing.”
“I like snow globes. Maybe I’ll visit there someday. You’re a good storyteller—anyone ever tell you that?” Her purse tumbled to the floor before she could catch it.
Atticus swiftly picked it up and looped the strap over the back of her chair before stepping back and creating distance. He didn’t make direct eye contact with her, a show of submission among Vampires. “Actually, yes. You must be April. I’m Atticus Rain.”
“I run the Sweet Treats candy store,” she said, giving him a little more information.
“I’ve told him about you,” I said, setting my keys on the counter. “He once asked if I ever planned on making this a chain, and I mentioned your location. I told him I had the best manager known to man running that shop.”
April beamed with pride and swung her gaze up, admiring the paintings on the walls. They were mostly items I’d bought on sale—images of Parisian bistros and European street scenes.
“So you’re Atticus Rain, cookie maker and bodyguard.”
He smiled and casually leaned back on his elbows. “It has a nice ring to it. I just hope my pointy fangs won’t affect business.”
“How do you keep those retracted so they look normal?” she asked.
Atticus winked. “Magic.”
I chewed on my lip and stood next to him. “Izzy’s going to show you how to run the cash register in case we ever need you to hold down the fort. Anyone who has a problem with you working in my store can find another place that makes lemon cake as good as I do.”
“Good luck with that,” April said. “So how do we know you’re a good bodyguard? Have you ever worked as one before?”
He averted his eyes and began pinching one of his dark eyebrows. “No. Would you mind if I look around your kitchen?”
“Go on,” I said. “I’ll be back there in a second to show you what I do.” After he circled the counter and left us alone, I gave April an apologetic glance. “I know I asked you to come along and help me out, but if you don’t want to, then you can sit out here and read a book while I show him the ropes. Trevor keeps an e-reader in the locked cabinet behind the register.”
“Are you sure hiring him is a good idea?” she whispered.
“He can probably hear you,” I said. “And the more I think about it, yeah, I do. Eventually I’m going to balloon out and won’t be able to work. Then I’ll have the baby to take care of for a while, so there’s no way Trevor and Izzy can keep up with all the prepping, baking, and running the store. Naya’s hooked Wheeler up with some of her clients who need financial advisors, so I really don’t have an extra hand. On top of that, I still have clientele who order large volumes for their businesses, and I can’t afford to lose them. If Atticus doesn’t catch on, then I’ll hire someone else. But I need a dedicated worker to keep this business afloat.”
“Jeez. When did we get so old?” she asked on a sigh, propping her chin in the palm of her hand. “If we didn’t have to make money, I’d be perfectly happy.”
I laughed and went to lock the door. “Until you can figure out the magic spell to fill our bank account with enough money to last us the next eight centuries, we’re stuck with jobs.”
“Well, at least I won’t have to work as many years as you will.” She chuckled whimsically, but the thought tugged at my heartstrings.
When I approached the door, my breath caught. In the middle of the road beneath a dim light cast from the streetlamp, a woman was lying on her stomach, her blond hair caught in the wind and her right arm outstretched toward me.
I swung the door open and ran as fast as my feet could carry me. “Call the police! Someone’s been hit by a car!”
“Lexi!” April shouted from behind.
My heart raced. I’d seen idiots drive down this street a million times without yielding to pedestrians.
As I neared the woman, she suddenly sat up and smiled. That’s when a swell of terror came over me. She was bait, and this was a trap.
When I heard the bell jingle on the door, I turned to warn April. As I did, I spotted at least five wolves surrounding me.
“April, no!” I screamed. “Go back inside!”
She hesitated at the curb, confused until she noticed a black wolf baring his canines at her.
Atticus rushed through the open doorway like death’s shadow, snapping the rogue’s neck before he could lunge. Another wolf scurried into the shop, and Atticus lifted April onto the hood of my car as if she weighed nothing. April warily looked around at the flickers of movement cloaked in darkness.
As I turned, the blonde was backing up, a smug grin on her face as she settled in the embrace of a guy who could have easily passed as one of Axel’s biker buddies, with his leather jacket and fingerless gloves. His eyebrows and mustache were darker than the short beard on his chin, and his nose was crooked. A few tattoos were creeping out from his collar and up his neck.
“Southern girls are always so polite… so gullible,” she said on a giggle.
My heart was a banging drum, and when I backed up a step, I bumped into Atticus.
“What’s your business?” he asked the biker, his voice firm.
The leader replied, “A friend of ours is missing. We thought the bitch might know something.”
“What makes you think I would know a damn thing?” I snapped.
He smiled and tipped his head to the side, not giving me the answer we both already knew. He must have picked up the scent on our land and did the math. “You’re the Packmaster’s bitch, aren’t you?”
Atticus’s fingertips tightened around my arms.
I couldn’t fight. Worst of all, I couldn’t beg for my baby’s life, because telling them I was with child might bring a worse h
ell than I could imagine. These men had traveled a long way to spill blood, and I wasn’t about to hand them a goblet.
“Stay close to me,” Atticus whispered.
Both April and I had left our purses inside—purses that had phones and car keys.
“These streets have cameras, you know,” I said.
Lied. Some streets did, but not ours.
Harley Man flicked a glance around. “So be it. Where’s my man?”
“Probably buried on a golf course.”
His eyes narrowed to slits. “I was going to take you as one of my bitches, but on second thought, your mouth is pissing me off.”
“Wise choice, because I’d rather be pushing up daisies than kissing your hairy ass. Why don’t you go back where you came from? You don’t stand a chance.”
He stroked his wiry beard. “You’re a tenacious wolf. We’ll just see about that.”
“We can prove what you’re up to.”
He laughed, revealing a silver tooth. “Accusation without evidence is slander, and so the law is on our side. As far as anyone’s concerned, we’re just visiting.”
The bitch with the tan boots laughed haughtily, pacing in a circle behind him like some kind of druggie on meth.
“If you put one finger on me, then they’ll have all the evidence they need.”
He slowly looked left, then right. “This neighborhood seems kind of empty this time of night. If we end up with witnesses, well… the best witnesses are dead ones. Security cameras are something I can work around. I didn’t know you associated with Vampires down here,” he said with disdain, not making eye contact with Atticus.
Ferocious snarls erupted from behind, and April’s boots skidded across my car. She didn’t have her coat on, and a cloud of frosty breath veiled her face as she watched their every move. Despite the fear in her eyes, she’d never looked so fierce and ready to fight. I, on the other hand, had on my pink bunny slippers with the floppy ears.
I counted four wolves in sight, excluding the one inside the shop. The shadows all around us seemed to bend with movement.
