“Thank you-”
“I have one condition,” he interrupted, “Don’t bring trouble here. You find something, you speak to me. Got it?”
“Yes, Alpha,” Foster agreed.
“Good. Your cabin is waiting. Here, call Marcus Long and he will send you the address.”
“Thank you.”
“One more thing, do you have means of employment while you are here? I don’t know of anyone looking, but maybe I could try.”
“Thank you, but I am okay. Now that I’m out, my bank accounts have all been unlocked. I am quite comfortable for the time being, Alpha.”
Elias Grant nodded his head and stood to leave. Foster watched as he waved goodbye to the larger than life woman who ran the diner.
Delight sauntered over to him with her pad in hand, her dark skin glistened with sweat from the warmth of the day and the hard work she’d obviously already put in. She was older, tough, and Foster renewed his initial opinion that he liked the diner owner.
“Well, you look like you can use a good meal and since Elias says you can stay, you can stay. Now what will you have?”
“Thank you, but I think I will be going.”
“Nonsense. I’ll make it to go. Henry!” She yelled to the cook who stuck his head out of the small divider that separated the counter from the kitchen.
“What is it woman?” The older man scowled in her direction, but Foster could tell he was quite fond of her.
The interaction made his lips quirk in a way that was reminiscent of a smile. But nah. Couldn’t be. He hadn’t smiled in almost two years.
“Make my boy here two double bacon cheddar burgers to go with extra fries and onion rings. Oh and a side of slaw. You boys need your veggies,” she said with a sly smile and winked at Foster while she went to check on another table.
He didn’t have an appetite when he’d walked in, but now that he had Elias’ approval, the large order Delight had placed for him made his stomach rumble and his mouth salivate.
“Thanks,” he muttered and stood up, taking a fifty-dollar bill from his wallet and leaving it on the table.
As he turned to walk to the counter to wait for his food, he felt a little whirlwind run and slam right into his legs. He cursed under his breath and turned to look down at whatever it was that had bowled into him.
Anger turned to confusion when he saw a three-foot-tall hurricane sitting on the floor. Dark, curly hair was trying desperately to get free of a pink glitter butterfly clip. Pink mouth wide open, the child sat stunned while a set of big blue eyes practically rolled backwards trying to look at all of him.
“You’re a giant!” The little girl squealed then clapped her chubby little hands happily.
Foster frowned. He had no idea how old the kid was or how he was supposed to react to her exclamation. Not having had much experience with children, he continued to frown down at her.
“Skylar! Why did you run off like that, sweetie?” A curvy young woman with matching dark, curly hair though hers was slightly more tamed came running inside. She had a backpack slung over her shoulder and a long, loose dress with pink flowers all over it that made Foster’s heart squeeze in his chest.
He didn’t know why. He was used to sophisticated women with power suits and professionally styled hair and make-up. Not little country girls with babies of their own. But something inside of him went still as she squatted down to lift up the little girl who was suddenly trembling and biting her lip.
“You’re okay now, dumpling,” the woman, obviously the girl’s mother, smiled down at the child and Foster’s heart began to beat a rapid tattoo inside of him.
He felt his Wolf press against his skin. The animal wanted to get closer to the pretty stranger who smelled like apple blossoms. Fresh and clean with a hint of something sweet.
Her focus suddenly turned to him. He recognized the same brilliant blue eyes that the little girl had, only hers flashed at him with something akin to battle lust inside them.
Holy shit. Instant attraction made his mouth go dry. He really shouldn’t be feeling this way over a woman with a child. That reminded him, Daddy was probably somewhere close and here he was trying not to drool over the woman.
“What did you think you were doing growling at her like that? Haven’t you ever seen a little girl before?”
Her anger hit him like a thousand stinging needles. His Wolf growled, but the animal’s anger was directed at him not her, shocking him. Foster blinked against her sudden sharp fury. What could he say? She’d rendered him speechless and he damn well didn’t like that. Not one bit.
He wanted her to smile again the way she had at her child. No wait. Sniff. Not child, pup. The kid was a Wolf like him or she would be in a few more years when she came into her fur.
“Sorry ma’am,” he said in a low voice deep with his Wolf.
Fuck. Well, at least he finally remembered his manners.
“Mm hmm. Come on, Skylar,” she ignored him and walked out with the pup in her arms, pert ass swinging as she carried her pink wrapped bundle quickly away from him.
Skylar, as he’d gathered was her name, waved bye to him with a big smile on her tiny face. He frowned back at her which seemed to only encourage her to wave harder. Finally, he lifted a hand in return.
“Well, now, that is a little cutie right there,” said a booming voice next to him.
He turned to see Delight had arrived with his takeout bag. She was waving bye to the pup as well and Foster felt foolish for being caught doing something so out of character.
“Uh, yeah,” he said and took the bag, “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. See ya ‘round.”
Foster nodded and headed out the door. Pushing the mother and daughter out of his head, he plugged the address of the cabin he’d be staying at from the text Marcus Long had sent him, into his GPS.
He would likely never see the little family again. Good thing too. He wasn’t in Dark Moon Falls for anything other than clearing his name and allowing his Wolf time to heal.
That was all.
Chapter Two
“I just wanted to call to say thank you again Mr. Grant. Mr. Long was very helpful and the cabin is perfect,” Lydia spoke in a rush to the Alpha of the Dark Moon Falls Pack.
“Yes. I already enrolled Skylar in the Pack school. Miss Ellen was very helpful. Skylar starts Monday. Thank you. I will. Goodnight.”
With a soft click, Lydia ended her phone call to Elias Grant. She set the receiver down on the old base that was attached to the kitchen wall in the small, but cozy cabin she’d rented from Marcus Long. It was an old model phone, cord and all, but it worked.
“Well,” she said to herself with a sigh, “Dark Moon Falls is our home now.”
Lydia rolled her shoulders and shuffled over in her bare feet to the back door. Crickets chirped outside and the quarter moon hung low over the copse of trees that lined the back of the house. A small yard had been sectioned out, but it was tiny compared to the vast woods of Dark Moon Mountain Park.
The national park was enormous. From the brochure that had been inside the cabin when she’d arrived, Lydia learned there was hiking, fishing, camping, and more available in the park. Mostly through the same Mr. Long that rented her the cabin.
They were not just seasonal vacation rentals as she’d found out but were available year round. The model she’d asked for was tiny with just two bedrooms, but it had a full service kitchen and a small stackable washer and dryer which was exactly what she’d hoped for. She even had a few neighboring cabins, but from what she could tell, only one was currently occupied.
She grinned as she filled the dryer with another load of wet towels. Two females sure made for a lot of towels, she smirked. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like when Skylar was a teenager!
Lydia hated laundromats with a passion. Still, she would’ve hauled their clothes back and forth on foot for washing if it meant a safe place for her baby girl to grow up. There wasn’t a thing she would not do for her da
ughter.
Moving here would help them both be better, stronger, and happier or so she hoped. There were so many things she still didn’t know about Wolf Shifters. So many things Skylar would need to learn from others.
Tears pricked her eyes at the thought. Trust came hard to her, but she had no choice. At least she could provide her daughter with this. A home, a yard, and for the first time ever, a school, and a chance to make friends her own age.
Skylar had never had a backyard before, never had much of a life since they were always moving around. But it had been necessary to protect her.
After so many long years she could finally stop running. Lydia couldn’t quite stem the flow of tears now. Relief and anxiety warred within her and she covered her mouth in an attempt to stay quiet. After years on the run, she’d finally found some place to settle down with her baby.
Hell, her child was almost five now. Skylar was hardly a baby anymore. Her little girl was smart as a whip and more than ready for school. Their second stop of the day had been the Dark Moon Falls Pack School where she’d enrolled her daughter to begin kindergarten classes with Ms. Bessie Conway.
The middle-aged woman was rumored to have the patience of a saint with her young pupils. She had short dark hair and intelligent brown eyes that made Lydia feel at ease almost immediately upon meeting her. She was cheerful and had a ready smile for Skylar which was all the young mother really cared about. Once her daughter had smiled back, Lydia breathed easy. Skylar would be just fine now. Thank God.
Even though she’d hated dragging her away from Phoenix, she admitted this move was the best thing for them both. Yes, she’d liked Arizona, with its dry heat and desert plants. And the place they’d been staying was amazing.
She had rented a great little apartment next door to an older, retired woman who sort of adopted Lydia and Skylar as her surrogate family since her own kids lived so far away.
Lydia had liked Mrs. Ramirez. She was kind and didn’t mind babysitting while she worked, but that situation had ended after just four months when the older woman had suffered a stroke and her children came to take her to a retirement community. It wasn’t long after that he’d managed to find her.
Again.
Anger coursed through her veins at the thought of Mac Gregory. The anguish and stark fear he’d invoked whenever he managed to catch up with them was still fresh on her mind and in her heart. The security cameras she’d installed on the doorbell had proved more than handy.
Her husband, the bastard, had left his stupid mug on her camera before she and Skylar had even gone home. Well, at least he wouldn’t be her husband for much longer.
After she’d arranged for her and Skylar to come to Dark Moon Falls, she’d gotten on the phone with a lawyer from the next town over. Divorcing him had been something she’d wanted for years. But that was a little hard to manage when you didn’t want to be found.
After explaining her entire situation to Elias, he’d told her it was okay to stop being afraid and encouraged her to call the lawyer. For some reason she trusted the older man, er, Wolf. She called and made an appointment for Monday morning.
Lydia figured she could head on over to Summermire while Skylar was in school to sign the paperwork and leave the deposit required to start the proceedings. The lawyer, Mr. Martin, assured her he could get the marriage dissolved quickly. Especially since she had the old police report and hospital records of her treatment after she’d left Mac following the brutal beating he’d doled out.
She’d driven away from him that night only to stop at a hospital two towns over because she feared for the baby she was carrying. With everything she owned hastily thrown in the back of her beat up little car, she’d driven ten straight hours until she could hardly see for sheer exhaustion.
She’d been admitted overnight despite her request for some medicine and to be on her way. Exhaustion had caught up with her and she’d fallen asleep before she could escape the hospital. Mac had found her the next day. The memories still haunted her.
“You bitch! Think you can just take what’s mine and leave? I’m a Wolf, baby, I’ll hunt you down wherever you go and I’ll kill you before you can cry out for help!” His vicious threat had echoed in the hospital room.
Mac had come to the hospital like a madman. Somehow he must’ve found out she was pregnant. Either way she’d have died before going back to him. No way was she allowing him to come near her child. Lucky for her, he was so out of control he’d gotten himself arrested. The reprieve gave her the opportunity to leave town.
She’d been driving back and forth across the country ever since. Stopping for only a few months at a time. She’d waitressed for a while, when she could find work. But that only lasted till Skylar came.
She’d been given a second-hand laptop from one of her bosses after he’d discovered she had an affinity for the bookkeeping program he’d been using. She eventually started her own online bookkeeping and budgeting service. She was shocked when she discovered she was able to make rent with the money she received from folks who needed help with their budget.
Amazing how much money people wasted in their day to day lives. Even more amazing was the fact that people paid her to tell them what they could spend. In fact, many of her clients told her they’d never felt so relieved as when she’d taken over their finances.
Folks who’d been living day to day, check to check, now had savings accounts and money to cover their bills in their checking accounts. Not only that, but now that she’d limited their spending they were healthier and more active than ever. No more frivolous fast food dinners and extravagant entertainment expenses.
They were happy cooking in, going on nature hikes, and spending more time together with their significant others and children. It made her feel good to help others. A pay it forward kind of thing for all the times she’d been lucky or had gotten help from neighbors.
Even better, Lydia was able to turn this into a job. She could finally provide Skylar with a roof over her head, good food, and clothes that fit without ever having to go far.
There had been a few close calls over the years. Once she’d had Skylar in a local nursery school only to get a call that a strange man had come around asking questions about her and her baby. She’d never picked up her baby and packed up an entire apartment so fast.
But leaving towns was getting harder now that her little girl was growing so fast. Skylar was more than ready to start school, but Lydia was a realist. She knew she couldn’t do it with Mac still on her trail. Until now.
Lydia had hoped for this day for so long. It wasn’t until she’d been up all night pondering what to do about their situation that she’d recalled a conversation she’d had with Mac before things had gotten bad. The resulting conclusion had been unexpected and more than welcomed.
“Where are you from, Mac?” Lydia had asked full of all the warm sensations of a twenty-year old woman with her first crush.
“I come from a little mountain town up in the Pacific northwest. There are rich, thick forests all around and this little diner that serves the best apple pie you ever had. You like apple pie, don’t you?” Mac had looked her over with hunger in his eyes and she’d loved it. It made her feel good to have this slightly older experienced man interested in her.
“Sure, I do. What else was it like?” She’d asked.
“It’s a small town, but I miss the pie over at Delight’s,” Mac had smirked and rubbed his stomach.
“Why’d you leave then if this woman makes such good pie?” Lydia had teased.
“Don’t be getting jealous now, Lydia. That town is a dead end full of busybodies who think they’re better than everyone else. Folks who think they got the right to tell people what to do, but that’ll change. They’ll see,” his eyes seemed to glow as he spoke, but she’d brushed it off as a trick of the Vegas lights.
“Man in charge is a beast. He likes to pick on weaker ones, but he’ll get his,” he continued.
“I’m sorry you
were hurt, Mac,” she said wanting to comfort him.
“I know how you can make it better,” he’d said and reached for her.
Remembering the times, she’d wished so desperately for his touch made her cringe now. She’d been so green and stupid. The one good memory she’d ever had was of that conversation.
Yes, she thought. It was good because it had brought them here and for that she would always be grateful. She could never regret meeting Mac because he’d given her Skylar. Her daughter was everything to her.
Lydia had spent hours going through the white pages and searching on Facebook. Finally, she’d found it. Delight’s Diner! Located in the Shifter friendly town of Dark Moon Falls. This was it. The answer to her prayers.
She already knew that her baby was a Wolf Shifter and with that info, she’d finally figured out where they could go. After almost six long years on the run.
Relief poured through her. She might have been naïve when she’d first met Mac, but she wasn’t a fool any longer. Lydia knew she needed help raising her daughter as a Wolf.
In order to accomplish that, they would both need protection from Mac. Who better to keep her daughter safe from harm than the Pack that tossed him out for the madman he was?
“Why’d you leave home, Mac?”
“That man, the one I told you about made me. He was threatened you see. Always needed to prove how strong he was. He was scared I was better than him.”
Yeah. Right. She shook her head at how foolish she’d been to believe him.
Determined to keep Skylar safe, she’d contacted the Pack and later the Alpha, Elias Grant, and told him about their situation.
She knew about Wolves. That sometimes they knew when humans like her were lying, so she didn’t bother. She told him everything. He’d immediately extended an invitation to Lydia and her half Wolf Shifter daughter.
Far as he was concerned, the Pack would protect them both from her soon-to-be ex-husband. Lydia had also learned something valuable from Mr. Grant. According to Elias, Mac Gregory was a rogue Wolf. Dangerous and unpredictable, a definite harm to others, but he assured her she and her daughter would be safer in Dark Moon Falls than anywhere else on the planet.
Dark Moon Falls: Volume 2 Page 101
