Dang it, I hated walking around with wet panties. Kellen’s husky laugh had me reaching for his hand.
Chapter Ten
Iscanned the cafeteria, looking for two people in the large crowd, which was almost impossible. How were we to find our query amongst all the humans, especially one little girl with ponytails and her mother? A sense of loss threatened to bring me to tears until Kellen tapped my nose.
“Take a deep breath,” he instructed.
Near the doors leading to the outside courtyard was the little girl and her mom. Their heads were bent close together with two trays of food in front of them.
“Should we get some food and go sit with them?” Nervousness made my palms sweat. Kellen’s body heat soothed me.
“No. Let’s get this over with. Just go over and introduce yourself. I’ll stand back so I don’t scare them.”
My eyes darted up to the man beside me. “You’re going to let me go over there alone?”
His husky laugh had several people turning toward us. “Not on your life, baby. I’ll be really close, just not too close. Come on.” He steered me around a couple.
The closer we got, the heavier the scent of shifter became. I squeezed Kellen’s fingers, hoping he’d understand.
“The child is part wolf.” He spoke through our link.
My own sense of smell wasn’t the same as his. More than likely, his being the Alpha gave him super-sniffing ability as well. I sent him an image of Scooby Doo, getting a quick flash of me over his lap.
“Stop that, or everyone will smell me, human or not,” I admonished.
“Then don’t compare me to a damn dog.”
“Woof,” I joked, then stopped as we reached the table. In that moment, the knowledge that Kellen had diverted my attention registered. I was one lucky gal indeed. His hand slipped from mine as I took the remaining steps toward the pair.
One pair of amber eyes blinked up at me with so much knowledge, I swore the little girl’s wolf was letting me know she was there. “Hi. My name is Dr. Laikyn O’Neil. May I speak with you?” I pulled my gaze from the child to the mother.
Green eyes stared at me in alarm. “Is my husband okay? We just left him.” She asked in a shaky voice.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t have news about your husband. I actually wanted to ask you some questions. May I sit down?” I smiled, hoping to ease them.
The mother waved at the chairs across from them. “Mommy, she’s like daddy and me,” the little girl announced.
“What do you mean, Dakota?” Alarmed, the mother pulled the young girl onto her lap, staring at me like I’d grown two heads.
“I guess that answers one of our questions.” I didn’t look at Kellen as I spoke to him through our mate bond.
“Dakota. What a lovely name for a little girl.” I focused on the human mother. “What’s your name, miss?”
“Mommy, don’t be scared. Her wolf is much stronger than mine, and mine is not scared.”
The mother’s hand trembled, triggering my protective instincts. “We are not here to harm you. I am new to the hospital and happened to smell shifter in the elevator. My mate and I followed you down here to find out more. Where is your,” I looked to the child before continuing, “father?”
“Oh, god. What is going on? I thought he was the only one. We thought…I mean,” she whispered roughly. “Jared and I met in college at NDSU. I always knew he was different, but not that different. His senses were sharper, and he could run, jump, and do things much better than most others. He could have gone on to the NFL, but we got pregnant with this little nugget, and as the saying goes. The rest was history.” She took a ragged breath. “We are on vacation, hiking the Black Hills. It’ll be fun, he said.” She gave a hollow laugh. “There was a bear trap we didn’t see. I got on my cell phone right away. Within hours, they flew him here, but he’s not getting better. We don’t understand.” Tears streamed down her cheeks.
“What is your name?” Kellen growled.
Dakota stared at my mate, her eyes going wide. “Oh wow. You are even bigger than my daddy.”
Kellen squatted down to eye level. “My name is Kellen Styles. I’m what you would call the Alpha. Leader of the pack, if you will. What is your name, ma’am?” His blue eyes turned toward Dakota’s mother.
I watched the young woman squirm. “Irene Carpenter, and this is our daughter Dakota. Do you know what is wrong with Jared? Can you help us since you’re the Alpha or whatever?”
He shrugged massive shoulders. “Take me to him, and I’ll see what is going on. I make no promises, but between myself, Laikyn, and my pack, there is a chance.”
