“Creel’s a loner. Doesn’t care about anyone but himself.” Baldwin glanced at her. “Don’t worry, the Fenris Pack has the upper hand.”
But for how long, if the human authorities kept sending the worst of the worst to the local territory?
Miles strode up to them, his eyes a dark, stormy color. His lips quirked up in a smile when he saw Dakota, though.
“Let’s go,” he said. “You can ride with us.”
They walked back to his pickup truck, and Dakota went to climb into the back, but Miles held open the front passenger side door for her. She hesitated for a moment as Anders scrambled into the back.
“Don’t worry, I bite.” Miles grinned fiercely.
She favored him with a bland, pleasant smile. “It’s not the biting I’m afraid of. It’s just that bad pickup lines make me break out in hives, and I’m fresh out of Benadryl,” she said sweetly, and slid into her seat. She heard Anders strangling on a laugh.
“I like you,” Anders said, as Miles climbed into his seat and started the truck.
“We caught the two men who tried to take Sarah a little while ago,” Miles said. “They’re actually from your pack. One of them is her husband. At least, that’s what he said right before we killed him.”
“Herhusband?” Dakota said in disbelief. “She’sthirteen.And frankly, she’s so malnourished she looks like she’s nine. He’s lying, right?”
“Nope. We did a little checking, called and talked to Ludwik. He admitted that he just sold her to this Rory slimebag and told Rory to come up here and claim her.”
“He sold his own granddaughter? How could he?”
“He claimed he thought he was doing her a favor, since she didn’t have her uncle to look after her anymore. Also said that she always had a smart mouth and needed a husband to knock the sass out of her. In other words, he’s a slimebag.”
Dakota’s stomach lurched. “Don’t call that creep her husband. That’s gross. I’m glad he never got his filthy paws on her.” Then a thought occurred to her. The Montenegro pack were obviously horrifyingly mercenary and regarded their females as property. “Her grandfather won’t try to come up here and take her to, like, re-sell her, will he?”
Miles let out a low growl. “I told him that she’s now under Fenris protection, so if he wants to keep his heart inside his chest, he won’t.”
Then he glanced at her, puzzled. “You’re part of the Montenegro pack. Didn’t you know about that tradition?”
She winced. Who knew that living a lie would be so complicated? “You heard what Sarah said. Our packs don’t really speak to each other. I mean, you’ve seen what a slimebag Ludwik is.”
Miles seemed to accept that, and they drove in silence until he pulled up in front of her cabin.
She climbed out. “Thanks for the ride,” she said, and hurried off before he could turn that into some kind of sarcastic innuendo that would hurt her feelings because of how little he was really offering her. She paused on the doorstep.
You can never come home, Dakota.
Well, this was her home for now, so she’d have to make the best of it.
Chapter Nine
Macy and David arrived with pastries and coffee, and everybody joined them outside on a picnic table near the cabin.
“You can thank David for breakfast,” Macy said with a big smirk.
“You are a prince among men,” Dakota said to David as they sat down at the table. David sat between her and Macy, the children settled in, and Naomi plopped down across from them.
“How are things going?” Macy said. “Big bad wolf hasn’t eaten you yet?”
Naomi choked on her coffee and it sprayed on the table in front of her.
Dakota kicked her under the table. She stared at Macy with narrowed eyes. “I do not know of what you are speaking.”
“I bet if she’s using her fancy words, she’s lying,” Sailor piped up. “Grownups talk fancy talk when they’re lying.”
“She’s a smart one,” Naomi said admiringly, and Sailor favored her with a small smile.
