“I heard there’s a hundred!” Purcell said eagerly. “And when Miles is dead, my dad’s going to take over the Fenris Pack.”
“There can’t even be a hundred people on a bus. There’s no bus that big. And the Fenris Pack would eat your dad for lunch. Dumbass,” one of the other boys sneered.
Dakota jumped in to stop the brewing fight, but she felt worry twist deep inside her. Miles had given them a ride to the schoolhouse that morning and hadn’t mentioned a thing. She was sure the kids were exaggerating about ten people coming to challenge him, but Miles had a death challenge today.
Would she feel it if Miles were hurt? Or if he died? Somehow she thought she would.
During lunch, she went outside and asked Jefferson what had happened.
“Three shifters challenged him.” Jefferson shrugged, not even bothering to look up from his magazine. “He took them out.”
“Three? Is that unusual?”
“Yeah. More of them seem to be finding their way up here these days. It’s fine. He’ll handle it.”
She went back inside, worry twisting in her stomach.
Chapter Twelve
The evening was cool, and the scent of woodsmoke drifted from the fire pit in the middle of the clearing.
The cubs were in the cabin, eating dinner that Naomi had cooked for them. Dakota was wandering aimlessly…or maybe not that aimlessly. She found herself drawn towards the woods just north of the clearing, because she sensed that Miles was there. He hadn’t come around to not-court her that evening, but she didn’t take it personally. Fighting off three challengers would leave him emotionally drained and hardly in the mood for company.
As she drew closer to Miles’s cabin, she heard Anders and Baldwin talking in low tones. They were just around the corner, but she could hear them easily.
“He’s better when he’s with her,” Anders said. “Wish he’d stop being such a stubborn, stupid ass about it.”
“You’re right,” Baldwin said. “With all these fights, I was afraid that he was going to go right over the edge, even with me trying to help him. But when she’s with him, it seems to draw some of the darkness out.”
Were they talking about her?
“They’d better be,” she heard herself whisper. The thought of Miles with another woman made the fangs itch in her gums.
It had to be her. The thought that she could help Miles, the thought that he needed her on some level, sent a deep warmth pooling in her belly.
“I don’t know how much longer we can go on like this, though.” She could hear the tension in Anders’ voice. “I wish Creel would take on some of these fights. Not that I’d ever tell Miles that.”
“Creel won’t bother, because he doesn’t care about law and order and keeping the territory safe,” Baldwin said. “Miles goes out of his way to find the troublemakers.”
“Creel’s a self-centered sack of shit,” Anders growled. Their voices were getting closer, and they came around the corner of the cabin and stopped talking when they saw Dakota.
She smiled as if she hadn’t just eavesdropped on them, and gestured at Baldwin. “Can you come to my cabin with me?” she said. “Naomi needs you.”
“She does?”
“Yes, she just doesn’t know it yet.”
Baldwin looked confused, but let her lead him to the cabin anyway.
Dakota pulled the door open and bellowed “Naomi!”
Naomi came into the entryway and froze on the spot as soon as she saw Baldwin.
Dakota gave her an innocent smile and blinked hard. “Remember we had a certain agreement that if I talked to a certain someoneagain, you would— Don’t you back away from me, Naomi, I know where you sleep. I am staying here with the cubs. You are going through with your end of the bargain.”
“Eep.” For once, Naomi was speechless.
* * * * *
