Dakota stood outside the general store, racking her brains.
Could she take the kids with her? Where would they go? Sarah’s grandfather would pursue her because he wanted to sell her. She couldn’t protect them on her own.
And what about all her new friends? What would happen to them if the territory descended into chaos? Naomi had just found happiness with Baldwin, and she would want to stay with him no matter what. And Naomi had been a loyal friend. And Anthea wouldn’t leave. And Macy wouldn’t leave.
She wanted to stay here. She had friends here. People she cared about.
Well, she couldn’t just sit here and wait for things to get worse. The humans would keep sending up the worst of the worst, and eventually they’d outnumber the Fenris Pack and its allies.
She headed into the east side of the territory. The border started at the east end of the town square. She’d never been there before, and she had no idea where she was going, so she just followed the broad dirt road. She paused to strip off her clothing and shift, running with her clothing clenched in her jaws.
Unlike the roads in the western part of town, this road had branches scattered across it and patches of weeds poking through. With no single pack in charge, nobody bothered keeping it cleared. About half a mile down the road, she scented a group of shifters up ahead, so she shifted back and put her clothes back on.
A short distance later, she came upon what apparently served as the territory’s town center. There was a jaggedly uneven clearing, and in the center of it was a bar called the Rusty Nail, and a building with a hand-painted sign that said “The Trading Post.” Both of them were built from felled logs with the bark still peeling off them, and what looked like mud daubed in the chinks.
Several dozen male shifters and half a dozen females were gathered in the clearing, watching two shifters fight. Creel was sitting on a felled oak tree, drinking a beer and ignoring them.
Dakota took a deep breath and marched right up to him.
He flashed her a look of annoyance.
“You’re Miles’s woman. What are you doing in my territory?”
She glanced around to see that the shifters who’d been watching the fight were starting to drift her way.
She turned her attention to Creel again and gave him a pained smile. “I missed you too. I am my own woman, thank you very much. And I came to talk to you about the problem facing our territory.”
Creel took a long swig of the beer.. “Our territory? Miles might have a problem. I don’t.”
She gestured at the group of shifters who were now gathered around her in a circle. She spotted a few Alphas, but Creel was the only Alpha Prime in sight. “You’re losing people almost as fast as they’re arriving. The humans are deliberately setting you guys up to fight each other. Why would you fall for that kind of manipulation?’
“I’m not afraid of a fight,” Creel snarled.
“That isn’t the issue, and you know it. You’ve got this disorganized group who are fighting each other here, and fighting packs in the west, over nothing. The eastern territory isn’t building, you’re not progressing, you’re just existing day by day. You have this huge, gorgeous territory, this chance to start over and build something amazing, and you’re throwing it away.”
“She’s right,” one of the Alphas said.
Creel spun to glare at him.
“You want me to kill you right now?” he snapped.
The Alpha swallowed hard and bowed his head in submission. “If my death is what it takes to bring peace to this territory, then I am willing to make that sacrifice. I’m not as strong as you. I would die and leave my wife a widow and my cubs orphans. But that’s going to happen anyway if the humans keep setting us up to kill each other off.”
“Donal is right,” another shifter said. “Why are we doing the humans’ dirty work?”
Creel stood up and hurled his beer bottle against a tree, where it shattered.
“You bunch of pansies want to braid each other’s fur and sing Kumbaya, go ahead. I don’t give a damn about any of you anyway,” he snarled, and stalked off.
Dakota turned to face the assembled crowd.
“You can all refuse to fight each other!” she pleaded. “There are other ways to solve your disputes!”
“Screw that bitch!” an angry voice bellowed from the back of the crowd. “That’s Miles’s woman, and I’m going to claim her, right now!” It was Fargo, standing there naked and bleeding from the scalp. He’d been one of the wolves fighting when she’d arrived, but he’d shifted back into human form. He stalked towards her, fists clenched, lips contorted in a snarl…and several other males joined him.
Dakota felt a chill of fear wash over her. Had she made a fatal error?
The men muscled their way through the crowd, and she stood her ground, ready to shift and fight. She’d make them kill her before she let them take her prisoner.
