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ChapterTwo
DONOVAN
Rein it in Donovan, I told myself. And I had to, needing to calm the animal within.
I didn’t need this shit now. Not after the past few days I’d spent checking up on Harrison during the recent meeting with the alliance.
“Say again?” I asked Luke, the young wolf who helped Grace in the garage a few days a week before and after school.
“Grace said a stranger entered the town about thirty minutes ago, claiming her car had broken down on the outskirts. Grace has gone with her to tow it back to the garage, and she told me to come and tell you.”
“A female stranger?”
“Yes, Alpha.”
This kid.“Luke, I’ve told you not to call me that. Donovan is fine.”
“Yes, sir. I mean, Donovan.”
The gangly youth didn’t act like wolfkin, always scared of his own shadow. At least he’d stopped stuttering when he began working for Grace, her patience giving him the confidence to work through it. Our resident mechanic, who I’d known since she was a baby, might be unusual in the sense that she was a human born to wolfkin, but she knew how to live among us. And she knew how to deal with young teenagers who also struggled to do so.
As an Alpha, every wolf and every human under my protection mattered. We all worked together to make life work in Moonlight Creek, and the news of such a stranger showing up out of the blue made me defensive.
“Alright,” I said eventually, shoving a hand through my short sandy hair. It had lightened some with the sun recently during a recent business trip down south. On my way back, I’d attended the meeting, spent a few days with the alliance, then came home to this.
I leaned back into the coziness of the chair I’d ordered for my office. It had been on special order for a week. Tammy at the furniture store had ordered it in from the catalog. I was relieved and grateful they hadn’t only delivered it but put it together ready to use, too.
Having things delivered to a warehouse several miles away, accessed by a back road, and a place where some of the townfolk traveled back and forth for collection of deliveries, made staying off the radar a hell of a lot easier. And even though I was good with woodwork, I needed a chair made for comfort because of the number of hours I was putting in at the office lately when not traveling across the county. But that wasn’t Luke’s fault. Me being tired and annoyed wasn’t his fault either. “Go do the rounds and tell everyone to be on alert. I want you to spread the word that I’m still out of town and I plan to return tomorrow.”
“Everyone knows you’re back already,” Luke said, confused.
“I know that, Luke. But I want them to act like I haven’t returned yet. The stranger is probably someone needing help, and if that’s the case, me being here or not won’t mean jack. Tell Grace to delay whoever the hell they are and to get me the details from the woman’s license plate and her name, her description, anything she can.”
“Yes, sir… Donovan,” he quickly added.
“And tell people to be nice. Act welcoming. We’ll get more out of her with honey than vinegar.”
Luke smiled. “Okay. I’ll go now.” He hesitated. “Do you believe she’s a threat to us?”
“No. But many people don’t get lost so far from the highway. And hardly any get lost enough to find our creek.”
“So we’re being cautious?”
“Yes, we are. For her sake, and our own.”
Luke said nothing more, waving goodbye as he hurried out of the door to do my bidding.
Pondering, I looked at my window built from floor to ceiling and what looked out upon the forest bordering the town. That’s why I picked this building for the main offices and where people could come and host meetings if the town hall was in use.
Both me and my wolf thrived in nature, and when we couldn’t be among it, looking upon dense evergreens was a comforting temporary backup.
I waited for the information from Grace. Once I got the information, I had several threads to pull. I had contacts. And I’d have the background on this so-called woman in need in less than twenty-four hours. Even less time if her plates gave me what I wanted. From the license number, I could get her registration. From that, I would get her name. From her name, my connections and money could get a whole lot more.
It paid to be on guard. I’d learned that the hard way during my many years of existence. I might only look in my early thirties, but wolfkin lived a long time. And since I’d moved the pack across borders to create Moonlight Creek, I’d protected the town and its inhabitants against every threat. And especially any threats linked to Gideon Fletcher. I always monitored the fucker, fully aware he’d tried to hunt us down over the years.
Gideon’s whereabouts hadn’t changed much since he’d invested in his casino—a building he’d erected from scratch and had the nerve to call Green Springs; our old pack name. But aside from the criminal activities he had his fingers dipped into, Gideon kept it small-time: loan sharking on the side and pouring most of his profits into his pretentious mansion and giggling groupies on the side. He played in the right circles and had politicians in his pocket, controlled a few local business owners with fear, and paid rogue wolves to work for him, getting the most vicious to do his dirty work. Wolves and mercenaries like Victor Hyde.
At the thought of Victor, I rubbed at my chest, irritated by the pain that settled there. Old memories returned, and I embraced them, needing the reminder of the path that brought me here. But the thought of my former friend wouldn’t bring me any peace. Not after what he’d done. And not when he continued to sit in my enemy’s pocket.
