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“Got anything stronger?”
“Coffee?”
“I mean booze.”
Since she didn’t seem the type to apologize, Anna’s willingness to appear on my doorstep was the equivalent of flashing neon letters that spelled out ‘trouble.’
“Sure. Follow me.” I walked to the kitchen and opened the cupboard where I stashed a few bottles of alcohol. “Gin and tonic okay?” I drew the line at offering her the good stuff Kane had procured for me. Puck’s Pleasure was for special occasions, and Anna’s unexpected visit didn’t qualify.
She took the liberty of opening the fridge to inspect the contents. “Got any beer?”
“Help yourself,” I said, because it seemed she intended to do exactly that.
Anna pulled a bottle from the shelf and yanked the cap off with her teeth. I waited patiently as she took a long swig.
“West is in trouble,” she finally said. “I don’t know who else to tell.”
“Is this trouble related to the wolves that attacked you?”
She nodded as she swallowed another generous mouthful. “The wolves that attacked me, they aren’t from Fairhaven.”
“I gathered that from when you chased them back from whence they came, but they attacked you. Why is West in trouble?”
Anna glugged more beer before answering. “They’re from West’s hometown in Minnesota.”
A chill ran through me as I recalled West’s history. His dad had been the alpha of their local pack when his family was killed by a challenger. Only West managed to escape.
“You think they’re here for West? It could be a coincidence.”
“They started asking me questions about him at Monk’s. I told them I’d never heard the name before. That’s how the fight broke out. They didn’t believe me. They followed me outside and kicked the shit out of me, trying to get me to tell them the truth.”
“Why didn’t you fight back?”
“Because I didn’t want to draw attention to the incident by beating them to bloody pulps. I thought they’d take out their frustration on me, realize they were mistaken, and disappear.”
I folded my arms. “When have you ever met a wolf that gave up that easily?”
“It was wishful thinking; I see that now. I was only trying to protect West.”
“Is that why you didn’t tell West the truth?”
Her expression grew pained. “I knew it was a mistake not to warn him. They were scouts. They tracked him here for their alpha.”
“And you’re worried they reported back to him already?”
She nodded. “I tracked them to Bone Lake to kill them so they couldn’t share West’s location.” She drained the bottle dry. “Obviously, you know I failed.”
“Why not tell West now? Why come to me?”
“Because West’s original pack was much bigger than ours. If they come back to finish the job their alpha started, they won’t stop until it’s done.”
“You’re asking for my help?” The request was so unlike Anna that I didn’t know how to respond.
“West would skin me alive if he knew I’d run to anyone outside the pack to save us, especially you.”
“I’m flattered, but you need to tell West. You’ve endangered your whole pack by keeping it a secret this long.”
Her face hardened. “You don’t need to tell me. I wrestled with what to do, believe me. It isn’t easy to be here right now, asking for an outsider to help us.”
