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“No,” I said. “Why trust me with this? You should give it to someone else. I don’t want it.”
“I can sense your wolf. This is just as dangerous to you as it is to any of us. If it got out there, you’re just as vulnerable. Maybe more since you’ve likely got a list of enemies that rivals my own. You’ve got a lot of reasons to keep it safe,” he said.
“Half wolf,” I said, feeling the familiar pang of inadequacy that always accompanied that confession. “I’m only half. I don’t even have a pack. I don’t belong in your world.”
“You do,” he said. “You’re pack now.”
I blinked at him, not sure I’d heard him correctly. I was a half shifter, shunned from birth. My father had been cast out of his pack and I’d never looked for them. I never even tried to belong.
“Welcome to the High Moon Pack,” he said. “As the new keeper, you’re one of us now.”
I tensed as a million thoughts raced through my mind. “I can’t shift.”
“Lola claimed you as pack when she wrote your name on this paper. In the High Moon Pack, we take care of our own. Even if they can’t shift.”
“That’s insane, you don’t even know me. Why trust me with this responsibility?” I asked.
“Lola trusted you, so I trust you,” he said.
A knock sounded on the door. “Skylar, we gotta get moving.”
“Your babysitter calls,” Xander said. “I know the law prevents me from joining you, but I’m here if you need me. Any time. Pack protects pack.”
A shiver ran though me. I wasn’t sure I believed him and it was too much to process all at once. Had I really been taken in by a pack? Did I want to be part of a pack?
“Skylar,” Elias called through the closed door.
There wasn’t time to figure this out now. I would keep the stone safe for Lola’s sake and figure out the rest later. “I don’t have any leads. Who would be after this stone? Who else might know about it?”
“Last time there was an attempt to take it, the Clover Coven was directly involved,” he said.
“You have got to be shitting me,” I said.
“You asked,” he said. “If they are involved, it’s going to mean war. I have to alert the rest of the pack.”
“No, not yet,” I begged. “Give me one more night. This will be easier to solve if word doesn’t get out that a bunch of wolves are on the trail. I don’t want the killer to leave town if they haven’t already.”
“That’s asking a lot, you know that,” he said. “Lola deserves justice and you deserve the protection from you pack.”
There it was again, the insistence that I was part of his pack. Flutters filled my insides at the thought of spending more time with the alpha. I tightened my jaw, sending the distractions from my mind. I was letting him throw off my focus. Which was another reason I didn’t need him interfering right now.
“I need to do this for Lola. And myself,” I admitted. “Just one more night. If I don’t find the killer, I’ll be locked up and out of your hair.”
“Alright. I’ll wait on sharing about Lola if you swear you’ll let me know if you need help,” he said.
“I will.” I stood.
He closed the distance between us in one large stride. “Be careful with that stone. Don’t let it fall into the wrong hands. We’re counting on you.”
I was standing so close to him, I could feel his warm breath on my face. He smelled like leather and pine, as if he spent hours outdoors. It was intoxicating. I wanted to breathe him in for days.
The door opened. “Skylar, those shifters are going to be pissed when they wake and I don’t think we should be here when that happens.”
I was still standing right next to Xander and I jumped at Elias’s words, quickly moving away from the shifter.
“Did I interrupt? Is this some kind of wolf thing? Do you two need to sniff each other some more?” He grinned as he leaned against the door jamb.
Xander’s nose brushed against my neck and I heard him inhale.
“What the fuck?” I moved away. My cheeks heated. Hadn’t I done the same thing to him? Not that I’d admit it. “Just because he’s being a dick doesn’t mean you need to play along.”
“It sounded like a good idea,” Xander said.
“Shifters,” I said, rolling my eyes. When I’d caught his scent I hadn’t been creepy about it.
“Careful, sweetheart, you’re one of us, even if it’s only half,” he said. “Take care of that stone. And take care of yourself.”
I closed my fingers around the rock in my pocket, feeling the emotional burden of the prize. It was a lot of responsibility. The problem was, whoever had killed Lola wasn’t just aware of Lola’s connection to her brother, they’d also be looking for me. I couldn’t keep the stone on me, either. And it would be safer if Xander didn’t know where it was in case they came for him.
There was only one thing I could think of to keep the stone safe. And it involved placing it under the care of a human.
