by Dannika Dark
“Oh, no,” she quickly agreed. “That would be disastrous. Your pack showing up on tribal land might scare off our only prospect. I’ll talk to my mother. She can help around the store, but too much physical work might flare up her bad hip. Do you think Naya would mind pitching in? She’s so good with this kind of thing and—”
“We can trust her,” I said, already liking the idea. Naya wasn’t a snitch and didn’t like men trampling all over a woman’s right to do things on her own. My family didn’t need to know every detail about what was going on in Oklahoma, especially if it could put Lakota in danger.
“Call me if there’s anything I can do,” she said. “But don’t worry about the store. I’ve got that covered.”
She’d put my mind at ease. We couldn’t postpone our opening, which meant she would have to do the work of two people to get things in order. But that was Hope, someone I could always count on. “You’re the best, you know that?”
“Spread the rumor,” she quipped.
“Hope?”
“Yes?”
“Um, how did the windows look this morning?”
“Sparkling. Call me if you need anything.”
I had a feeling that Hope was being just as evasive and supportive as I was. Hopefully the graffiti someone had left was a onetime deal, but it made me uncomfortable at the thought of leaving her alone. At least Lennon and Hendrix would be there to look out for her.
When I ended the call, my heart sank. I didn’t have the courage to tell her that Shikoba was never going to lock in a deal with us, and that made me feel twice as guilty for all the hard work she was doing. But Hope needed to focus on the store and remain positive. She had a tendency to let misfortune get the best of her. If I had to call her former dealer and pay him what he wanted for the final shipment, then so be it. Surely there had to be someone else out there who dealt with Shifters.
A knock sounded at the door, and before I could turn, it opened.
Lakota came in and sat down on the edge of the tub in front of me. “Everyone’s outside setting up. The elders are gathered in prayer while the women are preparing the body for burial. We should probably pay our respects.” He glanced at the phone in my hand. “Who did you call?”
“Hope. Don’t worry, she doesn’t know what’s really going on.”
“You didn’t call your pack?”
I shook my head.
“That’s good,” he said. “That would be like throwing kerosene on a fire, and this tribe’s in no state of mind to be confronted by a pack they don’t know. As for the locals, I don’t know what the hell they would do. Look, I know how it seems, but Shikoba’s not keeping you prisoner. He’s protecting you. Your pack would only bring danger.” Lakota regarded me for a moment. “Sometimes a wolf has to stand alone to find out what he’s made of.”
Tears glittered in my eyes. “I have to get home, Lakota. My dreams are crashing down around me.”
He reached out and gripped my hand tight. “Your life is more important than your dreams.”
A single tear rolled down my cheek. “My dreams are my life.”
Lakota pinned me with those beautiful topaz-blue eyes. “Trust the fates, Melody. They put you here for a reason.”
“To die?”
“I’m not going to let you die.”
His words caused a flutter in my belly. They weren’t just empty promises you said to make someone feel better. He meant them.
Turning away, I faced my reflection in the mirror. “I’ve almost died twice. Both times, you saved me. Maybe you shouldn’t have. What if I’m not meant to be here and I’m living on borrowed time? What if I was supposed to die in the Breed war all those years ago when that wolf attacked me? Maybe you interfered with the fates, so they tried again years later.”
There. I’d said it. The niggling thought in the back of my head that I’d carried with me for half my life.
I spun around. “Maybe I’m dreamwalking and none of this is real—it’s just a figment of my imagination because I can’t let go of life. What if I died and I’m refusing to let go? Maybe that’s why my dreams are crumbling.”
He rose before me like a tower and lowered his forehead until it touched mine. “You’re not a spirit. Don’t you think I would know if I had spooned a ghost?”
I chuckled softly and wiped my tears.
Lakota tenderly threaded my hair away from my face, his knuckles lightly brushing against my cheeks. “That’s survivor’s guilt talking. Other people died in the war, and you didn’t, so you feel like you’ve got to make something of your life, or it’s all for nothing. That’s not how it works, Mel.” He tipped his head to the side. “I’ve always seen you as a tough spirit, but now I’m getting to see a softer side. Remember when I said that my wolf has never found peace since that night I found you in the snowstorm?”
“Yeah.”
“I lied.”
Though I’d been looking at his mouth, I swung my gaze up to his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I had that same feeling one other time. It was the moment I walked into the bar yesterday and saw you sitting there. That same feeling. Like…” He shook his head. “I don’t know. I wish I knew the right words.”
Lakota knew the right words, but he couldn’t speak them aloud. He had the courage, but the situation with the tribe was too delicate. The moment he’d first laid eyes on her in that bar, his wolf practically vibrated beneath his skin, filling him with a sense of contentment he’d never thought possible. It was like coming home.
He’d always assumed that heroic act of rescuing a young girl was what had made his wolf respond, but he hadn’t felt the same magnetic pull when he’d saved her from a bloodthirsty wolf years prior. Then again, she was just a child at the time. On that winter’s night, Melody was on the cusp of becoming a woman, and his wolf had used his body to shield her from the deathly cold. In all his years working as a bounty hunter, he’d never been able to recreate that same rush. Not when he took down criminals, not even when he saved lives.
And he’d saved many lives.
Now that Melody had grown into a stunning young woman, he wasn’t sure where he stood. She beguiled him with her familiarity and unfamiliarity all at once. He knew her—but he didn’t. His wolf sensed her wolf for the first time, and they had an undeniable chemistry.
Or maybe it was the way her milky-green eyes looked at him with secrets behind those irises. He thought about those pouty lips and the way they’d latched on to his, making him burn for her. She fit perfectly against him, as if his body were made to protect her. He remembered the smell of her hair when he’d nuzzled close behind her while they slept together.
Slept.
Lakota had never imagined that simply holding a woman in bed could be so gratifying. How could sex possibly top hearing a woman’s heart beating against his chest—feeling the rise and fall of her breath as she entrusted him with her life?
For years he’d seen her as unbreakable and determined. Never once had it occurred to him that the reason behind her ambition had to do with the guilt of simply surviving something. That knowledge made Lakota feel closer to understanding her.
Yet one thing bothered him. Melody still hadn’t embraced her natural brown hair color. Lakota didn’t care if she shaved her head or dyed it silver; the vibrant shades had become her signature look. No, it was the reasoning behind it. She’d once confided in him that she colored her hair because she felt unremarkable.
Melody had no clue just how remarkable she was—how infectious her creativity and love for life was to those around her. She possessed a warrior’s heart and always wanted to be equal to men in every regard. She chased her dreams, even at the risk of failing, and held on to life with such ferocity that she shone brighter than any star in the sky. How could she possibly believe that her looks defined her worth as a woman?
It was puzzling how she and Hope had become such fast friends. Melody was the risk-taker, whereas Hope was more concerned about disappointi
ng people. His sister had a gracious heart, and that goodness made him want to intervene in their business affairs. What kind of brother would he be if he didn’t do everything within his power to make her happy? That gave him pause about the whole Shikoba situation. Somehow he needed to make it right.
But he also had a job to do.
Lakota opened the back door to Shikoba’s property. Melody had opted to return to the kitchen and stay out of sight. Koi’s wolf was lying on a bed of flowers, surrounded by women. Someone had cleaned the blood from his fur and stitched up the wounds.
One at a time, each of Koi’s packmates approached his body, knelt, and honored him with private farewells. As they rose, they sliced a dagger across their hearts, and rivulets of blood trailed down their chests. Koi’s mother sat close, and each packmate bestowed her with a gift, as was their custom. Some brought her food, while others gave trinkets or tokens. When a Shifter died, he remained in whatever form he was in at the time of death. It must have been hard for the family not to see his human face again, but they treated his wolf with the utmost respect.
Tak met him at the door, feathers in his hair and paint across his chest. “Come.”
Lakota glanced at the old mother. “I don’t have a gift.”
Tak wrapped his arm around his shoulders and led him toward the body. “You brought her the most sacred gift of all—her son. My father doesn’t deal with the Council, so had you not gone, we never would have gotten him back.”
When Tak branched away, Lakota knelt in front of the grieving mother and bowed his head. He whispered a prayer in his native tongue and then rested his hand on the flowers beneath Koi.
Lakota’s throat closed when the mother’s hand covered his and moved it onto Koi’s head. She said something in her language to the effect of “My son’s spirit wolf is free now.” He couldn’t understand all of it, but when she finished, he stood up and searched for Shikoba.
Majestic trees that bordered the expansive grounds swayed, sending a kaleidoscope of fractured light onto the grass. A few trees had round slices of wood nailed to them that served as target practice for archers. Lakota glanced at the small cabin across from the house, near the tree line. Single ladies stayed there during their heat cycle to have privacy. Any good pack had something similar set up. Otherwise their hormonal impulses might cause them to make reckless decisions that could lead to pregnancy. A woman could only get pregnant while in heat; any time outside that was rare. Lakota had been around a woman in heat once or twice, and damn, it was a powerful thing. Their pheromones were an aphrodisiac, and unmated men—weak men—would say anything to seduce them.
He spotted Shikoba speaking to one of the elders. Not wanting to interrupt, Lakota nodded at him that he was ready to talk.
After Shikoba wrapped up his conversation, he gripped his cane and headed over. “Let’s take this inside.”
Melody would be fine in the kitchen, but he still didn’t like leaving her alone, especially not after the way Kaota had come at her so aggressively. Just thinking about those marks on her arm made Lakota’s wolf snarl.
When they reached Shikoba’s private sitting room, they took their seats.
Shikoba propped his cane between his legs and gripped the wooden arms of the chair. “What did you find out, and what is the Council saying?”
Each territory had a local Council comprised of a small group of Shifters. They enforced the laws in the area and tried to keep order, but the tribe lived outside their laws.
“They called in a Vampire to scrub the memory of the animal control guy,” Lakota said. “They were going to do an autopsy and give a report to police, so the Council made sure that didn’t happen.”
“And what will the police say when they get no report?”
“Shit gets lost all the time.” Lakota moved his legs farther apart and turned his gaze toward a painting of a warrior on horseback. “The local packs are crying foul, saying the tribes are nothing but rapists and murderers and that the Council is sweeping it under the rug. They’re accusing you of the deaths of the women, but that’s been a quiet rumor for some time now.”
Shikoba touched one of his thin braids. “Some things never change. We have lived here for many lifetimes, and outsiders have wanted our land for centuries. The soil is good, the stream plentiful with fish, and the woods abundant with animals to hunt. They have been waiting for this day. And do you know what casts a black cloud over all this?”
“What?”
“That they might be right about the killer.” Shikoba drew in a deep breath. “I love my people, but even the most trusted man can blacken his spirit with envy, lust, or hate.”
Lakota’s thoughts briefly turned to his birth father. “If that’s true, you can’t shelter him to protect your people. You have to follow their laws and turn him in. I’m not saying you know who it is, but keep an open mind.”
Shikoba jerked forward. “If I find out one of my men was responsible, I will kill him myself!” he thundered, slamming the bottom of his cane against the wood floor. “And if it was Koi”—he shook his head—“it would shame his poor mother more than you know. We were unable to tell whether the woman made those marks on him in self-defense or if he took his own life. Out of respect for his mother, we didn’t want to shave his fur to inspect them closer.”
“You have to get to the bottom of this,” Lakota advised. “Let me go out to the crime scene.”
“And what good will that do? The humans have trampled all over it.”
“The rain and humidity will make it easy to pick up lingering scents. We need to scout the area for tracks and evidence. Maybe we can’t prove who’s guilty, but we should at least prove that Koi is innocent. I come from a long line of skilled trackers, and—”
“I’ll send Tak with you. He’s an alpha with a keen nose. Let him be the one to shift.”
“I’ll call the Council and make it happen. Since one of your packmates is dead, they have to honor your right to a fair investigation.”
“All this publicity,” Shikoba murmured. “And what of the white woman? Who will watch her while you’re gone? My people are grieving.”
Lakota gripped the arms of the chair. “She’ll come with me. I’ll keep an eye on her. She’s not going to run off in the woods with her car still here.”
In truth, he could have left her alone, but without knowing who was behind the murders, he didn’t want to take the chance. The only way Lakota could keep her safe was to keep her close.
“We can’t take the road out while those men are still there,” Lakota remarked while rubbing his chin. “The bodies were found ten miles north, just beyond your territory near the Sanderson pack. Lend me one of your horses, and we’ll go out the back way. I’ll call the Council and make sure the crime scene is clear.”
“And how do you know they won’t set a trap? You can’t trust the Council.”
“I don’t think they want a confrontation any more than we do.”
What Lakota failed to mention was that he had a contact within the Council who knew his identity. With the higher authority being a higher level of law, the Council was sworn to secrecy when it came to investigative matters. They had no jurisdiction over bounty hunters hired by the higher authority.
“And you trust this woman not to run?” Shikoba pressed. “Not to scream for help or turn on you?”
Lakota leaned forward, propping his forearms on his knees. “Malevolence isn’t exclusive to any one skin color, Breed, or gender. If you are judging her based on her skin, then you are no better than the rest of them.”
“We are holding her against her will. She does not understand the hatred that has festered among some of the older packs, and since she’s an outsider, they might want to punish her and use her as an example.”
“Let me take the woman and give your family time to grieve alone. You have my word that I won’t let anything happen to her. We’ll be back before the ceremony tonight. She won’t run. I can promise you that.”
“I have no reason to trust her,” Shikoba said matter-of-factly. “But I trust your wolf. You brought my nephew home and gave peace to his family. Go find out what you can and bring me this information. I only hope we have not angered the spirits in some way.”
Lakota hoped the same, or else it could all end in bloodshed.
Chapter 11
“Whose idea was it to bring me along on this fun-filled horseback adventure?” I held on tight to Lakota, my rear end as sore as everything.
We climbed a hill, and Lakota hugged his calves against the horse, holding the reins and coaxing him on.
When he ignored me, I kept talking. “Shouldn’t I be the one in the front?”
“Maybe she would rather hold on to a man and not a boy,” Tak suggested with a peal of laughter. “It’s not too late to ride with me, little flower.” He raced ahead of us. When his white horse crested the hill, she whinnied and pawed at the ground.
My thighs hadn’t been this sore since the last time I played laser tag with my brothers. It had been at least two hours since we’d left, though it felt more like ten. The lack of wind wasn’t helping, nor was the occasional mosquito. What I wouldn’t give to be back home.
Poor Hope was probably breaking her back setting up the store while I was busy riding to a crime scene on horseback, my arms wrapped around her brother’s midsection. What has my life become?
We finally ascended the hill and continued our journey on level ground.
I tugged Lakota’s hair. “How many people live in the tribe?”
Lakota peered over his shoulder. “Hundreds. They’re spread apart in different territories. Same tribe.”
I wiped the sweat from my brow.
“There’s no escape,” Tak added, giving me a stern look. “No running.” He galloped ahead of us, his long braid flapping against his bare back.