Daisy nodded in understanding. “We didn’t leave with him. He was a close friend of Hank’s and the one who found his body not long after we left. He managed to track us and show up in Malsum Pass just after we did. He tried to get us to bring us back but he was killed by a bear.”
Alek leaned his own head back and blew out his breath. “I’ll contact my people and get them started on some new identities for you and Lily.” Turning his head slightly, he smiled and squeezed her hand again before he released it and put the vehicle in gear.
When they pulled into the driveway of Mrs. Potter’s house, Alek pulled his SUV back into the barn and turned off the engine. The interior dark now that they were in the barn, just a bit of light shining through the doorway from the house. Daisy heard a click and then felt her seatbelt slide away. She didn’t hesitate to move into his arms. She needed the contact. Needed to feel his strong arms around her after mentally reliving that night. She nuzzled into his neck and breathed in his cologne, a thought finally occurring to her now that the chaos of her earlier fears had passed. She remembered the morning she had almost touched his chest, how his eyes had changed. The suspicion had begun to form even then, but she had been distracted and then later explained it away. After all, humans did occasionally have eyes that changed color depending on their moods. Silly Daisy, humans have better instincts than you. She could almost hear her mother’s voice berating her and she pushed it away. She didn’t want to think about that while she was being held in the arms of a man she found so intriguing. “You’re a shifter too, aren’t you? You wear the cologne to mask your scent.”
“Mmhm,” he murmured his agreement as he rubbed his face against her hair.
She chuckled. “Feline?” She asked, though considering the way he was rubbing against her she would be surprised to find out he was anything but.
His answer was a deep purr that sent shivers down her spine and her inner cat seemed to stretch in contentment. Her attraction to this male made so much sense. Her feline recognized him on a primal level.
Feeling his lips moving past her ear to her jawline she turned her head to touch his mouth with hers. Kissing him was so thrilling. It caused an ache low in her belly; another lower still that had her wanting to cross her legs and squeeze her thighs together.
One of his hands cupped the back of her neck and he nipped lightly at her bottom lip before he broke the kiss. He let out a resigned sigh. “I should walk you home, it’s late.”
Daisy glanced at the digital display on the dash and grimaced. It was much later than she thought and Lily would worry. She nodded with regret. She didn’t want to leave. She didn’t want to go back to their small cabin and sleep in her cold bed. She wanted to stay with Alek, but she wouldn’t do that to her sister.
Sighing she opened the door flooding the vehicle with light. The intrusion was an unwelcome reminder of reality. Before she was fully out of the vehicle, Alek was by her side. It reminded her of earlier when she had tumbled out of the car. He’d been to her in what seemed like seconds. “Man, you’re fast,” she joked, “cheetah?”
Alek laughed, but before he could answer he stiffened, his entire body on alert. Daisy could actually feel the tension practically vibrating through him. She looked around, engaging her own senses. That was when she could smell it. Lily was here as well as at least one wolf, possibly more. That, combined with lights still on in the house when it was well past the hour Mrs. Potter would have retired had her saying “Something’s wrong.”
Making their way to the house, the door opened when they mounted the steps to the porch. Lily and Tarvahl Pierce stepped out followed by Conner Pierce and Riley Cooper. Tarvahl spoke up, “Conner, you escort Lily and Daisy home. Riley and I need to talk to Mr. Stevens.”
Chapter Seventeen
Daisy didn’t want to leave. Not like this. Whatever this was, it just felt wrong. Things were too tense, as if the slightest change could trigger an explosion. She cleared her throat. “Could I have a moment to say goodnight to Alek?” She asked trying to keep her voice light.
Conner walked forward as if to grab her, a frown of determination on his face, but Lily gripped his arm to restrain him. “Say goodnight, Daisy, but you do it within our sight.” Her sister said. And then, with a glare at Alek, “There are things about him you don’t know.”
Daisy doubted that, but she wasn’t going to push the issue especially since Lily had kept Conner from possibly dragging her bodily away from Alek. Still trying to diffuse the tension she turned to Alek and stroked his arm. “This isn’t quite how I expected our date to end.” She said with a smile.
Leaning down, Alek kissed her forehead despite the low growl coming from one of the wolves. “I’ll get this sorted, little one. You go home and get some sleep.”
Nodding she turned and walked back down the steps not bothering to wait for Lily or Conner knowing they’d be right behind her. The walk was silent but she could feel Lily’s eyes on; knew Lily wanted to talk to her in the worst way but wouldn’t while Conner was there.
Once they reached the cabin, Daisy turned and spoke to Conner, “Thank you, guard wolf, for the escort.”
He growled. “I’ll stick close to this area tonight on patrol. I won’t let anyone near you.”
Lily snorted. “While I appreciate your enthusiasm, the man had her in his damn vehicle, Conner. He could have been god only knows where by now if it was his intention to make off with her. Instead he brought her home. I understand the caution but I think you all may be overreacting.”
“Fur traders are monsters, Lily. They’re the boogieman of the shifter world and if they’re here, every one of us is in danger.”
Daisy wasn’t sure what Conner meant by fur traders but she’d heard Alek just tonight refer to the group he was hunting as monsters. It couldn’t be coincidence. “He’s hunting them.” She volunteered. “He didn’t call them what you did, but he said he’s been hunting a group of monsters for years.”
Conner contemplated her for a moment. “You may trust him, but I don’t. Until we know for sure, the territory is on lock down. No one leaves and no one comes in. No exceptions.”
With that said, Conner nudged them deeper into the cabin and shut the door. Daisy was once again trapped. She sighed in resignation and went into the bedroom to flop face down on her bed. She heard Lily enter but didn’t look at her. “So what brought the cavalry crashing down to ruin my date?” She asked, her words muffled against the comforter.
Lily didn’t answer immediately. “I showed Tarvahl the picture of him in your sketchpad. I wanted to see if he knew him. You know, make sure he was a good guy since I figured you had to be interested if not already involved. How much do you know about this male, Daisy? How do you know you can trust him?”
Daisy rolled over and looked at her sister who had suffered so much at the hands of a male – who may never again trust a male. “I know he would never hurt us and I know he’s trying to help us.”
Lily frowned and sat on the bed next to Daisy’s hip. “What do you mean help us?” Then a look of suspicion, “You didn’t tell him…”
Daisy shook her head and took Lily’s hand in her own. “I didn’t need to tell him anything. He was hired by Kramer to find us.” When Lily’s grip tightened painfully on Daisy’s hand in panic she knew she’d started with the wrong piece of information. She quickly went on to tell her about Alek’s plan to give them new identities. Once Lily had relaxed sufficiently she told her the rest. “I trust him, Lily. He’s been watching us for quite a while. He could have snatched us at any time if he intended to turn us in. He wants to help us.”
“If you trust him, Daisy, then I’ll trust him.” Lily said and Daisy felt a jolt of pure love for her sister. She had always been told that her instincts were terrible, that she was a poor excuse for a feline, and Lily could have held that up as a valid reason not to trust Alek. The fact that she hadn’t was once again proof that her sister had never thought of her as less than.
&n
bsp; Lilly’s voice turned to a snarl as she continued, “But I know you have feelings for him and I swear if he breaks your heart I’ll break his head.”
Daisy laughed and hugged Lily hard. She’d expect nothing less from her fierce sister.
When Alek entered the house, Mrs. Potter was drinking tea despite the late hour. She eyed him over the edge of her cup before winking at him. Setting the cup down, she looked at Tarvahl and Riley Cooper before thumping the floor with her cane. “Whatever the problem is you will discuss it like gentleman with civil tongues in your heads or you will leave my property. Now take a seat. You’re hurting my neck.” Another thump of the cane and everyone did as she’d ordered.
Tarvahl eyed Mrs. Potter thoughtfully and she stared right back. Alek could almost guess what both people were thinking: Tarvahl Pierce wondering if he could get Mrs. Potter to leave the room and give them privacy while Mrs. Potter was like a mother protecting her cub; no way would she leave Alek alone with these men until she knew what was going on.
It was Tarvahl who finally broke eye contact, huffed a laugh, and shook his head. Clearing his throat he picked up a sketch pad from the coffee table, flipped it open, and handed it to Alek. Taking it he saw his own image staring back at him. He didn’t need to ask who’d drawn it. If the picture itself hadn’t given it away, he’d seen Daisy sketching outside enough times while he’d observed her from his perch to know the pad belonged to her. He had often wondered what she was drawing but he’d never dreamed she was this talented. Especially since she’d drawn his likeness to near perfection from memory. He was flattered but he also felt a kick of pride for the female who was so much more than she gave herself credit for. Daisy was a remarkable woman.
Tarvahl’s voice broke into his thoughts. “Do you want to explain to me how you acquired that particular mark?”
Alek put down the sketchpad and glanced between the two wolves. Well, hell, his cover was pretty blown when he laid it all out for Daisy anyway. “I was nine when the traders came to my village. They killed both my parents.” He shook his head. “They killed all of the adults and took the children.”
At Mrs. Potter’s horrified gasp he sent her an apologetic smile. “You don’t have to hear this, Eloise. I’ll be fine if you would rather head up to bed. Or we could go elsewhere if you’d prefer.”
Mrs. Potter banged her cane. “Nonsense. I’m not some wilting flower to succumb to the vapors.” Poking her cane at his leg she said, “Carry on.”
“I was raised in one of their training camps with several others. Trained and utilized until the raids back in 2011. Since being released I’ve been working with two other men, who were freed with me, to hunt down the remaining traders. It led me to Daisy.” He paused, wishing he was telling all of this to Daisy herself instead of to these males and a rather green looking Mrs. Potter. He wouldn’t hurt her pride though, by suggesting they continue the discussion without her.
“How did it lead you to Daisy?” The dark haired male with gray eyes who had been introduced as Riley Cooper asked.
“Her, ah, town leader back in Florida hired me to find her. He said that she and her sister had disappeared with a man and that the man was later killed, his body returned for burial.” Alek saw Tarvahl and Riley exchange glances and he knew that they knew exactly who he was talking about. He continued. “Money buys a lot of loyalty and it has become common practice among the traders to promise large sums of money to people who will bring them females of a breeding age.”
Mrs. Potter let out another gasp and he refilled her teacup and handed it to her wondering if he should offer to grab her secret stash of scotch. Once she’d taken a gulp he continued. “They no longer raid villages like mine. They’ve set up breeding programs instead. Captured juveniles like I was need to be broken first whereas babies raised to the life give loyalty unconditionally.”
“Monstrous,” Mrs. Potter whispered.
Tarvahl and Riley both looked rather pale. “Are they operating in this area?”
Alek shook his head. “No. We thought they might be, was why we took the case, but Daisy has assured me that the male didn’t coax them to go, merely followed and we’ve had no intel to suggest that the traders have any dealings in this state.”
Tarvahl nodded and stood, Riley following suit. “I’m sorry to have disturbed your evening, Mrs. Potter.”
She thumped her cane, though it seemed a weak effort. “From now on you boys call at a decent hour.”
Tarvahl turned his attention to him and Alek returned his look squarely. “I’d like you to come into town tomorrow, if you would. I’d like to discuss this a little more after a good night’s sleep.”
Alek nodded his understanding. Too many things left unsaid because of Mrs. Potter. “What time?”
“Nine should be fine, at the town office.” Tarvahl said as he walked toward the door.
Alek remained standing until the two males had left. When he sat, he saw that Mrs. Potter was looking at him with tears in her eyes. He kneeled before her and took her shaking hands in his. “The raid in 2011,” she whispered, her voice filled with emotion. “I remember watching the coverage on the news. So many raids. The government thought they were breaking up terrorist camps but uncovered a human trafficking ring. The abuse those people had suffered… Oh, you poor boy.”
Alek wrapped his arms around her and comforted her as she cried. This strong, vibrant, wise woman was crying for him, for all the pain he endured, and he felt his throat close with emotion. How had two small females managed to twist him around their fingers so easily?
Chapter Eighteen
Alek was escorted into council chambers at precisely nine o’clock the following morning and shown a seat where he would be facing the twelve council members. Tarvahl Pierce and Riley Cooper, whom he had met the night before, were among the twelve, as were two females. Alek couldn’t help but smile at that. Was it any wonder that Daisy and Lily had chosen to stay here after what they had known previously? Here, women weren’t seen as less. Here, women had a voice and they used it.
Tarvahl didn’t bother with pleasantries as he got down to business. “Coop and I,” he began, motioning to the other male, “have filled everyone in on what you told us last night so there’s no need to rehash it. We have a few questions for you though, now that we are able to speak plainly.” A moment’s hesitation. “I trust Mrs. Potter is well?”
Alek nodded, glad the council member had thought to ask after Eloise. She had gone to bed not long after her tears had dried, and this morning, had acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, though her music choice was a bit melancholy. “She was hale and hardy when I left her this morning.”
“Excellent,” Tarvahl said. “Now, I assume the dead hunters found in the woods at the end of November were your handy work?”
Alek remembered the hunters and his lips twisted in distaste. “They were.”
“And the reason behind the kills?” Riley Cooper asked with a raised brow.
“I spotted them while I was watching the females. When I went to get a closer look they were talking about bringing their friend a bear and a cougar to stuff. I have no tolerance for trophy hunters.” He growled.
Several more growls of agreement echoed through the chamber and Tarvahl raised a hand to call for quiet.
“Obviously a sentiment we agree on. However, we tend to frown on killing. Especially in the manner you employed.” Tarvahl said.
Riley chimed in next. “Makes for a hell of a lot of paperwork when it’s obviously a kill made by a large predator. The other option of making bodies disappear only leads to more folks coming to look for their missing friends or family members. I’m sure you understand why we can’t have the public eye focused on us.”
“None of this should be an issue anymore,” an attractive brunette female sitting next to Tarvahl said. “The little cat wasn’t involved with the group he was hunting so he should be making plans to leave.” She shot him a pointed look. “You are lea
ving aren’t you? Contrary to appearances, Malsum Pass is not a refuge for every wayward shifter that comes to call.”
Tarvahl patted the woman’s hand. “While he’s staying at Mrs. Potter’s house he’s not technically in our territory, Sherry.” Turning his attention back to Alek he said, “But I assume you are planning to leave to continue your hunt for the fur traders?”
Alek nodded, his chest once again tight with the thought of leaving Daisy, “I have a few more loose ends to tie up. I intend to get the ladies set up with new identities so you won’t have to worry about any more of their pride showing up or hiring people like me to come sniffing around for them.”
There were several nods of approval and some mumbling when a thought that had been bothering Alek since he first came here had him asking, “Why did you let the ladies stay anyway? They’re not your kind. Why risk a war by harboring a possible fugitive?”
Tarvahl looked at him speculatively for a moment as he tapped his middle finger on the table. “Considering the distance between us and any feline territories, the chance of a war was highly unlikely. Otherwise, wolves and felines may be natural enemies but I like to think we’re more than the beasts inside us. They were two scared women in trouble. They needed help, so we helped them. At first we made it quite clear that those ladies could stay but they wouldn’t be a priority; should we have to make the choice between one of them or one of ours there would be no contest. Now, however, Lily and Daisy have integrated themselves into the community. They’re pack. If they break the rules they’ll be punished as pack, and…” Tarvahl narrowed his eyes at Alek in warning, “Should they find themselves in trouble they’ll be protected as pack.”
For Her: A Malsum Pass Novel Page 9