entire life because he can’t protect himself.”
Desiree’s dedication to her half-brother did nothing to settle Shay’s animosity toward the hybrids. But a tiny part of her couldn’t help but be grateful to them. They’d saved her little brother—a brother she might have never known existed if they hadn’t brought her here. She didn’t want to be grateful to them, but playing nice might work in her favor.
“Thank you,” Shay said. “For protecting him.”
“That’s what family does.” As twisted logic went, Desiree’s was sound. She and Allison truly believed they were doing the right thing for themselves and their family. Fighting tooth and nail to save loved ones was a trait born in all loup garou. Their vampire blood hadn’t diminished that particular instinct.
“Then protect me.” Shay tried to reach out, but her bandaged hands were stiff, heavy. “Please. Let me shift.”
Desiree was silent for a while, her black eyes fixed on the floor. “I’ll ask Allison. We have a place that Leopold uses when he can’t hold back.”
“Thank you.” The shift would give her much-needed strength. Her hands would heal.
“Asking isn’t getting.”
It was a start. Shay allowed a bit of hope to return and she clung tightly to it as Desiree left. As ready as Shay had been to give up when her escape plan was thwarted, she had something new to live for. She had a brother, and she’d use her very last breath to see both of them get out of this prison alive.
Chapter Five
Thirty-one days.
The number rang in Knight’s head all morning as he did his usual rounds about town, checking in with folks and being visible to them. Playing his part, showing the town that the news of the latest attack wasn’t going to weigh him down. That he was their White Wolf and he would be there for their emotional needs. That thirty-one days of Shay being missing wasn’t fracturing his heart a little at a time.
Small fractures that were being filled by the darkness he both feared and embraced.
He spent the longest time with Michelle Barnes, who was days away from giving birth. She’d been on bed rest the entire month, by Dr. Mike’s orders. Complicated pregnancies among the loup were rare, so they were taken quite seriously. Every life was precious, every child born a miracle. Children were the lifeblood of any run.
Too many lives had been lost these last few months.
Around ten-thirty, Bishop summoned him to his office via text. Knight made his excuses to Michelle, promising to stop by again in the evening.
He couldn’t find any emotional response of his own to the summons. He’d overspent his fear and anxiety on Shay, wondering if she was alive and safe. He had none left for himself, or for whatever news Bishop had waiting for him.
His path crossed with Rook near Smythe’s Restaurant, and he didn’t have to ask to know he’d been called to this meeting, too. No one else came out of the woodwork to join them, and Knight didn’t bother knocking on the trailer door.
The interior of Bishop’s temporary office was stark and boring compared with their father’s old office in the auction house. It had plain white walls, a rented metal desk, and a phone. Some paperwork, a few framed photos, and a lamp were the only personal things of Bishop’s. Bishop sat behind his desk, elbows resting on its surface, hands pressed together palm to palm like he was praying. Jillian sat in a nearby plastic chair, her expression neutral enough to stir Knight’s sense of impending bad news.
Knight didn’t sit. He stood to the side, hands in his pockets, and waited.
“Carl Weatherly called and gave me a heads-up on something,” Bishop said. The edge in his voice suggested a tight rein on his temper. Knight opened his empathy enough to verify it.
“Bad news?” Rook asked. He took a chair next to Jillian, his posture rigid.
“It’s not good news. Skydale’s White Wolf was killed during the half-breed attack, and their Alpha,
Desiree’s dedication to her half-brother did nothing to settle Shay’s animosity toward the hybrids. But a tiny part of her couldn’t help but be grateful to them. They’d saved her little brother—a brother she might have never known existed if they hadn’t brought her here. She didn’t want to be grateful to them, but playing nice might work in her favor.
“Thank you,” Shay said. “For protecting him.”
“That’s what family does.” As twisted logic went, Desiree’s was sound. She and Allison truly believed they were doing the right thing for themselves and their family. Fighting tooth and nail to save loved ones was a trait born in all loup garou. Their vampire blood hadn’t diminished that particular instinct.
“Then protect me.” Shay tried to reach out, but her bandaged hands were stiff, heavy. “Please. Let me shift.”
Desiree was silent for a while, her black eyes fixed on the floor. “I’ll ask Allison. We have a place that Leopold uses when he can’t hold back.”
“Thank you.” The shift would give her much-needed strength. Her hands would heal.
“Asking isn’t getting.”
It was a start. Shay allowed a bit of hope to return and she clung tightly to it as Desiree left. As ready as Shay had been to give up when her escape plan was thwarted, she had something new to live for. She had a brother, and she’d use her very last breath to see both of them get out of this prison alive.
Chapter Five
Thirty-one days.
The number rang in Knight’s head all morning as he did his usual rounds about town, checking in with folks and being visible to them. Playing his part, showing the town that the news of the latest attack wasn’t going to weigh him down. That he was their White Wolf and he would be there for their emotional needs. That thirty-one days of Shay being missing wasn’t fracturing his heart a little at a time.
Small fractures that were being filled by the darkness he both feared and embraced.
He spent the longest time with Michelle Barnes, who was days away from giving birth. She’d been on bed rest the entire month, by Dr. Mike’s orders. Complicated pregnancies among the loup were rare, so they were taken quite seriously. Every life was precious, every child born a miracle. Children were the lifeblood of any run.
Too many lives had been lost these last few months.
Around ten-thirty, Bishop summoned him to his office via text. Knight made his excuses to Michelle, promising to stop by again in the evening.
He couldn’t find any emotional response of his own to the summons. He’d overspent his fear and anxiety on Shay, wondering if she was alive and safe. He had none left for himself, or for whatever news Bishop had waiting for him.
His path crossed with Rook near Smythe’s Restaurant, and he didn’t have to ask to know he’d been called to this meeting, too. No one else came out of the woodwork to join them, and Knight didn’t bother knocking on the trailer door.
The interior of Bishop’s temporary office was stark and boring compared with their father’s old office in the auction house. It had plain white walls, a rented metal desk, and a phone. Some paperwork, a few framed photos, and a lamp were the only personal things of Bishop’s. Bishop sat behind his desk, elbows resting on its surface, hands pressed together palm to palm like he was praying. Jillian sat in a nearby plastic chair, her expression neutral enough to stir Knight’s sense of impending bad news.
Knight didn’t sit. He stood to the side, hands in his pockets, and waited.
“Carl Weatherly called and gave me a heads-up on something,” Bishop said. The edge in his voice suggested a tight rein on his temper. Knight opened his empathy enough to verify it.
“Bad news?” Rook asked. He took a chair next to Jillian, his posture rigid.
“It’s not good news. Skydale’s White Wolf was killed during the half-breed attack, and their Alpha,
Similar Books
