Dannika Dark: Seven Years

“I’m aware of that,” Austin said. “She’s staying with me. As long as her mother wants to remain with my pack, then she’s welcome to, even if Lexi goes her own way.”

Denver appeared, pulling a white T-shirt over his head as he walked barefoot across the hot gravel in a pair of jeans. He stopped, bent over, and brushed the soles of his dirty feet.

Prince stood up and slowly stepped off the porch. “My work is done here; the fiend has been brought to justice. I hear you’re moving,” he added, looking over his shoulder. “You still have my alliance. Let me know if you run into trouble with any of the packs out that way. I have pull.”

He strode away with the confidence of a man who had been leading a pack for decades, if not longer. As he passed Denver, Prince showed respect for his bravery by touching his shoulder as he looked down at the corpse.

“My hero!” Maizy cried out, bounding toward the two men.

Denver grinned from ear to ear, but the light in his eyes dimmed when Maizy ran up to Prince and smothered him with a hug. Prince patted her head as she waved for him to squat down to her level. Denver stepped aside and turned his back, wiping the dirt off his jeans.

I went to say goodbye to the man who saved my sister’s life.

“You all right?” I asked Denver.

He shrugged off my question and messed with his blond hair. I was about to hug him when he bent over and brushed a few pebbles from the bottom of his foot.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Maizy open her tiny hand and say, “Shhh.” She placed a small, glittery stone in Prince’s hand. A diamond.

“What’s this?” he asked, watching it sparkle in the light.

“That’s for my ring, silly.”

“What ring?”

“The one you’re going to give me when I grow up.”

Prince furrowed his brow and I stooped down to her level. “Maizy, where are the rest of these?”

“I hid the treasure,” she declared.

“Tell me where they are, honey.”

“I don’t want the bad guys to get them.”

This was going nowhere. Maizy once hid a bag of licorice I brought home from the store. She refused to tell where, even when mom took away all her dolls and movies as punishment. We found the candy seven months later inside a pair of old loafers in the hallway closet. A trail of ants led us to the scene of the crime.

Prince rose to his feet and stared at the diamond in the palm of his cupped hand. “Here,” he finally said, extending his arm toward me.

“No!” Maizy cried.

Tears sprang from her eyes and he immediately palmed it and bent over. “It was only in jest,” he said with a warm smile. She pouted, as if he had made fun of her. “I promise to keep your treasure safe and return it to you someday, little one. You have my word.”

That was all she needed, and Maizy shyly turned away. Denver had walked off several paces, staring at the cars that belonged to my father and the Mage. They would have to dispose of them. Maizy tugged on the hem of his shirt and he peered over his shoulder at her. She watched him patiently until he mashed his lips together to suppress a grin.

“C’mon, Peanut,” he said. “Let’s go home.” She held up her arms and without a word, Denver bent over and lifted her up as he walked barefoot down the road.

“Lock up tight,” Austin yelled out to him. “We’ll stay behind and clean up.”

Maizy must have told a doozy of a story after Denver took her to the new house, because when my mom called to check on me, she was in a state of panic. It took a while to calm her nerves and assure her it was all over. I changed into a fresh pair of clothes and sat in the maroon recliner, staring at the black television screen. Two Breed lawmen had arrived to collect the body and interrogate us. Because the crime took place on Austin’s territory, he was within his rights to protect his pack and his home. Austin covered for Prince for reasons I didn’t understand.

“Why don’t you shift again,” he suggested, walking into the living room and looking down his nose at me. A slightly crooked nose, because it looked like someone had broken it a long time ago and he chose not to heal. Or couldn’t.

“I’m fine. We went over this already,” I said, feeling despondent about the turn of events.

“You were shot, Lexi. You’re not fine.”

He had a point.

“I’m just shaken up a little, I guess. I’m not sure how to feel about what’s going to happen to my father.”

“Don’t hold on to a shred of guilt for a man who never loved you. He wouldn’t have blinked if your sister got hurt, and he sure as hell didn’t blink when he put a bullet in your arm,” Austin growled.

I tried not to notice Austin was still shirtless. Not to mention he had picked up a golden tan that afternoon. I looked away and closed my eyes. Austin knelt in front of me and pulled off my shoes so he could rub my bare feet. God, his warm hands felt exquisite against my sensitive skin.

“Stay with me, Lexi. I’m asking you to choose my pack and make it official. You can have all the freedom you want, no strings attached. We’ll look after you, and my brothers will help you get started with the business. I’ll even let you have first dibs on any room in the new house.”

“That’s a mighty fine offer,” I said in a soft, melodic voice.

“Is that a yes?” he asked gruffly.

How’s a girl supposed to say no to a man giving her a foot massage? I decided to draw out the suspense until he finished circling his thumb around the middle of my arch. Austin caught on, and I shrieked when he tickled me.

“Is that a yes?” he said, holding my ankle firmly and continuing his relentless tickling.

Someone was going to get hurt with all my kicking. Finally, I gave in. “Yes!”

Austin slid between my legs and placed his head in my lap. His soft brown hair weaved between my fingers as I stroked it eagerly. The energy between us changed and the tingling returned, but it had nothing to do with being in heat. It had to do with my attraction to Austin as a man I admired.

“You make things so difficult,” he murmured.

“I’m not the one with my head in your lap.”

He looked at me and propped himself up on his elbows. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I have no idea what’s going on here. Are these repressed feelings you’ve had for me or am I misreading you?” My fingers drummed on the armrest of the chair.

Austin sighed through his nose. “I’ve never thought of you in a sexual way.”

Which went down in my books as one of the most insensitive things a man had ever said to me. I wanted to bolt before I burst into tears from the embarrassment, especially after the intimate night we had spent together. But Austin held my hips firmly and wouldn’t allow me to move.

“Let me finish,” he insisted.

“Let me go!” I pushed his shoulders and the recliner began rocking; Austin was too strong for me to fight off. “I’m serious, Austin. Let go of me.”

“You were a child for Christ’s sake!”

“Not when I was twenty ,” I argued.

We were almost face-to-face, except he was a little lower because his arms were pinning me down. “To me you were, and the last thing I wanted was to have sex with you.”

“Oh God, just let me up!”

I threw myself over his shoulder to toss him off balance, which worked. But not to my advantage as he flipped me over on the rug and covered me like a blanket. “Lexi, listen to me.” I writhed beneath him, trying to break free. “Stop it!” he shouted, pinning me by my wrists.

Stupid wolf in me listened.

“Didn’t you ever notice how I looked at you, Austin? I had a crush on you forever, and you hardly gave me a second glance.”