Karen Whiddon - Lone Wolf

“Who are you calling? Surely you know better than to call the local police.” Marika sounded both shaken and pissed off.

“I do,” he told her, listening as the call went through a complicated series of relays. “And we need to clean this place up and put a closed sign on the door. No sense in humans poking their noses around in our business.”

Punching in one final code, Beck closed his phone, steeling himself as he turned to face her. The haunted look on her beautiful face made his chest hurt. “I called one of my friends, a Protector named Simon. If anyone can help us, he can. I’m sure he’ll call me back shortly.”

With Brigid’s warning ringing in her ears, she touched his arm. “Fine, but whatever you do, don’t tell him about Dani. If he knows about her, he’ll want to kill her, too.”

Staring at her, he slowly shook his head. “Why do you keep saying that? I don’t understand your logic. Our daughter is a miracle.”

One single, red tear ran down her cheek, which she promptly wiped away. “Thank you for that. I agree, yes, Dani is a miracle to me. But to everyone else, she’s a freak of nature, something that shouldn’t ever have been born.”

When he started to contradict her, she held up her hand. “Believe me, I speak truth.” She took a deep breath, regarding him steadily. “The less they know about her, the better. She’s only safe if she can blend in with humans.”

Beck wasn’t sure he bought into that, especially since he still sensed she was hiding something. She might have received a few isolated death threats from a couple of whackos. Maybe vamps were a bit more unforgiving than shifters.

“That’s where I think you’re wrong.” He kept his voice firm. “Maybe you have to worry about vampires, but not shifters.”

“I worry especially about shifters,” she said darkly.

“Look, Dani is not human. She’s Pack. A Halfling. And Pack protects our own. We don’t want to kill them.”

“Oh, yeah? I heard about what happened with the Protectors and what you shifters called Ferals. You guys were gunning them down left and right.”

He winced, feeling a stab of remorse. But only for a second, because while he was as guilty as the rest, in his heart he knew he’d already paid his own penance.

“That’s over now. It was an isolated incident, during a fixed span of time. It’s in the past. We rebelled against the corrupt leaders who gave the orders. It will never happen again.”

With her head cocked and her arms crossed, she didn’t appear to believe him. “Regardless, promise me you won’t tell them about Dani.”

“Marika—”

“No. This is not negotiable. Give me your word you won’t say anything.”

With a sigh, he gave in. “Fine. You leave me no choice.”

Her gaze searched his face. Finally, she dipped her chin. “I’ll take that as your word.”

“You have it.” He gestured with his phone. “Isn’t there someone you want to call for help?”

“No.”

“No Huntresses? Maybe we can ask their help. I’ve heard amazing things about your organization.”

“Oh, yeah? That we’re good at search-and-destroy missions?”

“Surely you did more than that?”

“Not really. Let me ask you this. What was your motto when you were a Protector?”

“Protect and Defend. Kind of ironic, after what happened, but the original purpose was noble. Is noble, now.”

“As a Vampire Huntress, our motto was—is—Hunt and Destroy. See the problem? If the Huntresses find out about Dani, they won’t rest until they kill her.”

“That makes no sense.”

“Sorry.”

Beck couldn’t believe his ears. “You know,” he said slowly, “I thought I was cynical. But you’ve got me beat.”

“I’m not cynical. I’m a realist.”

“How can you not realize our daughter is the ultimate proof that our two species can coexist in harmony? How can anyone not realize that?”

Her lip curled. “Take off your rose-colored glasses.”

This cynicism saddened him, though he didn’t know why. He’d felt the same himself, until now. But knowing he had a daughter, knowing about his child, Dani, had given him fresh hope. “Juliet would have told you the same if she’d lived.”

She bared her teeth, a curiously Pack gesture that she must have learned from Juliet. “Don’t you dare throw her in my face. I knew her as well as you.”

“Really?” He raised a brow. “We were close.”

“I know. But we were friends a long time. Jules would have wanted to protect Dani at all costs. I’m sorry, but …” Touching her throat as though it had closed, she swallowed hard. “I’ve been dealing with this a long time.”

For a moment, he studied her, eyeing her perfectly formed features, her creamy, smooth skin. Though she looked like an ice princess now, he couldn’t help but remember her in his arms. In the throes of passion, she’d looked blazingly, thrillingly alive. He had a fierce ache to see her that way again.

“What?” Glaring back at him, she brought one hand up to her face, a curiously self-conscious and human gesture. “Do I have something on my face, or what?”

“Just thinking.” Though he wanted to touch her, he kept his hands clenched at his side.

“We’ve got to track them. To do that better, I need to change.”

“Why?” She gave him a bleak look. “You know as well as I do that they didn’t go on foot.”

“Can Dani shape-shift yet?”

She froze. He could have sworn a look of guilt crossed her face as her frown deepened. “Yes. But she wouldn’t have—”

“You never know. In the middle of the chaos, she may have changed while Addie fought them, and taken off. In her wolf shape, she could outrun any human.”

For the first time since they’d arrived, hope lit her perfect features. “I didn’t think of that. She could be free. By all means, change.”

Might as well tell her all of it. He took a deep breath. “Plus, when I’m wolf, I’ll be able to identify the blood, whether it’s Addie’s or …”

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