Chapter 26

When I opened my eyes, I was staring at the ceiling. Tak had his arm draped over my hip, and somehow my legs had wound up beneath the covers. The moon no longer hung in the sky outside my window, but the city lights were bright enough to cast a dim glow in the room. Disoriented, I turned my head to find him asleep. The ice pack must have slipped off, because I could see the shadowy outline of the lump on his head. His wounds were neither better nor worse.

It was the first time I'd ever slept with a man. Truly slept. His breathing was deep and restful, and I didn't want to move an inch. I wondered if our wolves would get along, and the thought of them curled up together warmed my heart.

A sound from another room startled me, and my eyes widened.

What time is it?I thought. Did I lock the front door?

In a haze, I slipped out of bed and hurried into the living room. My eyes stung after I switched on a bright lamp.

When the apartment door abruptly swung open, I grabbed a heavy candleholder and held it over my head.

Lakota rushed in like a storm and pulled me into a tight hug. The candleholder fell to the floor with a thud, but I didn't care. As he kissed my head, I felt the protection of family once again. He then held me at arm's length, his blue eyes brimming with concern. "Are you hurt? Do you need a Relic?"

Tak's blood was still all over me, and I realized how shocking it must have looked. "No, I told you I'm fine. I'm sorry about all this."

"Don't be sorry. The son of a bitch who had the audacity to threaten my blood is the one who's going to be sorry."

"He already is."

Mel slung their bags inside. "Why is Wheeler's wolf in the hall?"

I blinked in surprise when I saw a brown wolf scratching his ear. "I don't know. I thought he left. Where's Mother and Father?"

"They came on the same flight but took a different cab from the airport," Lakota said, rubbing his face. "I told him not to trust that driver. He looked like one of those idiots who takes his passengers on the scenic route. Where's Tak?"

When I pointed at the hall, he stormed off.

Mel gave me a quick hug and widened her eyes at my appearance. "I've been worried to death. What can I do? Your mother gave me some kind of herbal sedative to calm me down, so I had plenty of sleep on the plane… and on the cab ride over for that matter."

"Christ!" Lakota boomed. "Tak, wake up."

Melody stepped near the hall. "What's wrong with him?"

I gripped her shirt. "Leave him. He needs rest, not an audience. The Relic said there was nothing more he could do. I haven't had any luck getting him to shift. Maybe Lakota can help."

"Or your father. He's an alpha."

I went to shut the front door. "Once my father sees a strange man lying in my bed, he'll probably pull up a chair and watch him suffer."

"Surely he'll change his mind when you tell him that Tak saved your life."

"He won't see it that way. Once he hears all the facts, he'll say that all my troubles started the day I met Tak. He's old-fashioned. He'll think that I somehow angered the spirits by inviting him in."

"Well, your mother will talk some sense into him. You can't just let a man suffer like that."

"You don't know my father. He makes blankets out of the pelts of his enemies. That's not a rumor."

Lakota stormed into the room, a swath of hair askew from his topknot. "What happened to him?"

I looked between them and rubbed my eyes. "Why don't you two sit down, and I'll make a pot of coffee. Then I'll tell you the whole story from beginning to end."

* * *

One hourand three cups of coffee later, Melody and Lakota were up to speed. I'd told them about the broken window, the death threat, the irate customer, the accusations I made in Dutch's store, how Tak and I came to meet again, the stolen money, and Dumont setting the fire before going feral and trying to kill everyone.

I left out the part about falling in love because Lakota wouldn't be able to focus on anything else. He obviously cared about Tak, but they hadn't resolved their differences, so I didn't know where their relationship stood. It was also premature to reveal my feelings to my brother when I hadn't yet made any declaration to Tak.

Lakota set his empty mug on the kitchen island and turned it in circles. "So that bear was behind it all. You see? This is why you two need a security guard in your store. There are always scammers and extortionists."

"I think I heard about that guy," Melody said, twirling her hair around her finger. "I'd forgotten the story until just now. A couple of months ago, I was talking to a lady who runs an antique store, and she was telling me about some crazy customer who was harassing her, making threats, starting rumors. She even had her windshield busted out, but she had no proof that it was him doing it."

"What happened?" I asked.

Mel's gaze drifted up to the sunflower. "She wound up paying him a big chunk of money to leave her alone, and that was the end of it. It was just one of those cautionary tales we were sharing about bad customers, but maybe he was doing it to other shopkeepers. She thought it was an isolated case, but obviously it wasn't. We should ask around."

"It won't matter to the Council since the case is closed," Lakota pointed out. "From the sound of it, they already ruled in Tak's favor for a justified killing. They're not going to care about all those details since the guy's dead."

Mel tucked her hair behind her ears. "No, but I care. Maybe if we had more communication in our neighborhood, we'd know what was going on. We could have stopped it before it landed on our doorstep. I would never have sold him that damn purse." She turned to face me. "And I don't know Dutch, but I hope he's okay. He was the obvious suspect, so you had every right to go in and confront him. I would have done the same."

Lakota chortled. "You would have set his car on fire."

She sipped her coffee. "You underestimate my wrath." Mel set down the cup and tucked her fist beneath her chin. "Maybe we need to create a community watch for store owners. Share information on vandalism and scams. We're always so competitive with one another that maybe we might actually improve business if we worked together."

"I think you're right," I said on a yawn. "If someone is blackmailing one of us for money, then everyone in the area has the right to protect themselves by blacklisting that person. If we can collect enough evidence, maybe the higher authority can lock them up or banish them from the city. No one should have their store burned down, let alone die. It might set an example for others who have the same ideas about messing with Starlight Road. The only challenge is getting others to feel the same way and show up to meetings. You know how people around here are, and they might not trust the new girls, especially the people who are prejudiced against Shifters."

Lakota glanced at the microwave clock. "I should call Mother and see what's holding them up. Maybe they went home first."

All three of us jumped when a fist pounded against the door. "Open up, or I'm knocking it down!" my father demanded.

"The man is psychic," Lakota muttered, hopping out of his seat and jogging toward the door.

Melody and I stood up and wandered into the living room to greet them.

"Where is she?" My father shoved past Lakota.

The moment he laid eyes on me, I felt like a dandelion about to lose all my white florets from an oncoming storm. I straightened my back and lifted my chin, ready for his rebuke as he stalked forward with a menacing stride.

To call my father an intimidating man would be an understatement.

The moment he reached me, he fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around my waist, speaking words of love in his mother tongue. My mother stepped beside him and kissed my cheeks many times, reminding me of her unwavering devotion.

There was no yelling, no anger, no judgment, no withholding of love.

When he finally rose to his feet, he pressed a kiss to my forehead and brushed his fingers across my old scars. It was something he did occasionally in moments of affection. That day had never left his thoughts any more than it had mine. His gaze sharpened when he scanned my body and noticed all the bloodstains.

"I'm fine," I assured him. "It's not my blood."

His eyes narrowed. "What happened?"

"We think the man who tried to burn down our store was an extortionist. It happened so fast. He was threatening to splash me with gasoline when Tak showed up and—"

"Who's Tak?"

"An old acquaintance of mine," Lakota interjected. "He's from the Iwa tribe."

My father held my gaze. "Go on."

"Tak challenged him, and the man shifted into a grizzly. Everyone was still trying to put out the fire." My head spun just thinking about it, and I rubbed my forehead. "He's hurt, Father. I need you to make him shift. You're the only one here who can. Will you do it, no questions asked? Can you trust me for once?"

He lifted my chin with the crook of his finger. "I trust you always. Everything I do is to protect you, Hope. Everything. If that feels like punishment, it was never my intention."

"I thought it was to protect you?"

Suddenly we were talking about something else. Melody and Lakota veered into the living room to give us privacy.

My father shook his head, his long hair framing his rigid expression. "Tell me why it is you think I care more about myself than my own flesh and blood?"

"You're a Packmaster. Every decision you make is to secure that position."

"Fair enough. But consider this: if the truth had come out all those years ago and I lost packmates as a result, it would only prove that they weren't worthy enough to live under my rule. River shamed me with his lies, not you. He abused his position, and you were young and naive, even if you don't see it that way. You weren't a child, but old wolves are persuasive. He should have never led you to believe that breaking pack rules was acceptable. I kept the secret to protect your honor—to protect your future."

I looked down at a smear of dried blood on my arm. "You've taught me so much, but you also taught me silence. Someday when I join a pack, I want to teach them the consequences of betraying the Packmaster and how it affects everyone's lives. Secrets tear away trust. I never loved River, and that's why I didn't want to tell you about my intentions. I had none. I wanted to know what it felt like to have a man hold me in his arms, and I stupidly believed his lies."

My father drew in a deep breath. "I should have killed him."

"To what avail? He didn't deserve a death sentence. You would have had to explain it to the pack and to the Council, and that would have meant giving up my shameful secret."

"I'm not ashamed of you."

"But that's how I've felt all this time. Don't you understand? This secret has made me afraid of ever having a relationship or joining a pack. What Packmaster is going to trust a woman who kept secrets? These scars on my face have never gone away. I still have panic attacks, and that's something I'll have to work through. But it's the trauma of what happened in my adult life that's scarred me the most. I don't want you to protect me, Father. I want you to accept my mistakes and love me. Anything else feels like shame."

The light in his eyes grew dimmer. "What can I do to make it right?"

I took his wrist. "Heal Tak. Make him shift."

Without a word, my father bowed and headed down the hallway. Wheeler's wolf trotted in and looked between all of us.

Melody reached in her purse. "I better call my dad to come pick up my uncle before he pees on the floor."

I gave Lakota an apologetic smile as he strolled toward me. "So, how did the get-together go?"

He shook his head and put his arm around me. "Everything's going to be all right, little sister."

My mother collected their bags from the hall and set them inside. "We're staying the night," she said, inviting no argument. "My daughter needs me more than the pack." When she shut the door, she tapped her cane against the floor and looked at the kitchen. My mother was a beautiful woman who still looked in her twenties, but her wisdom somehow made her seem older. "I'll make breakfast. The sun will be up in a few hours, and you'll need your energy. There's much to be done, like assessing the damage at the store and organizing repairs. Try to get some rest, and change out of those clothes. Goodness! All that blood."

Melody leaned over the kitchen island, her feet in the air while talking on the phone. Lakota ambled up behind her and playfully slapped her ass. My mother shooed him out and began pulling food out of the fridge.

Thus ended all my fears that my family wouldn't stand by my decisions and forgive my mistakes. The house felt full again, as did my heart.

Minutes later, my father reappeared with a bemused look on his face.

I met him at the hall entrance. "Well?"

He shook his head. "He wouldn't shift."

I jerked my head back. "You couldn't get him to wake up? Did you use your alpha voice?"

My father pulled out a hard pack of smokes from his shirt pocket, and even though the cigarette was bent, he lit up and took a drag. He held a look I couldn't discern as he released the smoke in a cloudy breath. "Your friend woke up, but he refused to heal."

"Why? I don't understand."

He squinted as if he were trying to read something written on my forehead in small print. "When a Shifter goes to battle for something he believes in, it's his right to keep the scars. I can't force a man to heal if his life is not in danger. It's his choice, and he chose to keep his scars for honor."

"Honor? Who cares about honor? He might have brain damage!"

When a distant chuckle sounded from my bedroom, I knew right then and there that Tak was going to be okay.