Page 6 of Clawless

“I didn’t!”

“She was worried, so she gave you something to help you sleep.”

I slumped back in my seat. I had a vague memory of staring at the patty in my burger and the walls closing in on me. “How can you be here?” I whispered.

“I’m always around, sweet pea.” He looked like he wanted to touch me, but sighed instead. “There are some things I have to do to make you safe. People I have to trust, because I can’t be there myself. And that doesn’t always go to plan.”

I choked down my anger. I wanted to punch the dash and howl at the moon, but answers were more important right now than a tantrum. “Was Sin part of your plan? Did you send her to help me?”

“Yes, but that was a once-off. She’s going through some things.” He gave me a hard look. “She’s dangerous and unpredictable. You see her again, you remember she’s not family.”

The word hit me hard. Sin had pretty much called herself a freak, and drugged me without my knowledge, but who was he to warn me off? Was he really any better? He talked about trust and always being there, but real family didn’t need guarantees. Family just was. They were people you knew, right down in your bones. They didn’t have to make time for you, or treat you like a burden. And they didn’t keep secrets that could turn your life inside out.

Tears stung my eyes, but I blinked them away. I’d been right to say he looked like shit, because the man beside me was nothing like the doctor from the lab with his perfect hair and spotless clothes. This version was wearing battered cargo pants and a faded twill jacket, with an old baseball cap pulled low on his brow. He was the dad I remembered from our cabin deep in the Horn, when he was gone for weeks at a time, and came back all lean muscle and ground-in dirt.

I bit my lip hard. Did I really believe Trey? Was this man – the only steady person in my life before Driftwood and Darkness – just some guy who looked after me because no one else was around?

I felt like I was back to Clueless Chance, and my voice came out low and rough. “Then why trust her? Why didn’t you come up the mountain yourself?”

My aggression made him stiffen. “Because those shifters you tangled with are from the Black Den Pack. They’re rotten in their own right, but they do scut work for your grandfather. I had to get you away from them, but I couldn’t afford to blow my cover.”

“Your cover? You’re all about trust, but how can I trust you?” I gritted my teeth. “That scent shield you gave me made me sick! And it nearly got some people killed.”

The car suddenly swerved to the shoulder. When we’d stopped, he turned in his seat, his expression fierce. “No way. It was lab tested. Repeatedly.”

I glared at him. “It sent me crazy. It did something to my wolf.” I tried to grab the door knob and cursed when I missed. “Let me out. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“Explain, Vail. What do you mean by crazy?”

I flushed red. Describing my reaction to his drug was not going to happen. Instead, I unleashed some of the pent-up hurt I’d been carrying around since I last saw him. “Why do you even care? They told me you’re not my dad. I’m the daughter of some guy I never met. A sperm donor, probably, or some random my mom picked up…” I sniffed, those useless tears falling before I could blink them back. I wanted to stay angry, but there were so many layers of loss, I felt like I couldn’t find my way out from under them. “I just want things to go back to how they were.”

“If I could give you that, sweet pea, I would.” He brushed the hair back from my face, his eyes shadowed. “And you’re still my daughter, no matter whose blood is in your veins.”

I didn’t know what to say to that, so I stayed silent while he pulled the car back onto the road. We drove for a while, and I had to wonder if it was the Valium that was making me so weak. I should have been demanding answers. Like who the hell was this guy? And why was he still around, when he no longer had to pretend to give a shit? Was it guilt? Playing the hero? Or was it really because of the blood in my veins? Being a Marrow seemed to be a big deal. Was he just another asshole employed to do my grandfather’s dirty work?

Even my anger couldn’t stop my lids growing heavy again, but I snapped awake when he said, “I’ll come get you before the holidays. I just need a little more time to work out the safest place for you.”

Another empty promise. And the fact he wanted more time made me seethe. He’d had six years to figure something out. A month while I was waiting every day for some sign from him… “What do you mean the holidays?” I stared out the window at a block of unbroken darkness. Not forest, or cliff, but a huge wall. My stomach clenched again as I realized where we were. “You can’t take me to the academy. Please, just take me to Darkness. I’ll crash with him until Driftwood comes back.”

“The Chances have done what they can. Dragging them into this wouldn’t be fair.”

I gaped at him. Fair? What the hell was fair about bringing me back here? “You don’t understand. I really fucked things up before I left. There’s no way they’ll let me back into the school.”

The car slowed and I thought I might be getting through to him. Only there were men at the windows. Black clothes. Weapons. A horrible sense of déjà vu settled over me. He said something to a hovering guard, then drove through the gate, but stopped at the bottom of the drive. Taking something from his pocket, he clicked on the overhead light.

“This is your real birth certificate, Vail.” He unfolded the document, which crackled in the silence. I was too shocked to do anything but wait until it was open and I could read the names printed at the top. Not Alana and Gabriel Michaels, but Alana Marrow and Parker West. “Parker was my best friend. I’ve had the honor of standing in for him all these years, but never doubt how much he loved you. Or your mother.” He kissed my forehead. “I wish I could make your world work how it should, sweet pea, but some things just have to be lived through.” He popped the locks, but I didn’t try to get out. Or to take the piece of paper he pressed into my hand.

“Jasper’s the head of his pack now,” I whispered. “And he will never let me stay here.”

“Not his call,” Gabriel Michaels nodded at the window behind me. “You might be a Marrow, but the West wolves are part of the Marshall pack. And this is their school, too.”

Six – Reed

The tint on the Hummer was so dark, I didn’t catch a glimpse of Vail until she opened the door. Or her driver opened it, since simply lifting her hand seemed like it was too much effort. It was a big car, and she was wrapped in a puffy snow coat, but she looked small and defeated against the seat. Maybe she was in shock. According to my dad, she’d just had a nasty run-in with the Denners. When he’d called an hour ago, I wasn’t surprised he knew about the incident, but his other revelations had felt like a punch to the gut. Not only was Vail Chance coming back to school and in need of my protection, but she was both a Marrow and a Marshall. Both an enemy, and pack.

How the fuck was I supposed to make that work?

“You have the document?” I asked the driver. He was a rough-looking shifter, but my dad had cleared him, so I kept my face blank.

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