Page 29 of Alpha's Promise

"Digging up the past can be dangerous," Colt cautioned, a frown creasing his brow.

"Or it could be enlightening," Briar countered, her eyes alight with a mixture of excitement and trepidation.

"An outsider's path intertwining with our own?" Bryce mused, his tone laced with skepticism.

"Yet, Dakota is no ordinary outsider," Landon added, his voice steady. "If there are answers to be found, we owe it to her—and to ourselves—to uncover them."

Dakota's throat tightened with emotion. In Landon's words, she heard not just agreement but a vow. He understood her need for discovery, the yearning to piece together the fragments of her identity.

"Thank you," she breathed out, gratitude warming her from within.

Landon watched her. "I've been thinking," he began, his voice cutting through the stillness like a knife through fog."Maybe it's time you paid a visit to your grandfather's house. There could be something there, some clue that we're missing."

“I left my grandfather’s house when I left my ex. The things I thought were really important, I gathered together in an old military trunk and put it down in the basement. Or at least that’s where I left it. It may be gone by now.”

“I don’t think you should let him know you’re interested in anything you left behind. I think you’re going to have to see for yourself.”

The suggestion hung in the air; Dakota felt their expressions regarding her with a range from wary curiosity to guarded anticipation.

"Are you saying... you think I should go back?" Dakota asked, her heart thrumming in her chest.

Landon nodded, his features inscrutable yet edged with an intensity that made her shiver. "Yes. It's a risk, but there might be answers there. Things your grandfather left behind that could explain why he sent you east to the wolves… to us."

"Could be dangerous, though," Bryce interjected, the words tinted with caution. Dakota's skin prickled with the sensation that they were skirting around darker truths, secrets that were woven into the very fabric of the pack's existence.

"Life is dangerous," Landon replied with a wry twist of his lips, the undercurrent of humor doing little to dispel the tension. "But Dakota isn't alone. I'll make sure she's protected."

Dakota absorbed his words, the promise of safety contained within them. Yet, she couldn't shake the feeling that this journey would unearth more than dusty heirlooms and yellowed letters. Her grandfather's connection to the wolf-shifters, the reason he had pointed her to east to Copper Canyon—it was a puzzle missing vital pieces, and deep down, she feared what completing the picture might reveal.

"All right. I'll go," Dakota said, her decision firming with every pounding heartbeat. She met Landon's gaze across the table, finding an ally in his unwavering stare. "I need to know the truth about my past... about all of this."

"Then it's settled," Landon said, his voice low and resonant. "We start planning tonight."

As they began to talk about what might be entailed, Dakota's senses sharpened. The scent of rain wafted in from the open window, the night outside beckoning with its untold stories. She felt the pull of the unknown, the call of fate that twisted and coiled like the mountain roads leading back to her grandfather's house.

CHAPTER 14

LANDON

Landon watched the horizon bleed with the first light of dawn, a sliver of gold cutting through the indigo sky as he and Dakota set out for Cimarron Mesa. The air was chilly, raising tiny goosebumps on his arms despite the warmth radiating from Dakota nestled close beside him in the truck's cab. She was a mystery wrapped in the enigma of her own past, and each mile they covered peeled back another layer she had kept hidden.

The road stretched before them like a sinuous snake, coiling through the stark landscape that transitioned from the rugged terrain of Copper Canyon to the rolling hills of the next state over. Landon pressed his foot against the accelerator, a sense of urgency propelling the pickup truck as much as the engine beneath its hood. Dakota sat beside him, her profile etched with determination against the passing blur of the countryside.

"Are you ready for whatever we find there?" Landon asked, his voice tinged with the gravelly timbre of concern.

Dakota's gaze was fixed on the road ahead, the sunrise casting her profile in a warm glow that made her eyes seem to hold untold secrets. She turned toward him, and in their depths,he saw a storm raging—a tempest of fear and defiance. "As ready as I can be," she replied, her lips set in a firm line.

"All right," Landon said, breaking the quiet. "How does he still have control over your inheritance even after you two split?" The question had been gnawing at him since they left Copper Canyon, the need for answers as relentless as the pull he felt towards her.

Dakota’s hands fidgeted in her lap. "He's not just my ex-fiancé; he's the executor of my grandfather's will. According to the terms, he maintains full control until I turn thirty... under the first full moon." Her voice held a lilt of mockery, as if she were reciting a line from some arcane ritual.

"Which gives him power over you for how much longer?" Landon asked, following her gaze to the vibrant scenery that passed by.

"Three months," she replied, turning to face him. Her eyes, those sapphire pools reflecting a lifetime of secrets, met his with an intensity that spoke volumes. "Three months until I can claim what's mine."

Landon considered this, his mind's eye painting a picture of her ex—an opportunist, no doubt. "I bet he's not looking forward to that day." His words were casual, but they carried the weight of an implied threat.

"Of course not," Dakota confessed. The proximity to her sent a jolt through Landon's veins. "He's a man who likes to hold the reins too tightly. When I found out about his dalliances and began to pull away, he showed his true colors."

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