Page 17 of Cast in Shadow
I turned my back on her and walked back to the Jeep, hauling myself up so I was perched on the dented black grill guard. It wasn’t the most comfortable seat, but it was better than standing around or sitting on the damp ground.
Bridget kept her shotgun trained on me until I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my knees. “I’d love to tell you I have all day, but the pack is probably out there combing the woods for her right now.”
That got her moving. She leaned the shotgun against the railing and scooped up the file before taking a seat at the edge of the porch with her battered tennis shoes in the dirt. She sifted through the pages, lingering here and there. When she flipped the folder closed, the glimmer of wildness in her eyes made me wish I’d parked a little further back.
“How sure are you that she’s coming here?”
“Fifty percent. We’re assuming she hasn’t had any contact with you since that letter.”
“You’re assuming wrong.”
I hopped down but didn’t make a move to get closer. “You’ve seen her? Recently?”
Her eyes narrowed like she was measuring my worth. “It’s been a year and a half. She hadn’t shifted yet.”
“Does her pack know you’re out here?” I motioned to our surroundings.
“They do, but they don’t come sniffing around anymore.” She tipped her head toward the cabin again. “Too expensive.”
So, she’d killed the scouts the pack had sent to track her down. Good for her.
“Why did you leave the pack?” I had a pretty good idea, but it never hurt to fill in the details.
“After my first shift, the alpha at the time claimed me as his mate. He figured it was a way to consolidate power. And he couldn’t wrap his thick head around the fact that being female didn’t diminish the alpha instinct. Even a fool knows you can’t leash an animal like me and expect it to end well.” She set the file on the porch beside her. “I was pregnant when I killed him but didn’t know it at the time. Kyla—my daughter—always wanted to be part of a pack, and when she was old enough, she ran back to them.”
I knew that from the girl’s file. I also knew Kyla died giving birth to her, which was a rare tragedy amongst wolf shifters.
“Kyla didn’t carry the alpha gene?” That was the strange thing about alpha females. Males passed the gene on to the males in their line without fail. It was a fact of nature. But female alphas were an anomaly. There was no predicting when or where one might pop up in a pack’s blood line.
“No, she wasn’t an alpha. Wasn’t a beta. She was born a plain old, middle-of-the-pack wolf.” She leaned back on her handsand let out a heavy breath. “I couldn’t blame her for leaving. I miss having a pack too, some days, but it’s tough finding other shifters who won’t try to put a female alpha under their thumb.”
“I can imagine.” Strong females were always a threat to a patriarchal society, and wolf packs were almost always run by men.
“What can I do?” she asked.
“Watch for her. Protect her if she shows up.” I pulled a card out of my back pocket and walked it over. “And call this number if she does. With the heat on her from the pack, neither of you will be safe out here.”
“What are you planning on doing with her?” she asked, taking the card and flicking the edge with her free hand.
“I know of a group that takes in shifters who are in trouble. They keep to themselves for the most part, but they do take in special cases from time to time. The key is that you have to be able to control your unique gifts, or you have to be genuinely committed to learning how.”
“Unique gifts?”
“Like in your case.” I dipped my head. “If your alpha nature is so strong that you have to control everything, it’s not the right place for you. On the other hand, if you’re just looking for a safe place to land and people you can trust, I can get you a meeting.”
“Does this magnanimous group have a name?”
I ran my tongue along the edge of my teeth. “Salus.”
Her bark of laughter bordered on animalistic. “Nice try, witch.” She flicked my card back at me, and I watched it flutter to the dirt. “I’ve been around too long to let someone like you sell me that dream. Salus doesn’t exist. I’m willing to bet it never did.”
She would lose that bet, but her reaction wasn’t exactly surprising. Salus stayed off the radar for several reasons, not the least of which being that it was a sanctuary for all shifteroutcasts, regardless of breed. Keeping a low profile made it harder to convince the people who might actually need that kind of place that it was real, but it was a necessary precaution.
“Suit yourself,” I said, as I turned and headed back toward the Jeep. “You’ve got my number if you change your mind.”
“I won’t.”
I got in and started it up, hooking my arm behind the passenger seat and backing down the dual dirt tracks nearly to the road before I found a spot I could barely squeeze into to get turned around. I’d done what I came to do. If she didn’t want my help, I couldn’t force it on her.
