Page 42 of The Alpha and His Enemy Wolf
Rafe leaned forward. “I have an idea. Will you come with me?”
After they finishedlunch and cleaned up, Rafe led her outside his house.
“Where are we going?” Mila asked.
“To meet some pack mates.”
“Who?”
“I’ll introduce you soon.”
Rafe held her hand as they walked down the road curving around the mountainside. It appeared to have been freshly plowed since much of the snow had been removed from the asphalt. He led them over to a cabin nestled in the woods and knocked on the door. “It’s Rafe.”
A shifter with dark tousled hair opened the door. “Alpha.” He nodded. “Come on in.” He stepped aside and gestured with his hand for them to enter.
Rafe introduced them. “This is Mila.” He welcomed her to walk in before him. “Mila, this is Damon.”
The name sounded familiar. Mila entered and said, “Hello.”
A woman with auburn hair and kind eyes walked in from another room. “Hi Mila. I’m Sophie.”
One subtle sniff and Mila recognized that Sophie was human.
“Nice to meet you both.” Mila glanced around the cabin. It was welcoming and cozy. “You have a beautiful home.” Still, she wondered why they were there.
“Please, have a seat,” Damon suggested, gesturing to the sofa.
“Can I get you a drink?” Sophie asked.
“No, thank you, I’m fine,” Mila replied.
Rafe sat beside her on the sofa and took her hand. Damon and Sophie exchanged a warm glance. Had Rafe let his pack know about the two of them—and who she was?
Sophie grabbed a colorful, oversized cushion and pulled it over, sitting on it near Mila. “I’m glad you stopped by because I wanted to talk to you. I feel this is all my fault.”
Damon shook his head. “No, course not. If anyone is to blame, it was me.”
Mila furrowed her brows and glanced at Rafe. “What’s going on?”
“Patience, my beauty. You’ll learn soon.”
“I don’t know what you’ve heard, Mila, but I hope to tell you what happened from my point of view, as someone outside both packs. My arrival appears to have been the spark that caused all this trouble.”
Mila raised her chin. It was starting to become clear now what was going on. She forced herself to breathe out the tension, reminded herself that she promised to have an open mind. Still, she didn’t protest and forced herself to listen. Perhaps Sophie was right—the limited information that Mila had heard from her father likely didn’t tell the entire story. Why not hear what this human had to say?
“I met Damon at a club in Massachusetts last year and never thought I’d see him again,” Sophie began. “When I came up here last month to go skiing with a friend, I had trouble on a steep course and ended up going off trail. In the darkness of the forest and diminishing light at the end of the day, I became disoriented and got lost. Somehow, I stumbled into your pack’s territory.
Sophie glanced at Damon and then back to Mila. “Damon works as a ski patrol on the mountain. When he caught my scent going off trail, he recognized it. He followed it through the woods to make sure I was safe. That’s when one of your enforcers found me—and soon after, Damon.”
Sophie wrung her hands. “It was all my fault for getting in over my head that day.” She cast her eyes down to the floor. “I’m sorry. To all of you. It’s caused so much grief.” She raised her gaze back to Mila. “You should know that Alex kidnapped me. He used me as bait to provoke Damon to come and fight.”
Mila shifted uncomfortably on the sofa. That’s why Damon’s name sounded familiar. He was the enforcer who had killed Alex.
She’d heard a story, but it had left out many of the details Sophie had shared, most notably with Damon searching for his mate to make sure she was safe and Alex later kidnapping her to provoke Damon. That is, if Sophie was telling the truth. It sounded similar to what Rafe had tried explaining to her back when she’d arrived and had refused to listen.
In the version Mila had heard, a Franconia enforcer had been spying in Sacco territory and had gotten caught. That version sounded flimsier each day she’d spent with the Franconia pack. Then again, they would be biased with their viewpoint.
She adjusted her position on the cushion. Her mouth felt dry. “Actually, could I have a glass of water, please?”
