A woman's scream jerks me awake, making me crack my head hard enough against the door to wince. I reach my hand up to rub at the sore spot at the back of my head as I blink myself awake.
A second later, I hear another scream. Although it's a less pain-filled version of the first, it's just as loud,
Why would a woman be… oh.
The alpha's mate was pregnant. It was her water breaking that gave me the opportunity to run away from the BBQ while they were all distracted. So she must be in labor. That or her contractions have gotten worse, since I can't imagine she'd be having the baby so soon.
It always took the women in my former pack several days before the baby came, as a shifter birth isn't easy. At least that was what my mom and everyone else warned me before I left to go with Jared, since at twenty-three, it wouldn't be long until it was my turn.
Thank God that it didn't.
That the alpha hasn't sent someone to chase me away while his mate is giving birth is beyond comprehension. In my family's pack, before I left to join the Stones, no one would dare venture too close to a dominant shifter's pregnant mate because of how possessive he can be over her.
He could be waiting for her to have the baby first before he comes to kill me. Or maybe the alpha sent Luka to deal with me, which means he's the beta here.
But he's not dealing with me in the way I'd expect. In the Stone pack, the beta, Frank wouldn't have chased me away from pack land. He'd have hunted me as a wolf and torn out my throat-but not before he tormented me first.
In my family's pack, it would've been the same, just without the tormenting part.
Here, I make myself at home in this pack's territory and the beta brings me food, tells me where I can find blankets, and even wishes me goodnight before he leaves.
As if my thoughts summoned him, I hear footsteps approaching the cabin. They're far enough away that I would have time to wrench the door open and run. Maybe fast enough that he wouldn't catch me if he didn't shift first.
I'm getting to my feet when I stop, and I don't know why.
The footsteps come closer. Close enough that if I opened the door and tried to run, he'd see me and he'd have time to stop me, even as a human.
Half-standing, I wait beside the door with the blanket still draped over my shoulders and the plastic bag with the empty containers, the only remnants left of my quickly eaten meal the night before, still sitting beside me.
I ate every mouthful of the burgers, chicken, corn, ribs, and potato salad. It didn't matter that everything was cold, not when it was easily the most delicious meal I've ever eaten in my life.
Now, the approaching shifter who smells of cedar and rich chocolate isn't coming empty-handed. The bacon tells me it's breakfast this time.
I don't immediately panic when he quietly knocks on the door. "Good morning, Eden. Did you sleep well?"
Again, I don't respond, because even though he might not have tried to kill me or knock the door down yet, it doesn't mean I trust him. Even if his scent makes me want to wallow in it. Even if it brings my wolf, the part of me not ruled by fear and terror, more comfort than anything else ever has.
"Well, the rest of us didn't. Talis, she's Dayne's mate, went into labor, so between the screaming and swearing, none of us got a lot of sleep."
Swearing?
"I brought you breakfast," he says. "I'll leave it beside the door like the last one."
The crinkling of plastic announces he's doing just that. I hope that when I go to grab it, I won't have to play tug-of-war with a feral wolf.
"Do you mind if I sit here on the other side of the door for a couple of minutes? I could do with a bit of quiet. If you do mind, just knock and I'll leave. No need to say anything."
I lift my hand to the door because, while I'm not sure I want him here, a part of me isn't ready for him to leave either. So, for several seconds, frozen by indecision, my hand hovers in the air until I lower it and sink back to the floor with my legs stretched out in front of me.
A minute passes, and then I hear him settle on the other side. I imagine sitting as I am. "Thanks."
Although he said he wanted quiet, I wait for the questions to start, namely about what I'm doing here and how long I plan to stay.
But Luka doesn't break the silence for several minutes, and when he does, it isn't to demand answers I have no intention of giving him.
He clears his throat. "Oh, I just realized I didn't even tell you my name. It's Luka."
He's wrong. He told me his name back at the BBQ, but he needn't have bothered because I saw him in town once talking with a guy outside the grocery store. I was far enough away that he wouldn't have seen me or even picked up my scent. But I was close enough to hear his name.
"I have a couple of messages for you from the house."
I angle my head.
Messages for me?
As if he heard my thoughts, Luka speaks. "The first is from Kier."
Panic grips me at the thought that Kier is on his way to talk to me. I'd spent months-years, even-trying to live on my own. I failed. Learning he was living in a Colorado town called Hardin meant I finally had somewhere to go, that I had someone to go to for help.
Only I didn't.
I never made it to the front door of his cabin. Something always stopped me.
Not something. Memories. Guilt.
Once I nearly knocked. It was a particularly miserable day, when torrential rain soaked through my clothes, leaving me cold and shivering. I was crossing over to the door when, not even halfway there, I heard him inside his cabin, laughing with his new mate. It reminded me that he had a new life here, a happier one than he ever had with the Stones. A life my presence would only disturb.
Knowing the only thing I'd do is remind him of that time-or worse, remind him of Melody-I turned around again and left. To come to this cabin for the first time.
As if Luka can feel my sudden tension, he doesn't speak for a long time. "If you want to see him, that can happen whenever you want. I think one of our packmates, Jenna, saw you before Kier left to go deal with the Stone pack in Dexter."
I jerk in surprise, because I never thought that was where he went. I saw him leave his cabin and drive away, but I hadn't thought it was to return to our former pack in the tiny town of Dexter, Wyoming.
"We think the alpha there-a guy called Jaxon-sent some brothers here to cause trouble for Kier, and Jenna, our submissive, got caught up in the middle of it. She's okay now. She proved herself to be stronger than she ever believed."
I think back to my arrival at Kier's cabin several days ago. Although I knew some of the Stone pack had come to Hardin, I thought it was because Jared had learned I was still alive, and he was after me, so I hid.
I'm desperate to ask why it would be Jaxon and not Jared sending men after Kier, but the thought of doing anything, saying anything that would only invite Luka to stay longer, and maybe ask me questions, keeps me silent.
"He's dead now. Both him and his brother," Luka continues. "Kier said you left when Jared was still alive. He wanted you to know that he killed him not long after… well, he said you'd know why he would want Jared dead, and it wasn't only because of you. That's why Jaxon would want revenge, in case you were wondering. Kier killed his brother and took off, instead of staying to be alpha."
I stare at the small two-seater couch across from me in amazement.
Kier killed Jared. For Melody.
I ran to get away from Jared, and Kier stayed to get justice for my friend.
My eyes fill with tears at yet another sign that I'm a terrible friend and a terrible person.
After my only other friend in that place helped me escape, I didn't leave Dexter until a week later. I was too afraid to go far when I'd never been on my own before, so she found me a safe place near town. When she came to tell me that my friend was dead, I knew who was to blame.
And it wasn't just Jared or Jaxon and all the other predators in that pack who treated us both like we were there only for them to torment. It was me, too. I was equally to blame for not taking my friend with me.
I thought she'd be safer with Kier than with me, when I should've known there was no safe place in that pack. Not with an alpha like Jared. So, instead of going back to get justice for my friend, I ran. And Kier did what I should have been the one to do.
I guess now it makes sense why he would leave to go back to Dexter. He tried to look after Melody, and me too, because we couldn't look after ourselves. That the Stones would target the weakest member of the pack here would drive Kier to stop it from ever happening again.
"There won't be any more trouble from that old pack. You're safe here," Luka murmurs.
Although I want to tell him that isn't true, especially now with the arrival of a feral wolf, I say nothing at all.
What's funny is that I never used to be so hesitant to speak. I was always one of the most vocal in my old pack. Well, as much as a woman was allowed to be in a pack as traditional as my family was. Living with the Stones, surrounded by people who never stopped viewing me as a target, soon made me realize that silence was the only thing I had to protect myself from further attacks. And most of the time, not even then.
"Anyway, he and his new mate, Hallee, are getting ready to head home, but if you want to speak to Kier, I can go tell him. If you do, just knock."
I grip my blanket tighter as a minute passes, and then two.
"Okay, the second message is from Savannah. She just wanted you to know that you're welcome to stay as long as you want."
When I hear him rising, I angle my head to the side as I frown.
That's it?
I can see who I want to or not, and I can stay in this cabin for however long I want? There has to be a catch.
"And no, there's no catch," Luka murmurs, as if he's able to read my mind. "I'd better get back, but breakfast is here for you. I'll stop by later with something for lunch and dinner. I'll see you later."
I hear him moving away, this time without stopping as he did the night before.
With Luka gone, my thoughts return to the feral wolf running around.
"Surely he would've warned me," I mutter beneath my breath. "But maybe they don't know, maybe Luka thinks-just as I did at first-that it's just a wild wolf and not a feral shifter."
I think about it until my stomach reminds me that there's food waiting for me on the other side of the door, and this time, I don't wait for it to get cold.
After climbing to my feet, I jerk the door open before quickly snatching up the bag and slamming the door shut again. Fortunately, this time, there's no feral shifter trying to ram the door.
Once I've returned to the floor, I open the bag and take a moment to inhale the scent of eggs, waffles, bacon, and sausage before digging into the plentiful food.