Dawn's Shelter

"Thomas, I don't know if there's a cause for alarm or not. But, something has been on your front porch and left a calling card. I suggest that we take Jan and move her, and you too, to someplace safe." Nash was careful with his words. The 'something' was a wolf not of his pack and he knew nothing of the world of wolves outside his domain.

"What! What did you see?" Jan jumped off the bed, cursing when she accidentally placed too much weight on her injured ankle. The bones were knitting together. But, it still hurt. She shook off Thomas's offer of support as she grappled with what Nash was saying.

"Paw prints in the snow leading up to the front door and markings. Whatever has you so afraid, it has been here. Jan, you have to tell us the whole story, but not now. Now we need to get you and Thomas out of here and someplace more secure."

"I need to see them." Jan hobbled out of the bedroom and scrambled to pull her boots over her swollen ankle. "I need to know." She didn't bother being covert. What was the point? Where there were paw prints, one of her kind had been. If there were scent markings left behind, she wasn't safe. Her family had found her and they'd be back. She didn't even notice the cold as she threw open the front door and stumbled across the porch. Kneeling in the snow that had collected on the steps, she stared at the stain on the front stoop. She unleashed the tiniest portion of her wolf and picked up the scent immediately. She saw the prints and luckily there was only one set.

"Kacie." The markings bore her sister's unique scent. And the paw prints weren't, and thank God they weren't, large enough to belong to one of her mother's omegas. The omegas weren't patient men. If they were here, she'd know about it. If her mother ordered them to, they'd rip this place a part to get to her. She'd never blame the omegas for anything they did. They were bred to protect and follow their master's instructions. Her own sister though? Kacie was out to betray her.

She dropped down into the snow and placed her hand into the paw print. The print made by her sister. Why? She thought if anyone understood her, it would be her sister. How had their mother gotten to her? What spiteful things had she said? By now, if Kacie was working for their mother, the bitch knew where she was and was probably sending the omegas to pick her up and drag her back to Texas by any means necessary. She shook her head and stared up at Thomas. She'd placed him in danger. A human had no business in this world of hers. "I can't... I can't do it."

The forlorn and utter broken expression on Jan's face shattered Thomas's heart. He knelt in the snow beside her. "Yes, you can." He lifted her frozen fingers out of the snow, away from the print and grasped them in his to warm them. "You have to trust, Jan."

Dane muttered an acknowledgement into the ridiculous headset Toby insisted he wear. Patrick was on the wolf. And she was on the move. Dane could scent her on the air. He wanted to keep the hell out of wolf politics. He had his hands full handling his own issues and didn't need to add anything else to his plate. He barely had a functional understanding of the Pack he did know. Nash handled his own business much as he handled his. The two species didn't mix it up too often. Oh sure, Nash's fight would be his fight and visa versa. But, he was really hoping it didn't come to that. "We've got company coming. We need to move. NOW!"

Thomas scrambled to his feet and wrapped an arm around Jan's shoulders, pulling her up. "Come on! Help me here!" he shouted at Jan. Tugging her toward the SUV, he tried to drag her down the sidewalk. Her feet slid in the snow refusing to move on their own volition. She was in shock. Trembling and stifling back tears as she dangled like a marionette with the strings cut in his arms. It was almost as if she'd already given up. "Jan, you have to move!"

"Goddamn it," Tristen hissed. The woman was almost a picture copy of the girl he'd seen earlier at Happy's. They could have passed for twins, maybe sisters. He grabbed Jan solidly around her waist and hefted her weight over his shoulder as if she were a sack of potatoes. He made a run for the SUV and stuffed her inside. Deftly buckling her in as Thomas climbed into the backseat beside her, blocking her exit with the weight of his body as Tristen shut her in.

Jan was numb. The pain in her ankle was nothing compared to the agony ripping at her heart. Her sister had sold her out. That knowledge hurt more than the destiny that she was damned to return to when her family came for her. And they would. Her sister had seen to that. Jan stared into the dark interior of the SUV. Her body rocked with forward motion as the vehicle pulled away from the curb.

The frantic pounding on the glass and her sister's shouting hadn't registered with her until the SUV was at the corner. Numbly, she reached out and fumbled with the door handle. She might as well face up to her inescapable fate. The door was locked. She pressed the electronic window control, lowering the glass that insulated her from her sister's voice. Hands and strong arms held her back, preventing her from climbing out of the window. She stared at the shape running down the sidewalk chasing after her. Shivering against the chilly breeze gusting in from the open window, she reached out her hand.

Patrick darted behind the speeding Honda. Traveling precariously fast for the slick road conditions. Careening around a corner on a course back to Thomas's house. He shouted into the mouthpiece and poured on the speed to keep up with the car.

Kacie knew where her sister was. Her wolf was never wrong. The wolf had followed her sister's scent trail and left a marking on the stoop. Kacie retrieved the mental pictures of what the house looked like and where it was located, from her wolf. Speeding to get to Jan before she went on the lam again, there wasn't going to be time for sweet talk or convincing words. Her job was to detain her sister by any means necessary and get her ass back to Texas.

She pressed on the brake. Apparently the wrong thing to do on an ice covered road. She fishtailed as the car's anti-lock brakes kicked in and the tires skated over the pavement. She was too preoccupied with thoughts of her sister to react appropriately and steer the car into the direction of the skid. With a hard thump she bounced over the curb and ground to a stop at her destination. The SUV containing her sister was pulling away from the curb. Jamming the car into park and leaving it where it landed in the front yard, she ran after the vehicle.

"Jan!" She pounded on the black glass of the SUV as it gained speed, carrying her sister away. She chased after the SUV as it turned around the corner. Seeing her sister's tear stained face shooting an accusing glare at her from the rolled down window, she cried out, "Jan wait!" Panting and out of breath, thanks to the damnable cold and the slick, snow covered sidewalk, she slid to a stop. "Damn it!" she cursed.

Jan loosed a deluge of tears, letting them land with a splatter on her sweatshirt. The cold wind blew across her cheeks, chilling the dampened flesh. She couldn't stop her tears from falling. Her shoulders shuddered against the force of her sobs. An arm reached across her to roll up the window and engage the window's safety lock. Heat flooded the backseat. But, the hot air blowing from the fans did nothing to ease the chill that had settled in her chest.

A hand gripped her shoulder, pulling her into the warmth and safety of an embrace. Gentle thumbs traced the path of her tears, wiping them off her cheeks. Words meant to soothe her were lost in the echoing sounds of her sobs and the storm in her mind.

Thomas cradled Jan against his chest, rocking her gently. Hoping to ease her with soft words and caresses as he swabbed at her tears. He didn't know who the girl was. But, she'd upset Jan. And that pissed him off. At least Jan was safe now. Headed for the compound. There was absolutely no place that she'd be safer. No one got in or out without an invitation.

"Grandpa, slow down. I know that girl," Tristen insisted. He was reaching for the door handle and jumping out before Nash could slow the vehicle to a stop. "I'll catch up with you later. I'm going out to do a little recon." He slammed the door shut and ran off into the night.

"Nash, she's dangerous," Jan warned. Her sister embraced the full essence of what she was and had no problem with calling forth her wolf if she felt threatened.

"Who is she, Jan?"

"My sister. Kacie," Jan snuffled. "She might hurt Tristen." She didn't know these people. But, they were obviously not going to hurt her. They were trying to help. Like all children of her pack, Kacie had trained for combat and defense since the time she'd been old enough to toddle. She was fast on her feet, wicked with her fists, and her wolf, lethal. It was the darkest side of their world. The strong ruled the weak. And the weak died.

Nash snickered. "Don't worry. Tristen can handle himself." He steered the SUV onto the highway, leaving the town behind. For now, he was taking Jan to the compound. If trouble followed on her heels, he didn't want it following her to his front door. He watched her through the rearview mirror. She soaked up the consolation Thomas offered with his embrace. She didn't look like much of a threat. But, then again, a lone wolf seldom did.

Turning his attention back to the empty ribbon of snow-covered highway, he glanced away as her eyes flicked up to catch him watching her. He gripped the steering wheel tighter and ground his molars. For now, he kept his comments and his questions and his musings to himself. This little, lone female was trouble. And it was coming their way. The Pack was not as alone in the universe as they thought. And she was about to bring the universe to his doorstep.

Chapter 7

Kacie kicked a tire out of sheer frustration. After losing sight of the SUV, she'd tried to back out of the yard only to bury the Honda into a deep rut. So much for her plan to follow the SUV. Jan could be on the interstate by now. At least screwing up the front yard of whoever owned the house and had helped her sister escape gave her some sense of satisfaction. The problem though, she had to get the car out of the yard before one of the good citizens of Hickville noticed and called the cops.

Tristen slid through the side yards of the neighborhood, stealthily, approaching the girl. He wasn't quite the alpha his grandfather was, not yet anyway. And he lacked his father's aggressive 'kick the world in the balls and laugh while you're doing it' attitude. His emerging talents were subtler and more covert. He was a master of stealth. He could, when he wanted to and really tried, sneak up on anyone. Not an easy trick to master in a family full of paranormals equipped with sonic ears and super-sleuth noses.

Soundlessly, he leapt onto Thomas's front porch and watched, stifling a snicker, as the girl took out her rage on the poor car. In her fury at getting stuck in the snow, she'd dented the front fender with the sole of her boot. But, he could fix that easily enough. "Isn't it a small world?" He asked as he nonchalantly leaned against the porch railing. He smiled widely and innocently, winking at her. "Got car trouble?"

Kacie turned to glare at the redneck heckling her. Unbelievable, it was the kid, whatever in the hell he'd told her his name was, from the burger joint. Could this night possibly get any better? "Is there a tow truck in this town or can you run back to the barn and hitch up the horses and pull me out of this damn lawn?"

Tristen snickered and tipped his head. Rubbing his chin as if he were in deep thought he said, "I think if you get in and put the car in reverse while I push. I can get you unstuck. No horses necessary."

Kacie shook her head. "Who do you think you are? Superman? Hopped up on growth hormones? Smoking the cornstalk again, are you? You can't push this car out. I need a tow truck."

"Nah, get in. Give it a try. Might save you a tow bill." Tristen walked across the snow and sprinkled a generous mound of salt out of the bag he'd salvaged from Thomas's porch behind the tires. Bracing himself as if pushing her out would really be a strain. He planted his hands on the hood of her car. "What do you got to lose?"

Kacie snorted, "Nothing, I guess. What if I put the car in drive accidentally and run you over instead?" She asked as she slid behind the wheel. The guy was annoying as hell. But, she had no intention of committing a hit and run, although, the thought was tempting. She just wanted to get back on the road and to her hotel. She couldn't wait to tell her mother the good news. No doubt the bitch had already hopped on her broomstick and was in the air on her way here.

"I'm pretty nimble on my feet. If you run me down, its my own fault for not getting out of the way quick enough."

Kacie returned his crooked smile. "Glad you feel that way." She turned the key in the ignition and slid the car into reverse. Double-checking that the gearshift was pointed on R instead of D before she stomped on the gas.

Tristen gathered his strength and gave the front end a hard push, freeing the car from the ruts beneath the front tires. The car rocked and the tires spun before grabbing hold of the traction and showering the yard with a spray of muddy snow and rock salt. He grinned as she backed out, easing the Honda over the curb. Thomas was going to have some nasty ruts in his yard to fix this spring. But, hey, it was just dirt. He smiled widely in his best 'aw shucks, it weren't nothing ma'am' grin as she straightened the wheel and pulled along side the curb. She rolled down the window and waved him over.

Kacie fished a ten out of her purse. Fully prepared to pay the hillbilly for his invaluable services. The night was bitterly cold and damp. And she had to admit that giving him a crumpled ten was cheaper than paying a tow bill. Well, that and having to hang out and explain how she'd ended up on the lawn in the first place to some cop. He must live nearby and have heard the commotion and came out of one of the neat bungalows lining the street to investigate. "Thanks," she said, putting the ten in his palm.

"I don't want your money," Tristen said. He was insulted that she'd tried to buy him off. What he really wanted was an excuse to stick close to her and coax some information out of her. Tristen reached in through the window and tossed the ten into her lap with a huff.

"I feel like I owe you. I don't like owing people," Kacie grumbled. Grabbing the ten-dollar bill, she thrust it at him, insisting that he take it. He backed out of the window faster than she would have guessed and retreated to the edge of the curb. He stood there with his arms crossed over his chest and his jaw set in a stubborn expression. She gave up trying to pay him. He didn't want to take her money. Fine. She stuffed the crumpled bill into her coat pocket and glared at him before reaching down to roll up her window.

"How about a cup of coffee instead? I'm freezing out here." Tristen trotted around to the passenger side and hopped in before she could turn him down. The car was a rental. He fingered the sticker from the rental company plastered to the dash. Miss Leaving, hell he still hadn't gotten her to tell him her name, wore a floral, sweet perfume. It didn't smell bad. But, combined with the sickly scent of stale cherries radiating from the air freshener dangling from her rearview mirror and the musty smell from the heater, his nose was going all kinds of wacko. He couldn't scent for certain whether she was a wolf or a Keebler elf. But, he was pretty sure of the one thing she wasn't. And that was human. "Not from around here huh?"

"No. I'm just passing through," Kacie answered vaguely. She slid the car into drive and carefully pulled away from the curb. The guy's lawn was a mess. And maybe, if whoever it was that owned the house hadn't been so hell bent on helping her sister escape, she would have left a few bills in the mailbox to cover the damages.

Tristen, Mr. Helpy Helperton, sat in the passenger seat, grinning at her with the enthusiasm of a kid with a shiny new toy. She snuffled to clear her sinuses of his particular smell. Not a bad smell, but not anything she wanted her wolf fantasizing about either. She caught vague traces of her sister's scent in the scent cloud surrounding him. Resisting the urge to lean closer and take a deeper whiff of him to pin down Jan's scent on his clothing to be sure she wasn't wrong. She gripped the steering wheel tighter. Figuring the quicker she bought his coffee and engaged in a few minutes worth of lame conversation. The sooner she'd get a lock on her sister and be rid of him. "Where to? I think I recall seeing a coffee shop around here somewhere."

"The gas station is better. That stuff they serve at the coffee shop...I mean do people really pay five bucks for a cup of coffee? The gas station's coffee is ninety-nine cents a cup and they give out free refills. And if you buy a to go mug you get free...refills with...every fill up." He winced under her glare and reached for the seatbelt. "Never mind," he mumbled. He buckled up. When it came to her driving, he sure as hell wanted to be buckled in.

"Ok, the gas station it is. I warn you though," she said, pointing her finger at his chest. "No funny stuff." She gently gave the car some gas and pulled away from the curb.

Tristen held up his hands and smiled. "Oh no, I'm an upfront kind of guy. Not a rapist. What you see is what you get."

Kacie snorted and muttered under breath, "That's what I was afraid of." The guy was harmless, a country boy from the sticks. Besides, it wasn't like she couldn't take care of herself if he got any bright ideas. And she was so desperate to find her sister. There was nothing she wouldn't do, including hanging out with a pain in the ass like Tristen.

"Hang a right at the corner," Tristen directed. Cringing when she skidded to a stop at the corner. "Easy on the brakes. The roads are slick as goose shit tonight."

"Thanks for the analogy," Kacie grumbled. She guided the car around the corner and eased out onto the main drag through town.

"You're not from the north are you?"

"How'd you guess?"

"Could be the fact that you can't drive worth a shit on ice." Tristen grabbed the armrest as the car swerved on a patch of ice. "Be careful."

"You want to walk?" Kacie snapped. "I'm from Texas. South Texas. And no, I've never driven on ice before."

"I didn't catch your name. If you're going to get us killed. Could you at least tell me your name first?" Tristen exhaled a sigh of relief as the gas station came into view. He was impressed as she made it into the parking lot and actually into a parking space without killing them both. His obituary would have to wait another day. And he was damn glad about that.

Getting unintentional information out of her was not going to be easy. So far he knew where she was from, that she smelled of wolf and sultry nights, and that she was much more than she pretended to be. All those things, and of course, the painfully obvious. She had been pretty from a distance, even prettier up close standing toe to toe with him in the restaurant. And, sitting near enough to reach out and stroke her dark hair, with the play of light from the dash and dark from the night around them on her features, she was jaw dropping beautiful.

"Kacie," she answered as she picked a spot and slowly inched the car in between two monster-sized pickup trucks. The snow had started again and fell from the sky in big, fat, splattering wet flakes. At this point she didn't know which she liked worse about this place. The endless wet weather and freaking cold or the company climbing out of her passenger side.