Chapter Seven
Destiny checked her phone for the zillionth time today.
Her I’m home safe text had gone unanswered. From the looks of it, Dodger hadn’t even read it.
She puffed air out of her cheeks and tried to focus on what her dad was saying.
“Did he mention the new Alpha’s name?” Dad asked. He’d looked troubled since she’d told him how she and Dodger had ended last night.
“No. I didn’t ask though. Well, honestly, he clams up a little about his Pack when I ask questions, so I don’t know if he would’ve answered anyway.”
“Well, Bug, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. If he was spilling his guts about his Pack, I would be worried. Loyalty is important.”
“Not just to werewolves,” she pointed out.
“I didn’t say that. Loyalty is just as important for you. If he’s telling an almost-stranger everything about his Pack on your first date? I would be concerned he is using it for clout, or to impress you.”
She curled her knees up to her chest and relaxed back in the outdoor chair on her parents’ back porch thoughtfully.
Dad was out here in the snow grilling about twenty pounds of chicken for easy meals at his job for the next couple of days.
Rain or shine, he was on that barbecue grill every few days.
He’d been like that since she was a kid.
He was out here in a dang T-shirt, while she was bundled in the clothes Dodger had bought her last night, and a blanket over her lap.
“He didn’t feel like a stranger,” she said softly.
“Yeah, well that is the pull of a werewolf. We can make you feel however we want to.”
“It didn’t seem like a game though, Dad. It was just…easy. Other than when he was pushing me away from asking too many questions, it felt like I’d known him for months.”
Dad glanced up at her with those glowing gold eyes of his. “Did he say anything else about the new Coeur d’Alene Lake Pack?”
“Only what I told you. One of the Elder’s daughters brought in a problem Alpha.”
“I bet I can guess which daughter,” he gritted out.
“Will they mess with us?” she asked, worried.
“I don’t know. My wolf says yes, but my logic says they will be focused on Dodger’s Pack for a while.”
“Is he in danger?” she asked softly.
“Yes. He brought it on himself. They all did for calling themselves a Pack and settling in the same territory as the one the Elders tried to kick them out of. Any bloodshed is on them.”
“Be nice.”
“I don’t want you anywhere near this. The Elders will make an example of them for remaining a Pack.”
“But what would you have done?” she asked.
He didn’t answer. Instead, he just kept flipping chicken over on the grill.
“Their Alpha fell in love with a human, just like you did with mom. The Elders stripped them of their homes and territory. Told them they couldn’t be together anymore.
What were they supposed to do? Spread to the four winds and forget about each other, and all the memories they had made together? The Elders are bloated with power.”
“You speak of things you don’t understand.”
“I was raised by you. I remember the aftermath of you leaving your Pack for mom. I remember how sick you were while you broke the bonds in the years afterward. I remember you didn’t want to get out of bed sometimes.
I remember the look on mom’s face when she watched you suffer.
I remember the hard parts, and I remember whose fault it was.
The Elders. And they’re still doing the same thing, all these years later.
I don’t think we can judge Dodger’s Alpha for wanting to keep his human mate and his Pack together.
It would’ve been easier on you if your Pack would’ve rallied around you instead of going to war with you. ”
Dad shook his head and closed the lid of the smoking grill. He came to stand beside her and placed his big hand on the top of her head. Staring out at the yard, he said, “You don’t know how hard your mother and I have had to fight for peace. Choose anyone else.”
His glowing gold eyes were somber as he dragged his gaze to her. No smile existed on his face now.
“Why didn’t you just Turn mom?” she asked.
“Destiny,” he growled, walking away.
“I’m serious. I have always wondered about it. Why didn’t mom want to?”
“She did,” he barked. “She does still. She was griping at me last week about how her collagen levels are down and I need to Turn her fast so she can remain pretty for the next fifty years.”
“Then why didn’t you do it? Who would get you in trouble for it? You’re Rogue. You can Turn one.”
“Because you can die from it, Destiny. Your little boyfriend hasn’t had a chance to explain that to you yet, but you will most likely die, and if that is a conversation you are having with him, I’ll kill him. Do you understand?”
“He didn’t mention it. I’m asking for Mom. You could’ve Turned her and been an Alpha again. You could’ve gone back to your Pack.”
“And if my Turning her killed her instead?” He lifted his chin higher into the air and his eyes were the color of fire now.
“What then? What would happen to me then? What would happen to you? If I stole your mother away from you for selfish reasons, how could I live with myself? I love her, Destiny. She formed a mate bond with me, and I know it seems like a simple thing. Just Turn her and everything is fixed. Just poof, everything is reset. I’ll go back and trust that fucking Pack to have my back again when things get tough.
I’ll put your mother in front of them and ask them to accept a Turn, and then I’ll bring you to them.
You were a kid, Destiny. What was I going to do?
Put a human child in the path of Werewolves?
Hell no.” He looked around their yard, and at the nice porch he and mom had added onto the house a few years back.
“I gave you and your mother this instead, and I don’t regret it for a single day.
I’m happy because of the decisions your mother and I made.
We had to choose a world, Destiny, and the human one was safer for both of you.
We went through hell for this. We are lucky.
Let it rest. Don’t go tag in on a war that is a repeat of history.
The Elders always win. Power is currency for werewolves, and there are layers to this that you do not and cannot understand. ”
“But what if Dodger’s people fight back, and end up with this?” she asked, gesturing to their solid life.
“Then they can go through the bloodshed without you being a human casualty. You like this man? Give him time. Let him do his fighting and then if he is meant for you, it will be. Later.”
“That’s not how you build a bond, and you know it.”
“Are you talking about Chance?” he demanded.
“Are you speaking of the bond you built from being there through his sickness? Do you think we wanted that for you? That is some pain, Destiny. It’s been ten years and you are still feeling it.
Your life was altered because of that bond, and as soon as you are finally, finally ready to date, you pick a fuckin’ werewolf at war with the Elders. ”
“I picked a werewolf because of you!” she barked out.
Dad froze.
“You think I want another trauma bond with a man? I’m terrified of it.
But you showed me what love is, Dad. You took my mom and me in, and you protected us from everything.
And you stayed gentle with us while you hurt.
You taught me to be strong, and I am! I have watched how you care for my mom, and so yeah, when I saw Dodger, and couldn’t take my mind off him, I paid attention.
I want a man who will treat me like you treat mom.
I want a man who will protect my children someday,” she whispered. “What you are means something to me.”
“A human man can do all those things for you,” he murmured, his eyes pleading. “When you choose a werewolf, they have to protect you from whatever dominance battle bullshit they are in. Their wars become yours. You could lead a safe life with a human man.”
“I led a life with a human before, Dad,” she whispered. “I got demolished, and the hurt lasted a really long time. There was nothing safe about it.”
He cocked his head to the side and studied her face. “Fuck,” he murmured.
“Will you meet him?”
“You don’t think it’s a little soon?” he asked. “You’ve had one date.”
“You know how things work with werewolves.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You aren’t forming a bond yet.”
“Okay.”
“You aren’t. I forbid it.”
She giggled. “I don’t think you can control that stuff, Dad. I might be your kid, but I’m grown.”
“You know, I read all these books about parenting, and they all seemed to say that parenting gets easier when the child grows up and becomes independent, but I’m realizing in this exact moment those books are burnable. It does not get easier. It gets worse and worse.”
She snorted. “You’re being really dramatic right now.”
He shook his head, and now he was growling as he made his way back to the grill and checked the chicken.
“So, you’ll meet him? When he’s ready?”
“No.”
“Fine, I’ll ask mom.”
“Stop,” he drawled out.
“She likes him,” Destiny pointed out.
“I’m not doing the two of you against me in this house again. I’m over it. Do whatever you want, I can’t control anything. You human women are trouble, I knew it from the jump, and I did this to myself. I took you both on.”
Destiny was grinning as she got up. She lifted up on her tiptoes and hugged him tightly. “Love you, Dad.”
“If you loved me, you wouldn’t try to give me heart attacks.”
“Werewolves don’t get those,” she called over her shoulder as she made her way inside.
Destiny checked her phone again, but still nothing.
She was starting to worry now. She knew what would get a response from him though.
My dad wants to meet you. Send.
She waited for it to go through, but the little bubble next to the text just sat there empty. It wasn’t going through.
With a frown, she tried to send the text again.
My dad wants to meet you. Send.
It wouldn’t go through again.
Realization hit her like an anvil to the chest.
Dodger had blocked her number.
A wave of confusion and hurt washed through her, and she sat down slowly on the bench seat beside the back door.
He’d blocked her? He didn’t even want to hear from her? But…they’d had fun last night. He invited her to see his wolf for their next date. He’d kissed her and held her hand.
She looked out the window and saw Dad pulling chicken off the grill. He would probably be relieved at this news, and she couldn’t handle it. Not after she’d just gone to bat for Dodger.
She’d learned that dating humans wasn’t safe, but also, now she was learning that werewolves weren’t either.
Love in general wasn’t safe.
Was she in love with Dodger after such a short time? She didn’t know. She’d felt something big from the second she’d seen him for the first time. She’d felt the bond growing between them last night.
He felt very important, but he was also taking himself away from her, and it felt like a lash to her soul.
What had she done wrong? Why had he blocked her number?
Was this what it felt like to be ghosted? She hated this.
Tears burned her eyes, and she stood quickly to leave before her dad came back inside. He would sense her distress right away.
Destiny grabbed her purse in a hurry and left, closing the front door softly so he wouldn’t hear it and think something was wrong.
She crossed her arms over her chest as she jogged to her car in the driveway. A warm tear streaked down her cheek and she rubbed it away quickly with the back of her hand.
Stupid hot-and-cold boy.
Stupid werewolf.
He’d asked her on a date tonight and told her he wanted to Change in front of her. He had promised to let her in, and now this?
She had put herself out there, and he’d teased her. He’d kissed her and drawn her heart to him. He’d held her hand. He’d given her happy moments after so long of the same-old-same-old life, and it felt unbearable to go back to it now.
She didn’t care that this was fast.
It didn’t feel fast to her.
She’d been ready for him.
It cut her deeply that he was not ready for her.