Chapter 9

He slowed down as they got near the clearing. The settlement was still far off into the woods. He was Alpha, he could do whatever he wanted but not to the detriment of his pack. He needed to know he wasn’t endangering them by bringing her in. But Maggie was harmless…wasn’t she?

After tonight you still think so? He thought to himself. Those men who pursued her, he recognized them from the Red Light district, they were Ezra Storm’s bouncers. Now the real question was why were they after her?

He brought the motorcycle to a stop and shifted so that he could see her under the dim light of the night sky.

“Before I risk my neck for you, I need to know what got you in trouble now.”

She had stopped trembling but she wouldn’t let him go. When she looked up at him he saw her eyes were puffed and red-rimmed and more tears brimmed in them.

“I’m such an idiot.”

That makes two of us, he thought to himself.

She sniffed and finally let him before sliding off the seat to land softly on the ground. “Thanks,” she muttered. “You had no reason to help me but I’m glad you did.” She noticed the uniform on him, it was the same as the bouncers he had spoken to moments before they escaped. “You work in the District?”

“I do…well if I don't get fired that is. You pull trouble everywhere with you, don’t you? What business do you have with Ezra Storm’s bouncers?”

She shook her head and wiped at her eyes. “Technically it’s not them. It’s the people they work for.”

“Ezra Storm?” his voice held an incredulous edge. Suddenly his eyes turned hard as understanding dawned. “You are a Dark Storm pack member.” It wasn’t a question. “You are Ezra’s mistress.” He didn’t wait for her to answer before sliding off the motorbike seat and slapping his head with both hands. “Fuck! That’s why you ran away?! That’s why his men were after you? Why would you pull me into this mess knowing who you are? Do you know what you have just done?” he was frustrated and his voice rose higher the more he spoke. His eyes sparked accusing flames at her. “Why would you let me run away with you without telling me what happened? Do you know what you have just done? You have broken the alliance between our kinds!”

Maggie was taken aback by his outburst. He was wearing a path in the shrubs as he paced in stiff strides.

He whirled on her. “I have to take you back.” His voice was firm and commanding.

“What? No…!” he wouldn’t let her finish talking before interrupting her.

“I can’t keep you here. Bad enough that you stayed here yesterday, I won’t endanger my family because of you!” he should have listened to Ginny. Ginny would laugh at him before berating him like the others for his soft-heartedness toward women. That was his heaviest cross in life. It always got him into trouble. Like it did with Jennifer. He should have learned from that experience but here he was with an even bigger problem than anything he ever went through with Jennifer.

“You can’t take me back!”

“Are you listening to me?!” He yelled as he came to stand in front of her. Maggie flinched but she did not back down. If he took her back…

“Yes, am I listening to you! You are not listening. I am not Ezra Storm’s mistress I am his daughter!”

“Listen…what?” Asher paused as her words registered. Suddenly he released a long low stream of curses enough to wake the dead. “Who sent you?”

“What do you mean who sent me? You saw that I needed your help and you saved my life.”

“Why because daddy wouldn’t fill your bank account? He seized your credit cards and you want to pull the spoiled brat stunt by running away?!”

“No because my dad is dead!” she screamed. That succeeded in shutting him up and he paused in his tracks with his hand on his head as he stared incredulously at her.

“Wha…what?” his voice was barely above a whisper.

“Ezra Storm is dead. And his enemies are after me because I am his daughter!”

Asher paled and he suddenly had the urge to put his foot in his mouth.

She was crying again. Her legs could barely hold her up again so she slid to the ground and wiped her tears. “He’s dead. I just…I have nowhere to go…I…”

He felt like an idiot for speaking without thinking. He went on one knee in front of her and lifted her chin. He didn’t have to hear anymore, her eyes told her story. Finding her in the forest suddenly made sense to him.

“I… I’m so sorry.”

Maggie fought the urge to jerk her chin away. She wasn’t supposed to be crying in a red dress on the forest floor in front of a ruggedly handsome man who lacked basic emotions. She was supposed to be staking her claim to all her father’s properties. She wasn’t supposed to be running away. She was supposed to be staring her enemies in the eye while demanding answers. Why did they betray her? Why betray their Alpha?

Asher was at a loss for what to say. Her eyes held intense anger but behind that anger was fear. He understood her fear for her life. He was such an idiot to assume that she was a mistress but what was he supposed to think when she came running out of the alley in that short, red dress?

He couldn’t leave her out there with her anger and no protection. There was only one thing to do.

Without a word, he slipped his hands under her and picked her up. She gasped, stunned.

“What are you doing? Put me down!”

“I can’t leave you here. You’re not sleeping in the woods again tonight. You’re coming with me.”

She struggled against him but his hold on her was strong. Asher couldn’t let her go now that he knew half of her story. Luckily the men wouldn’t come looking for them here, he knew that for a fact.

“Asher let me go! You don’t want me here remember?”

“Let me be the judge of that. Tomorrow you can leave if you want to but it’s not safe out there for you right now.” His arms tightened around her as he started to walk away, moving deeper into the woods.

“I can walk.”

He looked down at her and through the concern she saw in his eyes there was also a hint of amusement in them. “I know that and that’s what I’m worried about.”

She rolled her eyes. She didn’t have the strength to argue with him not when crying had sapped too much of her strength so she sat in his arms moping and trying not to think about how she was once again depending on him. In just 24 hours she was becoming a constant in his life and he was just a stranger.

When they were only a few feet away from the settlement he stopped walking and set her on her feet. “We have to sneak into the pack. The others can’t know you’re here.”

“I can leave. You left your bike where we stopped, I can take it and pay the expenses.”

He could help the smile that tugged at his lips. He was right about one thing, she was such a spoiled brat.

“And what will you do when you get back to the city?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “I’ll hide, I guess. Look, I don’t want to bring you into my mess. This is my fight…”

“Stay the night,” he said. Without waiting for her response he took her hand and led her into a copse of trees. Their footsteps were muffled. The settlement had limited light. A large fire lit in the center of the clearing was the major source of light while the houses relied on glass bulbs. Maggie felt pity. They were so far out of modernity that she felt sorry. No wonder he was worried about his pack’s reaction to her presence in their camp. The last thing they wanted was for her to put a strain on their limited supply. Laughter and conversation drifted out from apartments but no one seemed to be aware of their presence.

Asher led her through the back to the house she had woken up in that morning and he led her to the room.

“Stay here the night, okay? If you need anything you let me know.”

When he started to leave she reached out to him. “Asher.”

He turned to her.

“Thank you.”

He raised a brow. “That’s the third time you’re telling me that, I’m beginning to worry I might die tomorrow.”

She rolled her eyes but a smile touched her lips as he nodded and she watched him go.