RETURN OR LEAVE

      Kiera sat there and drank every drop of alcohol that her friends left behind and drank a couple more before it was closing just to rub it into Dean’s face. After all, he sat there watching the entire time.

       What annoyed her the most was that she caught him speaking to Don, the owner and current bartender. He didn’t hide the fact he was talking to him about her. The two wolves kept looking at her.

       She felt like she was missing some important detail here. After a minute or two of that confusion, she gave up on thinking about solving that problem and went back to figuring out what she should do about her friends.

      Since she moved to the cottage down the road from here, she’d been seeing less and less of them. Kiera knew it wasn’t their fault. If she hadn’t taken the job in town, her kidnappers would never have caught her.

      Elder Evans made that quite clear to her when she recovered enough to hear her spew the venom about no longer being graced by the moon goddess and being an abomination and a twisted monster.

      Kiera knew she wasn’t supposed to hear her say this to the younger healer that spent so much time patching her up the best he could. But she heard Elder Evans, and she wasn’t the only one who believed this. Nor was she the only one who said it as an excuse to keep Kiera away from events, caring for the pups, and being a functional member of the pack. 

      She was fine with it while she was healing, but after that, it kept going on. Some feared for her sanity and if she was stable enough to be among other good pack members. They used her frustration toward this and her expression of it as an example of her mental instability.

     Kiera was as mentally unstable as a foundation stone. 

      Don wouldn’t fill her next drink request. “Kiera, baby, go home. We’re closing, so you know the drill. Go sleep it off and we’ll see you tomorrow for your shift.” Don watched Dean as if he was a pack member seeking approval from his alpha and not the lone wolf he was.

     “Fine, but you’re the sell out. Geez, doing his bidding for who knows what his reasons are.” Kiera growled and grumbled at Don. It was close to closing time, but it wasn’t that close. It was half an hour before they would kick anyone else out.

      There was her proof that they treated her differently and denied her things others took for granted.

       “If I had a place that would really accept me, I’d be gone from here in a heartbeat.” Kiera’s words slurred while she stumbled to the door. Her dark hair falling in her face when she tripped over a chair leg as she passed the last table. She caught herself before her face planted at the bottom of the stairs leading to the front door.

    Tara missed Dean shadowing her to the door. His face was stern after talking to Don. Both males were concerned with Kiera’s physical and mental state. 

     Don mentioned to Dean, he was unhappy with the way a few locals spoke to Kiera when she worked. Others wouldn’t sit at a table she served. It wasn’t just his pack members doing it, but 

Don mentioned a few names belonging to his pack. Don’s greatest concern was that this was Kiera on her nights off. She’d show up and drink until he cut her off. Don worried she’d start drinking before or on the job.

      Dean felt like he’d done her a disservice, letting her leave like he had. It wasn’t like he’d ignored her complaints. But when he looked into the other side of the conflicts, it was all very rational, and fact based. His hands were tied. She had to get a thicker skin. 

      That’s what he’d told her the night before she left. Tara hadn’t told him she was leaving. She’d packed her things, walked into the neutral zone, and broke her connection to the pack.

      When that connection broke, they felt it throughout the entire pack. The shock of it had him reeling for hours after. The mixed reactions of his pack shocked him when they next spoke to him. 

      Dean went to Trisha and demanded to know what she knew about this. Why had Kiera left? He’d avoided adding the word me to his words. It was too humiliating to admit he’d felt something more for her after she’d returned. Dean also demanded to know where she went, but nothing he said or did got any answers right away.

     Kiera left a note on her cabin door. But all it said was “Don’t worry. You don’t need to bother. I’m not coming back.” She didn’t sign it either.

      It took his trackers two days to find her, because she’d hidden her scent so well. The local realtor filled them in on having rented a small cottage near the Rocking Horse Saloon where she now worked.

      A few pack members tried to speak to her about returning, but the she-wolf was stubborn. He missed her more now than when she’d been kidnapped and experimented on her. Dean felt an ache in his chest when he thought of her. Yet she defied him at every turn and wouldn’t listen to the idea of forgiving anyone. 

      Trisha tried several times to persuade her to return. He’d requested and demanded she return to no avail. He wouldn’t let her cottage go to another pack member even though many inquired. Several evenings now, he’d spent roaming around inside that cabin. Just so he could catch her scent and feel a little closer to her. 

     Dean feared he’d have to risk his position as alpha to find any happiness. No one knew if Lycan could have mates or even bond. Dean suspected the answer was yes. He was feeling a draw to her he’d never felt for any other female. 

    Now he was at the point of hunting her, or stalking, as the humans called it. He often kept an eye on her, either personally or he’d send a few enforcers. Just to appease his need for her to be safe.

      She’d started catching on to the enforcers and running them off with a shotgun. Kiera refused to shift into any form. She feared that she’d lose herself and make a grave mistake. Some Lycans lost conscious thought and couldn’t control themselves.

    Dean feared this could contribute to her spiralling out of control.

     At the door, Dean saw Kiera halfway across the parking lot and stumbling to the road when the jerk James Duncan stopped her with a couple of his enforcers. 

     Dean knew James was screwing with Kiera to mess with him. It was all part and parcel of a land dispute. They were working it out slowly. Both males were too alike in temperament, so Dean was told many times over the years when they locked horns.

       Dean held back to listen to what James wanted from Kiera. Even in the dim lighting, Dean knew James could see him. Their eyes met, and neither showed any sign of backing down.