Chapter Seven

You need to go to her right now, the demon urged.

No, Daniel argued. That will scare her.

Yes. She is already scared, it insisted. She's hurt and I will kill whoever did it.

That's not how it works, Daniel groaned. You know this. I thought we tempered your bloodlust a long time ago.

YOU tempered the bloodlust. Daniel had an image of jaws snapping, running red with blood, flash through his mind, followed by a wolfish grin. I didn't necessarily agree to it.

Daniel began to sweat with the effort of sitting in his chair and quarreling with the demon. He picked up his phone and pretended to scroll so he wouldn't cause a scene; muttering to himself while staring at nothing like a mad man.

Enough! Daniel ordered sternly and heard a growl in response. She is timid, and I'm going to bet it was a man, probably her husband, that did that to her. Didn’t you see the ring? It means she's already taken and she's not going to appreciate some strange, random man walking up to her. What would I say? Hi, I'm Daniel. I'm a werewolf and my wolf insists that we protect you. You belong to us now.

That's EXACTLY what you say, the demon purred, pleased at the thought. The ring means nothing to me. If she is 'taken', her mate is not worthy, he lets her be hurt and alone and does not deserve her. If it is he that hurt her, then he will die. 

Daniel shook his head.

You're unbelievable. Since when don't you trust my instincts? He asked disgruntledly.

Since when don't you trust mine? The demon shot back. Touché. I am Alpha. The demon's sense of superiority was maddening, sometimes.

Go back to sleep, Daniel grumbled.

I like the view, the demon protested, but quieted.

Daniel blew out forcefully and ran his hand through his hair. His wolf had never taken an interest in someone that was human before. Witches, dragons and vampires would have him alert and on edge, but ordinary women bored him. Daniel pretended to type away on his phone as he studied her.

She hadn't looked at him again since he'd caught her. She looked at every other table except his. He wondered if he should introduce himself, but was hesitant, knowing his wolf was close to the surface, angry about her bruises, and that would cause him to come across too strongly. Besides, he didn't need to get involved. He had enough on his plate without worrying about a strange woman's personal problems.

His wolf did not appreciate that line of thinking.

He found Donna's contact in his phone to check in and leaned back in his seat, his position feigning ease he didn't feel. She picked up after the third ring and he loved how predictable she was.

Donna was extremely special to him. He met her almost fifteen years ago when she showed up on his doorstep with a young wolf in tow. Strangers didn't come to Clearfork unannounced. They were invited. He knew nothing about her or the very young wolf that refused to look up at him. Smart kid.

Daniel looked out the front door of his house warily, wondering how she made it all the way to his home without being questioned. He ran a security company for Christ's sake and an old woman and young wolf came all this way unchallenged. He sent the mental image to Lucas, his Beta, with an underlying aura of intense displeasure. Daniel felt Lucas's embarrassed surprise and haste.

"May I help you?" Daniel asked gruffly. He sniffed the air, trying to sense if she was a witch. That could definitely explain how.

"Put your nose away, Alpha," the woman snapped and adjusted her sweater. "You wolves, always sniffing, your noses getting you into trouble!"

"Excuse me?" Daniel asked. He didn't know if he was offended or amused.

"I know who you are," she said, glaring at him, but not directly in his eyes, so it didn't bother him. As much. She sighed and tightened her lips as if readying to say something unpleasant. "I know what you are and all about your kind. This is my grandson Henry."

Daniel nodded. He'd get to the bottom of who she was later, right now, he needed to focus on the little wolf.

"How did he turn?" Daniel asked the woman. He should have been prepared for the tears that sprang up in her eyes.

"He was attacked. He was camping with his family in the Blue Ridge Mountains, just south of the Virginia border. His father - my son, his mother and his little sister... all of them, gone."

"Come inside, Missus?" Daniel offered gently.

"Donna. Donna Crenshaw," the old woman said tiredly as she came in. It seemed she used up all of her steam readying for a fight with him that didn’t happen.

Donna told him how the attack was blamed on a bear, given the nature of the maulings, but she collected Henry from the nearby hospital and recognized the wounds and how quickly they healed. Thankfully, he was still young so on his first full moon, she put him in the windowless basement and reinforced the door with silver bars. Daniel winced. The first shift is extremely painful; every shift is away from the moon. Something about the moonlight eases the speed of transformation and acts as a balm on their tortured, twisted bodies.

"How do you know about me, Ms. Donna?" Daniel asked gravely. She still had yet to explain how she knew to bring her grandson here. She drew a deep breath.

"My daughter-in-law," she began, dragging every word. "Was a witch Mr. Sanford."

"Your grandson is a witch?" Daniel asked, alarmed.

"No, sir," the boy's voice croaked and his face screwed up to cry. "My sister got my mom's abilities. Only one gifted child per family, unless they are twins. I... I tried to protect her. My sister, I mean. But I wasn't strong enough. She didn't know how to use her magic yet, she was only six, but she did... something. I was hurt, then hurt an explosion and it, the wolf, ran away. She saved my life right before she died."

Daniel nodded. He knew that witch abilities were fickle in how they moved about a family and how those abilities manifested.

"She was a good witch," Donna defended. "She dealt with healing herbs and worked closely with the local pack."

"Why not take Henry to the Blue Ridge Pack, then?" Daniel asked.

"Because the Blue Ridge is the pack that killed them, Mr. Sanford," Donna leveled her gaze at him.