what happened to him, raised a good kid and she would be fine in the end. I just had to keep her distracted and happy.
That was, until my magic screamed at me. I gasped, dropping the wooden spoon I had been using to stir the chili I was whipping up. My chest tightened as I closed my eyes and focused, trying to decipher what my magic was telling me.
“Wolves,” I whispered, knowing she couldn’t hear me. Then I snarled loud enough that she jumped. “Wolves are coming.”
5
Chapter Five
It took less than a minute for me to get all the information I needed. I started rambling, hoping Carey picked any of it up, since it was unnatural for me to tell others these sorts of things. Normally, I went on instinct. My magic would tell me of an intruder and that drove me to chase down the new predator in my territory. I couldn’t do that this time, not if I wanted Carey to stay safe.
“They just entered my territory. They’re moving too fast to be in their wolf forms, so they must be on US-175. That means they’re coming right this way, or close by. They might be following a trail—or maybe they had a lead on where we are. It gives us roughly thirty minutes until they get here if they stay on the road.” I locked eyes with her across the room as I turned the stove off. The chili was practically done anyway. “Carey, when I say hide, you will, is that clear?”
“Yes.” She dropped the Switch and jumped off the couch, twiddling her thumbs. “Um. What if they’re my family? What if they’re here to get me and take me somewhere safe?”
“That’s not how this works,” I answered. “Your father, if he knew how this works well enough to send you here, would know that I can’t give up claim on my charge until I know without a doubt that he or she is safe. I told the big honchos that run things on this continent that I had two conditions for that. One was peace in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The second is that I know your family is alive or dead and that no more trouble is coming their way.” I ran a hand through my hair, looking up to my ceiling, trying to think of the best way to say what I needed to. “Carey, if these wolves are here, they can’t be friends. Any allies we might have wouldn’t come to try and take you from me or give away your position. Did anyone in the pack know I was here except your father?”
She only shrugged, which didn’t bode well for me. I figured when she arrived that her father wouldn’t tell anyone who he was planning to have protect his daughter, but secrets always got out. That meant I had to adjust. After this, I had to get her packed and into my car.
“Anything? Do you have anything that could tell me who these wolves might be? Who was in your father’s inner circle? Who were his top five?”
“I don’t know! They kept me pretty far away from pack things!” Carey threw her hands up.
I sighed, nodding. “Okay. I want you to grab your bag and the new clothes and take it all to my bedroom. I’m going to go down and secure the bar. You have to stay up here, okay? No matter what you hear or what anyone says to you, you have to stay here.”
“Until?” Her big grey-blue eyes were wide in fear now. At least the severity of what was happening was sinking in.
“Until I come get you and we leave. They’ve come on my territory and they know better. There’s only one way for this to end.” I started walking, not bothering to grab shoes or anything. It would all be in my way anyway. When I reached the door, I turned back to her, watching her grab everything she could hold and begin to haul it out of the room. “Carey. These wolves might have been a part of your father’s pack, but I need you to remember one thing for me.”
“What’s that?”
“That the loyalties don’t matter anymore. Right now, every wolf from your father’s pack is on their own until stability is brought back to the area. You can’t trust them.”
“But I have to trust you.”
I winced at the bitterness in those words. I was telling her to not trust men who probably guarded