“What about tracking? You think they don’t have someone on their team that can track you?” Damon asked. “Holly told me what happened. She said how your watchman was gutted. Hunters do not attack unless they are sure of victory, and human men, human hunters, they are patient. They will spend time watching, checking your patterns, knowing where you go, who you do it with. They will have watched you for weeks, if not months. A full-scale attack like that wasn’t just a run-of-the-mill hunt.” He’d already figured this out as Holly told him what happened. “You’re wolves. You’re stronger and faster than any human. You can kill them with a swipe of the arm or the snap of a neck.” He turned to look at the room. “This isn’t over.”
“Damon, you’re scaring them.”
“They need to be scared.” Finally, he looked at Meek. “Now, I know this is hard for you to think about, but you need to face a reality check. You can rant about peace and being kind. I don’t care, but you’re not in your own little world. You’re in my world, and they’re coming whether you like it or not.”
Her father glanced down. “My name is Christopher.” He held out his hand.
Damon looked at it, tempted to ignore the gesture, but thought better of it. He shook the man’s hand. “Damon Barasic. We need to talk.” He pulled Holly in front of him. “Why don’t you go and spend some time with the kids? I’m sure they’re going to want to see you.”
“Are you trying to get rid of me?” she asked.
“When I’m done, we’ll go.”
“Who are you to order her around?” Benjamin asked.
He held her stare.
“It’s fine. I want to go.” Holly tugged on her hand for him to let go, and even that action was tough. He hated seeing her walk away.
Why do you think that is?
What is she to you?
She’s more than just a plaything.
Damon shoved all those thoughts to the back of his mind. He wasn’t in the mood to think about what Holly meant to him. She was just a willing fuck.
With Holly out of the room, the men and women glared at him. Their angry growls filled the air, and he grew even more annoyed.
“This will not work on me. We all know I’m stronger than you.”
“We can take you,” a man to his left said.
Damon laughed and kept his attention on Christopher. “You want to fight me? We can go for it, right here, right now, but I will still keep Holly. She will not leave my side. Do you want to risk making her life miserable?”
“Chris, don’t. This man has offered to help,” Holly’s mother said.
“He is only helping for a price.”
“Holly wouldn’t want this.”
“She is not alpha here.”
“Chris!” the woman said with a bark.
Finally, he looked away, and the tension in the room melted away.
“I’m Lidia, Holly’s mother,” she said, holding her hand out for him to take.
He shook her hand, and Christopher growled deep in his chest.
“What is it you need to know?” Lidia asked.
“I need all the details. Any of you see anything suspicious. I also want to know your last known location.”
“Why?”
“I need to go back to see what they left behind.”
“They were burning,” Christopher said. “I saw enough to know there is nothing left of our home.”
Damon sighed. “Maybe not, but you guys were a target. I don’t want hungry hunters coming to give me trouble. That’s not how I roll.”
“There’s nothing you can do to stop them when they come,” Benjamin said. “They have guns. They can take us down easily.”
“We’re stronger and faster than all of them. A gun will stun us, and if they hit us right, we can die, but we can still heal.” He returned his attention to Christopher. “You’re not a fighting pack, are you?”
“We know how to take care of ourselves,” he said.
“That’s not what I meant.”
Lidia stepped forward. “We never have to. We don’t believe in war or violence. There is always a peaceful answer.”
“It’s going to get you killed. It’s fine to read about that shit in storybooks, but there are real people out there, human and wolf, who will hunt us down and kill us. I want you to come with me tomorrow,” he said. “Stop by my house. We’ll head out at first light and get as close to your old home as possible. I need to get a scent of the men involved.”
“Why?”
“In case you didn’t notice, a lot of tourists and travelers pass through this town every single day. I want to be able to detect the same smell. You’re on my turf. You’re not my responsibility, but I sure as hell don’t want you all to die.”
“He’ll be there,” Lidia said.
He nodded. “We’re done here.”
“I want our daughter back. I can smell her on you. She’s not yours,” Christopher said.