Warrior (Relentless #4)(40)

I sighed heavily. I just wished I knew what she was hiding. Asking her about it only pushed her further away, and I wanted her to trust me, not fear me. I racked my brain for answers, but nothing came to me. Sara seemed too guileless and clean to be involved in anything criminal, and her werewolf friends obviously cared for her a great deal. Werewolves had the uncanny ability to sense malice and corruption in others. Even if the pups were too young to pick up anything, Maxwell would have caught it for sure.

Rolling over, I punched my pillow in frustration. I could make demons cower and give up their own mother, but I couldn’t crack the shell of one teenage girl.

My groan dissolved into a laugh full of self-mockery. It was no wonder my parents had been so amused. They’d no doubt get a few more chuckles out of it. If I was them, I probably would too.





*


Chris and I stepped up our watch after Sara’s little escapade. We no longer tried to hide our presence from her because I didn’t want her taking any more risks. She wasn’t happy about it. But she would have to get used to us being around. Until we eliminated the threat to her, I was taking no more chances with her life. I didn’t like the situation any more than she did, and if I had my way, she’d be living at Westhorne right now where no vampire could touch her.

When I wasn’t in New Hastings, I was in Portland, working with Erik to deal with the city’s growing vampire problem. And it wasn’t just vampires. In the last week, we’d seen an increase in demon activity in the normally quiet city.

Some demon races were innocuous, quietly living among humans who were blissfully ignorant of the world around them. Then there were the troublemakers, the ones that posed a real threat to humans. The vampire presence in Portland had attracted a number of these demons, including the lizard-like gulak thugs. Gulak demons were known to work for vampires, and they would do anything for the right price.

The werewolves were not happy about the growing demon population in their territory, not that I blamed them. Maxwell requested another meeting with me on Saturday to discuss the problem, and this time, I went to visit him at his lumber yard in New Hastings. The Alpha not only led the largest pack in the country, he also made time to run a successful business. I had to admit, my respect for him grew every time we talked.

Maxwell was waiting for me outside his office when I pulled up. He held out a hand when I walked over to join him. “Thank you for coming.”

I took the offered hand that was weathered from a life spent outdoors. “I’m glad we can work together on this.”

We walked into his modest office. He sat behind the worn wooden desk while I took one of the visitor chairs. As soon as we were seated, he got straight to the reason for our meeting.

“I’ve been here for almost fifty years, and I’ve probably seen a dozen vampires in my territory in all that time. In the last three weeks, we’ve killed twice that many between my pack and your people.” He scowled deeply. “There are vampires and demons running around Portland like it’s LA, and I had goddamn crocotta hunting a mile from my home.”

My body tensed. As long as Sara was in New Hastings, the vampires would be in Portland. Had he called me here to ask me to take her away so his territory would be safe again? If so, he was in for a disappointment. Sara did not want to leave her home, and I would not force her to leave unless I felt I could no longer protect her here.

Maxwell rested his arms on his desk. “I know what you’re thinking, warrior. In the beginning, I had my reservations about my son and nephew’s friendship with Sara because she was too fragile to play with two male pups. But she’d just lost her father, and it would have been cruel to take away her only friends. I ordered the boys to never reveal what we were to her, and the three of them became inseparable. Though we don’t share the same blood, I would never turn my back on that girl.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Sara didn’t know you were werewolves?”

“Not until the night she was attacked in Portland.”

“That must have been quite a shock for her.” How was it possible for a girl to know so much about the real world and not know that her best friends were werewolves? When I’d seen her with Roland and Peter in Portland, I’d assumed she knew what they were since she’d known about vampires. And she hadn’t missed a beat when I’d mentioned the werewolves to her that day on the wharf.

The more I learned about her, the more I realized how much I didn’t know about her. Something told me there was a lot more to her than even her friends and family knew.

Maxwell chuckled gruffly. “I’d say we were the ones taken by surprise. We thought we’d have to calm a terrified human girl, and she was only upset that we’d hidden what we were from her. Then she started talking about vampires killing her father.”

He rubbed his jaw. “Did you know she was the one who found the body? She must have been only seven or eight at the time.”

“I didn’t know that.” My chest tightened at the thought of the little girl seeing what those monsters had done to her father. I silently cursed Madeline once again for leaving her daughter unprotected and forced to cope with such a horrific ordeal. “The newspaper and police reports didn’t mention Sara at all. Do you know why?”

“No, and I thought that was strange as well. It’s as if someone went to great effort to hide her.” He leaned back in his chair. “I couldn’t do anything for her back then, but as long as she lives here, she is under my protection. I know she’s one of yours, and I’m not saying this to undermine you. I just want you to know where I stand.”