Alpha Prime: Shiftily Ever After(22)

“Also less serial killery,” Naomi observed. “There was a definite serial killer vibe back at that cabin. Very creepy.”

There were cabins scattered around in the woods facing the clearing. In the center, there was a fire pit with a circle of chairs around it, and a big barbecue grill. Near the grill were half a dozen picnic tables with benches, and big steel trash cans. The grass had been mowed and the setting was rustic, but clean and pretty.

Dakota found herself scanning the area for Miles, without really meaning to. It was pretty clear which cabin belonged to him; it was the largest, and it sat on top of a hill. There were two other cabins set on either side of it, which most likely belonged to his Beta and Omega, if this was a traditional pack arrangement. There was also the usual meeting house off to one side of the clearing, a smaller version of the one in the center of town.

Miles himself was nowhere in sight, but she saw Anders and a few other shifters at the top of a hill cutting up a felled tree with a chainsaw. Anders looked up and waved at them. She waved back.

As they trudged through the clearing towards the hilltop, a pretty blonde in tight jeans hurried out of the meeting house and blocked their path.

Ugh. Destiny. The nasty blonde bully from the day before.

Dakota tried to walk past her, but Destiny moved to block her again.

“Figures you’d show up here. You’re the welfare case that Miles was complaining about. The fat one with all the kids.”

Dakota felt as if she’d taken a blow to the gut. Miles had said that about her? It wasn’t that she wanted to date him or anything, but she didn’t want him to think of her like that either.

“Things didn’t work out with your boyfriend Mickey?” she retorted. “That was fast.”

A spark of anger flared in Destiny’s eyes, but she quickly recovered.

“I’ve got my eyes on a bigger prize.” She smirked at Dakota.

Miles. Of course. Who wouldn’t want to be with the Alpha Prime?

“I don’t like the lady with the yellow hair,” Mary said to Naomi.

“Join the club,” Naomi muttered.

Destiny flicked a bored look at her, then returned her attention to Dakota. “Miles changed his mind about letting you stay here. He felt sorry for you, but then he thought about what a drag it would be having you and those whiny little brats around all the time. Run along, now.”

“Can’t I bite her?” Mary pleaded.

“Yes,” Sarah said.

“No,” Dakota said at the same time. “We do not solve our problems by biting.”

Sarah flicked her a dirty look and snorted in contempt. “That’s true,” she said. “Sometimes stabbing works better.”

Dakota looked for Anders and the other shifters, but they had vanished into the forest. Letting Miles’s new squeeze do the dirty work?

Well, this wouldn’t be the first time a guy had considered Dakota…and then found her wanting. She sure wasn’t going to stick around and beg for a place to stay, and the cubs shouldn’t be somewhere where they weren’t wanted either.

“Let’s go, Naomi,” Dakota said shakily. She turned and walked off quickly before the blonde could see that her eyes were full of tears. The kids were apparently used to getting shuffled around from one place to another; they sighed in exasperation and trudged after her.

“Hey, it’s fine,” Naomi said, patting Dakota’s shoulder. “We’ll find a place to stay. We’ll take turns watching the kids. It’ll work out.”

“Thank you,” Dakota sniffled. She glanced at Naomi. “You know, not that I care what Miles thinks about me or anything, but I would have been a lot more depressed if you weren’t here.”

“Really?” Naomi lit up. “Thank you. Usually nobody cares if I’m around because I’m kind of annoying.”

They’d only walked a short distance before Dakota felt that warm, tingling feeling that signaled that Miles was near. Then she scented him. Sure enough, Miles came jogging towards them. He was wearing jeans and a black T-shirt and construction worker boots, and he looked as handsome as sin.

“Where are you going? You just got here,” he said.

Dakota pointed at Destiny, who was running towards Miles at full speed. She moved surprisingly fast considering she was tottering on high heels.

“She said you’d changed your—”

The blonde quickly interrupted. “Miles, baby, no need to bother with them. I’m getting rid of them for you. They were just leaving.” She flashed Dakota a threatening glower and let her fangs descend, then quickly retracted them and smirked up at Miles.

Baby? Dakota swallowed the irrational fury that swelled inside her.