“You haven’t seen him. Nobody has ever seen him like this. You need to be invisible,” Tina said in a low, urgent voice.
“This is hard to believe,” Dakota said, dazed. “I mean, I know he’s gotten worse over the years, but the idea that he’d actually harm me, or helpless cubs… This is terrible, Tina.”
“I know,” Tina said grimly. “But it’s been a long time coming, and your leaving pushed him into madness. Don’t blame yourself – it would have happened sooner or later no matter what you did. He was extremely abusive to people when you weren’t around, Dakota, and I don’t mean as punishment. He’d just lash out violently for no reason. We just didn’t want to tell you because he’s your father.”
“I’m sorry. I had no idea,” Dakota said miserably. She’d thought of her father as harsh but fair, for the most part. Had she failed her pack? She should have known. She would have spoken up if she’d known.
“Not your fault. I’m happy that you’re safe. Just stay there and lie low, and for God’s sake don’t let him know where you are.”
“If he doesn’t stop this, he’ll push people too far. He’ll end up getting death-challenged by somebody he can’t defeat,” Dakota said. Despite everything, the thought of her father losing a death match sent a sharp pain slicing through her very core.
“Who would challenge him? He’s the strongest in all of our region. Nobody out here’s got a death wish.”
That was true for the time being, Dakota reflected, but for how long? A bad Alpha Prime, over time, would lose the loyalty of the packs that were affiliated with him. Then, when somebody issued a challenge for a pack war, he’d risk being overrun by sheer numbers. An Alpha Prime could take on as many as half a dozen regular Alphas in a fight, and ten to fifteen non-Alphas, but eventually even an Alpha Prime could be overwhelmed.
A loud burst of shouting and the sound of breaking glass made her start, and she looked out of the booth to see two shifters rolling around on the floor, fighting.
She tore her gaze away from them. Not her problem.
“All right. New topic,” she said to Tina. “Have you spoken to Jamie Roberts in the last couple of days?”
“No, of course not. Her whole plan was for her and her boyfriend to disappear. Why do you ask?’
“Because when I got here, it turned out that her pack sent her up here to death-challenge the local Alpha Prime. He killed someone from their pack for stealing, and they felt like they had to send someone to avenge the pack’s honor. I’m lucky he was willing to discuss the issue with me, or I wouldn’t have survived my first day here.”
“Are you serious?” Tina gasped. “That bitch. I can’t believe she set you up like that. Did he hurt you?”
“No, we were able to come to a peaceful resolution. I don’t know where I’m going to end up staying, but for now I’m fine.”
“If it’s dangerous up there, then leave,” Tina said. “You don’t owe anything to those kids. Save yourself. You’ve got your fake ID. You can go anywhere in the country and find a new pack to join.”
“I can’t do that to them,” Dakota protested. “I need to find someone who’ll take care of the kids first.”
“Well, then stay there and make it work. You can never come home, Dakota. It’s not just your life that depends on it, it’s those cubs.”
You can never come home.
The finality of the words hit Dakota like a sledgehammer. She’d hoped that coming up here for a few months would give her father time to cool down, and instead she’d made things a million times worse.
“Thanks for warning me, Tina.” She choked out the words. “I should go.”
She hung up and leaned on the wall of the phone booth, feeling every beat of her heart hammering in her chest.
The Redwood Pack was all she’d known. She’d been born on pack lands, grown up there, run through the towering redwood forests with her parents back when she was a cub. She remembered her dad teaching her to swim in the icy waters of the river that ran near their house, and her mother waiting on the shore with a big fluffy towel to wrap her in when she scrambled out, chilled and exhilarated.
Now her mother was gone, her father had apparently turned into a savage, maddened stranger, and she could never set foot in her childhood home again.
She took a deep breath and wiped away the hot tears that spilled onto her cheeks. Somebody was waiting for the phone now, so she stepped out, avoiding his gaze, and walked into the store with her head held high.