“Leave, now,” Sarah said in a low voice to Dakota. “Go out the back door. Quickly.”
“What? Why? I’m not going to leave you guys – it looks like there might be trouble.”
The apparent leader of the group was a tall, burly shifter with salt-and-pepper hair and a scarred, sunburned face. He radiated the power of an Alpha Prime. His arms were criss-crossed with scars too, and a beer belly hung over the waistband of his stained, ripped blue jeans.
He stalked towards them, and the rest of the group trailed behind him. Sarah sucked in her breath and stared down at the table, and Miles and Baldwin jumped up and blocked the man from getting any closer.
Bryant and several wolf shifters from other local packs joined up with Miles and Baldwin.
“You picked the wrong place to start trouble,” Miles growled.
“And you picked the wrong pack to mess with. I am Ludwik Torville, Alpha Prime of the Montenegro Pack, and Sarah is my property, to do with as I please. We’ve moved up here, and we’re taking over the eastern territory. We’ve heard your ridiculous rules, and we reject them. We’ll come into town any time we fucking please. You can hand the girl over to us now, or we can have a pack war,” Ludwik announced, his voice booming through the café.
“It’s been heading that way anyway,” Miles said with a casual shrug.
“Tomorrow morning, then. We’ll meet up with you and anybody who’s not too fucking scared to face us.” His men all chortled, letting out forced laughs that gave Dakota a pretty good idea of what would happen if they didn’t pretend he was hilarious – and what life was like in his pack.
“Sarah, get over here now and I’ll only whip you ’til you bleed. You disobey me and I’m gonna whip you and cut off body parts,” Ludwik growled. “Don’t care if it lowers your bride price. Nobody disobeys me.”
“Talk to her like that again and you die right here – I won’t wait for the packs to meet. Kids, go to the back of the restaurant with your aunt and stay there,” Miles called.
Dakota stood up quickly, in front of the kids.
“Why are you calling her their aunt?” For a moment Ludwik looked more confused than threatening.
“Jamie Roberts? Because she’s their aunt. She’s the one who drew the short straw and had to come up here.”
“No she isn’t.” Ludwik scowled. “I’ve met Jamie, and this woman looks nothing like her.”
“Jamie?” Naomi looked at her in confusion. “He’s lying…right?”
Dakota’s heart sank. Son of a bitch. Now, of all times… She’d been planning on telling Miles tonight, and praying he wouldn’t be too mad.
“I told you to get out of here,” Sarah muttered.
Miles looked at her, his expression unreadable. She felt waves of anger and hurt rolling off him.
Dakota went pale. “Kids, come with me,” she said, and dragged them to the back of the restaurant, near the back door.
Ludwik smirked at Miles. “Any special inscription you want on your headstone? That’s where my pack members are going to line up to piss. I’m thinking, ‘Here lies a pussy loser’. And that fat bitch who’s pretending to be Jamie? After my pack members finish taking turns with her, we’ll bury her right next to you.”
In answer, Miles sent a wave of fury at them so intense that Ludwik staggered back a step. Ludwik responded with his own wave of fury, and the two men glared at each other as everyone else around them staggered back, grimacing in pain. Most of the other shifters ran from the restaurant. Bryant stayed put, but even he was swaying, looking as if he might crumple to the ground. Baldwin fell to his knees, doubled over and clutching at his stomach, and Naomi hurled herself on top of him, crying.
After what felt like forever, Ludwik doubled over and vomited on the ground. Miles was white-faced, staggering. Sweat poured down his face, and he looked as if he could barely stand.
“Death challenge. Right here, right now,” Miles wheezed.
“No.” Ludwik spat on the ground and staggered to his feet. “Pack war. Tomorrow morning.”
Miles smiled, lips curling up. “Because you know you’d lose.” But his voice was hoarse.
Ludwik scrambled to his feet, staggering. “Whatever. Either way, you’re going to die.” He stormed out of the restaurant to rejoin his men, who’d rushed outside. He’d just been publicly humiliated, and he knew it.
At the back of the restaurant, Dakota looked at Sarah. “How long have you known that I wasn’t Jamie?”
“I always knew,” Sarah said. “I met her once when I was little. I mean, our two packs aren’t close, but we did see each other sometimes.”