I would never set her free, but I would give her freedom. It was all she’d ever wanted. Freedom. I could’ve hunted her down, I could’ve trapped her in this house, caged her, even, but all I’d get in return was a broken girl. I could’ve tamed her all I liked with my belt, my hand, my mouth on her pussy and she would, eventually, have accepted our life together. But a settled Dewlyn wouldn’t last. Tomorrow, next week, or a year from now, she’d unsettle. The steady lifestyle would get old for her.
My brother called her a wild card. Wild anything stayed wild, and forcing wild into submission would be a shame. But when the wild gave freely? I fisted the dick in my pants and moved the thing to the side. I wanted her to come to me. I wanted her to do this on her own. So I left her this house, where she’d be safe, and after the raid, I’d leave for New City. I feared if I kept hunting for her or if I caged her in here with me when she was determined to escape, she’d hurt herself running away from me. But I knew she must feel something for me; she hadn’t taken the collar off herself. It must mean something to her.
Her life was everything to me, and so I walked away. To Jamie’s. A brief walk, but it felt like a mile-long journey for me. I counted on Dewlyn seeking me out, but what if she didn’t? Would I hunt her down again? A week. I’d give it a week. As I climbed the driveway, I shook my head to clear it so I could deal with Jamie’s charming personality, colorful like Dewlyn’s. Probably why those two didn’t get along.
Rey swung open the door.
“Looking good, Rey. Looking good,” I said and hugged her, which proved difficult with her growing belly. Jamie locked his eyes on mine when I didn’t let go of her waist. Rey was warm, a blanket of comfort, and for a brief few moments, I took it. When my brother huffed, I ran a hand through her hair for good measure. Rey giggled and went into the kitchen.
“I’m gonna have a herd of males with one hand,” Jamie said.
“All I need is a hand, Alpha,” came from the kitchen.
I rounded the corner. Four of our males and a pair of our most vicious battle females went quiet as I stepped inside. I turned a bar chair and straddled it. Across from me, Jamie did the same. “Tell me,” he said.
“I’m leaving her here. Alone.”
Jamie’s eyes widened. “Say that again?”
“She’s free to stay at our house. I’m moving to New City like we planned. Sounds good to me. Let’s talk about the community. Who’s on your team?”
“Back up, hold on. Did you ask her why she took the key?”
“No, but I presume she wants the food from the storage.”
“Mm-hm. And how did she plan to get it? She can’t move it alone.”
I shrugged, uninterested in the damn key.
Jamie continued. “Did you ask her where she put the missing key?”
“No.”
“I understand it’s not a priority, but it’s buggin’ the crap out of me. I need to know what she wanted with the damn thing. Taking care of the stray pairs, providing shelter for them doesn’t add up to the key. Dewlyn can’t move all that shit by herself. Something’s not adding up. The girl’s gotta whole lot of reasons to hate us.”
“Dewlyn does what Dewlyn wants do to. Leave her alone.”
“No can do, bro. I gotta know.”
“I can’t even hug Rey without you throwing a fit, so if you think I’m gonna let you interrogate my mate, we’ve a big problem.”
“I need to talk to her.”
“You’ve talked enough.” I’d challenged our Alpha just now, and I didn’t give a shit.
Jamie inhaled a breath, then let out a growl.
I growled right back.
Felicia, one of our females, cupped Rey’s elbow. “I’ll help you up the stairs.”
“Thank you. I think I will stay. This is my kitchen,” Rey said. “I cook here, I make shit happen here, and small furry beasts will be running around this kitchen soon. Something for all of you to think about before you walk in here loaded with attitudes.” She lifted a spatula. “You two are getting on my nerves. Those women in the shelter need food and maybe a job or two. Have you thought about providing for them here in the city? Maybe then they’d warm up to the idea of mating.”
“Torrent,” I barked, “pull up a list of males with reported runaway pairs. Tell the males to head to our compound.”
Jamie nodded. “We’ll secure the pairs, bring them into the compound.”
“And where is this shelter, genius?” I asked.
“Easy peasy. Dewlyn’ll tell you. You don’t want me on her ass, you take her ass. I mean that in any way you wanna take it, perv. Let’s get shit done. Community, then the shelter. Shelter, then community. Same difference to me. Full day of hunting, and I gotta be home for”—he inhaled—“turkey. Ready?” Jamie stood to leave.