Fun wouldn’t be the word I would use. More like painful. It had taken Calder and I an hour to convince Sophia MacArthur that Chloe might be in danger. Even when we had, she still hesitated to share her granddaughter’s location. When our conversation was over, Calder had looked at me and said, “I’m so glad that she-wolf lives on the East Coast because I have to tell you, if she ever moved here and wanted the pack, I’d just let her have it.”
I couldn’t blame him for saying that. Chloe was tough, nearly unbeatable in a fight, but only because her grandmother taught her everything she knew. At two hundred and twenty years old, Sophia MacArthur was still strong and vibrant. And dangerous as hell. I’d heard stories about the way she took apart any opponent who was stupid enough to challenge her for the position of alpha for her pack. It rarely happened any more, but when she first took control, there had been quite a few wolves that thought that a female alpha would be easy to defeat. They’d learned their lesson swiftly and without mercy, recognizing their error in judgment just moments before they died.
Sophia MacArthur didn’t take prisoners. She kicked ass and took names.
Chloe spoke, jerking me out of my thoughts. “Well, as you can see, I’m perfectly fine,” she stated, unclasping her arms and spreading them wide. “No Kirkpatricks here. I’m safe and sound.”
“And how’s your investigation into your parents’ murder going?” I asked.
She growled beneath her breath. “I’m at a dead end. Everyone in the pack is avoiding me, including Darrell.”
“Maybe I can help,” I offered.
She scoffed. “Considering my cover story is that I had to leave the MacIntire pack because Calder and I had a falling out, I don’t think that will work. The last thing I need is to make them suspicious. Then I really would be in danger.”
“So, let’s adapt the cover story to accommodate my presence.”
“How?” she asked. Her expression was skeptical.
My palms grew hot and clammy. Calder and I had discussed the best way for me to stay close to her during her time with the MacArthur pack, and we had agreed upon a course of action. But now that I was facing her, about to utter the words, my head felt light and my stomach hollow.
“We’ll tell them I’m your mate and you left because I rejected you. But I’ve changed my mind and I came after you.”
I expected Chloe to laugh at me. Maybe even tell me to fuck off.
She did neither of those things. Instead her arms wrapped around her waist as if she needed to hold herself up and her face paled. “What?”
I shrugged. “It’s a cover story that allows me to remain close to you without drawing too much attention. Everyone here knows what happened to my…last mate, so no one would be surprised if I’m reluctant to take another. It also explains why you would leave a second pack in two years.”
Chloe merely stared at me, shaking her head slowly. She looked horrified. “No, Lachlan. I can’t do that.”
“You can and you will,” I commanded. “Your grandmother agreed it’s a sound plan. She didn’t like the idea of you being here alone to begin with and she said she would feel much better knowing I’m here to guard your back.”
She didn’t respond aloud, just kept shaking her head as though she couldn’t believe this was happening. I thought she would be annoyed by my proposal, but her reaction was completely unexpected.
“Chloe, what’s wrong?”
Before she could speak, I heard a truck pull up the driveway and I twisted toward the front door, a snarl reverberating from my chest into my throat as a door slammed and swift steps came up the front porch. When I yanked it open and stepped outside, I nearly ran into another male.
The wolf stood before me, his light brown hair neatly combed and his brown eyes narrowed. After a moment, I realized I was looking at Darrell, the current alpha of the MacArthur pack. Only he wasn’t truly an alpha. He might have been the oldest and strongest male of his pack, but he didn’t have the presence of a born alpha. I felt no urge to lower my gaze or a push of dominance from him.
He took a step back, hesitating for an instant before he stood his ground. “Darlin’, everything okay?”
I nearly sneered. As if he could protect her. She was more dominant than he was and we all knew it.
“Everything’s fine, Uncle Darrell,” she said from behind me.
I straightened. It had been decades since I’d seen Darrell Whelby and I hadn’t recognized him.
“Darrell,” I greeted, nodding my head at him.
The fear in his eyes gradually vanished as he took in my appearance. His brows lifted when he finally recognized me. “Damn, Lachlan. I didn’t realize that was you. You look different.”
He stepped forward and held out his hand. I took it, shaking it firmly, and bit back a growl when his eyes met mine before skittering away.
“What brings you here?” he asked, releasing my hand.
“I came to see Chloe.”
