Page 18 of Alpha Wolf (Return To Fate Mountain #6)

Chapter

Seventeen

Valeria slipped out of Dom’s arms. Her body protested the movement. She ached in ways that reminded her exactly what they’d done together. But underneath the soreness was a deep satisfaction.

She stood beside the narrow bed and reached for the discarded sweatsuit.

Dom watched her from the bed, his blue eyes tracking her movements.

Valeria pulled on the oversized sweatshirt.

Her mind felt clear for the first time since this nightmare began.

No fog of terror clouding her judgment. No hypervigilance scanning for threats.

Just calm, rational thought processes that let her think like a police officer again instead of a victim.

The encrypted radio on the bedside table crackled to life, and Dom reached for it. “Alpha here.”

Valeria moved toward the kitchenette, pretending to focus on finding breakfast supplies while her enhanced shifter hearing picked up every word of the conversation. Her bear senses were fully functional now, no longer suppressed by Dom’s alpha dominance.

“Status report,” came a male voice she didn’t recognize.

“Secure. Package cooperating,” Dom replied.

“Need extraction?”

“Negative. Maintaining position.”

Dom ended the call and set the radio aside. Valeria pulled the coffee from the cabinet and started measuring grounds into the coffee maker.

“How long do we have to stay here?” she asked, filling the pot with water.

“As long as we need to,” Dom replied, watching her start the coffee.

“That’s not an answer.” She turned to the small refrigerator, finding eggs and bread. “Is this place yours or the pack’s?”

“It belongs to the pack, through an investment fund that can’t be traced back to us. Set it up when we first got to town as a fallback position.”

“So, you’ve been preparing for something like this since day one.” She cracked eggs into a bowl, beating them with more force than necessary. “How many other safe houses do you have?”

“Just this one. But I can quickly arrange more if this one’s compromised.” Dom studied her tense shoulders. “What’s really bothering you?”

Valeria gripped the fork tighter, still whisking the eggs. “These four walls. One window. Barely any daylight.” She gestured at the small window. “I feel like I’m in a cage.”

She coated bread slices with the egg mixture and heated a pan on the small stove. The sizzle as she dropped in the first piece of French toast filled the tense silence.

“It’s for your safety…”

“I know.” She flipped the bread with sharp movements. “I know it’s necessary. I know those shooters are still out there. But understanding something and feeling it are different things.”

The coffee maker gurgled its completion. Valeria pulled two mugs from the cabinet and poured coffee while the French toast finished cooking. She slid the food onto the plates and brought everything to the small table.

“My bear is going crazy,” she said, sitting down hard. “She needs air, space, something besides these walls.”

They ate in silence for a few minutes, but Valeria found herself pushing pieces around her plate more than eating, her leg bouncing under the table.

“My fathers probably got half the department looking for me by now,” she said abruptly, setting down her fork. “The police chief’s daughter disappears from a crime scene. Shell casings everywhere.” She wrapped her hands around her coffee mug. “He’ll tear this town apart.”

Dom finished his last bite. “He won’t find this place.”

“You don’t know him.” She stood, unable to sit still any longer, and carried her half-empty plate to the sink.

“I need fresh air,” she announced. “I need to move, to think clearly.”

“It’s not safe. The shooters from yesterday…”

“A walk. Just around the cabin.” She was already moving toward her boots. “You can hover all you want, but I’m going outside.”

Dom watched her lace up the boots with sharp, agitated movements. “Don’t get cocky.”

She couldn’t suppress the small smile as she stood. “I still need fresh air.”

“Fine. Ten minutes.”