Page 52 of The Alpha Dire Wolf (Bloodlines & Bloodbonds #1)

Lincoln

I waited at the front door.

Sylvie was taking her time, but it wasn’t about me or what had happened earlier. Her entire life was changing by the minute, and leaving this house would be the leaving the last part of her behind.

When she stepped outside, she would be entering my world for good—a world she hadn’t known existed until days ago. And my world was now profoundly changed.

Neither of us had much of a home anymore. We were both leaving it behind. I could take credit for starting the trend, but it hadn’t been entirely voluntary. Vee was coming with me now because she trusted me.

I had to ensure I stayed worthy of it.

How that was possible, given I had been exiled from my own pack, I wasn’t sure. No real alpha would have let this happen. A real alpha would have put Elder Jackson in his place and dealt with Noel like one does a rabid dog.

Take it out back and shoot it.

I hadn’t done that. Was I taking the coward’s way out? It felt like it at times, though I did my best to keep it quiet and not bother Sylvie. She had enough going on. She didn’t need my personal problems dropped on her plate as well. I would deal with it, when the time was right.

My pack deserved better than whatever Jackson, Germander, and Noel were going to do.

Which is probably a whole lot of nothing. They’re cowards. They’ll just stick their heads in the ground and hope this passes them by.

I just hoped the innocent wouldn’t be hurt before I could return and deal with them for good.

Once we discovered just who and what Sylvie was and proved she wasn’t evil or in league with the Chained, I would march right home and take back what was mine.

Those who stood against me were going to get what they deserved.

I just wasn’t going to risk breaking my pack in half to get it. Too many would be hurt that way.

No, this was the way it had to be done. Properly.

“I think I’m ready,” Sylvie said, coming down the stairs at last, still holding her grandmother’s journal.

I couldn’t help but be caught up in her beauty, the bounce of her hair, the curve of her jaw, the sway of her hips. Every part of her called out to me, to the deepest, most protected parts of my being that I shared with nobody.

Nobody but her.

Sylvie didn’t notice. She was too fixated on her own thoughts. Pausing at the front door, she hugged the book to her chest.

“ I’ll be back, Grandma. I promise ,” she whispered before setting the book down on the table at the base of the stairway. “Okay.”

I nodded, and she handed me her duffle bag while she put her shoes on. It was suspiciously light.

“Are you sure you have everything?”

She shrugged. “I don’t live here. Remember? My choices are a bit limited. That’s everything I brought and everything I bought while here. My entire life in one bag. It would be heavier, if someone hadn’t been quite so heavy-handed earlier …”

“You loved it,” I said, giving her a wink as I slung the bag over my shoulder, using my free hand to pull open the door.

“Oh, hello.”

I spun at the unexpected voice, dropping the bag so I had both hands free.

“Uh, pardon me,” said a man dressed in the utility shorts and purple, orange, and black shirt of a parcel delivery man. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I was just about to knock.”

I relaxed, cursing myself. I’d been so caught up in Sylvie as she came downstairs I hadn’t heard him approaching. Inexcusable. What if this was one of Noel’s people? I couldn’t let that happen again. I had to stay on guard. Alert. All the time.

Vee’s life depended on it.

“Can I help you?” Sylvie asked, stepping past me with a frown at my behavior.

“Delivery for Sylvie Wilson.”

“That’s me.”

“Do you have ID?” the deliveryman asked.

Sylvie produced her license, and after checking it carefully, the courier asked her to sign. Then he produced a single small envelope from a pocket, and handed it to her. “There you go. Have a great day.”

“You too,” she said, staring in confusion at the tiny package.

“What is it?”

“No idea,” she said, tearing it open. “But certainly wanted to make sure it came to me and only me.”

“Yeah.”

She upturned the envelope. Out came a single piece of paper, and a key. I waited impatiently while she read it.

“It’s to my grandmother’s lockbox at the bank,” she said, pocketing it with a shrug. “That’s why the security.”

“I see.”

“Yep. We’ll have to go by there, see what’s in it,” she said, stepping out onto the porch after me and locking the front door.

“We will. Eventually.” I didn’t want to spend another moment in town if I could avoid it. Not yet. It was too easy to be spotted and followed.

“Eventually. So cryptic.” She shook her head as we walked to my truck.

“We’ll be back,” I told her. “After everything is dealt with.”

“The Chained, you mean.”

“Yes. We stopped its push. This time. But it’s still out there, and it won’t stop.”

“It won’t stop coming for me, you mean.”

“Yes.” I chewed on my next comment for a moment and then said it anyway, trying to lighten the mood. “Which is a fact that pains me.”

“What? Why?”

“Because that’s something the Chained and I have in common with you.”

Sylvie blinked rapidly. “What? That you and it won’t— Lincoln! ”

Chuckling to myself, I walked ahead, pulling open the door for her. She smiled at me, looking up through her eyelashes. “Thank you. But that was still a terrible joke about something not funny.”

“I know. But I refuse to live purely in fear,” I told her before closing the door.

I went around to my side and fired up the engine. The big V-8 rumbled idly as we put on our seatbelts.

“I don’t suppose you’re going to finally tell me where we’re going. Are you?” she asked. “I’m putting a lot of trust in you here. Perhaps you could reciprocate.”

I put the vehicle in drive and started backing out.

“The elders said you’re a witch. Didn’t they? So I guess we should go talk to some real witches.”

***

***

Thank you for reading The Alpha Dire Wolf .