All eyes were on Wes as he led Dakota into the little village the pack had set up in the middle of the forest. He could almost feel all the wolves around him perk up and pay attention, his own animal growling softly beneath his skin.

“Everyone’s staring,” Dakota whispered at his side, her gaze darting all around the place.

“We don’t get many visitors,” Wes replied, heading straight for Tate’s house. “And let’s just say after that amulet came into play, people around here have been a little more on guard than usual.”

Dakota just nodded at that, and Wes had to wonder how much the woman knew about what the pack had been through. Yet, despite knowing about demons freaking everyone out pretty thoroughly, the whole ordeal had managed to make the pack even stronger.

The fact that Tate had stepped up to the plate as Alpha didn’t hurt either. It seemed the Pinedale wolves were on the right track, stronger than ever, but Wes had to ask himself – did bringing Dakota here jeopardize that? He’d had his doubts about Tate’s return even before he brought a demon with him, and this continuing string of what he could only define as ‘trouble’ wasn’t helping.

Even if said trouble came in a package as entirely compelling as Dakota.

It was a chance he had to take. She was already snooping around. Better to know what she was up to and what she knew than to have her meddling in their business on the down low.

“Are you taking me to Tessa?” Dakota asked as Wes came to a stop in front of Tate’s house.

“Yes,” Wes replied flatly. “But I’ll warn you – her fiancé is very protective. I suggest you tread carefully. Tessa’s been through a lot,” he said, knocking on Tate’s door.

Dakota was pacing at his side, a crease between her brows.

“Because of… the amulet?” she asked, whispering the last word.

Before Wes could answer, Tate swung the door open, his gaze immediately focusing on Dakota.

“Wes,” Tate said, an edge to his tone. “Thought I smelled something new. Who is this?”

“Dakota Thompson,” Dakota reached out a hand, a polite smile on her lips.

Tate just narrowed his eyes at her, making her snatch her hand back and clear her throat.

“I found her… on patrol,” Wes explained, earning a sigh of mild exasperation from Tate.

“Is she lost? You can take my car if you need to take her into town,” he said.

“I’m looking for Tessa Mayberry,” Dakota blurted out, before Wes could stop her.

Didn’t I tell her to tread lightly? Wes sighed to himself.

“Are you a friend of hers?” Tate questioned, his eyes swinging from Dakota to Wes.

“Not really,” Dakota admitted. “But I think she knew my father, from back in Whitefish.”

Wes could see a shadow pass over Tate’s face as he took a step closer, blocking the doorway completely with his broad shoulders.

“Who the hell are you?” Tate growled.

Acting purely on instinct, Wes stepped in, standing in front of Dakota. Why he felt like he needed to defend her, he had no idea. For all he knew, she could just be some crazy lady, or even worse, she could be totally sane and end up dragging more demonic trouble to the pack’s doorstep.

But Wes had brought her here, which made her his responsibility. Besides, his wolf was clawing at him, urging him to keep her safe. Or maybe it was just telling him that borderline challenging his Alpha was a really poor life decision.

Tate coiled up visibly, muscles bunching under his loose shirt, and Wes knew he was mirroring the tension of his Alpha before he was even physically aware he was doing it.

“Tate? What’s going on?” Tessa’s voice echoed out from somewhere in the living room and making Tate back off a little.

“It’s nothing…” Tate started to say, but Dakota intervened.

“Ms. Mayberry,” she called out, making Wes groan to himself. “I need to talk to you. I’m Ben Thompson’s daughter, Dakota.”

Tate shot a glare Wes’ way before stepping aside, making room for Tessa to join him in the doorway.

“That’s funny,” Tate said, wrapping an arm around Tessa’s shoulders protectively. Tessa blanched, staring at Dakota. “Because as far as we know, Mr. Thompson didn’t have any children.”

“Well, obviously he did,” Dakota replied, shrugging off her backpack.

Both Tate and Wes watched her carefully as she dug around for a moment before pulling out her wallet and holding it open, showing them her ID.

“See? Dakota Thompson,” she said, as they all studied her driver’s license.

“That could be a fake,” Tate scoffed. “Plenty of Thompsons around.”

“From Whitefish, Montana? Not as many as you’d like to think,” Dakota said, still partially hidden behind Wes, who wasn’t too keen on moving for some reason.

“I never saw you around Whitefish,” Tessa shook her head.

“Please, I don’t have time for this,” Dakota insisted, shoving her wallet back into her bag. “I know the binding amulet ended up at your store. I just want to make sure no one is using it.”

That definitely got both Tate’s and Tessa’s attention.

“You told her about the amulet?” Tate asked Wes, who was having trouble keeping up with all the information thrown his way.

He knew the amulet that had brought that demon into their lives had mistakenly ended up at Tessa’s old store, but he had no idea who this Thompson guy they were talking about was, and he certainly didn’t know why Dakota being his daughter was so important.

“I didn’t tell her anything. She knew about the amulet already,” Wes replied, glancing over at Dakota.

Deeming her to no longer be in immediate danger of dismemberment by Tate, seeing as Tessa had come into the fray, Wes took a step to the side so he could look at Dakota better.

“I know about the amulet because my dad told me about it,” she said. “And I know you can smell I’m not a demon, so why don’t you invite me inside and I can explain everything.”

Tate and Tessa looked hesitant, and Wes couldn’t exactly blame them. But in his gut, he had the distinct feeling Dakota wasn’t here to cause trouble or try and hurt them. Since his instincts usually led him in the right direction, Wes decided to trust them. He hadn’t been sure about most things since Tate decided to grace Pinedale with his presence, but he was sure about Dakota.

Which was ironic, because she was singlehandedly confirming all of his fears from before. That there was cause for alarm, and that vigilance was necessary even when it didn’t always feel like it was.

“Please,” Dakota added. “I’m no threat to you. I’m just one woman. You could snap my neck before I could as much as insult your lineage. Just hear me out before you kick me out.”

“Tate,” Tessa said quietly. “Let’s just listen to what she has to say,” she whispered, gently tugging at his arm, still pale in the face, eyes brimming with worry.

Grumbling, Tate stepped away from the door and gestured both Dakota and Wes inside. This time, Wes sat down as everyone else did, picking a chair next to Dakota in the middle of the living room. There was a tension in the air that hadn’t been there when he had been in this house just a short while ago, and Wes could feel his shoulders stiffen as he watched Tate openly glare at Dakota.

He couldn’t articulate it, but he got the feeling that he’d be willing to throw himself in the path of his Alpha if Tate decided to make a lunge for Dakota. It was another one of a series of stupid, suicidal notions that seemed to spring up in the wake of Dakota’s arrival and that Wes was nowhere closer to processing.

“I gather you know what the amulet does. And that demons are real,” Dakota started, easily capturing everyone’s attention. “My father did, too. And it was his job to keep powerful items like that amulet out of the hands of people who would misuse them. Now that he’s gone, that responsibility has fallen to me.”

Silence filled the room for a moment, as everyone absorbed what Dakota was saying. Tessa was the first one to speak up.

“What took you so long?” she asked, reaching out to hold Tate’s hand in between their two armchairs. “We were on the run with that amulet, desperate to keep it from the hands of a powerful demon,” she continued. “Not even knowing if that creature could be killed or not. If you were supposed to protect your father’s items then… Where were you?”

Now that’s a very good question, Wes thought, looking over at Dakota. And she better have a good answer.