Present

Torn between diametrically opposed desires of killing and kissing her, Julian did the only thing he could. He maintained his distance. In the few short hours since meeting her on the pier, she’d completely upended his life.

Again.

“I told you, I have nothing to do with the Volchitsa attacks, and I find it difficult to believe they would completely tear into the U.S. packs simply because I refused to help Arkady with forged documents. That’s insane.” The outrage in her statement wasn’t manufactured. Though what did he know? She’d more than made it clear he couldn’t read her as clearly as he’d once believed.

“Insane as it might seem, he was giving the orders. He is the one who sent them in search of Chrystal.” He couldn’t say our daughter. Dallas robbed him of that gift. The little Omega had grown up isolated from everything and everyone, including him. His child didn’t even carry his scent, because he hadn’t even been an afterthought. A total non-entity—worse, the boogeyman who terrified her, and he’d left her in that nightmare of a sixth pack.

Suddenly, he wanted to murder Luciana Barrows and everyone involved. Only it was personal. They’d put his child in danger.

My child. A child who’d been nearly grown by the time he met her, who’d matured on his watch, and now settled happily in a mating and secure in Willow Bend. He’d missed everything.

Except sending her mate after her.

“Then his problem isn’t with me…” Though the confidence in her denial weakened as she trailed off. “I can’t see it. I met the man once, in a bar on a beach in Mexico.”

Julian didn’t let the statement get to him. The location didn’t matter. She’d had years to take other lovers. As she’d made abundantly clear, no one had a claim on her. Not him. Not their child. “And?”

“And, what? He wanted a U.S. passport. He wanted easy access to the States. Foreign wolves have to clear their access with the pack alphas, they need permission to land here. I’m not an idiot. At the very least, even if the alphas are unwilling, they reach out to the Chief Enforcer.”

Him. He never granted the permission, not without an alpha’s sanction. A call he’d decided on when he’d been William, the previous Chief Enforcer’s, second. William had begun fading long before he stepped aside. Julian acquired more and more of his tasks, relying on William for advice. By the time the torch passed—officially—most Enforcers already assumed Julian had been Chief Enforcer. They didn’t observe pack traditions and they all came to anyway.

“What happened at that meeting?” The sun had sank completely, leaving them in the shadow of darkness. Not even the moon was visible. The storm damage had left the island closed, so no lights occluded their view of the sky, but Julian didn’t take his gaze off Dallas. “Specifically.”

Focusing on the still looming threat allowed him to keep a leash on his temper. Chrystal asked him to promise not to hurt her mother. Would she feel the same way after she learned the truth? Could he even tell her the truth? What the hell difference could it make in her life now?

“It was years ago,” Dallas said, but she reached for the whiskey he’d half-forgotten he still held. The alcohol couldn’t seem to dampen the rage brewing within him nor numb the raw wound she’d inflicted on his soul. That she needed the drinks as much as him wasn’t lost on him. Sitting opposite her, he bracketed her legs with his. The effect a loose cage, but he wouldn’t let her escape.

Not again.

“I drove down. It was a longer trip but afforded me more freedom. You didn’t need more than a driver’s license to come and go from Mexico back then.” Yes, laws had changed. “I had forty-eight hours to make the trip. Chrystal was on a school trip, one she’d begged me to go on. Better for me to keep my distance while she got ready and then they were going to take a bus to the capitol.”

“Why better to keep your distance?” Zeroing in on the information, he held out his hand for the bottle. She relinquished it immediately.

“I didn’t know she was an Omega, but I knew her timidity increased when I was around.” The logic existed. “She reflected you—your flaws and weaknesses.”

“Yes, and apparently I’m a shut-in with no use for people. I can’t open my mouth when I need help. Feel better?”

Actually, he did. “Yes. We will discuss her further later, return to the meeting with Arkady.” The wolf’s name hadn’t meant anything to him when John and Hadley first reported the conversation. Nor when he’d interrogated the Volchitsa female at the lodge. Yet, he hadn’t been able to escape the sensation of something familiar.

“I drove down, we were meeting at a dive bar in Tijuana.” She held up her hand. “Don’t say it, not my best plan. I know. The guy offered a nice payment to meet him in the first place, payment he wired into an account not connected to Chrystal. I withdrew the cash as cash, then deposited it later. I kept her safe from this.”

He motioned for her to continue, then took a long pull of the whiskey.

“Once I was in Tijuana, I parked three blocks away, then scouted exit routes.” The matter-of-fact statement sent an odd sensation of pride through him. “I also tracked any unfamiliar wolf scents. My client was alone in the bar, but he had watchers on the streets, and two on the roofs. The scents were alien and not U.S. packs.” A lesson he’d drilled into her over the years, how to identify different pack markers. Lone Wolves eventually lost them, even as their pack bonds faded. Family markers remained to a certain extent, but even those faded without exposure.

Raking her fingers through short hair, Dallas shook her head. “I should have ditched the meeting right then and there. The agreement was a private meeting between the client and me, so who needed that kind of security?”

“An alpha?” That was his first guess.

“You’d think, and he definitely had dominance issues, particularly when he couldn’t get me to back down.” Amusement curved through the statement. No one made Dallas back down. Not even him. When she granted her surrender, it had been a gift.

Apparently one she could take away whenever the mood struck her.

“Still, he didn’t introduce himself that way.”

“So you went?” Why he even needed to confirm it, he had no idea. But he had to. Every aspect of that meeting had to be explored.

“Yes, because I was curious.”

Of course she was. “You still like to play with fire.”

“Getting burned never scared me off.” There it was, her defiance bounced back into place. It didn’t matter what open wounds she scored with the claws of honesty, she remained as ever, Dallas.

“Be careful, you may have finally found the fire that will consume you.”

“I did that a long time ago, and no amount of fire breaks will save me from the pyre.” Her shrug showed such casual disregard for her own safety, he wanted to throttle her all over again. “If the guy was a threat, I wanted to know.”

“And do what with it? Call me and warn me?” He couldn’t picture it. Based on Chrystal’s age at the time and the situation, she couldn’t possibly have thought that call would go well.

“Yes.” Without flinching, she met his gaze. “If he had been a danger to the packs, I would have warned you.”

Yet, she hadn’t. “Go on.”

“He was very congenial, all lovely to meet you and proper upper crust accent. It was like being in an episode of Upstairs Downstairs, only I didn’t even belong in the country.” Not asking, she grasped the bottleneck, and her fingers brushed his. He released it immediately, the contact scalding to his senses. His wolf paced back and forth inside of him. The animal’s hackles were raised and, while he didn’t have the sense of her agitation, they were both violently aware of her wolf’s watchful posture. “His other wolves kept their distance, and he pretended this great civility, yet it was all an act.”

Studying her, Julian nodded once. Dallas read people and other wolves very well. She’d always possessed an almost sixth sense about them, taking their measure in such short order she could tell him if someone was about to go off the rails before they were even aware of it.

A gift she’d denied her pack by leaving them. Quashing that thought, he let it go. Her choice to avoid assuming the position of alpha of Hudson River was not a crime. Forcing her into that position would have been. Still, it fit with her modus operandi. She didn’t want responsibility and did everything in her power to avoid it.

Except she didn’t abandon her—our—daughter. The brutal responsibility of parenthood, whether she excelled or sucked at it, she hadn’t abandoned Chrystal. Not immediately.

“Every word he said was calculated to sway me to his cause. He played the complimentary game, then tried to shower me with his wealth. Everything he ordered was the most expensive, and he’d even brought his own dishes.”

“How would you know?”

“Real silver cutlery and crystal glasses in a dive bar in Tijuana?” Skepticism rifled her words.

“Point. Go on.”

“I don’t play those kind of games normally, but the harder he tried, the more curious I grew.” Unsurprising. “So I let him try to woo me. Then he slipped in little commands, just general things, and when I didn’t even attempt to do as he liked, he pressed it. He’s powerful, I’ll give him that, but I’m no one’s bitch.”

Julian smiled, and his wolf’s pacing ceased. No one controlled Dallas. He’d have killed anyone who tried. When she raised an eyebrow, he took the whisky and drank. They’d killed nearly the whole bottle.

“At his lack of success, he went back to his gentility and asked me a lot of questions about my pack, my family, and whether I ever considered mating. Since it was way the fuck beyond none of his business, I drew us back to what he’d invited me there to discuss. That’s when he brought up the papers.”

“You’d already decided you were not going to work with him.”

Using her thumb and forefinger, she cocked them like a gun. “Bingo. I let him finish his pitch, then made it clear I was not going to be able to help him. I didn’t mince words or feign any kind of need for more money to convince me. I even offered to return to him the money he’d wired earlier.” She shrugged. “He wasn’t interested in no. When no amount of cajoling proved successful, he switched to threats. I told him to shove it, and I left.”

“Then his wolves came after you.” The simmering rage in his system began to boil. Not at her, but at the damn dangerous situation she’d gotten herself into.

“Seven of them, one of me. I made use of my escape routes, hid my scent, and avoided most of them.” Hiding her scent was another trick he’d been attempting to teach her. By diminishing her scent markers, she wouldn’t be as noticeable. Their relationship, one he’d called friendship rather than lovers, had always involved long separations as his work pulled him away more and more.

Yet he wouldn’t give her up, not fully. Hiding their scent meant they didn’t wear each other’s scents. It had been designed to protect her.

“Two of them spotted me.”

He growled and she laughed, the musical sound so alien and familiar in the same breath, he silenced his anger.

“Despite all rumors to the contrary, I don’t know how to become invisible. They came for me. Their intention was capture, not kill. My intention was not to be captured, and I had zero problem with killing.”

Good girl. Yes, the pride returned. Dammit, his wolf had to let that go. She and he were never going to be on the same page.

“As soon as I dropped them, I drove straight back to the U.S. I picked up a tail almost as soon as I was in the San Diego mountains.” All traces of her humor went away. “I ditched the tail, and my car, but once I was in Los Angeles, someone was watching me again.”

She didn’t have to explain how she knew, she had.

“No matter what I did, the sensation of a watcher didn’t go away. I couldn’t go home. I couldn’t lead them back to Chrystal.” Dallas sighed. “I spent days trying to get rid of them, but they wouldn’t go away. I made a drive by, just to see if she was home. I thought I could reach out to a neighbor, get her a message, and have her meet me somewhere else.”

Enlightenment dawned. “I was there.” When he’d first tracked the house, he’d lain in wait. Neither of them had been home, but for one moment—he could have sworn…

“Yes. You were there…and I knew you’d protect her. So I headed north, crossed into Canada and boarded a plane for overseas. I wanted as many miles between me and Chrystal as I could create.”

And left their child with him, even though he had no idea.

It wasn’t much, but it was something.

“You never saw Arkady again?”

“Nope. But I also see no reason why he’d still be searching for me?”

“Why the hell would he follow you in the States?” Why would he continue to pursue her after she evaded his men? The effort made no sense then, but a decade later?

“The fuck if I know. Do you get why it’s an insane notion that they are coming after her because of me? I’ve done some shady things, Julian. I’ll own those choices. But do something that would spark a war? No, I don’t think so.”

Yet, they were on a trail of something… “We have prisoners to question. We’ll start there.”

“Now?” Surprise filtered through her voice and he rose, draining off the last of the whiskey before fixing his gaze on her.

“Yes, now. The sooner we resolve this, the sooner you and I are done.” He’d spent more than twenty years trying to find her. Two decades longing for answers.

Now it was time for her to disappear again.

“You offered to work with me and to obey orders. Once this is done, once Chrystal is safe—you and me? We’re finished.”

Not waiting for her response, he stalked inside.

They’d start with the damn accountant, then he was going to torture the Volchitsa. She was right about one thing, he didn’t like to kill.

He’d get over it.

Decades earlier…

Julian glanced at his watch for the twelfth time. The great vessel docked four hours earlier. Most of the passengers had disembarked. Dallas left a message on his answering service a couple of weeks before detailing her week off duty at the completion of this voyage. While working on a cruise line seemed to suit her, he disliked intensely the weeks she spent sailing north to Alaska or south along the Mexico coast. This trip, however, had taken her all the way to Hawaii and back.

The fifteen night cruise included eight days at sea, a day long stop at four different islands, then a day in Mexico before they sailed back into the Los Angeles port. For three years she’d been working a cruise line, and she adored every minute of it. Her enjoyment made it difficult for him to lodge his objections. This was the first time she hadn’t been cruising along the Pacific Coast.

Her scent rode the breeze, and Julian straightened. Other friends and family of the crew waited in the arrivals adjacent area, separated only by flimsy metal gates. Fortunately his side wasn’t crowded, though he would have endured worse conditions in order to greet her. During her last leave, he’d been preoccupied with a hunt for a Rogue in Texas. William didn’t leave his cabin much, if at all, anymore. The majority of Enforcers reported directly to Julian.

Only three or four even realized William existed. It made him the de facto Chief Enforcer, in all things except title. If he didn’t examine the relationship between he and Dallas too closely, then he didn’t have to turn himself in. They didn’t live together, he never allowed their time together to pull him away from his tasks, and since she’d begun working for the cruise line, they spent less than a handful of days together throughout the year.

The wild length of her dark hair with the sun shimmering on the red highlights flowed behind her as she descended the gangplank. The white polo shirt and shorts highlighted the rich, dark tan she’d acquired over her months at sea. She had a single bag slung over her back, and she practically danced as she reached the end. Without waiting for the guard to open the gate for her, she hopped it—then she was in his arms.

Greeting her with a slow kiss, he didn’t give a damn who watched. The soft caress of her lips as she opened her mouth and the welcoming stroke of her tongue settled the coiled tension turning his spine rigid. Balancing her weight, he became aware that she’d leapt into his arms and he held her with one hand beneath her ass, and another wrapped around her waist. Her arms were locked around him, and he filled his lungs with her sunshine kissed scent.

When she lifted her head, she scraped her teeth lightly over his lower lip. “Hi.”

“Hey,” he said, smiling. “How was Hawaii?”

“Tropical…I brought you a lei.”

“Fantastic.” He couldn’t care less. She’d brought him the best gift of all by coming home. Behind him some woman thumped the man she’d been hugging.

The stranger’s muttered, “Why can’t you greet me like that?” pulled a chuckle from Dallas.

With a wink, she loosened the grip of her thighs then slid down his front. He tugged her bag from her fingers, then grasped her hand in his.

“See ya Tiff,” Dallas said as she waved goodbye.

“Have fun on shore leave…” The other woman said by way of farewell.

Still laughing, Dallas glanced sideways at him. “Oh I intend to.”

Guiding her toward the parking lot, he relaxed further. “Where would you like to go?” Since she’d taken the cruise job, she didn’t keep an apartment anymore. Julian had invested in a couple of places within Los Angeles direct, but both were being used as safe houses currently.

“Do you mind a drive to Big Bear?” She danced sideways, and the hairs along his arms rose at the restless energy pouring off of her.

“We can rent a helicopter and get you up to the Sierra Nevada.” It was a long drive, but Big Bear had grown in popularity over the last few years. Dallas needed to shift and the agitation churning below the surface of her happiness indicated she needed it now.

“Rent a helicopter? Who are you Daddy Warbucks?” Shock delight swirled in her scent.

“I invest wisely,” he promised, catching her hand as she settled in the passenger seat. Kissing her knuckles, he studied her. “You okay for another hour or two?” It would take him that long to acquire their ride.

“Believe it or not, I felt better the moment I saw you. Twenty-eight days would seem to be my limit.” All wryness aside, her insistence of testing her abilities and pushing them annoyed him. She always danced right along the precipice of hurting herself.

“It used to be fourteen, so I think you’re making progress.” Discouraging her always proved problematic.

“True, but it means I have to be careful of taking longer cruise assignments. They offered me a promotion…” Then she sighed. “It would mean taking twenty-one to twenty-eight day cruises. Even if I manage to get a few days off in between, it could create other issues.”

Pragmatic acceptance underscored her disappointment. “I thought you liked the Alaskan cruises?” She had Diesel’s permission to sail in and out of his territory. So many of the lines docked for port stops. Without the access, she wouldn’t be able to take even a few hours on land if they were available to her. Julian secured it when she’d first discussed her chance at taking a promotion to a larger ship. She’d gotten her start on dinner cruises—those he preferred—it meant she came home every night.

“I do, but I’ve been up here, how many times now? Hawaii was amazing…and I loved every moment I spent on the beaches there. I still had to work, so I only had a couple of hours of free time at each port, but I couldn’t get enough of it. They’re talking about cruises around the world, Australia, and then there’s the Caribbean. So many opportunities…”

“You really want to see the whole world, don’t you?” He’d once believed she’d abandon her need to roam after a couple of years. Resigned himself, really. Many of the younger Lone Wolves did. They roamed, then they returned to their packs. Dallas’ independence and need had only magnified with each passing year.

“I kind of do and the cruise lines may just be the way to do it. One of my managers was excited because they are sold out for nearly every ship in the fleet for the rest of the year. There are new ships being built every day. Apparently there’s some television show that’s stoking the interest in the industry.” Bracing her foot against the dashboard, she flexed her calf muscle. The fidgeting kept her rising energy in check.

There was a heliport a short distance past the Port of Los Angeles. They’d have to navigate traffic first, and the roads were clogged with departing passengers, and new arrivals.

“If you decide it’s what you really want,” he told her. “I have faith in you.” Dallas could do anything she set her mind to doing. Her vibrant personality combined with her sheer will made her a force of nature. “At the risk of annoying you after you first arrived home, I need to extend a message to you.”

“Ugh.” She slumped, slamming her head against the seat. “What does Grandpa want now?”

“A conversation. He’s willing to meet you on neutral territory if you don’t want to set foot back into Hudson River.” The alpha had called more than once, and he’d ordered Julian to pass on the message. Family could be annoying, but her grandfather refused to accept her Lone Wolf status. Julian had been tempted to ignore the order, and he’d had a week to consider what action, if any, he planned to take.

In the end, though—the alpha was Dallas’ family. It had to be her decision, not his. Though if she asked it of him, he’d block her grandfather. He would protect her from the family unwilling to let her go even though the choice was hers, and hers alone to make.

“Any rumors you want to share?” Curiosity, not annoyance, colored her tone. She resumed tapping her foot as Julian waited for traffic to get moving again. He could walk faster than they were going. Los Angeles traffic seemed to worsen every year. The air conditioning in the vehicle at least gave them cleaner air. A cloud of smog hung over the downtown area, and it made his nose itch.

“Nothing which might indicate a sudden need for contact. I think he’s just worried about you, worried about your choices—worried the way parents worry.” Or grandparents as the case may be.

“You know that’s one drawback of family, there’s always a tie holding you back.” The flippant remark held not a single note of truth, only agitation. Before he could offer her an out, she added, “Tell you what, after a good long run, and a proper reunion—and maybe dinner—then I’ll call him. Sound like a plan?”

“It does.” No matter how aggravating the traffic, he maintained his patience. Dallas needed calm while she kept her restless wolf in check.

“Then you can tell me all the exciting things you did the last few weeks.”

His excitement sat in the seat next to him. “I’ll see what I can come up with—after you tell me about the cruise, and Hawaii.”

She latched onto the request like a lifeline. “Babe, you have got to get out there at some point. I saw windsurfing—and I want to do that…”

Julian smiled as she launched into her tale.

A week was never going to be enough time, but he’d make sure they wrenched every moment from it they could.