I recalled the last pack run. Alvin had turned it into a hunt, with me as the prey. Most of the pack had stayed far away from me. I must have only experienced an ounce of the fear these women must have felt. The thought filled me with grief.
“You couldn’t have saved them,” Addie said.
I growled, annoyed that she’d somehow anticipated my thoughts.
“That body has been there a long time. You were a teenager when that girl died.”
Ah, but that girl had been a teenager, too. That made us about the same age. I wondered why Alvin hadn’t outright killed me yet. He’d never bothered to hide his hatred of me. The prophecy that I would be his downfall remained until I died. Hell, it might even stick around after I died.
Perhaps that was what kept him from killing me. Alvin toyed with me. He made my existence miserable so that the rest of the pack would know their place. No one wanted to trade places with me. If they could get away with being spineless in order to protect their own asses, then they would do just that.
I sighed.
“Don’t blame yourself,” Addie said.
Well, at least I knew she wasn’t a mind reader. I wasn’t blaming myself for the girl’s death. The parallels scared me, though. I prayed that Alvin had stopped hunting humans. For now, he had me to focus on. Maybe that was enough to keep him from collecting more trophies.
* * *
Exhaustionfrom the long day of shifting dragged at my body as I stepped past the threshold of my home, what should have been a safe place. An unfamiliar scent hung in the air. My hound picked it up and began panicking. I tried to talk her down, but her panic seized my body. Stuck in the doorway, I looked around wildly.
“Vanessa!” Dad called out from the kitchen.
His voice didn’t calm me. If anything, the hound growled in angry anticipation. At least now I had control of my body again. I held onto the door frame as I slumped. The scent remained strong. Dad wasn’t alone.
The fact that I did not recognize the person’s scent comforted me a little. At least the visitor wasn’t one of Alvin’s wolves. Besides, Dad wanted to help me in his own way.
I gathered myself and closed the door before heading into the kitchen. A burly blonde man dwarfed our kitchen table. He hunched, his massive hands wrapped around what should have been an oversized mug—in his grasp, it looked miniature.
He unfolded himself from his seat and rose to an amazing height. I gaped up at the man. The smell of bear rolled off him. It was all at once comforting and terrifying. He smiled down at me. His grin was sheepish, as if he were afraid to startle me. I wondered if that was a preventative measure from his past interactions.
“I’m Thor,” he said, his hand extended.
I blinked. “Yeah, I would believe that.”
He chuckled. “No. Not the god. Just a man.”
I wasn’t completely convinced, but I also wasn’t ready to have this argument. He could figure out that he was a god among men from someone else. I took his hand and shook it. The warmth from his body eased the last of my hound’s fear away. This man had a strange effect on my hound. It was as if he radiated safety, which wasn’t surprising given his size.
That made me think of Ryder and how I felt in his arms. I wondered if he was doing alright after what happened at Beryl’s court. Had the enchantment from the faery food worn off by now? He’d seemed almost normal by the time I’d left him.
Why did I care? Bri was likely taking care of him right this instant. Ryder didn’t need me to worry about him when he had a mate.
I shook myself, casting off my wayward thoughts, and focused on the matter at hand. Dad watched me from his seat at the table. The expectant rise of Dad’s brow made my jaw clench. Wary of this conversation, I tried to say good night and back out of the room.
“Just a moment,” Thor said, his hand outstretched to stop me.
I clenched my jaw. Did the stink of death hover around me? Did I have the energy to deal with this? Not right now, I didn’t. It seemed that I wasn’t going to be given a choice, though.
“Your father and I were speaking about maybe getting you set up in a new pack,” Thor said. The light, hopeful lilt of his voice invited me to stay and consider.
I shook my head. “That’s all right, sir. I’m good right where I am.”
Dad’s expression darkened. Thor glanced back at him, as if to ask if I was insane. The two of them must have covered my situation while I’d been gone.
“I have work to do here,” I said. “I’m going to see it through, and no one can stop me. I appreciate the offer to take me into your pack, Thor, but I’m going to have to decline.”
“Vanessa,” Dad said with a note of warning in his voice.