Reclaimed From The Moon (Wolf River, ID. Book 3) Read online

  Griffin threw his bag on the passenger seat and leaned back. In his gut he knew this was the real reason he'd called his brother, but he still wasn't sure if he wanted to talk about it.

  He pinched the bridge of his nose. "She spent the night."

  "Really?" The incredulity in Caleb's voice dripped over the phone line.

  "Not like that. Her apartment caught on fire and she ended up in the emergency room. Apparently, I was listed as her next of kin so they called me. She didn't have anywhere else to go so I let her stay."

  "How very generous of you, considering it's her house too."

  "Don't."

  "I'm not trying to start anything. I'm just sayin'."

  "I thought maybe she'd been cooking drugs or something, but it was her neighbor’s fault apparently."

  "You know she never did any of that crap right? Yes, she may have taken drugs but she was never a dealer or anything. Is Bowgie okay?"

  Griffin gripped the steering wheel. "When was the last time you talked to her?"

  "About a month ago. She sounded like she was doing pretty good."

  He knew Caleb and Dakota had always been tight. But he hadn't realized just how tight until then.

  "You two talk often?" He tried to keep the bite out of his voice.

  "You know it isn't like that with Dakota and me. She's my sister and I love her. The same way I love you, little brother."

  Yes, Griffin did know that. Man, it was insane how much this crap with Dakota was still messing with his head, even after all this time.

  "How long is she staying?" Caleb asked.

  "Hopefully just today. She got a concussion and needed someone to stay with her."

  "Is she okay?"

  "She'll be fine."

  "So if her place burned down, where's she gonna go?"

  "I don't know. Maybe her new boyfriend's house."

  Caleb snorted. "I don't detect a hint of jealousy in your responses at all.”

  Griffin growled deep in his chest.

  "I'm not taking sides on this. I care about you both. And I can tell by your growl you're done talking, but just think about what I said. You've sat on those papers since you got home. You went to her when she needed you and you brought her home to take care of her. Somewhere inside you know you still love her. And if you do, don't you at least owe her a chance to explain what happened? If for nothing other than peace of mind when you finally turn in those papers."

  Caleb was the most level-headed of all the men in his family. Dad was hot-tempered and his oldest brother, Logan, was off in his own world. Griffin was also prone to bouts of anger and jealousy, but quiet and even-tempered Caleb was only known to show his Alpha side when protecting his family.

  "I'll let you go," said Caleb. "You're welcome to stay with me next week. You know there are always extra beds and blankets at my house."

  "Along with canned food."

  "I happen to like canned food."

  Griffin chuckled. "Even I don't believe that lie."

  "Griff, if she doesn't have anywhere else to go, maybe you should suggest Dakota come home to Wolf River. It would be good for her to be near her pack again."

  "Yeah, maybe. I'll see ya."

  Griffin hung up, turned on his car, and backed out of his spot, but Caleb's words hung in the air. Why had he taken so long to turn in the divorce papers? That was the question he’d been asking himself more and more lately.

  Griffin pulled into the drive an hour later and stared at the house. Just knowing Dakota was in there brought him a mix of anxiety and peace. He'd picked up his phone to call her, to make sure she was okay, over a dozen times in the past months. He wasn’t happy with her but it didn't mean he wanted to see anything bad happen to her. In the end, he knew calling her would do more harm than good, so he hadn't. Though apparently, Caleb had.

  He grabbed his bag and the supplies he'd picked up and walked to the front door. Barking from the backyard pulled his attention. That wasn't going to fly. The neighbors would complain for sure.

  He walked through the door. "Dakota, Bowgie is barking his ass off," he called.

  There was no answer.

  "I stopped by the store and got you a few things to wear. Some pajamas and stuff. And I got you some food from The Wave. Vanilla Coke and a burger and fries. Extra pickles and grilled onions."

  He waited for her reply, but there was none.

  Outside the sliding glass door, Bowgie jumped and barked. When he spotted Griffin he scratched on the glass.

  "No way man." Griffin dropped the bags on the couch, stomped to the back door and slid it open. "Okay, you and I need to come to an agreement mate. There will be no scratching, no barking–"

  Bowgie jumped on Griffin's chest almost knocking him over. Griffin pushed him off.

  "And no jumping up." He went to pet the dog and it bounded toward the gazebo. A pair of legs, wearing gray sweatpants, lay on the unfinished pad.

  Panic swept over him. He raced out the back door. "Dakota?"

  Bowgie barked and bounded in a circle. Griffin rushed forward and turned her over.

  "Dakota?"

  She moaned and blinked her glossy eyes.

  "Dakota? What happened? What's wrong?"

  "My head," she moaned.

  "Did you take something? Is it drugs?"

  Her eyebrows scrunched together and she blinked rapidly then her eyes focused and she pushed him away, anger etched in her features. Bowgie nudged her with his nose and licked her face. She nuzzled him and clung to his fur with one hand, getting to her feet.

  "No dickwad it isn't drugs. It's my head."

  "What are you doing out here?" Anger and fear tinged his voice. He glanced around to see if any of the neighbors were watching.

  "I came out to see the stupid gazebo and then everything started spinning and I fell down apparently."

  "So it isn't drugs?"

  She swore loudly. "Why do you keep jumping to that conclusion? Seriously? Am I that terrible of a person? Can you only think the worst of me now?"

  She stormed off toward the house with Bowgie in tow.

  "What choice do I have? I haven't seen or talked to you in over a year."

  She rounded on him and stomped back. "And whose fault is that? You kicked me out."

  "What did you expect after what had happened?"

  She stared at him for a minute and then held up her hands. "You know what? You're right. Just forget it. This was a mistake. I should never have come here."

  She turned and stormed into the house. Part of him wanted her to go. Wanted her to walk out the door again and keep walking so he could turn the divorce papers in and be done with her. But Caleb's words floated back to him.

  He followed her into the house.

  * * *

  Dakota stared at the front door. It was a good fifteen miles to her apartment. She had no shoes, no phone, no money, and her head still felt like a mariachi band had taken up residence in it. How was she supposed to do anything in this condition?

  "Tell me." Griffin's voice came out calm.

  She the nauseating sensation of powerlessness overtook her. "If you'll just give me a ride to my old apartment I'll be out of your hair."

  "Dakota. I'm asking you now. Tell me about the drugs."

  She closed her eyes and dropped her head. She'd wanted to tell him right from the beginning but he wasn’t willing to listen. And now, a year later, he was. Why?

  Bowgie whined and she looked over to see him rifling through several bags from a pet store. He pulled out a bone and lay on the floor chewing it.

  In the bags she spied a leash, bowls, dog food, toys… and some women's clothes too.

  She turned her gaze to Griffin, sitting calmly on the couch, his eyes round with sincerity.

  Damn. He'd done something nice for her, and Bowgie. But she couldn't tell him everything… She wasn't ready. He needed to know but she couldn't tell him. Telling him everything would only bring back her crippling guilt.

  "
Why?" she asked. "Why do you want to know? Is it just to clear your conscience? Will it even make a difference?"

  He shrugged. "I don't know. Probably not. But I want to know what happened while I was in Afghanistan."

  At least he was being honest. She supposed she owed him the same. In NA they taught her to make amends. This was part of it. If she wanted to heal and move forward, if she wanted him to do the same, she had to tell the truth. At least as much as he was asking for. He was asking about the drugs. That she could tell him. Her wolf paced nervously not wanting her to tell him.

  "All right.” She took a deep breath. “When you left, I missed you terribly."

  "You always do."

  "Yes, but this last time it was more intense. We hadn't been in Boise long. I didn't really know anyone. Our family and pack were far away. I got lonely and bored. At first I couldn't sleep well. Then, as time went on, I couldn't sleep at all. The bed was too big without you and your side was cold when I'd turn over. The sheets had lost your scent and…" She blew out a breath. "So anyway, I started taking something to help me sleep. But then I was sleeping all the time. Day, night, it didn't matter. I couldn't stand it. I tried to stop taking the meds but then I was back to no sleep at all. So I started taking something to keep me up. Sleeping pills at night. Other stuff to keep me awake during the day. It was working great, until it wasn't."

  She stepped over the back of the couch and slid down onto the plush cushions. Grabbing one of them, she put it in her lap, twisting the fringe around her finger.

  "I don't know when it happened exactly but I met some people at a bar. They were human but nice. Friendly even. We started hanging out. Movies. Barbeques. It felt good. It felt like I belonged again. Then one night I saw one of them take something. They asked if I wanted to try it. I did. That was the last day I had true control over my body. I didn't realize that just a few steps in the wrong direction would ruin my entire life."

  "Is that how you met Scott?"

  She looked up at him, perplexed, but what he wanted to know was written all over him. He wanted to know if it had been Scott that had gotten her pregnant. Anything she said would just be thrown back in her face and she didn't know if she could handle that— if either of them could handle that. They were just now starting to talk.

  "Scott is my sponsor, Griff. We met when I started NA." She pulled her necklace from under her t-shirt, showing him the medallion. "He got wind that I had started the program and took me under his wing. There aren't many werewolves that succumb to addiction. But, he had, a long time ago. He offered me protection within his pack. Yes, he's a Bitten but he's a good man. And he's my friend. Nothing more."

  They stared at each other for a long minute. Questions creased his brow. Questions he'd never asked. Questions she didn't want to answer… but maybe it was time.

  "Griffin–"

  "Clean and sober huh?" He shut her down with a quick change of the subject.

  "Not even an aspirin for over a year. I go to meetings Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays, and occasionally on Saturdays, from seven to nine, at the Methodist church down on Warm Springs."

  He chewed his bottom lip for a minute. "That must suck with how much your head hurts."

  "You have no idea."

  "You said you were outside, looking at the gazebo and you passed out?"

  "Mildly dizzy. The pain intensified and then I fell."

  "Maybe we should go back to the hospital. Get you checked out."

  And just like that, the conversation was over. It was probably a good thing. She wasn't ready to tell him the rest. Not yet.

  She stood. "I need to get to my apartment. I need my wallet and phone and–"

  "They said the apartment was destroyed."

  "Well, I'm hoping my purse is still sitting by the front door. Otherwise I'm gonna have a hell of a time getting a new license and credit cards and everything."

  "I still have your birth certificate and our wedding certificate in the file cabinet."

  Of course he did.

  "Come on," he said. "I'll drive you. You shouldn't drive in your condition."

  "Don't you have work?"

  "Yeah, but it's not for another six hours. I'm sure I can get you to your apartment and back again before that. I got you some food and stuff. It's in the bags. I wasn't quite sure of your size now but I figured a medium would fit."

  He scratched his head and his cheeks deepened a shade.

  "Thank you." She picked through the items and chose a t-shirt with a pair of cut off shorts and some flip-flops.

  He stared at her for a minute and she thought he might say something.

  "I'll be right back," she finally said.

  Minutes later she came back out and tried to flatten her hair while Griffin picked up the leash and attempted to clip it to Bowgie's collar. The dog growled and moved to Dakota's side.

  "Bowgie leash."

  The Akita trotted over, took the leash from Griffin.

  Unease wafted from Griffin like steam off a cup of tea. It was obvious Griffin still wasn't ready to move past what had happened between them, but at least he was trying.

  Chapter Five

  The fire had spread through her bedroom wall, engulfing Dakota's bed, closet, dresser, and everything else inside. In the front room, the couch had been charred and reeked of smoke. She'd found her purse where she'd left it.

  “Did the sprinklers ever go off?” Griffin asked.

  She shook her head. “Not that I’m aware of.”

  He looked around the apartment. “You should talk to a lawyer. If the sprinklers didn’t go off they’re responsible for your losses.”

  She nodded. “I’ll think about that. Thanks.”

  After the apartment, Griffin drove her to the store to get some clothes.

  He played and replayed her words in his mind like a vinyl record. He'd had to stop her from telling him any more than she had. He'd thought he could handle the truth, but the truth was… he couldn't take it. He didn't want to hear about her finding comfort in some other man's arms. Didn't want to hear that it was his fault for leaving. Didn't want to think about the fact that she'd carried another man's child. It was too much. Just hearing about the drugs was enough to shut him down.

  Once they were at the store he'd tried to protest her bringing Bowgie inside.

  "He’s a service dog. He goes where I go."

  He wanted to ask why she had a service dog but held his tongue.

  They walked out of the store around three p.m. with four big bags of clothing, toiletry items, and a large suitcase to put it all in. Her phone had been on her nightstand so he'd driven her to her cell service provider to get a new one. Luckily for her, she'd backed it up to the cloud, so she hadn't lost any information.

  By four they’d stopped off to get tacos and then drove to her job, so she could check in with her boss.

  "Okay, where do I park?"

  "That's the building. The parking is around back."

  Griffin looked over and scanned the storefronts. "The coffee shop?"

  "No, that one." She pointed to the Brazilian-Ju-Jitsu studio.

  He rounded the end of the building and pulled into a parking spot. At least she'd gotten a job in a safe place. He wondered if she had any benefits, like free lessons. It would explain where all her muscle tone had come from.

  "I'll be back in a minute." She slid from the Jeep and whistled for Bowgie.

  Griffin turned off the engine and got out. "I'll go with you."

  "You don't have to do that. I won't be that long."

  He shrugged. "I need to use the bathroom anyway."

  She looked like she wanted to say something but instead turned and went into the building. Griffin followed her in and the faint smell of gym shoes hit his nose. Light music played overhead and on the wall-to-wall red mats, two classes sparred and practiced.

  Dakota walked to the front desk and one of the instructors jogged over. He gave her a hug and ruffled Bowgie's fur as Griffin approac
hed. Griffin tamped down on his wolf’s grumbling at someone else touching Dakota… Again.

  "Are you okay?" asked the instructor. "We were all so worried when we heard about the fire. Scott said you weren't too hurt, but do you need anything? Can we help?"

  Dakota smiled. "Thanks, John I'm okay."

  "Is your apartment all right?"

  “Everything is pretty much gone so I'll need to find a new place."

  "Well, you're welcome to stay with Sandra and me. We can pile the kids into one room."

  "I appreciate that but I'll figure something out."

  It was as if Griffin didn’t even exist as the two talked. From her body language, Griffin could see that she held nothing more than affection for the man, but the familiarity between them struck a strange chord with him… jealousy. He couldn’t place it. But it was interesting at the same time. Seeing Dakota with people who seemed to know her so well. Offering to help her. Caring about her. Concerned for her well being. He’d only ever seen his family and hers like that about her before. It wasn’t that people didn’t like Dakota, quite the opposite actually. It was just that ever since he’d known her it had been her and him. Together. With his family. His friends. His military buddies and their wives. He’d never actually seen her with people outside of his circle. People of her own.

  A pang of guilt struck him like lightning. So much of her existence had revolved around him and them. She was half to his whole. Suddenly the question struck him - but was he the right half to her whole? From where he stood it sure didn’t appear that he was. She’d done just fine for herself without him.

  His wolf whined at the thought. Somehow she’d learned to stand on her own two feet. Maybe she didn’t need him anymore.

  John patted her hand. “Anything I can do, you just let me know."

  "I could use some more hours for the next month or so. I'm gonna need a down payment on a new place and stuff."

  "Absolutely, not a problem. I've been begging you to up your hours for months." John turned his head and noticed Griffin. "Hey, I'm John, can I help you?" John gave a welcoming smile and reached to shake Griffin's hand.

  "This is Griffin, he's with me." Dakota pushed her hair behind her ear.